Author: Kalantarian Kevo

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:
HIS HOLINESS CALLS ON THE GERMAN CHURCHES TO SUPPORT THE RECOGNITION
OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
His Holiness Aram I has sent a letter to the spiritual head of the German
Protestant Churches, H.G. Bishop Wolfgang Huber, expressing his desire that
the German churches support the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
In the letter, His Holiness praises the efforts of the German Parliament in
adopting a resolution concerning the Armenian Genocide. “I understand that
there is a growing interest in Germany in respect to the Armenian Genocide
not only in academic but also in political circles. I also hear, with
special joy indeed, that political parties led by the Christian Democrats
will forward a resolution to the parliament aimed at the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. The parliament will discuss this matter in June 2005.
According to my information, in addition to the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, the German government intends to challenge Turkey to take a
similar action. Recently, according to the press, Chancellor Schröider
during his visit to Turkey has already made a similar reference.” notes His
Holiness.
His Holiness also praises German Chancellor Gerhard Schröider for bringing
up the issue of the Armenian Genocide during his latest visit to Turkey.
A long-lasting personal friendship and ecumenical relations connect His
Holiness and Bishop Huber. The latter has been a member of the Central
Committee of the World of Council of Churches and the two spiritual heads
have participated in many meetings in ecumenical circles together.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of th
e Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission 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.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Sydney Morning Herald , Australia
May 10 2005
Bush praises Georgia for blazing a trail to liberty
By Caren Bohan in Tbilisi
May 11, 2005
The Bush democracy wagon has trundled into the new republic of
Georgia, which the White House described as a “beacon of liberty for
the region and for the world”.
President George Bush was expected to show Washington’s support for
democratic freedoms in Russia’s backyard yesterday.
The first US leader to visit the ancient Christian nation in the
Caucasus mountains was scheduled to speak in the capital’s Freedom
Square, rallying point for a 2003 “Rose Revolution” that installed a
reforming, Western-looking government.
Georgia’s US-educated President Mikhail Saakashvili is hoping Mr
Bush’s visit will strengthen his hand in a dispute with the Kremlin
over the presence of two Russian military bases in Georgia, which he
has likened to an occupation force.
“By coming here he sends such a strong message of supporting
democracy and independence … it’s like encouragement for democracy in
the whole region,” he told reporters.
Mr Bush arrived yesterday morning at Georgia’s parliament building
which was decked with the stars and stripes and the country’s red and
white flag. The President shook hands with ministers before entering
the Soviet-style columned building.
Advertisement
AdvertisementWhite House spokesman Scott McClellan said Mr Bush would
tell the expected crowd of at least 50,000 that Georgia’s revolution
blazed a trail for Iraq, Lebanon and ex-Soviet Ukraine.
While Mr Bush would publicly congratulate the people of Georgia on
their peaceful revolution, his private message to Mr Saakashvili is
likely to be more nuanced. He will remind the Georgian leader that
democracy means more than elections, and further reforms are
essential if the former Soviet republic is to fulfil its European
Union and NATO membership ambitions.
The US National Security Adviser, Stephen Hadley, highlighted
Washington’s concerns about simmering disputes in the separatist
regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia’s attitude to its
Russophile, Azeri and Armenian minorities and the rule of law were
also seen as key tests of future progress, he suggested.
The US is anxious that an argument with Russia over closing two
Soviet-era military bases in Georgia, with 3000 troops, should not
rekindle broader tensions with the Kremlin. Despite continuing talks,
Mr Saakashvili cited this as his reason for boycotting Monday’s VE
Day celebrations in Moscow.
Mr Bush arrived from Moscow on Monday night after taking part in the
celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi
Germany, and sidestepping Washington’s political differences with
Russia. Mr Bush has criticised what he sees as backsliding in Russia
over democratic reform.
In contrast to the solemnity in Moscow, Mr Bush and his wife Laura
looked relaxed as they mingled with performers at a outdoor concert
of Georgian folk dancing on Monday.
Mr Bush bobbed his head in time to the music and, as he left, swung
his hips. His moves impressed Mr Saakashvili, 37. “Some dancers told
me they like his rhythm. He captured the whole thing immediately.”
The Bushes also dined in a nearby restaurant with Mr Saakashvili, a
fluent English speaker with whom, White House officials say, Mr Bush
has found a strong rapport.

