Author: Emil Lazarian

Interfax
Jan 14 2005
Tbilisi ready to welcome NATO special envoy
Tbilisi. (Interfax-AVN) – A group of NATO experts has arrived in
Tbilisi to prepare the official opening of an office of the NATO
Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia,
Nikolai Laliashvili, chief of the defense policy and European
integration department in the Georgian Defense Ministry, told
Interfax- Military News Agency Friday.
According to him, the office will open in Tbilisi in February.
“It will be in Tbilisi, but will deal with Azerbaijan and Armenia,
rather than Georgia only,” he added.
He emphasized that the NATO special representative’s appointment is
an extremely important event for his country in terms of stepping up
the interaction with the Alliance, especially in light of the
organization’s approving of the program of cooperation with Georgia
in 2004.
The decision to send liaison officers and a special representative of
NATO to Transcaucasia and Central Asia was made at the NATO 2004
summit in Istanbul.
U.S. citizen Robert Simmons, NATO Deputy Secretary General, was
appointed the Alliance’s Special Representative for the South
Caucasus and Central Asia, who is expected to visit the countries in
the region from time to time. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer introduced Simmons to leaders of the countries in question
during his November visit to the South Caucasus.
The Tbilisi office will also include Romualds Razhuks, the 49-year
old advisor to the Latvian defense minister and the former vice
speaker of the Latvian Seimas, who will be the liaison officer
coordinating the activities with Simmons.
Georgia voiced its intent to join NATO during the Prague summit in
2002.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep
Jan 14 2005
Azerbaijani FM: Talks With Armenia To Continue
13 January 2005 — Azerbaijan’s foreign minister says talks between
Azerbaijani and Armenian officials on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
will continue.
Foreign Minister Araz Azimov recently returned to Azerbaijan from
talks with his Armenian counterpart in the Czech capital Prague.
Azimov said that, while both sides still have disagreements on the
issue, everyone is interested in reaching a peaceful settlement.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a predominantly Armenian exclave in Azerbaijan.
It has had de facto independence since Armenian-backed forces won
control over the territory in 1994 following a six-year war.
Armenian-backed forces and Azerbaijani troops continue to face off
across a demilitarized zone in the region.

WMUR Channel.com, NH
Jan 13 2005
Church Parishioners Lose Court Battle To Prevent Sale
Diocese Trying To Sell Church For $1 Million
NASHUA, N.H. — Former parishioners of St. Francis Xavier Church have
lost a second court battle to prevent its sale.
The Diocese of Manchester merged St. Francis Xavier with another
parish in 2003. Now the diocese is trying to sell the 100-year-old
church building for about $1 million to a man who plans to donate it
to the Armenian Orthodox Church.
A group of former parishioners and historic preservationists sued.
But a Hillsborough County Probate judge said in November the sale did
not violate the church’s deed, which says the land it’s on must
always have a place of religious observance.
The parishioners also filed a civil suit in Hillsborough County
Superior Court, claiming their rights were violated because of flaws
in the diocese’s procedure for choosing which churches to close.
But in an order released Wednesday, Judge William Groff said the
court should not become entangled in internal church decisions.
Diocesan officials say the proceeds of the sale will be used to
benefit the merged parish.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 13 2005
French parliament to discuss Garabagh conflict

The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper Garabagh will be discussed
at the French parliament this month.
A report suggesting possible ways of settling the conflict and the
status of peace talks between the conflicting sides will be
considered and the position of official Paris on the negotiating
process expressed during the discussions.*

KARABAKH LEADER APPROVES NEW GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
Arminfo, Yerevan
13 Jan 05
Stepanakert 13 January: The new structure of the Nagornyy Karabakh
government has been approved. The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic (NKR), Arkadiy Gukasyan, yesterday signed a decree approving
the new structure of the NKR government. According to the decree, the
structure of the government includes:
1. Ministry of Health;
2. Ministry of Justice;
3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
4. Ministry of Agriculture;
5. Minister – head of the government administration;
6. Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports;
7. Ministry of Defence;
8. Ministry of Social Security;
9. Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development of Production
Infrastructure;
10. Ministry of Town Planning;
11. Ministry of Finances and Economy.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Jan 13 2005
Azerbaijan among mostly unfree countries, says report

The US Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal have included
Azerbaijan into the list of mostly unfree countries. In their 2004
Index of Economic Freedom based on a 5-point scale, Azerbaijan’s
standing was at 3.38, which makes it 103rd in the world out of 155
countries indicated.
A similar report issued in 2003 placed Azerbaijan 106th, with a 3.39
rating.
Topping the list is Hong Kong, while Singapore and Luxembourg were
rated second and third respectively. Former Soviet Union republic
Estonia was rated fourth. The United States, which has topped a list
of 10 for the past 11 years, was downgraded to 12th place. Ireland,
New Zealand, Great Britain, Denmark, Iceland, Australia and Chile
were placed ahead of the US.
The report placed Armenia 42nd with a 2.28 rating, while Russia
124th. Iran, Cuba, Laos, Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe, Libya, Myanmar and
North Korea (155th) were indicated as the most economically unfree
countries.
The rating of countries was determined based on trade policy,
interference of the government, financial policy, foreign
investments, wages and pricing, and property rights.

The Herald, UK
Jan 12 2005
Hatred, murder and denial are all horrors of the `final solution’

IAN BELL
Auschwitz: The Nazis and the “Final Solution”BBC2, 9.00pm
Shameless Channel 4, 10.00pm
The old Nazi was having difficulties with the concept of guilt, far
less the idea of repentance. He was evasive about his actions, all
those years ago, stricken by the convenient amnesia that afflicted so
many who shared his creed. But, yes, he had been a part of it: he had
murdered.
So what had been his thoughts? What had he felt? “Nothing. I only
thought, aim carefully so that you hit properly.” Then he slipped,
revealingly, into the present tense. Emotion had deserted him,
“because my hatred towards the Jews is too great”.
The hatred that had enabled him to shoot innocent people in the back
and watch their bodies tumble into pits had been based on nothing
more substantial, it turned out, than the belief that certain Jewish
traders had once cheated his farming family. A Holocaust in exchange
for a few pfennigs: his “unshakeable conviction” concerning Judaism
remained, nevertheless.
Sadly, a court of law had clearly failed to arrive at a more
appropriate conviction. Hans Friedrich, formerly of the SS, looked
very like someone’s favourite grandfather. The world’s abhorrence
troubled him; the idea that barbarism had once been a duty caused his
eyes to fill. But the old man left you with the clear impression
that, given the order, he might just do it again.
Such was one of the justifications for Auschwitz: The Nazis and the
“Final Solution”. The disease is never eradicated. Sixty years after
the liberation of the death factory, a place where 1.1 million people
were eradicated, genocide remains the distinguishing feature of the
species. No other animal does it. Other creatures kill to survive. We
do it because of the lies we choose to believe.
Laurence Rees has produced a series that will comfort few, none of
them sane. With a wealth of new documentation from eastern Europe, he
has set out to demonstrate how the fascist project mutated from a
quest for conquest into purest nihilism. These were people who set
out, with bureaucratic precision, to starve millions of Russians to
death simply to equip the Wehrmacht. These were men who settled on
Zyklon B, crystallised prussic acid, as an exterminating gas because
mass murder, face-to-face, had begun to trouble even the SS.
These were atrocities committed by little people. Hitler, Himmler and
the rest provided the impetus, but the practical business of
slaughter was placed in the hands of thousands of ordinary Germans,
citizens of a country that prided itself on its “civilisation”. The
first task of Auschwitz was the processing of 23,000 Polish political
prisoners: half of them were dead within 20 months. When Germany
invaded Russia, three million Soviet prisoners were taken: two
million were dead within nine months. “One becomes indifferent in the
midst of all that,” said one Polish survivor. “Today it’s your turn,
tomorrow it will be mine.” Rudolf Huss, camp commandant, discomfited
by the sight of blood, acquired another sort of indifference. “I must
admit,” he recorded, “that this gassing had a calming effect on me.”
It was a long time ago. Is there still a need to remember? During the
First World war, Turkey did away with 1.5 million Armenians and still
refuses to confront the fact. Plotting his “Final Solution”, Hitler
inquired of a crony: “Who remembers the Armenians?”
An easy elision from such thoughts to Shameless is impossible. Let’s
just say that Kev and Veronica’s first attempt at foster parenting –
“the fish aren’t swimming” – was funny, farcical and, finally,
poignant. Having little Eric pass out after snacking on the “Hashy
Birthday” cake wasn’t a good start, but as Veronica put it: “We can
do this, Kev. We can be good parents. From now on we’ve just got to
try really hard not to kill him.” They just about managed it.
Frank (David Threfall), the world’s worst father, was more
philosophical. Parenthood is all about passing something on to the
next generation, he said at the bar. “Mind you, they only end up
hating us, so what’s the f****** point?”
Very true.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BABIES BORN IN THE NEW YEAR
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
07 Jan 05
At the republic maternity hospital we learned that no children were
born in the New Year’s night. The first baby of the year 2005 was born
on January 1. The mother of the baby is Lilia Ghukassian from
Stepanakert. On January 1 two babies were born, both boys. By January
4, 3 o’clock PM 7 babies had been born, 6 boys and a girl.
AA.
07-01-2005
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
Friday, January 07, 2005
Contact: Armen Carapetian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
Armenian & Greek Leaders Discuss EU Issues with Congressman Robert Andrews
during California Visit
(Glendale, CA – December 27, 2004) Members of the Board of Directors
of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
(ANCA-WR) along with members of the Board of Directors of the American
Hellenic Council (AHC) met with Congressman Robert Andrews (D-NJ) at
the ANCA-WR headquarters in Glendale, California during the
Congressman’s visit to Southern California on December 27, 2004.
Representatives of the ANCA-WR and the AHC voiced their concerns
regarding the Republic of Turkey’s attempts to join the European Union
amongst other issues related to American foreign policy in regard to
Armenia, Greece and Cyprus.
ANCA-WR Executive Director Ardashes Kassakhian thanked the Congressman
for his support of the Greek and Armenian communities. Kassakhian
explained that the Greek and Armenian communities were very concerned
with the United States ‘ active role in advancing Turkey’s ambitions
for EU membership. During the briefing, Kassakhian pointed out that
Turkey has to conform to and adopt the basic standards of human rights
by which the E.U. nations and the United States abide. In addition to
pointing out Turkey’s overall abysmal record on human rights,
Kassakhian told Congressman Andrews of the importance of including
recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a precondition to Turkey’s
entry into the E.U.
AHC President Dinos Andrianos expressed the concerns of the Greek
American community regarding the tacit U.S. support of the
controversial Annan Plan for Cyprus which favors Turkey’s
position. The plan proposed by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan would
require that the Turkish occupying force vacate most of northern
Cyprus yet allows Turkey to retain control of key areas on the island
nation. Cypriots have overwhelmingly rejected the Annan Plan as have
Armenian Cypriots.
Congressman Andrews urged the ANC and AHC to continue their
bi-partisan outreach to members of Congress. The Congressman added
that the public awareness campaign is working within the halls of
Congress where most of the members are supportive of Armenian and
Greek issues. Congressman Andrews commendedthe ANC and AHC for the
work that they do in keeping their respective communities informed and
involved in the political process.
Congressman Andrews is a member of the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues. Congressman Andrews represents New Jersey’s 1st
Congressional District which is comprised of Burlington, Camden and
Gloucester Counties. Congre ssman Andrews sits on the House of
Representatives Select Committee on Homeland Security and the
Education and Workforce Committee. He has consistently supported
Armenian issues and during the last two election cycles has earned an
A or better on the ANCA Congressional Report Card.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and
most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the
concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues.
The American Hellenic Council (AHC) is a non-partisan political
advocacy organization based in California. The purpose of AHC is to
lobby and inform the U.S. Congress for the protection and promotion of
Greek American interests and issues. Photo Caption: ANCA-WR and AHC
Leadership Meet with Congressman Robert Andrews at the ANCA-WR
Headquarters in Glendale.

Up to 23 U.S. Bishops Could Retire in 2005
Catholic News Service
1/6/2005
WASHINGTON — Up to 23 U.S. bishops — including three cardinals —
could retire because of age this year.
There are only three still-active bishops who have already turned 75,
but 20 others will celebrate their 75th birthday in 2005.
Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, 77, who has been in Vatican service since
1990, has been the oldest active U.S. cardinal since July 2003.
This year Cardinals Adam J. Maida of Detroit and Theodore E. McCarrick
of Washington will reach 75, the age at which church law says a bishop
is requested to submit his resignation to the pope.
Even if all three cardinals retire from their current posts, they will
remain eligible to enter a conclave and elect a new pope until age 80.
Cardinal Szoka, who turned 75 on Sept. 14, 2002, is a Michigan native.
He was ordained a priest in 1954 and made first bishop of Gaylord,
Mich., in 1971. He was made archbishop of Detroit in 1981, named a
cardinal in 1988 and called to Rome in 1990 to head the Prefecture for
the Economic Affairs of the Holy See. Since 1997 he has been president
of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State.
Cardinal Maida, who turns 75 March 18, was born in Pennsylvania.
Ordained a priest of the Pittsburgh Diocese in 1956, he was made bishop
of Green Bay, Wis., in 1983 and archbishop of Detroit in 1990. He was
made a cardinal in 1994.
Cardinal McCarrick, who turns 75 July 7, was born in New York and
ordained a priest there in 1958. He was made an auxiliary bishop of New
York in 1977, first bishop of Metuchen, N.J., in 1981 and archbishop of
Newark, N.J., in 1986. Transferred to the Washington Archdiocese in
November 2000, he was installed there in January 2001 and made a
cardinal the following month.
The two other active U.S. bishops who are already 75 are both from
Eastern Catholic churches. They are:
— Ruthenian Bishop Andrew Pataki of Passaic, N.J., a priest since 1952,
bishop since 1983 and head of the Passaic Diocese since 1995. He turned
75 Aug. 30, 2002.
— Bishop Manuel Batakian of the Armenian Catholic Exarchate of U.S.A.
and Canada, a priest since 1954, bishop since 1995 and head of the
exarchate since 2001. He turned 75 Nov. 5, 2004.
Eastern church law asks a bishop to submit his resignation at age 75 to
his patriarch if he is a member of a patriarchal church or to the pope
if his church is not a patriarchate.
In addition to Cardinals Maida and McCarrick, still-active bishops who
will turn 75 in 2005 are, in chronological order:
— Jan. 21: Auxiliary Bishop John P. Boles of Boston, a priest since1955
and bishop since 1992.
— Jan. 26: Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton of Detroit, a priest
since 1956 and bishop since 1968.
— Feb. 3: Bishop David E. Foley of Birmingham, Ala., a priest since
1956, bishop since 1986 and head of the Birmingham Diocese since 1994.
— Feb. 15: Bishop Robert E. Mulvee of Providence, R.I., a priest since
1957, bishop since 1977 and head of the Providence Diocese since 1997.
— March 23: Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan of Brooklyn, N.Y., a
priest since 1956 and bishop since 1980.
— April 1: Bishop F. Joseph Gossman of Raleigh, N.C., a priest since
1955, bishop since 1968 and head of the Raleigh Diocese since 1975.
— May 3: Bishop William E. Franklin of Davenport, Iowa, a priest since
1956, bishop since 1987 and head of the Davenport Diocese since 1994.
— May 11: Ukrainian Bishop Basil H. Losten of Stamford, Conn., a priest
since 1957, bishop since 1971 and head of the Stamford Diocese since 1977.
— May 20: Auxiliary Bishop William J. Winter of Pittsburgh, a priest
since 1955 and bishop since 1989.
— Aug. 3: Bishop Kenneth A. Angell of Burlington, Vt., a priest since
1956, bishop since 1974 and head of the Burlington Diocese since 1992.
— Aug. 8: Bishop John J. Leibrecht of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Mo.,
a priest since 1956 and a bishop since1984.
— Aug. 15: Auxiliary Bishop Rene A. Valero of Brooklyn, N.Y., a priest
since 1956 and bishop since 1980.
— Sept. 3: Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger of Worcester, Mass., a
priest since 1958 and bishop since 1987.
— Also Sept. 3: Bishop Sylvester D. Ryan of Monterey, Calif., a priest
since 1957, bishop since 1990 and head of the Monterey Diocese since 1992.
— Oct. 22: Bishop Carl F. Mengeling of Lansing, Mich., a priest since
1957 and a bishop since1996.
— Oct. 23: Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Flanagan of San Antonio, a priest
since 1956 and bishop since 1998.
— Oct. 25: Bishop Raphael M. Fliss of Superior, Wis., a priest since
1956, bishop since 1979 and head of the Superior Diocese since 1985.
— Dec. 13: Auxiliary Bishop Dominic Carmon of New Orleans, a priest
since 1960 and bishop since1993.
Another prominent bishop who works in the United States could retire
this year as well. Colombian-born Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic
nuncio to the United States, turns 75 Jan. 27. Ordained a priest in
1953, he entered the papal diplomatic corps in 1957 and was made a
bishop in 1974.
Archbishop Montalvo served in difficult diplomatic posts in Latin
America, North Africa and Central Europe and was head of the Pontifical
Ecclesiastical Academy, the Vatican school for diplomats, before he was
made nuncio to the United States in 1998.