Author: Jidarian Alex

PRESS RELEASE

Mira Yardemian
Public Relations Director
Haigazian University
Rue Mexique – Kantari
P.O. Box 11-1748
Riad El-Solh 1107 2090
Beirut – Lebanon

More than 500 orphans spend a memorable day at Haigazian University.

April 18, 2005 – Beirut – If anyone wanted to see the future of
Lebanon- to experience the best of what this country can be- then
that person should have been at the Orphan’s Fair organized by the
Desert Streams club, on Saturday, April 16, 2005.

Hundreds of happy children, ranging from 5 to 12 years old, danced,
sang, ate, ran around, laughed, burst balloons, received gifts
and played in the playground of the Armenian Evangelical College,
adjacent to Haigazian University.

David, 7, said he had fun, and it’s his third year attending this
event. Maya, 10, enjoyed the games and the good food.

On Saturday the 16 th of April 2005, for the third consecutive year,
and with a great success, Desert Streams, Haigazian University’s
humanitarian club, invited around 500 orphans and underprivileged
children for a big kermes at the Armenian Evangelical college, next
to the university.

The purpose of the Club is to help needy children and institutions
through students’ efforts.

“We have been working for this event for more than two months, with
many sub- committees, and with more than hundred student volunteers”
said Sima Tchakhchakhian, President of the Club, a junior Biology
student at the university.

Part of the reason for organizing the day was to make people aware of
the number of orphanages in Lebanon. This is why as many orphanages
as possible from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds were
invited to the event, such as Cedar Home, Hasan Khaled Institution,
The National Institution of Social Care and Vocational Training,
Jinishian and Trad

The event was mainly paid for by the Student Club’s budget, and by
a few sponsors who, for instance, provided the food and beverages.

“One of the main difficulties was in finding sponsors to cover costs”
said Antranik Dakessian, Director of Student Life at Haigazian.

The event was beneficial to both children and Haigazian students.

The kids clearly enjoyed the change of scenery and the creative games
they played. The event also included a stage with a DJ, and many of
the children volunteered to sing on stage.

“It’s a good opportunity for them to meet children from other
orphanages, and to get out of their routine and sometimes unpleasant
atmosphere of their day- to- day life; it gives them more confidence”
considered Alain Keyrouz, Assistant Director of Student Life.

On another hand, these kinds of initiatives are very important for
students, as the experience provides them with a balanced education.

“This activity will enrich Haigazian students, enabling them to
acquire managerial skills, in terms of organization, coordination,
and follow-up” noted Mira Yardemian, Director of Public Relations of
the University.

In the afternoon, President Haidostian walked among the children,
sharing their joy and fun. He considered that such an activity goes
in line with the motto of the University: Truth, Freedom, and Service.

“The best way of promoting our motto, is in actualizing it” Haidostian
stated.

The Journal News, NY
April 17 2005

Armenians to mark genocide
By SULAIMAN BEG

Thousands of Armenians from the Northeast will gather in Times Square
on April 24 to mark the 90th anniversary of the massacre of 1.5
million Armenians in the first genocide of the 20th century.

“If you ignore these events and allow them to be forgotten than you
encourage them to be repeated,” said Richard Sarajian of Chestnut
Ridge, a member of the Joint Committee to Commemorate the 90th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which organized the event.

“If people acted with respect to the Armenian genocide, there might
not have been a Jewish Holocaust,” he said.

On April 24, 1915, the massacre began when about 200 Armenian
religious, political and intellectual leaders were rounded up and
killed by the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

Turkey never has accepted responsibility for the genocide or tried to
make reparations, said Sarajian, a New City-based lawyer whose
great-grandfather was one of the 2.5 million Armenians living in the
Ottoman Empire. The man was taken from his home in the middle of the
night and later killed.

Politicians from around the country, Armenian clergy, genocide
survivors, scholars, civil rights leaders and author Dr. Peter
Balakian will address the crowd at various points in the day.

Before the noon rally in Times Square, two church services will be
held at Manhattan’s two Armenian cathedrals. After the rally, an
ecumenical requiem service will be held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

“We’ll also talk about genocides going on now,” said Sarajian,
chairman of the National Executive Council of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of America, one of the sponsoring organizations. “Like the
situation in Darfur. There is genocide going on and we remain silent.
We can’t remain silent on genocide – in the past or the present.”

Even though it happened nearly a century ago, most Armenians still
bear the psychological scars, said Karekin Kasparian, pastor of St.
Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church in White Plains. The day of
remembrance, he said, was a chance to heal emotional scars.

“Directly or indirectly, someone from their family was a victim of
the genocide,” he said of the nearly 1,900 people of Armenian descent
living in Rockland and Westchester counties.

Kasparian said that 37 American states have issued proclamations
recognizing the murder of Armenians from 1915 to 1923 and that
recently 142 members of Congress signed a letter to President Bush
asking him to appropriately recognize the tragedy.

Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, a member of the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues, signed the letter and sent a commemoration letter to
the Armenian National Committee of America and St. Gregory in White
Plains, pledging her support to the Armenian nation.

“Blind hatred and senseless prejudice tear at the very fabric of our
society even today,” Lowey wrote. “The victims of the Armenian
genocide, the Holocaust, ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, Rwanda and
Sudan, and acts of vicious terrorism remind us of the human cost of
hate, and implore us to prevent these tragedies from happening again.
…. Building a strong, prosperous Armenia is the best way to honor the
memory of the Genocide victims.”

If you go

What: 90th anniversary of Armenian genocide

Where and when: The April 24 event begins with 9 a.m. church services
at St. Vartan Cathedral (Second Avenue at 34th Street) and St.
Illuminator’s Cathedral (27th Street between Second and Third
avenues). A noon memorial gathering will be held in Times Square
(Broadway at 43rd Street) and a 2:30 p.m. ecumenical requiem service
will be held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral (Fifth Avenue at 50th Street).

Pan Armenian News

VARDAN OSKANIAN MET WITH OSCE MINSK GROUP

15.04.2005 07:56

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian met in
London with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Steven Mann
(US) and Bernard Fassier (France), RA MFA press service reported. During the
meeting the parties discussed the Prague process. The purpose of the meeting
was the preparation of the possible meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
Presidents envisaged in mid-May. Tonight the Armenian FM will return to
Yerevan.

AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTER ELMAR MAMEDYAROV THINKS THERE IS A GOOD
CHANCE FOR A BURSTING IN THE KARABAKH CONFLICT

YEREVAN, APRIL 15. ARMINFO. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedyarov thinks there is a good chance for a bursting in the
Karabakh conflict as the Prague process has justified itself.
Minister Mamedyarov told Russian journalists, Trend agency reports.

“The agreements we have reached at least allowed us to agree on the
format of negotiations. That is why, we expect Russia, our friend,
partner, neighbor, as well as a co-chair-state of the process, wherein
the U.S. and France also participate, to intensify the efforts for the
conflict’s settlement. At present, it become clear to everyone that if
we keep looking at the past, it will be very difficult to think of
future. I think it is clear to those in Moscow, in Baku, and I hope
those in Yerevan share this opinion as well,” Mamedyarov
said. “Today’s work has changed, but it turns our that we continue
looking at it from the positions of Yalta 1945. Threats and challenges
to the international community are quite different now. The
international community member-states should take into account the
idea of integration and the new code of mutual understanding in
international relations. Kalashnikov automatic gun does not help
solving problems, it just aggravates them. The methods when state
borders could be just drawn on paper with a red pencil have passed,”
the minister said.

To note, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers will meet with
OSCE MG co- chairmen in London today.

STUDENTS OF ARMENIAN UNIVERSITIES ORGANIZE PROTEST ACTION
AT BUILDING OF GEORGIAN EMBASSY IN ARMENIA UNDER SLOGAN “NO GEORGIAN NAZISM”

YEREVAN, APRIL 14. ARMINFO. Students of Armenian universities
organized today a protest action before the building of Georgian
Embassy in Armenia supporting Armenian people of the
Samtskhe-Javakhetia region of Georgia.

They held posters saying that “Policy of Armenians assimilation is
fulfilled in Georgia”, “No Georgian nazism”, “A white Genocide is
fulfilled against Armenians in Georgia”, etc. Action’s organizers
assert that they pursue no political goals and the meeting is only
peaceful.

They handed over a letter to embassy’s representative Georgy
Saganelidze expressing anxiety with the state of Armenians of
Samtskhe-Javakhetia. Students say that Saganelidze had guaranteed
that a policy of settlement of Turks-Meskhetians will not be
conducted in Armenian-populated regions of Georgia.

As regards the destruction of Armenian historical and cultural
monuments, Saganelidze assured that the guilty have been already
punished and the rest monuments are in no danger and protected by the
state. The action’s organizers promised that no new actions of
protest will be organized till the autumn of 2005. -r-

Turkish Press
April 14 2005

Press Scan

LETTER AGAINST ‘BLUE BOOK’

SABAH- Turkish Parliamentary General Assembly discussed so-called
Armenian genocide allegations. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul called
Armenian President Robert Kocharian to establish a joint committee
and discuss the issue. General Assembly issued a declaration stating,
”we are not afraid of facing with our history.” Leaders of Justice
& Development Party (AKP) and Republican People’s Party (CHP) wrote a
letter to British Parliament and asked it to condemn Blue Book.

Die Welt, Deutschland
13 April 2005

Turkish Prime Minister demands openness over the Armenian Genocide
controversy

Türkischer Premier fordert Offenheit im Streit um Massaker an
Armeniern von 1915

Ankara – Im Streit um die Anerkennung der Massaker an den Armeniern
als Völkermord hat der türkische Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip
Erdogan für mehr Offenheit plädiert. “Wer die Geschichte mit
Vorurteilen betrachtet, den können wir nicht ernst nehmen”, sagte
Erdogan vor Abgeordneten seiner Regierungspartei AKP in Ankara. Über
die Vertreibung der Armenier, deren Beginn sich am 24. April zum 90.
Mal jährt, wurde anschließend im Parlament debattiert. In der
Geschichte der Türkei gebe es kein Kapitel, “dessen wir uns schämen,
das wir verdrängen, vergessen oder vertuschen müßten”, meinte
Erdogan. “Wir haben keinerlei Komplexe gegenüber unserer Geschichte.”
Niemand habe die Macht, “die Geschichte der Türkei mit Lügen zu
füllen”. Premierminister Erdogan bekräftigte, daß die türkischen
Aufzeichnungen allen zur Verfügung stünden, die “nach der Wahrheit in
der Geschichte suchen”. DW

RA OMBUDSPERSON SENDS LETTER TO HER AZERI COLLEAGUE, ICRC ON ISSUE OF
ARMENIAN ARMY SOLDIER TAKEN PRISONER

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdian sent
a letter to Elmira Suleymanova, Azeri Plenipotentiary on Human Rights,
to the Headquarters of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC)
in Jeneva, ICRC delegations in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Stepanakert, in
which she expressed anxiety about the recent case of taking prisoner
of the Armenian army soldier. The letter submitted to Noyan Tapan by
RA Ombudsperson’s Staff’s Information and Public Relations Department,
in particular, read: “On April 1 of the current year the International
Working Group on search for missing people, hostages and release of
captives in the conflict zone spread information that Armenian
serviceman Zohrab Tamoyam doing his compulsory military service in
Noyemberian was taken prisoner by the Azeri party. The information
wasn’t confirmed by the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan but Azeri
independent military experts declare that the information corresponds
to reality. According to the reports of Azeri press, Z.Tamoyan was
taken prisoner by the sanction of Azerbajan’s Defence Ministry. Taking
into consideration the fact that the soldier taken prisoner is a
representative of national minority I express deep anxiety about his
fate and conditions of keeping him in captivity. The Armenian party
has a sad experience proving the special cruelty with which the Azeri
party treats military captives of Kurdish nationality. There has been
a case when a soldier, Yezid by nationality, who returned from
captivity, didn’t want to live any longer. In connection with this I
appeal to you with a request to take control over the situation and
provide observation of human rights and Jeneva conventions in relation
to Z.Tamoyan. I hope my request will be heard by the committees of Red
Cross and Azeri Ombudsperson. On my part I express readiness to do
everything possible to solve this problem and problems of the kind in
complete correspondence with international humanitarian right norms
and consider that cooperation in solution of pro! blems of
humanitarian character will permit to relax tension in the conflict
zone and will serve the peaceful settlement of Karabakh problem in the
name of security and stability.”

AZG Armenian Daily #065, 13/04/2005

Home

ARMENIAN SIDE READY FOR MUTUAL CONCESSIONS WITHOUT ANY EXTERNAL INFLUENCE,
ROBERT KOCHARIAN SAYS

Yesterday, Robert Kocharian, RA President, met with the students and the
professors of the Economy Faculty of the Yerevan State University. He
discussed inner political and economic issues during the meeting. Robert
Kocharian stated that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a primary
issue on the inner political agenda but not a single state instance has put
forward a territorial demand yet. President said that the coming political
figures should deal with the legal consequences of the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. “We should consistently struggle for the international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” he said.

As for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Robert Kocharian said that the
Armenian side had never denied that the issue can be settled only based on
mutual concessions, as the alternative variant of the mutual concessions
made by the sides can mean the capitulation of one of the sides, while none
of them are eager to take that step. While the mutual concession of the
Armenia side are connected with the inner political and economic stability
of Armenia. He denied the concerns that the international community is
forcing the sides to make mutual concessions. “On the contrary, the
mediators definitely announce that they are ready to apply all their
political and economic resources to assist the sides to achieve the
settlement of the issue. The Armenian side is ready to make mutual
concessions quite voluntarily without any external influence,” he said.

They also discussed issues concerning education and the shadow economy of
the country.

By Tamar Minasian

Pakistan, Azeri leaders agree on UN reform, Kashmir, Nagornyy-Karabakh

Pakistan TV, Islamabad
12 Apr 05

President Gen Pervez Musharraf says Pakistan will enhance defence,
political, commercial, and cultural relations with Azerbaijan. He said
that Pakistan valued Azerbaijan’s support on the issues of Kashmir and
expansion in UNSC [United Nations Security Council]. The president was
addressing joint news conference after talks with Azerbaijan President
Ilham Aliyev:

[Begin Musharraf recording, in English] I expressed my gratitude to
the president for their continuous support to Pakistan on the Kashmir
issue. I also, in very unequivocal and unambiguous terms, have assured
the president Pakistan’s continued support to Azerbaijan, to our
brothers in Azerbaijan, on the issue of Nagornyy-Karabakh, because we
feel that justice is on the side of Azerbaijan; and justice must be
done. We also identified that while our political relations are
excellent, the economic ties between our two countries – economic,
commercial, and trade ties between our two countries – is dismal; it
is extremely low. [words as heard] So, therefore, we need to
facilitate these ties through bringing the private sector of the two
countries into contact with each other. [End of recording]

The Azerbaijan president said that the two countries enjoyed very
cordial relations, and our talks today had been extremely positive:

[Begin Azerbaijan President Aliyev recording, in English] I am very
grateful to the president for invitation. Since Azerbaijan became an
independent country, we always (?felt) the support of Pakistan. (?At)
that time, relations between two countries developed very
successfully. We always support each other on the issues, for Pakistan
was a continuous support of our position in the resolution of
Armenian-Azerbaijan Nagornyy-Karabakh conflict. [words as heard] Bring
the level of economic development closer to the level of political
relations. We have a lot of things in common. We have to communicate
to see each other and to benefit from this (?high) level of
relationships and good spirit. [End of recording]

The two leaders held formal talks in highly cordial atmosphere. Their
[respective] delegations assisted the two leaders. At the talks, both
the leaders particularly exchanged views on promoting bilateral
ties. They said that the promotion of mutual cooperation in various
areas should also serve to reflect the close bilateral relations
between Pakistan and Azerbaijan.

President Musharraf briefed the Azerbaijan president on Pakistan’s
efforts for the resolution of outstanding issues, including Kashmir,
with India. Azerbaijan has always supported the Kashmir cause. The
Azerbaijan president said that his country greatly valued [its]
relations with Pakistan, and President Musharraf’s visit to Azerbaijan
last year had helped strengthen the bilateral ties further.

Earlier, the two leaders held one-on-one meeting. For mutual benefit,
both the leaders agreed to encourage contacts between the business
communities of the two countries about joint efforts to promote trade
and economic ties. [Passage omitted on formal welcome ceremony for
Ilham Aliyev at the President House]