Author: Emil Lazarian

zawya
Bahrain mulling gas deal with Iran, Qatar: report
02 August 2004
Tehran — Bahrain plans to sign agreements with Iran and Qatar next year for
the purchase of gas, a Bahraini press report said, citing a finance ministry
official.
The projects involve pipe laying under the Persian Gulf, which is expected
to finish by 2009, Bahrain Tribune said on its website, quoting
Undersecretary for Finance and National Economy, Shaikh Ibrahim bin Khalifa
al-Khalifa.
It put the cost of the projects at one billion Bahraini dinars. Shaikh
Ibrahim said talks with Iran and Qatar were `progressing smoothly and would
be completed by the year-end`, Bahrain Tribune said.
It said, “Iran has affirmed its keenness to take part in the joint
investment project and provide investment options.”
The Itar-Tass news agency said last month that Iran had begun building a
140-km-long gas pipeline to Armenia. It said the two countries had signed an
agreement on the project worth around 120 million US dollars in May, when
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh visited Yerevan.
Under its provisions, Iran will be supplying 36 billion cubic meters of
natural gas to Armenia annually from 2007 through 2027. Itar-Tass, citing
OPEC sources in Vienna, said that the pipeline might be used to ship Iranian
gas to Georgia, Ukraine and farther on to Europe in the future.
Tehran has already a multi-billion-dollar contract with neighboring Turkey
to supply gas for 25 years. The gas flow was launched in December 2001 via a
2,577-kilometer pipeline, running from the northeastern city of Tabriz to
Ankara, which supplies gas from southern Iran near the Persian Gulf.
The contract has been a boon to Iran`s bid to become a sustainable gas
supplier to Turkey and Europe.
Looking for alternative markets, Tehran has held talks with the Persian Gulf
littoral states and the Central Asian nations for the sale of gas.
The country sits on the second largest proven gas reserves of the world
after Russia, which has been a headache for Iran by getting into, what is
feared to be, an unnecessary and costly competition.
© IRNA 2004
Article originally published by IRNA 02-Aug-04
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
[email protected]

July 30, 2004
BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA CELEBRATES ITS INAUGURAL YEAR
Yerevan, Armenia – Armenian youth from a cross section of our diasporan
institutions came together, joined by the newly repatriated diasporan youth
and their Homeland peers, to celebrate the launch of a new and truly
forward thinking organization, Birthright Armenia/Depi Hayk. The inaugural
festivities, under the name ” Gateway 2004″, symbolizing the organizations’
promotion of an ever-widening bridge between the Diaspora and the Homeland,
was held on July 16th in Yerevan with lively dancing, food and drink.
“Gateway 2004” marks this non-profit’s first year of operations in Armenia.
It also served as a means to highlight the diversity of the first group of
young participants which Birthright Armenia/Depi Hayk sponsored from seven
different summer volunteer, cultural, and study programs serving our
diasporan youth. It was an unprecedented evening of unification and
networking in one, under the main “Journey of Self-Discovery” theme. The 40
Depi Hayk participants of 2004 and other diasporan attendees represented the
following organizations: Armenian Volunteer Corps, Armenian Students’
Association-NY, Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian Youth Federation,
Land and Culture Organization, Armenian Medical Association and the Armenian
Church Youth Organization of America, the University of Michigan Summer
Language Institute and the Christian Youth Mission to Armenia .
Welcoming the 160 plus attendees, Birthright Armenia founder Edele Hovnanian
commented that “It is refreshing to see a truly integrated group of youth
gathered together under one roof, all of whom understand the importance of
our presence here in the Homeland at this particular time in the history of
our building a nation-state”. She then introduced Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian to continue the welcome and opening remarks. Addressing the group,
Minister Oskanian stated:
“The first time I heard about the Depi Hayk program, I immediately jumped on
the idea, committing the Foreign Ministry to help this new organization in
any way necessary. This is the first step in really increasing the number
of diasporan youth who can experience the Homeland, and I am confident that
it will continue to grow and expand beyond North America to include young
people and groups from all over the world. This will enable young adults to
see Armenia, in all its beauty, to see its progress, to understand the good
and the bad, to take in everything that Armenia is at this moment.
The message I want to leave you with today is the following: please don’t
take what you see in Armenia today for granted. It took us a great deal to
build this and to keep this. We’ve come a long way since the early days of
independence. A long, long way. Our main source of pride should be this
Armenia. Believe in Armenia. Be committed to it. When you get back home,
stay involved, join efforts with others, influence your governments, and
become more engaged. Yes, there are many differences between the Diaspora
and the Homeland, as a result of many things like history and geography. The
result is different upbringing and different thought processes. We can
certainly bridge these gaps, and one of the best ways to do so is through
the younger generations. One of the most effective ways to do so is through
interaction among youth here on Armenian soil, so we can reach our goal and
say we are one nation, comprised of two entities, the Diaspora and the
Homeland. The two together through joint efforts will make Armenia the
place we will all be proud of.”
The Gateway 2004 celebration took place at the spacious art showroom of the
Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art – graciously offered to
Birthright Armenia by co-Founder Edward Balassanian. Live international
music was provided by Arsen Nercessian, a local musician with a
Latino/Calypso touch.
It is foreseen that “Gateway” celebrations will be an annual affair, to
capture the energy and spirit of Birthright Armenia/Depi Hayk efforts at the
peak of the summer programs, and to continually serve as a networking and
relationship building event for Armenian youth worldwide.
Birthright Armenia’s mission is to strengthen ties between the Homeland and
diasporan youth by affording them an opportunity to be a part of Armenia’s
daily life and to contribute to Armenia’s development through work, study
and volunteer experiences, while developing a renewed sense of Armenian
identity. This is accomplished by supporting and complementing the
initiatives of existing diasporan organizations that offer youth programs in
Armenia, and encouraging them to expand their offerings in depth and breath.
Birthright Armenia assists with travel fellowships, language instruction,
in-country seminars, orientation and excursions in exchange for community
service in Armenia. Please visit our Web site at
for more information.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanArmenian News
July 31 2004
PRESIDENT’S PRESS OFFICE REFUTES HEARSAY ON TRANSPOSITIONS IN
ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT AND RESIGNATION OF MAYOR OF YEREVAN
BAKU AUTHORITIES DID NOT SANCTION RALLY AGAINST ARMENIAN OFFICERS’
ARRIVAL IN AZERBAIJAN
HEARINGS ON COMPENSATION PAYMENT TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS BEGAN
IN CALIFORNIA
*********************************************************************
PRESIDENT’S PRESS OFFICE REFUTES HEARSAY ON TRANSPOSITIONS IN
ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT AND RESIGNATION OF MAYOR OF YEREVAN
31.07.2004 13:54
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President’s press office refuted the
reports of the local media about the forthcoming transpositions in
the Armenian government and the resignation of the Mayor of Yerevan.
As President’s Press Secretary Ashot Kocharian told Armenpress
agency, such rumors do not correspond to reality.
*********************************************************************
BAKU AUTHORITIES DID NOT SANCTION RALLY AGAINST ARMENIAN OFFICERS’
ARRIVAL IN AZERBAIJAN
31.07.2004 13:53
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Baku City Administration refused to give sanction
to the protest actions of the United Front Party of Azerbaijan (UFPA)
against the arrival of the Armenian servicemen for the participation
in NATO exercise this September. To remind, UFPA activists intended
to picket the Embassies of NATO member-states in early August. The
press release of the party states the City Administration’s deed as
“gross infraction” of the law on Freedom of Meetings. According to
Echo Baku newspaper, the final decision on the planned rally is to be
taken by UFPA leadership on August 2.
*********************************************************************
HEARINGS ON COMPENSATION PAYMENT TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS BEGAN
IN CALIFORNIA
31.07.2004 13:51
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The final hearings of the case “victims of the
Armenian Genocide against New York Life Insurance Company” began in
the Californian Court on July 30. The Court is expected to decree on
the payment of $20 million to the heirs of thousands of Armenians,
who insured their lives in American Insurance Companies and then fell
victims of the Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. To remind, the company
officially recognized the validity of about 2300 insurance policies.
According to the lawyers, Liberty reports, the moral factor in this
case is more important that the material one, since the fact of the
Genocide is for the first time to be recognized in legal form.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Frontpagemag.com
July 30 2004
The 9/11 Commission and Jihad
By Andrew G. Bostom
FrontPageMagazine.com | July 30, 2004
While I see some limited evidence of progress in the 9/11
Commissioner’s understanding of the global jihad we are facing,
ultimately their report resorted to the same tired and ahistorical
canards that distort the mainstream tradition – indeed which are
central to Islam – of jihad war. The report mentions the ad
nauseatingly referenced Hanbali jurist Ibn Taymiyya (d.1328), who
despite his Muslim orthodoxy, now serves as a convenient prop for
those who contend, either deceitfully or in blissful ignorance, that
jihad war is not a main tenet of traditional Islam. Once again a
distorted historical nexus is made between Ibn Taymiyya, but not
countless other seminal jurists and theologians who expressed
identical opinions, throughout the history of Islamic civilization,
and 20th century ideologues like Sayyid Qutb, and the Muslim
Brotherhood movement. This flimsy construct, reiterated in the 9/11
Commission Report, is completely untenable.
Jihad wars have been waged continuously for well over a millennium,
through the present, because jihad, which means `to strive in the
path of Allah,’ embodies an ideology and a jurisdiction. Both were
formally conceived by Muslim jurisconsults and theologians from the
8th to 9th centuries onward, based on their interpretation of
Qur’anic verses (for e.g., 9:5,6; 9:29; 4:76-79; 2: 214-15; 8:39-42),
and long chapters in the Traditions (i.e., `hadith,’ acts and sayings
of the Prophet Muhammad, especially those recorded by al-Bukhari [d.
869] and Muslim [d. 874]). The consensus on the nature of jihad from
all four schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence (i.e., Maliki,
Hanbali, Hanafi, and Shafi’i) is clear:
Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (d. 996), Maliki jurist 1
Jihad is a precept of Divine institution. Its performance by certain
individuals may dispense others from it. We Malikis [one of the four
schools of Muslim jurisprudence] maintain that it is preferable not
to begin hostilities with the enemy before having invited the latter
to embrace the religion of Allah except where the enemy attacks
first. They have the alternative of either converting to Islam or
paying the poll tax (jizya), short of which war will be declared
against them.
Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328), Hanbali jurist 2
Since lawful warfare is essentially jihad and since its aim is that
the religion is God’s entirely and God’s word is uppermost, therefore
according to all Muslims, those who stand in the way of this aim must
be fought. As for those who cannot offer resistance or cannot fight,
such as women, children, monks, old people, the blind, handicapped
and their likes, they shall not be killed unless they actually fight
with words (e.g. by propaganda) and acts (e.g. by spying or otherwise
assisting in the warfare).
>From (primarily) the Hanafi school (as given in the Hidayah) 3

It is not lawful to make war upon any people who have never before
been called to the faith, without previously requiring them to
embrace it, because the Prophet so instructed his commanders,
directing them to call the infidels to the faith, and also because
the people will hence perceive that they are attacked for the sake of
religion, and not for the sake of taking their property, or making
slaves of their children, and on this consideration it is possible
that they may be induced to agree to the call, in order to save
themselves from the troubles of war… If the infidels, upon receiving
the call, neither consent to it nor agree to pay capitation tax, it
is then incumbent on the Muslims to call upon God for assistance, and
to make war upon them, because God is the assistant of those who
serve Him, and the destroyer of His enemies, the infidels, and it is
necessary to implore His aid upon every occasion; the Prophet,
moreover, commands us so to do.
al-Mawardi (d. 1058 ), Shafi’i jurist 4
The mushrikun [infidels] of Dar al-Harb (the arena of battle) are of
two types: First, those whom the call of Islam has reached, but they
have refused it and have taken up arms. The amir of the army has the
option of fighting them…in accordance with what he judges to be in
the best interest of the Muslims and most harmful to the mushrikun…
Second, those whom the invitation to Islam has not reached, although
such persons are few nowadays since Allah has made manifest the call
of his Messenger…[I]t is forbidden to…begin an attack before
explaining the invitation to Islam to them, informing them of the
miracles of the Prophet and making plain the proofs so as to
encourage acceptance on their part; if they still refuse to accept
after this, war is waged against them and they are treated as those
whom the call has reached….
In Khaldun (d. 1406), jurist (Maliki), renowned philosopher,
historian, and sociologist, summarized these consensus opinions from
five centuries of prior Muslim jurisprudence with regard to the
uniquely Islamic institution of jihad:
In the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of
the universalism of the [Muslim] mission and [the obligation to]
convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force…The
other religious groups did not have a universal mission, and the holy
war was not a religious duty for them, save only for purposes of
defense…Islam is under obligation to gain power over other nations.5
By the time of the classical Muslim historian al-Tabari’s death in
923, jihad wars had expanded the Muslim empire from Portugal to the
Indian subcontinent. Subsequent Muslim conquests continued in Asia,
as well as on Christian eastern European lands. The Christian
kingdoms of Armenia, Byzantium, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia,
Herzegovina, Croatia, and Albania – in addition to parts of Poland
and Hungary – were also conquered and Islamized. When the Muslim
armies were stopped at the gates of Vienna in 1683, over a millennium
of jihad had transpired. These tremendous military successes spawned
a triumphalist jihad literature. Muslim historians recorded in detail
the number of infidels slain or enslaved, the cities and villages
which were pillaged, and the lands, treasure, and movable goods
seized. Christian (Coptic, Armenian, Jacobite, Greek, Slav, etc.), as
well as Hebrew sources, and even the scant Hindu and Buddhist
writings that survived the ravages of the Muslim conquests,
independently validate this narrative and complement the Muslim
perspective by providing testimonies of the suffering of the
non-Muslim victims of jihad wars.
But surely the much-lionized Sufi tradition offers a healthy
corrective to the so-called `narrow strain’ of Islam epitomized by
Ibn Taymiyya, and the consensus opinions (cardinal examples cited
above) of many other classical scholars representing all four main
schools of Sunni Islamic Law. Indeed, the scholar and theologian
W.M. Watt wrote that al-Ghazali (d. 1111), the famous theologian,
philosopher, and paragon of mystical Sufism, had been:
acclaimed in both the East and West as the greatest Muslim after
Muhammad, and he is by no means unworthy of that dignity…He brought
orthodoxy and mysticism into closer contact…the theologians became
more ready to accept the mystics as respectable, while the mystics
were more careful to remain within the bounds of orthodoxy. 6
The 9/11 Commissioners, and those who accept the views stated in
their report, should read the lauded al-Ghazali’s writings on jihad
war to understand that they differ not one whit from the opinions
expressed by the demonized Ibn Taymiyya. Below is what al-Ghazali
actually wrote about jihad war, and the treatment of the vanquished
non-Muslim [dhimmi] peoples (from the Wagjiz, written in 1101 C.E.):
…one must go on jihad (i.e., warlike razzias or raids) at least once
a year…one may use a catapult against them [non-Muslims] when they
are in a fortress, even if among them are women and children. One
may set fire to them and/or drown them…If a person of the Ahl
al-Kitab [People of The Book – Jews and Christians, typically] is
enslaved, his marriage is [automatically] revoked. A woman and her
child taken into slavery should not be separated…One may cut down
their trees…One must destroy their useless books. Jihadists may
take as booty whatever they decide…they may steal as much food as
they need…. 7
The Commissioners might also find particularly edifying the writings
of two contemporary Muslim scholars of jihad, the late Majid
Khadduri, and Bassam Tibi. Majid Khadurri wrote the following in
1955:
Thus the jihad may be regarded as Islam’s instrument for carrying out
its ultimate objective by turning all people into believers, if not
in the prophethood of Muhammad (as in the case of the dhimmis), at
least in the belief of God. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have
declared `some of my people will continue to fight victoriously for
the sake of the truth until the last one of them will combat the
anti-Christ.’ Until that moment is reached the jihad, in one form or
another will remain as a permanent obligation upon the entire Muslim
community. It follows that the existence of a dar al-harb is
ultimately outlawed under the Islamic jural order; that the dar
al-Islam permanently under jihad obligation until the dar al-harb is
reduced to non-existence; and that any community accepting certain
disabilities- must submit to Islamic rule and reside in the dar
al-Islam or be bound as clients to the Muslim community. The
universality of Islam, in its all embracing creed, is imposed on the
believers as a continuous process of warfare, psychological and
political if not strictly military. 8
And in 1996, Bassam Tibi wrote this:
At its core, Islam is a religious mission to all humanity. Muslims
are religiously obliged to disseminate the Islamic faith throughout
the world. `We have sent you forth to all mankind’ (Q. 34:28). If
non-Muslims submit to conversion or subjugation, this call (da’wa)
can be pursued peacefully. If they do not, Muslims are obliged to
wage war against them. In Islam, peace requires that non-Muslims
submit to the call of Islam, either by converting or by accepting the
status of a religious minority (dhimmi) and paying the imposed poll
tax, jizya. World peace, the final stage of the da’wa, is reached
only with the conversion or submission of all mankind to
Islam…Muslims believe that expansion through war is not aggression
but a fulfillment of the Qur’anic command to spread Islam as a way to
peace. The resort to force to disseminate Islam is not war (harb), a
word that is used only to describe the use of force by non-Muslims.
Islamic wars are not hurub (the plural of harb) but rather futuhat,
acts of `opening’ the world to Islam and expressing Islamic jihad.
Relations between dar al-Islam, the home of peace, and dar al-harb,
the world of unbelievers, nevertheless take place in a state of war,
according to the Qur’an and to the authoritative commentaries of
Islamic jurists. Unbelievers who stand in the way, creating obstacles
for the da’wa, are blamed for this state of war, for the da’wa can be
pursued peacefully if others submit to it. In other words, those who
resist Islam cause wars and are responsible for them. Only when
Muslim power is weak is `temporary truce’ (hudna) allowed (Islamic
jurists differ on the definition of `temporary’). 9
In 1916, the great Dutch scholar of Islam, C. Snouck Hurgronje
underscored how the jihad doctrine of world conquest remained a
potent force among the Muslim masses 13 centuries later,
[I]t would be a gross mistake to imagine that the idea of universal
conquest may be considered as obliterated…the canonists and the
vulgar still live in the illusion of the days of Islam’s greatness.
The legists continue to ground their appreciation of every actual
political condition on the law of the holy war, which war ought never
be allowed to cease entirely until all mankind is reduced to the
authority of Islam- the heathen by conversion, the adherents of
acknowledged Scripture by submission. Even if they admit the
improbability of this at present, they are comforted an encouraged by
the recollection of the lengthy period of humiliation that the
Prophet himself had to suffer before Allah bestowed victory upon his
arms; and they fervently join with the Friday preacher, when he
announces the prayer taken from the Qur’an: `And lay not upon us, our
Lord, that for which we have not strength, but blot out our sins and
forgive us and have pity upon us. Thou art our Master; grant us then
to conquer the unbelievers.’ And the common people are willingly
taught by the canonists and feed their hope of better days upon the
innumerable legends of the olden time and the equally innumerable
apocalyptic prophecies about the future. The political blows that
fall upon Islam make less impression…than the senseless stories about
the power of the Sultan of Stambul, that would instantly be revealed
if he were not surrounded by treacherous servants, and the fantastic
tidings of the miracles that Allah works in the Holy Cities of Arabia
which are inaccessible to the unfaithful. The conception of the
Khalifate still exercises a fascinating influence, regarded in the
light of a central point of union against the unfaithful.’ 10
Writing a quarter century after Hurgronje in 1942, Professor Arthur
Jeffery stressed why detailed consideration of the institution of
jihad remained essential, `not merely academic,’ for understanding
the contemporary Islamic world
for the theory of the world which it enshrines is still fundamental
to the thinking of great masses of Muslim people to the present day.
The troubles in India which lead up to the great Patna conspiracy
trials of 1864 were due to the fact that Syed Ahmad of Oudh had
preached against the Sikh cities of the Panjab a Jihad which later
turned to one against all non-Muslim groups. The bloody episode of
the Padri rebellion in Malaysia was due to the preaching of Jihad
against the pagan Battak tribes. The Fula wars in the Hausa country
[Western Sudan] in the early nineteenth century, which lead to Osman
Dan Fodio’s setting up the ephemeral sultanate of Sokoto, began as a
jihad preached against the pagan king of Gobir. The Moplah rebellion
in South India in 1921, with its massacres, forcible conversions,
desecration of temples, and outrages on the hapless Hindu villagers,
could be heard openly proclaimed as a Jihad in the streets of Madras. 11
With the resurgence of jihad military campaigns and major acts of
jihad terrorism literally across the globe in the last decades of the
20th century through the present, Jeffery’s additional insights from
62 years ago, resonate prophetically:
It is of course, easy to raise the objection that a Jihad in the old
sense is impossible of realization in the modern world, for Islam is
far too badly divided for anything like a general Jihad to be
contemplated and far too weak in technical equipment for a Jihad to
be successful even if started. This does not dispose of the fact,
however, that the earlier conception of Jihad has left a deposit in
Muslim thinking that is still to be reckoned with in the political
relations of the Western world with Islam. 12
Although time grows dangerously short, it is not too late for the
9/11 Commissioners and, more importantly, those who share their
assessment to broaden their understanding of the depth of the
ideological threat posed by jihad and consider more concrete,
expansive actions to be taken, such as the creation of the Alliance
of Western and Democratic Societies recently proposed by Dr. Raphael
Israeli.

ENDNOTES:
1 Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani, La Risala (Epitre sur les elements du
dogme et de la loi de l’Islam selon le rite malikite.) Translated
from Arabic by Leon Bercher. 5th ed. Algiers, 1960, p. 165. [English
translation, in Bat Ye’or, The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under
Islam, Cranston, NJ, 1996, p. 295]
2 Ibn Taymiyyah, in Rudolph Peters, Jihad in Classical and Modern
Islam, (Princeton, NJ. : Markus Wiener, 1996, p. 49)
3 From the Hidayah, vol. Ii. P. 140, in Thomas P. Hughes, `A
Dictionary of Islam,’ `Jihad’ Pp. 243-248. (London, United Kingdom.:
W.H. Allem, 1895).
4 Al- Mawardi, The Laws of Islamic Governance [al-Ahkam
as-Sultaniyyah, (London, United Kingdom.: Ta-Ha, 1996, p. 60).
5 Ibn Khaldun, `The Muqudimmah. An Introduction to History,’
Translated by Franz Rosenthal. (New York, NY.: Pantheon, 1958, vol.
1, p. 473).
6 Watt, W.M. [Translator]. The Faith and Practice of Al-Ghazali,
Oxford, England, 1953, p. 13.
7. Al-Ghazali (d. 1111). Kitab al-Wagiz fi fiqh madhab al-imam
al-Safi’i, Beirut, 1979, pp. 186, 190-91. [English translation by Dr.
Michael Schub]
8 Khadduri, Majid. War and Peace in the Law of Islam, 1955, Richmond,
VA and London, England, pp. 63-64.
9 Tibi, Bassam. `War and Peace in Islam,’ in The Ethics of War and
Peace: Religious and Secular Perspectives, edited by Terry Nardin,
1996, Princeton, N.J., pp. 129-131.
10 Hurgronje, Snouck. Mohammedanism. New York, 1916, p. 59.
11 Jeffery, Arthur. `The Political Importance of Islam,’ Journal of
Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 1, 1942, p. 388.
12 Jeffery, A. `The Political Importance of Islam,’ pp. 388-389.
Andrew G. Bostom, MD, MS is an Associate Professor of Medicine at
Brown University Medical School, and occasional contributor to
Frontpage Magazine. He is the editor of a forthcoming essay
collection entitled, “The Legacy of Jihad”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
Crossroads E-Newsletter July 30, 2004
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN WILL BE IN MASSACHUSETTS
Archbishop Oshagan will travel to Camp Haiastan, Franklin,
Massachusetts, where he will preside over the Andastan Service on Sunday,
August 1, during the annual summer picnic sponsored by the St. Stephen
parish of Watertown.
Andastan service is the blessing of the harvest and blesses the four
corners of the world, East, West, South and North and concludes with this
benediction: Oh Christ our God, guardian and hope of the faithful, protect
and keep in peace your faithful people under the protection of Your Holy and
venerable cross; their family, their home, the bread, the salt, and the
water. Save them Oh Lord, from visible and invisible enemies and make them
worthy to glorify You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always,
forever and ever. Amen.
CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN OF
ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR
This Saturday, July 31, the Armenian Church remembers the children and
grandchildren of St. Gregory the Illuminator: Saints Aristakes, Vrtanes,
Housik, Grigoris, and Daniel. Paganism and anti-Christian values were
prevalent in Armenia in spite of the missionary work of St. Gregory and King
Drtad. The sons and grandsons of Gregory continued the mission to spread
Christianity. Their efforts continued to strengthen the young church.
St. Gregory was succeeded by his son, Aristakes, as Catholicos.
Aristakes was martyred in 333 and was succeeded by his brother, Vertanes.
Housik, son of Vertanes, succeeded his father. Housik was succeeded by a
grandson rather than his son. This grandson was St. Nerses the Great who is
often referred to as the Second Illuminator. But, that is another story for
another day. Grigoris became the first Bishop of Georgia and Caucasian
Albania. Daniel, although neither a son nor grandson of Gregory, is included
in this commemoration. He was a student of Gregory and helped in the
conversion to Christianity.
JORDANIAN PRINCE VISITS ARAM I
His Highness Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan recently visited His
Holiness Catholicos Aram I in Antelias, Lebanon, where the See of Cilicia is
located. The Prince and the Catholicos are actively involved in the
Christian-Moslem dialogue and both of them stressed the crucial importance
of deepening the interfaith dialogue as an important instrument for peace,
justice, and reconciliation.
CILICIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY CONCLUDES 74TH YEAR
The Armenian Theological Seminary of the Cilician See in Bikfaya,
Lebanon, brought its 74th year to a successful conclusion on June 25. That
the fruits of the Seminary have had a worldwide impact cannot be disputed.
During the past 74 years thousands of young Armenians have passed through
the Seminary. Among its students have been future catholicoses, archbishops,
bishops, celibate and married priests, teachers, headmaster, and choir
directors, as well as writers and intellectuals. The history of this
institution is a tribute to the dedication and intelligence of the Armenian
people. Since its founding in 1930, the Antelias Seminary has produced four
catholicoses: Zareh I (first graduate of the Seminary); Khoren I, Karekin II
(later also Karekin I of Etchmiadzin), and Aram I, the current catholicos.
The 75th anniversary of this venerable institution will be commemorated
worldwide next year.
PAN-ARMENIAN EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE
Last week we reported that the Executive Director of the Armenian
National Education Committee (ANEC), Gilda Kupelian, will attend two
upcoming conferences. We neglected to mention that Mrs. Nayiri Balanian,
chair of ANEC, will also be attending the Pan-Armenian Educational
Conference in Yerevan, Armenia.
IN NEED OF SPONSORS
The orphan sponsorship program started by the Prelacy in 1993 is now
well established and extremely efficient in its operation. Currently more
than 700 children are enrolled in the program. About 100 children are
waiting for sponsors. Annual sponsorship is only $180. We are so fortunate
to live at a time and place where we are blessed with many gifts. Please
remember that there are many people, especially children, less fortunate who
need our assistance. If you would like to sponsor a child in Armenia or
Artsakh contact the Prelacy office, 212-689-7810.
Here are some excerpts from letters we have recently received from
sponsored children:
From Datevig: I was born November 9, 1991. I was born seven months after
my father died, so I have never seen my father, nor have I seen his grave.
My father was a freedom fighter and a hero. My mother’s name is Irina. She
has been suffering from illness for many years. I have two sisters. Dear
sponsor, on behalf of my family I want to thank you. We are grateful for
your help. We wish you good health, happiness and peace.
>From Kevork: I was born March 10, 1990. I am currently in the sixth grade.
We have six people in our family. My father, Gabriel, was a freedom fighter
in Artsakh. He was killed on April 24, 1994. I am proud to be a son of such
a father and I hope I will be like him.
From Gohar: I am eleven years old and in fifth grade. It is true that I
am very proud of my father, but I must be truthful and say that I miss my
father very much, especially when I see my friends walking hand-in-hand with
their fathers. I am deprived of that joy. I am happy to have a benefactor
like you and I consider you to be a part of my family. I love you very much.
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to
help them. If you can help your neighbor now, do not say, Come back
tomorrow, and then I will help you.
Proverbs 3:27-28
Visit our website at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
July 30 2004
MEETING AT THE FOREIGN MINISTRY
[July 30, 2004, 22:48:41]
Head of the OSCE mission to Slovenia Yanez Lenartziz on 30 July met
the foreign minister of Azerbaijan Republic Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov,
AzerTAj correspondent reported.
Reminding that Slovenia will preside at OSCE in 2005, noted that
Azerbaijan’s position is very important for him. The guest also took
interest in contacts of the Ministry with the OSCE Baku Office.
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov spoke of the links between Azerbaijan and
OSCE, updated on the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group in settlement
of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict. Expressing with
deep regret that the Minsk Group’s activity has not yielded any
conclusion the Minister stated that he hopes for Slovenia’s efforts
in this direction as future OSCE chair. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
reminded the UN Security Council’s four Resolutions on the question
and principles of the Lisbon Summit, underlining that the aggressive
and ethnic cleaning policy of Armenia should not be justified.
As far as the links with the OSCE Baku Office, the Minister said that
they are acting jointly in this direction. He also expressed
confidence that the OSCE and world community would protest against
the so-called `elections to the municipalities in the Nagorny
Karabakh region’ on 8 August.
Noting that he attaches great significance to the links between
Azerbaijan and his country, Mr. Yanez Lenatrziz said that he would
not spare his efforts for fair settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh
conflict.
The sides discussed a number of other issues of mutual interest.

CULTURAL HERITAGE ORGANIZATION OF IRAN SET TERRITORY OF CLOISTER OF
ST. THADDEUS AS HISTORICAL MONUMENT
TEHRAN, July 30 (Noyan Tapan). The cultural heritage organization of
the Islamic Republic of Iran set the territory of the cloister of
St. Thaddeus as a historical monument, as well as set the order of
protection of the territory and architectural standards. The Public
Relations Department of the Embassy of Iran in Armenia reported,
quoting IRNA News Agency, The cloister of St. Thaddeus has unique
importance for the Armenian nation of the whole world, and every year
numerous Armenians and believers of other Christian confessions go on
a pilgrimage to the cloister and hold religious ceremonies these
days. According to the report of the Information Center of the
cultural heritage organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, “each
step, which will damage the appearance aand foundation of the church,
will destroy its general and natural image, as well as the building of
temporary and permanent construction, any interference into the
historiacal image of the church, including reconstruction, widening,
repairs and renewal is prohibited without the permission of the
cultural heritage organization.” The cloister of St. Thaddeus, which
is one of the most important and famous churches of Iran, is situated
in the north-east of the Chaldran Valley, and in terms of its
construction view is like the Mother See Cathedral of Echmiadzin. The
current building of the church consists of two parts: old and new. The
sector with black stones was constructed in 1329, and the new sector
was completely constructed of white stone due to Abbas Mirza King in
1820.

Armenia: Political struggle ahead of parliamentary elections eyed
Iravunk web site, Yerevan
30 Jul 04
Text of Armen Arakelyan report by Armenian news agency Iravunk web
site on 30 July headlined “Summer sun with flavour of political
speculation”
The opposition has gone on holiday, with the possible exception of the
leader of the People’s Party of Armenia, Stepan Demirchyan, who is
visiting the USA and meeting with state officials and the Armenian
diaspora. President Robert Kocharyan has gone on a 10-day holiday as
well. Nonetheless, internal political processes do continue, albeit in
a hidden form.
Naturally, the summer holidays do not hinder the intrigues within the
pyramid of power at all. For example, according to some reports,
presidential adviser [on security issues] Garnik Isagulyan, together
with other influential officials, is waging an “office war” with the
top presidential aide [state legal adviser Artavazd Gevorkyan]. Rumour
has it that the president was displeased with his top aide when “good
people” told him about some personnel intrigues of A. Gevorkyan, of
which fact, naturally, the ” almighty” aide’s ill-wishers immediately
took advantage.
The policy of “dumping” compromising materials [Russian: sliv
kompromatov] is being implemented quite actively as well. Statesmen
use this technology to snitch on one another via the press, calling
one another the organizers of stock exchange manipulations which
resulted in dramatic fluctuations in the dollar exchange
rate. Allegations about the 27 October 1999 terrorist act have been
renewed again at the level of rumours and “dumping”, and someone
purposefully whispers into journalists’ ears [as published] piquant
details about the role of different quite influential and high-level
persons in that crime. However, no-one can guarantee the reliability
of these “details”, but who knowsý
Of course, the greatest number of rumours in Armenia are about
imminent personnel changes. There is talk that the president intends
to sack a number of unpopular ministers and thereby upset the
coalition balance. If this happens, instability in parliament will
become inevitable.
Incidentally, the discussion on the draft electoral code and rumours
about the possible dissolution of parliament were launched almost
simultaneously.In the Armenian political reality, the electoral law is
usually changed a few months before the elections, so that it meets
the requirements of different political or other groups. It follows,
therefore, that the urgent summer discussions about the electoral code
mean that the president intends to do something.
In particular, among the suggested changes is the mandatory
resignation of the executive branch before the candidates for the
parliamentary elections are nominated. This means that any minister
who runs in the elections will be deprived of his own administrative
resources and will be forced to rely solely on the administrative
resources of the president.
All in all, changes gather head during the summer holidays, and they
might change substantially the arrangement of political forces before
the autumn political battles.
[signed] Armen Arakelyan

LIABILITIES OF ARMENIA’S BANKING SYSTEM DECREASE BY 1.4% IN SECOND
QUARTER OF 2004
YEREVAN, JULY 28. ARMINFO. Total liabilities of the country’s banking
system, decreased by 1.4% in the second quarter of 2004, making up
255.2 bln drams by July 1, 2004. It was accounted for by a decline in
a number of indicators in the structure of liabilities, the
press-service of the Armenian Central Bank told ARMINFO
In particular, the liabilities to banks and other financial
orgnaizations totaled 33.8 bln drams, decreasing by 19.7%. At the same
time, a 36.7 per cent growth was fixed on the funds on correspondent
accounts, which reached 5.4 bln drams. Liabilities to the Government
decreased by 3.1% in the quarter under review, totaling 12.8 bln
drams. Fixed deposits of natural persons decreased by 2.3%, totaling
50.9 bln drams, while fixed deposits of legal entities increased by
5.5%, reaching 26.9 bln drams. Call liabilities increased by 2.4%
totaling 114.2 bln drams. Other liabilities increased by 15.4%,
reaching 15.3 bln drams. The paid interests increased by 1.8%,
reaching 1.3 bln drams.
According to the ranking of Armenian’s commercial banks drawn up by
ARMINFO news agency, in the first half of 2004 the liabilities of 14
commercial banks increased, the highest growth was fixed on 3 banks,
including Artsakhbank (48%). As to the remaining 5 banks, liabilities
decreased, with one bank showing the lowest indicator.
The results of the activity of the banking system, on June 30, 2004,
were summed up on the basis of data of 19 normally operating banks,
the CB press-service reports.

Messenger.ge, Georgia
July 29 2004
Georgia strikes electricity deal
New plan uses Armenia as energy corridor with Iran
By Christina Tashkevich
Georgia is to begin exporting its summer-time electricity surplus to
Iran through Armenia, in return for imported Iranian electricity in
winter time, the Minister of Energy Nika Gilauri announced earlier
this week.
According to the Armenian Minister of Energy Armen Movsesian, who was
part of the Armenian delegation visiting Georgia this week, his
country is ready to help Georgia to do this, although he added that
the Armenian government is not currently prepared to consider
reducing its tariff on electricity imports, as Georgia has asked it
to.
Nevertheless, Gilauri is hopeful that a discount may be offered. As
he explained to journalists, the electricity tariffs are set by the
Armenian Energy Regulatory Commission and therefore the delegation
was not permitted to decide on this issue.
Any change to the tariff may depend on the controversial issue of
Georgia’s energy debt to Armenia. Georgia denies owing Armenia USD 6
million for supplying electricity in 2000, claiming it has already
paid off the debt, while Armenia says it has not received the money.
The sides chose not to discuss the issue during the Armenian
delegation’s visit, and instead agreed to create special working
groups which will work on resolving this issue in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Armenia is ready to supply Georgia will electricity
through the Alaverdi electricity transmission line, and could also
supply Georgia with Iranian gas. The news agency Iran.ru cites
Minister of the Foreign Affairs Salome Zurabishvili as saying that
Georgia is interested in importing Iranian gas through the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, and also as suggesting that a transit gas
pipeline be constructed in the Caucasus.
However, it has also been suggested that Georgia plans to import gas
from Iran not through Armenia but through its other South Caucasian
neighbor, Azerbaijan. After his visit to Iran in early July, Minister
Gilauri said he had had talks concerning importing Iranian gas
through Azerbaijan and that this would be a reserve gas route for
Georgia after Russia.
“Rehabilitation works are needed to import gas and create additional
gas reserves for Georgia so that we are not dependent on a single
country,” said Gilauri. He says the route needs repairs, which will
cost USD 1.8 million and will take four months.
The government now expects to finalize agreements during a reciprocal
visit to Armenia this week. From the talks during the recent visit in
Tbilisi, it is apparent that Georgia considers cooperation with
Armenia integral to the economy. “It is impossible to imagine the
development of Georgia without Armenia,” Prime Minister Zhvania said
on Monday.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress