Author: Kalantarian Kevo

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (E.)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
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March 22, 2005
___________________

THE EASTER MESSAGE OF ARCHBISHOP KHAJAG BARSAMIAN
Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America

TO LIVE IS CHRIST

For I know that through your prayers, and the help of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is
my eager expectation and hope that I shall not be at all ashamed,
but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in
my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:19-21)

* * *

FROM PRISON THE APOSTLE PAUL wrote those lines, as he awaited almost
certain execution. Surely one senses his apprehension beneath the
words. He is not a fanatic, who would seek death out as a worshipper
pursuing an idol. To the contrary, like our Lord before him during
His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the apostle does not relish the
prospect of death, because he knows that life is dear. But at the same
time, the question of whether he will live or die is not uppermost in
his thoughts. He can find the courage to write, “to die is gain,”
because he trusts that his killers will not have the final say.
The power they hold over him may be real, and consequential. But it
is not final.

But if to die is gain, then what shall he call “to live”? One can
sense St. Paul grasping for the right word to convey life’s splendor,
its preciousness, its inherent quality of hope. If to die is gain,
then to live? To live is…

“To live is Christ.” That is the way a man facing death resolved to
put it. Admittedly, it is a curious formulation–almost jarring to the
ear. We should not pretend to fully understand his meaning. Yet we
can observe that it is congruent with much else in Christianity: with
our Lord’s testimony, “I am the Resurrection and the Life”; with the
epithet “Lord of Life” applied to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The entire Christian story, it would seem, is an affirmation of life.

And so it is a puzzle that this same God, this Lord of Life, chose
to subject Himself to death. The paradox is concisely expressed in
an Armenian hymn, Miadzin Vorti: “You, the unchangeable One, became
man and you were crucified, O Christ our God: you trampled down Death
by death.”

The cause, of course, was a great one: the salvation of mankind.
But let us not doubt that things could have been otherwise.
God could have chosen to effect salvation through some means other
than His own death. He chose not to. Armenian Christians should
be clear on this point: Our church does not regard the shedding of
His blood as a necessary condition of salvation, in the manner of
other Christian denominations. We do not conceive of Christ as some
kind of human sacrifice or scapegoat, whose humiliation and death
“purchased” salvation for mankind. We stress the free choice of
God: His willingness to enter into human history. To take on the
infirmities of the human condition: its weakness and vulnerability;
its mortality. To do this out of love for His creations, in a divine
act of solidarity.

Singing Miadzin Vorti should remind us that God could have simply
trampled death–period. But He chose instead to trample it with
death–to subject Himself to the thing He sought to correct–thus not
merely correcting the problem, but affirming the very human condition
which had to endure such suffering in the first place. We might say
that Christ’s death was God’s way of standing shoulder-to-shoulder
with all the deaths that had gone before. And of anticipating all
those that would come after.

It is an especially poignant thought for us this Easter–ninety years
after the greatest conflagration of death our people have ever known.
Knowingly or unknowingly, the Armenians of Ottoman Turkey in the
days prior to April 24, 1915, were in the same position as St.
Paul: captives awaiting death at the hands of unjust powers.
Unlike Paul, most of them were denied the chance even to scrawl
a final few words from a prison cell. So we cannot say that they
all met their fates with the same con-scious-ness as Paul, or even
with the same faith. Our enemy made no discrim-ination between the
believer and non-believer; all were killed, simply for being Armenian.
So we cannot say they were all martyrs, in the sacramental sense of
that word. But then again, who are we to say whether they have not
all been sanc-tified? To paraphrase the noble words uttered over a
different spectacle of death: Their ordeal has sanctified them far
beyond our own poor powers of recognition.

What we can recognize, as we experience Easter from the perspective of
this solemn milestone, is this: That the scars we still bear today, the
losses we have endured–whether inflicted ninety years ago, twenty-five
years, ten, or even last night–Christ has borne before us. Borne them
in anticipation of our own afflictions. Borne them out of His love
for us, to show He abides with us, in triumph as well as tragedy.

Borne, above all, to assure us that affliction is not the End.
There is a final act, not yet performed, but written nonetheless,
awaiting its consummation at the true end of things–which itself
will be only the beginning of something new. When that day arrives,
we can be sure that something of our past affliction will still be
with us, even as our Lord’s wounds remained visible, tangible, after
His return to life. But we will be made new: Not so much reborn,
as made whole again. Whole in our bodies and spirits; whole–we
are permitted to hope, and obliged to pray–in our relationships
with others, too. Reunited with those we have lost along the way.
Reunited with those we never knew, but to whom we owe our existence.
Reunited with those who are, from our perspective now, still yet to be.

All of us, reunited in the bosom of our Lord. Even if such a reunion
were only a dream, men would hardly be fools to long for it. But we
have been promised, and shown, that it is not a dream, but rather a
hope: the secret culmination of human existence. That is the hope
which Easter eternally represents. We can enter upon it, if we
so choose. And Jesus Christ is our doorway.

It was with his eye on that hope that St. Paul was able to face the
prospect of imprisonment, injustice, even death. It is our hope,
too: our hope for ourselves, to be sure; but more than that, our hope
for those countless Armenian souls who perished ninety years ago.
Let us carry that prayer in our hearts this Easter, as we affirm:

Krisdos haryav ee merelotz. Orhnyal eh harootiunun Krisdosee.
Christ is risen from the dead. Blessed is the resurrection of Christ.

Easter 2005

# # #

REP. LANGEVIN SAYS IT’S “CRITICALLY IMPORTANT” FOR U.S. TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

WASHINGTON, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Representative James Langevin
(D-RI), a well-known champion of Armenian issues, is urging President
Bush to follow the example of other leading U.S. public officials
and formally recognize the Armenian Genocide in his statement of
remembrance next month, the Armenian Assembly of America reported.
Langevin, in a statement issued on March 17 to Congress, urged Bush
to properly label the atrocities as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John
Evans so candidly did during his meetings with Armenian-Americans
throughout the U.S. last month. During those public exchanges,
Evans declared that “the Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of
the twentieth century.” “By employing this term, the Ambassador is
building on previously made statements by Presidents Regan and Bush,
as well as the repeated declarations of numerous world-renowned
scholars,” Langevin said. “In effect, Evans has done nothing more
than succinctly name the conclusions enunciated by those before him.”
Langevin, a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues,
noted that Evans’ remarks correspond with the signed statements of over
120 renowned Holocaust and Genocide scholars on the “incontestable
fact of the Armenian Genocide,” and that of the International Center
for Transitional Justice on the use of the term Armenian Genocide,
which states that: “The Events, viewed collectively, can thus be said
to include all of the elements of the crime of genocide as defined in
the Convention, and legal scholars as well as historians, politicians,
journalists and other people would be justified in continuing to so
describe them.” Langevin also said that the ability of Armenians
to survive in the face of repression is a testament to their will
to survive. “Therefore, it is critically important that the United
States speak with one voice in condemning the horrors committed
against the Armenians,” he concluded. In other news, Langevin this
week signed his support to a congressional letter to President Bush,
asking that he acknowledge this crime against humanity. The letter,
initiated by Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), currently has the backing of 75 Members
of the House of Representatives.

Azeri leader looking for partners in undemocratic countries – pundit

Yeni Musavat, Baku
18 Mar 05

Text of Kanan report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on 18 March
headlined “China does not care whether Azerbaijan is a democratic
country or not” and subheaded “Hacizada believes that Ilham Aliyev is
looking towards despotic countries since he is not invited to
civilized countries”

Criticized by the democratic countries of the world, [Azerbaijani
President] Ilham Aliyev is looking towards despotic and authoritarian
regimes in the East. It is not by chance that Iran, Russia, Saudi
Arabia are among the countries recently visited by the successor. The
only European state, which he recently visited, is Italy – the home
country of the mafia.

It must be remembered that the Washington administration, which was
reproached by the democratic public for supporting Ilham Aliyev when
he came to power, has not yet invited him to the USA. Therefore, the
successor’s visits are confined to the northern and southern routes
and other undemocratic countries.

Political expert Hikmat Hacizada sees two reasons behind the Western
countries’ reluctance to send invitations to Ilham Aliyev. First, the
West and the USA are specifically demonstrating their dislike for
Ilham Aliyev’s dictatorial policy in Azerbaijan. That’s to say the
government has an anti-democratic image.

The second reason, the pundit thinks, is that Azerbaijan is lagging
behind these countries in many aspects: “On the other hand, from an
economic point of view, Azerbaijan has nothing in common with
democratic countries. In other words, the country is in such a
situation that there is no sphere left for cooperation with the West.”

We wonder how undemocratic countries of the East can help Ilham
Aliyev? Some people believe that with these visits, the successor is
compensating for the lack of invitations from the West.

Although the pundit ruled out political support, he admits that such
visits promote economic ties. “Visits to such countries are less
productive from a political point of view. Although they are despotic
regimes, they have no strength. However, it is possible to do some
low-level business with them. It is possible to exchange raw materials
and establish other low-level bilateral relations. For the time being,
things have not reached a point when Ilham Aliyev would be paying
visits for the sake of paying visits. They have certain relations with
despotic countries, but these contacts certainly cannot be compared to
business relations with democratic countries.”

Ilham Aliyev flew to China yesterday. According to official reports,
documents on bilateral cooperation will be signed and a business forum
will be held there. Commenting on the successor’s visit to Beijing,
Hikmat Hacizada said the visit was important to both sides at the
moment. “China is a big country and its influence is on the
increase. Beijing is trying to be more active in its foreign
policy. Azerbaijan is an ordinary country with which China wants to
cooperate. China probably intends to make investment in Azerbaijan and
take part in oil projects. In principle, we also need to establish
ties with China to resolve the Karabakh problem and implement economic
projects. China is also one of the important states in the UN.”

The pundit thinks that since China is not a democratic country, Ilham
Aliyev can set up normal partnership with it: “Beijing does not care
whether Azerbaijan is a democratic country or not, because China
itself is not well-developed either. Therefore, Azerbaijan can be
China’s worthy partner both in the economic and political spheres.”

WORLD BANK DECLARES ARMENIAN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SECOND BEST AMONG
SIMILAR STRUCTURES OF EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

YEREVAN, MARCH 17. ARMINFO. Armenian Development Agency as regards
marketing and information criteria, as well as on the quality of
services provided is declared by the World Bank the second best among
similar structures of Europe and Central Asia and the fifth all over
the world. Director of the Agency Vahagn Movsisian informed during the
working visit with President of Armenia Robert Kocharian.

ARMINFO was informed in the press office of the president, during the
meeting the participants discussed issues of attraction of foreign
investments to Armenia. President Robert Kocharian instructed to pay
special attention to the questions raised during discussions in
business circles. As Kocharian said, specifying and solving these
problems it will be possible to ensure enduring progress in the
economy of the country and improvement of the investment environment.
The parties also concerned the arrangements aimed at increase of the
compatibility of goods made in Armenia.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 17, 2005 Thursday 11:43 AM Eastern Time

JCC not focus on Joint Peacekeeping Force reduction – diplomat

By Maria Pshenichnikova
MOSCOW

Russian Ambassador at Large Valery Kenyaikin said the Joint Control
Commission had not discussed the reduction of Joint Peacekeeping
Force.

Summing up the results of the JCC session on Thursday, the Russian
diplomat said, “There was no talk about the reduction of Joint
Peacekeeping Force at the session of the Joint Control Commission.”

“The Joint Peacekeeping Force is a guarantor of peace and an
effective instrument within the JCC,” he stressed.

In his words, “the JCC session was held in a constructive atmosphere.
The sides are seeking to reach agreement on demilitarisation of the
conflict area. They agreed to take certain military-technical
measures till April 1 – reduce the military presence and eliminate
any posts.” “All this should help normalise the situation in the
conflict area,” Kenyaikin said.

Georgia confirmed that it was seeking to continue the negotiations
started on the initiative of South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity.
“Problems related to the organisation of the meeting will be solved
in a routine way,” the Russian diplomat said.

He did not rule out that the next JCC meeting might be held in
Vladikavkaz. “The exact date will be specified later,” Kenyaikin
added.

Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Georgy Khaindrava
said Tbilisi is pleased with Russia’s role in settling conflicts in
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In his words, “the Joint Control Commission on the Settlement of the
Georgian-South Ossetian Conflict is working successfully.” “Russian
partners led by Valery Kenyakin are working constructively and often
finding solutions to problems. We can prove of Moscow’s good
attitude.”

At the same time, Khaindrava stressed, “The second stage – the
implementation of the agreements – will be more difficult. It is
important to find a solution to different problems related to
Georgian-Russian relations. Then all conflicts will be settled in
Georgia.”

Commenting on the withdrawal of Russia’s military bases from Batumi
and Akhalkalaki, Khaindrava said, “There will be no presence of third
countries in Georgia after the pullout of Russian troops.” “There are
prerequisites for solving this problem in the near future,” the
minister said. In his view, “the existence of Russia’s bases in
Georgia is not a serious factor for Tbilisi because this is a
mechanism of the 20th century and not the 21st century.”

To this end, Khaindrava said, “The Georgian side is not going to
deploy NATO or any other troops.” He recognised, “Many people took
part in the March 13 meeting in Akhalkalaki to protest against the
withdrawal Russian bases.” According to the minister, this region,
which is mostly populated by Armenians, “was ignored by authorities.
But there is no supernatural in this.” “It is wrong that a lot of
people worked at the bases. According to my information, about 300
people worked there,” Khaindrava explained.

In his view, the absence of control over the Roksky tunnel “led to
the tragedy in Beslan.” “There is no control over the movement of
military forces and hardware through the Roksky tunnel,” the Georgian
minister pointed out.

“We consider this problem both of Georgia and Russia. The events in
the North Caucasus and Beslan prove of this. The interests of
Georgia, Russia and the region will be infringed upon until the
states’ sovereignty is preserved,” Khaindrava emphasised.

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 17 2005

GEORGIA WOULD LIKE TO GAIN POLITICAL ADVANTAGE FROM ARMS SCANDAL IN
THE UNITED STATES

TBILISI, March 17 (RIA Novosti) – The governments of Georgia, Armenia
and the other countries whose nationals have been detained by the
United States’ law-enforcement agencies closely cooperate with the
FBI in investigating the arms traffic case, American ambassador to
Georgia Richard Miles has told journalists on Thursday.

In the group of 18 foreigners detained in the United States on
accusation for arms traffic are four Georgian nationals.

“Together with citizens of Armenian and other countries of East
Europe, Nikoloz Nadirashvili, Vato Machitadze, Iosif Khabaradze and
Levon Shvelidze have been detained on accusation for taking Russian
arms to the United States”, Georgian ambassador to the United States
Levan Mikeladze reported by telephone from Washington.

“The accusation has already been brought”, he added. Lawyers have
been appointed for two detained Georgians. Representatives of the
Georgian consulate have already met with the lawyers, Mr. Mikeladze
said.

Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili reported at a cabinet
sitting on March 16 that the Georgian secret services participated in
investigating the attempt at arms contraband to the United States.

“We do not know where the arms intended for bringing to the United
States were from. It is known that they are of Russian make”, Ms.
Zurabishvili said.

“I have no information on whether the arms were brought from Georgia
or through its territory. Many arms are said to be brought from
Armenia”, she said.

“Georgia has many times said that control by the central Georgian
authorities should be established in the Roksky tunnel and on other
parts of the border. This case is another confirmation of such need.
Control is needed for the security of not only Georgia but also many
countries from which the arms may have arrived”, stressed the
Georgian foreign minister.

The Roksky tunnel, linking Georgia and Russia, has during the last 15
years been in control of the authorities of the self-proclaimed
republic South Ossetia.

American authorities have raised the accusation to 18 persons for the
attempt at the contraband of portable antiaircraft missile systems,
grenade-throwers, mortars and other arms to the United States.

DO NOT DRIVE THE RUSSIAN ARMY OUT OF AKHALQALAQ

A1+
14-03-2005

On March 13 there has been a three-hour meeting in Akhalqalaq in
which, according to the organizers, about 10 000 people took part. The
meeting with the theme «No to negative migration» was organized by the
non-governmental organization «United Javaxq». The participants of the
meeting complained against the decision of driving the Russian
military bases out of Akhalqalaq. The participant of the meeting
turned to the Georgian President Mikhail Sahakashvili with the
following demands:

«1. The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Georgian
Parliament;

2. Elimination of the prohibitions of teaching Armenian History in the
Armenian schools in Georgia and of Armenian pupils’ coming to Armenia
on excursions;

3. Not to drive the Russian military bases out pf Akhalqalaq;

4. Adoption of the Law about the Protection of National Minorities;

5. Restoration of the Administrative services in Akhalqalaq, e.g. that
of Passport department».

The organizers of the Meeting expect to get the answer to the
questions put forward by them before March 31.

Georgia PM believes withdrawal issue to be settled in near future
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 12, 2005

YEREVAN, March 12 — Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli believes
the Russian bases withdrawal issue will be settled in the near future.

The issue was discussed with Russian leaders, he said.

“I think, we’ll agree with Russian leaders in the near future on
withdrawal of Russian military bases deployed in Akhalkalaki and
Batumi from Georgia,” Nogaideli said.

Commenting on the results of his two-day working visit to Armenia,
the Georgian prime minister noted that he did not discuss the Russian
withdrawal issue in Yerevan.

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
Martedì Il 8 Marzo 2005

TURCHIA: ERDOGAN E BAYKAL, APRIREMO ARCHIVI MASSACRI ARMENI ;
GOVERNO E OPPOSIZIONE DISPOSTI A FARE LUCE SU ‘GENOCIDIO’

ANKARA

(ANSA) – ANKARA, 8 MAR – Governo ed opposizione turca si sono
detti concordemente disposti ad aprire gli archivi sui massacri
di armeni perpetrati negli anni 1915 e 1916, in epoca ottomana,
pur continuando a respingere la denominazione di “genocidio”
per quei massacri, che, secondo stime armene, portarono alla
morte di 1 milione di armeni, deportati da alcuni membri del
governo ottomano per “collaborazionismo” con la nemica, a quel
tempo, Russia.

E’ quanto e’ emerso al termine di un inusuale incontro oggi
tra il premier turco, Tayyip Erdogan, ed il leader del partito
di opposizione Chp, Deniz Baykal, al termine del quale i due
leader hanno affermato di essersi trovati “concordi” e di
voler “sviluppare l’atteggiamento ed i pareri comuni”
riscontrati sull’argomento.

“Non si puo’ fondare un futuro giusto su un passato
sbagliato. Siamo disposti a contribuire a fare luce”, ha detto
Erdogan che si e’ riferito ai massacri con l’usuale espressione
“cosiddetto genocidio armeno” aggiungendo che il resoconto dei
fatti contenuto nel noto “libro blu” (pubblicato 85 anni fa)
“non riflette tutta la verita'”.

“Siamo pronti ad aprire i nostri archivi, ma anche gli
armeni dovranno aprire i loro. Chiederemo anche ad altri paesi
di fornirci i documenti in loro possesso. Siamo pronti ad
accettare la verita’, ma solo la verita'”, ha dichiarato
Baykal, secondo cui “genocidio e’ una parola molto seria e
prima di usarla bisogna fare indagini molto approfondite”.

Baykal ha annunciato la formazione di una commissione
congiunta tra esperti dei due partiti per “illuminare la
realta’ dei massacri”.

La questione del “genocidio degli armeni” e’ uno dei punti
di maggiore conflitto tra la Turchia e l’Armenia, i cui confini
restano chiusi, anche se l’Ue ha chiesto ad entrambi di avviare
una normalizzazione delle loro relazioni.

Il parlamento francese ha qualche anno fa praticamente
riconosciuto, pur con alcune ‘nuances’, i massacri degli armeni
come “genocidio” (suscitando asprissime reazioni e boicottaggi
di appalti francesi in Turchia) e poche settimane fa il partito
cristiano democratico tedesco ha presentato una mozione al
Bundestag per approfondire la realta’ di quei massacri, senza
tuttavia menzionare il termine “genocidio”.(ANSA).

–Boundary_(ID_F0N0mxDg7OR2cunm5NtQkQ)–

Baltic News Service
March 11, 2005

ESTONIA TO GIVE DEVELOPMENT AID TO GEORGIA, UKRAINE, ARMENIA

TALLINN, Mar 11

Estonia is going to support five development aid projects targeting
Georgia, Ukraine and Armenia in the sum of 1.36 million kroons (EUR
0.09 mln).

The funds will come from the Foreign Ministry’s development aid and
humanitarian relief budget, spokespeople for the ministry said.

The aim of the first of the two Georgian projects is to share
Estonia’s experience of the organization and development of the
vocational education system and the work of vocational schools. The
plan includes a visit of Georgian vocational school leaders to this
Baltic state to study the local experience.

The objective of the second project is to work out a Tiger Leap
program of information technology development for the Georgian
Ministry of Education and Science, with a test phase scheduled for
this and the next year, and a follow-up stage for the 2007-2008
period.

Georgia has named the program the Deer Leap.

Two projects are aimed at supporting the development of public
service in Ukraine on both the central and the local government
level.

One of them is a sequel to an earlier training program carried out in
2000-2004. Its objective is to support Ukraine’s public service and
its development and political and economic reforms through educating
public servants. In the framework of the project two training
programs in Estonia for 12 Ukrainian environmental and social sphere
officials are planned.

In the framework of the second approved Ukrainian project Estonia’s
Polva County is going to share its social reform experience of the
past 15 years with Ukraine’s Kulikovka district.

The Armenian project is designed to help the Caucasian country
develop its population protection system and it will be carried out
through seminars, visits, training and humanitarian aid organized by
the Estonian Rescue Service and its institutions.

The Foreign Ministry noted that target countries’ interest in
Estonia’s reform experience and progress has lately been on the rise
and local organizations’ readiness to put their knowhow and
experience to use outside this Baltic state has also grown.

The ministry’s budget for development aid and humanitarian relief
this year stands at eight million kroons.