Author: Hovhannisian John

New Iranian leader might improve ties with Azerbaijan – TV
ANS TV, Baku
26 Jun 05
Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani was confident that
he would win the elections. But the election results proved surprising.
[Passage omitted: minor details]
The Iranian elections were carefully observed in Azerbaijan due to
the new leader’s attitude towards Azeris. The new president is said
to be of Azeri descent. His wife is Azeri. He used to be governor of
Ardabil and helped Azerbaijani citizens who came to Iran during the
Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict to settle in. He also provided aid to
[Azerbaijani] refugee camps. It is not known whether Iran’s attitude
towards Azerbaijan will change now.
Even though relations between the two countries have recently improved,
they cannot be considered as perfect due to the dispute over the status
of the Caspian Sea and Iran’s relations with Armenia. Relations with
Azerbaijan are also important for Iran. Due to increasing pressure
from the USA, Iran is trying to boost ties with neighbouring countries,
including Azerbaijan.
Incidentally, the replacement of the president is a perfect chance
to make fundamental changes to relations with Azerbaijan, if Iran is
really interested in this in view of the aforesaid.
Ceyhun Asgarov, ANS.

Grand Traverse Herald, MI
June 29 2005
Group picnic honors heritage
Armenian network picnic celebrates history and culture
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Grilled shish kebobs, rice pilaf, tabbouleh, bouma and more food than
anyone could ever eat – must be an Armenian picnic!
Members of the Northern Michigan Armenian Network gathered Sunday
at East Bay Park to celebrate their heritage with an afternoon
feast. Nearly 60 people attended, including spouses of Armenian
members as well as children and parents. One family of Slovakian
heritage attended just to share a common central European background.
For a culture with residents in countries around the world, Armenians
in every country make sure to honor their roots.
“Because of our history, Armenians were scattered all over the world,”
said Leslie Narsisian-Voss, the group’s founder. “There’s an instant
connection, no doubt about it: if someone’s last name is Armenian,
there’s an immediate connection.”
Narsisian-Voss launched the social group last July after culling
through the phone book for Armenian names, which end with ‘ian.’ She
sent every name she found a letter announcing the Network and inviting
them to attend.
The first meeting drew ten people to the Traverse Area District
Library, but since then the network has exploded with members and
activities. The group meets weekly to delve into some aspect of
Armenian culture.
“About every month I get a new call and there were specifically two
families at the picnic that we hadn’t seen yet,” Narsisian-Voss said.
The group has held informal language lessons, held cooking classes
for dishes such as Armenian pizza, learned to bake classic desserts
and met for dinner just to socialize.
“We’re beginning to be one big family here,” said Rose Megregian of Elk
Rapids. “Our group has grown so much and we’ve had so much enthusiasm.”
Cindy Buss of Traverse City found the group late last summer.
Growing up in Reed City, a small northern Michigan town, she was
disconnected from her mother’s Armenian heritage. Neither her father’s
last name nor her husband’s last name reflect that background. In
addition, there were no other Armenians to meet, worship with or
learn from, as there are in cities such as Detroit.
Since finding the Northern Michigan Armenian Network, Buss has
learned some of the language and attended the cooking classes. She
relishes finding other Armenians after years of longing to connect
with her roots.
“I’ve always wanted to know my heritage, I always was an Armenian in
my heart,” Buss said. “This has been a great connection, something
I never expected to have.”
Myriam Der-Boghossian Parker said her Armenian ancestors fled to France
in the early part of the 20th Century. They settled in a town in the
south of France that had many Armenian refugees as well as Armenian
businesses and churches. She grew up hearing her grandmother’s stories
of the Armenian genocide, which the older woman witnessed first-hand.
“I don’t speak Armenian here but when I go back to France, I speak it
a little,” said Parker, who attended the picnic with her two grown
sons. “I came from a big community of Armenians, probably half of
the town is Armenian.”
Narsisian-Voss, ever on alert for Armenian names, spotted Parker’s
maiden name on a flyer advertising a French class Parker teaches at
Northwestern Michigan College. She called Parker up and added another
Northern Michigan Armenian Network member.
“I think there’s probably more Armenians here than we think,” Parker
said of the Traverse City region.

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Jamestown Foundation
June 29 2005
CIS MILITARY STRUCTURES SEEN SHRINKING AT DEFENSE MINISTERS’ MEETING
By Vladimir Socor
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Russian Defense Minister Ivanov is chairing the CIS Council of
Defense Ministers meeting. The Council of Defense Ministers of CIS
member countries met in a depleted format on June 24 in Dushanbe,
with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov in the chair. The host,
Tajikistan’s President Imomali Rakhmonov, noted the “negative impact
of disintegration processes” — a reversal of the ubiquitous Russian
cliche “integratsionnyie protsessy.” Georgia, Moldova, and (as usual)
Turkmenistan were absent; Ukraine had announced in advance that it
would downgrade its attendance to that of an observer; and there was
no clear word regarding Uzbekistan’s attendance.
Rakhmonov aired an unprecedented proposal for creation of
rapid-deployment forces of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO) for Central Asia, in parallel with the existing
rapid-deployment structure of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO). As the SCO includes China and Uzbekistan, which
are not CSTO members, Rakhmonov’s proposal may be read either as a
veiled attempt at balancing the CSTO, or as an implicit
acknowledgment of the CSTO’s ineffectiveness. The Dushanbe meeting
also discussed inconclusively the issue of drug trafficking from
Afghanistan, which Ivanov and Rakhmonov termed the main security
challenge to neighboring countries. All these issues are, in any
case, beyond the competence of the CIS as such and its Defense
Ministers’ Council.
The meeting was only able to review the operation of the CIS Joint
Air Defense System in 2004 and a framework plan for 2006-10. In fact,
the Dushanbe session — like the CSTO’s summit in Moscow on June 24
— highlighted Russia’s shift of emphasis from the CIS nonintegrated
air defense system to an integrated one to be developed within the
CSTO (see below).
The meeting approved a six-month extension of the powers of Russia’s
Maj.-General Sergei Chaban as commander of the “CIS peacekeeping
force in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone.” Such extension is
granted routinely to Russian-appointed holders of that post at
six-month intervals by the CIS Defense Ministers’ forum. In this
case, the decision demonstrated even more starkly than usual the
disregard for international law and internal due process in CIS
bodies. The meeting confirmed Chaban in Georgia’s absence. With
Chaban first appointed in March, the extension was not due for
routine consideration until September; but, apparently, Moscow is not
certain whether another CIS defense ministers’ meeting can be held
(or held smoothly) by that time. The fictitious CIS label covers a
purely Russian force. The CIS has no legal authority to grant
peacekeeping mandates; even Moscow no longer claims such authority on
behalf of the CIS, but rather for the CSTO.
In the meeting’s aftermath, Russia’s Air Force Commander in Chief,
General Vladimir Mikhailov, threatened to “smash terrorist bands
beyond Russia’s territory.” Specifically, Mikhailov accused Georgia
of harboring “bandits in that [Pankisi] valley, who can move as they
please.” He dismissed Georgian concerns about violations of its
airspace by Russian planes with a guffaw: “Fear has big eyes, and
Georgians think that we are flying over Tbilisi.” This latter remark
seemed to gloat over Georgia’s unrequited wish to procure modern
airspace surveillance equipment (Itar-Tass, June 27). Earlier this
month, Russia’s Federal Security Service anti-terrorism directorate
chief, Yuri Sapunov, similarly accused Georgia and also Azerbaijan of
allowing their territories to be used by “international terrorism.”
Mikhailov supervises an ongoing CIS air defense exercise, Combat
Commonwealth 2005, the first phase of which began on June 24 and is
scheduled to culminate on July 10. The exercise includes detection
and firing practice at the Telemba range in Russia’s Chita oblast, as
well as rehearsing coordinated actions of air defense units of
Kaliningrad-based Russian forces with those of Belarus. The second
stage and third stages, from July through September, will take place
in Kazakhstan and at Russia’s Ashuluk training range in Astrakhan
region. Although billed in keeping with tradition as a CIS exercise,
Combat Commonwealth 2005 in fact involves only CSTO member countries.
This reflects Russia’s just-announced decision to fall back on the
“core” group CSTO while bypassing or discarding CIS military
structures, due to the political fragmentation of the CIS.
Russia hopes to persuade NATO to deal with individual CSTO member
countries via Moscow, rather than directly. However, most CSTO member
countries will not willingly accept such a limitation. Armenia does
not. And, on June 24, Kazakhstan submitted the presentation document
of its Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) to a meeting of the
North Atlantic Council in the NATO + Kazakhstan format in Brussels.
(Itar-Tass, Interfax, June 24-27; Avesta, Kazinform, June 24; see
EDM, June 24, 28)

Armenian minister rejects Azeri proposal to open common road
Arminfo
25 Jun 05
YEREVAN
Azerbaijan needs the common road between Azerbaijan and Armenia
passing through the territory of Karabakh and Naxcivan more than
Armenia does, Transport and Communications Minister Andranik Manukyan
told journalists today.
“I would like the two neighbouring countries to develop the transport
infrastructure and people to be able to travel freely. But
Azerbaijan’s proposal is a political issue. At the moment, there are
no sufficient conditions for resolving this issue,” Manukyan said.
We should remind you that commenting on the meeting between the
Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Paris on 17 June,
Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said that Azerbaijan
is waiting for Armenia’s reply about the common road between
Azerbaijan and Armenia through the territory of Karabakh and Naxcivan.
According to Azimov, the issue of communications is one of the major
issues for settling the conflict and restoring normal life in the
region.
In reply, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said that there is no such
issue on the agenda of the Karabakh talks.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
June 24, 2005
___________________
ECUMENICAL COALITION WORKS TO COMBATE HUNGER
The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) was represented
at an ecumenical prayer service on June 6, 2005, in Washington D.C.’s
National Cathedral by Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate and
ecumenical officer.
Organized by Bread for the World, nationwide Christian movement seeking
justice for the world’s hungry people by lobbying America’s decision
makers, the group representing 75 churches vowed to work towards
eliminating hunger.
Religious leaders attending the event included Jewish, Catholic,
Orthodox, Protestant, Muslim, Sikh, and Buddhist. They were joined at
the service by more than 1,000 officials and supporters, including Rev.
Dr. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches,
and Paul Wolfowitz, the new president of the World Bank. The legate
delivered a prayer during the service.
“The churches are very concerned about the hunger, not only in the U.S.
but all around the world,” Bishop Aykazian said. “We are urging our
government and other organizations to try to bring their contributions
to end this hunger.”
CHURCH INVOLVEMENT IN FIGHTING HUNGER
The day following the prayer service, many of the religious leaders met
with English Prime Minister Tony Blair, representatives from the White
House, and members of Congress to promote efforts to battle hunger.
“For Christians, it is our moral responsibility to bring justice to
people to end hunger and poverty in the world,” said Bishop Aykazian,
who noted officials such as Wolfowitz have said that church involvement
is key in the battle against hunger. “They believe church involvement
is very important to end hunger in the world. Already, we see the
results of our involvement because the government is much more involved
in ending hunger in the world.”
The Bread for the World coalition is currently pushing the “Hunger-Free
Communities Act of 2005” through Congress. It would commit the United
States to the goals of cutting U.S. food insecurity and hunger in half
by 2010, ending U.S. hunger by 2015, and requiring the U.S. Department
of Agriculture to report annually on progress toward those goals. It
authorizes $50 million for a grant program to fund grassroots groups who
collaborate to develop innovative strategies to end hunger, provide
direct assistance, and strengthen public programs.
HELPING HAND
Armenian Church members can work to end hunger by advocating for action
on the part of their state and federal representatives, Bishop Aykazian
said. Or they can lend a helping hand by collecting donations and
volunteer to help the hungry locally and internationally, he added.
“If parishioners collect money and send it to poor countries, including
Armenia which is among the poorest nations, of course it is very
helpful,” he said.
Reflecting on Biblical passages urging Christians to feed the hungry,
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese, said it was
the duty of parishioners to be sensitive to the needs of the hungry.
“As individuals, parish communities, and a Diocese it is our
responsibility to hear the words of Christ in the Gospels and respond,”
the Primate said. “I am grateful that we have been heading Christ’s
message to help the less fortunate. That is why we created FAR (the
Fund for Armenian Relief) after the earthquake in Armenia, and why so
many of our parishioners continue to support that organization’s efforts
to not just feed the hungry, but to strengthen our independent nation.”
— 6/24/05

ARMENIA AGAINST KAZAKHSTAN’S CHAIRMANSHIP OF OSCE IN 2009
MOSCOW, JUNE 24. ARMINFO. Armenia is against transfer of the status of
OSCE chairing-state to Kazakhstan in 2009.
According to the Russian newspaper “Kommersant,” yesterday a sitting
of CSTO took place at Kremlin, which was to result in adoption of a
statement on OSCE, wherein CSTO member-states were to express their
opinion on reformation of the organization. Russia was looking forward
to adopt this statement, but Kazakhstan was against, as it had no
intention to have disputes with western colleagues. On the other hand,
the last passage in the draft was a proposal to provide OSCE
chairmanship in 2009 to Kazakhstan. Armenia immediately came out
against as “it cannot forgive Kazakhstan its repeated votes for
anti-Armenian resolutions connected with Nagorny Karabakh,” the
newspaper writes. As a result, CSTO members could not present either
the statement on OSCE or the other interesting document – the
provision on CSTO observers to elections to journalists. Thus, the
sitting resulted in adoption of only an Agreement on preparation of
military cadres for CSTO i.e. preferential education of students from
CSTO member-states at Russian universities, the source reports.

Agence France Presse
23 juin 2005 jeudi 11:20 AM GMT
Réforme constitutionnelle en Arménie: l’APCE veut un reférendum en novembre
STRASBOURG (Conseil Europe) 23 juin 2005
L’Assemblée parlementaire du Conseil de l’Europe (APCE) a invité
jeudi les autorités arméniennes à organiser un référendum sur sa
réforme constitutionnelle “en novembre 2005 au plus tard”.
L’APCE a souhaité dans une résolution que l’Arménie tienne compte des
critiques du texte, soumis en première lecture au Parlement arménien
le 11 mai, qui avaient été émises par son organe organe consultatif
sur les questions constitutionnelles, la Commission de Venise.
Cette dernière avait déploré dans un “avis intérimaire” le 13 juin
que ses recommandations concernant “l’équilibre des pouvoirs entre
Président et Parlement, l’indépendance du système judiciaire et
l’élection du maire d’Erevan (ndlr: nommé par le président de la
République) n’aient pas été prises en compte”.
Les membres de l’APCE, issus de Parlements de 46 Etats membres du
Conseil de l’Europe, ont demandé que les recommandations de la
Commission de Venise soient mises “pleinement en oeuvre”, que le
projet de réforme soit adopté en seconde lecture par l’Assemblée
nationale “au plus tard au mois d’août 2005” et que le référendum
soit organisé “en novembre 2005 au plus tard”.
L’Arménie avait organisé un référendum sur son projet de loi
constitutionnelle le 25 mai 2003 mais le texte n’avait pas pu être
validé en raison de la trop faible participation des électeurs.
L’actuelle constitution avait été adoptée le 5 juillet 1995 par voie
de référendum.

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
June 23, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]
ASSEMBLY BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN WELCOMES SUMMER INTERNS TO WASHINGTON
Nearly 40 Participate in DC and Yerevan Intern Programs
Washington, DC – Assembly Board of Directors Chairman Anthony
Barsamian, together with Executive Director Bryan Ardouny, officially
welcomed the Assembly’s largest summer intern class in a decade on
June 22 at Assembly headquarters in Washington, DC. Some 30 college
students, participants of the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship
Program, engaged in a lively debate with Assembly leaders on issues
ranging from recognition of the Armenian Genocide to the Nagorno
Karabakh peace process.
“It was a pleasure for me to meet with students from across the U.S.,
Armenia, Canada, and England, who have come to Washington to learn
more about the political process and how they can effectively advocate
for Armenian issues,” said Barsamian. “The students asked thoughtful
questions on a variety of issues, proving that the intern program
continues to attract bright, ambitious students to the Assembly. They
are truly young leaders who will advocate for us in the years ahead.
These are truly young leaders who will advocate for us in the years
ahead.”
Barsamian also added that the longest running Armenian-American
internship program in the U.S. is reaching new heights. The longest
running Armenian-American Internship Program in the U.S. is reaching
new heights. The combined enrollment in the DC and Yerevan programs is
at its highest level in over a decade, with close to 40 students
participating this year.
“I appreciated learning more about the Assembly’s efforts to
strengthen the U.S.-Armenia and U.S.-Karabakh relationships,” said
intern Christine Serdjenian, a student at Brown University. “We all
have a vested interest in seeing Armenia and Karabakh succeed, and our
intern class is eager to do our part in advancing our issues.”
During their time in Washington, students will intern in offices on
Capitol Hill or with government agencies, think tanks and media
outlets. They will also take part in a full schedule of cultural and
educational activities such as the Assembly’s Capitol Ideas and
Lecture Series Programs.
On June 21, for example, the group met with Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to learn more about the
Armenian Genocide resolution that was introduced in the House of
Representatives last week. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. George
Radanovich (R-CA), together with Congressmen Schiff, Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), calls upon the President to
“accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of
1,500,000 Armenians as genocide.”
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership
organization.
NR#2005-072
Photograph available on the Assembly Web site at the following links:
Caption: Assembly Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian,
second from right, and Executive Director Bryan Ardouny, far right,
met with Assembly summer interns in Washington on June 22. Liana
Zakharyan, legal assistant to the Consul at the Armenian Embassy,
bottom left, also addressed the group.
Caption: Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), center, during his meeting
with Assembly interns on Capitol Hill on June 21.

Pope Reveals Reservations for Turkey’s EU Membership
22.06.2005 11:54
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Pope Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of the
Roman Catholic Church, showed a suspicious attitude towards Turkey’s
European Union (EU) membership in the first book he has written since
becoming the new Pope in the Vatican.
Pope Benedict XVI indicates in his new book titled “The Example of
Benedict in the Crisis of Cultures” (L’Europa di Benedetto nella crisi
delle culture) that Turkey does not have Christian roots contrary to
European countries. According to the news published by Apcom, a
private Italian news agency, the Pope invites readers to think about
Turkey’s EU bid.
The news reads that the pontiff referred to Saint Benedict whom the
Catholic Church perceives as the “protector of Europe” in his new book
and defined Turkey as a country that has no roots in Christianity and
is influenced by Islamic culture; in other words, Turkey has the
atmosphere of an Islamic culture in fact.
Determining in his book that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as the founder of
the Turkish republic had tried to transform Turkey into a secular
state by adopting secularism formed in the Christian world, Pope
Benedict XVI advocated that the European identity might only be
determined by the context and norms of the same enlightened
culture. Any country fulfilling these criteria might be European.
Speaking to an Italian newspaper about his book, Benedict XVI also
said that the non-mentioning of the Christian roots in the EU
constitution was wrong.

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran
June 22 2005
Armenian archbishop calls for fellow citizens to go to run-off polls
Tehran, June 22, IRNA
Iran-Election-Armenian Community
Archbishop Sibveh Sarkisyan of Tehran on Wednesday called for
Armenian fellow citizens to actively take part in run-off
presidential election more than the first round.
“As Iranian free citizens, we are expected to fulfill our national
obligation in the election to determine our own fate which will help
us take next steps to achieve our rights with self-confidence,” he
said in a statement faxed to IRNA.
“Once again dear Iranians are expected to go to polls to reinforce
pillars of democracy and display public belief in democracy,”
Archbishop Sibveh Sarkisyan said.
He said that members of Armenian community must show national
solidarity with taking part in the election contributing to national
sovereignty and territorial integrity.