Author: Jidarian Alex

PR Web (press release), WA
Sept 24 2005

Anouncing the Results of the 2005 Vakhtang Jordania International
Conducting Competition

Top Three Finishers From Armenia, Italy and the United States

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 24, 2005 — The Vakhtang Jordania
International Conducting Competition has announced the results of its
2005 competition held in Kharkov, Ukraine between August 29 and
September 4. This year’s competition featured 29 competitors from 16
countries around the world.

The jury did not award a Jordania Grand Prize, but did decide on two
William L. Montague, Jr. Second Prizes – Harutyun Arzumanyan of
Armenia and Matteo Pagliari of Italy. Third Prize was awarded to
Christopher Chen of the United States.

Mr. Arzumanyan is a graduate of the Yerevan State Conservatory as a
violinist and conductor. He founded the Armenian Chamber Orchestra
and has frequently conducted at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre
of Armenia. He was the first prizewinner of the 1999 National
Competition for conductors and was 3rd Prizewinner of the 8th
Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors in Katowice,
Poland.

Mr. Pagliari currently holds assistant conductor positions to both
Riccardo Frizza and Roberto Abbado. He has made many guest
appearances with opera companies and orchestras throughout Italy and
the United States. He holds a conducting degree from the
Conservatorio Arrigo Boito in Parma, Italy.

Mr. Chen is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and is currently
Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Opera. He is a frequent guest
conductor in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and Finland. He
was recently selected as one of eight conductors in the American
Symphony Orchestra League’s 2005 National Conductor preview.

As William L. Montague, Jr. Second Prizewinners, Mr. Arzumanyan and
Mr. Pagliari will receive concert engagements during the 2006-2007
concert season with orchestras in Ukraine, the U.S., and other
countries to be named.

Third Prizewinner Mr. Chen will receive a concert engagement during
the 2006-2007 concert season with an orchestra in Ukraine.

The Orchestra Favorite prize was awarded to Boguslav Kobierski of
Poland, who is the current conductor of the Etela-Karjala Sinfonietta
of Finland.

The Audience Favorite prize and a special distinction certificate was
awarded to Shigekazu Yonezaki of Japan, who is a regular guest
conductor of many orchestras in his country, including the New Japan
Philharmonic.

Jennifer Bailey of Australia was also a Third Round participant and
special distinction certificate awardee. She is the Conductor and
Director of the Orchestra at St. Mary Magdalen in Oxford, England.

Other participants in the competition included:
Kerim S. Anwar, a citizen of Canada who lives in the Czech Republic,
Rihards Buks of Latvia, Shawn Eugene Burke-Storer of the United
States, Timothy Dixon of the United States, Lawrence Golan of the
United States, Yasuhiko Ishige of Japan, Vladimir Kern of Russia,
Sergey Kiss of Russia, Maksim Kuzin of Ukraine, Sang-Hwan Lee of
South Korea who lives in Austria, Tai-Wai Li of Hong Kong, Christian
Lombardi of Germany, Octavio Mas Arocas of Spain, Paolo Paroni of
Italy, Georgi Patrikov of Bulgaria, Benjamin Rous of the United
States, Elior Sharivker of Israel, Yosyp Sozanskyy of Ukraine, Jin
Tanaka of Japan who lives in Wales, Yasutaka Tsuda of Japan,
Viatcheslav Valeev of Russia, Shin Watanabe of Japan and Alexander
Zverunov of Russia.

The competition jury was composed of Jooyong Ahn of the United
States, Yuri Alzhnev of Ukraine, Giorgi Jordania of Republic of
Georgia, Joan McNeill Murray of the United States, Jonathan Sternberg
of the United States and Yuri Suchkov of Moscow.

This year’s Third Round Contemporary Compositions selections were a
new orchestral work by Yuri Alznev, Christopher Kaufman’s Island,
Dana Paul Perna’s Bucks County Ballad and Judith Lang Zaimont’s
Stillness – Poem for Orchestra.

The 2005 Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition was a
great success, both artistically and as a means for continuing to
bring the Kharkov Philharmonic Orchestra
() to the rest of the
world. In addition to the lively competition, contestants also
participated in a series of Master Classes and special events and
enjoyed the opportunity to have individual and small group
instruction and interaction with jury and orchestra members. Also
important was the chance to meet and spend time with other conductors
from around the world. More about the competition at

Building on the great success of this year’s event, planning for an
expanded and even more international 2006 Vakhtang Jordania
International Conducting Competition has already begun.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Dania Ohanian
Armenian Prelacy of Canada
3401 Olivar Asselin
Montreal, QC, H4J 1L5
Tel: (514) 856-1200
Fax: (514) 856-1805
Email: [email protected]

Montreal’s Armenian Community Greets His Holiness Aram I Catholicos

Montreal, Qc_ A large crowd of people awaited the arrival of His Holiness
Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia at the Armenian
Community Centre on the evening of September 22, 2005.

A procession of clergy, the church’s choir and HMEM scouts greeted His
Holiness at the entrance of the centre, where He was escorted by His
Eminence Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of the Armenian Prelacy of
Canada, His Eminence Archbishop Souren Kataroyan, His Eminence Archbishop
Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the United States,
as well as members of the religious and executive council and
representatives of sister organizations.

“Towards the Light of Knowledge,” this Pontifical visit by His Holiness is
in homage of the 75th anniversary of the Catholicosate’s Seminary in
Antelias, Lebanon, and the ten-year anniversary of His Holiness Aram I
enthronement as Catholicos of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia. This
year also marks the 1600th anniversary of the conception of the Armenian
Alphabet and the 90th commemorative anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

With respect to the legacy His Holiness began since His enthronement, He
emphasized in His message to all the faithful present that the role of the
Armenian Church is to serve its people in every way possible because that is
where the Church’s pride, hope and respect lie.

His Holiness also urged cooperation, tolerance, open communication and
dialogue between all Armenians whether they are Apostolic, Catholic or
Evangelical, stating that we all share the same history, culture and
homeland.

After the traditional “kissing of the ring,” His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos, visited the recently built Armenian Prelacy of Canada.

His Holiness will be visiting the Sourp Hagop Armenian Day School and will
be meeting with members of local sister organizations in the evening of
Spetember 23, 2005.

ARMENIA DISPATCH: 6 GENOCIDE MUSEUM
by Erik Olsen

Gadling: Engaged travel for adventurers
Sept 21 2005

Wow, so I got back from a visit to the Armenian Genocide Museum here
in Yerevan. The museum is located up on a hill over-looking the city,
and it is a tasteful and elegant, but very somber and powerful place.

The Armenian genocide gets short shrift in the international and
American media, but the reality is the death of as many as a million
(or more!) Armenians at the hands of the Turks is an event that
should be both remembered and better understood around the world. As
one of the curators as the museum said to me, the Armenian genocide
was the first genocide of the 20th century, and as such it should
have helped prevent the horrors of the Holocaust, but it did not,
partly because it went under-reported around the world.

The museum here does an excellent job telling the story of the genocide
in visual detail (photographs, old journals, etc.). And the grounds
of the museum, which features an eternal flame surrounded by twelve
walls (said to signify the twelve states of Armenia at the time),
as well as an elegant pointed spire, very nicely, and powerfully,
commemorates a horrible human tragedy.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 21 2005

OUR VISIT TO ARMENIA EFFECTIVE: EMIR OF SHARJA

YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. The visit paid to Armenia by a
delegation of the Emirate of Sharja, UAE, has been effective, Emir of
Sharja Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Kasimi stated during his visit to the
Yerevan Institute of Ancient Manuscripts. The visit has been
effective, especially from the point of view of establishing
cooperation with academic circles, as well as in the cultural and
economic spheres, he said. “It is, of course, the beginning, and we
hope that we will develop our cooperation and consolidate our
friendship,” the Sharja Emir said. According to him, next week a
special delegation of the Emirate is to visit Armenia to thoroughly
discuss the issues discussed during the current visit.
Pointing out that his visit has coincided with the 14th anniversary
of Armenia’s independence, Al-Kasimi congratulated the Armenia people
on the occasion. “I wish that Armenia overcome all its difficulties
from this day and easily follow the way of development,” he said.
During the visit to the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, Director of
the Institute Ser Arevshatyan presented the Sharja Emir with the work
entitled “Treatment of Horses” by the Assyrian scientist of the 13th
century Faraj in ancient Armenian and German. According to
Arevshatyan the present is the consideration of the Emir’s love of
this field of science. Arevshatyan added that although Faraj was an
Assyrian, he was a representative of Arab scientific thought, and the
Armenian translation of his book is evidence of Armenian-Arabian
scientific and cultural relations.Arevshatyaan also stressed that the
visit to Matenadaran contributes to these relations. P.T. -0–

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Sept 20 2005
X-Sender: Asbed Bedrossian <[email protected]>
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 — ListProcessor(tm) by CREN

Hatay to play host to civilisations

Numerous religious figures, politicians, academics and journalists
from many countries are expected to attend meeting of civilisations
in Hatay.

Güncelleme: 17:10 TSÝ 20 Eylül 2005 SalýANKARA – Turkey’s Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to open the `1st Civilisation
Meeting’ in the southern eastern Turkish city of Hatay on Sunday.

The meeting, which will bring together representatives of many
different beliefs and cultures, is to run between September 25 to 30.

During the activities, traditional sufi music and whirling dervishes
will perform in the city’s mosques, while Christian choirs will sing
in churches and other venues and the Jewish community will also stage
activities in local synagogues.

Many senior religious figures from countries around the world,
including the Vatican, Italy, Macedonia, Kirghizstan, Croatia,
Albania, Azerbaijan, Israel, Bulgaria. Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,
Greece and Iraq will take part in the activities.

The patriarchs from both the Armenia and Greek Orthodox churches will
also take part in the events.

Pan Armenian News

NORTH CYPRUS AND NAGORNO KARABAKH ISSUES DIFFERENT

20.09.2005 03:08

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ «North Cyprus and Nagorno Karabakh issues are different
problems.» This was reported in the course of a round table titled North
Cyprus and Nagorno Karabakh Issues in the International and Legal Planes
held in Baku September 19. The event held with the support of the World
Organization of Young Turkish Writers and the Azerbaijan-Cyprus Friendship
Society. The participants discussed common problems Azeris and Turks have,
those in the history of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, «occupation
of Azeri lands by Armenians.» They also considered the approaches to these
issues from the point of view of international legal principles. Head of the
World Organization of Young Turkish Writers Akper Goshaly reported that
after the visit of the delegation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
to Azerbaijan, the attention to the Republic has increased, while the Greek
party started putting pressure upon Azerbaijan. A. Goshaly reported that
«interested forces, especially Armenia, try to identify the North Cyprus and
NK issues.» Chairman of the Azerbaijan-Cyprus Friendship Society Agil
Samedbeyli noted that demonstrating their commitment to peace at a
referendum held in the Island of Cyprus, Turks reported their desire to live
with Greeks in a common state, however, Greeks refused. Samedbeyli also
stated that «one cannot present NK as a third party as Armenians are trying
to attain.» Lawyer Farman Salmanly reported that «NK is an inseparable
territory of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan got UN membership having NK as its part
and all states of the world recognized the territorial integrity of our
country. The Island of Cyprus is not a subject of international law and the
Greek Cyprus was recognized only from one part of the island. According to
international law principles, the inseparable part of Azerbaijan – Nagorno
Karabakh – and North Cyprus cannot be equated.»

zaman.com
Turkey Bails out Georgia for Kars-Tbilisi Railway
By Economy News Desk
Published: Monday, September 19, 2005

Turkey will solve the financial problem of the Kars-Tbilisi railway with
action Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim took for a project,
which has been waiting for the last 13 years to be accomplished and has
failed due to financial and political reasons.
On Monday, Georgia and Azerbaijan transportation ministers met in Istanbul
in line with the efforts.
Georgian financial problems that have caused interruptions to the $252.7
million project will be discussed during the meeting.
Georgia faces difficulties finding appropriate resources as its credibility
is low in the eyes of international finance foundations. For this reason,
Georgia will be offered the opportunity to take the credit for the project
via Turkey.
Turkey’s economic performance shown in recent years has increased its
credibility with international finance foundations.
Azerbaijan will also provide Georgia with financial support.
After the credit is received, a repayment plan protocol will be signed among
the countries.
The railway line will connect Asia and Europe, and will provide huge
advantages in the frame of cost of transportation. In this way, it will be
possible to reach the oil and natural gas reserves in the Caucasus region by
railroad through Turkey.
The Silk Way Project will be realized with railroads again. A train
departing from London will be able to travel to China non-stop. Turkey will
spend $200 million and Georgia will spend $52.7 million to realize the
project.

“MESROP MASHTOTS” TO THE EMIR

A1+
| 18:17:33 | 19-09-2005 | Official |

Today Robert Kocharyan has received the delegation of the Arabian
United Emirates Higher Council member, Sharzha Emir, Sheikh Doctor
Sultan ben Mohammad al Kassim.

Kocharyan presented the Emir with the medal “Mesrop Mashtots” for his
contribution to the development of the Armenian-Arabian relations,
as well as for his warm attitude towards the Armenian community
of Sharzha.

The sides discussed issues about enhancing cooperation.

SWISS POLICE WARN TURKISH PARTY LEADER NOT TO DENY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Anatolia news agency, Ankara
19 Sep 05

Lausanne, 18 September: “Switzerland accused Turkey of committing
genocide without verifying historical facts and in a biased way,”
Labour Party (IP) leader Dogu Perincek said on Sunday [18 September].

Perincek took the floor at a conference on the issue of the so-called
Armenian genocide in Switzerland, where he arrived to give evidence
to Lausanne prosecutor.

It was learned that prior to his arrival to the hall to address the
conference, Swiss police warned Perincek not to deny the “so-called”
Armenian genocide. They told Perincek not to speak on so-called
Armenian genocide. The police also warned that in case Perincek speaks
on Armenian problem and in case this includes an element of crime, this
would be added to the ongoing investigation . In July, Perincek was
interrogated as he said that the so-called Armenian genocide had never
been happened. Lausanne Prosecutor’s Office called on Perincek to come
to the office on 20 September to interrogate him for a second time.

At the conference, Perincek called on Switzerland to make a serious
investigation about the Armenian issue. He said it was unjust to
declare a nation “committing genocide” without thoroughly examining
the events that had happened 90 years ago.

Perincek said Turks never committed genocide, on the contrary Armenians
– under the command of Russians – had committed genocide on Turks
who were trying to defend their country.

Swiss police covered Perincek’s speech and videotaped it to add it
to prosecutor’s investigation.

Perincek will hold a press conference in Zurich on Tuesday and give
his testimony in Lausanne Prosecutor’s Office on 20 September.

Perincek earlier had been detained in Winterthur city of Switzerland
as he said: “Armenian genocide is nothing but an international lie”
at a news conference, but he was released after being interrogated.

A legal procedure was also opened in Switzerland against Prof Dr Yusuf
Halacoglu, the Chairman of the Turkish Historical Society, because
of his statement refuting the so-called Armenian genocide allegations.

US COMMITTEE PASSES RESOLUTIONS RECOGNIZING ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Sept 19 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The International Relations Committee of the U.S.

House of Representatives late Thursday adopted two resolutions
recognizing the Armenian ‘genocide’ allegations. The first resolution
was adopted by 35 votes to 11, and the second was adopted 40-7.

The International Relations Committee passed the resolutions despite
the U.S. Department of State sending the committee a letter opposing
this move.

Matthew Reynolds, U.S. acting assistant secretary of state for
legislative affairs, sent a letter to committee Chairman Henry Hyde
saying that the U.S. administration was against the adoption of
these resolutions.

In his letter, Reynolds also underlined that discussion of this matter
by the full House of Representatives was against national interests,
would harm Turkish-U.S. relations, and hamper the development of
relations between Ankara and Yerevan. Also, Reynolds said that the
U.S. not only continued to support the discussion of this matter by
scholars, diplomats, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), but
also aims to encourage the Turkish and Armenian governments towards
forging economic and political dialogue.

Reynolds also said that these resolutions would harm the U.S. and
Turkeys’ concerted efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean, Caucasus,
Central Asia, and the Middle East. He underlined Turkey’s importance
in reinforcing democracy, tolerance, regional peace, and stability.

“I don’t believe that adoption of the resolutions would damage
bilateral relations,” replied Hyde. “Rejection of the ‘genocide’
reality can’t be justified. I particularly want to stress that Turkey
or Turkish people aren’t responsible for the alleged crime. I also want
to appreciate the Turkish government’s efforts for reconciliation.”

Armenian lobby in the US argues that the 1915 communal clashes and
other Armenian killings were ‘genocide while Turkey has never accepted
the accusations. Turkey argues that the events were a civil war and
under the war circumstances both Turks and Armenians were killed by
the armed groups. More than 520.000 Turkish and Kurdish were massacred
by the Armenian armed groups during the First World War.

Turkey was one of the first state who recognized the independent
Armenia in 1991. However when Armenian forces occupied about 20
percent of neighboring Azerbaijan, Turkey did not established
diplomatic relations with Yerevan and urged Armenia to withdraw
from the occupied territories. European Union and OSEC also urged
Armenians to withdraw and both institutions named Armenia ‘occupier’
in Karabakh region. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia have very close
relations with the EU, US and Israel while Armenia has developed
close relations with Russia and Iran since the independence.

In United States there is a strong Armenian lobby and tries to affect
the Washington’s Turkey and Caucasus policies.