Ponte CTO to Present at DFM Symposium
Dr. Ara Markosian to detail design-for-yield requirements.
BUSINESS WIRE
Monday May 9, 2005
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — May 9,
2005 — Ponte Solutions(TM), Inc., the
design-for-yield company, today announced that Ara
Markosian, Ponte chief technical officer, will present
at the Electronic Journal Design for Manufacturing
(DFM) Symposium at Sohyo Kaikan at Ochano-mizu, Tokyo,
Japan on May 12, 2005. In his presentation titled,
“Model-based Yield Analysis: An effective approach to
design stage yield management”, Dr. Markosian will
highlight Ponte’s approach to bridge the “yield gap”
between design and manufacturing, including a
comprehensive unified yield modeling platform,
high-capacity data processing, and robust yield
analysis.
“At 90nm and below, achieving steady and high yield is
becoming a major issue,” commented Dr. Markosian.
“Model-based yield analysis enables designers to
predict yield before tapeout and enables them to
enhance it – thereby reducing the cost of working
silicon and accelerating time-to-volume production,”
he added.
Dr. Markosian’s presentation will give the audience
deeper understanding of yield issues, yield modeling
platform and model-based comprehensive yield analysis.
For more information, go to
— under
seminar/symposium.
About Ponte
Ponte Solutions, Inc., the design-for-yield company,
manufactures and delivers unique full-chip,
model-based software products that are used to predict
and optimize semiconductor yields at the design stage.
Ponte customers include leading semiconductor
manufacturers, foundries and design houses worldwide.
Founded in 2002, the company has received funding from
Telos Venture Partners, US Venture Partners, Incubic
LLC, Silicom Ventures LLC and private individuals. The
company has offices in Mountain View, California,
Grenoble, France, Tokyo, Japan, and Yerevan, Armenia.
More information about the company can be found at
Ponte Solutions is a trademark of Ponte Solutions,
Inc. All other trademarks are properties of their
respective owners.
Contact:
Susan Mack Marketing
Susan Lippincott Mack, 650-743-7506
[email protected]
Source: Ponte Solutions, Inc.

UNITED ARMENIAN FUND
1101 N. Pacific Avenue # 301
Glendale, CA 91202
Tel: 818.241.8900
Fax: 818.241.6900

25 April 2005
UAF’s 133rd Airlift Delivers $5.2 Million of Aid to Armenia

Glendale, CA – The United Armenian Fund’s 133rd airlift arrived in
Yerevan on April 23, delivering $5.2 million of humanitarian
assistance.
The UAF itself collected $4.8 million of medicines and medical
supplies for this flight, most of which were donated by AmeriCares
($2.3 million), the Catholic Medical Mission Board ($1.7 million) and
Eli Lilly ($788,000).
Other organizations which contributed goods for this airlift were:
Nork Marash Medical Center ($111,000); Armenian Missionary Association
of America ($47,000); American University of Armenia ($34,000); Howard
Karagheusian Commemorative Corp. ($29,000); and Accuware Consultants
($22,000).
Also contributing to this airlift were: Srbouhi Hairapetian ($17,000);
Shushi Music School Society ($16,000); and California State
University, Northridge ($10,000).
Since its inception in 1989, the UAF has sent $408 million of
humanitarian assistance to Armenia on board 133 airlifts and 1,172 sea
containers.
The UAF is the collective effort of the Armenian Assembly of America,
the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Missionary
Association of America, the Armenian Relief Society, the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of America and the Lincy Foundation.
For more information, contact the UAF office at 1101 North Pacific
Avenue, Suite 301, Glendale, CA 91202 or call (818) 241-8900.

Czech president says Turkey most important EU candidate
Anatolia news agency, Ankara
5 May 05
Istanbul, 5 May: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday
[5 May] that the tendency of inwardness in Europe was very detrimental,
adding that this could harm the long-term EU perspective.
Erdogan met with Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Dutch Deputy Foreign
Minister and Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm and IMF first managing
director Anne Krueger in Istanbul the same day.
Prime Ministry high ranking officials said that in Erdogan-Klaus
meeting, Klaus said Czech Republic was the country which supported
Turkey’s EU bid the most. Klaus stressed that he favoured EU
enlargement and Turkey was the most important candidate of such
an enlargement.
Regarding Armenian claims, Klaus said that there was a general lack
of information and ignorance in the world about Armenian issue.
Issues of Cyprus, Iraq, and developments in Afghanistan were also
taken up in Erdogan-Klaus meeting.
[Passage omitted]

Azeri parliament urges Armenia to take constructive stance on Karabakh
Interfax news agency, Moscow
6 May 05
Baku, 6 May, Interfax-Azerbaijan: The Azerbaijani parliament adopted a
statement on Friday [6 May] on the 13th anniversary of the “occupation
of Susa [town in Karabakh] by the Armenian military”.
“Armenia’s position on the peace talks, its refusal to recognize the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, modern weapons supplies to the
Armenian army and cease-fire violations increase the danger of the
war resuming,” the statement reads.
[Passage omitted: background details]
The statement said that “the Azerbaijani parliament calls on Armenia
to take a constructive position on the peace process and give up its
actions impeding the negotiations within the OSCE Minsk Group”.
The parliament proposed that the UN General Assembly discuss the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization,
the Organization of the Islamic Conference, NATO and the European
Parliament deal with the problem.

KILLER WIFE JAILED FOR FOUR YEARS
The Express, UK
May 6, 2005
A MOTHER-of-three who killed her brutal husband after 13 years of
violence and sexual abuse began a four-year jail sentence yesterday.
Devout Christian Lana Yadgari, 32, admitted manslaughter after stabbing
her Muslim husband Sameh, 35, 19 times and then dousing his body with
petrol and setting it on fire.
Pressure group Justice For Women branded the sentence unduly harsh.
Weeks before the killing last year Yadgari was beaten so badly by
her husband she spent nine days in hospital.
Jailing her at Manchester Crown Court, Mr Justice Jeremy Cooke said:
“You were subjected to physical and sexual violence, coupled with
constant humiliation and abuse. The suffering did impair your
judgment.”
Yadgari and her husband, who was born in Afghanistan, married in 1990
after meeting at college in her native Armenia. The beatings began
when she gave birth to a girl instead of a son and would not convert
to Islam.
The couple came to England in 2002.
Yadgari, of Blackley, Manchester, killed her husband after she had
moved out with the children. He called round, threatened to rape her
and then drove her to a lonely spot. She thought he wanted to kill
her and stabbed him with a knife she found in the car.

A1plus
| 13:49:17 | 06-05-2005 | Politics |
BORDER OBSERVATION
Tomorrow in the contact line of the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed
forces the OSCE will organize the following observation. From the
Armenian side OSCE head special representative Anjey Kasprshik together
with commanders Pete Kean, Alexander Samarsky and a high-ranked
representative of the working group will take part in the observation.
>>From the Azerbaijani side of the OSCE head special representative
commanders Miroslav Vimetal, Torsten Ahren and a high-ranked
representative of the working group will take part in the observation.

Times Picayune, LA
May 5 2005
Aspiring surgeon knew the way to his dreams
Tulane standout was on eve of graduating
By Keith O’Brien
Staff writer
John Berberian was close — so close — to finishing a long, hard
journey that began at the Tulane University School of Medicine four
years ago.
His course work was done. Graduation was just three weeks away. And
his departure, even closer. Berberian, 29, was two days away from
leaving New Orleans. He had a neurosurgery residency awaiting him at
Georgetown University. And while his time in New Orleans had been
great, it was over. He told the school to mail him his diploma. As
always, he had dreamed up bigger and better plans. He was going to
Italy with his family.
And then, in a freakishly cruel caprice of fate, Berberian’s life
was snuffed out, his body and bicycle mangled by an 18-wheeler as he
pedaled along St. Claude Avenue last Thursday afternoon.
On Wednesday, friends and family buried the young man in Fresno,
Calif., and began packing for a trip to New Orleans rather than
Italy. Richard Berberian, John’s father, said Wednesday that he and
his wife, Barbara, will attend a May 19 memorial service Tulane has
scheduled in Berberian’s honor as well as the May 21 graduation
ceremony their son planned to skip. The grieving father wants to
meet the classmates who loved his son so much and be there to hear
him called doctor.
“His spirit,” he said, “will be graduating.”
Berberian was riding his bicycle west on St. Claude when the 18-wheeler
traveling in the same direction veered right onto Elysian Fields
Avenue, cutting him off, police said.
Berberian died at the scene. His father forswore vengeful thoughts
and instead expressed pity for the driver, who was not charged.
On the day he died Berberian was coming from the Navy office on Poland
Avenue, freshly promoted from ensign to lieutenant by the service
that had financed his medical education in exchange for a four-year
hitch upon its completion. In quiet testimony to that milestone — and
to Berberian’s humility about his many accomplishments — a friend,
Dr. Lori Summers, found three photos in the dead man’s pockets when
she retrieved his clothing from the coroner’s office Wednesday.
They documented the oath he had taken at his naval commissioning: a big
moment, one that comes with graduation, but that he had never mentioned
to Summers, even though she, too, is in the Navy. It was classic
“Johnny B,” his friends agreed, the mark of a humble and unassuming
man who in many ways was still just a kid who grew up on a California
citrus farm, even as he spun wild stories or crafted grand theories.
“I remember,” classmate Ron Shatzmiller recalled Wednesday, “that
I really wanted to be friends with him. Because when we went out to
parties with the class — when we were first-year students — he was
the most entertaining, the most well-spoken.”
Berberian was smart. He had three degrees from Stanford University:
a bachelor’s and two master’s, one of them in political science. He
juggled dreams, Shatzmiller said, of becoming, at times, an astronaut,
a CIA agent and even president. According to Summers, he was “the
best medical student I ever had.”
But it wasn’t until July 2003, when Berberian began a surgery rotation
and met Summers, that he finally stopped juggling dreams and decided
he wanted to become a neurosurgeon. It’s one of the most challenging
and competitive medical specialties. Tulane, for example, accepts
only one neurosurgery resident a year, Dr. Miguel Melgar said. But
Melgar thought Berberian was perfect for the job.
“He told me, ‘This is what I want to do,’ ” recalled Melgar, a skull
base and cerebral vascular surgeon at Tulane and the training director
at Charity Hospital. “I said, ‘Listen. You’re from California. You
guys have a nice lifestyle. Remember, you’ve got to be a commando
here. You can probably do something less demanding.’ .
. He said, ‘No, Dr. Melgar. This is what I want to do.’ ” .
Focused, Berberian was soon outpacing some first- and second-year
residents, Melgar and Summers said. He worked with patients suffering
from brain tumors, aneurysms and trauma injuries, and he did so well
treating them that Melgar said he would have given Tulane’s sole
neurosurgery residency spot to Berberian if he had asked for it.
Instead Berberian decided he wanted to go somewhere new. He matched
at Georgetown University in the winter, traveled to Armenia, where
his ancestors had once lived, and returned last month for his final
weeks in New Orleans.
It was nice, Shatzmiller said Wednesday, to finally just hang out
with his friend with no worries about school weighing on them, to
listen to his stories and laugh at his theories: on everything from
whom his friends should date to the logistics of commuting to med
school from a house on the beach. Now it is his classmates who are
telling stories about him.
“The thing that kills us,” Shatzmiller said, “is that he was the best
of us.”

Turkish PM may meet Armenian leader
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 3 2005
Baku, May 2, AssA-Irada – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan
may propose a tete-a-tete meeting with Armenian President Robert
Kocharian at one of the future international events, Turkish ‘Zaman’
(Time) newspaper quoted the country’s diplomatic sources as saying.
Erdogan earlier proposed to set up a joint commission to look into
the historic developments in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1918, falsely
referred by Armenians as ‘genocide’. Such a group comprising Turkish
and Armenian historians would study archives of Turkey, Armenia
and other countries and make the research results available to the
international community. The Armenian President rejected the proposal,
suggesting that the relations between the two countries be normalized
‘without any pre-conditions’.
Kocharian and the Turkish premier are due to attend the events
in Moscow dedicated to the 60 anniversary of Victory in World War
II on May 9 and a summit of the Council of Europe in Warsaw on May
15-16. A source from the Turkish premier’s administration said that the
Kocharian-Erdogan meeting may be held within the CE summit. However,
no agreement has been reached on the date and venue of the meeting yet,
the newspaper reported.
The Armenian administration said they are unaware of the planned
meeting.*