Author: Chatinian Lara

Iran’s House of Labour to hold rally on May day
Fars News Agency web site
23 Apr 05
TEHRAN
Fars News Agency: The secretary of Article 10 of the parties committee
has said that the committee has agreed to a rally to be held on Labour
Day, 11 Ordibehesht [1 May].
Announcing the news, Morteza Arab-Ameri told Fars News Agency: At this
morning’s session of the committee held at the Interior Ministry, the
committee approved a request put forward by Iran’s House of Labour to
hold a rally.
He said: This committee has also approved a request by the Armenian
community to stage a rally to mark the anniversary of the massacre of
their ancestors by the Turkish government of the time.
He added: At today’s session of Article 10 of the parties committee,
the proposal for forming the Iranians’ Party was discussed and the
announcement of the results of the discussions was postponed to the
next session of the committee.

IRNA< Iran April 23 2005 Iran allows ethnic Armenians to mark alleged genocide Tehran, April 23, IRNA Armenians-Rally-Iran Iran Saturday gave green light to its Armenian community to mark the 90th anniversary of the alleged massacre of their ancestors by the Ottoman Turks during World War I. The authorization, issued by a commission which has representative from the government as well as the Judiciary and the legislature, will allow Iran's Armenians, reportedly numbering around 250,000, to commemorate the occasion along with the rest of their kins across the world on Sunday. Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen perished in orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of modern Turkey, was falling apart. Ankara counters that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were killed in 'civil strife' during World War I when the Armenians rose against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops. Efforts by the Armenian community, which is represented by two MPs in the Iranian parliament, have led nowhere so far while they have pressed the government here to recognize the killings as genocide. Tehran, however, enjoys close relations with Yerevan, with the two neighbors having signed a deal for the transfer of the Iranian gas to Armenia through a pipeline. This has irked Shia-dominated Azerbaijan, the same dominant Muslim faith in Iran, which has long-simmering tensions with Armenia over the disputed enclave of Karabakh in the volatile Caucasus. Armenia has controlled Karabakh and seven surrounding regions which make up 14 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory since the two former Soviet republics ended large-scale hostilities with a ceasefire in 1994.

Armenian MP in favour of freezing Karabakh talks for 20 years
Arminfo
19 Apr 05
Yerevan, 19 April: In the light of Azerbaijan’s militaristic
statements, Armenia should freeze the process of settling the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict for some 20 years, the leader of the National
Democratic Union, MP Vazgen Manukyan, told journalists today.
He said that any conflict is settled by give and take, but it is not
clear how a defence minister could be talking about concessions in the
light of the militaristic statements constantly aired in Baku. Given
such conditions, Armenia should freeze the process of settling
the conflict for some 20 years and deal, in the meantime, with the
processes of integration and the problems of refugees, Manukyan said.
He described Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan’s address to
the recent parliamentary hearings as “an election speech dictated by
his desire to gain the West’s favour.”

Press & Sun-Bulletin, NY
April 20 2005
Rossie: World still looks away from genocide
“Murder will out.”
DAVID ROSSIE Commentary
— Don Quixote,
Miguel de Cervantes
Cervantes apparently never met an official of the Turkish government.
We are coming up on the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in
which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered by the
Ottoman Turks.
The official position of Turkish governments ever since has been:
Genocide? What genocide? The Turks were and are like the Bush
administration. If you never admit to a mistake or a wrong-doing,
there’s no need to apologize for it.
For the record, the blood-letting began on April 24, 1915, and
continued through 1923, five years after the end of World War I, in
which the Turks came out losers. By then the Armenians were a
scattered remnant in their native land. Some of the survivors made
their way to America, which is why Binghamton today has a small but
vibrant Armenian community.
And come Saturday, members of that community will hold a
commemorative service recalling the start of the genocide. In years
past, I learned from Dr. Gary Fattal, Armenian community members have
planted trees at the south end of the Washington Street bridge — a
symbolic remembrance of the start of a new life in America.
This year, the group has planned something different, the
installation of a monument at that location. The ceremony will begin
at 11 a.m. on the 23rd, and local dignitaries have been invited to
join members of the Armenian community for the event.
Following the installation, a reception will be held at St. Gregory’s
Armenian Church hall, 12 Corbett Ave., Binghamton.
Elsewhere around the country, Armenian communities will observe the
anniversary on Saturday and Sunday. One of the largest observances
will be in New York City’s Times Square, where thousands are expected
to attend a noon rally. The rally will be followed by an ecumenical
requiem service at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, 50th Street
and 5th Avenue, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Part of the observance of the genocide’s anniversary is a call for
the Turkish government to acknowledge what was done and apologize for
it. Armenians aren’t seeking reparations, at least not that I know
of, but the Turks, for nearly a century, have stuck to their denials
of responsibility. Perhaps they fear that if they owned up, demands
for reparations would follow.
Almost as shocking as the Turks’ arrogance is the rest of the world’s
indifference. The Wilson administration ignored the Armenians’ pleas
for help, and in what was to become a pattern, the United States and
most of the rest of what is laughingly referred to as the “free
world” pretended not to notice what Nazi Germany was doing to the
Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and assorted others until it was to late
to do anything about it.
The slaughter of a half-million Africans in Rwanda a decade ago
became part of that pattern, and the Clinton administration dithered
and did nothing.
Today, the Sudanese Army and its janjaweed cohort are raping and
killing at will in Darfur, and while the Bush administration has
deplored it and sent material aid to the victims, it has made no
attempt to intervene. And how could it even if it wanted to? With the
Iraqi tar baby firmly in its grasp, it can’t reach out to anyone.
The lesson for oppressive governments over the years? If you’re not
sitting on a billion barrels of oil, you can get away with just about
anything.

