Author: Jhanna Virabian

ARMENIANS CAN THEMSELVES SETTLE KARABAKHI CONFLICT
A1+
16-12-2004
During today’s conference the social initiative for “Protection of
Liberated Territories” expressed concern over the events recently
spread about returning the liberated territories.
According to them, numerous representatives of former and present
Authorities keep participating in the process by mutual agreement.
Armen Aghayan, Secretary of “Protection of Liberated Territories”,
says the issue of the liberated territories is the first one disputed
after the war in fact and the pivot of all the suggestions by Minsk
Group Co-Chairs.
The social initiative for “Protection of Liberated Territories”
announces that Artcakhi problem does not and can’t have
an international solution in the formats of either Minsk Group,
or Council of Europe etc. The Armenian version of regulating the
conflict is the only one and supposes complete and quick settlement
of all the liberated districts.
The organization finds that the Armenians can work out an own project,
which will provide a safe life for them in the homeland.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

European Parliament calls for start of full entry talks with Turkey
NTV television, Istanbul
15 Dec 04
[Presenter] The European Parliament sent a strong message to the EU
leaders ahead of tomorrow’s [16 December] historic summit, calling for
the commencement of the full membership negotiations with Turkey
without delay. Kayhan Karaca followed the voting in Strasbourg. Kayhan
we are listening to you.
[Correspondent] Just a few seconds ago, the European Parliament took a
historic decision and, for the first time, it cleared the way for the
membership talks with Turkey and Turkey’s membership prospect. As we
all watched together, the Christian Democrats tried until the very end
to block Turkey’s path and give Turkey a special status in place of
membership. They even wanted and secured secret voting on it. But all
that effort was rejected at the general assembly of the parliament.
The parliament took a decision and called on the EU leaders to
commence the membership talks with Turkey in 2005 without delay. This
is a very important decision, and it would definitely impact the
meeting of the European leaders who are to gather tomorrow evening to
discuss Turkey. Joseph Borrell, head of the European Parliament, will
personally explain the European Parliament’s decision just adopted in
Strasbourg to the EU leaders in Brussels tomorrow at the start of the
summit.
In the voting held a while ago, the Christian Democrats put two
amendments to the secret voting. In one, they wanted giving a special
status to Turkey. This motion was rejected by a vote of 415 to
259. Another amendment, and a tougher one, called for the rejection of
the Turkish membership. It too was rejected by a majority of votes.
On the other hand, the European Parliament adopted a motion submitted
by the Communist Group on the Armenian genocide. Accordingly, an
article was added to the report at the last moment calling on the
Armenian and Turkish peoples to [examine] the issue of genocide. All
the amendment motions submitted by the Greek parliamentarians on the
Cyprus and Aegean issues were rejected. But, a motion proposed by
[name indistinct], a member of the NDP [New Democracy] and Christian
Democratic Group, on the ecumenical status of the Greek Patriarchate
was endorsed. But all these are secondary issues now. Presently, the
parliament has really put its imprint on the 16-17 [December]
summit. This was expected, but we went through a tense period due to
the Christian Democrats’ amendment motions. The European Parliament
adopted a historic decision, and most probably the EU leaders will
adopt a similar decision on Turkey tomorrow evening or on Friday.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARKADI GHUKASIAN: ARMENIAN PEOPLE CAN REALIZE PAN-NATIONAL ISSUES ONLY
WITH JOINT EFFORTS OF ARMENIA, ARTSAKH AND SPYURK
STEPANAKERT, December 3 (Noyan Tapan). A wide range of issues
concerning the results of the telethon held on November 25 in US for
the purpose of assisting to Nagorno Karabakh was discussed during the
consultation held by NKR President Arkadi Ghukasian in the evening of
December 2. Oleg Yesayan, Chairman of NKR NA, Anushavan Danielian, NKR
Prime Minister, members of Council of Security, as well as heads of
ministries and departments, other responsible officials of NKR
participated in the consultation.
The NKR President again confirmed that the financial resources
received as a result of the telethon will be used for finishing the
construction of the North-South main, which is of strategical
importance for Nagorno Karabakh from point of view of ensurance of its
military, economic and social security. In this connection he
especially mentioned the necessity of strict control over use of
financial resources, as well as organization of proper working process
in all the sectors of construction. It was emphasized that these
measures should contribute to finishing of the construction in the
fixed terms.
Comparing notes about the telethon, Arkadi Ghukasian gave assurance
that more than pleasing results of this pan-Armenian event, during
which about .5m were collected, is the consequence of rise of
confidence of Armenian Diaspora to Karabakh’s course of
democratization of all spheres of life, reformation of the economy of
the republic, building of a civil society in Artsakh.
One of the most important issues for the Armenian Diaspora is the
future of Arstakh, strengthening of its political and economic
independence, the NKR President said. “The Diaspora beleives in
Artsakh and considers its duty to contribute to its all-round
development,” NKR President emphasized. Arkadi Ghukasian gave
instructions to the participants of the consultation to begin
preparing for the next telethon. He said that he considers necessary
to use the resources received during the next telethon first of all
for development of socio-economic sector of Mardakert region in the
north of NKR, which greatly suffered from Azerbaijan’s military
aggression. According to him, in the future the telethons should be
also dedicated to improvement of Shushi and other rural areas of
Nagorno Karabakh.
Touching upon the political results of his visit to US, the NKR
President mentioned that the Diaspora, Armenian political parties
acting abroad expressed readiness to take more active part in lobbying
of Nagorno Karabakh’s position in its conflict with Azerbaijan in
different international structures.
According to the Press Service attached to NKR President, the
participants of the consultation expressed gratitude to their foreign
compatriots, as well as citizens of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh for
their active participation in the telethon.
The Armenian people can realize pan-national issues only with joint
efforts of Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora, the NKR President said in
conclusion.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

New Statesman
November 22, 2004
A nation in search of an identity; Turkey appears to be moving
eastwards and westwards at the same time. But is it really possible
to invent a pro-market Islamism? Report by Maureen Freely
by Maureen Freely
On its travel posters, Turkey is the land ‘where east meets west’. An
alluring sales pitch, but what does it mean? As they contemplate
Turkey’s bid to join the EU, nervous westerners are very keen to
know. Journalists have worked to furnish nutshell histories and
thumbnail sketches of ‘Turkey today’, but the more people read about
this strange country, the less they understand it.
The central paradox is the prime minister, who is Islamist but
fervently pro-Europe. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has introduced radical
legal, economic and political changes to bring the country into line
with European standards, but has also tried to slip in a new law that
would have criminalised adultery. Can he be trusted? In this volatile
age, how can a nation move both eastwards and westwards without
splitting in two?
More confusing still, at least to concerned Europeans, is the
consensus inside Turkey. It would be wrong to say that everyone wants
to join the EU: there are Eurosceptics there who think Turkey should
turn its back on Europe to build (and head) its own regional power
base. But, paradoxically, this is not at present an eastern dream:
the most fervent nationalists of the moment belong to the Republican
People’s Party, traditionally the voice of westward-looking
secularism.
Meanwhile, three-quarters of the Turkish electorate are in favour of
joining. No one is saying there aren’t Herculean feats to be
performed beforehand, or that there wouldn’t be large adjustment
problems afterwards. Even if it met every challenge before the
deadline, Turkey would be not just the poorest and most populous
nation in the EU, but the most unevenly developed, with the country’s
cities and western provinces far outstripping its eastern regions,
long impoverished and only just recovering from the 15-year conflict
between the army and the Kurdish paramilitary PKK. But when the
European parliament’s president, Joseph Borrell, last month met Leyla
Zana (the former parliamentarian, recently released after ten years’
imprisonment on charges of advocating Kurdish separatism) she pressed
for membership as strenuously as Erdogan had done in the same office
two weeks earlier. Certainly, her priorities were different. But the
bid to join Europe has strong support not just in Ankara and the
business sector, but also among human rights campaigners; not just in
the country’s industrialised western regions, but also in its largely
Kurdish provinces in the east.
Erdogan explained in a recent speech that joining the EU bid would
not (as nationalists have argued) be a departure from the republican
ideals set out by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 80 years ago; rather, he
said, it would be its ‘natural outcome’. This neat rhetorical
flourish indicates the distance between our view of Turkey’s EU bid
and theirs. For us it’s an east-west conundrum. For them it’s about
sovereignty, national identity, citizenship and those republican
ideals.
What exactly did Ataturk have in mind all those years ago, when he
conjured up a modern state from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire? When
he spoke of all Turkey’s peoples working together as one, did he mean
its non-Muslims as well as its Muslims? Its Alevis as well as its
Sunnis? To become true Turks, were non-Muslims expected to shed their
religions, and were Muslims compelled to give up also thinking of
themselves as Kurdish, Laz, Turkmen, Azeri, Bosnian, Circassian?
Today many would say he had no such thing in mind – that it is (or
ought to be) possible to be a fully-fledged Turkish citizen without
suppressing one’s religion or ethnic origins. But in the Turkey I
knew as a child, this was literally unsayable. The Turkey I knew in
the Sixties was a beautiful, sleepy backwater, valued by its Nato
allies mostly (some would say only) for providing a ‘bulwark against
Communism’. The news on the radio was the news as the state wished us
to view it. The state was defined less by the prime minister and the
National Assembly than by the generals in the National Security
Council. The military presented itself (and was largely accepted as)
the guarantor of the Kemalist project.
At the same time, it was forever mindful of its prime backer, the US.
The economy was closed, to protect fledgling industries; the practice
of religion permitted but kept under strict surveillance. The state
kept an almost perfect control over what children learned in school,
and what they learned in their history books was very much in keeping
with the narrow, purist nationalist project as refined by Ataturk’s
successors. To express difference was unpatriotic: to be different
could be life-threatening, as tens of thousands of Greeks and
Armenians discovered on 6 September 1955 when bands of thugs (now
acknowledged to have been government-sponsored) went on a rampage
throughout Istanbul, setting fire to Christian-owned businesses,
raping and maiming and killing as they went. When my family first
came to Istanbul five years later, it was still the multicultural
city it had been throughout the Ottoman Empire. The turning point was
1964, when the Cyprus crisis prompted the state to chase most of the
remaining Greeks away.
The state flexed its muscle frequently over the next three decades,
meeting all challenges to its authority. There was a coup in 1971 and
another in 1980; although they had various aims there was in both a
serious effort to suppress the intelligentsia, and with it the basic
freedoms we in the west take for granted. In 1974, there was the
invasion of Cyprus. Beginning in the mid-1980s, there was the
conflict with the PKK in the south-east. Running through all these
stories is the long catalogue of human rights abuses.
The EU has long made it clear that these issues had to be resolved
before Turkey could become a member. For almost just as long, its
warnings had little effect. But over the past two and a half years,
there’s been a dramatic shift. The first ‘EU laws’ were passed
several months before Erdogan’s Islamist Justice and Development
Party came into power – in a single session, the National Assembly
removed the death penalty, paved the way for teaching and
broadcasting in Kurdish, and lifted restrictions on freedom of
assembly. Since Erdogan took over, control of the National Security
Council has been switched from generals to civilians. The penal code
has been reformed and a ‘zero tolerance’ stance adopted on human
rights abuses.
The EU is dismantling the state as we used to know it and, in so
doing, challenging the way the state defines ‘the Turk’. This is ex-
plosive stuff. (Just imagine if Brussels were to march in tomorrow to
tell us how we were to define Englishness.) If three out of four
Turks are still prepared to support these radical changes, it is
because they have gone through radical changes, too. Not only has
there been mass migration to the cities: millions have gone on to
northern Europe as guest workers. Visit any village in Anatolia and
you’ll find its networks extending not just to Istanbul and Ankara
but to cities in Germany, France and the Netherlands.
In the Sixties there was only a handful of universities, which, with
few exceptions, were open only to the elite. Now there are more than
80. The expansion of higher education and the opening up of the
economy in the late 1980s have spawned a new and formidable
generation of entrepreneurs. Many have spent time studying in Europe
and the US; as comfortable in these cultures as they are at home,
they bring Turkey closer to Europe every time they pick up the phone.
Forty years ago, most Turks had no knowledge of the outside world and
their only source of information was a highly censored press. Now
millions have lived and worked and studied in Europe, and what they
want is, well, a lot more European. The borders have opened – even
the one with the old arch enemy, Greece. The rapprochement that began
with the 1999 earthquake continues still, with hundreds of small
groups (from the business world, the professions, the universities
and the arts) quietly forging ties with their colleagues across the
border. The cultural renaissance is multicultural, but at its core is
a desire to define what it is to be Turkish in a 21st-century world.
If it’s possible to be Turkish and European, is it possible to be
Turkish, European and Kurdish? If non-Muslim minorities are to enjoy
full cultural and political rights, shouldn’t Muslim minorities
receive the same consideration? In a secular state, what is the
proper place of religion? Is it possible to modernise without losing
one’s traditional values? How to prosper in a globalised economy
without becoming its slave?
These are urgent questions: no politician will get far unless he
addresses them. Erdogan’s answer, so puzzling when viewed from
abroad, makes perfect sense to the people who voted him in. Many are
(as is his family) recent urban migrants, social conservatives who
wish to prosper. So what better than pro-market Islamism? Turkey’s
established secularist bourgeoisie remains suspicious, but Erdogan
has won friends even in these quarters. ‘For the first time ever,’
one non-Muslim businessman told me recently, ‘we have a government
that actually understands business and wants to help us.’ In place of
the delaying and bribe-taking bureaucrats who once directed the
economy is a new breed of Islamist MBAs who are there to expedite and
enable and whose hands (so far) remain clean.
Where it will all lead is another matter. If George Bush invades
Iran, if Saudi Arabia slides into civil war and takes the rest of the
region with it, if the EU refuses Turkey’s bid and American GIs
continue to machine gun wounded men in mosques, we could see a Turkey
torn between east and west. But right now it’s a republic struggling
to better itself along European lines. At the same time, it wants to
remember where it comes from and what it means to bridge east and
west. Therein lies its promise – not just to itself, but to us all.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AzerTag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Nov 14 2004
DEBATES OVER NAGORNO-KARABAKH PROBLEM AT UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL BE
BASED ON JUSTICE
[November 13, 2004, 23:37:16]
Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington D.C., Chair of the Milli Majlis /Parliament/ Standing
Commission on International and Interparliamentary Relations Samad
Seyidov urged the UN General Assembly to justice while debating over
Nagorno-Karabakh Problem.
He dwelt on democratic reforms implemented in Azerbaijan, economic
development in the country and the current situation of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. He noted
Azerbaijan had chosen the way of integration into Euroatlantic space
that would bring benefit to both parties.
He also said that Azerbaijan is the shortest way connecting the two
continents and an alternative energy source for Europe who helps the
country to overcome the complex transition period.
Mr. Seyidov pointed out the positive impact of the membership of the
Council of Europe upon democratization process in Azerbaijan noting
that economic growth in the country and improvement of standard of
living are also a result of democratization and transparency of the
society. He recalled that foreign experts including the US’ cite the
activity of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan as an example to follow
by other fuel-producing countries.
Describing the unsolved conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh as the largest obstacle to development of the
region, Mr. Samad Seyidov noted the importance of supremacy of
democratic values in relation to this issue. “We want the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem to be discussed at any level. The initiative
to include the issue in the UN General Assembly’s agenda has been
dictated just by this desire. Not pro-Azerbaijani or pro-Armenian
stance but justice is what the debates shall be based on”, he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Nov 12 2004
Holiday business outlook positive
Retailers forecast between 3% and 6% growth in sales at Glendale
stores.
By Darleene Barrientos, News-Press and Leader
DOWNTOWN GLENDALE — At John Drayman’s store, where he fulfills orders
to restore and preserve old photographs, business has been very
healthy in October. And over the years, he’s learned a good October
in his store is a merry Christmas in the Montrose Shopping Park.
“In my particular business, Christmas orders have to go in early, and
it has been a very good October,” said Drayman, a member of the
Montrose Shopping Park Assn. “That usually means a very good
Christmas season. I think we’re poised for a terrific shopping season
up here.”
During a holiday economic and trend forecast this week at the
Glendale Galleria, retailers predicted healthy growth for this year’s
Christmas shopping season, both in sales and in trends that lean
toward more luxury and higher-end merchandise.
“We’re projecting a 3% to 4% increase over last year,” Galleria
Senior General Manager JoAnne Brosi said. “What we’re seeing now is
earlier holiday shopping. I think the season is starting already — as
of last weekend we have not had a parking spot on Saturday or Sunday.
I saw a lot more people with shopping bags, and there seems to be
more of an urgency about starting earlier.”
If the number of stores opening this year were any indication of
growth, the Galleria would be ahead of the game. New stores will
include Metropark, a retailer catering to hip, urban men and women;
Club Libby Lu; Melt Gelato; Biotherm; and 4 Love 21, an accessory
retailer from the creators of Forever 21, scheduled to open next
month.
To Jack Kyser, senior vice president and chief economist for the Los
Angeles County Development Corp., the optimism for Glendale is in
line with the brighter future predicted for the rest of the
Southland.
“Our forecast in Christmas in Southern California is for an 8.5%
increase,” Kyser said. And if mid-range department stores like
Robinsons-May fulfill their promises of providing more customer
service, the end result might be a jump in holiday jobs, he said.
“In Christmas 2003, there was an 11,500-increase in the number of
retail jobs during the Christmas season,” Kyser said. “We should
probably match that and probably exceed it if the mid-range stores
follow through.”
But because of the high gas prices, cost of housing and lines of
credit topping off, Armenian-American Chamber of Commerce President
Joe Dermenjian believes discretionary funds will be limited.
“It will probably be slower than last year,” said Dermenjian, a
financial planner. “Many consumers depend on credit and many are
maxed out on credit. All the prices are coming up, from food to
clothing and everything else.”
But because Dermenjian believes the job market is better than it was
last year, retailers can probably look forward to next year.
“It’s a tight time,” Dermenjian said. “[People are] going to have to
think twice before they spend money, but they won’t stop shopping.
Next year, it will probably be much better, and hopefully, the stock
market will pick up, too.”
–Boundary_(ID_eopcWHXxD1UBqZPHhfy3hw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

California Courier Online, November 11, 2004
1 – Commentary
Enhanced Armenian Activism Will Pay
Good Dividends in Future Elections
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
**************************************************************************
2 – APN Hosts Tribute
To US-Armenian
Military Veterans
3 – Entries Sought for Sixth Annual
Armenian Film Festival at CSUF
4 – AESA and ARPA Sponsor Lecture
On Armenia’s CRD on Nov. 16
5 – George & Flora Dunaians Host
APS Benefit Tennis Tournament
6 – Turkish Groups Agree Not to Appeal
Armenian Genocide Plaque Decision
7 – Armenian Film Foundation to Host Book
Signing for Genocide Survivor’s Memoirs
1 – Commentary
Enhanced Armenian Activism Will Pay
Good Dividends in Future Elections
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The re-election of Pres. Bush is not expected to result in any substantial
changes in U.S.- Armenia relations during the next four years. Pres. Bush
will most probably have his hands full for some time to come dealing with
other more pressing issues that would command his full attention.
Nevertheless, should unexpected complications arise with the Bush
Administration regarding Armenian issues, Armenian-Americans can try to
resolve them by: 1) Working with their Democratic and Republican friends in
the House and the Senate; and 2) Using the connections that some
Armenian-Americans have developed with Bush Administration officials as a
result of their support for Pres. Bush in the presidential election.
Since most Turkish-Americans, just like most Armenian-Americans, backed the
candidacy of Sen. Kerry, the Bush Administration is not expected to favor
either one of these communities simply because of their votes on November
2nd.
It is noteworthy, however, that one of the most respectable journalists in
Turkey, Mehmet Ali Birand, wrote an opinion column on Pres. Bush’s
re-election in the Nov. 4, 2004 issue of the Turkish Daily News with the
following headline: “Osama bin Laden is very happy with the results.” He
went on to say, “Ankara is [also] happy with the results.” Birand does not
explain the reasons why both Osama and Ankara are happy with Bush’s
re-election and what the two have in common!
I would also like to mention the following incredible statement made by
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul: “We are Turks. If necessary, we burn
a whole quilt for a flea!” According to the Nov. 4, 2004 issue of the
Turkish newspaper Zaman on-line, Gul made that statement in a letter he
sent to the European Union, complaining about parts of the report issued by
the EU on Turkey’s application for membership. Foreign Minister Gul’s
undiplomatic and threatening statement should be reason enough to
disqualify Turkey from the European Union! It does not look like this
“modern” and “European” Turkish official is much different from his Ottoman
predecessors!
Armenians, on the other hand, were much more gracious and diplomatic. As a
routine protocol as well as a positive gesture, the President of Armenia,
Robert Kocharian, sent a letter to Pres. Bush last week congratulating him
on his re-election. Similar congratulatory letters were sent by various
Armenian-American organizations, including the Armenian Assembly of America
and the Armenian National Committee of America.
One major positive by-product of the presidential campaign was the fact
that, for the first time, the Armenian-American community was very
extensively involved in practically all aspects of the election. In
addition to issuing political endorsements of candidates by
Armenian-American political organizations, Armenian individuals contributed
heavily to the campaigns of both Pres. Bush and Sen. Kerry. In addition,
hundreds of Armenian-Americans were involved in day-to-day campaign
activities, everything from manning phone banks, going door to door in
various states, sending supportive postcards to Armenians in swing states,
organizing campaign events, etc. This is a far cry from previous
presidential elections when most Armenian-Americans would just sit back,
waiting to see if the winning candidate would keep the promises he made to
them during the campaign.
Armenian-Americans were not just voters in the 2004 elections. More than a
dozen Armenian-Americans were candidates for various political offices. I
am happy to report that most of them were successful in getting elected or
re-elected:
Congressional races: The two Armenian-American members of the House of
Representative, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY), were
re-elected;
State Senate races: State Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-CA) won, joining
Chuck Poochigian and Jackie Speier in the California State Senate; while
candidates Harry Haytayan (R-NH) and Danny Tarkanian (R-NV) lost;
State Assembly races: Greg Aghazarian (R-CA), Brad Avakian (D-OR), John
Garfield (R-MI), John Fresolo (D-MA), John Geragosian (D-CT), Rachel
Kaprielian (D-MA), Peter Koutoujian (D-MA), and Jim Miceli (D-MA) were
elected or re-elected; while Rita Topalian (R-CA), Aida Aloian (R-PA), and
Jasper Bedrosian (R-RI) lost their bids;
Mayoral races: Scott Avedisian (Warwick, RI) and Kirk Cartozian (Downey,
CA) were successfully re-elected.
In order to accomplish the political objectives of the Armenian-American
community, Armenians must be actively involved in political campaigns and
help elect Armenians as well as supportive non-Armenians. Even though for
many Armenian-Americans their preferred presidential candidate did not win,
they nevertheless made good progress and gained significant capital in
terms of heightened political participation and experience, which they
would hopefully be able to convert to future victories.
**************************************************************************
2 – APN Hosts Tribute
To US-Armenian
Military Veterans
BURBANK, Calif. – The Armenian Professionals Network of the Western Diocese
of the Armenian Church of North America (APN-WD), under the auspices of
Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, will host a reception, paying
tribute to the dedication of Armenian American men and women who have
served in the Armed Forces of the United States.
The event will take place on Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m., in the Hampar Primate’s
Reception Room, Arshag and Eleanor Dickranian Diocesan Headquarters, 3325
North Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank.
Participating in the program will be; Lieutenant Colonel George
Ampagoomian, master of ceremonies; and special guests, Major General (Ret.)
Ron Markarian, Nishan Derderian, Mike Hartunian, Darwin Avedisian. Richard
N. Demirjian, author of “The Faces of Courage: Armenian World War II,
Korea, and Vietnam Heroes,” will sign copies of his book.
For reservations, contributions, or further information, contact Arthur
Zabounian at (818) 974-9454.
3 – Entries Sought for Sixth Annual
Armenian Film Festival at CSUF
FRESNO – The organizers of the 6th Annual Armenian Film Festival be held
April 1, 2005 in Fresno are calling for entries of films made by Armenian
directors/writers, or films with an Armenian theme.
The festival is being sponsored by the Armenian Students Organization
Armenian Studies Program California State University, Fresno. The festival
is being partially funded by the Diversity Awareness Program of the
University Student Union, CSU Fresno
Requirements are: Films up to 1 hour in length; films may be in any
language, English preferred; films may be on any topic, Armenian theme
preferred; Film must be in video/DVD format- if in video it should be in
NTSC format.
Entries should be accompanied by a CV of the director/writer and a synopsis
of the film. The Festival Committee will meet to view and judge which
entries will be accepted for the Film Festival. Entrants will be contacted
by email with the decisions.
Deadline for entries to be received is February 1.
The video/DVD should be sent to:Armenian Film Festival, c/o Armenian
Studies Program, 5245 N Backer Ave. PB4 Fresno, CA 93740-8001; Telephone
559-278-2669, or Email: [email protected]
**************************************************************************
4 – AESA and ARPA Sponsor Lecture
On Armenia’s CRD on Nov. 16
SHERMAN OAKS, CA – The Armenian Engineers & Scientists of America (AESA)
and the ARPA Institute will present a Lecture/Seminar on “The Cosmic Ray
Division (CRD) of Armenia” on November 16, at 7:30 p.m., at the Merdinian
Auditorium, 13330 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks.
Admission is free
The Cosmic Ray Division (CRD) of the Alikhanian Physics Institute in
Armenia is one of the world’s premier centers, conducting research in high
energy astrophysics and space weather forecasting. At research stations
high on Mt. Aragats and offices in Yerevan, a staff of 100 scientists,
technicians, support personnel and students conduct leading research on
forecasting energetic events on the sun which can damage manmade satellites
in space, disrupt communications and power stations on earth, and endanger
space and air craft personnel. The CRD and its scientists have earned
enormous respect among their colleagues in the international scientific
community, putting Armenia among the top five countries of the world in
cosmic ray research. Recent additions to the list of their scientific
collaborators include the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Agency, the European Space Agency, and the international Committee on Space
Research. CRD has a longstanding partnership with Stanford University of
California and with Nagoya University in Japan. Recently the Space Weather
division of UCLA has also shown interest in collaborating with the CRD. A
year ago CRD won the prestigious UN World Summit Award in the e-science
category. The CRD has been featured in the international magazine Science,
because of its excellence. An illustrated presentation, with pictures on
the space weather effects, will be made and research at CRD will be
explained in simple terms. Pictures of the stations, the scientists, and
the World Summit Award ceremony in Geneva are part of this presentation.
The presenter is Ms. Anahid Yeremian. She has a B.S. degree in Physics from
Drexel University. She is a particle Accelerator Physicist at the Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center since 1990. She designs the injector section of
very large particle accelerators (the one at Stanford is 2 miles long) in
the U.S., Japan and Europe. She leads a group of scientists, engineers,
and technicians to construct and assemble the accelerators she designs and
finally to commission them to perform to her specifications. Prior to
coming to Stanford, she designed the electron accelerator at the Boeing
Aerospace Company for the Free Electron Laser project as part of a star
wars program.
Yerimian’s hobbies include mountain climbing. She became acquainted with
the Cosmic Ray stations and the physicists on Mt. Aragats when she climbed
to the mountain peak in 1999. Since then, she actively pursues
opportunities for improvement of science in Armenia by working with the
scientists and governments of Armenia and the United States. This summer,
she spent seven days backpacking in the Geghama mountains and staying with
the Nomads in the mountains of Armenia. Her presentation will include some
spectacular pictures of the peaks in the Geghama mountain range and its
people.
For information, call Dr. Hagop Panossian at (818)586-9660 or e-mail at
[email protected]
**************************************************************************
5 – George & Flora Dunaians Host
APS Benefit Tennis Tournament
PASADENA – The Armenian Professional Society held its annual Tennis and
Backgammon tournaments on Oct. 24, at the spacious home of Flora and
George Dunaians. This year marked the 25th anniversary of this event, with
plenty of sunshine, friendly competition and good food.
The winners were awarded with trophies. First place winners in the
Advanced Division were Manvel Tabakian and Harout Ajdaharian. In second
place were Varuzhan Tombakian and Ruben Zakarian. In the Intermediate
Group, first place winners were Misak Oktanian and Harout Ishkhanian and
second place winners were Raffi Ishkhanian and Varouj Azizian.
The competition in the backgammon tournament was challenging. After hours
of elimination play, and a very close match, the finalists were announced.
Trophies went to John Sahakian for first place and to George Dunaians for
second place.
The festivities were planned by Ronnie Nazeley, APS 2nd Vice President, the
chair of this year’s event. Throughout the entire day, a continental
breakfast and refreshments were provided and a lunch buffet was served.
The Dunaians not only were gracious in providing their home for this
tournament but also donated $3,000 toward the scholarship fund. APS
President, Betty Jamgotchian thanked the Dunaians for their generous and
continuous support of the APS for the past 25 years. The funds are used
to award scholarships to graduate students of Armenian descent and to award
grants to various colleges and universities in Armenia. The annual
scholarship awards will be presented the APS banquet on November 14, at the
Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena.
For further information, contact [email protected] or visit
**************************************************************************
6 – Turkish Groups Agree Not to Appeal
Armenian Genocide Plaque Decision
SAN FRANCISCO – Two Turkish-American organizations, and the Turkish Consul
General, have withdrawn their lawsuit against the Council of Armenian
American Organizations of Northern California rather than face the claim of
the Council’s attorneys for fees.
The lawsuit attacked the plaque commemorating the Armenian Genocide which
the Council had placed near the 103-foot cross on San Francisco’s Mt.
Davidson. The Council purchased the Cross and adjacent land in 1997 from
the City of San Francisco, which sold it to settle a challenge to its
ownership on church-state grounds.
In their lawsuit, the Turks claimed that the plaque violates the terms of
the deed under which the Council acquired the Cross and land from the City.
The Council’s attorneys denied any violation and also urged that the Turks
lacked legal standing to challenge the plaque. The lawsuit, they said, was
an impermissible attempt to suppress the Council’s free speech rights.
The court agreed and dismissed the case. This entitled the lawyers, who
were representing the Council without charge, to recover their attorneys’
fees from the Turks. Faced with a claim for $100,000 in fees, the Turks
agreed to abandon their appeal of the court’s ruling, and submitted to an
injunction against any repetition of it. They also agreed to indemnify the
Council if any such lawsuit is brought by any of their members. In return,
the Council’s lawyers, at its request, dropped their claim for fees.
Speaking for the Council, a coalition of 35 Armenian American organizations
in Northern California, its Chairman, Dr. Krikor Soghikian, stated that the
Turkish challenge to the memorial plaque is part of a broad campaign to
oppose any public acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide, which is
officially denied by the Turkish government. The 1915 event is considered
by historians as the first genocide of the 20th century, and the most
significant human rights crisis of World War I. The leaders of the Ottoman
empire systematically carried out the extermination of 1.5 million
Armenians, more than half of the Armenian population living in its historic
homeland. The overwhelming majority of Armenians living in San Francisco
and the United States are descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors.
Armenian Americans wished to purchase the Mt. Davidson Cross to avoid the
destruction of a San Francisco landmark. As the first nation to have
accepted Christianity in 301 AD, they believed that the Cross site would be
an ideal gathering place to remember their forefathers. Turkish groups
actively opposed the purchase, conducting a protest campaign urging city
officials, neighborhood and political groups, to vote against the enabling
proposition, but 68% of San Francisco voters cast their ballots in favor of
the proposition.
The plaque was unveiled in 1988 by Mayor Willie Brown, in the presence of
several Genocide survivors.
The Council was represented in the lawsuit by David Balabanian, Geoffrey
Holtz, and Matthew Gray of Bingham McCutchen, an 850-lawyer firm with
offices in 12 cities.
**************************************************************************
7 – Armenian Film Foundation to Host Book
Signing for Genocide Survivor’s Memoirs
LOS ANGELES – The Armenian Film Foundation will host a reception and book
signing on Nov. 15 for A Hair’s Breadth from Death, the memoirs of
Hampartzoum Chitjian, which has been published in English and in Armenian.
Scholar Hilmar Kaiser, a German historian who has authored two publications
on the Armenian Genocide, will travel to Los Angeles to give his remarks on
the book. “Chitjian’s memoirs are a unique contribution to the field of
genocide studies, immigration studies, and the social-economic history of
the Ottoman Empire and Armenia,” says Kaiser. “His encounters with other
shattered Armenian survivors offer a panorama of Armenian survival
strategies and the appalling conditions and choices these few had to make.
Students of immigration to the United States will find the account of the
author’s journey to the U.S. most interesting.”
Publisher Ara Sarafian of Taderon Press in London, who will travel to Los
Angeles to speak at the book signing, notes, “Chitjian’s life story is
remarkable for the amount of detail that is included, and that is why these
memoirs are one of the most important first-person accounts of the Genocide
and survival.”
J. Michael Hagopian, founder and chairman of the Armenian Film Foundation
will present a short film on Chitjian, who appears in the AFF’s “Witnesses”
trilogy of documentary films, and will offer some personal reflections.
Chitjian was J. Michael Hagopian’s caretaker after the Genocide when some
Armenians were allowed to stay in Kharpert.
Chitjian’s daughter, Sara, will speak about helping her father with his
memoirs, which Seda Maronyan transcribed in Armenian over the course of
several years. Sara translated the memoirs to English, finishing the work
after her father passed away last year at the age of 102.
The book signing is at 7 p.m. at the United Armenian Congregational Church
hall, 3480 Cahuenga Boulevard West. Copies of the book will be available in
English and in Armenian at a cost of $35 each.
Admission is free and light refreshments will be served. For further
information, contact 805-495-0717.
**************************************************************************
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CENN – NOVEMBER 5, 2004 DAILY DIGEST – ARMENIA
Table of Contents:
1. “Investigative Journalists” Still Have a Chance to Win The Suit
Against Yerevan Municipality
2. Armenian PM Says Restored Railway Llink with Russia “Vitally
Important”
3. IMF to Release Another $13 Million to Armenia
4. Schools is Built in Maralik (Armenia) on Assets of Hayastan All
Armenian Fund
1. “INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS” STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN THE SUIT
AGAINST YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY
Source: Yerevan, Press Club Weekly Newsletter, October 29 — November 4,
2004
On October 29, 2004 the RA Court of Cassation secured the suit of
“Investigative Journalists” NGO versus the municipality of Yerevan. On
September 23, 2004 the organization challenged with the supreme
jurisdiction body of the country the ruling of the RA Court of Appeals
of September 16, 2004, that had left the decision of the court of
primary jurisdiction of Center and Nork-Marash communities of Yerevan of
June 21, 2004 unchanged. As it has been reported, the courts of primary
and secondary jurisdiction did not secure the demand of the plaintiff to
the Yerevan administration to provide it with documents necessary for
journalistic investigation: the resolutions of the municipality of
1997-2003 on the constructions in the public green zone around the
National Opera and Ballet Theater (see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter,
September 17-23, 2004).
The Court of Cassation ruled to send the case back to the consideration
of the Court of Appeals with a new composition. Thus, the Investigative
Journalists” along with the public at large now have a chance to finally
get an answer to the question: what were the legal grounds behind the
boost in construction of entertaining institutions in one of most
beautiful and once the greenest spots of Yerevan?
2. ARMENIAN PM SAYS RESTORED RAILWAY LINK WITH RUSSIA “VITALLY
IMPORTANT”
Source: Mediamax news agency, November 3, 2004
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan met the head of the Russian
Railways Company, Gennadiy Fadeyev, in Yerevan today.
The sides noted that currently both the Russian Railways Company and the
Armenian Railway Department have great potential that have not yet been
used because there is no direct railway link between Russia and Armenia,
the government’s press service told Mediamax news agency today.
Markaryan said that the “restoration of transport communications is
vitally important to Armenia and we are interested in the most rapid
resolution of the problem”. “The Armenian government is ready for
practical steps in this direction,” the prime minister said.
Fadeyev said that restoring the direct railway communication link will
also suit Russia’s economic interests. He said that during the visit to
Yerevan the Russian Railways Company and the Armenian Railway Department
would sign a memorandum on the creation of a joint Armenian-Russian
joint venture for the transport of goods.
An agreement has been reached to set up a working group to work out
organizational, financial, economic and technical concepts for the new
joint venture.
3. IMF TO RELEASE ANOTHER $13 MILLION TO ARMENIA
Source: ArmenPress, November. 4, 2004
(IMF) office in Yerevan said today the Fund’s Executive Board is going
to approve in early December the release of $13 million to Armenian
Central Bank as the last tranche of an $87 million credit, which is part
of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) Program.
The IMF Resident Representative James McHugh told a news conference the
money would arrive in Armenia in a couple of days after the Executive
Board approves the release.
McHugh said the Armenian government and the Fund are working now on
prospects for implementation of new joint projects, expressing also
hopes that the relevant talks will start in 2005 January or February. He
said it was so far difficult to define the direction of new projects,
but added that they would most likely apply to tax reforms and
administration improvement.
4. SCHOOL IS BUILT IN MARALIK (ARMENIA) ON ASSETS OF HAYASTAN
ALL-ARMENIAN FUND
Source: ARKA, November 4, 2004
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund put into commission a school in Maralik
(Armenia). According to the Press Service of the Fund, the
schoolchildren previously studied in temporary buildings for 15 years,
as the school was completely ruined as a result of the earthquake.
The construction of the new school, which started in 2002, was carried
out with the assistance of Jan Pogosyan, Belgian sponsor of Armenian
origin. `Thus, the last school in Shirak Marz which was located in a
temporary building will be functioning in a modern, well-built and
comfortable building’, states the press release.
The school is designed for 964 schoolchildren. The construction of the
heat supply system will be completed by the end of the year.
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Next issue of Orer
Azg/Arm
5 Nov 04
Joint 3d and 4th issues of pan-European Armenian Orer (days) magazine
was published in Czech Republic these days. Besides providing
information on film festivals held in Yerevan, Moscow and Karlovy
Vary, on the ecology of Armenia and Czech Republic, the magazine
opened a new column headed “Saroyan in Czech Republic”.
Last time William Saroyan visited Prague was in 1980. “His books were
published and are still being published in Czech, and one has an
impressionthat Saroyan is more Czech than Armenian writer”, a prologue
to an interview with Irzhi Yosek, translator of the great writer’s
books, reads. “I always liked Saroyan immensely. I had difficulties in
translating his puns and his poetic language”, Irzhi Yosek
said. Another article about Saroyan tells about writer’s activities in
cinematography. To prove his capability to the director of Metro
Goldwin Mayer Saroyan shot his “Poor People” in 3 days and it was
awarded an Oscar in 1943.
An interview with father Harutyun Pztikian is also very
interesting. Father Pztikian from the Congregation of Mkhitarians
informed that a cultural center of the Congregation will soon open in
Yerevan.
Articles on Armenia’s inner political life are also included in
themagazine. The Czech part of the magazine presents Charles
Aznavour’s youth poems in Petra Kohutkova’s translation. Orer gives
the Armenians of Europe, mainly of Czech Republic, a chance to get
acquainted with political and cultural goings-on in their motherland.
By Arevik Badalian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Open door: The independent pursuit of freedom: The readers’ editor on … a
conference of European press councils in Cyprus
The Guardian – United Kingdom
Oct 16, 2004
IAN MAYES
Last week I went to the annual huddle of the Alliance of Independent
Press Councils of Europe (AIPCE) to speak about the still fairly rare
form of self-regulation that we try to practise at the Guardian. I
was invited by the hosts, the Cyprus Media Complaints Commission,
and we met in the divided city of Nicosia.
Unless you are involved in the self-regulation of the press you are
unlikely to have heard of the AIPCE, a useful and, deliberately,
fairly informal association of self-regulation bodies that began
meeting about six years ago at the joint suggestion of the British
Press Complaints Commission and its counterpart in the Netherlands.
In the relatively short period that it has been in existence, it
has become a major forum for exchanging ideas, sharing experience,
and in particular, most recently, for the support and encouragement
of the press councils that are emerging in eastern Europe – in the
former Soviet Union, in former Yugoslavia, and in countries such as
Bulgaria. Half of the independent press councils in the world have
been formed since 1990, and a third since 2000. The growth among
members of the European alliance reflects that pattern.
The new European members have found among their colleagues in the
older established bodies – such as the PCC in Britain – a ready
response to requests for help and advice. The PCC has, in fact,
provided consultative services since not long after its foundation
in 1991. An assistant director, William Gore, coordinates its work
overseas. He says: “It is important for us to get involved when and
where we are wanted, if our help is sought.” The director of the PCC,
Tim Toulmin, is keen on this work, like his predecessor, Guy Black.
The PCC has had a direct involvement in, for example, the establishment
of a press council in Bosnia- Herzogovina where it went, initially,
at the invitation of a European commission agency there. The former
acting chairman of the PCC, Professor Robert Pinker, having gone
there as a consultant, became the first international chairman of
the Bosnian press council, a post to which he expects a Bosnian to
be elected in May next year.
Prof Pinker told me, “The Bosnian press council could not have started
under more difficult circumstances. Now it is fair to call it one
of the truly national bodies. We are in the process of extending the
range of members to make it even more representative.”
The PCC has also been quick to put its experience, on request, at the
disposal of projects initiated by others. I have personal experience
of one of these, a programme to establish press and media councils in
two pilot schemes in Russia, one in Nizhny Novgorod, to the east of
Moscow, and the other in the south at Rostov-on-Don. I visited both
places with PPC representatives when the project was just beginning.
The guiding hand has been provided by the Programme in Comparative
Media Law and Policy at Oxford University. It has worked with the
Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute and local people over the past
three years and – as the Russian delegates reported at the Cyprus
conference – the scheme is now showing positive signs of success. I
hope to report on that more fully later this year.
The problems faced by the media in this and other areas represented
at the conference are daunting. There is something chastening to
see the dedication and courage being brought to the task of trying
to develop and protect a press free from state interference and
corruption. These efforts are often taking place in a context in
which there is no tradition of the principal elements in society even
meeting and talking, let alone trusting each other.
The key requirement that any press council must fulfil to be worthy
of the name, in the opinion of members of the European alliance,
is independence – it needs great effort in many countries to carry
it beyond aspiration.
Delegates in Cyprus came from, among other places, Albania, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Ukraine, and, as I have
already mentioned, Russia and Bosnia. The struggle they are involved
in provides a reminder that self-regulation, with the long and often
difficult process of agreeing an editorial code that usually precedes
it, promotes and protects a free press against repression. It is easy
to forget this as we pick over the imperfections of our own system.
Ian Mayes is vice president of the Organisation of News
Ombudsmen. Readers may contact the office of the readers’ editor by
calling 0845 451 9589 (UK only, calls are at local rate) or +44 (0)20
7713 4736, 11am to 5pm UK time Monday to Friday excluding UK bank
holidays. Mail to Readers’ editor, The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road,
London EC1R 3ER, UK. Fax +44 (0)20 7239 9997. [email protected]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress