Author: Chalian Meline

PRIEST ORDAINING HELD AT MOTHER SEE

Noyan Tapan
Apr 17 2007

ETCHMIADZIN, APRIL 17, NOYAN TAPAN. Priest ordaining and anointment
was held at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on April 15. Karekin
II Catholicos of All Armenians presided the holy ceremony. During the
liturgy twelve deacons got priest’s ordaining from Archbishop Hovnan
Terterian, the primate of the U.S. Western Diocese. The ordaining Holy
Father renamed newly-converted priests with new spiritual names. Noyan
Tapan was informed about it by the Information Sevices of the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

On the same day, during the divine service, ceremony of becoming
headgears also took place. Two clergymen, as monastic priests, got a
headgear and completed rows of the congregation of the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin. After finishing the fourty-day period of lent at
the Mother See, the clergymen will be called to pastoral service at
dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church and different structures
of the Mother See.

OSKANIAN TO SPEAK AT OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL

A1+
[06:54 pm] 16 April, 2007

April 16, 2007 – Today RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian left for
Austria on working visit. The RA FM will meet with Barbara Prammer,
Speaker of the Austrian Parliament, and Ursula Plasnik, Minister of
European and International Affairs. Within the framework of the visit
Vartan Oskanian will make a speech in the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

On April 17, at 11:30, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian will
address the OSCE Permanent Council, the Organization’s main regular
decision-making body, tomorrow.

He is expected to focus on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, the
12 May parliamentary elections in Armenia, and the ongoing democratic
reforms in the country.

Nashua Telegraph, NH
April 14 2006

Students educate peers on horrors of genocide abroad

By MICHAEL BRINDLEY, Telegraph Staff

With picture after picture of dead bodies displayed on the screen
behind her, Sarah Weinstein talks about the history of genocide in
the world. Nashua High School South students put on two assemblies
Friday to educate fellow students about the atrocities that have
claimed so many lives in Darfur, Sudan, and other parts of the world.

Order this photo

The uneasiness was palpable, as the audience had just finished
watching a slideshow depicting the horrors of mass genocide over the
past several decades. That was precisely the reaction the students
putting on the presentation were hoping for.

`It just seemed like no one said a word,’ said Kelci Adams, a junior
at Nashua High School South. `It was just silent. One girl was
crying. We weren’t expecting that.’

On the overhead projector in the Nashua High School South auditorium,
the audience, made up of students and school staff, was shown
gruesome images of human brutality, dating back to the Armenian
genocide, which spanned from 1915-17.

Moving ahead in time to the Holocaust and advancing to the 1994
genocide in Rwanda, the students making the presentation finally made
their way to the focus of Friday’s assembly – the genocide occurring
in Darfur, Sudan.

Adams is part of the student organization `Not In Our School,’ a
tolerance committee associated with the student senate. The group
hosted two assemblies Friday to help students understand the
atrocities that continue today in other parts of the world.

`We just want people to know what’s going on,’ said senior Sarah
Weinstein, chairwoman of the group. She helped start it last year
after learning in her French class about the genocide occurring in
Darfur.

`I had no idea what Darfur was,’ she said, but she knew she wanted to
learn more about it and do what she could to help.According to
savedarfur.org, at least 400,000 people have been killed in a
conflict in the region that has spanned more than three years. In
addition, 2 million civilians have been displaced, forced to leave
their homes.

A militia group known as the Janjaweed is responsible for the
killing. Just last month, as many as 400 people were killed during a
single incident in Chad, an African country that borders the Darfur
region.

Last year, Weinstein made a DVD about the genocide and displayed it
in the hallways as students went to their classes. But she said that
wasn’t effective, so this year, she wanted to organize an assembly.

During the presentation, junior Vijay Setty tried to put the number
of people killed into perspective for the audience, by using the high
school’s 2,000-student population as a measuring stick.

`In less than a week, we would all be dead,’ he told the audience.

Outside of the auditorium, there were sign-up sheets for a `peaceful
gathering’ outside of City Hall on May 19. There were also handmade
bracelets for students to take with them, as a reminder of the
genocide.

The students began planning the assemblies in November. Weinstein
said the group had to fundraise to buy the bracelets, so they could
be provided to students for free. The money for the bracelets went to
help the people in the region.

Weinstein said the group has also sent letters to U.S. Sens. Judd
Gregg and John Sununu, and she received letters back, explaining what
they were each doing to bring attention to the situation in Darfur.

Adams said she and other students would be collecting new and used
blankets to send over to the Darfur region, as part of the Blankets
of Love project for the area.

As part of the presentation, students heard a prerecorded interview
with Assumpta Gakuba, a 2005 graduate of Nashua South, who survived
the genocide in Rwanda, although she lost most of her family.

Gakuba is now a student at the University of New Hampshire. Weinstein
reinforced to students that Gakuba was one of them.

Tom White, coordinator for educational outreach for the Cohen Center
for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College, spoke at the morning
assembly and told students if they felt anything after seeing the
images, they had a responsibility to take action.

`It won’t count unless you do something,’ he said. `Buying a bracelet
is just the beginning.’

He urged students not to rely on the media to tell them what’s
important, because they aren’t going to cover issues like the Darfur
genocide.

Young people need to educate themselves and to make sure elected
officials understand their concerns, he said.

`The most significant thing you can do right now is protest,’ he told
students.

s/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070414/NEWS01/204140355/ -1/news

‘TURKISH-ARMENIAN COOPERATION NEEDED’

The News – International, Pakistan
April 12, 2007

NEW YORK: Fifty-three Nobel laureates are calling for Turks and
Armenians to open their border, improve official contacts and resolve
differences over the mass killings of Armenians by Turks in the early
20th century.

In a letter released Monday by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity,
the Nobel laureates urged Turkey to end discrimination against ethnic
and religious minorities and to abolish Article 301of its penal code,
which makes it a criminal offence to denigrate Turkishness. They said
Armenia should "reverse its own authoritarian course, allow free and
fair elections and respect human rights."

The letter, which was released to the Turkish and Armenian media,
referred to the Jan. 19 slaying of Hrant Dink, an Armenian journalist
who had made enemies among nationalist Turks by labelling genocide
the mass killings of Armenians toward the end of the Ottoman Empire.

The laureates said that the best tribute to Dink would be "through
service to his life’s work safeguarding freedom of expression and
fostering reconciliation between Turks and Armenians."

PROGRAM ON HUMANITARIAN CO-OPERATION BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND RUSSIA ADOPTED

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
April 11 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend I.Alizade / During the meeting on 10
April of the Milli Majlis [Azerbaijan Parliament], a program on the
co-operation between Azerbaijan and Russia in the humanitarian sector
in 2007-2009 was adopted.

MP Shamsaddin Hajiyev, the Chairman of the Permanent Parliamentary
Commission on Science Baku in 2006. The program envisages the
development of co-operation in the humanitarian sector during the
period 2007 to 2009 and reflects measures on the development in all
humanitarian areas, including concrete co-operation in science and
education. "The program covers work on the expansion of opportunities
for education in Azerbaijani and Russian languages," he noted.

Addressing the meeting, MP Nasib Nasibli said that in accordance
with the program, Azerbaijan and Russia are to co-ordinate several
humanitarian issues, particularly with regards to the history. He said
that the Russian historians have their own feelings on the Caucasus,
the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict, the Armenians entering the Caucasus
and other historic events. Azerbaijan was under Russian occupation,
while the Russian and Azerbaijan historians have different opinions
on this issue.

Noting the weak potential of Russian universities, the MP opposed
co-operating with this country, describing Russia as a student of
West. He recommended Azerbaijan co-operate with the West with regards
to education.

MP Jamil Hasanli did not agree with his counterparts. He stated that
Russia possesses great scientific potential and believes co-operation
with Russia in this sector to be very fruitful. However, he opposed
the proposal of coordinating the co-operation in the sphere of history.

MP Yagub Mahmudov noted the presence of contradictory milestones
in the second item of the agreement. Article 31 of the program
indicates that Azerbaijanis residing in Russia and Russians residing
in Azerbaijan can receive education in their native language but the
third item of the article contradicted this. Russians can receive
education in their native language in secondary and high schools,
whilst Azerbaijanis only receive education in their native language
at Sunday schools. The MP regarded this as inequality.