AZG Armenian Daily #068, 16/04/2005
Turkey
‘TURKISH LAWS DO NOT ALLOW THE ARMENIAN CHURCH TO RETURN ‘ITS SEIZED
PROPERTIES”
Christopher Smith, co-chair of the US Helsinki Committee, announced that the
current legislation of Turkey doesn’t allow the Armenian Church to return
its properties “unjustly seized by the state.”
Mediamax agency informed that Mr. Smith said this during his speech at the
US Helsinki Committee hearing on the religious freedom in Turkey.
“The Armenian Church has lost the great part of its property as a result of
the laws that allow the government to directly manage the property when the
number of the local community doesn’t amount to a definite number. On its
turn, the Istanbul Armenian Patriarchate keeps working on the
acknowledgement of its legal status. Last September, Turkey adopted new
rules for measuring the religious communities that allow the communities
that have legal status purchase new properties. But the loss of the
properties made great harm to the Armenian Church, while the legislation of
the country doesn’t allow to demand back the properties illegally seized by
the state,” Christopher Smith said.
The US Helsinki Committee is an independent agency that carries out the
monitoring of the implementation of the commitments undertaken by 55 OSCE
member countries.

Interfax
April 15 2005
Court sentences accused in plane bombing case
MOSCOW. April 15 (Interfax) – A court has found two people charged in
connection with the terrorist act that downed two Tupolev aircraft in
August last year guilty on all counts and sentenced them to 1.5 years
in prison.
Resident of Krasnoyarsk territory Armenia Arutyunian, who illegally
sold air tickets at Domodedovo airport, and Sibir air company
employee Nikolai Korenkov, who was in charge of passenger control,
have been sentenced to 1.5 years in a penal colony.

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
April 14 2005
Yerevan Rejects Turkish PM Erdogan’s Dialogue Letter
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul revealed in Ankara that Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote to Armenian President Robert
Kocharian recently, proposing the creation of a joint
Turkish-Armenian commission
ANKARA (JTW) Turkish Grand National Parliament first time in its
history made a general session to discuss the Armenian issue. Turkish
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in the session that Prime Minister
Erdogan sent a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharian. Turkish
PM Erdogan called Armenian President to establish a joint dialogue
commission. However, Gul said, Yerevan rejected the offer.
Abdullah Gul further added:
“We informed them that if our proposal is accepted, we are ready to
negotiate with Armenia on how the commission will be established and
how it will work and that such an initiative will serve to normalize
relations between the two countries,’ Gul told a special session of
the Turkish parliament… I repeat this appeal once again… Turkey is
ready to face its history, Turkey has no problem with its history.”
Turkish PM Erdogan had declared on Wednesday that Ankara is prepared
for an “open discussion” on the highly sensitive subject as he met
members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP). Erdogan said `we
have nothing to be afraid. We have no problem with our history’.
Erdogan further called the Armenian groups to open their archives to
all researchers.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, however rejected all
dialogue calls and accused Turkey of playing a game.
JTW

PRES RELEASE
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
Phone: 610-642-6633
[email protected]
April 13, 2005
POST-PROGRAM SURVEY REFLECTS SUCCESSFUL COURSE OF BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA’S PILOT
SUMMER
As Birthright Armenia looks forward to a second summer in Armenia, its
post-program survey indicates success during its 2004 pilot run.
The organization posted the online questionnaire four months after 2004
participants’ return from Armenia and assessed the lasting effects of
Birthright Armenia’s 8-week travel fellowship. “We felt that a lot of the
volunteers were still on an emotional high at the end of their programs and
really wouldn’t come to understand how the experience changed their lives
until after they got back home and re-entered their routine,” explains
executive director Linda Yepoyan. The survey addressed linguistic,
professional, charitable and personal matters as well as the progress of the
ongoing commitment proposals submitted by participants at the conclusion of
their service.
Roughly 2/3 of the 40 participants completed the survey, recording increases
in some of the most fundamental links to Armenia-involvement with the
diasporan community, use of the language, understanding of personal identity
and sense of responsibility for Armenia. 96% described their experience as
very educational, fun and personally meaningful. Half have stayed in touch
with host families and nearly 80% with other local Armenians.
Birthright Armenia alumni returned to their homes stirred to increase their
knowledge of Armenia. From those just learning the language came reports of
continued study, and over half of all responses rated improved Armenian
literacy as a top priority. 54% reported that they speak Armenian more often
now than prior to their summer’s volunteer work. Even more (71%) place
similar emphasis on deepening their knowledge about the current situation in
Armenia, despite the fact that 92% feel at least somewhat confident in
explaining its present condition.
75% of Birthright alumni have done something to help Armenia since returning
to their homes. “After gaining the firsthand experience I did over the
summer.,” wrote one, “after interacting with people and hearing their
stories and problems, it would be very difficult not to try and help.”
Besides personal homeland-oriented projects, 46% have become more active in
their local Armenian communities.
Hope of going back to Armenia is a recurring theme. Over 60% of the
volunteers consider a return within the next two years extremely likely and
over 50% rate the possibility of professional development in Armenia as
somewhat likely. Numerous alumni describe an increased sense of
responsibility for the development of today’s Armenia, and there is a
significant demand for support in finding employment there. “I feel like our
homeland has a magnetism that holds our feet to the ground while we are
there, holds our hearts to the land when we are away,” wrote another
volunteer. “It’s a strong pull emanating from the very core of my
existence.”
64% of alumni assert that they learned a lot about themselves and 54% that
they gained a sense of where they’re going with their Armenian identity.
Roughly half identify Armenia as their homeland; a sizeable minority, while
less unequivocal, acknowledge it as a significant part of their heritage.
71% assent to feeling a connection with the Armenian people, history and
land.
“Birthright Armenia will continually evaluate our services in an effort to
maintain a high level of quality to everything we do, and surveying our
primary beneficiaries is the key to learning if we are doing our jobs and
serving our mission as best as possible, ” says Yepoyan. “From the onset,
when we were developing the Birthright Armenia concept, we truly believed
that immersion programs of at least eight weeks duration foster a greater
sense of commitment and result in a deeper spiritual, cultural and
intellectual understanding of Armenian identity, people and issues, and
according to what our pilot group beneficiaries have to say about their
homeland experiences, it looks like we got that right.”
Open to diasporan Armenians 18-32 years old, Birthright Armenia is a
nonprofit organization which serves as a bridge between Diaspora and
Homeland youth by providing travel fellowships to volunteers participating
in numerous Armenian volunteer programs. In addition, Birthright offers
language instruction, weekly forums, volunteer gatherings and free
excursions around today’s Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.
Organizations represented by the volunteers in the pilot summer of 2004 were
the New York Armenian Students’ Association, Armenian Youth Federation,
Armenian Church Youth Organization of America, Armenian Medical Association,
Armenian Volunteer Corps, Land and Culture Organization and Armenian
Assembly of America. The list of organizations participating in 2005 has
grown more than three-fold and can be found on the Birthright Armenia Web
site at
For more information, call Birthright Armenia at (610) 642-6633 or email
[email protected].

“ARMENIAN CAUSE” BOOK PUBLISHED IN ESTONIA ON OCASSION OF 90TH
ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
TALLINN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Professor Lembo Tanning’s “Armenian
Cause” 365-pages work dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Great Genocide was published in Estonia. As Noyan Tapan was
informed from the Press Office of the Committe on organizing events of
the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the book was presented
at the National Library of Estonia. Cultural workers, MPs of Estonia,
members of the Estonian Churches’ Council, members of the Council of
Europe and representatives of the Armenian community were present at
the presentation of the book.

AZG Armenian Daily #065, 14/04/2005
Diaspora
IN HONOR OF HENRIK IGITIAN
The Congress of the friends of the UCLA Chair of the Armenian Studies after
Narekatsi was created to assist the activities of the chair by Peter Caw,
the head of the chair. Famous representatives of intelligentsia,
public-national figures were invited to the annual dinner. On April 10,
Henrik Igitian became the honorable guest of the second annual dinner at the
UCLA Faculty Center. The Los Angeles-based Nor Or weekly informed about
that, touching upon Igitian’s activities. He is the establisher of the first
Children’s Aesthetic Center in the territory of the former Soviet Union and
the unique Modern Art Museum. Henrik Igitian became the author of many books
on art and albums. Shoghak Hovhannisian from Chicago represented the
activities of Henrik Igitian. Mr. Igitian was awarded Narekatsi medal by
Parouyr Hakobian and Peter Cawe.
By the assistance of Henrik Igitian the exhibition of 50 Armenian children’s
paintings was opened at the AGBU Manukian center on April 7.
By Melania Badalian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress