Author: Christine Harutyunian

TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts)
May 1, 2009 Friday
ALL EDITIONS

Out of tragedy, hope;
Play traces Armenian journey to Worcester after genocide

by Lisa D. Welsh, Telegram & Gazette Staff
WORCESTER

Seven-year-old Erica Pearson is learning about the Statue of Liberty
in school, but she received a priceless education about that national
landmark while listening to her grandmother this week.

"My mother came to America alone, but she became part of the Armenian
community here and that became her family," Varsenig "Dusty"
(Dostourian) Cotter said. "If you are Armenian, it doesn’t matter
where you are from. There’s an immediate connection. You are family."

Mrs. Cotter and her best friend, Janis (Pululian) Arvanigian, shared
their families’ stories about immigrating to America while preparing
for Sunday’s production of "Hello Ellis Island," which is being
sponsored by their church, Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church.

The event is part of the church’s recognition of the Armenian
genocide, which began April 24, 1915, when Ottoman authorities
arrested about 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in
Constantinople. Among them was Mrs. Cotter’s grandfather, an official
in the Turkish government.

Mrs. Cotter spoke of her grandfather and uncles, who were shot after
being tied together in a long line with a rope. Her mother, Haiganoosh
(Baghdassarian) Dostourian, was one of the few who survived the death
march into the Syrian desert.

The 30-member cast of "Hello Ellis Island" is made up of sons,
daughters and grandchildren of Armenian genocide survivors who share
their stories about immigrants who climb aboard a ship bound for
America after the Ottoman Turkish Empire killed 1,500,000 Armenians
between 1915 and 1923.

"None of us spoke about why we didn’t have any grandparents," said
Mrs. Cotter. "As children, at holidays, we had no grandparents or big
families to share it with. After the Memorial Day parade, we never
congregated around graves because there weren’t any."

An unlikely subject for a musical, the production is a story of hope
interspersed with music and folk songs of the Armenian
culture. Sunday’s production focuses on what happened to the survivors
who came to America, crammed in among the steerage class on the lowest
deck of a steamship, and started their lives over.

"The stories and memories are all the same. It relates to how they
came here, the land of great opportunity, with pictures in hand of
husbands-to-be that they’d never met before," Mrs. Arvanigian said.

Although the production doesn’t include their families’ experiences
specifically, the ladies said those are universal in the Armenian
community.

Mrs. Arvanigian’s grandmother was 17 when she boarded the King
Alexander in Constantinople and got off at Ellis Island. Her future
husband’s cousin had traveled to an orphanage in Constantinople and,
after choosing a wife for himself, showed her a photo of a tall thin,
man.

"The photo was old and it turned out my grandfather was short and
stocky but she said, `Oh, well,’" Mrs. Arvanigian said. "She was told
that she did not have to leave the orphanage, but she chose to because
she said she had nothing to keep her there."

Nevart and Asadoor Pululian married, and with the help of other
Armenians in Worcester, made a new life.

"Marriages lasted forever because there was a deep form of respect,"
Mrs. Cotter said. "With the other members of the Armenian community,
they had a secure life."

The ladies recalled that if you didn’t have any money for food, you
would write what you needed in the grocer’s book, and when you had
money, you’d pay it.

"We were never hungry because my mother could make something out of
nothing. We didn’t have much, but I never went without," Mrs. Cotter
said.

Once in America, and focusing on rebuilding their new life, few spoke
about the Death March.

"My grandparents didn’t talk about it," Mrs. Arvanigian said. "But
when I was about 9 years old, my grandfather once tried to tell me
about it, but my grandmother stopped him, saying, `She’s a child. She
doesn’t need to know.’"

"Hello Ellis Island" has been touring Armenian churches in New England
for more than a decade. With Mrs. Arvanigian’s daughter, Nicole
Apelian, and Mrs. Cotter’s granddaughter, Erica, listening nearby, the
artists’ goal of sharing the values and principals of Armenian
families and culture with younger generations already has been
accomplished.

"Hello Ellis Island," sponsored by the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic
Church, will be presented at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Hebert Auditorium at
Quinsigamond Community College, 670 West Boylston St.,
Worcester. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for students. For more
information, call Janis Arvanigian at (508) 754-1039, Dusty Cotter at
(508) 852-3328 or Donna Markarian-Mooradian at (508) 596-2848.

`Hello Ellis Island’

WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Hebert Auditorium at Quinsigamond Community College, 670 West
Boylston St., Worcester

HOW MUCH: $30 for adults and $15 for students

INFORMATION: Call Janis Arvanigian at (508) 754-1039, Dusty Cotter at
(508) 852-3328 or Donna Markarian- Mooradian at (508) 596-2848.

DISPLEASURE WITH OBAMA’S APRIL 24 STATEMENT

AZG Armenian Daily
01/05/2009

Armenian Genocide

Azg daily received numerous letters and messages responding to the
US President Barack Obama’s April 24 statement. Below we publish some
of them.

***

Mr. President Barack Obama

As a citizen of United States of America along with 6 million of fellow
Armenians and millions of oppressed people in the world we have lost
trust (and love) with you. We thought that you were an honest and
"a Man of your word" ? And we were wrong.I personally supported you
morally and your campaign financially. You have no any justification
for your negligent. Should you choose to continue omitting the word
"Genocide" from history of Armenian People Sadly, solemnly and firmly
we request refunding our campaign contribution of $ 650+

Mr. President to regain our trust and future support you still have
time to correct your administration stand by recognizing Armenian
Genocide….Just several months ago you promised to recognize Armenian
Genocide? and just yesterday you talked about Jewish Holocaust What
is differences between Genocides?? How soon and easy you forgot about
"discriminations" With regret and disappointment…

Dr.Ishkhan Babajanian MD/PedDr. Masis Babajanian
MD/CardiologistMrs.Anahit Babajanian / Teacher (active in Obama’s
campaign) Armen Babajanian Director of Big Brothers and Big Sisters
in Texas —Active Graduate Student of political science….USA,
CaliforniaApril 24, 2009

***

President Obama,

On this Day of Remembrance for the 1.5 million Armenians massacred
between 1915 and 1923, Armenians all over the world are sharply
disappointed with your failure to honor your solemn pledge to recognize
the atrocities as genocide.

During your presidential campaign you consistently stated that you
"shared the view that the U.S. must recognize the events of 1915-1923,
carried out by the Ottoman Empire, as genocide."

It is now clear your campaign promise was said in political jest
and made those promises solely for the purpose of gaining the
American-Armenian vote. As we mourn the loss of our families and
celebrate their spirits, our sadness is compounded by your decision to
retreat from your pledge. Moreover, we as American-Armenians will not
forget your decision made today and will certainly remember it in 2012.

Armen Babajanian, Kerrville, Texas, April 24,2009

***

Hello guys, My name is Armen Hareyan from just
thought we need to bring to the world attention that president
Barack Obama used the phrase Meds Eghern two times in his speech
today. While the world media is writing Obama refraind from using
the world genocide then what is Meds Eghern? Obama is sending a
powerful message satisfying both the Armenian needs and telling
Turkey "this year I used Meds Eghern but next year I will translate
it into English, so move fast and make the reconciliation movement
right."I thought it’s out job to tell the world that Obama indeed
used the Armenian version of Genocide, which is more powerful and
respectful and he used it twice. I wrote a story about it quickly
menian-equivalent-genocide-twice-speech
you are welcome to use it as long as you link back to the original
story and give credit to www.huliq.comMany thanks I hope this helps
friends.Armen Hareyan

Dear Mr. Hareyan

The Armenian word for genocide is Tsekhaspanutiun and not Mets Yeghern.

Also the term, Mets Yeghern was previously used by President Bush in
2005 and I don’t think that had much effect.

Like his predecessors, President Obama simply avoided the term genocide
because it displeases Turkey.

Unlike Armenia, Turkey spends a lot of money in Washington and this
is why Turkey’s view is important for Washington.

Sorry for the cross-post.

Emil Sanamyan

Washington Editor

ogspot.com

***

U.S.-Armenia Public Affairs Committee (USAPAC)

1518 K Street, NW, Suite M

Washington, DC 20005

Contact: Ross Vartian

Telephone: 202-783-0530

President Obama’s April 24 statement is his second lost opportunity
to affirm the Armenian Genocide.

On the first occasion, his visit to the Republic of Turkey, the
President stated that his view on the Armenian Genocide was well
known and remained unchanged, yet he chose not to utter the word
"genocide". The President then urged the Turkish government and people
to face this history, just as America had done with African-Americans
and Native Americans.

On the second occasion, the solemn remembrance day of April 24,
President Obama failed to affirm his record as Senator and his repeated
pledges as candidate for the presidency to characterize this crime
against humanity by its proper name, the Armenian Genocide.

Instead, the President committed his administration to fully support
the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey "without
preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe". While a laudable
objective, normal relations between these nations and an open
Armenian-Turkish border are not substitutes for the United States
affirming its own voluminous history on the Armenian Genocide and
its directly linked global responsibility to help end the scourge
of genocide.

President Obama knows very well and has eloquently acknowledged that as
long as genocide denial is tolerated that the act of genocide itself
continues, as it does for Armenians on this day of commemoration and
remembrance, April 24, 2009.

Ross Vartian, Executive Director

US-Armenia Public Affairs Committee (USAPAC)

‘WE ARE ALL ARMENIANS’ OBAMA WAS RIGHT NOT TO JEOPARDIZE RECONCILIATION BETWEEN ANKARA AND YEREVAN.

Wall Street Journal
75856957.html
April 27 2009
ISTANBUL

President Barack Obama trod a fine moral line this month between his
past campaign promises to use the word genocide to describe the World
War I massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and his present
opportunity to nurture normalization between Armenia and Turkey. But
his compromise was no capitulation to the realpolitik of U.S.-Turkish
strategic interests, as some Armenians may suspect and some Turks
may hope. It is actually a challenge to both parties to move beyond
the stalemates of history.

APThe opportunity could hardly be better. After a decade of civil
society outreach and growing official engagement, Armenia and Turkey
jointly announced on Wednesday a Swiss-mediated deal to establish
diplomatic relations and open borders. The two sides will also set
up a bilateral commission to study what Armenians commemorate each
April 24 as the beginning of a genocide against their people by the
Ottoman Turks in 1915, and what Turkey says were forced relocations,
uprisings and massacres during the chaos of World War I.

Before implementing the deal, however, Turkey is now seeking an
Armenian commitment to withdraw from territory in Azerbaijan that
ethnic Armenian forces occupied in the 1992-94 Nagorno-Karabakh
war. But Ankara would be ill-advised to hold up rapprochement with
Yerevan because of protests from its ally, Azerbaijan. In fact,
normalizing relations with Armenia is the best way for Turkey to help
its ethnic and linguistic Azerbaijani cousins. It would make Armenia
feel more secure, making it perhaps also more open to a compromise
over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The border closure these past 16 years has done nothing to
force a settlement over the contested region. The fragility
of the 1994 cease-fire truce suggests that a new way forward is
imperative. Armenian normalization with Turkey will not be sustainable
in the long run, though, unless Yerevan and Baku agree to the ongoing
international Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, leading to Armenian
troop withdrawals.

It is this complex situation that explains Mr. Obama’s diplomatic
language. In this year’s April 24 memorial statement, the
U.S. president chose not to use the word "genocide" to describe the
events of 1915. The Turks resent this term partly because they want
their view of the events to be taken into account and partly because
the term genocide has potential legal implications involving possible
demands for reparations and compensation. The Swiss-brokered deal
will include an Armenian recognition of Turkey’s borders, banishing
the shadow of long-lingering territorial claims.

Instead, President Obama chose the Armenian term for the atrocities,
"Mets Yeghern," meaning "Great Man-Made Catastrophe." The
U.S. Congress, where a resolution to recognize the Armenian genocide
was introduced on March 17, may want to follow the president’s lead
and avoid confrontation in order to give the current Turkey-Armenia
normalization process a chance.

Armenians have a point when they argue that the past decade of
international resolutions and statements recognizing the Armenian
genocide have forced Turkey to end its blanket denial of Ottoman
wrongdoing. But such outside pressures have got no closer to making
Turkey accept the term genocide itself, especially when the bills
before Congress and other parliaments are clearly the result of
domestic political calculations rather than high-minded deliberation.

On the Armenian question, many Turks, including government officials
now publicly express regret over the loss of Armenian life. After
more than eight decades of silence, when any open discussion of what
happened in 1915 was considered taboo, the Turkish public is digesting
an onrush of new facts and opinions about those past events.

The past decade has seen much convergence between Turks and Armenians
in understanding the history of 1915 as academic exchanges have
grown and information become widely available. A 2005 conference on
the Armenian issue by the front ranks of the Turkish intelligentsia
demonstrated that the country’s academic and cultural elite wants
to do away with the old nationalist defensiveness. In the east
of Turkey, efforts have begun to preserve the surviving Armenian
heritage. Far from worsening Turkish-Armenian relations, the murder of
Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 by a shadowy nationalist
gang triggered a march of 100,000 people in Istanbul carrying signs
saying "We Are All Armenians."

Opinion polls show two-thirds of Turks supported President Abdullah
Gul’s decision in September to accept his Armenian counterpart Serzh
Sarkisian’s invitation for a World Cup qualifier soccer match and
to become the first Turkish head of state to visit Armenia. Then
in December, 200 leading Turkish intellectuals began a signature
campaign to apologize for what they called the "Great Catastrophe"
of the Armenians. Nearly 30,000 people have signed it so far.

Overall, Turkey’s efforts with Armenia also fit into decade-long
efforts to improve ties with other neighboring countries. Ankara has
successfully normalized its once tense relations with Syria, Greece
and Iraqi Kurdistan. Ankara also tried its best to bring about a
reconciliation between Turkish and Greek Cypriots.

New trends are visible in Armenia too. As pride and security in the new
Armenian statehood grows, genocide recognition no longer overrides all
other national interests. Issues such as the need for more economic
opportunities, a broader-based regional strategy and an open Turkish
border that can be a direct gateway to the West are taking center
stage. Armenians increasingly spend their vacation in Turkish resorts.

Change is also evident in the diaspora, which outnumbers the
population in Armenia and has a strong influence on Yerevan. The
Armenian community in France led an international campaign, joined by
Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan and more than 100 public intellectuals,
to say "Thank You" for the Turkish apology efforts. Armenian-French
intellectuals are increasingly seeking to reconnect with their heritage
by cultivating their links to Turkey and Turks and visiting Istanbul.

As President Obama has recognized, it is this trend of convergence
that offers the best chance in decades to open the borders between
these two states, moving beyond nearly a century in which Turks and
Armenians have been held hostage to frozen conflicts, nationalist
confrontation and the ghosts of the past.

Mr. Pope, author of "Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey,"
is the Istanbul representative of International Crisis Group.

TURKEY’S PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER HAVE DIFFERENT POINTS

Panorama.am
17:22 09/04/2009

"It’s difficult to meet the challenges in Armenian-Turkish relations
unless the conflict of Nagorno Karabakh remains unsolved," the
Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced. "We hope
that the UN Security Council will give its assessment regarding the
conflict. Turkey makes efforts and has taken the initiative to create
Caucasus Platform of Peace and Stability. The opposition’s versions
regarding the opening of the border are exaggerated," said the Prime
Minister. The President of Turkey Abdullah Gul said in his interview
given to British Financial Times magazine that the most important
thing in Caucasus is the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. But the President has not rejected the
Armenian-Turkish relations could be normalized leaving the issue of
NKR conflict out.

ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF OF THE ARMENIAN POLICE, COLONEL OF POLICE G. MHERIAN SHOT TO DEATH

ARMENPRESS
Feb 4, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 4, ARMENPRESS: At 20:30 o’clock February 3, an alarm
call was registered in the Arabkir department of the Armenian police
informing that on the 7th floor of 65 building on Barbyus street,
at the entrance to his apartment the assistant to the chief of the
Armenian police, Colonel of Police Gevorg Mherian was shot to death.

Press service of the Armenian police told Armenpress that Armenian
Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian, Chief of the Police Alik Sargsyan,
head of the National Security Service Gorik Hakobian arrived on
the scene.

The ambulance brigade registered that G. Mherian died of gun shots
to head and the body. Three of the bullets hit G. Mherian’s head,
one hit the body.

A criminal case has been opened. An operative-investigating group has
been set up. Urgent events are undertaken to find out the circumstances
of the case and the identity of the criminal. The investigation is
conducted by the Special investigation service.

IVING MEMORIES FADING; AS TIME PASSES, FAMILY MEMBERS OFTEN KEEPERS OF VETERANS’ WAR TALES
By Monique Beech

The Standard
November 10, 2008 Monday
St. Catharines, Ontario

His memories of the Second World War are vast. They fill a room.

But they float in and out of his mind.

Reginald Avedesian is 84 years old. Since 2006, the St. Catharines
resident has had a series of mini strokes that have stripped him of
his short-term memory and caused the old ones to crash in and out
like waves.

"A Harvard," he’ll say when asked by his daughters what kind of plane
he flew in the war.

But ask Avedesian where he was stationed in England, and he shakes
his head. There are good days and bad days. Today is a bad one.

"I don’t know. I can’t remember."

Now, members of his family are the keepers of Avedesian’s war memories,
as are other children of Second World War veterans who fought for
freedom between 1939 and 1945.

Most who fought were born in the 1920s, and are now well into
their 80s.

The living memories are fading.

Tucked away in his basement, are war mementoes for Avedesian’s three
children, Diane, Catherine and Mark, and four grandchildren.

A worn flight log. A tan leather flight cap. A dusty military jacket.

A box of letters sent from family and friends.

An album filled with black-and- white photos of young military guys,
planes and British lassies with succinct labels: "Our favourite pub,"
"Fred Shantz: Killed overseas Bombardier in 1945."

"When you start to read through it, it’s very emotional to look
through some of the stuff and realize what he had to learn and do
at such a young age and that he chose to do this, and correspond,"
said his daughter Diane Curtas, a 49-year-old nurse.

"Well, it’s sacrifice, right? They did whatever they were asked to do."

Avedesian enlisted in 1942 at the age of 18 with the Royal Canadian
Air Force and trained in Winnipeg and Brandon, Man., before being
shipped to England.

He was the son of Armenian immigrants who grew up in Cambridge (then
called Galt), and always dreamed of flying.

During the war, he flew Lancaster bombers, Harvards, Tiger Moths and
Oxfords in England and trained other pilots.

He was a collector and a fastidious organizer who went on to become
a real estate broker after returning home from the war and marrying
Alice. The family moved to St. Catharines in the 1970s.

He kept his commercial pilot’s licence and shared his love of flying
with his children and grandchildren.

Growing up, he told his children about the rigours of pilot training,
the camaraderie and losing friends who were young and didn’t come
back from the war with him.

"I think as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized, not just now, but
realized all the hardship that my dad went through to achieve this
one goal of becoming a pilot," said daughter Catherine Fogg, 51, a
nurse in St. Catharines. "I’ve just appreciated all the persistence
he had in achieving it. The difficulty, not just of him, but of all
the men that he served with and he trained with that he went through."

His grandson Jonathan, 9, sat next to Avedesian on Fogg’s couch
Thursday. The chatty lad plunked his grandpa’s old war helmet on his
head and held the gas mask to his face.

Jonathan said he likes seeing his grandfather’s old war mementoes,
especially the old gas mask.

"It’s still pretty cool that he was actually a bomber pilot,"
Jonathan said.

Another generation remembers.

Bill Clifford’s memory is sharp.

Clifford, 85, can recount his time as a bomber pilot in the Second
World War like it last week.

His hearing is the challenge. He lost much of it when he inadvertently
flew through a bomb blast during an air strike in 1944 and it has
become worse since.

Clifford uses a series of high-tech microphones and hearing aids to
communicate. It makes it hard to carry a conversation, which frustrates
the shy man.

Ten years ago, he wrote a 38-page memoir. He called it Reflections
on November 11th. It chronicles Clifford’s experiences — mainly
in Eisenhoven, Holland — during the last nine months of the war
in Europe.

In 1941, at the age of 17, the St. Catharines resident went off to
defend his country with the Royal Canadian Air Force, He eventually
became a sergeant and flight commander who flew Spitfires and huge
Tycoon planes loaded with 900 kilograms of bombs.

He went on 92 missions, and lost many friends. In the memoir he names
all 15 of them. On Remembrance Day, he recites their names to himself.

In the memoir, he writes of entering Bergen-Belsen, a Nazi
concentration camp in Germany, on April 21, 1945, and witnessing
overwhelming human tragedy.

"For many years after the war my view of a holiday beach crowded with
frolicking sunbathers was superimposed by the indelible picture in my
mind of those poor camp victims, mostly naked skeletal bodies still
staggering about, crumbling up like a pile of bones," he wrote in
the memoir.

He was among the liberators near the end of war, who swept through
Holland and Denmark.

In the memoir, there are also sweet memories of flying, celebrating
the Feast of Sinterklaas, or St. Nicholas, on Dec. 6 in Holland,
and taking a leave in the French Alps.

Before writing the memoir, Clifford recorded many of his war memories
on tape. On the 60th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion in 2004, his
filmmaker son, Frank, documented where Clifford trained in Canada
and was stationed in Europe.

For years, Clifford found his war past too difficult to speak
about. Over time, he began to think he should share his stories with
his family and the families of those who had died fighting next to him.

"Well, I guess they (family members) were always asking me. I think
they figured it got to the point where they figured I didn’t do
anything," Clifford said with a laugh.

"I didn’t tell anything. I didn’t want to be left with that opinion,
of course. I wanted them to understand it wasn’t the case of blood
and guts all the way. There was pleasurable moments to it and good
experiences travelling and so on, and flying, hazards, and so on,"
said Clifford, a widower who lives in a St. Catharines retirement home.

Clifford returned to St. Catharines after the war and became a
real estate broker. He married Agnes; they had 10 children and 13
grandchildren.

"We never knew much about it when we were kids; it was just buried,"
his son Mark Clifford said of his father’s war experiences.

One of Bill’s eight surviving children Mark, 54, a musician who
lives in St. Catharines, said he’s grateful for his dad’s memoir,
tapes and video.

"I’m proud of my father for his heroism and his leadership with the
men that he crewed."

Two of Clifford’s children, Rob Clifford and Maureen Cripps, are
teachers who often share their dad’s story with their students.

Rob Clifford, 42, of Orillia, plays a tape his dad made for his
elementary school students explaining the importance of remembering
the war and the human side of the battle. He said he cherishes his
dad’s memoir, and other pieces of his experience that will live on.

"They’re absolute treasures. I’ve got two young kids now — my boys
are Grade 6 and Grade 3 — and it’s nice to be able to share those
with them. It means a lot to me.

"From a very young age, my two boys

(Matthew, 10, and Ian, 8) have had a real strong appreciation for
Remembrance Day and a lot of it is they can really

relate to because that’s their papa."

– – –

Remembrance Day ceremonies

Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 24

Where: Cenotaph on St. Paul Street West, St. Catharines

Time of Memorial Service: 10:45 a. m.

Special event to commemorate the

90th anniversary of armistice ending the hostilities in the First
World War

Royal Canadian Legion, Merritton Branch 138

Where: Cenotaph on Merritt Street at 11 a. m. Marching from legion
at 10 a. m. at 2 Chestnut E.

Royal Canadian Legion, West Lincoln Branch 127 Where: Grimsby Museum
at 6 Murray St., Grimsby When: 10:45 a. m.

Jordan Lions Club hosting Remembrance Day ceremony in partnership
with the Royal Canadian Legion, Lincoln Branch 612

Where: Jordan Lions Park on Fourth Avenue, between 17th and 19th
streets Time: 10:30 a. m.

Royal Canadian Legion, Thorold Branch 17 Where: Memorial Park When:
10:30 a. m.

Royal Canadian Legion, Pelham Branch 613 Where: Legion hall at 141
Highway 20 East When: 10:45 p. m.

What: New Veterans Park will be dedicated

Royal Canadian Legion, Niagara-on-the- Lake Branch 124 Where: Cenotaph
on Queen Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake When: 11 a. m.

Ridley College Remembrance Day ceremony When: 8 a. m. for Grades 9
and 11 and 1:30 pm for Grades 10 and 12

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

A DELEGATION FROM THE JIMMY CARTER FOUNDATION VISITS ANTELIAS

A delegation from the Jimmy Carter Foundation, named after the former US
President, met with His Holiness Aram I in Antelias yesterday. The
delegation members, Hrayr Balian, Sarah Johnson and Nathan Stoke hold
important positions within the organization.

The organization was established by President Jimmy Carter towards the end
of his term; among other issues, the organization also carries out projects
in the area of human rights.

The Pontiff and his guests discussed the activities of the organization and
the upcoming visit of former President Carter to Lebanon next month.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

OUR GOAL IS TO TURN AZERBAIJAN INTO DEVELOPED COUNTRY IN A SHORT-TERM PERIOD: FOUNDER OF IRALI MOVEMENT

Trend News Agency
Oct 29 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 October /Trend News/Interview of Trend News with
the founder of the republic youth movement ‘Irali’ and graduator of
the Program for Leadership Development of the Harvard University,
Jeyhun Osmanli.

Question: What do you think of the recent past and current development
way of the Independent Azerbaijani Government?

Answer: Probably, each of us, visiting one of the developed countries,
for example Norway, gets into a deep thought. The thought about whether
his country would develop in this way or would the consciousness of
people in ongoing process in the public reach the same level. We
think how we can make our country, community and level of our
individuals to meet high world standards. I think over the issues
very much. Perhaps, the thought on this issue looked like Utopia
twenty years ago. In general, there was not an independent state
under the name of Azerbaijan in the world map. Now we have a state
with 17 years independence experience. However, the independence
does not mean a political stability, state building and economic
development. Therefore our national Leader Heydar Aliyev needed ten
years to maintain the independence of Azerbaijan; to restore all
national signs related to restoration of our state; create priorities
in our policy and form the Independent Azerbaijan. So, while 17 years
ago Azerbaijan was recognized an independent state constitutionally,
now it won the political and economic independence thanks to the
efforts by the Great Leader of Azerbaijan. The very complicated
process of establishment of independent country, which took several
years in many other countries, was carried out in short period of
time in Azerbaijan. Besides aforesaid achievements, the half of
the population was poor five years ago, and Azerbaijan was amongst
non-developed countries. Though five years have passed since then,
Azerbaijan is a developing country. At present, Azerbaijan is not
a non-developed African country, but it is compared with developing
countries in the east Europe and American contingent. This factor is
proved with comprehensive development way, which Azerbaijan has passed
through for last five years. This means the incumbent President Ilham
Aliyev has carried out his mission with success.

This success increased confidence of the population to its leader
and resulted in Aliyev’s winning in the presidential election with
majority. As to my previous idea about the wish to see Azerbaijan as
the all-round developed country, I want to say that as a young man I
believe that Azerbaijan will turn into developed country. I believed
in the further development of our country most after listening to
the speech delivered by the President at the inauguration ceremony.

Question: You touched upon the very interesting topic. What statements
Ilham Aliyev made at the inauguration ceremony attracted your
attention most?

Answer: The inauguration ceremony, which lasted an hour, was enough
for the President to deliver his statements related the further
development in Azerbaijan. The opinion made at the ceremony depicted
Azerbaijan into the next five years. One of the main moments that
attracted my attention was the President’s goal to turn Azerbaijan into
developed country. President said that Azerbaijan has all necessary
conditions – human resources, economic and political stability. He
said modernization and reforms are needed to be carried out in many
spheres. In particular, Mr. President stressed for three times the
need for innovations in the political sphere.

Question: What do you mean by "innovations in the political sphere"?

Answer: By political reforms I mean, mainly, institutional reforms
and creating strong human capital as every stage of development
requires respective management and structuring. If we have set a
task to turn into a developed country, it should be conditioned on
by the presence of relevant bodies and personnel the level of which
should meet development. Human capital is especially important as
human beings are the key factor of a development. Today’s economic
miracles in Germany and Japan are implemented not by aliens, but
their people. If Azerbaijani President makes an historical call to
the citizens to turn Azerbaijan to developed country, everybody,
officials, teachers and others should possess a potential meeting
this call. People should consider their duty to serve their country
and people, but not strive for money and prestige.

Question: What is your view of President’s position on human capital?

Answer: Mr. President’s statement he made in the inauguration ceremony
"Azerbaijan needs professionals loving their country" points to human
capital. This issue stands on the agenda and President signed a decree
to educate 5,000 young people abroad due to public funds. However,
if our aim is to make Azerbaijan a developed country in a short-
term period, policy of human capital should officially enter to the
country’s life and all human resources in Azerbaijan and abroad must
be analyzed for strategic purposes. At present, there is already public
request to set up Human Capital Fund engaged in these issues. In think,
besides educational programs, there is a need to open improvement
programs abroad. For example, German Invekt holds improvement programs
for 2,000 managers from Russia annually. I think we should use this
practice. In addition, higher schools of Azerbaijan should act under
modern education standards which will contribute to stronger human
resources on the local level.

Question: During the inauguration ceremony, President put a special
emphasis on Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. What can you say
about it?

Answer: Statement of Mr. President "regardless of how many years will
go by from now on, Nagorno-Karabakh will never be independent" is an
open and clear message to the entire world in form of rejection. By
this message, President shattered hopes of all forces who wished
solution of the conflict in favor of Armenia. I support this resolute
statement and the reason behind it. Our youth realizing the core of
this statement, say "Be prepared for a war, if you wish a peace". It
is high time the opposite side made its choice.

ZEMUN, A SLICE OF OLD AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
By Aleksandar Vasovic

BalkanInsight.com
13 October 2008
Serbia

It may have been swallowed up by Belgrade in recent decades but
‘Zemunci’ remain fiercely proud of their town and of its very different
history and identity.

One does not always have to leave Belgrade to find oneself in a
completely different place. Right across the confluence of Sava
and Danube and in full view of the Kalemegdan fortress lies Zemun,
or Semlin, as it was called in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Cross the city’s Branko’s bridge and head to the right. Past the former
Communist Party Central Committee tower and the sprawling compound of
the former federal government and another five minutes’ drive brings
you to a town within the city, which is, and isn’t, Belgrade.

In the 1970s, the rapidly expanding city of Belgrade and its
conglomerate of drab apartment blocks enthusiastically called Novi
Beograd (New Belgrade) swallowed up Zemun.

According to historians, a settlement at Zemun dates back as far as
the 3rd Century BC. But the present name was first mentioned in the
12th century, by which time the area formed the southern frontier of
medieval Hungary. As wars devastated the Balkans over the next 500
years, control over Zemun passed back and forth between the Hungarians
and the Ottoman Turks. Habsburg Austrian armies finally took over in
1717, to stay for two centuries.

Zemun grew as a border town, located in a highly strategic position,
next to the Ottomans’ northern fortress of Belgrade. It was a key
port and an assembly point for smugglers, rebels, insurgents, spies
and politicians coming and going from Serbia. The population was
mixed, comprising Serbs, Croats, Hungarians, Germans, Jews, Gypsies,
Armenians, Turks, Slovaks and even a few Italians. "It is like that
even now," says Zdenko, a Zemun-born Croat. "The local community is
more multiethnic than any other in Belgrade and we are proud of that."

After the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Zemun became a part
of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later renamed
Yugoslavia. Between 1941 and 1945 it formed part of the Nazi-style
Independent State of Croatia and thousands of Jews and others perished
in a nearby death camp, the Judenlager Zemlin, located at the former
Belgrade Fair compound. After the Partisan victory, it again became
part of Yugoslavia.

In administrative terms, Zemun is now no more than a municipality
of Belgrade. But it still fights to preserve its distinct identity
as a town with a very different history from that of Belgrade. Its
Central European architecture and character remain strikingly different
from those of its more Byzantine neighbour. Locals stubbornly insist
they are "Zemunci", not "Beogradjani". "It is a different mentality,
a different way of living," according to Zdenko.

Sadly, Zemun became famous for altogether different reasons in the
1990s, when the town spawned an infamous underworld clan that played
a key part in the 2003 assassination of prime minister Zoran Djindjic,
among others.

Zemun is best explored on foot, starting at the Danube quay, which
begins right after the Hotel Jugoslavija and is good for rollerblading
and cycling. A sprawling marina that spans more than a kilometre
offers views of roughly half of all the boats moored in Belgrade. For
the tired or the hungry there are plenty of floating restaurants and
cafes, dubbed "splavovi", or rafts, often boasting live music.

Fish, often caught nearby in the Danube, is the real specialty of
Zemun’s restaurants but there is also a good selection of alternatives
on local menus. Venues range from more traditional Stara Carinarnica
(Old Customs Depot), with its exhibition of historic photographs
and artefacts, to Sent Andreja, Kod Kapetana (Captain’s Inn), Saran
(Carp), Reka (River), with its live music and colourful local artwork,
and Radecki (Radetsky), a dilapidated watering hole frequented by
colourful local characters.

Past the Radecki, some steep steps bring amblers to the Old Town,
containing Gardos hill and Pregrevica. With its narrow cobbled streets
and Austro-Hungarian atmosphere, this old quarter is a step back in
time. Dozens of cafés such as Burence (Barrel) or Majcina (the word
forms part of a famous Serbian curse), restaurants and churches dot
the area. The most striking landmark is the Millennium Tower, built
in 1896 on the site of a medieval fort to commemorate the 1,000th
anniversary of the Kingdom of Hungary. Years ago it housed a café
at the top. Now it is in a state of disrepair but it may be restored
soon enough. "It looks a sorry sight now but Belgrade city hall has
allocated funds for renovation," a city official said.