After tense discussions, the Milli Majlis adopted the Program.

LONG-LASTING FRIENDSHIP

A1+
[04:46 pm] 11 April, 2007

"Is Armenia Russia’s outpost or military partner?"

Armenian journalists tried to find out the answer to the question
from RF first premier Sergey Ivanov.

"Armenia is Russia’s military partner. This is based on bilateral
military, historical-cultural, humanitarian, economic and other
interests which are derived from the ancient past."

Our military bases in Armenia imply no aggression and aren’t directed
against any country. They merely secure common security as we are
members of the collective security treaty.

This was the toughest question Sergey Ivanov had to answer during
today’s press conference. To recover the situation, RA Prime Minister
Serge Sargsyan kept silent for a moment, then laughed for a few
seconds and added, "I assume that some people benefit from such
speculations. But I am convinced that the author meant well when saying
these words. It was only a stumbling of a tongue." Serge Sargsyan
said his opinion both in Armenian and in Russian to please Mr. Ivanov.

Serge Sargsyan shared his concern that the electoral processes might
mingle with the activity of the government. Further on he added, "On
the other hand, the elections enhance workability as the executive
body does its utmost to fulfill its responsibilities better taking
into account the interests of the electorate. On the whole, the
electoral processes don’t hinder the routine of the government."

As for Serge Sargsyan’s nomination in the RA Prime Minister’s post,
Mr. Ivanov said, "I have known Serge Sargsyan for ages; since last
century." Ivanov said nothing more but the words said everything in
view of the Russia-Armenian political and economic relations.

OSKANYAN HAS PRESENTED TO FITZGERALD KARABAKH PROBLEM

Panorama.am
21:08 09/04/2007

Today Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs,m Vardan Oskanyan received
the US college delegation. To remind, Tamara Fitzgerald, employee of
the division of foreign affairs of the same structure, heads the US
delegation, which has arrived in our country on a fact-finding visit.

As we were informed in the press office of the Foreign Ministry of
Armenia, V. Oskanyan has introduced Fitzgerald with the peculiarities
of NKR problem, as well as the last developments round the problem.

After that the acting minister has given through explanations to the
questions of the guests. They mainly concerned the priorities of the
foreign policy, the issue on the opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border, the processes of recognition of Armenian genocide,
Armenia-Diaspora relations, energy sphere, demographic issues,
anti-corruption arrangements, problems hindering the regional
cooperation.

16th sitting of BSEC Council of Foreign Ministers to be held in Belgrade

ArmRadio.am
09.04.2007 15:08

April 19 the 16th sitting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Organization member states will
take place in Belgrade. AnmInfo was told at the Press Service of RA
MFA that, most probably, the Armenian delegation will be headed by the
Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian.

According to the Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, the sitting will feature delegations from Azerbaijan,
Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Romania,
Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine, as well as observers and guests. The
participants of the sitting will sum up the results of the Serbian
presidency over BSEC. Information about the activity of BSEC
structures ` BSEC Parliamentary Assembly, BSEC Executive
Council, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, the International
Center for Black Sea Research ` will be presented to the
attention of the Foreign Ministers. A number of issues will be
discussed during the sitting of the Council of Foreign Ministers.

According to BSEC practice, during the sitting in Belgrade the
presidency will pass to Turkey for six months (by the end of October).

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

PRESS RELEASE
April 9, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA CRITICIZES TURKEY FOR BLOCKING
U.N. EXHIBIT ON THE RWANDA GENOCIDE

— Turkey’s Campaign to Deny the Armenian Genocide Prevents
Opening of Educational Exhibit on the Rwanda Genocide

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
today sharply condemned the Turkish government for blocking the
opening of a United Nations exhibit on the Rwanda Genocide due to
an indirect mention of the Armenian Genocide in one of the
exhibit’s display panels.

"Sadly, this is only the most recent example of how Turkey’s
campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide perpetuates the cycle of
genocide – making the world a more dangerous place and future
genocides more likely," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian.

