Author: Emil Lazarian

PRESIDENT KOCHARYAN RECEIVES AGBU CONGRESS DELEGATES
A1plus
6 Oct 04
President Kocharyan received overseas delegates of 83rd congress of
AGBU, Armenian benevolent organisation, held in recent days in
Yerevan.
He welcomed the congress participants and stressed the importance of
such a kind of events.
The union chair Perch Sedrakyan, in turn, said positive changes are
visible in Armenia though there are many obstacles that are
successfully being overcome.

TERI DAVIS ANSWERING QUESTIONS
A1Plus
04-10-2004
Azeri journalists asked the CE Secretary General Teri Davis about
CE-Azeri relations after Azeri president Ilkham Aliev’s visit to CE.
Davis said some changes are visible in Azerbaijan – a part of
political prisoners are released. Works need to be continued.
What for including Karabakhi issue in the PACE winter session agenda,
Davis said he had completed his report on Karabakh.
`New reporter is already appointed. I can’t predict his steps: he can
use some parts of my report or can not to do that’, said Davis without
clarifying whether Karabakh will be put in the winter session agenda
or not.
Asked about Abkhazia, Davis said it goes without question that
Abkhazia is a part of Georgia like Chechnya is Russia’s and
Pridnestrovie Moldova’s. He didn ‘t mention Karabakh.

Azeri pressure group vows to thwart Armenian presence at NATO seminar
ANS TV, Baku
5 Oct 04

[Presenter Ceyhun Aliyev] The Karabakh Liberation Organization [KLO]
is planning to stage protest actions against Armenian MPs’ visit to
Baku [to attend the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Rose-Roth seminar on
26-28 November].
[Correspondent over video of news conference] The Armenian MPs’ visit
to Baku should be thwarted, the KLO chairman, Akif Nagi, told a news
conference today. He said that opinions on the issue varied.
[Nagi] As long as Azerbaijan and Armenia are at war, as long as our
lands are under occupation, establishing any relations between
Azerbaijan and Armenia both at the official or unofficial levels is
beneficial to Armenia. Today Armenia has an interest in establishing
relations with Azerbaijan to demonstrate to the world that allegedly
nothing is happening between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
[Correspondent] Nagi said that this position was inadmissible. He
added that the KLO would do its best to thwart the Armenian MPs’ visit
to Baku. But he did not speak about details of the planned actions.
Afat Telmanqizi, Baxtiyar Salimov, Zeynal Zeynalov for ANS.

Armenians uneasy at proposed Iraq deployment
ISN
4 Oct 04
Critics say that the Armenian government’s decision to send non-combat
personnel to Iraq could turn Iraq’s entire Armenian community into
hostages.
By Liz Fuller for RFE/RL
The Armenian government’s decision to send non-ombat personnel to
serve with the international peacekeeping force in Iraq has met with
resistance from civic groups, opposition parties, one member of the
three-party ruling coalition, and some senior military
officers. Acknowledging that unease, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
told parliament on 22 September that the Armenian contingent, which
numbers some 50-60 medics, US-trained sappers, and drivers, will be
sent to Iraq only after the legislature has approved the planned
deploymentthat he stressed is of a “humanitarian” nature. Deputy
Defense Minister Artur Aghabekian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on 3
September that the Armenian contingent would serve in central-southern
Iraq as part of a Polish-led international peacekeeping force. On 6
September, Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Polish
counterpart Aleksander Kwasniewski signed a protocol formalizingthe
Armenian commitment. John Evans, the new US ambassador to Yerevan,
hailed Armenia’s announced intention to send noncombat troops to Iraq,
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported on 16 September. But some senior
military officers were less than enthusiastic. Deputy Defense Minister
Lieutenant General Yuri Khachaturov told journalists on 7 September he
is “not delighted” at the prospect. He expressed concern that the
deployment could create future problems both forthe Armenian community
in Iraq and for Armenians in general.
