Author: Hunanian Jack

"SCREAMERS" FILM DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS SHOWN DURING THESE DAYS IN A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES OF WORLD

Noyan Tapan
Apr 24 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
received on April 23 Carla Karapetian, the author of the Screamers
documentary film dedicated to the Armenian Genocide which is shown
in Yerevan during those days.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and
Information Department, the film author presented the Minister the
responses followed the first show held in the U.S. and mentioned that
the film is now shown in Canada, France, Lebanon and it will be shown
in Russia and Argentina as well in the nearest future.

Appreciating the author’s initiative, V. Oskanian attached importance
to the fact that the film touches upon not only Armenian but, in
general, all genocides. From the viewpoint of preventing similar
crimes, the interlocutors emphasized importance of the work done in the
direction of the Armenian Genocide recognition in different countries.

PRESIDENT BUSH MARKS REMEMBRANCE OF WWI-ERA ARMENIAN KILLINGS

The Associated Press
International Herald Tribune, France
April 24 2007

WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush issued a statement of remembrance
Tuesday for the estimated 1.5 million Armenians killed at the end of
the Ottoman empire but stopped short of using the word genocide.

The wording followed long standing U.S. policy on the politically
fraught word. The statement comes as Turkish and Armenian interest
groups wrangle over a proposed congressional resolution calling for
recognition of the World War I-era killings as genocide.

Also on Tuesday, former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans,
who reportedly had his tour of duty cut short because, in a social
setting, he referred to the killings as genocide, said that Turks
need to confront the facts of the killings and to show contrition
before there can be reconciliation.

"I think there can’t be reconciliation before there is truth telling,"
he said.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey however denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying
the toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of
civil war and unrest.

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The issue is highly charged in both Turkey and Armenia. Turkish
officials have said that passage of the congressional resolution will
harm its relations with the United States.

Bush’s statement came as tens of thousands of Armenians marched
in Yerevan Tuesday to mark the April 24 anniversary as the day in
1915 when Turkish authorities executed a large group of Armenian
intellectuals and political leaders, accusing them of helping the
invading Russian army during World War I.

"I join my fellow Americans and Armenian people around the world in
commemorating this tragedy and honoring the memory of the innocent
lives that were taken," Bush said in his statement.

He said that an open historical examination of the facts is essential
for normalizing poor relations between Ankara and Yerevan.

"The United States supports and encourages those in both countries
who are working to build a shared understanding of history as a basis
for a more hopeful future," Bush said.

In a speech in Washington, Evans said that he believes that genocide is
the best word for the killings. He said that following his comments
while he was ambassador in 2005, a clarification renouncing his
phrasing was posted on a State Department Web site. He said that that
he did not write the clarification but did not object at the time to
its posting.

Evans said that it was made clear to him that he could not remain at
the State Department and he left to write a book on his experience
late last year.

Bush’s nominee to succeed him has been held up in the Senate with
Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, blocking the nomination
of Richard Hoagland over the career diplomat’s refusal to use the
word genocide at his confirmation hearing in June.

Evans said that he thought Hoagland was an appropriate choice for the
position, but declined to comment on the process of his confirmation.

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY STILL IS NOT READY TO RECOGNIZE KARABAKH’S INDEPENDENCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.04.2007 17:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US Undersecretary Nicholas Burns’s statement that the
United States is ready to grant Kosovo independence is quite logical,
political scientist Stepan Grigoryan stated to the PanARMENIAN.Net
journalist. "Kosovo is under UN mandate since 1999, NATO troops are
located there, which provide security and order. There is nothing
new in Burns’s statement," he underlined. As to the influence of
Kosovo precedent on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, the
Armenian political scientist thinks in case of recognizing Kosovo’s
independence automatically increases argumentation for granting
independence to Nagorno Karabakh. "But the international community
is not ready to recognize independence of Nagorno Karabakh yet. It is
a matter of a year or three. Indeed, the consequences of discussions
over Kosovo problem have already reflected in the negotiation process
– it is the offer to hold a referendum in Karabakh. I’ll underline,
the initiative of referendum comes exactly from the U.S. Really,
formally all speak about territorial integrity, but I think the right
of nations to self-determination while negotiating conflicts will be
dominant," the Armenian political scientist stressed.

Nicholas Burns stated "the United States together with other countries
plans to cosponsor a new resolution in the United Nations, which will
allow the Provisional Government of Kosovo to declare independence. We
think after the adoption of this draft resolution Kosovar leaders
will declare independence. Right after it the United States and other
countries will recognize that independence. We are now engaged in a
period of intense diplomacy to bring about Kosovo’s independence as
soon as possible."

ARTSAKH REBIRTH: 3 NEW SCHOOLS AND A RENOVATED KINDERGARTEN FOR MARDAKERT

A1+
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
[01:17 pm] 20 April, 2007

Yerevan, Apr. 20, 2007: Recently the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
completed 2 projects in Mardakert. Now the village of Madaghis has a
new school and Haterk has a renovated kindergarten. By September 2007,
school construction in villages of Kochoghot and Verin Horatagh will
be completed too.

Having a school building was central for the village of Madaghis,
where up till now classes were held in container houses. With the
financial assistance of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Toronto
affiliate, a donation of 264 thousand US dollars (104 million AMD),
a three-floor school with adjacent sanitary units and a boiler house
was constructed to accommodate 120 students.

A similar three-floor building will open its doors for the
schoolchildren of Kochoghot next September.

Currently a run-down building with no heating, adapted to minimal
schooling needs serves the village as a school. On funding received
from the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund France affiliate the first two
floors and the basement of the school building is completed; the
attic is sill under construction.

The construction of the school building in Verin Horatagh is also
underway. A new, three-floor building will soon replace the half-ruined
village school built in the 1930s. The project is financed by the
Toronto affiliate of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund.

The France affiliate of the Fund will furnish the Kochghout school
and in collaboration with the St. Etienne city hall has donated
11.5 million AMD (29.4 USD) worth of furniture and sport facilities
equipment to the Haterk school. The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Toronto
affiliate has furnished the newly built Madaghis school and will soon
furnish the Verin Horatagh school. The Mardakert school number 1 has
also been furnished due to various donations from France.

Therefore, education in Hadrut is improving due to the Artsakh
Rebirth imitative.

AZERBAIJANI EMBASSY TO WORK WITH US DEPARTMENT OF STATE REGARDING LATEST AMENDMENT TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 20 2007

The US Department of State has amended its 2006 report on situation of
human rights the section on Armenia. Though the expression "Armenia
has occupied Nagorno Karabakh and seven more regions of Azerbaijan"
was in the first version of the report, the Department of State
amended the text after intervention of Armenian National Committee.

It is noted in the amendment "Armenian military forces seized greater
part of Azerbaijan bordered with Armenia. Armenia Republic’s officials
say the republic has not directly occupied Nagorno Karabakh.

Foreign Ministry’s press secretary Khazar Ibrahimov told the APA,
Azerbaijani Embassy in US will work with the US Department State
regarding this issue.

FULFILMEMT TERMS OF SOME ARMENTEL OBLIGATIONS EXTENDED

Noyan Tapan
Apr 18 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, NOYAN TAPAN. At the April 18 sitting, the RA Public
Services Regulatory Commision made a decision to extend the terms of
fulfilment of ArmenTel company’s some obligations envisaged by its
license 60.

Particularly, the term of digitalizing the phone communication of
800 villages by late 2006 has been extended until June 30, 2007,
while the term of updating 70 thousand analog phone lines in marzes
has been extended until December 31, 2007.

The updating of these analog phone lines will ensure the opportunity
of automated inter-city and international access.

In the words of ArmenTel’s Executive Director Oleg Bliznyuk, the
company’s filfilment of its obligations in accordance with the dates
envisaged by the license was mainly hindered by unfavorable weather,
as well as by temporary suspension of implementation of the major
projects in connection with the company’s sale.

The speaker noted that during the indicated period – until December 31,
2006, all Armenian villages were provided with phone communication
(except for 3-4 villages where the work was completed in March
2007). In late December 2006, the CDMA system, which was envisaged by
the program on digitalization of phone communication in 800 villages,
was put into operation: thanks to this system, coverage of over 400
villages has been seured now.

Reponding to questions of reporters, O. Bliznyuk noted that currently
85% of Yerevan phone network and about 40% of the country’s phone
network have been digitalized. He reasserted the company’s willingness
to renounce its monopoly by late 2007, including its monopoly in the
fixed-line phone sector. O.

Bliznyuk stated that prior to it, the company will fulfil all its
obligations envisaged by the license.

According to him, under the license, the 800 villages must have
at least 1-2 digitalized lines but in reality digitalized phone
communication will be assessible to all residents of these villages.

O. Bliznyuk said that this year the company plans to introduce the
billing system of payments. It was mentioned that by late 2008,
ArmenTel intends to provide automed international access for all
subscribers.

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian

April 19, 2007

SPECIAL PRAYERS FOR VICTIMS OF VIRGINIA TECH TRAGEDY
THIS SUNDAY IN PRELACY CHURCHES
Archbishop Oshagan has instructed all parishes within the Eastern
Prelacy to offer special prayers for the victims of the tragic rampage that
took place on the campus of Virginia Tech this week. The Prelate expressed
sadness that such events could happen within the setting of a place of
higher learning cutting short the lives of so many gifted young people, as
well as several of their professors. "Let us pray for the families of the
victims and ask the Almighty to comfort them."

LITURGY AND REQUIEM SERVICE FOR THE MARTYRS OF APRIL
The Divine Liturgy and a solemn requiem service will be conducted on the
evening of April 24, at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 E. 27th Street, New
York City, in memory of the million and a half Armenians who perished during
the Genocide of 1915.
Under the auspices of the Prelate, Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, the
liturgy will be celebrated by Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor of the
Cathedral, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Vicar General, Bishop Anoushavan
Tanielian, will deliver the sermon. A special memorial program dedicated to
the memory of Hrant Dink will follow the liturgy and requiem service, both
of which will be conducted at the Cathedral’s Martyrs’ Altar.

VICAR ATTENDS WCC MEETINGS
Bishop Anoushavan participated in the semi-annual Board of Directors’
meeting of the U.S. Conference of the World Council of Churches in New York
City on Monday and Tuesday, April 16 and 17. His Grace, who is the Vicar
General of the Eastern Prelacy, is also the ecumenical officer in the United
States on behalf of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

PRELATE AND VICAR WILL ATTEND GENOCIDE COMMEMORATIONS
Archbishop Oshagan and Bishop Anoushavan will represent the Eastern
Prelacy at genocide commemorations in New York and Washington, D.C.
Tomorrow evening, Friday, April 20, Bishop Anoushavan will attend the
commemoration at City Hall in New York City, organized by the Armenian
National Committee of New York. (See next item for more details about the
event).
On Sunday, April 22, Archbishop Oshagan will deliver the invocation at
the gathering at Times Square organized by the Knights and Daughters of
Vartan. (See next item for more details about this event).
On Tuesday, April 24, Archbishop Oshagan, will attend the genocide
commemoration on capitol hill in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the
bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues. His Eminence will
deliver the invocation.

GENOCIDE COMMEMORATIONS
The Armenian National Committee of New York is hosting its annual City
Hall Armenian Genocide Commemoration on Friday, April 20th. It will take
place at the Surrogate’s Courthouse, north of City Hall, in Manhattan, at
6:30 pm. It is open to the public. Buses will depart from: The Armenian
Center in Woodside at 5:30 pm; St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, at 5:00 pm;
Holy Martyrs Church, Bayside, at 5:00 pm, Baruir’s Grocery, Sunnyside, at
5:30 pm; and from Brooklyn, at the corner of Coney Island and Brighton Beach
Ave., at 5:00 pm. For information: 718-651-1530.
The annual commemoration in Times Square will take place Sunday, April
22, beginning at 2 pm, at Times Square, 43rd Street and Broadway, New York
City. The event is sponsored by the Knights and Daughters of Vartan and
co-sponsored by the AGBU, Armenian Assembly, ArmenPac, and the ANCA.
Participants include the Diocese of the Armenian Church, the Prelacy of the
Armenian Church, the AMAA, the Armenian Presbyterian Church, the Armenian
Evangelical Church, and the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of the United States
and Canada. Bus transportation is being provided from all Armenian churches
in New York and New Jersey as well as from the Armenian Center in Woodside,
New York, Baruir’s Grocery, Sunnyside, New York, and the Hovnanian School,
New Milford, New Jersey.

PRELATE WILL TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON
Archbishop Oshagan will be in Washington, D.C., tomorrow where in the
evening Dr. and Mrs. Dertad Manguikian are hosting a reception and dinner in
honor of the Prelate’s 40th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
A large number of friends are expected to attend this special event. Three
separate public celebrations will take place in May in various parts of the
eastern United States. See below for details.

40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORDINATION OF
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN CHOLOYAN
The 40th anniversary of the ordination of our Prelate, Archbishop
Oshagan Choloyan, will take place in three different regions as follows:
On Saturday, May 5, the first of the three celebrations will take place
at The Marriott in Providence, Rhode Island, with the participation of all
of the parishes in New England, Connecticut, and Troy, New York.
On Saturday, May 12, the second celebration will take place at the The
Marriott at Glenpointe, in Teaneck, New Jersey, with the participation of
all of the parishes in the Mid Atlantic, which includes New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.
The final celebration will take place during the National Representative
Assembly (NRA) which is being hosted by St. Sarkis Church in Dearborn,
Michigan. This will take place on Friday, May 18, at Double Tree Hotel in
Dearborn, with the participation of the parishes in the Mid-West, as well as
the NRA delegates and guests.
For more information on all three events click
.html.

PRELATE WILL ATTEND DIVINE LITURGY AT ST. ILLUMINATOR CATHEDRAL THIS SUNDAY
Archbishop Oshagan will preside over the Divine Liturgy at St.
Illuminator’s Cathedral this Sunday, April 22. Immediately after the service
the Prelate will go to Times Square for the April 24th commemoration.

VICAR WILL WELCOME BAPTIST CONVENTION
Bishop Anoushavan will welcome the delegates to the National Baptist
Convention USA, on April 21, upon their arrival to New York on their journey
to Geneva, The Vatican, and Africa.

REPRESENTATIVE OF ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
VISITS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I
Bishop Anthony Boll, representing the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan
Williams, visited His Holiness Aram I in Antelias on April 12. He was
accompanied by Rev. Nabil Shehadi, Archbishop of Canterbury’s representative
to the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The aim of the visit was to consult with
His Holiness concerning a visit by the leader of the Anglican Church to the
Middle East. Also participating in the meeting was Bishop Nareg Alemezian,
the Ecumenical Officer of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

2007 DATEV INSTITUTE SUMMER PROGRAM
The 21st annual St. Gregory of Datev Institute Christian summer studies
program will take place July 1 to 8 in Elverson, Pennsylvania. For details
click

2007 NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY IN DEARBORN
The 2007 National Representative Assembly (NRA) will be hosted by St.
Sarkis Church, Dearborn, Michigan. For details click

PLG MOTHERS DAY LUNCHEON MAY 7
The popular Mothers Day luncheon presented by the Prelacy Ladies Guild
will take place on Monday, May 7, at the St. Regis in New York City.
This year’s Mother of the Year is Mrs. Lalig Bayrakdarian, mother of six
children, including the famed Metropolitan Opera star, Isabel Bayrakdarian.
A special presentation of "Musical Sounds of Armenia" will be provided
by a quartet made up of graduates and current students of Juilliard and solo
dance presentation accompanied by kanon and piano. For more information
click

&quot ;INDYKIDS" FEATURES ARMENIAN HISTORY, CULTURE AND
GENOCIDE AWARENESS IN MAY/JUNE ISSUE
IndyKids, a bimonthly student newspaper and teaching tool, has produced
an eight page edition which spotlights Armenian history, culture, and
genocide awareness. IndyKids, for readers ages 9 to 12, is distributed to
schools, libraries, bookstores, and individuals in New York and elsewhere.
The May/June issue introduces readers to the Armenians, with news sections
that include: a "fast facts" section about Armenia; a profile of an Armenian
American child; an article about Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide; an
item about Hrant Dink, a book review, and an Armenian recipe. Teacher/editor
Amanda Vender and journalist Lucine Kasbarian conceptualized the Armenian
themes in this issue. The May/June issue is downloadable at

IN CELEBRATION OF THE YEAR OF THE ARMENIAN LANGUAGE.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has
designated 2007 as the Year of the Armenian Language. In celebration of this
year-long tribute, each week we will offer an interesting tidbit about the
Armenian language.
Armenian corresponds with other Indo-European languages in its
structure, but it shares distinctive sounds and features of its grammar with
neighboring languages of the Caucasus region. Grammatically, early forms of
Armenian had much in common with classical Greek and Latin, but the modern
language, like modern Greek, has undergone many transformations.
To read the message of His Holiness in Armenian click
.
To read the message of His Holiness in English click

DAIL Y BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for today, April 19, are: Luke 5:17-26; Acts 8:14-25;
James 5:12-20; John 1:43-51; Matthew 6:1-21; Mark 2:1-12.
On one of those days, as he was teaching, there were Pharisees and
teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee
and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him to
heal. And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and
they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to
bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him
down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he
saw their faith he said, "Your sins are forgiven you." And the scribes and
the Pharisees began to question, saying, "Who is this that speaks
blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?" When Jesus perceived their
questionings, he answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? Which
is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive
sins"-he said to the man who was paralyzed-"I say to you, rise, take up your
bed and go home." And immediately he rose before them, and took up that on
which he lay, and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all,
and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen
strange things today." Luke 5:17-26.
For listing of the entire week’s Bible readings click
.

SUNDAY OF THE WORLD CHURCH (GREEN SUNDAY)
This Sunday, April 22, is the third Sunday of Easter, known as Green
Sunday (Ganach Giragee) and Sunday of the World Church (Ashkharhamadoor).
The name "Green Sunday" most probably comes from an ancient folk holiday in
celebration of spring. Our forefathers, seeing mother earth bloom after long
winter months, glorified the Creator with an act of thanksgiving, and
celebrated by bedecking the Church and themselves with greenery. Green is
the color of life, freshness and promise. After a barren winter we are
filled with hope, life and love. It is also known as World Church Sunday in
the sense of the church belonging to the whole world beginning with Christ
and the Apostles who met regularly to pray and partake of the Holy Sacrament
of Communion. Perhaps it is an appropriate time for us to remember our
obligations to be good stewards of the earth and the gifts that have been
given to us by God.

APRIL IS THE CRUELEST MONTH
Tuesday is April 24-the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Let
us pause to pay our respects to the one and one half million who perished,
and pay tribute to the survivors who created new life under the harshest
conditions.

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots and spring rain.
(from The Waste Land: "The Burial of the Dead" by T. S. Eliot)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

April 20-City Hall Genocide Commemoration, hosted by the Armenian National
Committee of New York, at Surrogate’s Courthouse, north of City Hall in
Manhattan. The program will begin at 6:30. Open to the public.

May 5-40th anniversary of ordination of Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan in the
New England area will take place in Providence, Rhode Island.

May 6-30th anniversary of St. Illuminator’s Armenian Day School, Terrace on
the Park, Corona, New York, at 5 pm.

May 7-Prelacy Ladies Guild Mothers’ Day Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., St. Regis
Hotel, Two East 55th Street (at Fifth Avenue), New York City. Special
entertainment, "Musical Sounds of Armenia."

May 12-40th anniversary of ordination of Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan in Mid
Atlantic area will take place at the Marriott at Glenpointe, Teaneck, New
Jersey.

May 12-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, 50th anniversary concert
featuring Onnik Dinkjian and John Berberian.

May 12-Armenian Dance party, St. Gregory Church, Indian Orchard,
Massachusetts.

May 18-40th anniversary of ordination of Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan in
Midwest will take place at the National Representative Assembly.

May 20-"Hello Ellis Island" and Reception, St. Stephen’s Church Hall,
Watertown, Massachusetts. $20 per person. Information, 617-924-7562.

July 1-8-St. Gregory of Datev Institute, 21st annual summer Christian
studies program for junior and senior high school students, at St. Mary of
Providence Center in Elverson, Pennsylvania. For information click here.

July 21-Sts. Vartanantz Church Ladies Guild, Providence, Rhode Island, and
ARS Ani Chapter present "A Hye Summer Night 2." For information
401-286-8107.

August 7-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual golf
tournament at Blackstone Country Club.

August 19-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual
church picnic.

September 27-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, 5th Annual Golf
Outing at River Vale Country Club, River Vale, New Jersey. Registration
begins at 11 a.m. and tee time at 1 p.m. For information, 201-943-2950.

September 29-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, 50th
anniversary banquet at Pleasant Valley.

December 1-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual
church bazaar.

December 9-St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, 50th anniversary
celebration. For information, (617) 924-7562.

Visit our website at

IN ARAM HAROUTIUNIAN’S WORDS, UNEQUAL AND UNFAIR CONDITIONS ARE CREATED FOR POLITICAL FORCES PARTICIPATING IN ELECTIONS

Noyan Tapan
Apr 18 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The National Agreement ("Azgayin
Hamadzaynutiun") party will make a qualitative change in the political
field of Armenia, even in the case of having a faction consisting of
five-six people at the new parliament. Party Chairman Aram Haroutiunian
made such a statement at the debate organized on April 18. In his
words, there is an "ideological vacuum" in the country today, which
they are going to liquidate. In A. Haroutiunian’s words, a normal
political competition is also absent what is a consequence of created
unequal conditions for propaganda.

A. Haroutiunian stated that during the previous elections the party
headed by him lost the got votes because of the opposition as its
members presented at the commissions, in his words, "brotherly"
divided them. Besides, according to his observation, "none of the
opposition representatives found a force in himself to throw away the
mandate to show the people that they are ready to make any offering."

In response to it, another participant of the debate, Chairman of
the National Democratic Party Shavarsh Kocharian mentioned that "the
mandate is not for being thrown away but for serving the people." And
in his words, not the opposition but the authorities are guilty for
all the negative phenomena existing in the country as the opposers
simply have not enough levers to influence on the process of affairs.

92ND ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATED

Western Queens Gazette, NY
April 18 2007

Photo: Israel Arabian, 102, tells his daughter-in-law and translator
Mini Arabian that he still has panic attacks when he remembers the
Armenian Genocide.

April 24, 2007 marks the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

On Sunday, April 22 from 2 to 4 p.m. the public is invited to join
Armenian Americans from Queens and throughout the tri-state area and
their supporters at Times Square to commemorate the 92nd anniversary
of the first mass extermination of a particular ethnic group to
occur during the 20th century and to pay tribute to Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, who was recently assassinated in Turkey because
he wrote about the Armenian Genocide. "We Cannot Forget, We Will Not
Forget" is the theme of the Commemoration.

Distinguished speakers will include John Marshall Evans, United
States Ambassador to Armenia (2004-06), Congressmember Frank Pallone
Jr. (D-New Jersey), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues, and Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, grandson
of Henry Morgenthau Sr., United States ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
during World War I. (On April 29, 1915, Henry Morgenthau Sr. stated,
"I am confident that the whole history of [the] human race contains
no such terrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions
of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings
of the Armenian race in 1915." In 1915, 33 years before the United
Nations Genocide Convention was adopted, the Armenian Genocide was
condemned by the international community as a crime against humanity.)

Photo: Annie Karakaian, 95, weeps after hearing Adriyan Bagciyan’s
story.

During World War I, the Young Turk political faction of the Ottoman
Empire sought the creation of a new Turkish state, extending into
Central Asia. Those promoting the ideology called "Pan Turkism"
(creating a homogenous Turkish state) saw Turkey’s Armenian population
as an obstacle to the realization of that goal. During the Armenian
Genocide (1915-1923), the Young Turk Government systematically forced
1.5 million Armenians out of their ancestral homeland in present-day
Turkey and annihilated them.

April 24, 1915 marked the beginning of the Armenian Genocide in
Constantinople (present day Istanbul) with the arrest, torture and
execution of 300 Armenian intellectuals, writers, poets, political
and civic leaders by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire.

Also on that day, 5,000 of the poorest Armenians were butchered in
the streets and in their homes.

Photo: Aghavni "Aggie" Ellian, executive director of the New York Home
for the Armenian Aged in Flushing (r.), speaks with Adriyan Bagciyan,
98, about her survival during the Armenian Genocide.

In May 1915, after mass deportations had already begun, Turkish
Minister of the Interior Talaat Pasha ordered the Armenian
population’s deportation into the Syrian desert. Adult and teenage
males were separated from the deportation caravans and killed under
the direction of Young Turk functionaries. Women and children were
driven for months over mountains and desert, often raped, tortured,
and mutilated. Deprived of food and water and often stripped of
clothing, they fell by the hundreds and thousands along the routes
to the desert. Ultimately, more than half the Armenian population,
1,500,000 people, was annihilated. In this manner the Armenian people
were eliminated from their homeland of several millennia.

Sam Azadian, who lost four siblings during the Armenian Genocide,
founded the first Times Square Commemoration in 1985. Azadian stated,
"It is important to increase public awareness of the Armenian
Genocide. Two out of three Armenians perished as a result of forced
deportation and mass murder by the Ottoman Turks."

Armenian Genocide survivors living at the New York Armenian Home for
the Aged on 45th Avenue in Flushing have not forgotten the atrocities
committed against them, their families and neighbors by the Young
Turk government.

Mini Arabian, daughter-inlaw and translator for Israel Arabian, 102,
said that Israel Arabian still has panic attacks when he remembers
the Armenian Genocide. He fled the Turks and ended up living in
an orphanage in Greece after his mother and father were killed. He
doesn’t remember his parents and lost contact with a sister, who was
forced to marry a Turk and live in Turkey. Eventually through the
Red Cross, he was able to reconnect with his sister through letters,
but he never saw her again. Mini said that her grandmother, Hagi
Synanian, a mother of five, fled on foot. During her long journey,
four of her five children died of starvation and she had to dig their
graves and bury them. The only child who survived was Mini’s father.

Adriyan Bagciyan, 99, blurted, "Everyone knows our story. What did the
Turks do? They killed my entire family! What story can I tell you? I
remember fleeing to Syria to escape the Turks." Kristine Naldjian,
100, recalled, "I remember running and hiding in the mountains. The
Turks beat, raped and killed young girls. I saw the Turks take our
school teachers away from our classrooms. Our teachers never returned."

Annie Karakaian is 95. Her eyes welled up with tears after hearing
Adriyan Bagciyan’s story. Karakaian added, "We were all afraid of the
Turks. My father was a carpenter and helped save Armenians by building
a secret hiding space under our stairs. My father was eventually
forced into the Turkish army. We were finally reunited with my father
and in 1920 he made us wooden suitcases and my whole family traveled
by boat to Ellis Island." Karakaian, an artist and sculptor, proudly
revealed that she "obtained the American Dream" and graduated with
a fine arts degree from Queens College, cum laude, at the age of 61.

Dennis Papazian, PhD, founding director of the Armenian Research
Center at the University of Michigan, noted, "The Turkish government to
this day continues to deny the reality of the Armenian Genocide which
opened the door to all the genocides of the 20th and 21st centuries
including the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. In fact,
when Hitler sent his Death Head troops into Poland at the beginning
of World War II, he said ‘Go. Kill without mercy.

Who today remembers the extermination of the Armenians?’"

On January 30, 2007, Congressmembers Adam Schiff (D-California), George
Radanovich (R-California), Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Pallone and Joe
Knollenberg (RMichigan), Brad Sherman (DCalifornia) and Thaddeus
McCotter (R-Michigan) introduced the Armenian Genocide Resolution
(House Resolution 106) to reaffirm the Armenian Genocide.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Majority
Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) have also championed U.S. efforts at
reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide. The resolution "Call[s] upon
the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States
reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues
related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented
in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and
for other purposes."

On March 14, 2007, the Armenian Genocide Resolution (Senate Resolution
106), mirroring House Resolution 106, was introduced in the U.S. Senate
by Assistant Majority Leader Senator Richard J.

Durbin (DIllinois) and Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada).

The 92nd Commemoration is organized by Mid-Atlantic Knights and
Daughters of Vartan (), a U.S. fraternal
organization of Armenian-Americans, and cosponsored by the Armenian
General Benevolent Union (), the Armenian Assembly of
America (), the Armenian National Committee of America
() and ARMENPAC, the Armenian-American Political Action
Committee ().

For more information about participating in the 92nd anniversary
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, call Knights and Daughters
of Vartan Chair Hirant Gulian, 212-764- 8730 or Sam Azadian at 973-
827-2487.

0418/features/024.html

STILL THERE IS NO DECISION BY ERDOGAN OVER HIS CANDIDATURE FOR PRESIDENTIAL POST

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.04.2007 18:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "In the current circumstances there exist a
certain risk in connection with my candidature for the presidential
post. We will not take the risk," Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Erdogan stated. He said, the final decision over nominating his
candidature will be made after consultations with political forces of
Turkey. Erdogan’s decision came after a rally of 300,000 protesters in
Ankara, who protested against country’s islamization that Erdogan and
his "Justice and development" party lead to. Today the Prime Minister
met with leaders of parliamentarian opposition, Turkish media reports.

On April 16 the process of proposing candidature for the presidential
post launched in Turkey. Elections will be hold in the parliament May
22. The time for registration expires April 25 and the Prime Minister
stated he will give his final answer till that period.

Beginning from April 26 within 20 days deputies of Turkish Grand
National Assembly must elect the next president of the country. The
current President Ahmed Necdet Sezer is follower of Kemalism, who
protect principles of secular state.