Author: admin

Azeri defence minister offers military cooperation to Belgium

Bilik Dunyasi news agency
22 Nov 04

Baku, 22 November: “Armenia, which has occupied part of Azerbaijan’s
territory, has violated the provisions of NATO’s Partnership for Peace
programme and it is necessary to discuss this issue at the alliance,”
Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev has told a meeting with the
chief of the General [Defence] Staff of Belgium, Gen August Van Daele.

“By entering NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme, Armenia assumed
the responsibility not to make territorial claims to neighbouring
countries. I think it is time to discuss this issue at NATO,”
Abiyev noted.

Armenia’s destructive position on the resolution of the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem and the passivity of the OSCE Minsk Group were also
discussed during the meeting.

Agreeing to Abiyev’s opinion, Van Daele said that it was necessary
to increase the activity of the European Union in the settlement of
the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict.

The parties also exchanged views on the conformity of the Azerbaijani
armed forces to NATO standards.

“Azerbaijan’s objective is to comply with these standards as much as
possible,” Abiyev said, coming up with an initiative to sign a treaty
on military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belgium.

Gen Van Daele said that the leadership of his country would be
immediately informed of this initiative.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MHER SHAHJELDIAN: VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD IN KARABAKH PROBLEM STARTS
FOR ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Nov 22 2004

YEREVAN, 22.11.04. During the recent session of the MATO Parliamentary
Assembly in Venice the report on the South Caucasus was discussed. The
RA NA deputies Mher Shahgeldian and Alexan Karapetian who had
participated in the session informed reporters about this at the
November 19 press conference. According to M. Shahgeldian, the issue
of opening Armenia`s borders with Turkey was also raised during the
NATO PA Political Committee session. The issue may become a subject
of discussion at a plenary session in the future. When answering
the reporters` questions, M. Shahgeldian noted that in the report at
the NATO PA session the Nagorno Karabakh problem was given as much
attention as to other regional problems, and the matter concerned only
an informational report. At the same time the deputy considered as
worrying the fact that Azerbaijan`s efforts aimed at discussing the
Karabakh problem in various international organizations have been
crowned with success. He underlined that a difficult period starts
for Armenia in terms of the Karabakh problem.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Power of wisdom in Ottoman Palestine

Bahrain Tribune, Bahrain
Nov 22 2004

The recently-concluded photographic exhibition on Ottoman Palestine
stood out as a scholarly study, providing a testament to the Ottoman
society’s dynamism and the capacity for change, and bringing to
the fore important and much-overlooked fascinating aspects of an
outstanding era, writes gopal kejriwal.

The Ottomans were able to think because they had wisdom, because they
had power. There never seemed to be the problem of how to exercise
power to achieve its responsible role – to do more good – rather than
its irresponsible and indulgent use, of how to get the authority to
live for rather than off the public.

A total of 104 photographs and photocopies of 18 written documents
vouchsafed the most revolutionary record of lasting peace and freedom
(you cannot separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace
unless he has his freedom) that marked the mighty Ottoman Empire and
its rule on Palestine for over 400 years – almost uninterrupted. The
empire’s power consisted in its capacity to link its will with the
purpose of others, to rule and lead by reason, cooperation and trust.

Small though, the displays at Beit Al Quran provided glimpses into
the complexities and the psyche of the ruler and the ruled in all
bitter-sweet aspects.

The gallery – of freedom, harmony, camaraderie and community spirit
that co-existed in Palestine between 1850 and 1919 – highlighted the
irrefutable fact that peace is not an absence of war but is a virtue,
a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence and justice.

This peace – which was achieved through enlightenment and educating
people to behave more in a noble manner – lived for centuries with
honours and glories of its own, unattended by the dangers of war.
It was a gallery of people of individual honour and personal character,
of independence, of the faces of humanity without mask. There were
no masters, no dictators, no champions. There was no servitude.

With the well-preserved black and white photographs of water-carriers,
Siloam women selling vegetables or melons, philanthropist Shaikh Noury
offering food to passers-by, gypsies, people in boats in Engaddi/Arnon,
fishermen clattering their plates like cymbals, pilgrims inching their
way through the Lion’s and the Damascus gates, the celebration of the
renewal of Jerusalem water pipeline – the gallery was an opportunity
for one-to-one conversations with the elite and the ordinary –
for an exchange of thought and not an eloquent exhibition of wit
or oratory. Every citizen dutifully gave validity to his or her
convictions, beliefs and philosophy.

The still moments all over the halls carried in them infinite space,
and this infinite space was infinitely exhibited – as the everlasting
joy.

Hats off to the Turkish embassy for mining the sources intelligently
and the judicious selection of the photographs from the collection
of Turkish Consulate General in Jerusalem – to capture the spirits
of Ottoman Palestine.

“Of an estimated 15,000 photographs in existence – until the end of
the Ottoman period in Palestine – the Consulate General has acquired
copies of 1,500 after years of painstaking search of the archives of
Orient House, the Arab Studies Society and other local institutions as
well as private family albums,” the Director of Museum at the centre,
Ashraf Al Ansari, tells me.

The photographs – faces, landscapes, town scenes, holy places – also
captured the fabric of the communities, their unity in diversity, the
social, economic and cultural life, the Ottoman Turkish architectural
imprint on monuments and structures. The documents, provided by the
Ottoman Archives Department of the Directorate General of the State
Archives of the Prime Ministry of the Republic of Turkey, depicted the
social and administrative aspects of Ottoman governance in Palestine
– a place which had remained one of the most important districts of
the empire from 1517 until the end of World War I. The most important
document was the ferman (ordinance) of Fatih Sultan Mehmet guaranteeing
religious freedom to all the clergymen from different religions in
Al Quds in 1457 – and affirming that the empire was one of the most
tolerant in the world.

“Unlike the preceding rulers, the Ottomans allowed the majority of
Muslims and Christian Arabs as well as minorities such as Jews,
Circassians, Druses, Serbs, Assyrians, Armenians and Turks to
peacefully coexist – as a natural right – regardless of their religious
or ethnic backgrounds,” Al Ansari says. The population also included
large groups of foreign missionaries, teachers and fringe groups of
Christians and Jewish refugees.

In support of his argument, Al Ansari points to another ordinance
(issued on August 31, 1565) on keeping of the holy places in Al
Quds such as Mariam’s Tomb and Qadem Isa clean and the prevention of
improper acts on such sites.

“Most of the inhabitants, Arabic speaking Christians and Muslims,
lived in a few hundred villages with self-sufficiency. The elite
lived in the towns and were different from the subjects in the
villages. The high priests were often Greek though the congregation
was Arabian. The landowners were often Turks,” Al Ansari says. The
Arabs formed an important part of the structure of the empire and
the Ottoman Constitution provided for one form of government of all
Ottoman territories and people.

The state never prevented any of the Christian communities from
exercising their historically acknowledged rights of free passage
into Jerusalem nor interfered in any way with their religious conduct,
he says.

Further evidence that the empire kept to its contract with the
People of the Book is provided in church documents which reveal the
systematic building, renovation and upkeep of churches and monasteries
in Jerusalem and beyond. One fine example is the permission to the
Armenian Catholic community in Jerusalem in 1887 to build a church
even though the community comprised just four households of 22 men
and women.

No visitor to the exhibition would miss the eclectic social milieu
and its various moods – a man selling ice-cream in Jerusalem (1917),
a local Arab pasha in full Ottoman Army insignia (1900) children
watching through the magic box (1919), an American cavasse (1905) the
cattle market in the Sultan’s pool (1900), a Samaritan with a scroll
(1901). More, a 1918 photograph of a women’s union making handicrafts
in Ramallah is perhaps the best evidence of women’s emancipation as
they were allowed to earn a living with a condition of not getting
involved with men. The sorts of employment were embroidery and weaving.

Education was another priority of the empire which encouraged the
teaching of both Arabic and English languages by opening Arab Primary
School, Friends School in Ramallah, and many others.

Other achievements include the opening of a railway line between
Jerusalem and Jaffa in 1892, the completion of the first major highway
joining the two cities in 1867, the inauguration of the town hospital
in 1891 in the west side of Jerusalem and the first windmill in 1839,
the renovation of the Citadel near Jaffa, adding a few adjoining
structures, and the Clock Tower, the magnificent square tower with
four huge towers at the top of each side that was built in 1909 on top
of Jaffa Gate as a memorial to the British conquest during World War I.

In 1863, the local authority ordered the removal of all market
platforms to create space for pedestrians and in 1885, old tiles
were replaced in all of the City’s alleys and main streets, with the
provision of side channels for drainage.

The empire has gone, but the holy territories have retained to date
some of its remarkable features in the daily socio-cultural life
in Palestine. The Ottoman concept remains in the memories of the
Palestinians.

The exhibition succeeded in its aim – if it was to depict the
remarkable cultural ebb and flow, which characterised the Ottoman
period, if it was to find out hints from the Ottoman rule in this
territory so that they could be feasible examples for the present day,
if it was to remember the longest stable period of the Palestinian
history with respect.

The exhibition stood out as a scholarly study, providing a testament
to the Ottoman society’s dynamism and the capacity for change,
and bringing to the fore important and much-overlooked fascinating
aspects of the period.

A walk through the gallery was like a visit to the Holy Land. At the
same time, it was a reminder of her spirit as a land of peace and
the possibility and hope for a better future.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Bulgarian journalist of Armenian descent blames Azerbaijan for envy

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Nov 22 2004

Sports columnist of the Bulgarian “24 hours” newspaper Eduard Papazian
of Armenian descent, who came to Azerbaijan on Wednesday to cover
the Azerbaijan-Bulgaria friendly match, was not permitted to enter
the country.

In his article published in the same newspaper on Thursday, Papazian
regarded the case as “disrespect to Bulgaria”.

“The Azerbaijani side was envious of not only the fact that I am
ethnically Armenian but also of the fact that I am heading the sports
department of the newspaper with the highest circulation in Bulgaria,”
Papazian wrote in his article.*

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part B (Russia)
November 22, 2004, Monday

21ST CENTURY PROBLEMS

SOURCE: Novoe Vremya, No. 47, November 21, 2004, p. 10

by Nikolai Popov

In evaluating the most pressing problems facing Russia and the world
as a whole, our people come up with various priority rankings for
ourselves and the rest of the world. The majority, however, viewed
one particular problem as the top priority: poverty. Forty-seven
percent of respondents name poverty as Russia’s major problem; 49%
say it is the major problem for the world as a whole. Subsequent
priorities differ. According to 45% of respondents, Russia’s second
most important problem is rising prices, or inflation. For the world
as whole, respondents put environmental protection in second place –
named as the biggest problem by 13%. Finally, Russian respondents
name “conquering AIDS, malaria, and other major diseases” as the
third most important problem for the world as a whole; for Russia,
third place goes to unemployment, named by 37% of respondents.

Further down the ranking of global problems, Russian respondents
named the following: reducing child mortality (7%), creating an
organization for helping poor countries (4%), better healthcare for
mothers (3%), eliminating illiteracy (3%), and gender equality (1%).

The selection of problems to be ranked was compiled by the United
Nations, which has set the goal of resolving them by 2015.

After the top three, respondents named the following problems as the
most important for Russia: drug abuse (33%), rising crime rates
(29%), weakness of state authority (20%), greed and bribe-taking
among the bureaucracy and state officials (15%), housing and
utilities problems like heating, water, and electricity supplies
(12%), delays in payment of wages or pensions (7%), international
problems (3%), and interethnic problems within Russia (3%). The total
adds up to over 100% because respondents were allowed to pick two or
three choices from the list of domestic problems.

As a recent international Gallup poll indicated, most of the world’s
population views eliminating poverty and hunger as the top priority:
44% of respondents named this as the main problem. The highest
percentage of respondents named this as the top priority in the
Middle East (62%); the lowest percentage (29%) in North America,
where people are evidently poorly-informed about poverty and hunger
in other parts of the world. The global poll’s second priority was
creating an organization for helping poor countries (12%), followed
by 10% each for environmental protection, fighting disease, and
ensuring universal basic education. These average figures conceal
some strong disparities between responses from various parts of the
world. For example, environmental protection was named as the top
priority by 21% of respondents in the Asia-Pacific, but only 1% in
Africa, where fighting disease scored 22%.

Actually, whether any particular problem is given priority in any
particular country depends on various considerations, frequently
contradictory. In East-Central Europe, where economies still lag
behind those of the developed world, only 5% of respondents consider
it very important to create an organization for helping poor
countries. The people of East-Central Europe aren’t counting on
getting any such aid themselves, but they are not yet prepared to
participate as donors. In these countries, fighting epidemic diseases
is viewed as more important than the global average response: 14% of
respondents in East-Central Europe name this problem as the most
important. And this problem is viewed as very serious in some
countries: 26% of respondents in Ukraine named it as the world’s top
priority, 21% of respondents in Estonia, and 20% in Lithuania.

In general, respondents in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
are similar in their evaluation of their own problems, although there
are some substantial differences. In all these countries, the top
three problems named as the most serious are the following: poverty,
inflation, and unemployment. In some countries, respondents give
unemployment second or even first priority among their concerns:
Armenia – 82%, top priority; Kyrgyzstan – 69%, second place;
Lithuania – 62%, top priority; Bulgaria – 63%, second place. Drug
abuse is gradually pulling ahead of corruption as the most serious
problem: 35% of respondents in Kazakhstan name it as their top
concern, 33% in Russia, and 23% in Ukraine. At the same time, only
11% of respondents in Moldova and 5% in Armenia name drug abuse as
the top priority.

Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US TERMINATED JACKSON-VANIK AMENDMENT ON ARMENIA

PanArmenian News
Nov 22 2004

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The US Senate approved introducing a number of
changes into the bill “On US Customs Duties”, the constituent of
which is the establishment of normal permanent trade relations with
Armenia, thus terminating the Jackson-Vanik amendment in regards to
Armenia. The Jackson-Vanik amendment functioning since 1974 bans normal
trade relations between the US and several states (specifically with
the former USSR republics), which practice restrictions of migration
rights, especially in respect to the religious minorities. January 2002
President George Bush sent a letter to the Congress with a request
to terminate the Jackson-Vanik amendment’s application to Russia and
eight ex-USSR republics, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Moldavia, Tajikistan, Ukraine. To note, the amendment is not applied
to Georgia and Kirghizia since 2000.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijani president pushes for a U.N. resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh
by AIDA SULTANOVA; Associated Press Writer

Associated Press Worldstream
November 22, 2004 Monday 12:03 PM Eastern Time

NEFT DASHLARI, Azerbaijan — Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev
said Monday he will push for a U.N. resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh
that reflects international recognition of his nation’s territorial
integrity.

“We will not be content solely with discussion. We want to see a new
resolution passed,” Aliev said. The United Nations’ General Assembly
is to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Tuesday.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave, has been de facto
independent. Armenian-backed forces won control over the territory
in 1994. Some 30,000 people were killed and a million others were
driven from their homes in the 1988-94 war.

Despite a cease-fire, Armenian-backed forces and Azerbaijani troops
continue to face off across a demilitarized zone, and shooting
occasionally erupts.

In 1993 the General Assembly passed four resolutions demanding
the withdrawal of occupation forces and the return of refugees to
Azerbaijan. However, none of the resolutions has been enforced.

Aliev voiced hope Monday that the new resolution would help solve
the conflict.

“We are trying to increase the number of countries supporting us,
and I am convinced that the role of the resolution will be decisive,”
Aliev said.

He also accused Armenia of hampering the adoption of the resolution
and stalling negotiation efforts. Aliev said Azerbaijan would only be
too glad to see Armenia drop out of the talks and leave negotiations
to Nagorno-Karabakh.

“If Armenia suggests conducting negotiations with Nagorno-Karabakh, let
it … withdraw its occupation forces from Azerbaijan’s territory and
stop providing resources to separatists from its budget. Then we will
solve the Karabakh problem in the shortest period of time,” Aliev said.

He also expressed hope that the Council of Europe, Europe’s top
human rights body, would give “a political evaluation” to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS OFFICE
Armenian Holy Apostolic Church Canadian Diocese
Contact; Deacon Hagop Arslanian, Assistant to the Primate
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont Quebec H2V 3H2
Tel; 514-276-9479, Fax; 514-276-9960
Email; [email protected]
Website;
November 19, 2004

ORDINATION OF “TBIR” ACOLYTES IN ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR CATHEDRAL IN MONTREAL

Last Sunday, November 14th, 2004, faithful Churchgoers were witness to the
solemn and joyous celebration of the ordination of the “tbir”s in Montreal’s
Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Cathedral, in the presence of and under
the auspices of His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of the Canadian
Diocese as well as on the testimonial of the Church’s Pastor, Father Vazgen
Boyajyan.

The participants in this ordination entered the Church, led by His Eminence
Bishop Bargat Galstanian, accompanied by the melodious “Oorakh Ler Soorp
Yegeghetsi” hymn.
On this occasion, Bishop Galstanian directed his blessings to the
newly-ordained “tbir”s and prayed for God to bestow upon them His heavenly graces of
understanding and humble servitude, so that they may faithfully serve and perform
their duties to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Canadian Armenian
Church community, to the glory of the Holy Trinity.

During this humbling ceremony, the newly-ordained “tbir”s were bestowed both
the order of Psalmist and Sweeper, considered the first step in the liturgical
orders and ranks of the Armenian Church, as well as the four Minor Orders in
the Armenian Church. Combined, these four Minor Orders are usually referred to
as that of “tbir”.

By acceding to the rank of Psalmist and Sweeper, the candidate is received by
the Church and blessed by the Bishop, allowing him (or her) to participate in
the liturgical services of the Church as reader and cantor of the psalms and
granting the candidate the authority to maintain the Church building, its
sanctuary, court and entrance. At the beginning of this service, the Bishop cuts
four locks in the form of a cross from the hair of the candidate as a sign of
initiation.

Following this are the four Minor Orders of the Church. These prepare the
candidate for the rank of Deacon which is the first Major Order in the Armenian
Church. The first of the four Minor Orders is Doorkeeper where the candidate
receives the authority to protect everything kept under lock and key in the
Church, including the building itself. The candidate is presented with a key by
the Bishop, as a sign of this authority and honor. The second is Reader where
the candidate receives the authority to read the Holy Scriptures during Church
services. The candidate receives a Lectionary, a book containing the daily
readings of the Scripture, as a sign of this authority. The third order is
that of Exorcist which bestows upon the candidate the authority to lay hands on
the sick and renounce Satan with those who come to receive the sacrament of
Holy Baptism. The candidate receives a copy of Mashdots, the Book of Rituals.
The fourth and final order is that of Acolyte which grants the candidate the
authority to light the candles and lanterns in the Church and to prepare the
bread and the wine for Holy Communion. Symbolically, the candidate receives a
candlestick and a cruet, with which wine is blessed and served during Communion.

The following are the newly-ordained “tbir”s, who all received the five
orders: Talar Chichmanian, Hilda Tursucuyan, Sandra Afeyan, Emma Kasbarian, Alex
Palabikian, Phillip Palabikian, Avedis Salizyan, Jano Salizyan, Hagop Redjebian
and Ardak Khatchadourian.

A reception in the Church’s Hovsepian Hall followed the ordination ceremony,
where the newly-ordained candidates received the appropriate certificates from
His Eminence and many congratulations from their proud and loving community.

* * *

CANADIAN PRIMATE CELEBRATED DIVINE LITURGY IN ST. VARTAN CATHEDRAL AT NEW
YORK CITY

On Sunday, November 21, 2004, His Grace Bishop Galstanian, Primate of the
Armenian Church Diocese of Canada, celebrated Divine Liturgy at the St. Vartan
Cathedral in New York City.

Upon the initiative of His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanian a small group of
pilgrims accompanied their Primate at St. Vartan Cathedral. Beginning with his
election, Bishop Galstanian planned youth pilgrimages on inter-Diocesan level.
This is the inauguration towards the realization of the Primate’s project to
encourage the faithful, especially in Northern United States and Canada to move
forward and pray together, reflecting upon the challenges and difficulties
ahead.

* * *

COURTESY VISITS TO CANADIAN CHURCH LEADERS CONTINUES

On Thursday, November 18, 2004, His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian visited
the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto and met with Metropolitan Archbishop
Sotirios.

Bishop Galstanian thanked the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan, for creating the
opportunity to meet and discuss many issues concerning the role and mission of
Christian Churches in Canada. The two leaders spoke extensively about the
importance of involvement and participation in the ecumenical life, and examined
the possibilities of further cooperation regarding the views of their
respective churches on various social issues.

Bishop Bagrat Galstanian invited Archbishop Sotirios to participate in an
Ecumenical Pilgrimage to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Spiritual Centre
of Armenian Christianity. His Eminence graciously accepted the invitation to
join the Canadian Church leaders and Ecumenical representatives on a
pilgrimage, organized under the auspices of Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, to the Mother See
of Holy Etchmiadzin in August-September 2005.

* * *

THE THEOLOGICAL LECTURE IN THE HOLY TRINITY AMENIAN CHURCH

Aret Boyajian

The Christian Church Mission of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Toronto
was honored to have Reverend Peishon Vasfy from the St Mark. Orthodox Coptic
Church in Toronto who visited the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church for an
evening seminar, on Saturday Nov 6, 2004.

The title of the seminar was called “Jesus, the Son of God” and covered a
wide range of scripture passages that proved Jesus Christ’s divinity.

Reverend Vasfy began making his statement that we (Christians) are all, in a
way “theologians”, in that we all have some basic knowledge of God through the
reading of Holy Scripture, and that we should not feel lesser than those who
have a formal training in Theology. This means that church going Christians
are responsible and are encouraged to become knowledgeable relating to spiritual
matters both through Holy Scripture (Bible) and the proper Orthodox Church
structures such as clergy and literature.

He also stressed in his lecture by saying that the heresy’s that were
circulated by Arius in the life of the early Church, concerning the divinity of
Christ, is still with us today and that they have to be dealt with seriously by
Christians. This is the reason why the Church fathers of the Orthodox persuasion
were compelled to remain faithful to the true essence of Christ by the
adoption of the Nicene Creed (Havadamk) in the year 325 AD, which affirms the deity
of the “Son of God”.

These religious misconceptions that deny the divinity of Christ can easily be
countered with basic knowledge of Scripture. One of the most compelling
passage evidences that “the Son of God” is divine is found in the book of John,
verse 3:13: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from
heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” Clearly here, Jesus is
referring to himself on earth and at the same time being God in heaven.

The evening was adjourned with a question and answer period followed by
coffee and Armenian pastry for all the participants.

The Christian Church Mission of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church would like
to thank all the members who participated and the following individuals for
this successful evening. Dr Edward Rauf, who is the Chairman of St. Mark Orthodox
Fellowship, helped in the organization of the evening, Deacon Vrej Berberian,
who was our evenings host and last but not least Mrs. Surphui Evran, who
helped secure pastries for the evening.

* * *
THE SHARING OF A UNIQUE HERITAGE BONDS CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES TOGETHER

It has been the vision of Our Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanian to encourage
cooperative Sunday School activities such as multi school visit with the purpose
of bringing together children from all Sunday Schools in Southern Ontario.
Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church Sunday School in Toronto was the host for
the first visit of the school year.

As usual, the Morning Assembly at HTAAC stared with little children arriving
in their red uniforms and Bibles in hand. Mrs. Takoush Knadjian, the new Vice
principal, coordinated and guided the assembly to its scheduled events of the
day. Children sang the morning prayers, the Sunday School march and waited to
hear from the special guest speaker of the day Mrs. Georgina Sarkisian of St
Gregory the Illuminator of St Catharines Ontario. Mrs. Sarkisian is the
Director of the Department of Religious Education of the Canadian Diocese. (DRE)

Mrs. Sarkisian spoke about Remembrance Day. She asked the children if they
knew the reason for Remembrance Day and whether they knew of any Armenian
soldiers who were in the wars. The children were surprised to hear there were 22
soldiers from the Southern Ontario region who volunteered to serve our great
nation, Canada. Today, only three soldiers were living and resided in the Southern
Ontario area.

Mrs. Sarkisian asked the help of Tamar Sarkisian, a visitor from St
Catharines, to give the children red poppies to wear in Remembrance of the 22 soldiers
who were of Armenian heritage.

Following morning assembly Mrs. Sarkisian and Miss Alexia Citak, member of
the DRE from Hamilton St Mary Sunday School, toured the school visiting with the
students and teachers in their classes. The visitors found colorful artwork
and Christmas ornaments being made as an arts and crafts project. In other
classes children stood up and recited Psalms 23 in Armenian. All in all it was a
very important day for the visitors to observe first hand the activities
children participate in at HTAAC Sunday School

Later in the day, the children attended Church and took communion. On behalf
of HTAAC Sunday school we would like to thank our visitors and hope they will
return with many more children from their local Sunday schools.

The idea of cooperative School activities is an exceptional one. We hope the
next activity; the second annual Armenian Children’s Christmas on January 2,
2005, will continue to encourage children to make friends with others who share
their valuable heritage. The friends one makes as a child, last a lifetime.

* * *

MEMBERS OF CENTRAL COUNCIL DEPARTMENT OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION TELECONFERENCE
Georgina Sarkisian, Director

On November 9th, 2004 the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, Diocese of Canada
Department of Christian Education, Central council held a teleconference upon
the request of His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanian. Members participating were
from Hamilton, Mississauga/Oakville, St. Catharines and Toronto.

Highlights of this conference were the completing of Sunday School logos and
colour selection for the new uniforms. A crest for all the Sunday Schools has
been established with the individual church names and colors. The upcoming
joint events were discussed further, with participation by all the Sunday
Schools, at Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Toronto, on Sunday, January 2nd./04. The
Children’s Christmas Service and party will be held at this time.

Also discussed, were the plans to complete the launch on January 2nd. of the
upcoming art competition, under the jurisdiction of His Grace Bishop Bagrat
Galstanian, and directed by the Very Reverend Fr. Hayrig Apegha Hovhannisian.
The theme for this competition is ‘MY VISION OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN’ encompassing
the spiritual visions of events that brought about the holiest of places in
Christendom.

Pentecost celebrations will be held in St. Catharines and an end of the year
picnic in June will be hosted by Hamilton. The summer activities of Camp
Ararat with the inclusion of Teacher Training, were very enthusiastically greeted,
as the dates and permanent location were being completed. The teleconference
ended on a very positive accord.

* * *

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YOUTH NATIONAL COUNCIL OF ARMENIA TO RAISE ISSUE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
DURING APRIL MEETING IN ISTANBUL IN 2005

Noyan Tapan
Nov 22 2004

YEREVAN, 22.11.04. The preliminary arrangement on the organization
of a meeting in Istanbul in April 2005 was reached between the
representatives of Greece, Armenia, Israel, Turkey and other
countries-participants during the Youth Forum held in Madrid on
November 11-13. RA MP Vazgen Khachikian, the Chairman of the Youth
National Council of Armenia, said about it during the November 18
press conference. According to him, the Armenian side is going to
raise the issue of the condemnation of the Armenian Genocide and make
it the theme of discussion.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US MILITARY IN AZERBAIJAN

PanArmenian News
Nov 22 2004

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As reported by Independent Military Observer Russian
newspaper on November 19, over 50 NATO servicemen, mostly Americans,
were quartered in the village of Chukhanly of the Salyani region
of Azerbaijan in a training center belonging to Azeri the Defense
Ministry. According to the newspaper, beginning with the next year, the
US military are going to implement in Azerbaijan a program analogous
to the one carried out in Georgia. Member of the Azerbaijani Defense
Ministry press service Ilgar Verdiyev confirmed the information to the
journalists, stating, however, that the foreign servicemen are arriving
in Azerbaijan only for the participation in concrete projects aimed at
Partnership for Peace NATO program realization. Yet head of the press
service Ramiz Melikov completely refuted the information and said that
he does not possess any data of the US instructors who are allegedly to
train Azeri soldiers. At the same time Azeri Foreign Ministry Deputy
Araz Azimov does not rule out the possibility of stationing US mobile
forces in Azerbaijan. Former high rank official of the Azeri Defense
Ministry Uzeir Jafarov holds the opinion that the Azerbaijan-NATO
cooperation long ago exceeded the limits of Partnership for Peace
program. In Jafarov’s words, the program similar to the Georgian
one is in active preparation in Azerbaijan at present and will to
all appearances be launched in 2005. However Azerbaijani FM Elmar
Mamedyarov stated that “Azerbaijan is not negotiating on dislocating
foreign military bases in its territory”. “A military base is a
stationary object that cannot be deployed during one night. Multi-stage
negotiations are needed for it”, the Minister noted. As expert of
the East-West Center of Political Research Azer Rashidoglu told the
newspaper reporter, the EU is expected to unanimously speak against
the US anti-Iranian operation. (The complete version of the article
read at ). To remind,
the hearsay on using the Azeri territories for probable US military
operations against Iran revived recently. As for stationary military
bases in Azerbaijan, according the Pentagon new military doctrine
on mobile bases, there will be no need in them. Thus, nominally,
military bases in their classical meaning might not exist.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress