Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIAN SINGER NOMINATED FOR PRESTIGIOUS FRENCH MUSIC AWARD

Tert.am
16:54 ~U 22.01.10

For the first time, an Armenian singer will be participating in
France’s prestigious Les Victoires de la musique classique (classical
music awards): Anna Kasyan, who was born and raised in Georgia,
has been nominated for the "Revelation of the Year Lyric Artist" award.

The 17th annual classical music awards will be televised on local
channels France 3 and France Inter at 8:30 pm on Monday, February 8,
2010, as well as being broadcast via RFI radio station.

Friends and supporters can vote for Anna online at
(in French) until January 30.

To find out more about Anna (and to vote for her online in English),
please visit her website at

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apost. Church of America and Canada
H.E. Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan
Prelate, Easter Prelacy and Canada
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
Web:

January 21, 2010
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN WILL TRAVEL TO LEBANON
FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE
Archbishop Oshagan will travel to Lebanon this weekend where next week
he will participate in the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue
between the Roman Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches. They will
be discussing theological and Christological issues raised in the
Ecumenical Councils. This seventh plenary meeting of the Commission
will take place at the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in
Antelias. The Oriental Orthodox Churches include the Armenian Church,
Coptic Church, Syrian Orthodox Church, Ethiopian Church, and Eritrean
Church.
Archbishop Oshagan and Bishop Nareg Alemezian are representing
the Armenian Church (Cilician Catholicosate).
CATHOLICOS ARAM VISITS GREECE
His Holiness Aram I visited Athens, Greece, at the invitation of Greek
Orthodox Church. Last Saturday His Holiness visited His Beatitude
Ieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, at his
residence. His Beatitude praised the will of the Armenian people which
enabled them to rise again after the Genocide. He also expressed his
appreciation of the contribution of the Greek Armenian community and
praised His Holinesss contribution to the ecumenical movement.
During his visit to Athens His Holiness met with the Armenian
community at St. Hagop Church where he was welcomed and introduced by
Bishop Khoren Doghramadjian, the Prelate of Greece.

PRESIDENT OF PONTIFICAL MISSION VISITS CATHOLICOS
His Excellency Bishop Robert Stern, the President of the Pontifical
Mission in the United States, visited His Holiness Aram I on January
12. His Grace Bishop Nareg, Ecumenical Officer of the Catholicosate,
was also in attendance.
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I DECLARES 2010
YEAR OF THE ARMENIAN WOMAN
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has
declared 2010 as the Year of the Armenian Woman. At the beginning of
each year His Holiness issues an encyclical designating a specific
topic for the year with the expectation that the topic will be
explored throughout the year.
In his encyclical, His Holiness refers to biblical, historical
and contemporary reflections that make it imperative to reassess the
role of women and men in society. According to the Bible, he writes,
God created men and women in His image, (Genesis 1:26); therefore, he
explains, women and men are equal in the eyes of God, and partners in
caring for the created world. His Holiness further notes that in the
New Testament, the New Eve,Mary the Mother of Godplays an important
role in the history of salvation.
Delving into Armenian history, His Holiness writes about many
women who contributed to the survival of the nation and to its
spiritual and cultural renaissance by assuming political
responsibilities through martyrdom and sainthood, as writers,
educators, social workers, and mothers.
In the encyclical His Holiness reflects on important events
and documents of the United Nations and the Ecumenical Movement. He
cites the achievements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
the UN Decade for Women, and international conferences since 1976 and
the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. Speaking of the
Ecumenical Movement he mentions the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches
in Solidarity with Women 1988-1998, which deplored violence against
women at home and in society, and the Decade to Overcome Violence.
The Catholicos calls upon all Armenians to reconsider the
nature of the partnership of women and men in the Armenian community,
its organizations and the family, in view of the moral values taught
by the Church and internationally endorsed documents.
To read the encyclical in Armenian click here (
4882/goto: elacy/PDF/2010pontificalmessagearm.pdf
).
To read the encyclical in English click here (
4882/goto: elacy/PDF/2010pontificalmessageeng.pdf
).

LENTEN LECTURES WILL BEGIN FEBRUARY 17
The Prelacys Lenten lectures series will focus on the Year of the
Armenian Woman theme. The first lecture will take place on Wednesday,
February 17 and will continue for the next five Wednesdays of Great
Lent. The lectures, under the auspices of Archbishop Oshagan, will
take place at St. Illuminators Cathedral, 221 E. 27th Street, New York
City.
The evening schedule will be as follows: Lenten service at
7:30 pm; lecture and discussion at 8 pm, followed by fellowship at
8:45 pm. The Lenten program is sponsored by the Armenian Religious
Education Council (AREC), the Prelacy Ladies Guild, and the St.
Illuminators Cathedral Ladies Guild.
For information about the topics and presenters click here (
4882/goto: elacy/PDF/2010lentenprogram.pdf
).

ZULAL WILL PERFORM AT NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
In conjunction with a new exhibit, Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient
Pathway to the Modern World, at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York, Zulal, the popular a cappella trio, will perform on
Sunday January 31 and Sunday February 14. Half-hour performances will
be offered at 1: 30, 2:30 and 3:30 pm on each of the days. For more
information: (
4882/goto:
).

DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for today, Thursday, January 21 are: Proverbs 14:1-6;
Zechariah 8:4-5; Isaiah 60:8-9; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 9:44-48.

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself
likewise shared the same things, s9o that through death he might
destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and
free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of
death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the
descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers
and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of
atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by
what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being
tested. (Hebrews 2:14-18)

For listing of this weeks Bible readings click here (
4882/goto: elacy/PDF/2010dbr-1.pdf
).

PAREGENTAN OF THE FAST OF THE CATECHUMENS
This Sunday, January 24, is the Paregentan of the Fast of the
Catechumens. It occurs three weeks before Poun Paregentan (eve of
Great Lent) and 10 weeks before Easter, ushering in five days of
strict fast (dzom). According to tradition, the Catechumens were
instructed for several hours daily and required to stand through every
church service, separate from the baptized congregation. This
continued until Easter when they were baptized, anointed and received
their first Communion.

ANNUAL GHEVONTIANTZ CLERGY GATHERING
The annual clergy gathering on the occasion of the Feast of
St. Ghevont and Priests, will take place at St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church, Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, February 8-11. The
Feast of Ghevontiantz is celebrated each year preceding the Vartanantz
Feast.
For the agenda of the clergy conference (in Armenian) click here (
4882/goto: elacy/PDF/2010ghevontyantzprogram.pdf
).
GORKY WORK TO BE FEATURED ON U.S. STAMP
Armenian American artist Arshile Gorkys 1944 painting The Liver in a
Cocks Comb, will be part of a series of stamps being unveiled on March
11 by the United States Postal Service (USPS) honoring abstract
expressionists.
FROM THE BOOKSTORE
THE LIFE AND ART OF SUMBAT
This new and beautiful book features the work of the noted
watercolorist Sumbat Der Kiureghian, known simply as Sumbat. The text
is by the artists son, Armen Der Kiureghian, and there is a Foreword
by Levon Abrahamian. The reproductions of the artists works are
presented in eight sections, namely: New Julfa, Iranian Scenes,
Armenian Village Life, Sumbatism, Drawings, Still Life, Armenia, and
American Scenes. His work is beautiful. His composition and colors
are pleasant and serene.
Hardcover, 172 pages, 9-1/2 x 12-1/2
$70.00, plus shipping and handling.
TO ORDER THIS BOOK OR FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE BOOKSTORE BY
EMAIL AT [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
OR BY TELEPHONE 212-689-7810.

PLEASE DONT FORGET HAITI
Last Sunday all of our parishes had special plate collections for
earthquake relief for the Republic of Haiti. With the news of the
extreme suffering taking place there, we must not be indifferent, and
we should continue to keep the Haitians in our thoughts and
prayers. Donations will be needed for a long time. Please send your
check payable to the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, to the
Prelacy at 138 E. 39th Street, New York, New York 10016.
You may also make your donation by credit card through our
secure web page. Go to (
4882/goto: /departments/donate-now
) and click on Donate Now. Fill out the form and select Haiti Relief
in the designation menu.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
January 31Saint Sarkis name day, celebrating the patron saint of
St. Sarkis Church, 38-65 234th St., Douglaston, New York, and special
requiem service for Archpriest Rev. Fr. Asoghik Kelejian. Luncheon
and special cultural program following church services. Special guest:
His Excellency Garen Nazarian, representative of the Republic of
Armenia to the United Nations. Donation $40. For reservations:
718-224-2275.
February 6St. Stephens (Watertown, Massachusetts) Ladies Guild, Mardi
Gras celebration, 7 pm at church hallo. Costumes optional; masks a
must. For information: Mary Derderian, [email protected]
(mailto:[email protected]) or 781-762-4253.
February 8-10Annual Ghevontiantz Clergy Gathering, hosted by
St. Gregory Church, Indian Orchard, Massachusetts.
February 11Presentation of Kir Gyanki, by Rev. Fr. Khoren Habeshian,
organized by St. Illuminators Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and
Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society of New York,
under the auspices of H.E. Archbishop Oshagan, at the Armenian Center
in Woodside, New York, 8:05 pm. Vartan Matiosian will present the
recently published book.
February 11Vartanantz Day Divine Liturgy and celebration at
Sts. Vartanantz Church, 461 Bergen Blvd., Ridgefield, New
Jersey. Celebrant, Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan. Luncheon (adults $20;
children $10) and special cultural program following church services.
February 17First Prelacy Lenten Service and Lecture at
St. Illuminators Cathedral, New York, 7:30 pm. General introduction by
Archbishop Oshagan. Women Witnesses of Christ in the Armenian Church,
presented by Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, Pastor of St. Illuminators
Cathedral.
February 24Second Prelacy Lenten Service and Lecture at
St. Illuminators Cathedral, New York, 7:30 pm. Women as Guardians of
Armenian Family Values, presented by Mrs. Iris Papazian.
February 28 and March 7General Membership meetings of Soorp
Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts.
March 3Third Prelacy Lenten Service and Lecture at St. Illuminators
Cathedral, New York City, 7:30 pm. Women as Mothers and Wives,
presented by Rev. Fr. Hovnan Bozoian, pastor of Sts. Vartanantz
Church (NJ).
March 7Annual Membership Meeting, Sts. Vartanantz Church, 461 Bergen
Blvd., Ridgefield, New Jersey.
March 10Fourth Prelacy Lenten Service and Lecture at St. Illuminators
Cathedral, New York, 7:30 pm. St. Mary, Paradigm of Discipleship and
Holiness, presented by Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian, pastor of St. Sarkis
Church (NY).
March 17Fifth Prelacy Lenten Service and Lecture at St. Illuminators
Church, New York, 7:30 pm. Women as Charity Workers, presented by
Mrs. Valentine Berberian.
March 21Musical Armenia, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York
City. Featured artists: Tanya Gabrielian, pianist; Natalie Aroyan,
soprano.
March 24Sixth and final Prelacy Lenten Service and Lecture at
St. Illuminators Cathedral, New York City, 7:30 pm. Women as Christian
Educators Today, by Yeretzgin Joanna Baghsarian.
April 11ARS Mayr Chapter presents ZULAL, a cappela trio, at the
Armenian Society, 39-03 Little Neck Parkway, Little Neck, NY, 3
pm. Donation: $50, $30; $15 for children under 12. Contact Sonia,
917-679-6992; Hasmik, 516-330-5290.
April 18ARS Mayr and Erebouni Chapters sponsor Walk-Armenia to benefit
Camp Haiastan. Registration at St. Sarkis Church, 38-65 234th Street,
Douglaston, New York, starts at 12 noon, $25 fee. Walk begins 1
pm. For information 516-330-5290 (Hasmik); 516-739-0805 (Nayda).
May 13 to 16National Representative Assembly hosted by
St. Illuminators Cathedral, New York City, and St. Sarkis Church,
Douglaston, New York.
July 17A Hye Summer Night V, dance hosted by Ladies Guild of
Sts. Vartanantz Church and ARS Ani Chapter, Providence, Rhode
Island. Watch for details.
Web pages of the parishes can be accessed through the Prelacys web
site.

To ensure the timely arrival of Crossroads in your electronic mailbox,
add [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) to
your address book.

Items in Crossroads can be reproduced without permission. Please
credit Crossroads as the source.

Parishes of the Eastern Prelacy are invited to send information about
their major events to be included in the calendar. Send to:
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

RA NA SPEAKER HOPES THAT TURKEY WILL STAY LOYAL TO LETTER AND SPIRIT OF PROTOCOLS SIGNED IN ZURICH

Noyan Tapan
Jan 21, 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The pivotal issue discussed at the
January 21 meeting of RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamian and European
Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby was
the process of normalizing the Armenian-Turkish relations without
preconditions. According to the RA NA Press Service, H. Abrahamian
expressed the hope that Turkey will stay loyal to the letter and
spirit of the protocols signed on October 10 2009 in Zurich.

At P. Semneby’s request the NA Speaker presented the process of
ratification of the protocols in Armenia, which, in his words,
proceeds according to the schedule and without inappropriate delays.

H. Abrahamian emphasized that the Turkish side should pursue
ratification and fulfillment of the protocols and not undertake
measures aimed at failing the process. He said that otherwise the
Armenian side is ready to undertake adequate measures.

NKR TO PURSUE GIVING LEGAL ESTIMATION TO ALL ANTI-ARMENIAN ACTS OF VIOLENCE COMMITTED IN AZERBAIJAN

Noyan Tapan
Jan 21, 2010

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. NKR National Assembly’s political
forces, the Democracy, Homeland and ARFD-Movement-88 factions,
on January 19, made a statement on the 1990 January massacres of
Armenians in Baku.

The statement read:

"Twenty years ago Armenian population’s mass slaughter was organized
and coolly committed in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan officially
called Soviet at that time. Thousands of innocent people, women,
children and old people were killed with a special cruelty and dozens
of thousands of people receiving grave bodily injuries and mental
shocks were deprived of their homeland and deported from it.

The January slaughters of Baku, in fact, were the last accord
of the acts of violence and deportations committed in 1905-1906,
1918-1920 and 1988-1990 to the Armenian people, a native people
in the East Trans-Caucasus having the right of statehood. It was
the unique response of the Azeri authorities to Nagorno Karabakh
people’s peaceful, fair and legal right of living a deserved life on
its native land, which was committed with the criminal connivance of
the USSR authorities.

We, representatives of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic National
Assembly, once more condemning the anti-Armenian acts of violence
organized during the whole 20th century in Azerbaijan, in consequence
of which the local Armenian population was deprived of the right
of self-organization at the state level, and, in particular, the
slaughters committed in Baku from January 13 1990, estimate them as:

– fact of mass violation of human rights and freedoms, first of all,
right of living,

– obvious manifestation of Azerbaijan’s state policy of xenophobia
and national intolerance, ethnic cleansings,

– the gravest crime committed against mankind at the state level,
Genocide, responsibility for which, according to the international law,
has no limitation period.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic will pursue giving a legal estimation to
all anti-Armenian acts of violence, deportations and ethnic cleansings
committed in Azerbaijan and calling for liability their organizers
irrespective of their current political and social position or place
of residence.

As a manifestation of that legal and fair goal we apply to the UN,
Council and Europe, OSCE, parliaments of OSCE Minsk Group member
countries:

– to conduct an unbiassed investigation of acts of violence committed
from January 13 to 20 1990 in Baku and to give a legal estimation to
the actions of the organizers and executors of the crime,

– not to put an equals sign between crimes organized at the state
level in peaceful conditions and the privations the regional peoples
suffered in consequence of the war Azerbaijan broke out.

To avoid further undesirable developments we demand condemning and
using punishments to the criminal state. It is not only the right of
the aggrieved party but also the duty of the international instances
as genocide is a crime against mankind."

ACNIS: HRANT DINK’S MISSION CONTINUES AND HIS SPIRIT LIVES ON

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.01.2010 21:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Center for National and International
Studies (ACNIS) issued a statement today commemorating the third
anniversary of the death of noted Turkish-Armenian intellectual
Hrant Dink.

The statement reads: "Hrant Dink’s brutal murder on this day three
years ago in Istanbul endowed his death with a special meaning. But
even more significantly, it was his life that endowed his death
with such a special meaning. Sometimes in history, some men attain a
higher meaning, in a sacrifice of the ultimate. Hrant Dink was just
such a man. He was brave, in so strongly and passionately advocating
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, but also as an outspoken defender of
minority and human rights in Turkey. He was also innocent, in facing
the persecution and prosecution of the Turkish state, which had
specifically targeted him for the "crime" of "insulting Turkishness."

But Hrant Dink was much more than a symbol of change. He was an
inspiration to many and his mission was a motivation to even more.

Hrant Dink was also a loving father of three, Delal, Ararat and Sera;
a devoted husband of one special woman, Rakel; a friend to many,
and an inspiration to all.

The man may be gone, but his mission continues and his spirit
lives on."

Hrant Dink (September 15, 1954 – January 19, 2007) was a
Turkish-Armenian journalist and columnist and editor-in-chief
of Akos bilingual newspaper. Dink was best known for advocating
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in
Turkey. Charged under the notorious article 301 of the Turkish
Criminal Code, Dink stood a trial for insulting Turkishness. After
numerous death threats, Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in
January 2007, by Ogun Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist.

ARMENIA CAN START EXPORTING EXCISABLE CARGOES THROUGH RUSSIAN PORT KAVKAZ THIS YEAR

ARKA
Jan 20, 2010

YEREVAN, January 20. /ARKA/. Armenia can start exporting excisable
cargoes through Russian port Kavkaz this year, Alexander Zaytsev,
Russia’s trade representative in Armenia, said Wednesday in Novosti
International Press Center.

In February 2008, when the then Russian prime minister, Victor Zubkov,
visited Armenia, customs agencies were instructed to carry out scrutiny
to reveal illegal shipment of excisable spirits, mainly brandy.

Yet in March 2009, Armenian and Russian state customs committees
signed a protocol simplifying customs procedures and permitting
exporters to shipping their excisable cargoes through port Kavkaz.

Zaytsev said that the matter has long been under negotiation and is
settled now – Russian government has already included Kavkaz in the
list of ports, through which excised goods can be shipped.

Structural and organizational issues are now being discussed in
the port.

"I think excisable goods will start passing through this port already
in 2010," Zaytsev said.

Armenian cargoes are mainly shipped by Ukrferry shipping company’s
ferries serving Ilichevsk-Poti-Batumi route and vessels of
Poti-Caucasus ferry line run by Swiss Reserve Capital Corporation.

Ferries carry mainly grain and foods from Russia to Armenia and raw
materials from Armenia to Russia.

AMD 154.8 BILLION SENT BY 325 LARGE TAXPAYERS TO STATE BUDGET IN JAN-NOV 2009

ARKA
Jan 20, 2010

YEREVAN, January 20. /ARKA/. Armenian State Revenue Committee says in
its official Internet site that 325 large taxpayers of Armenia have
transferred AMD 154.8 billion to the state budget over the period
between January and November 2009.

This amount is smaller than that sent by large taxpayers to the state
budget at the same period of the previous year by AMD 37.3 billon.

Ten organizations – K-Telecom, Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine,
Aemenian-Russian ArnRosgasprom, Armenian Railway, Orange Armenia, Pure
Iron Plant, South Caucasus Railways, Armenian Molybdenum Production,
Armenian-Canadian Grand Tobacco and Agarak Copper and Molybdenum
Combine – have transferred AMD 38 billion less over eleven months of
2009 than they sent to the state budget at the same period a year
earlier.

The committee says that tax agencies carried out 704 inspections in
Jan-Nov 2009.

As a result, additional AMD 5.2 billion have been transferred to the
state budget as taxes. ($1 = AMD 377.22).

ARMENIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RULING SETBACK FOR US DIPLOMACY

news.az
Jan 20 2010
Azerbaijan

Ilgar Mammadov US strategy in the South Caucasus needs to be changed,
Baku-based politician Ilgar Mammadov writes in an article for News.Az.

The newly emerged details of the Armenian Constitutional Court ruling
on the Turkish-Armenian protocols mark a major setback for American
diplomacy in the South Caucasus.

The ruling "contains preconditions and restrictive provisions which
impair the letter and spirit of the Protocols", reads a statement
by the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The statement says that the ruling
undermines the very reason for negotiating the Protocols as well as
their fundamental objective.

Unlike comments by various Turkish officials about the link between
resolution of the Karabakh conflict and ratification of the protocols,
the ruling of the Armenian Constitutional Court is a formally binding
text, and not a personal or party political opinion. It must be
changed if Turkish-Armenian dialogue is to move forward.

US diplomacy made significant efforts in recent years to outplay Russia
in the South Caucasus by normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations. In
implementing that now failed strategy, US diplomacy made resolution
of the Karabakh conflict secondary to Turkish-Armenian rapprochement.

This was in vain, as the new Armenian move has shown. From now on,
even if the Armenian parliament ratifies the protocols, this will be
a mere propaganda move as Turkey engaged in the talks and signed the
protocols with the understanding that Yerevan will firmly recognise
the Turkish-Armenian border and drop allegations of genocide against
Turkey.

The American approach would be very credible and intelligent, were
it not for a fundamental omission: Armenia is governed from Moscow,
it is not an independent state.

Correcting the error does not mean doing the opposite, i.e. giving
priority to resolution of the Karabakh conflict and postponing
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. The US should approach the region from
another angle – that of rewarding countries for practical cooperation
with America.

For almost two decades Azerbaijan has been a more committed partner
and ally of the United States than Armenia in the South Caucasus and
more important in practical terms. Azerbaijan sees no rewards for that
choice as far as resolution of the Karabakh conflict is concerned. As
a result, the country is drifting back to closer ties with Moscow,
not necessarily in the expectation that the Kremlin will play into the
hands of Baku this time, but because of the greater sense of security
the Russians can provide, especially in the post-August 2008 realities
of the South Caucasus.

US reluctance to put pressure on Armenia over the Karabakh issue is
a total mystery, given America’s well-known practicality. A possible
explanation is that the loyalty of American citizens of Armenian
descent is dearer to policymakers in Washington than Azerbaijan’s
lasting loyalty. However, I can hardly imagine success of a foreign
policy influenced by the quasi-religious prejudices of a group of
citizens about "small, Christian Armenia surrounded by the wild,
Muslim Turks of Azerbaijan and Turkey."

If we all claim to be defending goodies against baddies, then the
120,000 Armenians who lived in the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomy
of Azerbaijan are no better than the 300,000 Azeris expelled from
Zangezur, which was not an autonomy in Armenia, as part of the
on-going Karabakh conflict. If they are entitled to more respect
than the Azerbaijanis of Zangezur, that can only be recognition of
military action as a legitimate and effective tool in the conflict.

US assistance in restoring and expanding the authority of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomy within Azerbaijan is the solution that
will lead to sustained peace and growing US influence in the South
Caucasus. It will protect US diplomacy from new setbacks like the
one created by the Armenian Constitutional Court a few days ago.

ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN, AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS TO MEET IN SOCHI JAN. 25

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.01.2010 14:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A trilateral meeting between Armenian, Russian and
Azerbaijani leaders will take place in Sochi on January 25.

The OSCÐ~U Minsk Group Co-Chairs have arrived in the region to arrange
the meeting between Presidents Serzh Sargsyan, Dmitry Medvedev and
Ilham Aliyev, an informed source told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, now Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)) to encourage a peaceful, negotiated
resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

On 6 December 1994, the Budapest Summit decided to establish a
co-chairmanship for the process.

Implementing the Budapest decision, the Chairman-in-Office issued on
23 March 1995, the mandate for the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Process.

The main objectives of the Minsk Process are as follows: Providing
an appropriate framework for conflict resolution in the way of
assuring the negotiation process supported by the Minsk Group;
Obtaining conclusion by the Parties of an agreement on the cessation
of the armed conflict in order to permit the convening of the Minsk
Conference; Promoting the peace process by deploying OSCE multinational
peacekeeping forces.

The Minsk Process can be considered to be successfully concluded if
the objectives referred to above are fully met.

The Minsk Group is headed by a Co-Chairmanship consisting of France,
Russia and the United States. Furthermore, the Minsk Group also
includes the following participating States: Belarus, Germany, Italy,
Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Turkey as well as Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Current Co-chairmen of the Minsk Group are: Ambassador
Bernard Fassier of France, Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov of the Russian
Federation and Ambassador Robert Bradtke of the United States.

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 as result of the
ethnic cleansing launched by Azerbaijan in the final years of the
Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since
the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions
of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control
of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.

The Madrid principles contain the proposals put forward by the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs on the basic principles of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement. The document was presented to the Armenian and
Azerbaijani representatives at the OSCE summit in the Spanish capital
in November 2007.

DINK DREAMT OF ERGENEKON TRIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.01.2010 13:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ If Hrant Dink, murdered in 2007 in front of his
newspaper office, were alive today, he would have been happy with
the Ergenekon trials, Agos Editor Sarkis Seropyan said Monday.

"If Hrant were alive and saw the Ergenekon case, he would have been
extremely happy," Seropyan said. "He would have supported the Ergenekon
case much more than what we are able to do at Agos. He would not have
been satisfied just by presenting the news related to Ergenekon."

"It was his dream that those people’s masks would drop," Seropyan
said, referring to alleged members of Ergenekon investigated by the
Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office, Today’s Zaman reported.

The Ergenekon case in Turkey has been investigating a neo-nationalist
gang believed to be the extension of a clandestine network of groups
with members in the armed forces and accused of being behind a number
of unsolved murders of journalists, academics, public-opinion leaders
and writers.

Hrant Dink (September 15, 1954 – January 19, 2007) was a
Turkish-Armenian journalist and columnist and editor-in-chief
of Agos bilingual newspaper. Dink was best known for advocating
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in
Turkey. Charged under the notorious article 301 of the Turkish
Criminal Code, Dink stood a trial for insulting Turkishness. After
numerous death threats, Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in
January 2007, by Ogun Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist.

An investigation in the wake of the Dink assassination revealed that
a group of ultranationalists was behind the murder. Strong evidence
suggested that some members of the group had ties with the police
department in northern Trabzon, the hometown of the plotters. Some
gendarmes later confirmed that they had been tipped off about the
plot to kill Dink before the murder was committed. Although three
years have passed since Dink was killed, the investigation into his
brutal murder has yielded no conclusion.