Author: Antonian Lara

GROWTH RATE IN CITY ON DECLINE
Nicole Charky

Glendale News Press
July 14 2008
CA

Estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau and Glendale senior planner show
recent boom is slowing.

Published: Last Updated Sunday, July 13, 2008 10:24 PM PDT GLENDALE —
People are moving to Glendale at a less rapid rate than in the 1980s
and 1990s, and several lower-income families are leaving the city,
according to the city of Glendale and the U.S. Census Bureau.

But the declining growth rate is more complicated than just
lower-income families leaving, said Jeff Hamilton, senior city planner.

"It’s a complex mix," Hamilton said. "I think the growth rate
[includes] more births, some of it is immigrants coming for
opportunities, I think we’re seeing some of the retiree folks moving
away and some of the poorer families seeking better homes."

In the 1990 U.S. Census, a concentration of lower-income families
was in south Glendale, but in 2000 and the years following, some of
these neighborhoods became smaller, he said.

Hamilton said this is a pattern throughout Southern California.

"To me the best explanation is people are being driven out of
higher-priced housing," he said. "I think people are being priced
out of the market — especially in coastal areas that are gaining
and losing population and moving to Moreno Valley, Lancaster or
Bakersfield. People with fewer kids are moving in, or they’re simply
just having smaller families, and that helps them."

U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday show that several
Southland cities have increased in population. In Victorville, the
population increased from 9.5 percent to 107,221. Irvine, Rancho
Cucamonga, Moreno Valley, Bakersfield and Fontana are included in the
census as some of the top 25 cities to increase rapidly in population
from 2000 to 2007.

Hamilton said the data he has studied does not show that the immigrant
or minority populations in Glendale have changed dramatically, he said.

"[The population] is continuing to grow, but much slower than in the
’80s or the ’90s," he said. "In the ’80s we added about 40,000 people;
in the ’90s we added about 15,000. In the 2000s, so far we’ve added
about 10,000."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Glendale’s population reached
139,060 in 1980, 180,083 in 1990 and 194, 973 in 2000. The latest
report shows that Glendale has increased by 2,000 people since the
year 2000, which surprises Hamilton.

"It seems low to me," he said.

The census’ statistical sampling accounts for only a portion of the
population — not the entire city — and Hamilton is unsure whether
this number is accurate.

"Just like I’m suspicious of the state’s number," he said. "Based
on my experience, what my gut says is that [the population number]
is somewhere between the state and the census bureau’s estimates."

The only changes Hamilton has seen in census research that relates
to the decline in California’s population are fewer less births and
lower enrollment in schools.

"Immigrant groups are having smaller families," he said. "Latino
mothers are also having fewer children. The enrollment figures for
the Glendale school district are another indication that with people
with fewer kids, or smaller families, are moving to Glendale."

Hamilton is also curious about new data that will be available in
2010 on the Armenian population in Glendale.

"Until new data comes out in 2010 we don’t really know about the
Armenian population," Hamilton said.

Sofia News Agency, Bulgaria
July 13 2008

Bulgarian Composer and Conductor Vili Kazasyan Dies at 74

The relatives of one of the most famous Bulgarian composers and
conductors Vili Kazasyan announced Saturday that he had died.

The 74-year-old Kazasyan has been the Director and conductor of the
Big Band of the Bulgarian National Radio for over 35 years.

He was born in Sofia in 1934. In 1957 he graduated as an engineer from
Sofia’s Technical University. After that he studied at the State Music
Academy.

Kazasyan was active in jazz festivals, and dozens of Bulgarian and
international music forums. His name is associated with some of the
most famous Bulgarian radio and TV music shows over the years,
including with the Golden Orpheus Music Festival.

In March-June 2008 Kazasyan appeared as one of the four members of the
jury in the Music Idol TV song contest – the Bulgarian version of
American Idol, which ran on the bTV channel.

The funeral service will be held on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Sveti
Sedmochislenitsi Church in Sofia.

A BROAD HISTORICAL OVERVIEW HELPS EXPLAIN TODAY’S WORLD

The Australian
July 11, 2008 Friday
1 – All-round Country Edition

ILLUMINATING THE PAST

AS fascinating a film as it is, school students need more than
Rabbit-Proof Fence to inform them as to whether the treatment of
Australia’s Stolen Generations constituted genocide. An understanding
of the Holocaust is vital, as well as an overview of the Armenian
genocide. That is in addition, of course, to a broad, factual
understanding of the removal of the children from their families. This
is just one good reason, among many, why NSW Education Department head
Michael Coutts-Trotter is right to be concerned about the omission
of the Holocaust from the compulsory NSW history course. It is also
impossible to understand the present-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict
without knowing about the destruction of six million Jews in Europe
at the hands of the Nazis. Unfortunately, however, history and social
studies courses in the other states also neglect the Holocaust.

This is not to argue against the emphasis on Australian history, where
the subject is taught properly. The essential reforms of the 1960s
and 70s that made the curriculum more relevant signalled a healthy,
emerging nationalism and independent spirit. Earlier generations
had long been bored learning lists of Plantagenet, Tudor and Stuart
kings. That earlier, British-centric approach meant many Australians
now in their 50s and older grew up knowing more about the Corn Laws,
Oliver Cromwell and the Battle of Waterloo than Federation and the
Australian Constitution.

By the 1990s, unfortunately, many university and school courses had
been captured by the Left and geared to pump out ideology rather
than an objective, historical narrative. Australian history gave
way to thematic subjects such as SOSE — Study of Society and the
Environment — which meant issues such as the "invasion" of Australia
in 1788 tended to be cherry-picked and presented out of context.

Many students’ introduction to communism, for example, was through
a narrow anti-US prism of the Vietnam War protest movement. Without
knowledge of colonialism, the Cold War, the domino theory or the 100
million people slain by Lenin, Stalin and Mao, many were at a loss
to assess whether Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara were heroes or villains.

At least NSW benefited from the wisdom and erudition of former premier
Bob Carr and retained compulsory history. Many other states, however,
opted for SOSE. But even many of those able to press on with History
were given such wide, thematic parametres for assignments that topics
such as Helen Reddy’s song I am Woman, the history of Melbourne fashion
boutiques or the history of a Hobart cinema were afforded equal weight
with the Industrial Revolution or the World Wars. Teachers tended to
devote weeks of classroom time to supervising students’ research.

In ushering in the national history curriculum, it is vital that
Kevin Rudd be at his most assertive. A stickler for rigour, the Prime
Minister was rightly appalled at the sloppy SOSE curriculum dished
up to students in his home state in the 1990s. His Government and
professor Barry McGaw, overseeing the project, need to ensure students
are well grounded in major historical issues such as Australia’s
indigenous background, the coming of white settlement, explorers
and others opening up and developing the nation, Federation and the
Constitution, social and economic history, and the major events of
the 20th century. To understand the wider world and Australia’s place
in it, students should receive a good international overview of the
20th century, including the World Wars, the Holocaust, communism and
the Cold War.

Probing deeper, senior students should be encouraged to piece together
a larger, more complex historical jigsaw. They could investigate,
for instance, why Mao Zedong regarded the Taiping rebels, who killed
more than 20 million fellow citizens in the mid-19th century, as
revolutionary heroes. And far from finding Vladimir Lenin "Christ-like
in his compassion", as historian Manning Clark claimed in his 1960
work Meeting Soviet Man, advanced students would find he was inspired
by Robespierre and the bloodthirsty Jacobins’ slaughter of 40,000 of
their fellow citizens. A knowledge of French Revolutionary thinking
could also be useful in analysing Cambodia’s Pol Pot and Zimbabwe’s
Robert Mugabe. Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote a major history of the
French Revolution, understood why the past illuminates the present:
"History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals
and many copies."

13.5 BLN DRAMS TO BE PUMPED INTO ARMENIA’S STATE BUDGET

ARKA
July 10
YEREVAN

Armenia’s Government has made a decision to bolster the state budget
by 13.5bln drams ($44.4mln). RA Minister of Finance Tigran Davtyan
said the state budget had increased by 13.5bln drams by June 1 thanks
to tax proceeds.

"Budget expenditures will rise thanks to a 0.8bln ($2.6mln) drams
rise of tax proceeds from the RA State Tax Service and 12.7bln
drams ($41.8mln) growth of the RA Customs Committee’s receipts,"
the Minister said.

The RA Parliament enacted law on the RA state budget in November
2007. The budget revenue and expenditures total 746bln drams and
822bln drams respectively, with the deficit being 76bln drams.

The RA Government forecasts 4% (±1.5%) inflation and 10% GDP growth
this year. ($1 – 302.62 drams)

–Boundary_(ID_Lg4nc1oSudCTcLrMvGN8LQ)–

July 11, 2008
Press Release
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

PRELATE TO PRESIDE OVER DIVINE LITURGY AT ST. GARABED CHURCH AND BLESS THE
FOUNDATION OF
THE NEW YOUTH CENTER

On Sunday, July 13th, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian,
Prelate, will preside over Divine Liturgy at St. Garabed Mother Church in
Hollywood. The Prelate will also deliver the sermon.
Following Divine Liturgy, the Prelate will conduct the blessing of
foundations of the new Armenian Youth Center to be built on the lot adjacent
to the church. The event has been organized by the Armenian Cultural
Foundation and Homenetmen Los Angeles Chapters.

NEW PUBLICATION OF THE DIVINE LITURGY

We are pleased to announce that a new and enhanced publication of
the Divine Liturgy was recently published. The book, which was prepared
with the collaborative efforts of the three Prelacies of North America and
Canada, is comprised of the Divine Liturgy in classical Armenian (krapar),
modern Western Armenian (ashkharapar), English transliteration, and English
translation, thus making it comprehensible to all our parishioners. In
addition, it includes an introduction to the Divine Liturgy, an appendix of
hymns, chants, and psalms, and a comprehensive glossary of terms.
The publication was made possible by the generous sponsorship of
Mrs. Rose Kasimian and Dr. Dennis Kasimian, in memory of their beloved
husband and father Kegham.

PRELATE WELCOMES REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE
LAS VEGAS PARISH

EVENING SERVICES ON THE FEAST OF ST. THADDEUS
AND ST. SANTOOKHT

On the afternoon of Saturday, July 5th, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Prelate, welcomed to the Prelacy representatives from the
Armenian Apostolic Church of Las Vegas. It was the first visit of the
delegation, which was headed by parish council Chairman Mr. Adroushan
Armenian, to the Prelacy.
During their meeting, in which Very Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian also
participated, Mr. Adroushan reported to the Prelate on the successes and
challenges of the parish as well as on their future activities. On behalf
of the Las Vegas community Mr. Armenian congratulated the Prelate on his
re-election and presented him with a memento. The Prelate presented the
guests with souvenirs, after which they had the opportunity to tour the
headquarters to get better acquainted with the various departments of the
Prelacy.
In the evening, the Prelate presided over services in observance of
the Feast of St. Thaddeus the Apostle and St. Santookht, the first martyr of
the Armenian nation, which took place at the "St. Dertad and St. Ashkhen"
Chapel and the adjacent "Dikran and Zarouhie Der Ghazarian" Hall. The
members of the Las Vegas parish participated in the services as did members
of the Armenian Church Youth Association.
At the conclusion of the service Very Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian
briefly presented to the faithful the lives of St. Thaddeus the Apostle and
St. Santookht.
A reception followed the service.

PRELATE MEETS WITH MEMBERS OF A.R.S.
REGIONAL EXECUTIVE

On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 8th, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Prelate, welcomed to the Prelacy members of the Armenian
Relief Society Regional Executive. The delegation, headed by Chairlady Mrs.
Sonia Peltekian, had come to congratulate the Prelate on his re-election.
Executive Council Chairman Dr. Garo Agopian also participated in the
meeting.
The Prelate and guests discussed the wide-ranging services offered
by A.R.S., as well as the upcoming regional convention, the opening of which
is scheduled to take place at the Prelacy "Dikran and Zarouhie Der
Ghazarian" Hall on Thursday, July 10th.
The Prelate highly commended the charitable works of A.R.S. within
the Diaspora and Armenia, especially the recent aid offered to the Armenians
of Iraq to which the Prelacy lent its support, and wished them success in
their future endeavors

WESTERN PRELACY HOSTS OPENING SESSION OF THE
A.R.S. 88TH REGIONAL CONVENTION

On Thursday, July 10th, the opening of the 88th regional convention
of the Armenian Relief Society Western Region took place at the Prelacy
"Dikran and Zarouhie Der Ghazarian" Hall, hosted by the Ladies Auxiliary.
During the official opening of the convention, remarks were offered
by organizing committee Chairlady Mrs. Nanig Kupelian, Regional Executive
Chairlady Mrs. Sonia Peltekian, Central Executive Chairlady Mrs. Hasmig
Derderian, A.R.F. Central Committee representative Mrs. John Kossakian,
Consul General of Armenia the Honorable Armen Liloyan, and Glendale Mayor
the Honorable John Drayman.
The Prelate then welcomed the members to the Prelacy and conveyed
his message.
On Saturday, July 12th, a special ceremony will take place at the
A.R.S. Regional Executive headquarters during which the names of new
sponsors will be added to the display at the center. The Prelate will
attend the ceremony and convey his blessings to the members and friends of
the A.R.S.

PRELATE WELCOMES CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER OF THE PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT ALICE PETROSSIAN
TO THE PRELACY

On the afternoon of Thursday, July 10th, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Prelate, welcomed to the Prelacy Chief Academic Officer of the
Pasadena Unified School District Mrs. Alice Petrossian.
The Prelate met with Mrs. Petrossian, who for 31 years has been
serving in Glendale public schools as a teacher and later as Assistant
Superintendent of Educational Services within the Glendale Unified School
District. Most recently, Mrs. Petrossian was appointed to the post of Chief
Academic Officer of the Pasadena School District and also serves as Deputy
Superintendent. She has also collaborated with the Prelacy through the
Committee for Armenian Students in Public Schools (CASPS), of which she is a
founding member.
The Prelate highly commended her service and dedication to our
students and wished her success in her new position.
Following their meeting, Mrs. Petrossian participated in the opening
session of the Armenian Relief Society 88th Regional Convention which took
place at the Prelacy "Dikran and Zarouhie Der Ghazarian" Hall.

PRELATE WELCOMES DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY
MICHAEL AMERIAN

On Thursday, July 3rd, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian,
Prelate, welcomed to the Prelacy Deputy Los Angeles City Attorney Michael
Amerian who is a candidate for the office of Los Angeles City Attorney. Mr.
Amerian was accompanied by Deputy City Attorney Apraham Atteukenian.
During their meeting Mr. American conveyed to the Prelate his plans
if elected to the post. The Prelate wished his success in his campaign and
in his public service.

COOPERATION – PLEDGE OF SHOUSHI’S REVIVAL

DeFacto Agency
July 9 2008
Armenia

Shoushi Revival Benevolent Fund has been working for two years. A
delegation of Republic of Armenia headed by RA PM Tigran Sargsian
visited the town of Shoushi within the frames of the visit to
Nagorno-Karabakh. The meeting with representatives of Shoushi Revival
Fund, which was held here, became some report on the Fund’s two-year
activity.

To begin with, the meeting was organized at the Information Center
for Art, Trade and Tourism, which had been repaired on the Fund’s
initiative.

Grigor Hovhannisian, the Fund Executive Director, presented the work
carried out for the last period. A number of principal directions were
proposed as perspective programs for the town’s restoration. Shoushi
is to be restored as all-Armenian cultural, educational, scientific
and tourist center, as a center, where measures of all-Armenian
significance can be held, and, finally, as Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s
second administrative center. Grigor Hovhannisian is sure there are
all conditions to carry out the work. Another part of the Fund’s
works is targeted at rendering assistance to Shoushi’s population.

According to Grigor Hovhannisian, initial point for the beginning
of perspective programs’ realization is elaboration of the town’s
general plan. There used to be a few general plans of Shoushi. The
last one was elaborated in 1998; however, in Grigor Hovhannisian’s
words, the variant cannot ensure the town’s perspective development.

A new project of Shoushi’s general plan was created last year on
the Fund’s initiative, with the participation of quite authoritative
specialists and structures, which was targeted not only at maintaining
Shoushi’s Armenian historical image, but also at ensuring the
town’s further development. "We are sure that Shoushi can become a
town-preserve", Shoushi Fund Executive Director stated.

For last years the Fund not only made programs, but also realized
some program parts. For example, Information Center for Art, Trade
and Tourism was founded in Shoushi; Yerevan Cinema was repaired and
equipped with modern facilities. By the Fund’s efforts typographical
craft, which has long traditions in Shoushi, has been revived after
interval that lasted for decades.

The Fund’s next program initiative will be repair of Shoushi Kanach
drug store. Besides the restoration of this historical monument,
a work on improvement of the museum’s territory adjoining it and
repair of Tatevos’s spring will be carried out as well.

The Fund also realized a number of social, educational and medicinal
programs. Steps on activating small and medium business were undertaken
in cooperation with American University of America. Taking into
consideration the course of the town’s development, serious attention
was paid to training specialists in the sphere of services. It is
planned to start works on improvement of Shoushi’s water-supply system
within the next few months.

Grigor Hovhannisian is sure that the above-mentioned and other programs
will efficiently start in case of the Fund’s more active cooperation
with NKR state structures.

NKR PM Ara Harutyunian assured the meeting’s participants that the
problems Shoushi faced were in the center of the state’s attention.

According to the NKR government’s head, the fact that Shoushi’s
general plan worked out by the Fund has not been approved yet is
a normal phenomena, since NKR government’s appropriate structures
had not participated in the works on general plan’s elaboration. In
other words, not all priority concepts of the government concerning
the perspective of the town’s development have been reflected in
the general plan. "We vaguely picture what the Fund realizes", in
his turn, stated the NKR Minister of Urban development and expressed
bewilderment, "it should be taken into consideration that Shoushi’s
restoration is a state program".

Yervand Zakharian, Yerevan Mayor, the Chairman of Shoushi Revival
Fund Board of Trustees, also stated that Shoushi’s restoration was a
state program, and if some programs planned by the Fund are dragged
out the reason is unsatisfactory level of cooperation between the
Fund and NKR government.

In any case, both parties voiced confidence that the gap would be
stopped in the near future.

Eurasia Daily Monitor

July 9, 2008 — Volume 5, Issue 130

GUAM SHOWS ITS RESILIENCE AT BATUMI SUMMIT

by Vladimir Socor

The GUAM Summit just held in Batumi (see EDM, July 7) demonstrated
that Georgia and Azerbaijan compose GUAM’s solid core; that Ukraine’s
governing political forces are committed to GUAM while the evenly matched
opposition forces are uncommitted; that Moldova is on the verge of
abandoning the group; and that GUAM is capable of diversifying partnership
relations beyond the group’s own format.

GUAM may now be called `GUAm’ as a result of Moldova’s
all-but-declared defection. Moldova was a co-founder of the group in 1997,
hosted the `GUAM revival’ summit in 2005, and contributed actively to GUAM’s
institutionalization during the Moldovan chairmanship period (see EDM, April
20, 21, and 25-28, 2005). Later on, however, Chisinau distanced itself
demonstratively from GUAM, hoping through this and other gestures to earn
Moscow’s goodwill for a solution to the Transnistria conflict. President
Vladimir Voronin stayed away from the 2007 and 2008 GUAM summits. He only
sent his minister of internal affairs to the Batumi event, a mismatch that
looked like a snub to the five heads of state (Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine,
Poland, and Lithuania) who attended this summit. The minister, Valentin
Mejinschi, deviated even further by choosing to deliver his perfunctory
speech in Russian.

Moldova alone has not ratified the GUAM Charter, a failure that
jeopardizes GUAM’s quest for international recognition as a full-fledged
regional organization. The Moldovan parliament with its strong
pro-presidential majority could easily have ratified the GUAM Charter, if
told to do so. Chisinau is not delegating its representatives to the
Kyiv-based GUAM Secretariat, has a poor record of attendance at GUAM
sectoral commissions’ meetings, and is not paying its GUAM membership dues.

Voronin attacked GUAM in Russian press interviews ahead of the Batumi
summit and during the event. He found fault, indignantly and irrelevantly,
with the Odessa-Brody-Plock-Gdansk oil pipeline project for bypassing
Moldova. He claimed credit for vetoing the planned GUAM peacekeeping unit
(notwithstanding that it was only proposed for international missions
outside GUAM states’ territories). Voronin felt obligated to describe GUAM
membership as `pointless’ and the group itself as `economically unproductive
and therefore lacking gravitational pull.’ By contrast he feigned praise for
the CIS as a `highly effective project, confirmed by life itself, with an
economic dimension based on Russia’s energy resources.’ Catering to Moscow’s
adversarial view of GUAM, Voronin reassured Russia that `Moldova will not be
used as [part of a] counterbalance to someone else’ (Kommersant, March 11,
July 2).

Those arguments are reminiscent of Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s
justifications for abandoning what was then GUUAM. Uzbekistan had joined the
group in 1999, only to withdraw de facto by 2003 and officially in 2005, on
the grounds that the group was overly political, underperforming
economically, and irritating Russia. By analogy, Moldova’s arguments gave
rise to speculation during the Batumi summit that Moldova was about to
withdraw from GUAM (Rezonansi, July 4). Moldovan authorities, however, do
not intend to abandon GUAM officially. But they will keep their distance
from GUAM for as long as they crave Russian cooperation on Transnistria, and
until those hopes turn (as seems likely) into disappointment.

The Ukrainian Parliament, unlike Moldova’s, had wrestled for years
with the issue of ratifying the GUAM Charter. Signed by the four presidents
at GUAM’s Yalta summit in 2001, the Charter was revised at the Chisinau
summit in 2005, signed in its updated form by the four presidents at the
Kyiv summit in 2006, and easily ratified by the Georgian and Azerbaijani
parliaments. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada finally ratified the Charter in March
2008 by the narrowest admissible margin (226 votes in favor), with the
opposition parties declining to vote or voting against (Interfax-Ukraine,
March 7). Meanwhile, the GUAM Secretariat’s small headquarters in Kyiv, a
Ukrainian responsibility, is still undergoing repairs ever since the 2006
Kyiv summit (see EDM, May 25, 2006).

Ukraine is the main supporter of creating a GUAM peacekeeping unit.
Kyiv regards this proposal as an opportunity to demonstrate Ukraine’s
capacity for regional leadership. The proposal was discussed in some detail
at the GUAM summits in Kyiv 2006 and Baku 2007 (see EDM, June 20, 2007). In
the run-up to the Batumi summit, Ukrainian Defense Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov
discussed the idea yet again with receptive Georgian leaders in Tbilisi.
They agreed to keep alive the consultations about composition and possible
international missions of such a unit (Interfax-Ukraine, June 5). The Batumi
summit documents do not mention this idea, although it was again discussed
there (Civil Georgia, The Messenger, July 2).

Russia took the floor in Batumi for the first time at a GUAM summit.
It did so by proxy through CIS First Deputy Executive Secretary Vladimir
Garkun, a Belarus diplomat. In the briefest of all speeches, he repeatedly
declared, `We all [ex-Soviet countries] have a lot in common,’ a tentative
overture though blurring the difference. GUAM remains the only interstate
organization in formerly Soviet territory that excludes Russia from
membership.

–Vladimir Socor

IRANIAN CHURCHES ADDED TO UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST

Tehran Times
July 9 2008
Iran

TEHRAN – The Iranian churches St. Thaddeus, St. Stephanus, and Dzordzor
(Zorzor) in East Azerbaijan Province and West Azerbaijan Province
were registered on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The decision was made during the World Heritage Committee session in
Quebec, Canada on July 6.

The UNESCO website described the monuments as "examples of outstanding
universal value of the Armenian architectural and decorative
traditions" and adding, "They bear testimony to very important
interchanges with the other regional cultures, in particular the
Byzantine, Orthodox and Persian."

The committee also asked Iran to give an inclusive report on the
modifications to be carried out on the Jahan-Nama Tower by February
2009, Iranian representative in the session Mehdi Musavi told the
Persian service of CHN on Monday.

The tower spoils the horizontal view of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square,
another Iranian complex in Isfahan, which was inscribed on the World
Heritage List in 1979.

In addition, the committee decided Iran’s Bam Cultural Landscape will
remain on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger until 2010. Bam, a
historical city located in Kerman Province in southern Iran, was almost
totally destroyed by a devastating earthquake on December 26, 2003.

—St. Thaddeus Church—

The St. Thaddeus Church, also known as the Black Church (Qara Kelissa),
is probably Iran’s most interesting and notable Christian monument,
located near the Chalderan region in Maku, West Azerbaijan.

Christians from all over the world annually gather at the church on
July 1 for their annual commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Thaddeus.

One of the 12 disciples, St. Thaddeus, also known as St. Jude, (not
to be confused with Judas Iscariot), was martyred while spreading the
Gospel. He is revered as an apostle of the Armenian Church. As legend
has it, a church dedicated to him was first built on the present site
in 68 CE.

Nothing appears to remain of this original church, which was
extensively rebuilt in the 13th century, but some sections around the
altar may date to the 10th century. Most of the present structure
dates to the 17th century and is of carved sandstone. The oldest
sections are made of black and white stone.

The Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew traveled through Armenia in 45
CE to preach the word of God. Many people were converted and numerous
secret Christian communities were established there.

Around that time, Abgar died after ruling for 38 years and the Armenian
kingdom was split into two parts. His son Ananun crowned himself in
Edessa, while his nephew Sanatruk ruled in Greater Armenia. About 66
CE, Ananun gave the order to kill St. Thaddeus in Edessa. The king’s
daughter Sandokht, who had converted to Christianity, was martyred
with Thaddeus. Her tomb is located near the St. Thaddeus Church.

The church is surrounded by thick walls which form the outer ramparts
of some abandoned monastery buildings.

—St. Stephanus Church—

According to Hayk Ajimian, an Armenian scholar and historian, the
church was originally built in the ninth century CE, but repeated
earthquakes in region severely damaged the original structure.

Located near Marand in East Azerbaijan, the church was renovated
during the reign of the Safavid king Shah Abbas (1588-1629).

The general structure of the St. Stephanus Church, which also known
as St. Stepanos, mostly resembles Armenian and Georgian architecture
and the inside of the building is adorned with beautiful paintings
by Honatanian, a renowned Armenian artist.

The Armenian Orthodox primate of the diocese of Tehran, Archbishop
Sebuh Sarkisian, said on Thursday that some of the remains recently
discovered in Iran’s St. Stephanus Church may be the bones of John
the Baptist.

In July 2005, Shahriar Adl, the director of the team documenting
three Iranian churches for registration on UNESCO’s World Heritage
List, said that they had discovered a box at the St. Stephanus Church
containing the bones of one of the successors of the Apostles of Jesus.

The Armenian Orthodox primate of the diocese of Tehran, Archbishop
Sebuh Sarkisian, approved the report in his August 2005 interview,
adding, "About the box, which contains the remains of the apostles’
bodies and was found under the altar of the St. Stephanus Church, it
is said that the box contains the body of John the Baptist. According
to Armenian historian Arakel Davrizhetsi (17th century), the box,
which was located under the main altar of the Church of the Holy
Trinity in old Jolfa and contained the sacred remains and a scroll,
was given to Shamun, the archbishop of St. Stephanus Church, after
the Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed."

"The remains may very likely have historic value. According to the
tradition of the church, we know that after St. Gregory the Illuminator
was consecrated as archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, in a friendly
gesture, he gave some remains of John the Baptist to Quintius, the
archbishop of the region, during his return trip to Armenia. The
remains were transferred to the John the Baptist Cathedral in the
city of Mush in Armenia.

"Now, the remains were somehow transferred to another place, as a
consequence of the wars and chaotic conditions prevailing in the land
over past centuries, in which believers and church fathers changed the
location of the box in order to safeguard it. A French traveler (Jean
Baptiste Tavernier, 1605-1689), who saw a box at the St. Stephanus
Church when he visited the place in the 17th century, had said that
the box contained the body of one of the Apostles," Sarkisian said.

Some historical sources, such as some photos kept at Tehran’s Golestan
Palace, and the photos taken by Ali Khan Vali, the governor of northern
Azerbaijan during the reign of the Qajar king Nasser ad-Din Shah and
kept in the Adl family archives, indicate that the bones of Saint
Stephanus (Saint Stephen), Saint Matthew, and the Prophet Daniel,
are being kept in the St. Stephanus Church.

—Dzordzor Church—

Located in the village of Barone in Zangar Valley of Chaldoran region
in the north of West Azerbaijan Province, the church was built in
1315 CE.

— Iranian sites on World Heritage List–

1. Chogha Zanbil, Khuzestan Province, 1979

2. Persepolis, Fars Province, 1979

3. Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan Province, 1979

4. Takht-e Soleiman, West Azerbaijan Province, 2003

5. Pasargadae, Fars Province, 2004

6. The city of Bam and its Cultural Landscape, Kerman Province, 2004

7. Soltanieh Dome, Zanjan Province, 2005

8. Bisotun, Kermanshah Province, 2006

9. Northwest Iran’s historic churches St. Thaddeus and St. Stephanus,
West Azerbaijan Province; and Dzordzor (Zorzor), East Azerbaijan
Province, 2008

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION DEMANDS FRESH ELECTION AT RALLY – TV

Armenian Public TV
July 4 2008

[Presenter speaking over video of the rally] The rally of supporters of
Levon Ter-Petrosyan started today with a 45-minute delay. Ter-Petrosyan
came to the tribune at 1930 [local time; 1430 gmt] accompanied by
the leader of the People’s Party of Armenia, Stepan Demirchyan,
and the leader of the Republic Party, Aram Sargsyan.

Seven speeches and four statements were planned. Suren Surenyants
[a top member of the opposition Republic Party], who was leading the
rally, said that the Russian union of their [probably of the opposition
Popular Movement] movement has joined them, which like other speakers
at the rally has demanded the conduct of an extraordinary election.

The publicist Tigran Paskevichyan, and the member of the Heritage
Party, Zoya Tadevosyan, have made speeches. They have criticized
the latest resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe [which said that the Armenian government has made certain
progress in carrying out the recommended democratic reforms]. The
deputy chairperson of the People’s Party of Armenia, Grigor
Harutyunyan, and Ter-Petrosyan’s former spokesman, Levon Zurabyan,
have made speeches as well. The speakers said that a few supporters
of Ter-Petrosyan, as a sign of protest, are going to start a sit-in
protest action until the next rally. The rally is not over at the
moment; Levon Ter-Petrosyan is making a speech now. We will broadcast
the full information on the rally in our night bulletin.

RA FM: NEGOTIATIONS ON NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT GOING ON BASED ON THREE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES REFLECTED IN HELSINKI FINAL ACT

ArmInfo
2008-07-07 09:44:00

The negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement are going on
based on three fundamental principles reflected in Helsinki Final
Act, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said at yesterday’s
press-conference responding to ArmInfo’s question saying that the
principle of territorial integrity is lately manipulated. He also
said that the position of the world community, of the cochairmen,
in particular, apparently manifested during the voting on UN GA
Resolution initiated by Azerbaijan. ‘The reason is in one-sidedness
of the Resolution which says only about the territorial integrity’,
the minister recalled and added that the negotiations on Nagorno
Karabakh conflict are going on today on the basis of the principles of
OSCE Helsinki Final Act – Article 2 which indicates non-use of force,
Article 4 which indicates the territorial integrity and Article 8,
indicating the people’s right for self-determination.