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:
ORDINATION AND ANOINTING OF BISHOPS IN ANTELIAS
His Holiness Aram I ordained and anointed V. Rev. Khoren Doghramdjian,
prelate of the Diocese of Greece and V. Rev. Shahan Sarkisian, prelate of
the Diocese of Aleppo, as bishops on April 9 and 10.
On the evening of Saturday April 9, the vowing ceremony of the new bishops
was held in St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral. Certificates from the
Dioceses of Greece and Aleppo, proposing that the primates be appointed as
bishops, were read during the service, by V. Rev. Krikor Chiftjian the
Master of Ceremonies.
The two primates declared their faithfulness to the creed of the Orthodox
Church. Then they read their vows and publicly announced their loyalty to
the Catholicosate of Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I and their readiness to
serve the Armenian Church and people.
On Sunday April 10 the anointing service was held. The service was conducted
by His Holiness Aram I. Bishops Kegham Khatcherian and Nareg Alemezian
joined His Holiness.
His Holiness anointed Bishop Khoren and Bishop Shahan with the Holy Chrism
and handed them the staff and Ring of bishops. After anointing the bishops,
His Holiness gave a special sermon, during which he stressed that the newly
anointed bishops will become servants of the Cathilcosate’s mission. His
Holiness emphasized the importance of keeping the vow to remain loyal to the
traditions of the Armenian Church and the principle of the Catholicosate of
Cilicia.
“The reason and the aim of the existence of our Holy See and your existence
are only to serve this people. Your worthiness, greatness, glory and pride
are in this service,” His Holiness said, adding: “The Armenian Church, with
all its hierarchal Sees exists as one entity for our people. And you are
called to be the servants of that unity through your dedication and
devotion.”
Members of the Cilician brotherhood, clergy guests and a large number of
faithful from Aleppo, Greece and Lebanon congratulated the bishops after the
service.
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View picture here:
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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the 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.

Azerbaijan News Service
April 2 2005
OSCE CHAIRMAN IN OFFICE CALLS ARMENIAN REGIME OF QARABAQ TO JOIN
PEACE TALKS
Dmitriy Rupel, OSCE chairman-in-office and foreign minister of
Slovenia met with Elmar Mammadyarov, Azerbaijani FA minister on April
2 within his visit to Baku. In the briefing after the meeting, he
affirmed giving statement during his visit to Yerevan on joining of
Armenian community of Qarabaq the talks on Armenian-Azerbaijan Daqliq
Qarabaq conflict. I have no authority to change format of the talks
said Dmitriy Rupel, OSCE chairman-in-office and added Armenian media
distorted some of his opinions. I met with representatives of
Armenian community of Daqliq Qarabaq. And recently talked with
Azerbaijani community. We have to listen to different ideas,
opinions. And continue talks in this way. I can neither change nor
make corrections to the format of peace talks process. The sides
should come to an agreement. I won’t speak about the sources you
cited. This is a problem, a conflict. I advise you not to believe
these sources. Dmiriy Rupel said he heard new interesting ideas from
Elmar Mammadyarov regarding settlement of the conflict and these
ideas need to be discussed with Vardan Oskanyan, Armenian FA
minister. OSCE chairman also spoke about repeated cease-fire breaches
in Azerbaijan Armenian front line during last weeks. Regarding the
release of three Azerbaijani soldiers held in Armenian captive since
February 15, OSCE chairman assured they would be released soon, as he
was told in Yerevan. Another question that Dmitriy Rupel touched was
upcoming parliament elections. He said OSCE is interested in
democratic elections. OSCE wants the elections to be held
democratically and free. But as a FA minister of Slovenia, I can say
there is a powerful government and weak opposition in Azerbaijan. In
my country, their powers are equal. I think we may contribute these
two sides by balancing their activity. Elmar Mammadyarov, Azerbaijani
FA minister didn’t exclude participation of representatives of
Armenian community of Daqliq Qarabaq and said Azerbaijani commu8nity
of Daqliq Qarabaq and OSCE experts should join the talks. But it
should be after official Baku holds negotiations with Armenia. After
his meeting in Foreign Affairs Ministry, Dmitry Rumpel was received
by president in his office. Armenian-Azerbaijan Daqliq Qarabaq
conflict creates a great danger to regional cooperation, stability
and peace. Position of Azerbaijan on the settlement of the conflict
is based on international law norms. Territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan must be restored, ID people must return to their houses.
Our demands are just those approved in international law norms said
president Ilham Aliyev. Stressing speedy development of integration
process in Europe, president Ilham Aliyev said future progress of
Azerbaijan is connected with close cooperation with European and
Euro-Atlantic organizations. Expressing his satisfaction with meeting
with the President OSCE chairman said the main issue they are
concerned about is Daqliq Qarabaq problem. Elections and democratic
development issues are at the center of attention of OSCE as well.

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
April 12 2005
The PKK cannot speak on the behalf of Kurds: Erdogan

The Turkish Prime Minister said that there was no Kurdish problem in
Turkey.

April 12 – There was no such thing as a Kurdish problem in Turkey,
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during an address at
the Nobel Institute in Norway Tuesday.
`If you say, ‘ there is a Kurdish question in Turkey,’ this is
unfortunately creating an artificial problem. There is no such
problem for us,’ Erdogan said.
Erdogan’s comments came as a response to a person in the
audience who said he was the representative of the Kurdistan National
Congress who said that almost 30 separate ethnic groups lived in
Turkey.
`The PKK cannot speak in the name of Kurds. Who are you to
talk about ending the war? Is there a separate state within Turkey?’
Erdogan said.
The Prime Minister also underlined that it was not possible
that the security forces of Turkey would not react to the acts of
terrorism.
As he was leaving a meeting with the head of the Norwegian
Parliament Erdogan was confronted by supporters of the terrorist
group the PKK. The Prime Minister escaped the eggs thrown at him by
ducking down, though his bodyguards were splattered by the thrown
eggs.
On Monday, Erdogan made a statement blaming the west and the
European Union for the raising the issue of the Kurdish question and
the so-called Armenian genocide. In his statement Erdogan said that
the west was confused over the terms of Kurds and the PKK and was
trying to divide Turkey.
`To show all Kurds as members of the PKK is very ugly. The
west is making use of this,’ he said.

The Gazette (Montreal)
April 10, 2005 Sunday
Final Edition
Events were tragic – but not genocide: Accusations are unfair.
Condemnation by Canadian Parliament was politically motivated
GERARD EMIN BATTIKA, Freelance
Members of the Turkish Canadian community have asked me to convey
their concerns and points of view about the alleged Armenian genocide
of 1915 and its recognition by the Canadian Parliament a year ago.
Unfortunately, Parliament acted as judge and jury. The vote on the
emotionally charged issue was not unanimous. Members of the cabinet
and several MPs voted against the resolution. The government said it
was non-binding and would not change Canada’s attitude toward the
republic of Turkey and the Turkish nation.
For our part, we were deeply offended to see that our ancestors were
accused of having been genocidal. In our opinion, Parliament’s
decision was politically motivated. After all, Armenians outnumber us
in Canada, and have been here longer.
Last April, Jeffrey Simpson of the Globe and Mail described the
Parliament’s move as “unnecessary, irresponsible and provocative.” He
accused the politicians of being “influenced by Armenian and Greek
descendants in their districts.”
The charge of Armenian genocide is a complex and multi-dimensional
question. Nicholas S. Ludington, senior associate of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace, describes the issue as “a swamp of
disputed historical facts.” In fact, it is the subject of genuine
debate among historians.
The disputed events have their roots in the 19th century when the
Ottoman Empire began to unravel. Armenians, seeking independence and
territory. co-
operated with the enemies of the empire. Their attacks against
officials sparked bloody clashes. Sadly, agitations, uprisings, harsh
measures and counter-attacks escalated for several years and turned
into a very serious situation during World War I.
At the time, the Ottoman Empire was in agony. In 1914, Ottoman
Armenian revolutionary groups formed voluntary units, set fire to
houses in eastern Anatolia and rose up in the rear of the Turkish
army, cutting it off from its base of supplies.
Armenian insurgents fought on the side of the invading Russian forces
and killed large numbers of Muslims to provoke retaliation.
Armenians maintain that only their losses were immense. They
consistently allege that agents of the Ottoman state killed unarmed
Armenian civilians. Survivors and independent historians state that
the rebels were well equipped with guns and ammunition. In our
opinion, neither side was blameless. Both sides have accounts to
reconcile.
As clashes continued in 1915, the Ottoman Empire decided to relocate
the Armenians from eastern Anatolia to Aleppo, Mosul and parts of
today’s Syria and Lebanon, thus clearing the war area and hinterland
of a disloyal group of people.
The text of relocation orders issued by the authorities was very
specific. All precautions were to be taken in order to guarantee the
safety of the relocatees. Officials were warned about tensions
between the Armenians and the Muslims, including the Kurds.
But unfortunately, the state mechanism collapsed. The displaced
Armenians became targets of lawlessness. Revenge-seeking tribes,
inadequate containment, involvement of Christian and Muslim deserters
and irregulars, as well as famine, sickness and harsh conditions
complicated the process.
It should be noted that the Ottoman government severely punished
those officials responsible for the sporadic killings, sending some
of them to the gallows.
It should also be noted that Ottoman Armenians living in Istanbul and
western Turkey were not affected at all, and that in 1918, the
Ottoman Empire granted permission to the displaced to return to their
homes. Thousands of them did.
In 1920, Armenians abandoned their claims on Turkey and proclaimed
the Republic of Armenia in the Caucasus as part of the Soviet Union.
In 1922, the Ottoman Empire faded into history.
The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923.More than 100,000 Turkish
citizens of Armenian descent live in today’s Turkey. They are
hard-working, well-liked people who make valuable contributions to
that beautiful country.
Regardless of accusations and counter-accusations surrounding the
conflicts between the Turks and the Armenians, we sincerely express
our feelings of regret over the sad events that took place 90 years
ago and which culminated in the death of large numbers of Turks and
Armenians alike.
We also regret that members of the Armenian diaspora are
misinterpreting those events by labelling them a genocide. We feel
that even the death of one Armenian or one Turk was too many. Turks
and Armenians had lived under the same flag for several centuries.
As Turkish Canadians, we reiterate our wish to see the establishment
of peaceful and healthy dialogue between the Armenians and the Turks.
We also reiterate our desire to see the formation of a joint group of
historians to conduct scholarly research on the issue, under the
light of fairness and within the framework of international law.
Gerard Emin Battika is honorary consul-general of Turkey in Montreal.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Journey along Silk Road proves to be captivating
By T.J. Medrek
Boston Herald
Friday, April 8, 2005
Poor Yo-Yo Ma – and lucky us. The classical superstar can try his best
to just blend into an ensemble, such as his own Silk Road Project. But
the eloquent sound he draws from his cello just naturally commands
attention, admiration and love. Of course, when Ma and his Silk
Roadies played a Bank of America Celebrity Series gig at Symphony
Hall on Wednesday, there was lots more to love than just the skill
of one of Cambridge’s most celebrated residents.
To my ears, last year’s Silk Road appearance underwhelmed. But
this year’s was taut and engaging from the start – and the audience
responded ecstatically. Certainly this year’s addition of several
musicians from such places as Armenia and Azerbaijan to the concert
was not only more in line with the Silk Road’s CD releases but also
more in line with its purpose.
Ma organized the Silk Road Project and its band to explore musical
traditions of countries along the ancient Silk Road, once the major
Europe-to-Asia trading route, and the impact of those traditions
on modern composers in the region. Add some Western instruments and
sensibility to the mix, and East meets West in still-new ways.
Ma got his time front and center, playing Franghiz Ali-Zadeh’s haunting
“Habil-Sayagy (In Habil’s Style)” accompanied only by the mostly
gentle sounds of Joel Fan’s prepared piano (think a mandolin crossed
with bedsprings). But for the rest he ceded the spotlight – if not
his persistent hold on our ears – to the likes of Gevorg Dabaghyan,
whose playing of the clarinet-like duduk was as expressive as a human
voice in settings of three Armenian folk songs. Composer and virtuoso
tabla player Sandeep Das’ improvisatory “Tarang” for percussion was
another standout. And sensational singer Alim Qasimov filled songs
from Azerbaijan with vocal prowess and astonishing authority.
The evening concluded with Ma and company playing rousing,
foot-stomping music of the Roma, including an arrangement of
“Turceasca” by Newton composer Osvaldo Golijov. To say that this Silk
Road Project sent everyone home happy would be understating it wildly.
Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, at Symphony Hall, Boston,
Wednesday.

ARMENIAN SERVICEMAN CAPTURED BY AZERIS APR 1
YEREVAN, APRIL 6. ARMINFO. An Armenian serviceman, 20, was captured
by the Azeri side in Noyemberyan district (Armenia) Apr 1, says
the international task group for missings, hostages and POWs in the
Karabakh conflict zone.
The group hopes that the Azeri side will be constructive in the
matter and will return the serviceman immediately after inspection in
compliance with the agreements signed in Tbilisi Mar 18. The group
says that it has warned the Nagorno Karabakh Republic authorities
that groundless delays in returning POWs might provoke counter-action
from the opposite side. “We regret to have proved to be right and
are urging again the NKR authorities to give back Hayal Abdulaev,
Hiqmet Tagiev and Ruslan Bakirov to ICRC,” says the group noting that
it sees no grounds for holding the Azeri soldiers for so long and
that this situation is preventing contacts by those responsible for
liberating POWs and finding missing people in the conflict zone. As
a public structure the group has no right to demand reporting from
the Armenian and Azeri sides but the latter have trusted the group
so far. The co-chair of the group Bernhard Klasen has repeatedly
inquired Arkady Ghoukassyan and other NKR top officials
about the Azeri POWs and received assurances of early release.
“The Mar 18 Tbilisi meeting of the Armenian and Azeri state committees
for POWs and MIAs has determined ways of further cooperation at a new
level. We hoped that NKR experts will shortly join in and get into
touch with their Azeri counterparts,” says the group noting that the
more time passes before the Azeri POWs are released the smaller the
mutual confidence is. Counter-actions will not only complicate the
general situation but will also harm those who are captured and may
be captured in the future. The group is ready to mediate the return
of the POWs to facilitate further contacts between the sides.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ACRA TO PASS TO CORPORATE GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLE
   YEREVAN, APRIL 6, ARMENPRESS: ACRA Credit Bureau, established to
provide risk assessment solutions to financial institutions and
commercial entities, said it will pass soon to corporate governance
system after being reorganized in May 2004 into a closed joint stock
company in an effort to attract the stakeholders of Armenian
financial community.
   Lusine Vardanian, head of marketing and public relations
department, said ACRA will have an advisory board with participation
of the EBRD, USAID, German KfW bank. She said negotiations are
underway with World Bank to attract its representative in the
advisory board, which she said would be a weighty factor in terms of
attracting new investments in Armenia’s economy. She also said
presence of these institutions in the advisory board is evidence of
ACRA’s transparency.
   She said also Dun&Bradster and German Schufa credit bureaus, which
according to Vardanian, also provide a broad range of related
information to their clients, are expected to invest in ACRA. ACRA is
expected to join the European Credit Bureaus Association.
   Among main services of ACRA are development and maintenance of
complete, reliable, and up-to-date database, market-driven decision
making processes, innovative spirit, application of progressive
technologies, etc.
   The principle of corporate governance was developed in
collaboration with Grant Thornton International (France) as a
component of its development plan, which reflects its overall
attitude towards developing sound management and business
environment, corresponding to internationally accepted standards
among successful corporations, including credit bureaus.
–Boundary_(ID_59W1/WLlX5rSpTlVXRyEMQ)–

SMALL EVENT DEDICATED TO GREAT WRITER
YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. On April 4, an event dedicated to Hrant
Matevosian’s 70th anniversary was held in the Republican Children’s
Library after Khnko-aper. The week of book and music started with
this event. According to Ruzan Tonoyan, Director of the library,
“this is a small event dedicated to a great writer.”

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian Studies Program
and the Armenian Students’ Cultural Association at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor will jointly commemorate the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide. Professors Kevork B. Bardakjian, Gerard
J. Libaridian and Ronald G. Suny will discuss various aspects of the
Genocide and, in a session following their talks, will respond to
questions from the audience. The evening will take place on Sunday,
April 10, 2005. A reception will follow the session. The public is
invited to attend.

Pope showing first signs of losing consciousness, Vatican says
AP Worldstream;
Apr 02, 2005
VICTOR L. SIMPSON

Pope John Paul II’s condition remains unchanged and “very grave,” and
he began showing the first signs of losing consciousness at dawn
Saturday, the Vatican said.
The 84-year-old pope’s health has rapidly deteriorated, with his heart
and kidneys failing after he suffered a urinary tract infection.
But John Paul is not in a coma and opens his eyes when spoken to,
papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters. He said the pope
was still speaking as of Friday night.
“Mass was celebrated at 7:30 this morning in the presence of the
pope,” although the pontiff did not concelebrate the rite, the
spokesman said. “Sometimes it seems as if he were resting with his
eyes closed, but when you speak to him, he opens his eyes,” he said.
When Navarro-Valls went to the papal apartment around 9:30 a.m. (0730
GMT) Saturday morning, the pope’s two secretaries, three nuns from the
papal household and his personal physician were with John Paul.
The Vatican said it would issue another update around 5:30-6
p.m. (1530-1600 GMT). It said its press office would remain open all
night for a second night.
Navarro-Valls said aides had told the pope that thousands of young
people were in St. Peter’s Square on Friday evening.
“In fact, he seemed to be referring to them when, in his words, and
repeated several times, he seemed to have said the following sentence:
‘I have looked for you. Now you have come to me. And I thank you,'”
the spokesman said.
Italy canceled all weekend soccer games Saturday out of respect for
the pope’s plight.
A Vatican cardinal, Achille Silvestrini, said John Paul was able to
recognize him and another cardinal Saturday morning, the Italian news
agency ANSA reported.
John Paul “gave some sign of recognizing people,” Silvestrini was
quoted as saying after paying a call on the pope with Cardinal
Jean-Louis Tauran.
“His slow death throes proceed … but he is showing strong cardiac
resistance,” the Italian news agency Apcom quoted Silvestrini as
saying after visiting the pontiff Saturday morning.
“I found him relaxed, placid, serene. He was in his bed. He was
breathing without labor. He looked like he lost weight,” Silvestrini
said.
“When I and Cardinal Tauran were brought into his room by Monsignor
Stanislaw (Dziwisz), who announced us in both Italian and Polish, the
pope showed with a vibration of his face that he understood,
indicating with a movement of his eyes. He showed he was reacting,” he
added.
For a second day, the Vatican announced a series of papal appointments
including a Spanish bishop, an official of the Armenian Catholic
Church and ambassadors to El Salvador and Panama.
John Paul’s overall condition, which has rapidly deteriorated since
Thursday, remained unchanged and very serious, the Vatican said.
“The general cardio-respiratory and metabolic conditions are
substantially unvaried and therefore very grave. Since dawn this
morning there have been first signs that consciousness is being
affected,” Navarro-Valls said.
One of the pope’s closest aides, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was quoted
Saturday as saying that when he saw the pontiff on Friday morning,
John Paul was “aware that he is passing to the Lord.”
The pope “gave me the final farewell,” the news agency of the Italian
bishops conference quoted the German cardinal as saying Friday night.
Tourists and pilgrims streamed anew into St. Peter’s Square on
Saturday, and around the world, priests readied Roman Catholics for
the pope’s passing. Many expressed hope that his final hours would be
peaceful.
“Now he prepares to meet the Lord,” Cardinal Francis George said at a
Mass in Chicago on Friday. “As the portals of death open for him, as
they will for each of us … we must accompany him with our own
prayers.”
A workman in the square, declining to give his name, told The
Associated Press that crews were taking down the canopy on the steps
of St. Peter’s Basilica, which had covered an altar during Easter
Sunday Mass, because they had orders to clear the space for when the
pope’s coffin eventually is carried into the square.
In a sign of the pope’s decline, several cardinals from the United
States and Latin America said they were heading to Rome. After the
official mourning period following the death of a pope, cardinals hold
a secret vote in the Sistine Chapel to choose a successor.
The Il Secolo XIX newspaper of Genoa reported that the pope, with the
help of his private secretary Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, wrote a
note to his aides urging them not to weep for him.
“I am happy, and you should be as well,” the note reportedly
said. “Let us pray together with joy.”
However, Navarro-Valls said he couldn’t confirm the report, even after
speaking to the pope’s secretary.
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, head of the Vatican’s health care
office, told Mexico’s Televisa dal Vaticano that the pope “is about to
die.”
“I talked to the doctors and they told me there is no more hope,” the
Mexican cardinal told the television channel.
As word of his deteriorating condition spread across the globe,
special Masses celebrated the pope for transforming the Roman Catholic
Church during his 26-year papacy and for his example in fearlessly
confronting death.
Hospitalized twice last month after breathing crises, and fitted with
a breathing tube and a feeding tube, John Paul has become a picture of
suffering.
His papacy has been marked by its call to value the aged and to
respect the sick, subjects the pope has turned to as he battles
Parkinson’s disease and crippling knee and hip ailments. The pope also
survived a 1981 assassination attempt, when a Turkish gunman shot him
in the abdomen.
In Washington, the White House said U.S. President George W. Bush and
his wife were praying for the pope and that the world’s concern was “a
testimony to his greatness.”
Cardinal Marcio Francesco Pompedda, a high-ranking Vatican
administrator, visited the pope Friday morning and said he opened his
eyes and smiled.
“I understood he recognized me. It was a wonderful smile _ I’ll
remember it forever. It was a benevolent smile _ a father-like smile,”
Pompedda told RAI television. He told the Milan daily Il Giornale the
pope was lying in bed propped up by pillows, and twice tried but
failed to say something.
“There were various tubes, and an intravenous drip, but I confess that
I didn’t dwell on these details,” said Pompedda, adding that the pope
appeared to be “suffering but serene.”
John Paul’s health declined sharply Thursday when he developed a high
fever brought on by the infection. The pope suffered septic shock and
heart problems during treatment for the infection, the Vatican said.
Septic shock involves both bacteria in the blood and a consequent
over-relaxing of the blood vessels. The vessels, which are normally
narrow and taut, get floppy in reaction to the bacteria and can’t
sustain any pressure. That loss of blood pressure is catastrophic,
making the heart work hard to compensate for the collapse.
Dr. Gianni Angelini, a professor of cardiac surgery at Bristol
University in England, said the chances of an elderly person in John
Paul’s condition surviving septic shock more than 48 hours was no more
than 20 percent, “but that would be in an intensive care unit with
very aggressive treatment.”