Author: Boshkezenian Garik

PLAYING POLITICS WITH GENOCIDE

By RALPH PETERS

October 14, 2007 — In the midst of the First World War, the Young
Turks who had taken over the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against
their Armenian subjects. At least a million Armenians were murdered –
with nauseating cruelty – or died of abuse, heat, hunger and thirst.

The only reason any survived was that the Turks lacked the
administrative skills and technologies to kill everyone. Not every
captive fit into the burning churches. On the death marches across
Anatolia into the Syrian desert, guards ran out of bullets. And even
sadists grew weary of bayoneting children and clubbing old men to
death.

Women were raped by the tens of thousands. Many were raped repeatedly.
Then they were killed. Or enslaved. Or left to die of exposure by the
roadside.

Ancient communities were annihilated. A magnificent culture – the
remnants of the world’s first Christian kingdom – drowned in blood.

Only Turks question this history. The eyewitness accounts are
extensive – not only from Armenian survivors, but from American and
German consuls and missionaries. The documentation is readily
available (texts crowd one of my bookshelves).

Hitler cited the Armenian Genocide as an inspiration for the Holocaust
– the lesson he drew was that the Turks got away with it. The world
never intervened. Apologists for the Allies blamed the war. The truth
is that the eyewitnesses went ignored: Armenian lives had less value
then than do those of Darfur refugees today.

Last Wednesday, the Democrat-controlled House Foreign Affairs
Committee passed a resolution formally declaring the Armenian tragedy
what it was: genocide. Speaker Nancy Pelosi intends to bring the
resolution to a vote on the floor, after which it would go to the
Senate.

We need to stop it. It’s a travesty and a betrayal. Of
Armenian-Americans. And of our troops.

Make no mistake: I’m on the Armenian side in the court of history.
When the same resolution came up in years past, I supported it. The
Armenian survivors – their descendents, at this point – deserve
justice.

And I have no sympathy with the Turks. The Turks are jerks. After the
United States supported them unswervingly for more than a
half-century, they stiffed us the single time we needed help – when we
asked to move an Army division through Turkey on the eve of Operation
Iraqi Freedom.

And the Ankara government has led an internal campaign of
anti-Americanism far more lurid and vicious than the old Soviet bloc’s
anti-Western propaganda. It’s not just Turkey’s Islamists, but its
secular nationalists, too. The anti-American hatred spewing from the
Turkish media is uglier than Barbra Streisand at four in the morning.

The Turks tormented their Kurdish minority for decades – and express
outrage when Kurds respond. Now they’re threatening to invade northern
Iraq, while whining that honor-killings, pervasive corruption and
anti-Western venom shouldn’t deny them membership in the EU.

Despite all that, we’ve got to kill this resolution. It’s not the
wording – but the timing.

Legislation similar to this has come up repeatedly in Congress, yet
it’s always been defeated – in 2000, because of pressure from the
Clinton administration. But if the resolution passes the House and
Senate now, the Turks plan to evict us from Incirlik airbase in
southeastern Turkey, to halt our military over-flight privileges and
to shut down the supply routes into northern Iraq.

That’s what the Democrats are aiming at. This resolution isn’t about
justice for the Armenians. Not this time. It’s a stunningly devious
attempt to impede our war effort in Iraq and force premature troop
withdrawals.

The Dems calculate that, without those flights and convoys, we won’t
be able to keep our troops adequately supplied. Key intelligence and
strike missions would disappear.

The Pentagon might be able to improvise other options. But the loss of
the base and those routes would definitely hurt our troops. Severely.
And we’d be more reliant than ever on a single, vulnerable lifeline
running from Kuwait.

It’s a brilliant ploy – the Dems get to stab our troops in the back,
but lay the blame off on the Turks. They pretend they’re responding to
their Armenian-American constituents – while actually moving to
placate MoveOn.org.

For the Democrats in Congress, it looks like a cost-free strategy. For
our troops? When did the Dems give a damn about our troops? This
resolution isn’t a stand in favor of historical justice. It’s an
end-run that ducks behind the bench. It’s one of the most cynical
betrayals in our legislative history – of our troops, of
Armenian-Americans, of the Kurds under threat from the Turkish
military and of the people of Iraq.

We can’t let Pelosi & Co. get away with this one. We need to call the
Dems on it and make it clear that we, the people, know what they’re
trying to do.

Every human being with a drop of Armenian blood deserves justice. This
isn’t it.

"Ralph Peters’ latest book is "Wars of Blood and Faith."

Source: pedcolumnists/playing_politics_with_genocide.htm

Africasia, UK
Oct 14 2007

Democrats press on with genocide bill despite Turkish fury

Top US Democrats Sunday brushed off Turkish fury and vowed to press
ahead with an Armenian "genocide" bill, insisting that bloodshed
today demanded a righting of past wrongs.

But Republicans accused the party in control of Congress of waging an
"irresponsible" campaign of dubious historical validity that would
hurt US troops in Iraq.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said possible reprisals
affecting Turkey’s cooperation with the US military were
"hypothetical" and would not derail the resolution.

"I said if it passed the committee that we would bring it to the
floor," she said on ABC television after the House foreign affairs
committee last week branded the Ottoman Empire’s World War I massacre
of Armenians a genocide.

"Genocide still exists, and we saw it in Rwanda; we see it now in
Darfur," Pelosi said.

"Some of the things that are harmful to our troops relate to values
— Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, torture. All of those issues (are) about
who we are as a country," she added.

According to Armenians, at least 1.5 million Armenians were killed
from 1915 to 1917 under an Ottoman Empire campaign of deportation and
murder. Turkey bitterly disputes the number of dead and the
characterization of "genocide."

The bill is likely to come up in the full House in November. Although
the resolution is only symbolic, Turkey recalled its ambassador to
Washington last week and has called off visits to the United States
by at least two of its officials.

The angry reaction has fueled fears within the US administration that
it could lose access to a military base in NATO ally Turkey that
provides a crucial staging ground for US supplies headed to Iraq and
Afghanistan.

Two top US officials, one each from the state and defense
departments, are now in Turkey to try to cool the diplomatic row.

"We are certainly working to try to minimize any concrete steps the
government might take (such as) restricting the movement of our
troops," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday in
Moscow.

Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates lobbied hard against the
genocide resolution, and the administration says it will keep up its
effort to forestall a vote in the full House of Representatives.

US-Turkish military ties "will never be the same again" if the House
confirms the committee vote, Turkey’s military chief General Yasar
Buyukanit told the daily Milliyet on Sunday.

House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer said that he had repeatedly
raised the Armenia killings with Turkish political and military
leaders during his 26 years in Congress.

"Never once in that quarter of a century has anybody on the Turkish
government said this is the right time. In other words, there would
never be a right time," he said on Fox News Sunday.

"If we forget what has happened… then we are at risk of letting it
happen again."

House Republican leader John Boehner said there was no doubt that the
Armenian people’s suffering in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire
was "extreme."

"But what happened 90 years ago ought to be a subject for historians
to sort out, not politicians here in Washington," he said.

"And I think bringing this bill to the floor may be the most
irresponsible thing I’ve seen this new Congress do this year,"
Boehner said, calling Turkey "a very important ally in our war
against the terrorists."

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said there was "no question"
that Armenians had been slaughtered en masse.

"But I don’t think the Congress passing this resolution is a good
idea at any point. But particularly not a good idea when Turkey is
cooperating with us in many ways, which ensures greater safety for
our soldiers," he said.

item.php?area=mideast&item=071014153848.wvsrv7 ph.php

PanARMENIAN.Net

U.S. House of Representatives to vote on H.Res.106 till yearend
12.10.2007 16:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA) said she will not back down to Turkish and White House
pressure and intends to bring the Armenian Genocide resolution (H.
Res. 106) to the floor for a vote by the full House, the Armenian
Assembly of America reported.

The announcement from Pelosi came one day after the resolution was
approved by a bi-partisan majority of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee.

"We applaud Speaker Pelosi for standing firm on her commitment to
history and truth," said Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan
Ardouny. "The opponents of this common-sense resolution – including
the White House and the Turkish government and its army of lobbyists –
have thrown every excuse at the resolution trying to create a
political tsunami to prevent a vote. The entire Armenian-American
community stands united with Speaker Pelosi and commends her for
standing firm in the face of this alarmist drumbeat and outright
blackmail by Turkey and its deniers. We know we have the support to
pass it into law and I look forward to the full House going on record
on this critical issue that has been neglected for far too long."

Regarding Turkey’s recall of their ambassador to the U.S. in response
to the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s vote affirming the Armenian
Genocide, Ardouny said, "The House demonstrated yesterday that they
won’t allow the war in Iraq to be used as leverage against
them. Members of Congress stood up against those pressure tactics by
affirming the Armenian Genocide and we’re encouraged by the fact that
Speaker Pelosi went on the record today in defense of the truth."

Lragir, Armenia
Oct 12 2007

ARMENIA AND TURKEY. WORTHY NEIGHBORS

If it goes on like this, October 10 will be marked in red on the
calendar and will be celebrated as a day of victory of the nation.
The joy and triumphant pathos with which official and unofficial
Armenia and the Armenians worldwide mark the affirmation of
Resolution 106 by the U.S. House Committee of Foreign Relations
compares to the joy and pathos that followed the liberation of
Shushi, as well as the victory in the war. If in that case joy and
pathos were quite natural, in the case of the resolution it is not
quite so.

What has happened? The U.S. House Committee affirmed a resolution for
discussion and voting by the U.S. House. This time there is
likelihood of success because the majority and the speaker are
Democrats and will not prevent the issue from the floor of the house,
like the Republican Speaker Hastert did last time. That is all. In
other words, something happened that had happened before, and what
could be a precedent has not happened yet. In other words, the issue
has not been included on the agenda of the House, and this is not the
first time the Committee of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the Armenian
Genocide.

The present joy of the Armenians reminds of the guy who hails success
before swimming across the river. What is the problem? If the
Armenian lobby hails the affirmation of the resolution by the House
Committee as a major victory, it is quite natural. For this fact
makes think that lobbying is effective, and the immense sums are not
wasted. Therefore, the lobby is supposed to exaggerate the most
insignificant result and create an illusion of a great victory.

It is also clear, however, why official Yerevan is in high spirits.
The point is that over the past few years the foreign policies of
Armenia are so poor that no reason for inspiration and joy is
outlining, except for one country or another which recognizes the
Armenian Genocide. Projects and organizations of world importance are
created around us, and we, aloof of it, are happy with every document
on the genocide that is adopted. It is certainly good that the world
is eventually coming closer to the recognition of the genocide.
However, is it the same to us what the reason is? Is it the same why
suddenly the European and Russian media enthusiastically report the
resolution adopted by the U.S. House Committee, the possible waves of
the U.S. and Turkish relations?

In fact, this fuss is an excellent opportunity for propagating the
skillful foreign policy of Armenia which has turned the Armenian
issue into a factor of international politics and the media of the
world powers are focusing on the problem of Armenians. In reality,
all this is but a propaganda device and is no reference to the
reality. Meanwhile, the reality is that the Armenian issue has become
part of the geopolitical process from which we do not benefit but the
country benefits which manipulates the issue directly or indirectly.
For instance, when Russia reports that the U.S. and Turkish relations
are getting worse due to the Armenian resolution, the aim is not to
raise awareness of the Armenian resolution in the world but the
expectation that it will push Turkey to warm relations with Russia.
After all, Russia has recognized the Genocide many years ago, and it
is already past. The same is with Europe which has also recognized
it, and hopes that after breaking relations with the United States
Turkey will face Europe, and this country will become more obedient
for Europe.

What is Armenia’s benefit that the propaganda machine is so
hilarious? Perhaps Armenia hopes that this process will push Turkey
to soften its stance regarding relations with our country. No
softening is noticed yet. Moreover, it feels to have become tougher.
The ongoing process allows asserting that Turkey’s stance will not
become softer since Turkey is powerful enough and has a quite
deciding importance in the region, and no country, even if it really
aims at conciliation of Armenia and Turkey, will not be able to reach
the critical point of pressure to leave no other way for Turkey but
friendship with Armenia.

Certainly, the question occurs why Turkey is so nervous and sensitive
about this process. Because it is our worthy neighbor. Turks feel
nervous just like we feel joyful about a process which has nothing to
do with us. We are worthy neighbors and opponents, and instead of
discussing our problems together we are discussing them through the
world.

JAMES HAKOBYAN

TWO JOURNOS CONVICTED OF ‘INSULTING TURKISHNESS’

The Gate – National Journal, DC
Oct 12 2007

A Turkish court has convicted two journalists for publishing
content that mentions the Armenian genocide, following a vote by
a U.S. congressional panel officially declaring the Ottoman Empire
massacres to be genocide.

Arat Dink and Serkis Seropyan, editors at a Turkish-Armenian weekly,
were given one-year suspended sentences under a law that makes it a
crime to "insult" Turkish culture. The government of Turkey officially
denies that the early 20th-century genocide took place, despite the
widespread consensus of historians.

Dink is the son of slain Turkish-Armenian writer Hrant Dink , who
himself was convicted for writing about the genocide. He was gunned
down in January of this year by a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist.

Newspapers published photographs of Turkish police officers proudly
posing with the assassin. The resulting outrage led to the officers’
dismissal, according to Turkey’s official news agency.

Turks woke up today to angry headlines about yesterday’s 27-21 House
Foreign Relations Committee vote, one of which read, "27 Stupid
Americans." Protesters took to the streets, and Ankara recalled its
ambassador in Washington to discuss the situation, AP reported. The
Turkish government warned it would act in response to the vote,
but as of now insists the ambassador has not been withdrawn. The
resolution condemning the Armenian genocide is strongly opposed by
the White House.

ARMENIAN CHURCH LEADER TO VISIT SOUTH FLORIDA
By Jennifer Lebovich

Miami Herald, FL
Oct 12 2007

Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians, begins his tour of
South Florida next week

Vartan Joulfayan is pastor of St. Mary Armenian Church in Cooper City,
where His Holiness Karekin II will lead the Blessing of Khachkars.

Arbo Zakaryan’s sons will take the day off Monday — one missing
school, the other work — for the chance to be blessed by their
religious leader.

His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, will lead services at two South Florida churches next week
as part of a month’s trip to America.

"It will probably be once in a lifetime," said Zakaryan, who is on
the parish council at St. Mary Armenian Church, 405O NW 100th Ave. in
Cooper City. "I’ll be able to kiss his hand. That’s a great honor
for me. I hear he is a very friendly person."

About 15,000 Armenians have settled in South Florida, and many are
eager to meet Karekin II during his 18-city visit across the United
States.

"His holiness wants to know his Armenian sons and daughters in
America and let them better know him," said Michael O’Hurley-Pitts,
communications director for the visit.

Karekin II, the leader of seven million Armenian Christians, didn’t
just want to stop in cities with large concentrations of Armenians,
like Chicago, but also in South Florida to meet with as many of his
flock as possible.

On Tuesday, he will be at St. Mary Armenian Church, for the Blessing
of Khachkars — stone crosses on the altar. The nine crosses were
brought from Armenia earlier in the year, and church officials thought
it would be fitting to have them blessed by the holy leader.

PIZZA WITH PONTIFF

First he will visit St. David Armenian Church in Boca Raton, meeting
with the church’s youth over a pizza supper Monday before leading
a service.

"He loves listening to the youth’s concerns, their voices," said
Vartan Joulfayan, the pastor at St. Mary Armenian Church. "Pizza with
the pontiff, you don’t hear that very often."

The Armenian liturgy is similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church.

Armenia converted to Christianity in 301 A.D., O’Hurley-Pitts said.

As Karekin II has led churches in prayer, he has stressed the
importance of making the religious experience more than just going
to church on Sunday.

"One of the things he talks about quite often is understanding
responsibility with Christian values," O’Hurley-Pitts said. "It has
to be more than an experience of Sunday morning. We have to bring it
home and make it part of our family lives."

The number of churches in Armenia has grown from 13 at the end of the
Soviet Era to 250 today. Karekin II was elected to head the church
in 1999 and made his first official visit to the U.S. in 2001.

He leads Habitat for Humanity projects and urges young people to
donate their time.

His calls for charity hit home with Rosemary Mencia, of Fort
Lauderdale, who met him two years ago during a trip to Armenia.

Along with her husband, Andy, she has donated medical equipment for
a hospital Karekin II is rebuilding.

"He is very humble and compassionate, and his coming here to America
is really to bring home the faith to the people," said Mencia, who
is on the parish council of St. David Armenian Church. The church
has been preparing for the visit for months.

Pastor Joulfayan is always concerned with helping people reconnect
with the church and strengthening the faith members.

"His visit will greatly help with bringing people back to the church
and giving the faith back to them . . . so they may be renewed,"
said Joulfayan, who had the chance to meet with Karekin II in New
York earlier in his trip. "His visit and his personal touch will
greatly help the revitalization of the church."

PRAYER AT CAPITOL

As part of this trip, he delivered the morning prayer in the U.S.

House of Representatives on Wednesday — the same day the House Foreign
Affairs Committee approved a measure that would recognize the World
War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as a genocide.

The move has been staunchly opposed by Turkey, and President Bush spoke
against it, saying it would harm relations between the U.S. and Turkey.

Beginning in 1915, as many as 1.5 million Armenians were reportedly
killed by the Ottoman Turks.

Turkey has denied that the killings were genocide and said the death
toll has been inflated. But Karekin II’s spokesman said the U.S.

visit has been in the planning stages for two years and is of a
spiritual, not political nature.

After the killings, Armenians fled their native land, with many coming
to the United States, which is home to about a million Americans of
Armenian descent.

Seta Baldadian left Lebanon for Florida in 1977, finding her friends
through the Armenian Church.

CENTER OF LIFE

"The church is the center of Armenian life," said Baldadian, the
regional chairwoman for the pontiff’s visit to South Florida. "This
is where we worship, where our youth gather. Everyone from all over
the world will first look for the Armenian Church."

Baldadian has been carefully planning Karekin II’s visit since January,
with daily meetings the past few weeks leading up to his arrival. He
will land in Boca, where a young girl will greet him flowers, and a
boy will have bread and salt to receive his blessing.

"He brings faith to our homes, blesses us, leads us, sees our needs and
our concerns," said Baldadian, of Boca Raton. "It’s a very uplifting
and very blessed occasion."

roward/story/268800.html

ARMENIA ‘GENOCIDE’ VOTE IS SNUB TO BUSH
By Daniel Dombey in Washington

Financial Times, UK
Oct 11 2007

US legislators on Wednesday defied the Bush administration and angered
the Turkish government when they voted to describe the mass killings
of Armenians more than eight decades ago as genocide.

The 27-21 decision by the House of Representatives foreign affairs
committee, which paves the way for a vote in the full House in coming
weeks, came in spite of a warning from George W. Bush, president,
and his top officials that co-operation with Turkey and the fate of
US troops in Iraq could be at stake.

It also comes as the US seeks to convince Turkey not to carry out a
large-scale military incursion into northern Iraq to crack down on
Kurdish militants.

Proponents of the measure, which has vigorous support from the
Armenian-American population, argue that its call for Mr Bush to
"accurately characterise the systematic and deliberate annihilation
of 1.5m Armenians as genocide" is essential to putting the historical
record straight.

"The sad truth is that the modern government of Turkey refuses to
come to terms with this genocide," said Representative Christopher
Smith of New Jersey, at an emotionally charged session attended by
four survivors of the mass killings that began in 1915.

"Let us do this and be done with it," said Representative Brad Sherman
of California. "We will get a few angry words out of Ankara for a
few days, and then it’s over."

But only hours before the committee voted Mr Bush warned that passage
of the resolution "would do great harm to our relations with a key
ally in Nato and in the global war on terror".

According to US commanders in Iraq, including Gen David Petraeus,
Robert Gates, defence secretary, said: "Access to airfields and to
the roads and so on in Turkey would be very much put at risk if this
resolution passes and the Turks react as strongly as we believe they
will." He added that about 70 per cent of US air cargo going into
Iraq went through Turkey.

US officials say passage of the resolution by the full House will make
Washington’s bid to convince Turkey not to launch a military incursion
into Iraq much harder. Public outrage against the Kurdish separatist
PKK has flared in the wake of an attack in which 13 soldiers were
killed on Sunday.

Washington’s push for Turkey take a more collaborative approach on
combating PKK has also been complicated by the resignation of Joseph
Ralston, the retired US general who had been seeking to increase
Washington-Ankara co-operation against the militant group.

"For his own reasons he decided that he was going to be moving on,"
said Sean McCormack, state department spokesman, this week. "Any
continuing presence of the PKK or the continuing activities of the
PKK is not because what he did or did not do." He added that he was
not yet aware of a possible replacement for Gen Ralston.

Pontifical Visit Media Advisory

His Holiness Karekin II
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians

Pontifical Visit of the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)

630 Second Avenue New York, New York 10016

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate

Pontifical Visit
Media Relations Office

Michael O’Hurley-Pitts, Ph.D.
Director
Telephone: 212.686.0710 ext. 154
[email protected]
Facsimile: 212.689.1934
Cellular: 212.533.0335

Sylvie Keshishian
Public Relations Director
Telephone: 212.686.0710 ext. 160
[email protected]
Facsimile: 212.689.1934

PRESS RELEASE

11 October 2007

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians

Leads Ecumenical & Interfaith Delegation Delivering Remarks on Steps of
Jefferson Memorial

Washington D.C. – On Thursday, October 11th, 2007, the day after delivering
the opening prayer in the United States House of Representatives, His
Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,
delivered a message on the importance of religious freedom on the steps of
the Jefferson Memorial. The Catholicos was joined in his remarks by other
ecumenical and interfaith leaders, including (in order of the deliverance of
their remarks), His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern); Maureen Shea, Director
of Government Relations for the Episcopal Church; Dr. Weldon Geddy of the
Interfaith Alliance, Rabbi Arthur Schnier of the Appeal of Conscience
Foundation; Dr. Rajwant Singh of the Sikh Council on Religious Education,
Dr. Dayyid M. Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America, Bishop Martin
Holley of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington; Rabbi David
Saperstien of the Religious Action Center; and, Father Leonid Kishkovsky of
the Orthodox Church of America.

Prior to delivering their remarks, the group of religious leaders toured the
Jefferson Memorial, each reflecting on the writings of Jefferson eblazoned
on the walls of the Memorial and sharing their thoughts with His Holiness
the Catholicos of All Armenians. Descending the grand, marble stairs of the
Jefferson Memorial, the event was commenced with a prayer by His Eminence
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian who welcomed each member of the distinguished
delegation and petitioned for cooperation, tolerance, love and understanding
between all peoples and nations.

The following is the message delivered by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians:

"It is our pleasure to be here today in Washington , standing before this
monument which honors Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States
, founding father, author of the Declaration of Independence and architect
of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.

We are happy to be joined today by our ecumenical and interfaith brothers,
representing different Christian Churches and various faiths, and extend to
you all our greetings and best wishes from the center of our faith – the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

During our pontifical visit to the Armenian Church Diocese of the United
States, we wished to visit the capital city of this blessed land, to meet
and pray with members of our community, and to express our appreciation to
the caring American people and authorities, because it was the "land of the
free and the home of the brave" that opened its hospitable doors and
embraced our sons and daughters fleeing the first genocide of the 20th
century, perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire on the Armenian population living
on the territory of their historical homeland.

America gave the children of our nation shelter, refuge, opportunity and
freedom to re-find its Christ-bestowed strength, stand upright once again,
create and contribute greatly to the building of the civic, social,
economic, cultural and political life in their adopted new world.

We thank the United States for also giving to my people all opportunity and
freedom to openly practice their ancient Christian faith, to build churches
and schools, to create and make abundant their national and spiritual life,
and to avail themselves of all rights and liberties afforded to all
religious and ethnic minorities in America.

As the head of the Armenian Church and representative of my Armenian sons
and daughters, we are proud that our people have lived peacefully and
fruitfully in the midst of societies and countries whose predominant faith
was not our own. Where we have had that freedom, as we do in the United
States , we have flourished. When that freedom has been curtailed, stifled
and oppressed, we have suffered.

In our daily lives, we are graced by the Almighty to witness the fruits of
religious freedom. In the past few years alone, we have been blessed to
receive in Armenia and Holy Etchmiadzin the Chief Rabbi of Israel , the
Chief Mufti of Syria and members of the Buddhist and Hindu faiths. Last
month we had the pleasure to host the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury , as
well as the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches, and offer
our combined prayers to heaven, asking for peace and reconciliation for all
peoples. Perhaps the most memorable ecumenical events in the recent history
of our Church were the pilgrimages of Ecumenical Patriarch His All Holiness
Bartholomew I, Russian Orthodox Patriarch His Holiness Alexei II and Roman
Catholic Pope His Holiness John Paul II to Armenia in 2001, when our Church
and people were celebrating 1700 years of official Christianity in Armenia.

Today, in our small country of Armenia, where more than 95% of our citizens
are members of our Mother Church, more than 60 different religious
organizations are legally registered and operate free of any restriction to
practice their faith. We have sought to ensure the rights of all of these
religious organizations and respect their beliefs. In 1960, President John
Kennedy said, "Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs;
rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others." This is the
model which we hope all countries in our region of the world will adopt.

Praise and glory to God, that we have insured religious freedom in our
country without sacrificing the ancient Christian heritage and dignity of
our Holy Armenian Apostolic Church, for we must be conscious that in
granting religious freedom to all and to the new, we do not reduce the
rights of the one or the established. Religious freedom must not become the
great leveler of religious relativity, but must be a resounding affirmation
of the free pursuit of faith.

Lasting regional stability, elimination of conflict, poverty, crime and
tragedy can only be established when we learn to respect each other enough
to allow for the diversity of ideas and beliefs, and when faith is allowed
to flourish for the good of mankind and in service to the peaceful
co-existence of all nations.

Thomas Jefferson said, "I like the dreams of the future better than the
history of the past". Let us pray for a world filled with both dreams and
history: Dreams to see mankind prosperous, free and secure; combined with
the history of Christian morality and national values leading humanity to
greater and greater heights.

May the grace, love and peace of our Lord be with us and with all. Amen."

The text of the remarks delivered by each religious leader will be published
shortly on the website: <;
www.pontif icalvisit.org

Daily coverage of the Pontifical Visit can be found online on the official
Pontifical Visit Web Site (). The site provides a
wealth of information about His Holiness Karekin II, the Armenian Church,
and the Diaspora and includes daily photographic and video updates to allow
the faithful throughout the United States and the world to stay abreast of
events, activities and worship services.

For more information on the Pontifical Visit of His Holiness Karekin II,
including supplemental media advisories and background papers, please visit:
and

# # #

DO YOU WANT TO DISCREDIT OUR COUNTRY?

A1+
[02:19 pm] 11 October, 2007

The residents of North and Main Avenues organized a protest action
in front of the Government building with "We demand to reinstate
our violated rights", "Residents of Yeznik Koghbatsi Street demand
privatization" posters.

Today they demanded the Prime Minister to receive them after six months
of break. They demanded not only to reinstate their rights but also
to punish the violators. "We cannot live in the streets any longer,
we need shelters", they announced.

"We want to understand whether the Prime Minister, who has broad
competences, has laid the nation and does not want solve our
problems. He has not done anything during the six months. I consider
that the Prime Minister either doesn’t want to solve the problem or
he cannot do that". The Prime Minister cannot solve the problem of
20-35 citizens, then how is he going to become a president? Another
powerful person – the Yerevan Mayor ignores his orders, then maybe he
will put forward his candidature?", complained Sedrak Baghdasaryan, the
resident of Buzand Street and the Head of "Victims of State Needs" NGO.

The demonstrators were complaining of the Government.

They insured that they would appeal to all foreign ambassadors in
Armenia if the Prime Minister didn’t respond today.

"Maybe the Government wants to discredit our country, but we do not
want. We have to apply to the European Court of Human Rights. We will
do our best to change the authorities for the sake of our country",
said Sedrak Baghdasayan.

TER-PETROSYAN – A POLITICAL STAR
Harutyun Gevorgyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Oct 10 2007
Armenia

But From The Previous Century

Interview with the MP of the National Assembly Armen Ashotyan

"Mr. Ashotyan can we state that the developments in the internal
political arena are conditioned only by the forthcoming presidential
elections and don’t have any profound significance?"

" It is quite natural that both the internal and external political
developments are first of all conditioned by the upcoming presidential
elections. But here we can separate two types of approaches. Some
political powers, the number of which is less than desired, are well
conscious about their goal and how they are going to be represented
in the elections, by whose leadership they are going to start their
campaign.

It is also clear for those powers, what should the succession of
the steps be in order to win the elections, what program should they
introduce to win the people’s vote of confidence and finally who is
the candidate for presidency who will shoulder the responsibility of
implementing this program.

The largest sector of the political arena also realizes that they
must do something before the presidential elections but they don’t
know exactly what. Society anticipates certain actions from the
political powers, but many of the parties haven’t oriented themselves
yet. Overwhelming majority of the political powers hasn’t yet found
answers to many questions and they don’t even think about winning.

The before mentioned phenomena will be more vivid during the official
nominations for presidency, registrations and the campaign.

Anyway the parties with sensible political approaches have time to
orient themselves. I mean those powers that are able to criticize
themselves, not those whose political activity is an end in itself.

They should do their bests not to find themselves in a ridiculous
situation.

I don’t think there will be any unexpected nominations.

Occasionally people listen to tasteless music but they always prefer
to participate serious concerts. During the coming elections as well
the candidates that turn the elections process into a show can arouse
interest, and on this background serious political programs will
become more preferable. During the political choice the important
and the trustworthy is always more preferable than the entertaining."

"Mr. Ashotyan do you think Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s meetings first with
Dashnaktsutyun then with Vazgen Manukyan is a political show or a
political process?"

" Some people want to attach an artificial political timbre to those
meetings, others consider it a cheap show. For me both stances are
unacceptable. The first President of Armenia is simply exercising
his constitutional right and has submitted a claim to return to the
political arena. His silence during the previous ten years makes him
more interesting. Many people think that the rest period of those
ten years contributed to the re-evaluation of the path bygone.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan is a political star of the 20th century."