Author: Greg Madatian

Garabagh conflict to be mulled during Putin’s visit to Armenia
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 11 2005
Baku, February 10, AssA-Irada — The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Upper Garabagh will be discussed during the planned official visit by
Russian President Vladimir Putin to Armenia. Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to visit Yerevan on February 17 to discuss
preparations for Putin’s visit.
Lavrov will meet with the Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian,
Minister for Defence Serzh Sarkisian, Parliament Speaker Artur
Bagtasarian and Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, the Armenian
“Panarmenian” news agency reports.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DEMOCRATIC ARMENIA PARTY ACCUSES AUTHORITIES OF NEGATIVE
TURNING POINT IN ISSUE OF KARABAKH CONFLICT’S RESOLUTION
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8. ARMINFO. The party Democratic Armenia lays the
whole responsibility for the turning point in settlement of Karabakh
conflict negative for the Armenian party on the president and the
three parties of the coalition who have seized the power. The party
distributed such statement, Tuesday.
According to the source, PACE Resolution on Nagorny Karabakh,
the statement of its author David Atkinson denying the right of
Karabakh people for self-determination, formation and the visit of
OSCE mission to the testify the failure of
the Armenian authorities’ foreign policy. The Armenian people have
faces an alternative, that is, either democracy for the welfare of
Karabakh and regional security or dictatorship sheltered by the idea
of Karabakh, which may result in loss of Karabakh, the party says.
According to the statements, the only way out of the crisis is a new
quality and content of the public life.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanArmenian News
Feb 7 2005
FRENCH NA PRESIDENT SUGGESTED FORMATION OF INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION
ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915
07.02.2005 15:22
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During his visit to Turkey last week President of
the French National Assembly Jean-Louis Debre proposed to form an
international commission on the Armenian Genocide, which would give a
final resolution whether the Genocide really took place or not, thus
putting an end to all the controversies. At the meeting with Chairman
of the EU Commission Yasar Yakis and other Turkish parliamentarians
Jean-Louis Debre stated that this commission should be formed of
representatives of UN, NATO and CE as well as of representatives of
Switzerland as a neutral party. When answering Yasar Yakis’s question
why France has recognized the Armenian Genocide without conducting
any researches, Mr. Debre said that the past should be forgotten. ”
We just wish to smooth your way to the EU”, he stated.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

California Courier Online, February 10, 2005
1 – Commentary
TARC Moderator’s Book Reveals
Initiative’s Anti-Armenian Intent
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
2 – Hovnanian Enterprises Listed 5th
By Forbes as Best Big Company
3 – Southern California Armenian Man Pledges
To Raise $1 Million for US Troops’ Families
4 – United Human Rights Council
Campaigns Against Turkish Goods
5 – Djabourian Runs for
Pico Rivera City Council
6 – Tashjian Opens Exhibit
In New Mexico Senate
7 – Numismatic Society Needs
Donations to Publish Book
8 – Surmelian’s Play to be Performed at
L.A. Public Library, Feb. 2-March 11
*************************************************************************
1 – Commentary
TARC Moderator’s Book Reveals
Initiative’s Anti-Armenian Intent
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
David Phillips, the moderator of the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Commission, is about to publish a book that discloses the true motives of
those who initiated and supported TARC.
Based on an advanced copy of Phillips’s book, “Unsilencing the Past: Track
Two Diplomacy and Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation,” analyst Emil Danielyan
wrote two lengthy reports last week for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Here are some of the highlights of Phillips’s interesting revelations, as
reported by Danielyan:
— Phillips confirms that the US government was the driving force behind
TARC. The idea was suggested to him by Undersecretary of State for
Political Affairs Marc Grossman, the number three figure in the State
Department under the Clinton and Bush administrations. TARC held its first
meeting in Vienna in early 2001.
— Phillips acknowledges that the State Department provided “some of TARC’s
direct costs.” All of the sources of TARC’s funds and their uses have not
been made public.
— Phillips accuses Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian of reneging on his
pledge to support TARC. Apparently, he would have preferred that Oskanian
continue backing TARC, even after it became clear that TARC was a clever
ploy to undermine the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
— Phillips bitterly complains: “Instead of standing by its commitments,
the Kocharian government ran for cover.” This made Phillips so furious that
he slammed the Kocharian regime in an op-ed column in the Wall Street
Journal by calling it “corrupt and inept,” and accusing Pres. Kocharian of
“running a mafia state.”
— Phillips attributes Oskanian’s change of mind on TARC to criticism from
Armenian “nationalist circles.” Once TARC’s anti-Armenian intent became
clear, just about everyone in Armenia and the Diaspora opposed this
sinister initiative. Shortly after TARC’s creation, one of its Turkish
members, Ozdem Sanberk, even gave an interview acknowledging that the
purpose of this initiative was to block the international recognition of
the Armenian Genocide.
— Gunduz Aktan, a Turkish member of TARC, who repeatedly and aggressively
denies the Armenian Genocide, put his foot in his mouth by suggesting that
an independent panel of experts review the facts of the Genocide. TARC
engaged the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) for that
purpose. Aktan boasted that he would “destroy” the ICTJ experts with his
legal arguments during his testimony. Phillips says that Aktan appeared
“nervous” after making his presentation. Aktan had good reason to be
nervous. The ICTJ qualified the events of 1915 as genocide.
— Trying to give importance to his own efforts, Phillips claims that
Turkey came within an inch of opening its border with Armenia in the summer
of 2003. Showing his political naiveté, Phillips says in his book: “I had
hoped that Ankara would quietly open its border sometime during the dead of
summer, when everyone was on holiday and not paying attention.”
— Phillips writes that when Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul came to
Washington in July 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vice President
Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and National Security
Advisor Condoleezza Rice reminded him at every meeting that “the issue of
genocide recognition was not going away. He was told that real progress was
the best way of deflecting pressure.” Not surprisingly, the US officials’
real intent for pressuring Turkey into opening its border with Armenia was
not the improvement of Armenia’s economy, but the removal of the nettlesome
Armenian Genocide issue from the agenda of the Congress.
— As further evidence of the sinister intent of the Bush Administration,
Phillips writes that Vice President Cheney personally intervened by
lobbying against a congressional resolution that barely mentioned the
Armenian Genocide. “Cheney worked the phones and was assured by [House
Speaker] Dennis Hastert that [the resolution] would be kept from the House
floor,” Phillips says.
— In an interesting revelation, Phillips reports that Pres. Kocharian was
highly infuriated when the Armenian Genocide resolution was blocked by
Pres. Clinton and Speaker Hastert. A month later, when Pres. Kocharian
received Stephen Sestanovich, an assistant secretary of state in the
Clinton administration, the Armenian President was “in a foul mood and
railed against Clinton’s betrayal,” Phillips says. This is yet another
indication that Armenian officials, not just the Diaspora, care deeply
about the Genocide issue.
— Phillips reveals that he helped arrange the controversial February 2001
interview between Pres. Kocharian and prominent Turkish journalist Mehmet
Ali Birand that “helped mollify [Turkish] concerns about Armenia’s
intentions.” Apparently, Phillips promised Pres. Kocharian that should he
make conciliatory statements during the interview, the Turks would then
open the border with Armenia. Pres. Kocharian kept his end of the bargain.
Phillips did not or could not, since the border remained closed!
— Phillips wrongly blames “Armenian nationalists” for both of his failures
– inability to have Turkey lift its blockade of Armenia and collapse of the
reconciliation efforts. Phillips refuses to acknowledge that his profound
ignorance of Armenian-Turkish issues played a much greater role in his
failures than anything said or done by so-called Armenian nationalists.
More on Phillips’s escapades, once we get hold of his book!
**************************************************************************
2 – Hovnanian Enterprises Listed 5th
By Forbes as Best Big Company
RED BANK, N.J., (PRNewswire-FirstCall) — Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., a
leading national homebuilder, announced last week that for the fourth
consecutive year it has been named to Forbes Platinum 400, an annual
listing of “America’s Best Big Companies.” Hovnanian ranked fifth on the
list based on five-year annualized total return.
To make the list, a firm must have revenue of more than $1 billion and rank
in the upper half of one of 26 industry groups in Forbes’ composite scoring
for return on capital, sales growth and earnings growth. Forbes also
considers a company’s accounting and corporate governance practices.
“In 2004, we once again achieved significant returns on capital, as well as
revenue and earnings growth, and we are honored that Forbes has recognized
this outstanding performance and acknowledged us as one of America’s Best
Big Companies,” said Ara K. Hovnanian, President and Chief Executive
Officer of the Company. “Our achievements are a direct result of the
efforts of our operating management teams and talented associates across
the Company. We expect to continue our strong performance in 2005 as we
build on our solid market position and implement further improvements to
our operating processes.”
Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. founded in 1959 by Kevork S. Hovnanian,
Chairman, is headquartered in Red Bank, New Jersey. The Company is one of
the nation’s largest homebuilders with operations in Arizona,
California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Michigan,
Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas,
Virginia and West Virginia. As the developer of K. Hovnanian’s Four Seasons
communities, the Company is also one of the nation’s largest builders of
active adult homes.
***************************************************************************
3 – Southern California Armenian Man Pledges
To Raise $1 Million for US Troops’ Families
CAMARILLO, CA – Armen Eloyan of Camarillo, Calif., has promised to raise
over a million dollars to help the US military families left behind cope
with everyday problems. Eloyan has volunteered his own
money and time to launching a “One Nation” wristband campaign for Operation
Homefront.
As American troops are being asked to shoulder more responsibility and
danger, their families also feel the
burden. Often it is financial. Many troops leave behind young families for
whom the daily task of life can become overwhelming hardships.
Operation Homefront was established in the aftermath of the September 11th
disaster to channel volunteer and monetary aid to the families of troops
stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq. The program has successfully
helped thousands of military families deal with everything from car repair
to extremes like homelessness. Their recent pairing with the entrepreneur
is reaping thousands of dollars of aid to families in need, although much
more is needed to meet the climbing demand.
As an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Eloyan is grateful to
American troops for ensuring the rights of all people around the world.
The wristband campaign consisting of selling red silicone “One Nation”
wristbands, similar to those popularized by the Lance Armstrong Foundation,
with 100 percent of proceeds going directly to Operation Homefront.
So far the campaign has netted thousands of dollars for families and Eloyan
is optimistic about reaching his one million dollar goal within the year.
The wristbands can be purchased on the Operation Homefront website as well
as on For more information and to find out how
you can help the families of American troops, contact: Mamie Maywhort,
Homefront Foundation Comptroller, email: [email protected]
phone: (949) 248-9468.
**************************************************************************
4 – United Human Rights Council
Campaigns Against Turkish Goods
GLENDALE – On Jan. 29, the United Human Rights Council (UHRC) held its
first large-scale fact strip distribution of they year. Members visited
Armenian grocery stores in both Glendale and Pasadena, providing them with
informative flyers about human rights abuses committed by the Turkish
government. Store clerks and managers were urged to place the flyers on
their checkout counters for customers to pick up.
According to Ani Garibyan, one of the organizers of Saturday’s action, the
UHRC regularly carries out such fact strip distributions in order to “raise
the awareness of Armenian consumers” about buying Turkish products.
“We figure that if we want to stop Armenians from buying Turkish products,
the best thing to do is to directly go to the stores where they shop,”
stated Garibyan.
Many of those who took part in the distribution explained that most store
managers were receptive to their campaign. Several clerks even insisted on
putting the fact strips in the grocery bags of customers.
In addition, the UHRC members conducted a survey of Armenian shoppers at
the stores they visited. Customers were asked a series of questions
regarding Turkish products being sold in Armenian stores, including whether
or not they realized that the Turkish government receives tax revenue from
companies exporting such products to the U.S. The results of the survey
will be used to help structure future campaigns aimed towards ridding
Turkish products from Southern California stores.
The United Human Rights Council (UHRC), by means of action on a grassroots
level, works toward correcting the human rights violations of those
governments who distort, deny, and delude their own history to disguise
past and present genocides, massacres, and human rights violations. The
UHRC is a collective of concerned citizens, including a diverse spectrum of
members and supporters from various community- based organizations and
student associations of universities and colleges.
**************************************************************************
5 – Djabourian Runs for
Pico Rivera City Council
PICO RIVERA, Calif. – Surprising local political scene observers,
19-year-old Natalie Djabourian entered the political race for one of the
two open seats in the Pico Rivera City Council. Elections are set for March
8 in the suburb southeast of Los Angeles.
Currently on the Dean’s Honor List as a student at the University of
California, Irvine, Djabourian graduated from Mesrobian Armenian School in
June of 2004 as a valedictorian. Six months earlier, she graduated Cum
Laude from East Los Angeles College, receiving an Associate in Arts.
Despite her young age, Djabourian has not stayed away from performing her
civic duty, by volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club of Whittier, the
YMCA Headstart Program in Montebello and at the Admitting Department of
Beverly Hospital, also in Montebello.
Currently, she majors in English and minors in Political Science and
Philosophy at UCI, while tutoring graduate students in ESL.
Her political platform includes increasing public safety along with
after-school programs to keep youth and adolescent off the streets. She
also plans to better the appearance of the city by instituting
graffiti-fighting programs and help eliminate the image of Pico Rivera and
its perceived association with crime.
On the business side, she hopes to bring new businesses into the city to
increase the tax-base in the city and to preclude residents from long
drives for their shopping needs.
Djabourian can be contacted at her e-mail:[email protected].
**************************************************************************
6 – Tashjian Opens Exhibit
In New Mexico Senate
SANTA FE, New Mexico – An exhibition of paintings by Richard Tashjian
opened Jan. 23, in the office of the President Pro-Tempore of the New
Mexico Senate, Den Altamirano. The exhibition will be open until March 20,
through the Legislative session.
Tashjian, a former resident of Watertown, Mass., is now residing in Santa
Fe, where he is being represented by a Taos gallery and a Santa Fe gallery.
The exhibition was made possible by New Millenniun Fine Art Gallery of
Santa Fe.
Tashjian has successfully captured on canvas colorful scenes from Santa Fe
and Taos, representing the true colors of the American Southwest.
Recent works of oil and acrylic paintings depict the cliff’s O’Keefe
painted in Ghost Ranch near Abiqiu, Taos in the Fall, cliffs near Gallup,
and snow-covered Ortiz Mountains near Madrid, New Mexico.
Senator Altamirano welcomed Tashjian and the exhibition warmly on opening
day.
For further information, contact Tashjian at (505) 955-1578.
**************************************************************************
7 – Numismatic Society Needs
Donations to Publish Book
PICO RIVERA, Calif. – The Armenian Numismatic Society, based in Pico
Rivera, Calif., is soliciting donations from members and the public at
large to help publish Y.T. Nercessian’s “Silver Coinage of the Artaxiad
Dynasty in Armenia.”
The book is an extended and upgraded compilation of three study works that
were published in the “Armenian Numismatic Journal.”
The book is expected to encompass 200 pages of text and 96 plates to
include about 600 coins, far more than the original few hundred though to
have been struck during the reign of Tigranes II. According to Nercessian’s
extensive research into auction catalogues, books, museums and collectors,
832 coins have been classified.
Nercessian expects to have the book ready for printing in late 2005.
According to preliminary bids, the publishing expense is expected to be
near $15,000.
The Executive Board of the Armenian Numismatic Society decided to create a
“Table of Gratuity,” in the book, acknowledging the donors. All donors will
have their names published in alphabetical order. Each donor of $100 or
more will receive a free copy of the publication. As before, the names and
the amount of funds accumulated will be published in the “Armenian
Numismatic Journal.”
Donations can be sent to the Society, attention of M. W. Gewenian,
Treasurer, 8511 Beverly Park Place, Pico Rivera, CA 90660-1920.
**************************************************************************
8 – Surmelian’s Play to be Performed at
L.A. Public Library, Feb. 2-March 11
LOS ANGELES – The Cornerstone Theater Company will present Leon Z.
Surmelian’s “I Ask You, Ladies & Gentlemen,” at the Los Angeles Public
Library’s Central Library. Eighteen weekday performances have been
scheduled, starting Feb. 2 through March 11.
The two-hour program is free for students and begins at 10:30 a.m. The
performances are appropriate for seventh-12th grade students. The text
contains explicit language relating to war and death.
Adapted by Yehuda Hyman and directed by Christopher Liam Moore, the play is
the true story of an Armenian orphan boy whose brace and poetic spirit
guides him through a tragic odyssey in his war-torn country and propels him
into a new life in America.
The Cornerstone Theater’s mission is to promote reading, inspire writing,
increase critical thinking and introduce theater to young people. After
each performance, students participate in a post-show discussion and poetry
writing exercise.
Teachers will receive a resource guide. Pre-show discussion questions are
available online at , or will be faxed to
teachers prior to the performance.
For reservations and information, call Pesha Rudnick at (213) 613-1700 ext.
38.
***************************************************************************
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–Boundary_(ID_qDZkCpQTHN6QDEB0H6cUIg)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“NEW TIMES” PARTY PROTESTS AGAINST ARREST OF LEADER OF PARTY
“ARMENIAN-ARYAN ORDER”
YEREVAN, JANUARY 25. ARMINFO. Party “New Times” protests against the
arrest of the leader of the party “Armenian-aryan order” Armen
Avetisian. It is said in the statement of the party New Times provided
to ARMINFO Tuesday.
The authors of the statement think that the arrest of Armen Avetisian
bears a political hidden reason and is an order of the authorities.
According to the statement, the true reason of the arrest of Armen
Avetisian is not he anti-Semite statements, as it is officially
motivated, but his speeches against introduction of the system of
social cards in the republic and threats to publish the names of the
representatives of the power who have non-traditional sexual
orientation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
December 10, 2004
His Holiness Karekin II Consecrates Church of St. Astvatsatsin
On December 9, the newly constructed church of St. Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother
of God) was consecrated in the village of Arevashogh, Diocese of Gougark.
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,
offered the service of consecration and presided during the ceremonies.
Assisting His Holiness were His Eminence Archbishop Grigoris Buniatian,
primate of the Armenian Diocese of the Ukraine; His Eminence Archbishop
Barkev Martirosian, primate of the Diocese of Artsakh (Republic of Nagorno
Karabagh); and His Grace Bishop Navasard Ktchoyan, Vicar of the Araratian
Pontifical Diocese.
The foundation of the church had been laid and blessed in August 2003 and
was built through the patronage of Mr. Samvel Adamian from Donetsk, Ukraine.
His Holiness’ entourage was greeted at the border of the Lori region, near
the city limits of Spitak, by the primate of the Diocese of Gougark, His
Grace Bishop Sepouh Chouljian; the governor of the Lori Region, Henrik
Kochinian; and a delegation of regional and municipal authorities. The
Pontifical delegation was escorted to the village of Arevashogh, where His
Holiness was welcomed by hundreds of faithful who offered bread and salt to
be blessed.
Inside the newly built church, the primate of the diocese, Bishop Sepouh
greeted His Holiness Karekin II stating, “The Pontiff of All Armenians is
with us today, who has come from Holy Etchmiadzin to bring consolation to
his sons and daughters, and to bless and consecrate this sanctuary of
worship and house of prayer. By consecrating this church, the Catholicos
will be blessing all of us, and from this time forth, this sanctuary will
become a fortress of Armenian faith.”
With the singing of spiritually uplifting hymns and the recitation of
psalms, His Holiness consecrated the holy altar of the church with Holy
Muron (Chrism). The four bishops present assisted His Holiness during the
service, and consecrated the baptismal font and sixteen columns of the
church.
At the end of the service, the Catholicos of All Armenians addressed his
message of blessing to the faithful of Arevashogh:
“Today a new blessing is descending from heaven upon the village of
Arevashogh, because together with you, in prayer and worship, we consecrated
this new church in the name of the Holy Mother of God. From this day on,
the doors of this church will be open before all of you, so you can come and
stand before the holy altar, to offer your prayers to heaven in the presence
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to submit your request to God. With this
church, your lives will progress according to the commandments and love of
the Gospel, and goodness will flow from above into your lives.
“.For more than seventeen centuries, ‘the Church of the Armenians’ has been
the birthplace of every Armenian soul, where the faith of each Armenian has
been fortified, his courageous will and spirit has been molded, and he has
been able to withstand manifold tribulations that have befallen our people
throughout history. Today, the temptations are no less for our nation:
economic and social difficulties, the undesirable moral condition in our
country, and numerous attacks in the spiritual field seeking to damage and
shake our ancient faith. However, we are confident and have always
believed, that each church which opens her doors before the faithful becomes
a new fortress of our spiritual life, an impregnable citadel of our
steadfast faith, intended to keep and protect our Armenian people, complete
and serene, unified and in one accord.”
His Holiness also extended words of commendation to the primate of the
Diocese of Gougark for his dedicated and devoted service, as well as to the
regional authorities who assist Bishop Sepouh in the accomplishment of his
mission.
In appreciation of the church-building activities of the benefactor, Samvel
Adamian, His Holiness bestowed upon him the highest medal of the Armenian
Church – the Order of Saint Gregory the Illuminator. His Holiness presented
the new church with a gift of a chalice to be used for Holy Communion. The
Catholicos concluded his message to the faithful stating, “If daily prayers
are not offered under her arches, this church will remain only a building
built of stone.”, and urged the villagers to keep their faith steadfast and
their loyalty to the spirit and inheritance of their forebears unshaken.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Putin’s historic visit to Turkey comes rivals forge closer ties
AP Worldstream
Dec 03, 2004
SUZAN FRASER

ANKARA, Turkey _ Historic rivals Turkey and Russia have spent
centuries vying for influence in central Asia, the Balkans and the
Caucasus. Most recently, they bickered over routes to carry energy
resources to world markets and accused each other of supporting the
other’s militant groups.
But underneath the antagonism, the two have quietly woven a web of
economic ties _ and are eyeing even closer cooperation.
The process will receive an official consecration on Sunday, when
Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Ankara in a visit rich in
symbolism: Putin will be the first Russian leader ever to pay an
official visit Turkey.
Putin is to meet with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and oversee the signing of six
cooperation agreements, including in defense, finance and energy.
The two-day visit, said Sezer spokesman Sermet Atacanli on Friday,
“will bea new boost for Turkish-Russian relations.”
Turkey and Russia have been rivals for centuries.
At their height, the Ottoman empire and Czarist Russia were great
eastern powers locked in a struggle for regional supremacy. Friction
between the two nations precipitated the Crimean War and they were on
opposite sides duringWorld War I. More recently, Turkey was NATO’s
easternmost front during the Cold War.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Turkey and Russia competed for
control in Central Asia and the Caucasus where Turkic states gained
independence. Economically more powerful, Russia has in recent years
maintained its dominance in the region.
But since the end of the Cold War, Turkey and Russia have also been
concentrating on trade. Today, Russia is Turkey’s second largest
trading partner, after Germany. While Turkey is a major consumer of
Russian natural gas, Turkey’s Mediterranean coast is a favorite
destination for Russian tourists.
“It is no longer rivalries, but cooperation which dominates
relations,” said Sinan Ogan, a researcher and expert on Russia.
Putin’s trip, originally scheduled for September, was postponed after
the Beslan school tragedy in which more than 330 people _ mostly
children _ were killed in a siege by Chechen rebels.
The Chechnya conflict is expected to feature high on the agenda during
Putin’s two-day visit. Many Turks trace their ancestry to Chechnya and
other parts of the Caucausus and Turks sympathize with their fellow
Muslims in the war-ravaged Russian region.
Russia has called on Turkey to crack down on Turkish charities that it
claims channel funds and weapons to Chechen rebels. Earlier this
month, Russian officials said their forces in Chechnya killed two
Turkish militants who were fighting alongside Chechen separatists.
On Friday, Turkish authorities apprehended 10 suspected Chechen
militants and two pro-Chechen Turks, in an apparent gesture to Putin.
“Russia’s greatest concern is the support from certain Chechen civil
organizations inside Turkey, to Chechen terrorist movements,” said
Seyfi Tashan, director of the Ankara-based Foreign Policy Institute.
Turkey has in the past accused Russia of supporting Kurdish rebels
that have since 1984 waged a war for autonomy in Turkey’s
southeast. The war has killed some 37,000 people.
Putin and Erdogan are also expected to discuss contentious issues such
as the Caucasus, where Turkey is allied with Azerbaijan and Russia is
friendly with its rival, Armenia.
Bilateral trade is expected to exceed the targeted US$10 billion
(Aâ=82¬7.5 billion) this year_ an amount Turkish officials say no one
would have dreamed of 10 years ago. Turkey’s Trade Minister Kursad
Tuzmen said trade volume would reach $15 billion (Aâ=82¬11 billion) in
the coming years.
A 446-kilometer (278-mile) pipeline which carries the Russian gas
beneath the Black Sea is operational since 2002. Turkish companies are
active in Russia in retail, construction and brewing, and investment
to date totals US$2 billion (Aâ=82¬1.5 billion).
Turkey and Russia “are moving toward cooperation and
welfare… Russian and Turkey are neighbors. We have common
interests,” Putin said in an interview with CNN-Turk television in
September.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Prelacy of Canada
Contact
Name: Dania Ohanian
Phone: (514) 856-1200
E-mail: [email protected]
The Armenian Prelacy of Canada Organizes Bone Marrow Drive with the
Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
November 26, 2004, Montreal (Qc)_ In a step towards lending a hand to
Armenians across the world suffering from blood illnesses, His Eminency,
Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate, upon hearing about the Armenian Bone
Marrow Project, insisted that the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
(ABMDR) bring their drive to Montreal.
Established in 1999, the ABMDR is an internationally accredited,
independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization, whose mission is to
ensure that every Armenian (and others) struck with leukemia or other blood
related diseases have the hope of finding a genetically suitable match for a
bone marrow transplant, which often is the only and final life-saving
procedure for the patient.
The founders of the Registry, Dr. Frieda Jordan and Dr. Sevak Avagyan (who
met each other through the Armenian Relief Society), were at the Armenian
community centre on November 26 for a detailed lecture on the procedures of
the ABMDR and to relay the importance of the Armenian Bone Marrow Project,
which has 9,000 donors to date, but needs 10,000 in order to be a
full-fledged registry.
A member of the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) and the World Marrow
Donor Worldwide (WMDW), the ABMDR shares its database information with other
registries around the world and currently has more than 150 patients in need
of a transplant. The registry has two, state-of-the-art tissue typing
laboratories; one in Yerevan run by Dr. Avagyan (Executive Director), and
the other in Glendora, California, run by Dr. Jordan (President).
Due to the unique genetic make up of Armenians in terms of transplantation
antigens (the substance needed to create antibodies, which leads to the
healthy development of blood cells), finding a bone marrow match is more
likely to occur among other Armenians. With the lack of Armenian donors in
other registries, the ABMDR is the greatest hope for Armenians across the
world to find a potential match.
For every 200 donors, one match is projected and the survival rate after a
transplant for adults is 40 to 50 percent and 60 to 70 percent for children,
depending on a number of factors, including the type and stage of the
disease and the patient’s condition.
A typically painless procedure, becoming a donor only involves withdrawing a
little amount of blood (5 CCs) from which the DNA is extracted and the
antigens are identified. If a match is found, further tests are required and
due to medical advances, becoming a bone marrow donor has become almost
pain-free unlike before, explained Dr. Avagyan.
The ABMDR’s first donor was Armenia’s First Lady, Dr. Bella Kocharian, who
is also the Honorary Chairperson of the registry, whereas the first
voluntary donor in Lebanon during the registry’s visit in April 2004 was His
Holiness Aram I of the House of Cilicia, who was very impressed with the
project.
The ABMDR has received the Presidential Award in the field of medicine in
Armenia, as well as certificates of recognition from California state
government officials, including a special “Woman of the Year Award in
Science and Technology” to Dr. Jordan, among others.
The bone marrow recruitment drive in Montreal will be taking place at the
community centre in the Aharonian Hall on Saturday December 4th and Sunday
December 5th, 2004, between 11am and 2pm and is open to all healthy adults
between 18 and 55 years old.
-30-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Francophonie set to tackle tough issues: minister
By KEVIN DOUGHERTY, The Gazette
The Gazette (Montreal)
November 24, 2004 Wednesday
Final Edition
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The Francophonie appears ready to
move beyond issues of culture and identity to tackle more political
questions, says Canada’s minister for the international body.
Jacques Saada said yesterday at the summit here that he expects the
Francophonie will take on a stronger political role and commit itself
to development issues. He said he is well placed to get involved in
such changes.
“I am the first person of African origin to be named to the (Canadian)
cabinet,” said Saada, who was born in Tunisia and grew up in France
before immigrating to Canada. He is now Liberal MP for the South
Shore riding of Brossard-Laprairie.
Leaders of more than 60 countries belonging to – or seeking to join
– the club of French-speaking governments are converging on Burkina
Faso for the 10th Summit of the Francophonie.
Prime Minister Paul Martin arrives this morning from Brazil, and
Premier Jean Charest flies in this evening from Quebec. Canada,
Quebec and New Brunswick all have full membership.
Andorra and Greece want to become associate members. Armenia, Austria,
Croatia, Hungary and Georgia will be here seeking observer status.
While in the past the Francophonie has danced around tough issues,
at this summit the crisis in neighbouring Ivory Coast and lingering
instability in Haiti will be on the table.
“The question is very complex,” Saada said, referring to Ivory Coast,
where government jets attacked a French army base this month, killing
10. Ivory Coast claims 63 citizens were killed and hundreds wounded
when France retaliated.
Canada has support for its position that Ivory Coast drop a
constitutional change barring anyone not born there from running for
president, Saada said.
That provision disqualified two rivals in the 2000 election, allowing
Laurent Gbagbo to become president in 2002. Dissatisfaction with
Gbagbo sparked a rebellion in the north, where most immigrants from
Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali – 26 per cent of the population – live.
Saada said Canada is calling for multilateral efforts to bring
stability to Haiti.
As Paul Martin’s emissary, Saada in September informed Algerian
president Abdelaziz Bouteflika that Canada had won support for
fast-tracking Algeria’s membership. The country is Canada’s leading
trade partner in the region.
Algeria is marking the 50th anniversary this year of its war of
independence from France, Saada noted. “In Algeria, the Francophonie
is extremely present, despite Arabization,” he said.
Yesterday, Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, Quebec’s deputy premier,
inaugurated the first of 12 community “cybercentres.” Quebec is
contributing a total of 60 Internet work stations.
“Summits often just come and go,” she said. “We wanted to leave
something, especially for the young people.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
Nov 19 2004
WORLD BANK PRAISES 2005 DRAFT BUDGET
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS: World Bank Resident
Representative in Armenia praised today the government for increased
spending on health, education and social sector, earmarked in its
2005 draft budget. The Bank Representative, Rodger Robinson, said it
was evidence of the government’s commitment to implement the Poverty
Reduction Program.
Robinson described bigger spending on education than on defense,
set by the budget as “symbolic,” adding though that defense
expenditures are also a government priority. In general, he said, the
2005 draft budget is balanced.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress