Author: Harutyunian Christine

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS EXPECTED TO ATTEND BSECO PA COMMISSION’S MEETING IN BAKU

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 2 2007

Meeting of the commission of Black Sea Economic Cooperation
Organization (BSECO) Parliamentary Assembly on cultural, scientific
and social issues will be held tomorrow in Baku.

Member of BSECO PA, parliamentarian Asef Hajiyev told APA that the
issue on improving living standards in BSECO member states will be
debated at the meeting. Member of Azerbaijani delegation Jale Aliyeva
will make a report.

Commenting on participation of Armenian representatives in the meeting,
Asef Hajiyev said it is possible, since Armenia is the member of
the organization. The meeting will be held in the parliament and end
tomorrow.

FORTHCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO BE MORE REPLETE IDEOLOGICALLY THAN PARLIAMENTARY ONES: REPRESENTATIVE OF ARF DASHNAKTSUTYUN

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 1 2007

ArmInfo. ‘The forthcoming February, 2008, presidential election will
be more replete ideologically than the past parliamentary ones. At
the same time, it is yet early to say that the desired level of the
political fight has been reached in the country’, representative of
ARF Dashnaktsutyun Spartak Seyranyan said today in "Zerkalo" club.

He said that gradual transfer of the political struggle to the
ideological plain happens preferably not by the parties’ will. It is
a result of the public order execution, S. Seyranyan said.

Talking of the role of bribing voters in the forthcoming electoral
campaign, he paid special attention to availability of these phenomena
in all the countries. It is quite another matter in what manner they
are served. "If there are turns in front of the candidates’ offices,
who dispense bribery, it means that part of the population is still at
such low educational level and difficult social state that prefer to
take 5000 drams having sold their voice", ARFD’s representative said.

Commenting on the recent statement of the People’s Party leader Tigran
Karapetyan about mass delivery of bribe by Dashnaktsutyun itself during
the recent election, S. Seyranyan emphasized that he does not intend
to idealize himself and his party, however, "the whole history of
ARF Dashnaktsutyun has shown that one should be careful when giving
assessments to it. Many of those who comment on our activity, very
often turn out to be out of politics".

TEENAGER SAYS HE ‘REGRETS’ KILLING HRANT DINK

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 2 2007

The 17-year-old, identified by the initials O.S., who confessed
to killing Hrant Dink outside his newspaper office last January,
expressed "regret" for the killing in his testimony during the Dink
assassination trial which resumed yesterday at the Ýstanbul 14th
Criminal Court in Beþiktaþ.

The second trial on the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink took place on Monday, trying 19 defendants, eight of whom
are in police custody. Dink’s wife, Rakel, and daughter Delal Dink
were also at the courthouse.

Armenian-Turkish journalist Dink was gunned down in broad daylight on
Jan. 19 in front of the bilingual Armenian weekly, Agos, where he was
editor-in-chief. More than 100,000 people turned out for his funeral
in order to show solidarity and protest against violent nationalism.

"Yasin Hayal forced me to do this job. I shot him out of fear without
even understanding how it happened. I was at my uncle’s place when I
came back to my senses. I could not sleep the entire night. I regret
it; I didn’t know he had a family. I wouldn’t have done it if I had
known" said the youth in his testimony, private CNN Turk television
station reported Monday. He also claimed to be under the influence
of ecstasy pills, given to him by Yasin Hayal two hours prior to
the assasination. The trial is being held behind closed doors since
O.S. is a minor.

As the second hearing of the trial resumed yesterday, hundreds of
demonstrators fearing a state cover-up of Dink’s murder appeared
outside the courthouse, proclaiming: "We are all witnesses. We demand
justice." Police implemented heavy security outside the courthouse
where 19 suspects, eight of which are being held in police custody,
are being tried on various charges relating to the killing of Dink.

Dink’s wife, Rakel Dink, daughter, Delal Dink and representatives of
Agos newspaper and Bir Gun daily, where Dink was a regular columnist,
participated in the hearing as co-plaintiffs. Freedom and Solidarity
Party (ODP) deputy Ufuk Uras, German opposition Green Party leader
Claudia Roth, Agos Editor-in-Chief Etyen Mahcupyan and journalists
Yavuz Baydar, Ali Bayramoðlu, Murat Belge and Ayþe Onal also arrived
in court to support Dink’s family.

On Saturday Turkish media aired a recording of a telephone conversation
between one of the suspects and a police officer. The dialogue
clearly suggests the police officer knew about plots to kill the
journalist. Dink’s lawyers have complained that the murder has not been
properly investigated and have expressed fears for the independence
of the court, reflecting concerns about the possible involvement
of Turkey’s so-called deep state — a network of individuals nested
within the state hierarchy, carrying out behind-the-scene operations
they deem to be patriotic.

Erdal Doðan, a lawyer representing the Dink family, reiterated that
concern on Monday. Speaking to the press prior to the hearing,
Doðan said: "It was written everywhere that there was looseness
[in the police force], and that everybody knew Dink was going to be
shot except for Hrant Dink himself." Recalling that it became clear
during the investigation that the plot was being openly spoken about
in Internet cafes and on the streets of Trabzon, the hometown of the
murderer and most of the suspects, he added: "It is irrational to
think that the gendarmerie and the police department were unaware of
this. We have made our application to the Trabzon Criminal Court to
include them in this case." Doðan said the transcript of the recently
discovered phone conversation had been placed in the court files.

–Boundary_(ID_BVj5WaJcwA5j+jPjUzqxkw)–

ARMENPRESS

ARCHEOLOGY AND ETHNOGRAPHY INSTITUTE TO RECONSTRUCT
TRADITIONAL ARMENIAN RITES

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS: Archeology and
Ethnography Institute, an affiliation of the National
Academy of Sciences, plans release of CDs, DVDs and
booklets featuring `true’ Armenian traditional rites
`to make ethnography an every day application.’
Pavel Avetisian, director of the Institute, said
the idea is to separate what is traditional and
national from what is alien and imported.
To make this easier the Institute will reconstruct
traditional rituals and record them on CDs, DVDs and
so on.
`We want the society to know how our ancestors
celebrated weddings, what kind of dishes they made,
what they wore and even how they buried their
deceased. We want them to know that much of what they
think is traditional and Armenia is actually alien and
even barbaric,’ he said.
He said this idea belonged to late prime minister
Andranik Margarian.

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

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

"WE MUST MOVE FROM ECCLESIOCENTRIC TO CHRISTOCENTRIC PERCEPTION OF
CATHOLICITY"
Said His Holiness ARAM I

In a keynote lecture on "Catholicity: its implications and challenges" His
Holiness Aram I emphasized christocentric nature and missionary dimension of
catholicity and challenged the prevailing perception of catholicity
considering it as a mere mark of the church.

The lecture was given at an International Conference in Berlin organized in
honor of Bishop W. Huber, the presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Church in
Germany.

Hereunder excerpts from the lecture of His Holiness.-

CATHOLICITY: THE ESSE OF CHURCH

. Catholicity is not a mere mark of the church; it is the very esse of the
church. As Christ’s body, the church is catholic by its nature, scope and
purpose. Catholicity refers neither to geography nor to institution, neither
to quantity nor to universality. It points to the wholeness, fullness and
uniqueness of truth revealed in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the church is
catholic not because of its world-wide presence, but for the very truth it
holds. Catholicity goes beyond the church to embrace the whole humanity and
creation, time and space. Catholicity cannot be totally identified with the
church; it is much larger than the church in its historical expression and
institutional form. Catholicity pertains to God’s universal plan of
salvation in Christ.
. Catholicity is a gift of God and not a human achievement. It is rooted in
the mystery of God himself. Catholicity challenges the church’s
self-contained existence and self-sufficient perception, and calls for an
ecclesiological self-understanding that considers the church not an
established institution, but a becoming reality for the purpose it is
destined to.
. Catholicity is essentially a qualitative reality, even though it has
quantitative, institutional and functional dimensions, manifestations and
implications. Catholicity is dynamic; it incorporates all time and space
within all-embracing fullness and plenitude of Christ. Catholicity is the
blood of the church, which in the power of the Holy Spirit ensures the
continuity and growth of the church in history. It makes the church the
ferment and the anticipation of the Kingdom of God, which will achieve its
consummation with the second coming of Christ in parousia.

THE LOCUS AND FOCUS OF CATHOLICITY

. As a gift of God, catholicity already exists in the church permeating its
entire life and witness. Therefore, an excessive eschatological perception
of catholicity may endanger its giveness and fullness. Catholicity is not an
abstract notion; its locus is the people of God, the eucharistic Koinonia.
The church does not generate catholicity; catholicity creates, sustains and
nurtures the church. It is an ontological, not an institutional or
geographical reality. It is important to make a clear distinction between
essence and form, substance and expression.
. Catholicity is essentially related to the church’s membership and not to
its institutional expression. It points to the fullness of Christ’s presence
in the community of faith. This fullness of truth is received, preserved and
taken to the world by the community of men and women baptized in the name of
Triune God. Therefore, catholicity is not related to the size of church
membership but to its quality of life, namely, to its obedient response to
God’s call in Christ and commitment to His mission in the world. Catholicity
embraces not just the so-called dues-paying members of the church but the
entire community, all those baptized.
. The eucharist is the focus of catholicity and its living expression. The
memory of the past, the struggle of the present, and the vision of the
future dynamically interact in the eucharist. The fullness of God’s salvific
act and His transforming presence among the faithful are revealed through
the eucharist. The eucharistic is the sacrament of catholicity par
excellence. Through the eucharist the catholicity builds the community of
faith and reaches out to the whole world, as the fullness of God’s creating,
restoring, reconciling and fulfilling act for the whole humanity and
creation.

CATHOLICITY AND UNITY

. Catholicity makes the church an integral part of the wholeness and
fullness of truth revealed in Christ. It enhances the church’s God-given
unity within the framework of history and protects it against the forces of
division. It also generates interaction, interpenetration and
interdependence by deepening mutuality and the churches’ self-understanding
of belonging to the one and same Christocentric Koinonia.
Catholicity cannot be identified or possessed by one part of the body; it
pertains to the whole body and embraces the historical experience of the
church in time and space by creating unity with the past (apostolicity),
with the present (missionary outreach) and with the future (eschatology).
This is catholicity in time. Catholicity also calls for unity in faith
manifested through the eucharistic gathering and conciliar communion among
the local churches. This is catholicity in space. It is important that the
brokenness within the institutional church does not reduce or distort
catholicity ontologically; it only hampers its fulfillment in time and
space. It must be also underscored that the brokeness of the church is not a
hindrance to share in the fullness of catholicity, which only belongs to
God. Catholicity deals with the substance of faith, not its formulation, and
it gives the churches a broader framework of unity in which to articulate
their God-given unity in diverse forms.
. Catholicity does not aim for monolith or uniform vision of the church;
rather it enhances God-given pluralism and strives for the whole without
undermining the particular. Catholicity aims for reconciled diversity
against unrelated pluralism; it safeguards the fullness and distinctiveness,
diversity and coherence of God’s revelation against dualistic and monistic
tendencies. Catholicity rejects self-sufficiency and calls for
inter-dependence. It challenges the church’s self-imprisonment within
local, confessional, ethnic or institutional boundaries _ a temptation that
surrounds the church in all times – and calls for a dynamic and enriching
interaction with its environment and the world at large. Through
catholicity, the integrity and vitality of the body of Christ is maintained
in the midst of the upheavals and polarizations of history.
. Catholicity and unity are intimately interwoven. Unity of the church is
sustained and protected by catholicity, and catholicity is strengthened and
is given more visibility by the unity of the church. Catholicity maintains a
creative tension between the fullness and wholeness of the Christ-event and
the brokeness of the church in the context of historical process, and aims
at healing all forms of division within and outside the church. The
catholicity of the church is a constant reminder that the churches must go
beyond their ecclesial unity and strive for the unity of humankind. God’s
gift of unity and catholicity in Christ was a response to the brokenness of
the world. The world is still – if not more – broken: racially, morally and
ecologically.

CATHOLICITY AND LOCAL-UNIVERSAL

. Where there is a eucharistic community there is also the catholic church.
The church is not merely an institution or a community established by
Christ; Christ Himself is the church. Hence, any church, great or small, is
fully catholic. Catholicity cannot be partial or incomplete. Each
eucharistic community is the prefiguration of the fulfillment and telos of
God’s catholicity. The church is catholic and constantly becomes catholic by
realizing itself in time and space, vertically and horizontally.
. The local eucharistic community is integral and inseparable part of the
whole oikumene. Catholicity expressed fully in a local eucharistic gathering
must be shared in communion with other local churches in each and in all
places. The church must transcend its locality in the perspective of
catholicity. The church’s local and universal manifestations are, at the
same time, the local and universal manifestations of catholicity. Therefore
the local and universal are closely interconnected, conditioning and
strengthening each other. Catholicity rejects unicentrism and promotes
polycentrism. The Orthodox Churches do not agree with the view that
communion with an ecclesial center is the criterion of catholicity and
maintain that communion between the local churches, based on unity of faith,
is a sine qua non condition for catholicity. However, even in division, the
churches share in the catholicity of the church, each expressing it in
different ways.
. Catholicity does not aim at a centralized universal church; but it does
aim for a world-wide church: by opposing geographical localism and
ecclesiological confessionalism, by promoting inter-action and
inter-connectedness, by challenging blind parochialism and triumphal
universalism, by calling the local church to go beyond its confines and
entering into ecclesial communion with other local churches in all places,
and by taking the church beyond the limitations of time and opening it to
eschaton.
. The growing globalization and pluralism present both opportunities and
risks for catholicity. On the one hand, they revive and reactivate the
church’s inner catholicity by opening the church to all places, nations and
cultures. On the other hand, they expose the church to ‘catholicities’ of
globalization, which may endanger the true nature and vision of God’s
catholicity.

CATHOLICITY AND MISSION

. Catholicity experienced in the local community cannot take place in
isolation from the realities of the world. It is destined to transform and
recreate the world. Therefore, catholicity is a call to participate in the
salvific-event of Christ (vertical Catholicity) and Missio Dei (horizontal
catholicity). Through baptism we share catholicity, through eucharist we
participate in it, and through mission we take it to the world. Catholicity
is both an event and a process, the in-going and out-going of the church, a
gift and a task.
. Catholicity reminds us that the Christ-event, as realized eschatology,
cannot be conditioned and determined by historical processes. It helps the
church to move forward towards the eschatological fulfillment and
reconciliation of humanity and creation in Christ to God. Catholicity makes
the church, in the power of Holy Spirit, a missionary reality by sending it
to the end of the world to bear witness to the Gospel. This imission is also
a commission. The more the church goes beyond itself, the more it becomes
truly itself and the more catholicity acquires its genuine meaning. Indeed,
catholicity is the sharing of God’s kenosis in Christ with others.

SOME OBSERVATIONS

1) Catholicity has become a loose concept with no direct relevance to the
life of the church. How can we revive its crucial importance for the
ecclesiological self-understanding of the church? How can we clearly spell
out its missiological implications. How can we give a focal attention and a
concrete expression to it in the church’s sacramental life, missionary
outreach, evangelistic witness, and diakonal action? This is, indeed, a
major task before the churches. The ecumenical movement played a significant
role in deepening the awareness towards catholicity by enhancing the
churches’ sense of belonging to each other and thus helping them to manifest
in different ways their inter-connectedness and inner catholicity. The
ecumenical movement must continue its unique vocation with renewed
commitment.
2) Because of dominant trends of confessionalism in Protestant churches,
universalism in the Roman Catholic Church, and ethno-centrism in the
Orthodox Churches, we have lost much of the meaning and centrality of
catholicity. Based on their respective ecclesiological self-understanding,
the Roman Catholic Church gives a visible expression to catholicity through
its universal structure, the Orthodox Churches stress the eucharistic
communion, and the Protestant Churches emphasize the centrality of the Word
of God. In my judgment, these approaches complement each other and must be
taken as one integrated whole. How can the churches transcend their disunity
and give more visibility to the church’s catholicity on local and global
levels? This is a major question before the churches. We must rediscover the
catholicity of the mind of the church, and identify the concrete
implications of the catholicity of the church’s ecclesiological and
missiological self-understanding.
3) In my view, the inward-looking concept of catholicity, strongly held by
the Orthodox Churches, must be balanced by the outward-looking perspective
of catholicity, maintained by the Catholic and Protestant churches. In other
words, the ontological and functional dimensions of catholicity must be
taken in their inter-connectedness. Such an approach may give a new vitality
both to the inner evangelism and the missionary outreach of the church in a
world where the Gospel message is threatened by secularism, materialism and
anthropocentrism. The backward-looking approach to catholicity, aimed at
seeking its importance within the historical process, must be completed by a
forward-looking vision, that will help the churches to orient modern
societies towards the Kingdom of God. Further, the Word-centered perception
of catholicity, a basic trend in Protestant ecclesiology, must be balanced
by the eucharistic vision of catholicity. It is only within such a broad
framework that we can develop a comprehensive, interactive and ecumenical
theology of catholicity.
4) Catholicity strives for God’s future, while globalization strives for
human future. Catholicity reminds us that the human future can be built only
within the universal plan of God. Hence, catholicity must become a critique
of the "catholicities" of globalization by combating the "powers and
principalities" of the new world that create disintegration and
polarization. At the same time, the church must respond positively to those
trends and opportunities provided by globalization which may help the church
to articulate its God-given catholicity in the context of a globalized
world.
5) A shift from excessive church-centered catholicity to Christ-centered
catholicity is indispensable. The Logos theology of the early church, with
its particular stress on cosmic Christology, can help us to develop an
all-embracing and inclusive concept of catholicity. A Christo-centric
approach to catholicity, in its turn, must be strengthened and balanced by
pneumatological and eschatological dimensions. Such an interactive
perspective and holistic understanding of catholicity is of crucial
importance in view of the growth of pluralism. This perspective and
understanding may considerably facilitate inter-faith dialogue which has
become integral to Christian life and witness.
6) With its christological, ecclesiological, missiological, pneumatological,
eucharistic and eschatological aspects, the Orthodox theology has all the
potential to develop a holistic perspective and eschatological vision of
catholicity. Therefore, the Orthodox theology must make a serious effort to
consider qualitative and quantitative, vertical and horizontal dimensions of
catholicity in their inseparable interconnectedness. Such an all-inclusive
concept of catholicity is imperative in a world in which inner-dependence
has become a salient mark of human life. A redefinition of Logos and
eco-centered theology and spirituality, dominant in all aspects and spheres
of the Orthodox churches, may significantly enhance this process.
7) Finally, catholicity is a God-given vocation and a dynamic process.
Therefore, we must emphasize its task-oriented aspect; we must recognize
that it cannot be owned by any one church, but must be shared; we must fight
against the growing confessionalism, which may eventually reduce the church
of Christ to self-centered local communities; and we must constantly deepen
the churches’ consciousness of catholicity and its relevance to the issues
and challenges of the present world.

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

AMBASSADOR: WE DOUBT IRANIAN OFFICIALS’ REFUTING THE REPORTS ABOUT IRANIAN ARMENIANS’ SERVING IN THE OCCUPIED AZERBAIJANI TERRITORIES

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 28 2007

"Though Iranian officials refute the reports about Iranian Armenians
serving in Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories, we doubt it.

This is not the first time that Iranian officials refute the facts
regarding Armenians," Azerbaijani ambassador extraordinary and
plenipotentiary to Iran Abbasali Hasanov told APA.

The ambassador underlined that it is an irrefutable fact that
Armenians living all over the world, as well as in Iran have hand in
the occupation of Azerbaijani territories.

"Armenians living all over the world had hand in the aggression
against us, in order to establish an Armenian state in Azerbaijani
territories. Historical sources prove it. Thousands of Armenian
families were resettled in Azerbaijan after Turkmanchay treaty, and
after Azerbaijan was occupied by Soviet Russia. So, Armenian state
was established in Azerbaijani territories. Armenians commit acts
against Azerbaijan. And it is irrefutable that the Armenians living
in Iran also have hand in it," he said.

Abbasali Hasanov also noted that Iranian Armenians participated in
the chess competition held in Khankandi several years ago.

"Two or three years ago, when chess competition was held in Khankandi,
we asked Iranian officials whether their citizens participated in the
competition. State officials persistently refuted the fact, but when
the names of the participants were publicized, it became known that
several Iranian Armenians participated in the competition," he said.

The ambassador said that he had been in Iranian Foreign Ministry
several times and demanded investigation of the problem.

APA reported quoting diplomatic sources that Armenian religious
organizations operating in Iran deceive Iranian citizens of Armenian
origin and send them to serve in "Nagorno Karabakh Republic" armed
forces in the territories under the control of separatist regime.

According to the information, Iranian servicemen detained two
Armenian trespassers in the region bordering on the occupied
Azerbaijani territories. They were defined to be Iranian citizens,
Isfahan Armenians. One of the detainees Mikhak Teymurian said he
went to Nagorno Karabakh by propaganda of religious center of Iranian
Armenians Khalifagari-ye-Erameni.

NKR MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

Azat Artsakh Tert, Nagorno Karabakh Republic
Sept 27 2007

Vladik Khachatrian Vladik Khachatrian was born in 1961, January 21st,
in Damirlu village of Martakert region. In 1978 he finished the
school of Kussapat village. In 1982 he graduated from the department
of physics of physical-mathematic faculty of the Teachers’Training
Institute of Stepanakert. He worked at school of Chaylu village of
Martakert region. He is one of active participants of Artsakh war. He
held high and responsible posts in the NKR Armed Forces. In 2000 he
was appointed an assistant of the commander of defence Army. He has
a military title of general-major. He was rewarded with a number of
NKR and RA medals and orders. He is married and has 2 children.

MILITARY HYPOCRISY IN MOTHERTONGUE EDUCATION DEBATE
Gokce Gunduc

BÝA, Turkey
Sept 26 2007

General Ilker Basbug, commander of the Turkish Ground Forces,
has said: "It is one matter to accept and respect the wish of some
ethnic groups to learn their own languages in addition to Turkish;
accepting education and teaching in these languages is a different
matter altogether."

Speaking at the opening of the academic year for military schools,
Basbug has thus added his voice to the debate on a civil constitution.

Military schools: Foreign languages a priority

His comments strike one as hypocritical if one examines the website
of the Turkish Armed Forces, which describes the military highschool
syllabus:

"Military Highschools comprise four years, including a year of
[language] preparatory classes and the education is mostly in a
foreign language."

For instance, pupils in the first year of Maltepe Military Highschool
have 14 hours of English a week. This drops to nine hours a week in
second and third grade, and seven hours in twelfth grade. In the same
school, Turkish Literature and Language classes are taught five hours
a week in the first three grades and is incrased by one hour in the
last grade.

According to the Turkish Armed Forces website, the aim of the education
at military schools is "to educate officer candidates who can adapt
to the social, cultural, technological and academic conditions of the
Science Age, who have a developed awareness of the law, who respect
human rights and freedoms, who know at least one, but preferably two
foreign languages, and who have been educated in different branches
of engineering."

Civilian schools: 4-8 hours a week

Civilian schools also aim at at least four hours of foreign language
education a week. In so-called Anatolian highschools, pupils have
eight hours a week in the first two grades.

Foreign language medium teaching in private universities

Many private universities and some courses at state universities are
also taught in foreign languages, forcing many students to take at
least a year of language preparatory classes. It is thus hypocritical
that "some ethnic groups" are not allowed to learn or teach their
languages at schools.

While religious minorities have their own schools, in which the
children can learn Greek, Hebrew, Armenian, etc., the teaching of
Kurdish was finally allowed at private language courses, but with
many hurdles put in the way of anyone opening a course.

Mothertongue: "A basic building block of identity"

In a book entitled "Language Rights during the EU Process", published
by the Helsinki Citzen’s Charter, Pulat Tacar defines mothertongue as
"the first language an individual learns in his/her family or social
environment. The mothertongue reaches the subconscious, counts as
a basic building block of identity and is one of the most powerful
connections between individual and society."

Tacar also differentiates between assimilation and integration,
saying: "The priority for pre-modern countries is to form and protect
a state. The leaders of these countries believe that if they do not
strenghten the central state, the country will fall apart. This is why
they interpret ethnic, linguistic and religious variety or differences
as a threat to the country’s unity and integrity.

Assimilation tries to dissolve cultural variety through direct or
indirect pressure."

Integration, on the other hand, is defined as "creating a social
unit with another group, coming together in order to gain a
super-identity".

–Boundary_(ID_qYW9oGYxyc 9zYICfCEb9Bw)–

"GOLDEN APRICOT – 2007"
Sussana Balaian

Azat Artsakh Tert, Nagorno Karabakh Republic
Sept 25 2007

The thing that "Golden Apricot – 2007" international film festival
is held in Shushi, is an exceptional phenomenon not only in cultural
life of the most ancient city, but also all the republic.Last years
a chance of watching the best films shot in the world is splendour,
which is not enough accessible for Artsakh people. For this chance
Artsakh people is obliged to the organizers of the festival –
"Shushi Rebirth" Fund and "Karabakh Telekom" LLC. The chairman of
"Shushi Rebirth" Fund Ervand Zakarian, the Speaker of the NKR NA Ashot
Ghoulian presented at the solemn opening ceremony of the festival,
who welcomed the first spectators of the festival. As the founding
director of "Golden Apricot – 2007" international film festival
Harutyun Khachatrian pointed, during the festival week more than
35 films will be shown. The festival will last until next Sunday,
every day at 17:00pm 2-3 films will be shown.

US STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS FINDS NEGATIVE TRENDS IN TURKEY

Public Radio of Armenia. ArmRadio
Sept 25 2007

A US State Department report released last week criticized Turkey
for continuing to impose restrictions on minority religious groups,
particularly the Armenian and Greek communities, who have lost
properties to the state and continue to face strong resistance from
Turkish authorities to have them returned.

The 2007 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, which was
released on September 14, found that the Ecumenical (Greek Orthodox)
and Armenian Patriarchates continue to seek legal recognition of their
status, the absence of which prevents them from having the right to
own and transfer property and train religious clergy.

In April 2005, Armenian Assembly Board of Trustees Member Van
Krikorian, in his testimony before Congress detailed the problems of
the Armenian and Greek community in Turkey. There is no evidence that
they have improved since then. "In 1914, there were approximately
5,000 Armenian Churches, seminaries and schools registered by the
Patriarchate…less than 50 Armenian Churches remain under the
jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate today," Krikorian said.

The latest report documents the continued and disturbing trend, which
includes the growing number of religiously motivated killings, attacks
and threats against minorities; anti-missionary and anti-Semitic
rhetoric and stereotyping; stigmatizing and harassment of religious
minorities for actions of foreign state-actors where that minority
constitutes the titular element, such as holding the Jewish community
responsible for events in the Middle East, or the Armenians for the
actions of Armenia, or the Greeks for the actions of Greece.

The report states that there was "no change in the status" of respect
for religious freedom by the Turkish government, and found that
"there were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on
religious belief or practice…Violent attacks and threats against
non-Muslims during the reporting period created an atmosphere of
pressure and diminished freedom for some non-Muslim communities,"
the report concluded.

The report, in particular, underscores the importance of abolishing
the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which penalizes
discussion of the Armenian Genocide for "insulting Turkishness." In the
reporting period, that Article was used to prosecute two individuals
who had converted to Christianity, who are accused of organizing a
Bible correspondence course, and who if convicted, could be sentenced
to six months to three years in prison. Earlier, Article 301 was used
to prosecute Hrant Dink, editor and human rights activist, who was
assassinated in Istanbul by an ultranationalist in January 2007 for
speaking the truth about the Armenian Genocide; as well as Arat Dink,
his son, who republished Hrant Dink’s writings, including of those
that mention the Genocide. Since 2006, there have been over 60 cases
filed against journalists under this law.

"The fact that Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code is still on the
books and is being used to prosecute Arat Dink serves as a chilling
reminder of the atmosphere created in Turkey for Christian minorities,"
Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny stated.

It is with this concern in mind, that the Armenian Assembly welcomed
the introduction of two resolutions in the United States Congress
earlier this year – S. Res. 65 in the Senate, and H. Res. 102 in
the House of Representatives. Both resolutions condemn the brutal
assassination of Hrant Dink, honor his memory and legacy of advancement
of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Turkey, and call upon
the government of Turkey to abolish Article 301 of its Penal Code –
the legal foundation for the prosecution, intimidation and harassment
of pro-democracy activism in that country.

The report also uncovered that in February 2007, two people were
arrested for reportedly targeting the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul
Mesrob II when they fired guns in the air during a memorial service
for Hrant Dink.

Last week an online video praising the individuals responsible for
Dink’s murder created a furor in Turkey, as many viewed the amateur
production as ultra-nationalist hate propaganda. An Istanbul prosecutor
has launched an investigation into the video which appeared on YouTube
– a popular video-sharing web site.

In a new development this week, Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan was
scheduled to speak at Georgetown University in Washington yesterday,
however the event was canceled. The Patriarch has come under continued
pressure from the government of Turkey to speak against the Armenian
Genocide Resolution and deny his people’s own history.

Several Armenian-American organizations brought their concern
about the Patriarch’s safety and freedom to speak openly about the
Genocide to the attention of Congressional leaders. The Turkish media
falsely reported that U.S. Armenian organizations pressured for the
cancellation of the Patriarch’s speech. Further distorting facts,
a recent article in the Turkish Daily News went so far as to quote
a Turkish diplomat saying, "U.S. Armenians apparently cannot even
stand an Armenian speaking, if he does not support their position."

"The historical truth of the Armenian Genocide is an incontestable
fact. In the words of Ambassador Henry Morgenthau it was a ‘campaign
of race extermination,’" said Ardouny. "We will continue to press
for an affirmative vote on H. Res. 106, which enjoys the support of
a majority in the House and resoundingly defeat the denialist efforts
to distort the truth and intimidate those who stand for the truth."