The Associate Press reported earlier today that the United Nations,
bowing to Turkish protests, has delayed the opening of the exhibit,
organized by the Aegis Trust, in the international organization’s
highly trafficked visitor’s lobby. The Turkish mission had
specifically registered its objections to a reference in the
exhibit concerning the origin of the word "genocide," which
mentioned that Raphael Lemkin, the international lawyer and human
rights activist who coined this term, was influenced by the crimes
committed against the Armenians and other mass killings.

Commenting on the exhibit’s postponement, James Smith, the chief
executive of the British-based Aegis Trust, said, "If we can’t get
this right, it undermines all the values of the U.N. It undermines
everything the U.N. is meant to stand for in terms of preventing
(genocide). . . You can’t learn the lessons from history if you’re
going to sweep all of that history under the carpet. And what about
accountability? What about ending impunity if you’re going to hide
part of the truth? It makes a mockery of all of this."

The full text of the Associate Press article is provided below.

#####

UN exhibition postponed after Turkey objects to reference to
Armenians

The Associated Press
Monday, April 9, 2007

UNITED NATIONS: A U.N. exhibition on the 1994 Rwanda genocide,
scheduled to be opened Monday by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has
been postponed because of Turkish objections to a reference to the
murder of a million Armenians in Turkey during World War I.

James Smith, chief executive of the British-based Aegis Trust,
which works to prevent genocide and helped organize the photo
exhibition, said the U.N. Department of Public Information approved
the contents and it was put up on Thursday.

A Turkish diplomat complained about the reference to the Armenian
murders, he said, and Armenia’s U.N. Ambassador Armen Martirosyan
went to see the new Undersecretary for Public Information Kiyotaka
Akasaka and they agreed to remove the words "in Turkey."

Martirosyan said Akasaka invited him to the exhibition’s opening,
but late Sunday "I was informed that the opening would be
postponed, or delayed, or even canceled." He blamed Turkish
"censorship" and the country’s refusal "to come to terms with their
own history."

On Monday, the exhibition in the visitor’s lobby had been turned
around so it could not be seen by the public. Smith said he was
still hoping for a diplomatic solution to the dispute.

"We are very disappointed about it because for us, this was meant
to be about the Rwandan genocide, and the lessons from the Rwandan
genocide," and to engage the secretary-general on the pledge by
world leaders to protect civilians from genocide, war crimes and
ethnic cleansing, which Smith said was not happening in Sudan’s
conflict-wracked Darfur region.

U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq confirmed Turkey complained
about the exhibition, but he said "the basic concern" was that the
review process for U.N. exhibitions, which takes into account "all
positions," was not followed. He said there were other concerns
which he refused to disclose.

"The exhibition has been postponed until the regular review process
is completed," Haq said.

Smith told The Associated Press the exhibition refers to the
Armenian murders to help explain the word "genocide," which was
coined by Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer of Polish-Jewish descent. Lemkin
was inspired by what happened to the Armenians and other mass
killings, and campaigned in the League of Nations – the precursor
of the United Nations – against what he called "barbarity" and
"vandalism."

Historians estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely
viewed by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th
century. Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide,
saying that the toll has been inflated and that those killed were
victims of civil war and unrest.

Smith said a small panel on Lemkin in the exhibit "says that during
World War I a million Armenians were murdered in Turkey." It goes
on to explain that Lemkin first used the word genocide in 1943, and
then focuses on the Rwanda genocide, lessons from it, and the
responsibility of the international community to prevent future
genocides, he said.

Haq said "the U.N. hasn’t expressed any position on incidents that
took place long before the United Nations was established" after
World War II.

"In any case, the focus during the anniversary of the Rwanda
genocide should remain on Rwanda itself," he said.

Rwanda’s genocide began hours after a plane carrying President
Juvenal Habyarimana was mysteriously shot down as it approached the
capital, Kigali, on April 6, 1994. The 100-day slaughter, in which
more than 500,000 minority Tutsis were killed by Hutu extremists,
ended after rebels ousted the extremist Hutu government that
orchestrated the killings.

Smith said the panel on the origin of genocide could have been done
without referring to the Armenians.

But once the Armenian reference "was there and approved, we felt as
a matter of principle you can’t just go around striking things out.
It is a form of denial, and as an organization that deals with
genocide issues, we couldn’t do that on any genocide, and we can’t
do this," he said.

"If we can’t get this right, it undermines all the values of the
U.N. It undermines everything the U.N. is meant to stand for in
terms of preventing (genocide)," Smith said. "You can’t learn the
lessons from history if you’re going to sweep all of that history
under the carpet. And what about accountability? What about ending
impunity if you’re going to hide part of the truth? It makes a
mockery of all of this."

Haq said Ban planned to meet with Rwanda’s U.N. ambassador late
Monday, and he read a message from the secretary-general who
recalled the "personal impact" of his visit to Rwanda last year to
pay his respects to victims and survivors of the genocide.

"On this 13th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, two messages
should be paramount," Ban said. "First, never forget. Second never
stop working to prevent another genocide."

Associated Press Writer Lily Hindy contributed to this report

Kurdish leader warns Turkey not to intervene in Kirkuk

The Associated Press
Published: April 7, 2007

BAGHDAD: Turkey must not interfere in the Kurds’ bid to attach Iraq’s
oil-rich city of Kirkuk to the Kurdish semiautonomous zone, the top
official in Iraqi Kurdistan said in remarks broadcast Saturday.

Otherwise, Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said, Iraq’s Kurds will
retaliate by intervening in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast,
where insurgents have battled for decades to establish their own
autonomy.

Barzani, president of the 15-year-old Kurdish autonomous region in
northern Iraq, issued the warning after last week’s endorsement by the
Iraqi government of a decision to relocate and compensate thousands of
Arabs who moved to the city as part of Saddam Hussein’s campaign to
push out the Kurds.

The government’s decision was a major step toward implementing a
constitutional requirement to determine the status of the disputed
city by the end of the year. The plan will likely turn Kirkuk and its
vast oil reserves over to Kurdish control, a step rejected by many of
Iraq’s Arabs and Turkmen ‘ ethnic Turk who are strongly backed by
Turkey.

"We will not let the Turks intervene in Kirkuk," Barzani said in an
interview with Al-Arabiyah television. "Kirkuk is an Iraqi city with a
Kurdish identity, historically and geographically. All the facts prove
that Kirkuk is part of Kurdistan."

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Some in Turkey have hinted at military action to prevent the Kurds
from gaining control of Kirkuk.

Turkish leaders are concerned that Iraq’s Kurds want Kirkuk’s oil
revenues to fund a bid for outright independence, not just
autonomy. The Turks fear that would encourage separatist Kurdish
guerrillas in Turkey, who have been fighting for autonomy since
1984. The conflict has claimed the lives of 37,000 people.

"Turkey is not allowed to intervene in the Kirkuk issue and if it
does, we will interfere in Diyarbakir’s issues and other cities in
Turkey," Barzani said. Diyarbakir is the largest city in Turkey’s
Kurdish-dominated southeast.

Asked if he meant to threaten Turkey, Barzani responded that he was
telling Ankara what would happen "if Turkey interferes." He said
Turkey had military and diplomatic clout, but that the Kurds had
survived through the Saddam Hussein regime and that what happened in
Kirkuk was "none of their (Ankara’s) business."

When asked about the Turkmen minority in Kirkuk and Turkey’s concern
for its ethnic brethren, Barzani shot back:

"There are 30 million Kurds in Turkey and we don’t interfere there. If
they (the Turks) interfere in Kirkuk over just thousands of Turkmen
then we will take action for the 30 million Kurds in Turkey."

"I hope we don’t reach this point, but if the Turks insist on
intervening in Kirkuk matter I am ready to take responsible for our
response," Barzani said.

The ancient city of Kirkuk has a large minority of Turkmen as well as
Christians, Shiite and Sunni Arabs, Armenians and Assyrians. Turkmen
were a majority in the city during the Ottoman Empire.

Barzani said the independence and statehood for Kurds, who live in
Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq was a "legitimate and legal right."

"But I am against the use of violence to reach this goal," he
continued.