Author: Hunanian Jack

DOUBLE STANDARDS TO CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY INADMISSIBLE
Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 04:01
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Application of double standards, jugglery with
terms, substitution of problems, speculations with historical facts
in case of crimes against humanity is inadmissible,” President of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic Arkady Ghukasian stated when addressing
Ultimate Crime, Ultimate Challenge: Human Rights and Genocide
international conference. The NKR President’s statement notes:
“The crimes against humanity should be denounced. The international
community should not have an alternative to such an attitude towards
genocide. Otherwise, the fact of perpetration of a genocide becomes
not subject of common aversion and condemnation, but merely one of the
numerous tools for states realizing their geopolitical, geoeconomic,
regional, domestic and other interests. As state interests have
diverse, often diametrically opposite goals, not only oblivion of the
fact of a genocide is favorable to a government in a certain historical
period, but also the indirect justification of its perpetration. This
is what Azeri leaders are guided by today, by “fair” settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict they mean full eviction of indigene
Armenians from Artsakh. Aiming at that they pursue a policy of
provoking world and regional powers, first of all Turkey to put not
only political and economic, but also military pressure on Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh. Simultaneously the Azeri propaganda machine
has launched an unprecedented campaign to forge the historical facts,
up to presenting Armenians to the international community as people,
who have allegedly committed a genocide against the Azerbaijanis.
Unfortunately such policy by the Baku authorities is not censured by
the international community. Meanwhile, the policy is pregnant with
the threat of forming permanent hatred towards the entire Armenian
people in today’s and future generations of the Azeri society. The
consequences of such a policy have destructive consequences for
confidence building between the parties of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, the Azeri and Armenian peoples, who are to be neighbors
for always as the God has willed.”

HUNGARY TO COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
A1plus
| 14:23:51 | 19-04-2005 | Politics |
April 21-24 the State Chorus of the Hungarian National Radio will
give concerts dedicated to the Armenian Genocide 90-th anniversary
in the State Philharmonic Hall of Armenia.
The event has been initiated by the State Committee for organizing
events dedicated to 90-th Genocide anniversary, the RA Foreign Ministry
and the Ministry of Culture, the Public Radio, Forum of the Armenian
Union of Europe and the National Radio of Hungary.
As RA Foreign Ministry representative Jivan Movsisyan noted, besides
its direct purpose the event will create new outlook for the cultural
ties and cooperation between Armenia and Hungary.
Secretary of the Forum of the Armenian Union of Europe Alex Avanesyan
reported that every day at noon the Churches Bells will sound to
celebrate the victory Hungary won over Turkey in 1520. However this
week ~V April 18-21 ~V will be a special one, as only the bells of
the Armenian Churches will be heard.
Besides, booklets telling about the events of 1915 will be spread in
the streets and subway of Budapest and an exhibition will open. On
April 24 the Hungarian television will cover events held in Armenia.
To note, the RA MFA representative also noted that an
Armenian-Hungarian Economic Forum will be held in Yerevan in
September, while a General European conference dedicated to the
1600-th anniversary of the creation of Armenian written language with
the participation of the Armenian Unions of Europe will be held in
Budapest in October.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Chefs spice up food tours
By Clare Leschin-Hoar | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
Christian Science Monitor
April 19 2005
WATERTOWN, MASS. – Moving through the tightly packed Sevan’s Bakery
here in Watertown – home to a large Armenian population – chef
Ana Sortun holds up a small bag of dried mint, explaining its many
uses – such as sprinkling on just-roasted meats, or folding it into
thick, creamy Middle Eastern yogurt, commonly used in a variety of
Mediterranean dishes.
The tour group soaks up every word uttered by Ms. Sortun, nominated
for a James Beard Award. They move as a pack as she steps deeper into
the store, past the displays of olives, dried fruits, and nuts, and
into the bakery’s stainless steel kitchen, where they sample three
varieties of feta cheeses – French, Bulgarian, and the newly arrived
Turkish feta, all with slightly different tastes and textures.
Margaret Chavushian, the bakery’s owner, swings through the door with
a tray of soft mounds of red lentil kofte. Hard bagel-like breads and
flat crackers with spread Za’atar – a dry mixture of summer savory and
sesame seeds – are passed hand to hand. Murmurs and nods of approval
travel through the group. Quickly, the tray is bare and smiles abound.
This Saturday morning lesson in yufka pastry, lamejun, kibbeh,
and haloumi cheese is an example of the latest way for chefs to
connect with clientele clamoring to get up close and personal. Unlike
traditional walking tours, which are often led-to-a-chef, Sortun’s
version is chef-led.
Moving out of the kitchen and back into the shop, Sortun, who is of
Norwegian descent, stops at the display of frozen goods and points out
a number of delights such as Egyptian mantee – tiny baked ravioli-style
dumplings that are traditionally cooked in chicken broth; boxes of
lamejun – delicious pizzalike snacks that can be warmed in the oven
or on a griddle; and yufka pastry, which can be wrapped around cheese
and then fried.
Serious about her passion for Middle Eastern food, Sortun, chef-owner
of the award-winning Oleana Restaurant in Cambridge, Mass., exudes
both confidence in her knowledge of this cuisine and appreciation
for the goods displayed in this tiny corner market.
“I think sometimes there’s a curiosity that people have about how
chefs find their ingredients,” says Sortun. “People think there’s
some kind of secret, when really, we’re shopping the same way [as
home cooks]. We’re just looking for something that inspires us,
that looks good that day.
“For me, Watertown is really a special place,” she adds. “I can’t
get the ingredients they have there anywhere else. I can’t find the
labne or the yufka pastry at a lot of different places, so I rely on
them for the kind of food I use [in the restaurant].”
The students file out of Sevan’s and cross the street to Arax Market,
a Lebanese and Armenian grocer, where the sights and smells change
dramatically.
An earthy, sweet aroma prevails, wafting from the piles of fresh
produce displayed in cardboard boxes stacked on the floor. To one
side is a wall filled with clear bags of exotic spices, to the other
side are open bins of pickled vegetables and cured olives.
In the back corner of Arax are piles of flour, grains, rice, lentils,
and couscous, shelved near stacks of immense pita breads, which are
routinely prodded and tested for freshness by the store’s regulars.
“It was very exotic,” says Marcy Rizzo of Newton, Mass., one of those
on the tour. “You really felt like you were in a different country
when you walked into those stores. [The place] wasn’t Americanized –
the way of displaying things, the quality, the smells, the colors;
[or] how things like brilliant pink pickled turnips and crushed red
pepper paste are used in everyday cooking.”
Sortun deftly moves around the store fielding questions from the group
about items such as tiny bundles of dried purple eggplant that are
bound with thick rubber bands. She explains how to use fresh dates,
which are hard and light yellow – with little resemblance to their
dried, sticky, brown cousins – by slicing them very thinly and using
them atop salads.
She draws out two types of skewers and explains the difference to the
group: The round shish are used for cubes of meat and vegetables. The
flat shish are for ground meat. “They make it by kneading the beef
or lamb until the meat becomes creamy and binds itself. This is like
their meatball,” says Sortun.
The next stop on the morning tour is Massis Bakery, which feels like
a cross between Sevan’s and Arax. Here the group is treated to warm
samples of kibbeh. Since the store has many similar ingredients to
the first two, the time spent here is short.
Sortun then herds the tour across another street to Town Shawarma,
a halal meat market, where samples of grilled sujuk (a special
spiced meat mixture, similar to sausage) and a salty yogurt drink
are served. The owner, Magid Alhussein, is amiable, and brings out
the samples as soon as he sees Sortun walk through the door.
Sortun ends the tour at a small local restaurant, where, among platters
of falafel and dainty dishes of humus, her clients chatter about this
unusual peek at an often overlooked ethnic neighborhood.

ARMENIAN APP TO BE SUSPENDED FOR PLANNED PREVENTIVE REPAIR
AND REFUELING ON SEPTEMBER 15 2005
YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMINFO. On September 15 2005 the Armenian APP will
be suspended for planned preventive repair and refueling, Director
General of CJSC “Armenian APP” Gagik Markosyan informs ARMINFO.
He says that the plant will be suspended for 45 days. The EU will
allocate 4 mln EUR for implementation of the project on upgrading the
safety of the plant. On these funds, the APP is to create a system
of automatic chemical control for the first time, as well as to take
a number of other measures. Jointly with the US Energy Department,
a serious work will be carried out to upgrade the safety of the plant,
and the Russian party pledging to provide the necessary fuel to it.
To note, in 2004, the Armenian APP increase electricity generation
by 26% or to 2.4 bln kW/h. This indicator is planned to reach 2.528
bln kW/h in 2005 at the expense of reduction of the suspension term
from the usual 65 to 45 days.

Contact:
Haykuhi Khachatryan
Communications Coordinator HFH Armenia
Aygestan 8th Street, bld 5,
Yerevan-070; Armenia
(374 1) 556-114
[email protected]
Women build at Habitat for Humanity Armenia
Habitat For Humanity builds more than homes. It connects hearths and
souls of people to do better for the people living next to us.
Nani Oskanyan, the president of Diplomatic Spouse Association is one of
HFH Armenia’s local supporters who invited and organized the spouses
of the Ambassadors in the Republic of Armenia to join Habitat For
Humanity Armenia and to build in the frames of Women Build program,
for the family of Khachatryans in Voskehat village, Aragatsotn marz,
on April 9, 2005. This family of 6 lived in a barn for many years.
They later finished just one room of their house and moved into that
room in order to simply survive. In 2004, they were selected as an
HFH Armenia partner family.
The participants at the build were the wives of several countries’
ambassadors to Armenia. They were the Iranian Ambassador’s wife–Mrs.
Faranak Mojharban, Lebanese Ambassador’s wife–Mrs. Tigresse Chidiac,
Ukrainian Ambassador’s wife–Valentina Tiaglo, Romanian Ambassador’s
wife-Mrs. Ana Iordache, Turkmenian Ambassador’s wife-Mrs. Durdieva,
Estonian Ambassador’s wife–Mrs. Barkhudaryan, UNISEF Representative’s
wife-Mrs. Yett. They all joined the Women’s Build event at Habitat
For Humanity Armenia to a build simple, decent, affordable and healthy
home. This is the second time that Nani Oskanyan is building with
Habitat in Armenia in Voskehat village.
Women Build even is inspiring women to be more active and get involved
in community development. Construction is not only men’s job but
women can do it as well and help our communities.
“This is the first time I am doing volunteering work but I am
really glad
that am able to help Armenia and Armenian people to have better lives
and healthy homes”, — Mrs Faranak Mojharban said.
Habitat for Humanity Armenia is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity
International and supports community development in the Republic of
Armenia by assisting in the construction and renovation of simple,
decent and affordable homes. The purpose of the organization is to
help families in need improve their living conditions, to raise funds
to support the vital work, and to give hope to thousands of people
across the country. The organization was formed in March of 2000 and,
to date, has dedicated 100 homes and given shelter to 575 people.
Sub-standard housing is all too common in Armenia. Many families live
in deteriorated housing, in cramped quarters with inadequate water
and heat. HFH Armenia’s selected target group is families living in
substandard, over-crowded and unacceptable living quarters. This group
comprises more than 50-60% of the country’s current population. These
families are unable to purchase their own homes, as they do not have
sufficient income to save to pay for the entire house cost up front,
nor can they risk, or would they be eligible for, a high-interest
loan from a commercial lender.
Habitat for Humanity Armenia has found a way to solve the
problem. Families, with two or three wage earners, pay back a
no-interest loan for a simple, decent, affordable, and healthy home,
and are still able to feed their families. Habitat for Humanity Armenia
is using a combination of two approaches to help Habitat families
solve their housing problems:
1) Completing half-built homes, which are numerous in
Armenia. This approach enables families to fulfill their
dream of completing their own home. Utilizing existing
core structure reduces costs and prevents the disruption
of relocating.
2) Purchasing apartments to make use of Armenia’s existing
under-utilized housing stock. Purchased homes are resold at
no-profit, interest-free, to Habitat families who renovate
their apartments and help in the construction of other
families’ homes.
For more information please email Haykuhi Khachatryan, Communication
Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity Armenia [email protected] .
See also .
Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity International is a
non-denominational Christian, non-governmental, non-profit housing
organization that has helped more than 700,000 people of all races,
religions and backgrounds to have a simple, decent and affordable
place to live. Habitat for Humanity has built or renovated more
than 175,000 homes throughout the world, becoming a global leader
in addressing poverty housing. Habitat for Humanity is active in 100
countries worldwide, including 19 in Europe and Central Asia.
~END~

Sporting Life, UK
April 16 2005
AJAX SNAP UP TRIALIST
Ajax have signed Pyunik FC striker and former trialist Edgar
Manucharyan on a three-year deal.
The Armenian will make the move to the Amsterdam giants on July 1, in
time for their preparations for the new season.
The 18-year-old was on trial at Ajax in December 2004 and featured in
the club’s friendly match against Barcelona although he was forced to
leave the pitch after just 14 minutes because of a foot injury.
Manucharyan, who also plays for the Armenian national team, stayed in
Amsterdam to recover from his injury and is now back to full fitness.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Washington Observer Reporter, PA
April 16 2005
Professor shares stories with genealogical group
WAYNESBURG – Serendipity, the seeming gift for finding good things
accidentally, and the role it sometimes plays in genealogical
research, was the focus of a presentation given by retired Waynesburg
College professor Dr. Bruce Barnett at the Tuesday meeting of
Cornerstone Genealogical Society.
According to Barnett, there is an unseen power that helps people find
their ancestors. He cited anecdotal evidence from Megan Smolenyak in
her book, “In Search of Our Ancestors.”
Smolenyak believes it is not just a coincidence when we find our
long-lost relatives, Barnett said.
She wrote about a Florida woman who had been researching her father’s
half-brother. In Uniontown, just hours before her flight back to
Florida, the woman found her uncle’s name in a cemetery book. She
went to the cemetery and asked at the office; the surprised office
secretary, though a stranger, was the woman’s cousin.
Barnett said he was especially touched by a story he read in Reader’s
Digest. An American college student named Natalie Peters was staying
in Paris. Knowing she had Armenian roots, she went to an Armenian
church and spoke to an elderly lady in her family’s native language.
The elderly lady, who lived in Syria, turned out to be Peters’ aunt,
her father’s sister, who had been trying to locate her brother for
years.
Barnett’s enthusiasm for genealogy was evident in a tale he told of
frustration conquered by perseverance.
On their way back from Finland, his wife’s home land, the Barnetts
stopped in England and Scotland to do some research. Barnett
encountered a problem common to researchers – old documents that are
difficult to read.
Calligraphy in the 17th century is dissimilar to that of the 21st
century. Barnett trusted his intuition and discovered his ancestor,
which he thought read “Wangfurd,” was actually Crawford
He also related a story in which a husband and wife decided to trace
their roots and discovered that they are distant, “kissin’ cousins.
“Sometime an epiphany occurs when we are doing research; we know what
we want to find and we find it,” he said.
Barnett, who has taught genetics, also said that some people use DNA
to prove their ancestry. Or, in some cases, to disprove their
ancestry.
Barnett is a member of the society board and chairman of the Memory
Medallion committee. He is a Boy Scout leader and a community
volunteer.
In other business, Valerie Gapen gave a report on the Memory
Medallion, noting that 13 of the medallions were recently sold. Tonia
Caruso of WQED-TV has completed a feature story on the Memory
Medallion, which will be shown at the next meeting.
Marilyn Eichenlaub announced that May 10 is the anniversary of the
Corbly Massacre. Marilyn’s daughter, Katie, a direct descendant of
the Corblys, will be the speaker at Cornerstone on that date.
President Jim Shriver reported improvements will be made soon to the
society parking lot. Ruth Craft reported that Jim Fordyce brought
Cornerstone five books including the earliest tax records of Greene
County. It also was reported that the Observer-Reporter newspaper is
on compact discs from 2000. The society will be getting the CDs on a
monthly basis.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Journal of Turkish weekly
April 15 2005
Biggest Shock to Armenian Allegations
(JTW Ankara) The head of Turkish Institute of History,Yusuf Halacoglu
publicized new scientific documents against Armenian allegations.
According to Halacoglu, these historic documents will spoil
Armenian’s claims. One document revealed by Halacoglu is dated back
28 May 1915.
According to document, it has been ordered, how Armenians should be
sent back.
Halacoglu revealed two more documents, one American paper that
calculates Armenian population dated back 1921. Also in the documents
it has been explained that how aid organizations will help Armenians.
This week Armenian President rejected Turkish letter for
collaboration on allegations. The move strengthened the hand of
Turkish side, which head started the opening of Ottoman archieves.
Halacoglu claims, to solve the problem it is a must to open all
Ottoman archieves.

Armenpress
STUDENTS PROTEST AGAINST GEORGIA’S NATIONAL POLICY
YEREVAN, APRIL 14, ARMENPRESS: Several Armenian student organizations,
united in the Student Council, organized today a protest action outside
Georgian embassy in Yerevan demanding that central Georgian authorities stop
their discriminatory policy against Armenians in that country.
Before reaching the embassy building in downtown Yerevan they marched
through several streets shouting “No to white genocide,” “Stop Georgianize
Armenians.”
Arsen Palian, a member of the Council’s board, said their goal is to
convey their concerns over the fate of Georgian Armenians to that country’s
ambassador to Armenia. “Georgian authorities must give up their plans to
implement their national policy at the expense of a friendly nation,” he
said.
He said the letter they conveyed to the ambassador asks him to come up
with a statement that Georgian authorities will respect Georgian Armenians’
rights.
Another students said they were assured by the ambassador that Meskhetian
Turks deported from Georgia in 1944 by Stalin would not be resettled in
areas populated by Armenians and that the issue of teaching Armenian
language at Armenians schools in Georgia would be revised

ARMENIANS DID NOT INTEND TO OCCUPY THEIR OWN TERRITORIES
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 14. ARMINFO. “As a man who was born in Shushi and
has for many years studied the inscriptions on the town’s historical
architectural monuments and graves of XVIII-XX I can say with full
responsibility that Armenians and Russians constituted the greater
part of the town’s population at that time,” says Karabakh
ethnographer Hrachik Haroutyunyan commenting on the article in
GazetaSNG.ru saying that the ancestors of the Azeris lived in Karabakh
as long ago as paleolith.
In the article Azeris protest against some alleged excavations in
Shushi aimed, as they claim, “at wiping out the Azeri trace in
Karabakh.” “The goal of the Karabakh occupying Armenians is to create
an artificial Armenian history of this land,” says the article. Azeri
professor Hidayat Jafarov says that the excavations show that the
Armenians are going to occupy Karabakh in archaeological terms too.
Haroutyunyan assures that the inscriptions on over 1,000 graves in
Shushi show that all the top positions in the town in XVIII-XX were
held by Armenians and Russians. “So we, Armenians, did not plan to
occupy our own territory and Jafarov’s statement is one more
propaganda trick,” he says reminding that journalist Israfil Mamedov
said on Baku radio recently that they should write Shushi’s
history. “Now we have no real history and each of us should be
concerned for this,” Mamedov said. “Wasn’t he in fact calling for
rewriting the history of the Armenian land in Azeri manner?”
Haroutyunyan concludes.