Author: Kajoyan Gevork

SAKI IS HEAVEN FOR THE DISABLED
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Sept 21 2006
This summer 14 disabled liberation soldiers, members of Vita NGO, got
a treatment in the resort town of Saki in Ukraine. We talked to Edward
Andrian, disabled liberation soldier, who has recently returned from
Saki. “I’m very satisfied with the trip. Though first we had problems
with renting apartments, we found comfortable rooms and stayed there
in groups,” he said. This is Edward’s second treatment in Saki. About
6-7 people were in Saki for the first time.
“We who were there for the second time helped our friends who were
there for the first time to orient. In the beginning it was difficult
for them, but then they got used. The doctors were very careful and
attentive,” said Edward. They stayed at the sanatorium until midday.
“Then we walked in the town, in groups or alone, shops, markets,
cafes … We were encouraged by the thought that Saki was built for
disabled people,” said Edward. They also visited Sevastopol on July
31. The local Armenian community provided transport and organized a
party for them.

UK Supports Kocharian-Aliyev Talks
PanARMENIAN.Net
23.09.2006 13:58 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The UK is interested in stability, democracy,
prosperity and rule of law in all of the South Caucasian states,
British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Laurie Bristow said. In his words,
each state depends on the other and all depend on peace and just
settlement of conflicts that tormented the region for a long time.
“We should focus our efforts on prevention of dangers. That is why
Britain supports international efforts for the resolution of Iran’s
nuclear program and support the Kocharian-Aliyev talks for the
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” the Ambassador said,
reported Turan news agency.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
September 20, 2006
___________________
ACYOA CENTRAL COUNCIL MEETS IN WATERTOWN
On Saturday, September 9, 2006, the ACYOA Central Council, along with ACYOA
Executive Secretary Nancy Basmajian, met at the St. James Church of
Watertown, MA.
Also attending portions of the meeting were Diocesan Council members James
Kalustian and Fr. Arakel Aljalian. Julie Hoplamazian, the Diocese’s new
college ministry facilitator, also attended to share her ideas with the
ACYOA leaders and to explore ways in which she and the youth organization
can collaborate.
This was the second meeting of the council elected during this spring’s
ACYOA General Assembly.
“I have a lot of confidence in this group of young people. They’re hard
workers and have a deep sense of commitment to the ACYOA and its mission. I
think we’re going to get a lot done this year,” Basmajian said.
Among the agenda items at the meeting were programming goals for the 2006-07
year which will include a regional retreat series, the Archbishop’s
Tournament (to be hosted this year by the Watertown ACYOA chapter from
October 6 to 8), the annual leadership conference, the Armenia Service
Program, a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and satellite college chapters.
The ACYOA this year also has plans to produce a new promotional brochure and
to publish several issues of its official newsletter, “Hye Hokin.”
During the September 9 meeting, Central Council members also discussed ways
in which they will advance the year’s Diocesan theme: “Church and Home: One
in Spirit.” The Primate has asked the young leaders to assist in recruiting
young adults to help implement and evaluate the activities being planned for
the year.
The ACYOA Central Council members are: Chair Gregory Andonian of the St.
Gregory of Narek Church of Cleveland, OH; Vice Chair Ani Tovar of the St.
Sarkis Church of Dallas, TX; Secretary Sarine Zenian of the St. Mary Church
of Washington, DC; Treasurer John El Chemmas of the St. John Church of
Southfield, MI; Programming Coordinator Talin Hitik from the St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church of Chicago, IL; Public Relations Coordinator Alex
Derderian of the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church of Wynnewood, PA; and
Chapter Relations Coordinator Stan Sheridan of the St. Mesrob Church of
Racine, WI.
For more on the ACYOA, visit its newly-redesigned website:
— 9/20/06
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): The ACYOA Central Council members, with Executive
Secretary Nancy Basmajian, and Fr. Arakel Aljalian, member of the Diocesan
Council and pastor of the St. James Church of Watertown, MA, after the
liturgy on September 10.
# # #

RUSSIA’S PROSECUTOR GENERAL ARRIVING IN ARMENIA SEPTEMBER 21
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.09.2006 13:54 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia’s Prosecutor General Yuri Chayka will arrive
in Armenia September 21, Sona Truzyan, the Spokesperson of the RA
Office of Prosecutor General told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In her
words, Yuri Chayka will arrive in Yerevan by invitation of his Armenian
counterpart Aghvan Hovsepyan. A sitting of the Russian-Armenian joint
board and signing of an agreement on cooperation is scheduled during
the visit.

OBITUARY OF LADY SKIPWITH, WITTY ARMENIAN AUTHOR WHO TRAINED AS A NURSE AND WROTE BOOKS ON EXOTIC COOKERY AND ARABIC PROVERBS
The Daily Telegraph (LONDON)
September 18, 2006 Monday
ASHKHAIN, LADY SKIPWITH, who has died aged 64, was the author of
three books on Middle Eastern cuisine and the witty co-author of three
highly-successful books of Arabic proverbs that are widely read with
amusement throughout the Arab-speaking world.
A direct, zesty woman who held strong opinions, she nevertheless
wielded great charm and wit, inspiring love and fear in equal measure.
She was born Ashkhain Bedros Atikian in Jaffa on September 13 1941.
Growing up in Gaza as a member of a close-knit Armenian family born in
Palestine, she considered herself a double-refugee with a heritage of
two historical grievances. As a young woman Ashkhain moved to London
and trained as a nurse at the Whittington Hospital while living in a
bohemian menage at a large house in Blantyre Street, Fulham. It was
there that she met the artist John Bardell, whom she married in 1967.
The couple spent most of their three-year marriage travelling the
world, taking in the Middle East, India, Mexico and Canada, where
Ashkhain took nursing work while her husband painted.
Back in London after her divorce in 1970, Ashkhain worked as a cancer
nurse at the Royal Marsden Hospital and returned to live in Blantyre
Street where, in 1971, she met Sir Patrick Skipwith, the Old Harrovian
scion of an ancient baronetcy. They married the following year.
The Skipwiths moved to Saudi Arabia, driving the several thousand
miles from London to Jeddah in a Volkswagen Beetle car. Sir Patrick
pursued a career as a geologist and, despite Saudi laws forbidding
women to work, Ashkhain took various nursing and secretarial jobs.
She loved knitting, and produced a series of exotic sweaters for
members of her family and friends, based on designs by Patricia
Roberts, the British designer who raised hand knitting to the realms
of high fashion.
Another of her abiding passions was cooking, and Ashkhain – a talented
dinner hostess – collected some 20 Armenian recipes which she published
herself . This was followed by another privately-published book of
Middle Eastern recipes, and finally a third, Saudi Cooking Of Today
(1986), which was published commercially.
Ashkhain’s cookery books broke fresh ground in that they opened a
door to tastes and dishes hitherto largely unknown to Westerners.
Their success encouraged Ashkhain to collaborate with her friend
Primrose Arnander in producing a short series of humorous Arabic
phrase-books. The first, The Son Of A Duck Is A Floater (1985), was
followed by Apricots Tomorrow (1992) and finally Unload Your Own Donkey
(2003).
Ashkhain returned to Britain in 1986 when her second marriage failed,
and resumed her work as a nurse. In the early 1990s she moved to
Canada, shuttling between London and Calgary but only settling
permanently in Alberta in 1996.
She spent the last few years of her life nursing her mother in Calgary.
In November, she was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and died on August
23 having refused further treatment, a characteristically courageous
decision. She never remarried.

RA PRESIDENT AWARDED MEDALS AND HONORARY TITLES TO JOURNALISTS
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 18 2006
Today President Robert Kocharyan awarded medals and honorary titles
to a number of representatives of the sphere of journalism. Following
the awarding ceremony, the President talked with the journalists
about tends and problems of the information field.
The President noted that together with the shortcomings, it is obvious
that the information field is developing, the number of analytical
journalists, who are consistently studying and highlighting concrete
topics, is increasing.

Regnum, Moscow, in Russian
14 Sep 06
GEORGIA STOPS RUSSIAN CITIZENS ENTERING SOUTH OSSETIA – SEPARATIST
MINISTER
[No dateline as received] South Ossetian interior minister Mikhail
Mindzayev has told Regnum that on 14 September Georgia began
preventing persons carrying Russian passports from passing through
South Ossetian territory.
He said that citizens of Russia, Armenia and other countries, with
the exception of residents of South Ossetia, were not being allowed
through. Mindzayev added that the Georgian side was stopping these
persons from travelling in either direction – both from Russia and
from Georgia.
“In response we have denied passage through South Ossetian territory
to persons with Georgian passports, excluding those who live on the
territory of the republic of South Ossetia in so-called Georgian
enclaves (predominantly Georgian-populated villages),” he said.
Mindzayev added that the situation in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict
zone was calm and that no incidents had been recorded for several
days.
“The Georgian leadership has not received new foreign tranches
intended for further action against South Ossetia,” he said.

Sun-Sentinel.com, FL
Sharon Robb
Miranda sick of waiting
Published September 17, 2006
Colombian middleweight Edison Miranda of Hollywood-based Warriors
Boxing was forced to wait an extra month for Saturday night’s title
fight and admittedly was getting a little “antsy” at his Puerto Rico
training camp.
Miranda, 25, (26-0, 23 KOs) was originally scheduled to fight Armenian
Arthur Abraham (21-0, 17 KOs) on Aug. 26, but a cold forced Abraham to
postpone the fight.
Abraham is healthy now and will defend his IBF middleweight title
Saturday night at Rittal Arena in Wetzlar, Germany.
Miranda left last week with his managers, Hollywood businessmen Steve
Benbasat and Greg Wantman and trainer Jose Bonilla to acclimate to
what’s expected to be hostile surroundings.
“I hope the medications he keeps referring to helped his cold and will
let him step into the ring like a man,” Miranda said. “If I caught a
cold or even the flu, I am going in that ring and knocking him out.
“This extra time has made me an even more dangerous fighter. If he
thinks he was sick for the first fight just wait until Saturday.”
INSIDE THE ROPES
The WBO elevated Russian Sultan Ibragimov of Hallandale Beach to the
No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger to fight WBO heavyweight
champion Sergei Liakhovich. Ibragimov (19-0-1, 16 KOs), a 2000 Olympic
silver medalist, most recently drew record ratings on ESPN2 while
battling to a controversial draw with fellow contender Ray Austin in
July at Seminole Hard Rock Live …
Another Warriors fighter, former heavyweight champion Oliver McCall
(48-9, 35 KOs) stopped Darroll Wilson (27-9-2, 21 KOs) 40 seconds into
the fourth round Saturday night at Louisville. McCall floored Wilson
in the second round and wobbled him again in the fourth round before
the fight was stopped. McCall, the WBC’s No. 5 contender, picked up
the vacant WBC Fecarbox title. … Another local heavyweight
contender, Shannon Briggs (47-4-1, 41 KOs) of Pembroke Pines, will
fight Liakhovich (23-1, 14 KOs) for the WBO title on Nov. 4 at Chase
Field in Phoenix. The card will be announced Monday at a Don
King-hosted news conference at Phoenix. “I am going to knock out
Liakhovich and then I intend to knock out Oleg Maskaev [WBC], Nikolai
Valuev [WBA] and Wladimir Klitschko [IBF] and take back all the
heavyweight championships of the world,” Briggs said. … After a
20-year hiatus, Key West’s Mallory Square and promoter Richard Dobal
will stage his second pro card in four months at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Nigerian middleweight Eromosele Albert of Miami heads the
card. … October is a busy month for pro shows. Randall Bailey of
Fort Lauderdale Contenders Gym is the main event on the Oct. 13
Warrior’s Boxing card at the Hard Rock. The former two-time world
champion will fight former lightweight champion Cesar Bazan. The
following night Puerto Rican Kermit Cintron (26-1-0, 24 KOs) and Mark
Suarez (25-2-0, 13 KOs) will fight for the vacant IBF welterweight
title at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm
Beach. …
WBC middleweight champion Yvonne Reis of Dania Beach and Michelle
Linden of Deerfield Beach will be part of a historical all-woman
boxing card at Nairobi, Kenya on Dec. 2. Reis will fight Leaticia
Robinson for the WIBF world title at 160 pounds. The card features
five U.S. boxers against some of Africa’s top boxers.
Sharon Robb can be reached at [email protected].

ARMINFO News Agency
September 12, 2006 Tuesday
$35 MLN INVESTED IN FIRST STAGE OF CONSTRUCTION OF NEW PASSENGER
TERMINAL OF ZVARTNOTS AIRPORT
The concessionaire of Yerevan Zvartnots Airport, Armenian
International Airports, has invested $35 mln in the first stage of
the construction of new passenger terminal, the director of AIA Juan
Pablo Gechidjian.
The money was spent on the construction of a new arrivals hall to be
opened Sept 14. The new hall can receive up to 1,000 people an hour –
twice as much as the old hall. Besides, the hall will have 12
migration counters – twice as many as before – which will double the
current capacity and will allow to process passenger information
faster.
The total cost of the project of the new passenger terminal to be
completed in May 2007 is $63 mln. The remaining money will be spent
on departures hall and business lounge.
Gechidjian says that the project will make Zvartnots a “B” category
airport according to the IATA classification while the old terminal
is just of “E” category.
The area of the terminal will be 18,500 sq m, the width 35 m, the
length 130 m. It will have 6 exits and 5 telescopic bridges. The
total capacity is 2,000,000 passengers.
The total cost of the airport modernization is $253 mln. $95 mln has
already been spent.
To remind, Dec 17 2001 Zvartnots Airport was given into concessionary
management of Armenian International Airports owned by Argentinean
businessman Eduardo Eurnekian.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
A MEETING WITH THE ANGLICAN BISHOP OF JERUSALEM
“WE REMAIN SUPPORTIVE OF THE JUST PALESTINIAN CAUSE”
SAYS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I
His Holiness Aram I met with the new Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem and the
Middle East, Suheil Dawani, in Bikfaya on 12 September. Accompanying the
Bishop were the Anglican ministers of Lebanon and Jordan and a Christian
deputy from the parliament of Jordan.
Bishop Dawani and His Holiness Aram I focused their discussions on the
situation in Jerusalem, the Palestinian conflict and the status of
Christianity in the region.
The newly elected Bishop spoke highly of the efforts of His Holiness Aram I
towards a just solution of the Palestinian conflict and his support of this
cause both in the Middle East and in international circles. Dawani also
praised the Pontiff’s decades long and leading role in the ecumenical
movement, expressing hope that he continues his involvement in ecumenical
movement and in inter-religious dialogue by various means.
His Holiness drew parallels between the Armenian and Palestinian causes,
stressing on the resolution of the two states co-existing on the basis of
mutual respect, and shared security.
His Holiness Aram I also stressed the importance of invigorating the
long-standing co-operation between the Anglican Church and the Catholicosate
of Cilicia, particularly in the Middle East. He commended the co-operation
between the Christian communities in Jerusalem.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.