Downtown Zemun has a couple of interesting more modern buildings,
too. The Air Force command is a fine an example of the pre-Second
World War Bauhaus architecture, though it was badly damaged in the
1999 NATO bombing. The Magistrates’ building, near the green market,
is another local landmark. Built in the 19th century, it is worth a
look before taking the road back to Belgrade proper.

–Boundary_(ID_ZlT+za8jWKQOawfhpbGn9g)–

REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY AND PRESIDENT ALIYEV OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN AFTER MEETING

MarketWatch
Sept 3 2008

PRESIDENT ALIYEV: Dear Mr. Vice President, I’m very glad to see you
again, and welcome to Azerbaijan. We pay very big importance to your
visit, and today we’ve had the good opportunity to exchange views on
our bilaterals on our relations, issues, on regional development. And
once again, the successful development of our relations continues
and empowers many more areas.

Our relations really have a long history, and they started mainly with
energy issues, and those were projects which were implemented in our
region, initiated by Azerbaijan with the strong support from the United
States — and so are implemented. It’s a real success story. And we
are working now on the further development of energy partnership and
diversification of energy supplies, which is important not only for
consumers but also for producers like Azerbaijan’s.

And after that, relations between our countries started to develop also
in different areas. Now, they cover a very broad orbit of cooperation:
political relations developed successfully, are very strong; economic
ties; relations in security issues, in defense issues; relations in
peacekeeping operations in Nagorno. Of course, issues of settlement
of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are very
important for us, and the United States as — along with the Co-Chairs
of the Minsk Group plays a very important role in helping both sides
to find a solution to the conflict. But, of course, solution must be
based on international laws, as every other conflict, with respect
to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and to the territorial
integrity of all the countries in the region and in the world.

Of course, regional development here was discussed, and Azerbaijan
initiated many projects which have a broad regional dimension, and
maybe importance even beyond the regional scale. And here also,
relations between the United States and Azerbaijan play a very
important — I should say, decisive — role in implementing of all
these projects.

So far we’ve been very successful, and worked with plans we
implemented, and I’m sure that a strong partnership between the United
States and Azerbaijan and other countries in the region will lead to
more successes in the future, will lead to a strengthening of security
measures, peace, stability, and prosperity for all of us.

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: Well, thank you very much, Mr. President, and
it is a pleasure to see you again. And we remember very fondly your
visit to the States two years ago. Of course, we met some years in
the past when we were both in the energy business. It’s a pleasure
to be here and to take up a longstanding invitation to visit. This
is a trip that was planned some time ago. I want to thank you for the
hospitality you’ve shown me, and my wife, and our delegation. And I’m
honored, as well, to bring good wishes to the people of Azerbaijan
from President Bush and the people of the United States.

The U.S. and Azerbaijan have many interests in common. We both seek
greater stability, security and cooperation in the vital region of
the world. We share the goal of energy security for ourselves and
for the international community. And we are both devoted to the
cause of peace. One of the basic foundations of security and peace
is respect for national borders — a principle that is endangered
today. Mr. President, although we decided on this visit months ago,
we met this evening in the shadow of the recent Russian invasion of
Georgia — an act that has been clearly condemned by the international
community. President Bush has sent me here with a clear and simple
message to the people of Azerbaijan and the entire region: The
United States has deep and abiding interests in your well being
and security. For almost two decades, we have stood by you to help
your people build and consolidate their independence, sovereignty
and integration as valued, respected members of the international
community. Today, we reaffirm that commitment, and our determination
to strengthen relations between our countries — not just today,
but for the long term.

America strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan. We are committed to achieving a negotiated solution
to the Nagorno–Karabakh conflict — a solution that starts with
the principle of territorial integrity, and takes into account other
international principles. Achieving a solution is more important now
than ever before; that outcome will enhance peace and stability in
the region, and Azerbaijan’s security, as well.

America also appreciates Azerbaijan’s commitment to working with
Western countries on energy issues. All peoples are best served when
market principles are allowed to work; when there is transparency of
information; when energy export routes are diverse and reliable. The
United States strongly believes that, together with the nations of
Europe, including Turkey, we must work with Azerbaijan and other
countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia on additional routes for
energy exports that ensure the free flow of resources. Energy security
is essential to us all, and the matter is becoming increasingly urgent.

Finally, Mr. President, I want to express my country’s appreciation
for the brave contributions that Azerbaijan is making to the
fight against the global terrorism problem. Our forces have worked
together in Afghanistan and Iraq. We cooperated to foil plots by
violent extremists. Our countries are united in recognizing the
threat posed to Azerbaijan and the world by the proliferation of
nuclear weapons to dangerous regimes. America deeply appreciates
Azerbaijan’s contributions to the cause of peace and security, both
in this volatile region and internationally. And we support the people
of Azerbaijan in their efforts, often in the face of great challenges,
to strengthen democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights,
and to build a prosperous, modern, independent country that can serve
as a pillar of moderation and stability in this critical part of the
world. Thank you very much.