Fear for Iraq’s Armenian communityArmenians across the political
spectrum appear to share those misgivings. Parliament deputy Grigor
Harutiunian of the opposition Artarutiun faction warned on 14
September of the potential danger to Armenian communities throughout
the Middle East, Noyan Tapan reported. One week later, a second
Artarutiun parliamentarian, Viktor Dallakian, argued that the threat
could extend to Armenia, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. He told
parliament that “sending a medical, humanitarian or any other Armenian
contingent to Iraq is dangerous for the security of the Republic of
Armeniaas well as for the Armenian population of Iraq”. That minority
is estimated to number some 20’000 – 25’000 people. Armenian civic
groups issued astatement on 24 September appealing to the Armenian
parliament not to approve the planned deployment. One signatory told
RFE/RL that the deployment risks turning theentire Armenian minority
in Iraq into hostages; a second argued that “60 people cannot cause a
breakthrough in the Iraq war.” In a 25 September press release, the
extraparliamentary Hayrenik front argued that the dispatch of an
Armenian contingent to Iraq “will destroy the mutual trust and
friendship between the Armenian and Arab peoples”, Noyan Tapan
reported. The press release suggested that the entire Armenian diapora
could suffer “human, cultural, and economic losses” as a result.
`Friendly’ Armenia to help `occupiers’ – The planned deployment may
even exacerbate perceived tensions within the governing three-party
coalition. On 24 September, Vahan Hovannisian, a leading member of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, one of the two
junior coalition partners, told parliament that as a signatory to the
CIS Collective Security Treaty, Armenia should consult with Russia
before sending its contingent to Iraq, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service
reported. He added that as a member of the Council of Europe, Armenia
should similarly take into account the opinion of those European
states – he mentioned specifically France and Germany – that opposed
the US intervention in Iraq. But Hovannisian too stressed that the
primary consideration should be the safety of the large Armenian
communities throughout the Arab world. Finally, members of the
Armenian community in Iraq have themselves signaled their opposition
to the planned deployment. Archbishop Avak Asadurian told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service on 28 September that he has written to both President
Kocharian and the Armenian parliament asking that Yerevan not send
troops to Iraq lest the Armenian community there become “a target for
terrorists”. The wife of the priest at Baghdad’s sole Armenian church
said that the Arab population has already learned from media reports
of the imminent Armenian deployment, andis displeased that “even
friendly Armenia […] is going to help the occupiers”. But during
talks in Yerevan on 28 September with Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister
Ruben Shugarian, Tariq Muhammad Yahya, an official from the interim
Iraqi government, praised what he termed Armenia’s “balanced” policy
towards Iraqand called for the restoration of bilateral economic ties,
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“ARMENIA DECIDED TO CAMPAIGN AGAINST IRAQ? WHY?”
Azg/am
5 Oct 04
Arab Newspaper Gives Some Advices
“Urgent news coming from Armenia don’t predict a good outcome and it
becomes certain that this honest state, which has unsolved territorial
problems with neighboring Azerbaijan, has decided to campaign against
its seventh neighbor. Why?”, the Azzaman, an Arab newspaper published
in London, writes in its September 12 article titled “Advices for
Armenia”.
“Armenia decided to send a squad of 50 soldiers to become victims of
kidnappers – We are not ready to protect Armenian soldiers and advise
that they bring bodyguards with them to stay as long as they will be
in this land burnt under the feet of our friends and enemies”, Azzaman
writes.
This article would not be of much importance if not the fact that it
expresses the position of the Iraqi society about the Armenian group
of deminers, drivers and doctors to be sent to Iraq. The author of the
article uses suchwords as “squad” and “campaign against Iraq”.
A retired Iraqi official was reporting lately. He was certainly aware
of Armenia’s decision to send 50 unarmed people. “‘Armenia Sends
Troops, Joins American Coalition’, this was the headline of all Iraq
newspapers today”, he said.
Iraqi Armenians (a considerable part of whom are survivors of the
Armenian Genocide) pointed at different occasions that Armenian
presence may endanger the future of Iraqi Armenians as (no matter that
the group will join Americans only for humanitarian purposes) Armenia
is still joining the Americans, Iraq’s occupants and murderers of
Arabs.
Armenian authorities promised the US (probably under pressure) to
contribute to the war on terror. Therefore it will be wrong to break
the promise because the US may, the least, condemn Armenia of dropping
out of the anti-terror fight. President Bush warned after 9/11 saying:
“You are either with us or against us”.
Armenian media’s critical coverage of the group sending obviously
makes the authorities frustrated. So, the defense minister Serge
Sargisian stated during his televised appearance: “Why fall behind
Georgia and Azerbaijan?” But why did Armenia fall behind the two
neighbors in the case of Afghanistan? Why didn’t we send deminers,
doctors and drivers to Afghanistan? The fact that the Afghan
mojahedins fought against the Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh could
bevalid grounds for joining the anti-Afghani campaign.
Is Armenia sincere in claiming that it joins the US anti-terror war?
If yes (that is, if Saddam Hussein was somehow connected with Al Qaeda
and Iraq was a threat for the world community) then why did only 30
states out of 191 UN support America?
Vartan Oskanian, foreign minister, notes that Armenia is ready to
contribute to Iraq in the humanitarian sphere. Again a question comes
up: isn’t it possible that Armenia support Iraq without joining the US
coalition? Why doTurkey, US’s close ally, and Jordan succeed in this?
There may also be other questions addressed to the Armenian
government. For instance, why did Yerevan refer to the UN’s
legislation in case of Yugoslavia’ s bombing and didn’t in case of
Iraq?
The Azzaman goes on with advices: “Armenia’s calculations are obsolete
as there is no time to sign treaties now, when America faces
elections. Neither the 50 soldiers will save Bush, nor will they
influence social researches in favour of Kerry”.
“Armenia has dropped its mask. If it tends to be part of the
multinational forces then we are ready to provide a place in `red’s
knick-knack market’ adding a ration card, certificate of death and a
videotape of being kidnapped”, newspaper writes.
By Tatoul Hakobian

Turkey in facts and figures
EUbusiness
03 October 2004
Turkey, which hopes to get the nod Wednesday from the European
Commission to obtain a date in December to launch membership talks
with the European Union, stands at the center of a strategic zone
between the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Balkans.
Following is a factsheet on Turkey, comparing some figures with those
of the European Union:
GEOGRAPHY: Covering an area of 779,452 square kilometres (311,781
square miles), Turkey borders Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran,
Iraq, Syria, Greece and Bulgaria, and is washed by the Mediterranean
to the south, the Aegean to the west and the Black Sea to the north,
and surrounds the Sea of Marmara. It is divided between two
continents, Europe and Asia. The area west of the Dardanelles and the
Bosphorus (the straits between Europe and Asia) accounts for five
percent of the total.
Comparatively, the total area of the EU countries is 3,691,214 sq km
(1,476,486 sq miles).
POPULATION: 70.7 million inhabitants (2003), including 13 to 19
million Kurds.
With Turkey joining, the EU’s population, which stood at 455 million
in January 2004, would pass the half-billion mark.
CAPITAL: Ankara, population 3.5 million.
Istanbul is the country’s largest city and industrial and commercial
hub with a population in excess of 10 million (Turkish State
Statistics Institute, 2000 – latest figures available).
OFFICAL LANGUAGE: Turkish.
The EU currently has 20 official, but only three working languages:
English, French and German.
RELIGION: Muslim (99 percent): 80 percent Sunni, 20 percent
Alevi. Armenians form the largest religious minority, with about
45,000 people, followed by some 35,000 Jews.
Turkey’s entry into the EU would bring the number of Muslims in the
European bloc to around 80 million.
RECENT HISTORY: Founded in 1923, the Republic of Turkey was created
after the collapse of the Ottoman empire at the end of World War
I. The republic became a modern secular state under its founder,
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (“father of the Turks”), until his death in
1938. His successor, Ismet Inonu, ran the counry as a single-party
dictatorship until 1946, when he introduced a multi-party
system. Turkey was the scene of military coups, followed by periods of
repression, in 1960, 1971 and 1980.
>From 1984 to 1999, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) led an armed
rebellion in southeastern Turkey, which claimed more than 37,000
lives. The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey
and many other countries and international organisations, called a
unilateral truce after the capture in Kenya in 1999 of its founder and
leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who was tried and sentenced to death; his
sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.
The PKK has changed names several times since, and its latest
incarnation, the Kurdistan People’s Congress (KONGRA-GEL), in June
announced the end of their truce, which the Turkish army had never
recognized.
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: Ahmet Necdet Sezer has been president since
May 5,
Necmettin Erbakan, leader of the Welfare Party, became Turkey’s first
Islamic prime minister on June 28, 1996, in a coalition with his
predecessor, Tansu Ciller, the country’s first woman premier.
He was pressured into resigning by the army in June 1997 and was
replaced by Mesut Yilmaz, leader of the Motherland Party, who headed a
left-right coalition.
The Yilmaz coalition fell from power in November 1998 amid allegations
of corruption and links to organised crime. It was replaced by another
left-right coalition led by Bulent Ecevit.
In general elections in November 2002, the Justice and Devlopment
Party (AKP), which has its roots in radical Islam but describes itself
as simply “conservative”, swept to power and obtained the absolute
majority of seats in Parliament. Its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
became prime minister in March
ECONOMY: The economy, which is based mainly on textiles, light
industry, tourism and agriculture, saw considerable growth until it
was hit by a severe crisis in the aftermath of the first Gulf War in
1991.
With 14 million foreign visitors generating 13.2 billion dollars of
income, tourism in 2003 was the country’s biggest earner. Long hit by
PKK terror attacks and the effects of the Gulf War, the sector boomed
in 2003 and 2004, with incoming tourist figures increasing by 43.5%
for the first six months of this year compared with the first six
months of 2003.
Turkey has been linked with the EU with an association accord signed
in 1963 and a customs agreement signed in 1996.
Turkey’s candidacy for EU membership was rejected in 1989, largely due
to its human rights record, but was accepted on December 10, 1999.
GNP PER CAPITA: 2.790 dollars.
By comparison, the highest per capita GNP in the EU belongs to
Luxembourg, with 38,830 dollars; the lowest, Latvia’s, is 3,480
dollars. The average per capita GNP of the EU is 19,775 dollars (World
Bank, 2003).
FOREIGN DEBT: 147.035 billion dollars (Turkish State Statistics
Institute,
ARMED FORCES: 514,850 men, of whom 402,000 are land forces, 52,750
naval forces and 60,100 air forces (IISS 2003/2004).
Turkey has been a NATO member since 1952.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Referendum Surprise for Turkey
Zaman
10.01.2004 Friday
After the approval of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) in the parliament
put Turkey-European Union (EU) relations back on track, the French
referendum demand inflamed the discussions about Turkey in Europe.
First Nicolas Sarkozy, who is expected to lead the ruling Union for a
Popular Movement (UMP) party come November, and now French President
Jacques Chirac, who strongly supported Turkey so far, entertains the
idea of holding a referendum on Turkey.
Political parties other than Radical Left and the Greens, both of
which have no impact on political life in France, view Turkey’s
membership either negatively or as conditional.
Gathering the rightist parties under one umbrella, UMP defended from
the beginning that Turkey has no place in Europe. Meanwhile, the main
opposition Social Democrat Party wanted Turkey to recognize the
So-Called Armenian Genocide as a prerequisite to starting
discussions. Despite his party’s negative attitude, Chirac, who sends
warm messages to Turkey, announced that he would make his decision
according to the results of the Progress report. In addition, polls in
France indicate that more than half of the French do not want Turkey
in the EU.
Political parties did not hold back from using Turkey as a political
tool in recent local and European elections. After it became
increasingly obvious that the progress report will most likely be
positive, the referendum issue was thrown into the mix. It has reached
a point that the rightist parties seem likely to turn the EU
Constitution referendum, which is planned for 2005, into a “yes” or
“no” referendum on Turkey.
French Parliament EU Delegation Vice President Christian Philip
comments that the end of this process amounts to the “EU running into
a brick wall.” Phillip, in order to emphasize the importance of
France’s attitude, reminded that Charles de Gaulle vetoed Great
Britain. The EU parliamentarian suggests that other countries are
likely to take the issue to referendum as well.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that a referendum has been
required for a candidate country’s EU membership. In 1972, then
President Georges Pompidou had sent the British membership, which De
Gaulle had vetoed twice, to referendum. Only 68 percent of the public
said “yes”.
The referendum demand in France could be interpreted as the first
concrete confrontation between a Europe that has so far regarded
Turkey’s accession to EU as “distant” and a Turkey that sees Europe as
a reality.
10.01.2004
ALI IHSAN AYDIN
Paris

Azeri pundits say Armenia trying to provoke resumption of hostilities
Zerkalo, Baku
1 Oct 04

Armenia is trying to speak to us in the language of threats. This
conclusion can be inferred from Armenian Defence Minister Serzh
Sarkisyan’s statement made in an interview with Armenian Public
Television. He said that the fallout from hostilities in Nagornyy
Karabakh would be extremely unpleasant for both Armenia and
Azerbaijan. He added that “whatever the outcome of a possible war,
even the most beneficial for Armenia, we have no desire to be dragged
into hostilities”.
He said Armenia would have to fight only if the Azerbaijani side
launched an attack. Sarkisyan noted that Armenia was capable of giving
“a response that would discourage Azerbaijan from fighting for many
years”. Let’s recall that Armenian officials have repeatedly made such
statements.
We have asked some Azerbaijani analysts what they think about the
Armenian defence minister’s remarks. The former foreign minister,
Tofiq Zulfuqarov, said that the statement is unlikely to stem from the
Armenian minister’s desire to maintain peace in the region. He said
the statement reveals Armenia’s intention to blame Azerbaijan for a
possible resumption of hostilities.
Zulfuqarov said Sarkisyan’s statement comes at a time when, as he
thinks, another round of talks has not produced results due to
Armenia’s non-constructive position. “To demonstrate Armenia’s
firmness in the issue, the Armenian minister is trying to show that
Armenia can defend its position even by force,” the former minister
said.
He added that the resumption of hostilities is mainly impeded by the
position of the international community. At the same time, he said “if
no breakthrough is reached in the negotiations, the start of
hostilities is practically inevitable”. The former minister did not
rule out the possibility of Armenia attempting to resume hostilities,
thus capitalizing on the factor of the US presidential elections when
the country’s attention will focus on domestic problems.
Zulfuqarov believes that in a move to solve domestic problems, the
Armenian administration may provoke Azerbaijan to start a war. He
added that such statements must send a message to the Azerbaijani
authorities that the resumption of hostilities by Armenia is a real
threat and “at this juncture, our country must take specific and
large-scale action to strengthen its defence capability”.
[Passage omitted: comments by another political analyst]
Military expert Uzeyir Cafarov said that Sarkisyan’s statement
proceeds from his confidence in Russia. He said that the agreement on
strategic partnership between these countries enables Moscow to
provide assistance to Yerevan. Cafarov believes that the wait-and-see
position of the Azerbaijani authorities is very convenient for
Armenia. The military expert thinks that while Armenia continuously
builds up its military potential, Azerbaijan acts like a “guilty
schoolboy”. He added that Azerbaijan must not allow Armenia, its
defence minister in particular, to make such statements.
Considering Sarkisyan’s statement that starting from 5 January 2005
Armenia will be able to sign agreements directly with Russian
[military] enterprises on arms and ammunition supplies on the same
terms as the Russian army, our country has to think carefully about a
reciprocal action.

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 – September 30, 2004
REGISTER NOW FOR FIVE SESSION
COURSE ON THE LITURGY
The mini course on the Soorp Badarak (Holy Eucharist) will start on Monday,
October 18, and continue on the first and third Mondays of the month, for a
total of five sessions. The course is presented by Dn. Shant Kazanjian,
Executive Director of the Armenian Religious Education Council.
NEW ENGLAND AREA RETREAT: WE ARE FAMILY
WILL TAKE PLACE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23
The New England area Retreat, We Are Family, will take place on Saturday,
October 23, at the E. Kent Swift Estate, Whitinsville, Massachusetts.
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN ATTENDS
ORDINATION OF TWO BISHOPS
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan attended the episcopal ordination of two bishops
at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick on September 21, by invitation of His
Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, the Bishop of New York. The Most Reverend
Gerald T. Walsh and The Most Revered Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan, were
ordained Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of New York.
ARCHBISHOP WILL TRAVEL TO RACINE
This weekend, October 2 and 3, Archbishop Oshagan will travel to Racine,
Wisconsin, to be with the parish of St. Hagop Armenian Church. His Eminence
will celebrate the Divine Liturgy and officiate at the ordination of
acolytes and the ordination of Dr. Levon Saryan to the office of Deacon. He
will also preside over a banquet celebrating the 66th anniversary of the
parish. Accompanying His Eminence will be Michael Hagopian, vice chairman of
the Executive Council.
PRELATE WILL BE IN ATLANTA FOR
WCC CONFERENCE
Archbishop Oshagan will be in Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the World Council
of Churches U.S. Conference next week, October 5 and 6.
The Power and Promise of Peace is the theme of the 2004 U.S. focus of the
WCC Decade to Overcome Violence. The U.S. Conference for the WCC is the main
platform of the 34 member churches of the WCC in the United States. The
annual meeting is expected to bring together hundreds of church leaders and
ecumenical activists from throughout the United States and other countries.
MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO ARCHBISHOP MESROB ASHJIAN
A Memorial Tribute to Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian, of blessed memory, is
scheduled for Friday, October 15, at St. Peter Church, 619 Lexington Ave.
(at 54th Street), New York City, at 7:30 pm, sponsored by the New York
Hamazkayin.
PILLARS OF THE PRELACY RECEPTION
IN DETROIT ON OCTOBER 10
The Pillars of the Prelacy reception in the Midwest area will take place on
Sunday, October 10, hosted by St. Sarkis Church, Dearborn, Michigan. The
Pillars of the Prelacy is an annual giving program, which since its
inauguration last year has been growing. The money raised through this
program goes to important programs like clergy recruitment and training as
well as Prelacy youth programs.
Most recently the Sts. Vartanantz community of Providence, Rhode Island,
hosted a very successful reception.
FEATURED MUSICAL ARMENIA ARTIST OF 2003
IS PERFORMING AT METROPOLITAN OPERA THIS SEASON
The outstanding baritone, Rodion Pogossov, who was one of the featured
artists in the Musical Armenia concert in 2003, is performing with the
Metropolitan Opera this season. He is appearing in the role of Papageno in a
new production of Die Zauberflote, (The Magic Flute) conducted by James
Levine.
This is a good time to remind you to mark your calendar for the 2005 Musical
Armenia concert, which is earlier than usual. The concert will take place on
January 30, 2005, at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York City.
Watch for details.
CATHOLICOS ARAM I DEPARTS
FOR SWEDEN
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, left Antelias
this morning, September 30, for Sweden, where he will be a guest of the
Lutheran Church of Sweden. On Sunday, October 5, His Holiness will deliver a
Sermon at the Cathedral of Uppsala. He is also scheduled to deliver lectures
at universities in Uppsala and Helsinki. The Catholicos will also
participate in ecumenical meetings during his stay in Sweden.
72 HOLY DISCIPLES OF CHRIST
COMMEMORATED THIS SATURDAY
This Saturday, October 2, the Armenian Church commemorates the 72 holy
disciples of Christ. The reference comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter
10, verse 1: After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on
ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to
go. (Some versions of the Gospel say 72, rather than 70).
The tradition of the church confirms that the seventy (or seventy-two)
disciples remained true to the Lord and their calling, and spread the
Gospel. They were not random choices, but rather true disciples whose labors
carried the message of the Lord throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. All
of the saints are remembered individually in the calendar of the Church, but
this day is set aside to remember them collectively. The number 70 is also
considered to be an allusion to Genesis, which speaks of 70 nations of the
world.
Incidentally, the number seven appears often in Christianity. Consider just
a few examples: Seven Churches of Asia; Seven Councils; Seven Days of
Creation; Seven Deadly Sins; Seven Last Words; Seven Sacraments.
AUTUMN IN THE GARDEN
It is now officially autumn. Of course, we need not look at the calendar to
know this. Our garden, with its sleepy and weepy look, tells us that another
planting season has come to an end, at least for us here in the northeast.
The tomatoes, though late in ripening, were the best tasting in many a
season. The vines are yellow and withered, but still full of green tomatoes
that hold the promise of ripening before the first frost wipes them out. All
of the other vegetables have long since completed their cycle and the garden
awaits to be cleaned, plowed, and prepared for the winter sleep and the
promise of renewal in spring.
AND FINALLY, TONIGHT IS THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES
Tonight, beginning at 9 pm, the first of the three presidential debates will
take place. We here at Crossroads will be watching. We hope you will also,
as President Bush and Senator Kerry present their hopes and dreams for the
next four years.
We leave you with this prayer delivered by Thomas Jefferson, the third
president of the United States, on March 4, 1801.
Almighty God, Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly
beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy
favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound
learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion,
from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and
fashion into one united people, the multitude brought hither out of many
kindreds and tongues. Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those whom in Thy name
we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace
at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise
among the nations of the earth. In time of prosperity fill our hearts with
thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to
fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Extinguishing the Post Cold War Dream
World Bank-Mandated Energy Privatization Taxes
Armenia’s Poor
Grassroots National Newspaper
Canada
by Rob Maguire
Late last month, an independent Armenia became a teenager. Food,
fireworks and a festive atmosphere commemorated the 13th anniversary
of its independence, declared on September 21, 1991. As the first
Soviet republic to proclaim sovereignty during the collapse of the
USSR, Armenians have reason to rejoice – after decades of cultural and
political oppression they may finally flout their language, heritage
and national identity without fear of reprisal.
A boy heading home from school in Karabagh, Armenia.
photo: Rob Maguire
Many in this tiny republic, however, have little else to
celebrate. While civil liberties were subject to Soviet-style
constraints, the Armenia of the 1980s enjoyed a strong economy, a
healthy and highly educated public, and one of the most egalitarian
distributions of wealth in the USSR. Once the newly independent
government began to adopt market reforms and neoliberal values, gross
domestic product plummeted, prices for basic needs such as food and
water increased dramatically, while public goods like health care
and education began to crumble.
Over a decade later, GDP has finally returned to pre-reform levels. Who
has benefited from renewed economic growth, however, is not so
clear. Spending on education and health remains low. Real wages are
less than one-eighth of what they were in 1990, and economic inequality
in Armenia has become extreme. In Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, the
number of BMWs seen rolling along city streets has mushroomed; and so
have the ranks of panhandlers roaming those very same urban boulevards.
Poverty has indeed become widespread in Armenia. Affecting roughly
fifty percent of the population, it has quickly become an epidemic
that shows little sign of subsiding.
An old man in Yerevan, Armenia. photo: Rob Maguire
Living on less than two dollars a day, the poor are
particularly vulnerable to increases in the price of basic
commodities. Privatization within the energy sector, however, has
preyed upon this very weakness. Imposed by the World Bank through
loan conditions, reforms designed to make electric utilities more
attractive to foreign takeover left people paying more than twice as
much for electricity then they were in the mid-1990s.
Furthermore, inability to pay these inflated rates now results in
disconnection. This strict marketplace logic is expressed by Andrei
Rappaport, a senior official for Unified Energy System of Russia, and
the new owner of several Armenian generating facilities: “If you want
energy pay for it, and if there is not any money to pay, then goodbye.”
Not unsurprisingly, these new conditions led to a serious decline in
household energy consumption. The poor in particular were forced to cut
electricity use considerably, by twenty percent on average. According
to a World Bank report, the typical household barely has enough
electricity to power a refrigerator and a handful of light bulbs.
Despite the decline in consumption, increased energy costs now account
for approximately thirty percent of all household expenditures, with
electricity making up the bulk of these payments. A related concern
is the move towards greater wood consumption. While this reduces the
reliance on costly electric power, it has also contributed to higher
levels of indoor air pollution and accelerated deforestation.
Energy – widely recognized as a fundamental need for human development
– has become increasingly inaccessible in Armenia. At the insistence of
the World Bank, control over this precious commodity has been handed
over to foreign interests, where social priorities are sacrificed in
the name of corporate profit and capitalist ethos.
The picture is similar in much of the former Soviet Union:
increases in cultural and, to a lesser degree, political freedoms
have been overshadowed by a sharp decline in the freedom to meet
basic human needs. This failure is directly related to the “shock
therapy” imposition of market capitalism on countries with centralized
economies – a prescription borne more of ideological zeal than sound
economic principles.
Soviet leftovers. photo: Rob Maguire
Joseph Stiglitz, former Chief Economist of the World Bank, explains:
“From this cold-war perspective, those who showed any sympathy to
transitional forms that had evolved out of the communist past and
still bore traces of that evolution must themselves be guilty of
‘communist sympathies.’ Only a blitzkrieg approach during the
‘window of opportunity’ provided by the ‘fog of transition’ would
get the changes made before the population had a chance to organize
to protect its previous vested interests.”
Poverty and inequality remain Armenia’s greatest challenges, and
some question whether the political will exists to tackle these vital
problems. This is true for the Armenian government, but perhaps more
importantly, for the World Bank and related organizations such as
the International Monetary Fund and the United States Agency for
International Development. The coercive pressure these institutions
place upon governments to engage in fire sale privatisation tactics
could be redirected to produce publicly owned utilities that are
transparent, efficient, and designed to serve the public good.
Unfortunately, these institutions appear more concerned with
ideological imperialism and creating profit opportunities for Western
corporations than they are with promoting sustainable economics,
accountable governance, and poverty reduction – all of which are
necessary for human beings to truly prosper.
Rob Maguire is a Canadian activist and graduate student living in
Yerevan, Armenia. He can be found online at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress