Author: Kalashian Nyrie

LARGE POTENTIAL FOR MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE IN ARMENIA AND UKRAINE
Pan Armenian
13.10.2005 21:21 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Speaker Artur Baghdassaryan today met
with newly appointed Ukrainian Ambassador to Armenia Aleksandr
Bozhko, reported the Press Service of the NA of Armenia. In
the course of the meeting the parties discussed matters of
development of Armenian-Ukrainian inter-parliamentary and inter-state
relations. A. Bozhko said he was pleased with his repeated appointment
for the office of the Ambassador to Armenia. He said promotion of
relations between the parliaments would underlie his diplomatic
mission.
In his words, both countries have chosen the way of European
integration. At that he indicated the large potential of mutual
assistance available in Armenia and Ukraine. Specifically, the
legislative experience of Armenia may be useful to Ukraine on the
way to WTO accession, while Ukrainian experience will help Armenia in
holding constitutional reforms. A. Bozhko informed Artur Baghdassaryan
on the domestic situation in Ukraine. Besides, the parties discussed
constitutional reforms in Armenia. The Ukrainian diplomat noted
their importance. A. Baghdassaryan noted that the constitutional
referendum is scheduled November 27 and there are all preconditions
for Armenia to make a move forward in strengthening democracy and
European integration with nation-wide accord. The Armenian Speaker
attached much importance to strengthening the ties between the two
parliaments and new quality cooperation – this one being at the level
of inter-parliamentary commissions.

PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS NOT AFFECTING PEACE TALKS – OFFICIAL
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 13 2005
Baku, October 12, AssA-Irada
The government sees no reasons for a ‘timeout’ in talks on settling
the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper Garabagh conflict due to the November
parliament elections, deputy foreign minister and the President’s
special envoy on the Upper Garabagh conflict said.
“The peace talks were suspended after the Kazan meeting of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in a move to once again look
into the gist of the discussions”, Araz Azimov told journalists
on Wednesday.
Azimov said the ‘talks should be continued till the end’, as the
resources available for this have not been exhausted yet. “There is
a high chance for Armenia in the talks and official Yerevan should
use it while it can”, he added.*

TURKEY: JOURNALIST CONVICTED ON CHARGE OF ‘INSULTING TURKISH IDENTITY’
CPJ Press Freedom Online, NY
Oct 13 2005
New York, October 12, 2005-The Committee to Protect Journalists
condemns the conviction of a Turkish-Armenian journalist on a charge
of “insulting and weakening Turkish identity through the media” An
Istanbul court on Friday sentenced Hrant Dink, 52, editor-in-chief of
the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, to a six-month suspended
term. Dink and his lawyer, Fethiye Cetin, plan to appeal.
The charges stemmed from a series of articles Dink wrote in early
2004 dealing with the collective memory of the Armenian massacres of
1915-1917 under the Ottoman Empire. He called on Armenians to move
beyond historical anger toward Turks and “turn to the new blood of
independent Armenia.”
Turkish law, even under recent legal reforms, allows for journalists
to be criminally prosecuted and imprisoned for their work. Dink was
prosecuted under a provision of the new penal code that states:
“A person who insults Turkishness, the Republic, or the Turkish
Parliament will be punished with imprisonment ranging from six months
to three years.” Turkish authorities did not elaborate on what they
considered insulting in Dink’s work.
Dink, who founded Agos in 1996, was sentenced the same week talks
began on Turkey’s application to join the European Union.
“This is a political decision because I wrote about the Armenian
genocide and they detest that, so they found a way to accuse me of
insulting Turks,” Dink told CPJ. He said he is prepared to take the
case to the European Court of Human Rights to clear his name.
Turkey does not acknowledge as genocide the killings of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks at the beginning of the 20th century. The European
Parliament has conditioned Turkey’s entry to the EU on its formal
recognition of the killings as genocide.
“Despite official promises, Turkish journalists continue to be
criminally prosecuted for their work,” CPJ Executive Director Ann
Cooper said. “At the heart of this case are the dozens of laws in
Turkey that can make free expression a crime. Free expression will
remain limited in Turkey as long as these laws are on the books.”
Award-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk was indicted in September
under the same penal code provision after an interview he gave to
a Swiss magazine earlier this year in which he said, “one million
Armenians were killed in Turkey.” His trial is set for December 17.
Dink faces additional charges for making critical comments at a
2002 human rights conference about Turkey’s national anthem and
a daily oath taken by Turkish schoolchildren in which they say,
“Happy is the one who says, ‘I am a Turk.’ ” Dink said then that he
did not feel like a Turk, but like an Armenian who is a citizen of
Turkey. He will appear in court in February for those remarks.

NO VIOLATIONS OF CEASE-FIRING REGIME FIXED DURING MONITORING OF CONTACT LINE OF ARMED FORCES OF NK AND AZERBAIJAN
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 12 2005
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN. On October 11, according to an
agreement reached with the NKR authorities earlier, the OSCE mission
held a plan monitoring of the contact line of the armed forces of
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the direction of Aghdam, around
the settlement of Yusifjanle.
The group implementing monitoring from the positions of the NKR
Defence Army was headed by Andrej Kasprczik (Poland), the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office. Olexander Samarski
(Ukraine), and Harry Eronen (Finland), the Field Assistants of the
Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office as well as
the head of the OSCE High Level Planning Group were in the group.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the NKR Foreign Ministry’s Information
and Analytical Department, the monitoring was held corresponding to the
scheduled regulations, no violations of cease-firing regime were fixed.
Representatives of the Ministry of Defence of Nagorno Karabakh and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accompanied the monitoring mission
by the Karabakh side.

REPORTS ON MURDER OF AZERI SOLDIER BAKU MEDIA CANARD
Pan Armenian
11.10.2005 15:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The reports on an Azeri servicemen being killed
in a skirmish at the contact line of the Armed Forces of the NKR
and Azerbaijan are false. This was stated by NKR Defense Ministry
Spokesperson Senor Hasratyan in a conversation with PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. It should be reminded that October 10 Azeri media spread a
statement by Ilgar Verdiyev, a representative of Azerbaijan’s MOD, that
” October 9 a 19-year-old Azeri servicemen was killed in a skirmish
at the contact line of the Armed Forces of the NKR and Azerbaijan.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN POLICEMEN TOOK PART IN TACTICAL-PRACTICAL EXERCISES OF RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS IN KUBAN
Pan Armenian
11.10.2005 13:11 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A delegation of the Police of the Republic of
Armenia took part in the tactical and practical exercises of special
elements of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs held in Kuban
October 10. The exercises were titled Actions of Forces and Means
of Internal Affairs Bodies to Suppress Mass Disorders in Settlements
and Avert and Suppress Seizure of Objects of Government Bodies. The
exercises aimed at working out and fixing actions for fighting terror,
reported the Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of Russia. Armenian
policemen arrived in Kuban September 24 exchange work experience with
their colleagues from Krasnodar Territory State Department of Internal
Affairs (SDIA). September 26-27 Kuban Militia and Armenian Police
officers studied methods of forming special destination elements, their
material and technical equipment, types of technical means these are
armed with, as well as rules of use of fire-arms. Besides in the SDIA
riffle range they practiced shooting with elements of psychological
and physical load. September 28 delegation representatives perfected
their close fight skills, defense modes against threat of use of cold
steel and fire-arms. They also worked out personnel actions on alarms
and alerts. The Armenian Police delegation will stay in Kuban till
October 12.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
October 9, 2005 Sunday 1:17 PM Eastern Time
Monument to Russian Cossacks unveiled in Yerevan
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
A monument to Russian Cossacks who died in the Russian-Persian and
Russian-Turkish wars in Armenia was unveiled in Yerevan on Sunday.
The monument was installed near a Russian Orthodox temple and the
Russian military base.
The monument location is not accidental, Yerevan Mayor Yervand
Zakharyan said at the ceremony. A Cossack regiment, who helped to
free Armenia from the invaders, was deployed on the place. Now it is
the location of a Russian military unit. “The fact that the monument
was unveiled on the Yerevan City Day is another proof to the lasting
friendship and brotherhood between peoples of Armenia and Russia,”
the mayor said.
“Russia and Armenia are connected by ties of kinship and
brotherhood,” Rostov Governor Vladimir Chub said. “Our countries have
been dynamically developing, and this development is rooted in our
history,” he said. A large Armenian community took residence in the
Don area in the times of Empress Yekaterina II, he said.
The history is not only the constructive labor but also the blood
spilled in the fight for independence, and it is a great sin to
forget about that, Kuban Cossack Troop Ataman Vladimir Gromov said.
“Today’s event is an important reminder for future generations,” he
said. “Russia and Cossacks have always been together with Armenia,
and at present our states and peoples are loyal to commandments of
their ancestors,” he said.
Head of the Rostov Armenian community Eduard Vartanyan financed the
monument project.

HETQ.am
Sevan – a Reflection of Armenia’s Ecological Problems
October 3, 2005
Armenian experts have lately been forced to make modifications in the
classification of Armenia’s ecological problems, which had gone unchanged
for decades. Until 2004-05 that list was as follows – Lake Sevan, air
pollution in Yerevan, forest management, soil degradation, emissions
control, the preservation of endemic species and so on.
Minister of Ecology Vardan Aivazyan said that the Sevan issue was now
entering its second stage. This means that if so far the problem was to
prevent the water level from dropping, now the concern is to control the
rising level of water and to supervise it, as well to ensure that it does
not happen due to dirty water.
Sevan in the region
Sevan has great significance for the whole region. Vladimir Movsisyan, the
vice-President of the Lake Sevan Expert Committee and member of the National
Water Board, mentioned the limited reserves of drinking water in the world
and cited findings by English researchers, which claimed that in the near
future one liter of fresh water will have greater value than one liter of
oil. The largest body of fresh water in our region is Lake Sevan, and by our
region Movsisyan does not just mean the South Caucasus, but also the Near
East.
The high altitude of the lake (1916 m above sea level) also allows for the
natural flow of drinking water to all the centers of the region – Yerevan,
Baku, Tbilisi, Tavriz, Baghdad and so on.
However…
Sevan was “vegetating”, until 2000
>From 1933, the largest lake in the region was exploited carelessly and
without any measures taken for replenishment. 26 cubic kilometers of water
were released from a total volume of 58 cubic kilometers for electricity and
irrigation purposes, thus lowering the water level by 19 meters. Naturally,
various parameters changed drastically – the temperature and acidity of the
water were no longer the same, the level of nitrogen products rose in the
water, and phosphorus levels dropped. This caused the lake to “vegetate”.
“Vegetating” for a lake means to stagnate. Experts describe it in a harsher
fashion, “The lake turned from a developing one into a dying one.” Finally,
in the 1960s, Soviet scientists came to understand this. Calculations were
made and programs were planned that would lead to a rise in the water level
by at least 6 meters, which would stop the stagnation, and would bring the
water quality closer to drinking standards. It would then be possible to
consider other measures to further raise the water quality. But even these 6
meters seemed unrealistic back then.
Nevertheless, the Soviet republic took a series of steps that not only aimed
at lowering the flow of water away from the lake, but also at providing some
inflow back into Sevan. That was the purpose behind the Arpa-Sevan-Vorotan
tunnels, the reservoirs of Aparan, Azat and Her-her as well as the pump
stations and irrigation systems at Ranchpar and Mkhchyan. According to
Vladimir Movsisyan’s data, these structures cost more than US $500 million.
However, the outflow of water for electricity generation and irrigation
continued.
How long?
In his interview with us, Minister of Ecology Vardan Aivazyan said that the
1999 Presidential Order to cease outflow from Sevan for electricity purposes
was critical in saving the lake. Besides this, the Parliament also passed a
“law regarding Sevan” in 2001, which outlined the volume of permitted
outflow. Thus, if the annual outflow of water from the lake earlier
constituted up to 1-1.5 billion cubic meters (with an annual minimum of 256
million cubic meters), this law limited it to 150-170 million cubic meters
per year. Experts in this field say that the outflow for irrigation is
strictly within legal limits. The Complex Program for the Replenishment of
the Sevan Ecosystem, which planned to raise the level of the lake by 6-6.5
meters over 30 years, was also accepted as law.
Nature disrupts plans
While scientists and officials were deciding to raise the water level by an
annual 22 cm to reach their stated target after 30 years, Sevan was a step
ahead of everyone. Over the last three years, the water level has risen by
an annual average of 40 cm. It would seem at first that the whole country
would rejoice at this news, but rumors doing the rounds in ecological
circles since July suggest something quite different.
Information surfaced in the Armenian press suggesting that the government
wanted to arrest this rapid rise in the water level because many rich people
had built houses and hotels on the shores of Sevan, considering the possible
future rise in water level to be unlikely, and now this rise was threatening
these structures.
When the Ministry of Ecology organized discussions in this regard,
representatives of ecological NGOs voiced concerns that their greatest fear
was coming true – the government was not thinking about Lake Sevan, but
rather about the interests of the owners of legal and illegal structures
built on its banks. Gagik Tadevosyan, former president of the parliamentary
ecological committee and currently a permanent member of the Eurasian
committee of the Convention to Combat Desertification said, “These
discussions aimed at gauging the attitude of the NGOs, to lay the foundation
for the arrest of the rise in water level. They shouldn’t have organized a
discussion, they should have accelerated the realization of the annual plan
within the Sevan Complex Program.”
The Ministry of Ecology announced that the government did not wish to slow
the rising level of the lake, but wanted to make it more manageable. “Our
aim is not just to raise the water level at Sevan, but also to raise it with
clean water,” said the program representatives. “Raising it with clean
water” means to clear the area around the banks of any vegetation, forests
and structures before they are submerged, to install water pipes for nearby
towns and a road which would replace a nearly 30 km segment of the national
highway which is also under threat of submersion. The government of Armenia
plans to do so over a period of 30 years, and needs to raise the required
US$ 300 million taking the deadline into consideration. The Minister of
Ecology said that, at this rate, the lake will rise by 6-6.5 m of water in
10-12 years. “A four-year interim program gave results that were 2.5 times
greater,” field experts proudly said, admitting that heavy precipitation
also had a big role to play in the revival of Sevan.
One step forward, two steps back?
On September 1, 2005, when the government took the decision to increase the
irrigational water outflow from Sevan to 150 million cubic meters, raising
it by 30 million cubic meters, Gagik Tadevosyan said, “They are already
lowering the water level, or, to be more accurate, they aren’t letting it
rise.” Tadevosyan admitted that it was for the experts to say whether the
extra 30 million cubic meters were necessary. However, he also added that
the rumors mentioned above say a lot more about any such decision than the
suggestion that it was done for irrigational purposes. Vladimir Movsisyan,
vice-President of the Lake Sevan Expert Committee, considered the extra
irrigational outflow to be justified, considering the relatively dry summer
and low precipitation this year. The Ministry of Ecology also added that
this decision was within the guidelines of the law regarding Sevan.
Sevan keeps rising and growing in beauty
“If this goes on, the Sevan peninsula will be an island again,” said an old
man standing on the shore, his voice filled with glee. The waves were
noticeably higher, and the marshy portions from last year were gone without
a trace. The vacationers on the beach said that they were very happy with
the higher water level – the water was cleaner, and it’s always more
pleasant to swim in cleaner water. Even those who had leased portions of the
beach were happy, although their business could suffer because of it. The
rising water has already covered some of the beaches and continues to
threaten others, including some of the structures built on them. In this
case, the owners would be forced to lease other land, and also to remove
mobile structures from where they could be submerged to safer areas.
However, it is difficult not to believe that their positive reaction is
genuine, even if the situation is against their financial gain. After all,
they realize that if the lake were to stagnate, they would be lose their
business completely.
No need to panic
Today 410 hectares of land has been submerged by the rising waters, of which
100 hectares were artificial forests and do not threaten to pollute the
lake, according to experts. But if the program to raise the water level by
6-6.5 m is realized, then 4427 hectares of land would be submerged, of which
3130 hectares is covered by forests.
“I am categorically for raising the water level by 6 meters and I don’t
understand this level of concern. Why are we so panicked that it’s rising?
We took certain steps and caused the water level to rise,” said Movsisyan.
The lack of financial means at this point to prepare the surrounding land
for further rise in the water level does not worry Movsisyan either. He said
that the residential areas around the lake had a shortage of firewood. There
was no need to complicate the situation by announcing tenders or
competitions. If the government were to appeal to the local population, they
would gladly cut the trees in the area and clear the land. As for preparing
the remaining land for the rising waters, the finances required are not
large, according to Movsisyan.
“The Caucasus – one home”
Solving the Sevan problem will not end Armenia’s ecological concerns. And in
general, in contrast to communist times, it is very difficult, and almost
impossible, ecologically clean one country separately.
“The Caucasus is one home,” said Minister of Ecology Vardan Aivazyan,
“Nature knows no borders, it is continuous and ubiquitous. Civilized society
should accept responsibility for maintaining nature.”
Aivazyan said that rough calculations put the population of the South
Caucasus at around 15 million. According to him, there are three main
concerns for those 15 million people, which are the joint and integrated
management of water, preservation of ecosystems and especially endemic
species, as well as the control of industrial emissions.
The minister assured us that there already is cooperation with Georgia over
control of illegal deforestation. He also mentioned a unique “exchange”
program involving the mouflon species from Armenia and royal deer from
Georgia.
So far cooperation with the Azerbaijani side has been limited to social
interaction – joint discussions, round tables and seminars. However,
Aivazyan said that it was necessary for the ministers of the two countries
to meet, which the Armenian side had proposed, with no reaction from
Azerbaijan so far. Why did Armenia officially not react to the news in
Azerbaijan that Armenia was releasing cholera bacilli into the Arax river,
which would then flow in Azerbaijan? “From time to time, Armenia responds to
such baseless and absurd allegations, proposing visits by any international
organization and monitoring in any format as well as in any area that causes
concern to our neighbors. That could be deforestation, radioactive waste, or
toxic-chemical pollution. But the Azerbaijani side never reacts to these
proposals, despite the existence of a number of potential joint programs. On
the contrary, Azerbaijan always politicizes these issues,” said the Minister
of Ecology. Speaking specifically about Arax, he gave the following
explanation, “Arax flows through Iran before entering Azerbaijan. So if we
were to pollute the river, Iran would be the first to complain. But Iran has
no complaints.” The Ministry of Ecology thought it pertinent to announce
once more, for everyone in the whole of the South Caucasus, the decision of
the Armenian authorities regarding the willingness to cooperate extensively
over ecological (and not only ecological) issues in the region, despite the
presence of conflicts and contradictions. An example of such cooperation
could be the German “Caucasus Initiative” program, which includes
allocations of 10 million euros to the three republics for work in the
sphere of ecology. Armenia has already signed the contract, received the
money, and is preparing to found the “Arpi” national park on the Javakhk
plateau. Georgia is slightly behind, while Azerbaijan is still in the
negotiation stage.
Arevhat Grigoryan

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
October 6 2005
CATHOLICOS ARAM CONCLUDES CANADIAN VISIT;
CURRENTLY IN CALIFORNIA; WILL ARRIVE IN NY OCT. 19
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, concluded
his successful Pontifical Visit to Canada, and has now arrived in Los
Angeles to begin his visit to the Western Prelacy. Following his 15-day
visit to California the Catholicos will arrive in New York on October 19 to
begin his visit to the Eastern Prelacy.
For details about His Holiness’s visit to the Eastern Prelacy
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN WILL ATTEND WCC ANNUAL MEETING
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan will attend the World Council of Churches
(WCC) Annual Meeting in Chicago, October 10-12. His Eminence is currently in
California where he joined the Catholicos’s entourage.
The Annual Meeting and the Pre-Assembly Youth Gathering are in
preparation of the WCC’s 9th General Assembly, which will convene next year
in Brazil.
ARMENIA FUND, USA, PREPARES FOR ANNUAL TELETHON
Armenia Fund, USA, has announced its plans for its 2005 telethon. The
annual event will be aired on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, throughout the
world. During the 12-hour broadcast Armenians worldwide will have an
opportunity to raise funds needed to embark on a three-year “Rebirth of
Artsakh” Regional Development Program, which includes programs of
agricultural and economic support to the region. For information about the
broadcast go to or contact Armenia Fund at
866-446-6237.
BIBLE STUDY AT THE PRELACY
A new session of Bible Study will begin at the Prelacy the first and
third Mondays of the month starting November 7, from 7:15 to 8:45 pm. The
five-session course will focus on the birth stories of Jesus as presented in
the Gospels according to Matthew (1-2) and Luke (1-2). The study will be led
by Dn. Shant Kazanjian, Director of the Armenian Religious Education Council
(AREC). For further information contact the AREC office at 212-689-7810.
A MINI-DATEV PROGRAM WILL TAKE PLACE IN ILLINOIS
A Mini-Datev program for junior and senior high school students will
take place in Techny, Illinois, November 11 to 13. The weekend program will
be a short version of the popular annual summer Datev program in
Pennsylvania, acclaimed by scores of participants as one of the most
successful youth events. The “Mini-Datev” program will include interactive
presentations, discussions, Bible studies, worship services, fellowship and
activities.
V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General, and Deacon Shant
Kazanjian, Director of the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC) will
conduct the program. Space at the retreat center is limited. Enrollment is
on a first-come first-serve basis. Participation fee is $60, which includes
lodging, meals, seminar materials, and activities.
For information contact the AREC office, 212-689-7810 or Dr. Arsen
Mekaelian, 847-309-0408.
AREC SEMINAR IN GRANITE CITY
A one-day seminar on “The Church” by the Armenian Religious Education
Council (AREC) will take place on Saturday, October 15, at St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church, 1014 W. Pontoon Road, Granite City, Illinois.
The morning session, following Sunrise Service and breakfast, will be
led by Dn. Shant Kazanjian, who will speak about “The Church According to
the New Testament.” The afternoon session, following a lunch break, will be
led by Dr. Robert Phenix and Dr. Cornelia Horn.
To register or for additional information contact the church at
618-451-7884.
HOLY TRANSLATORS REMEMBERED
This Saturday, October 8, the Armenian Church commemorates the lives and
accomplishments of the Holy Translators, including Mesrob, Yeghishe, Moses
the Poet, David the Philosopher, Gregory of Narek, and Nerses the Graceful.
The Feast of the Holy Translators is one of our most popular feasts.
There are, in fact, two commemorations. One is on the Thursday following the
fourth Sunday after Pentecost which occurs either in June or July, and on
the second Saturday of October.
The October commemoration focuses on the invention of the Armenian
alphabet (405) and on the accomplishments of the Holy Translators. Mesrob
Mashtots, the founder of the alphabet, and Catholicos Sahak, together with
some of their students, translated the Holy Bible (Astvadzashounch, Breath
of God). Schools were opened and the works of world-renowned scholars were
translated. Their efforts gave the Armenian Church a distinct national
character.
In more recent times, the entire month of October has been designated as
a “Month of Culture.” Armenians throughout the Diaspora and Armenia mark
this with a variety of cultural events not only in remembrance of the past,
but also in celebration of modern-days scholars and translators.
1600th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ALPHABET
This year the commemoration of the Holy Translators takes on a special
meaning because we are celebrating the 1600th anniversary of the creation of
the Armenian alphabet. As part of this worldwide celebration, the Eastern
Prelacy and Harvard University are sponsoring an international conference
bringing together noted scholars and specialists. The conference will take
place at Harvard University, October 28 and 29. During the Friday evening
opening, His Holiness Aram I, who is currently on a visit to North America,
will be present and offer his message. The keynote address of the conference
will be given by Professor Michael Stone, Professor of Armenian Studies,
Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
For more information click here
“.the alphabet created by Mesrob became a spiritual and intellectual force
in the formation of our people’s national identity. It became the bright sun
illuminating the road of our people’s history. It became the ever-flowing
spring irrigating the life of our people with spiritual values. Furthermore,
it became a powerful stronghold fortifying our struggle to survive. And, in
addition to all this, the golden Armenian language embodied by the alphabet
became the supreme gift sent by God and the road to eternity securing and
grounding the unity of our people. The Armenian alphabet, flowing from the
lips of Armenian children, rising to heaven through prayers of Armenian
priests, flowing from the limpid springs of the Armenian mind and soul,
became and remains for us the living and life-preserving presence of God in
the life of our people.
>From the encyclical issued by Catholicos Aram I in commemoration of
the 1600th anniversary of the invention of the Armenian alphabet
Calendar of Events
October 19-November 1-Visit of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great
House of Cilicia, to the Eastern Prelacy, commemorating the 75th anniversary
of the establishment of the Cilician Seminary in Antelias, Lebanon. For full
details click here
October 21-St. Stephen’s Elementary Day School PTO (Watertown), “Food & Wine
Festival,” 7 p.m. at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown,
Massachusetts.
October 28-29-Mashtots Conference celebrating the 1600th anniversary of the
founding of the Armenian alphabet, at Harvard University. Jointly sponsored
by the Eastern Prelacy and Harvard University Mashtots Chair, Department of
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
November 4, 5, 6-Annual Bazaar and Food Festival, Sts. Vartanantz Church,
461 Bergen Blvd., Ridgefield, NJ. For information, 201-943-2950.
November 4 & 5-St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, annual bazaar
at the Armenian Cultural & Educational Center.
November 6-St. Stephen Armenian Apostolic Church of Hartford-New Britain,
Connecticut, will celebrate its 80th anniversary. Archbishop Oshagan
Choloyan will be the keynote speaker. The program will include a slide show
presentation two non-Armenian Peace Corps volunteers who recently returned
from serving in Armenia.
November 11-13-Mini-Datev program for the Midwest parishes, Techny Towers
Conference Center, Techny, Illinois, for junior and senior high school
students. Sponsored by the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC). For
information and registration contact AREC, 138 E. 39th Street, New York, NY
10016, 212-689-7810.
December 4-St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church of Granite
City, Illinois, will celebrate its 51st anniversary, with the presence of H.
E. Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan.
December 31-New Years Eve dinner-dance, Sts. Vartanantz (NJ) and ARF Dro
Gomideh, Parsippany Hilton. Information: 201-943-2950 or 201-945-0011.
February 26-Musical Armenia 2006 concert, 2 p.m., at Carnegie Hall’s Weil
Recital Hall, New York City. Featuring Duo Maesteso (California) and Zulal
(New York). Watch for details.
March 5-Sts. Vartanantz (NJ) 2006 membership meeting.
March 17-19, 2006-Sunday School Teachers’ Conference at the Wonderland
Conference and Retreat Center in Sharon, MA.
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RUSSIA AND EU SHOULD COOPERATE FOR SETTLEMENT OF “FROZEN” CONFLICTS
Pan Armenian
05.10.2005 13:13
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Truszczyñski
stated today that Russia should more closely cooperate with the EU
for the settlement of the “frozen” conflicts on the post-soviet
territory. “Russia and the EU are obliged to settle the Nagorno
Karabakh, Abkhazian, South Ossetian and Transdnetrian conflicts,”
he stated when addressing an international conference in Moscow. “If
we work jointly we will be able to help the people living in the
conflict zones”, he added.
–Boundary_(ID_c0y84+N9HWxn+q+2TvpH4A)–