Author: Khondkarian Raffi

WHEN BILINGUAL IS SILVER, TRILINGUAL IS GOLD
By Domenico Maceri
The Seoul Times, South Korea
Oct 18 2005
Special Contribution
Asian students in the US “English gets boring sometimes” stated
Donna Nguyen, a senior at James Lick High School in San Jose,
California. Donna does not get bored very often. She can speak
English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. She can also read and write these
languages. So when she graduated from high school, she received
a recognition for her fluency in the form of a newly-instituted
bilingual certificate.
Her accomplishments are marked on her diploma as well as her
transcripts. The bilingual certificate is a new program available
only in a small number of American schools. It should be expanded to
recognize and encourage multilingualism, which is essential to make
it in today’s world.
To qualify for the bilingual certificate, students need to demonstrate
linguistic fluency and literacy in at least two languages. Students
need to show their language skills by passing an Advanced
Placement test in a foreign language if their native language is
English. Students whose home language is not English must pass an
Advanced Placement test in their home language and also pass the
state’s English standardized test.
Although the most likely combination is English-Spanish, the 82
students who met the criteria at Eastside Union School District in
San Jose also included French and German.
Glendale Unified School District, northwest of Los Angeles, also
recognizes bilingualism. On graduation day, students who can speak
two languages wear a silver medallion and trilingual students wear
a gold one. In 2004, one student qualified in Armenian, Russian,
German, and English.
Montreal in Canada Although the U.S. is a country of immigrants,
the native languages brought in tended to disappear quickly. Indeed,
being an American often meant speaking English and only English. Those
sentiments are still alive and well but more and more people are
beginning to see the value of bilingualism. It’s not just the marketing
value of two or more languages. International relations pretty much
dictate that monolingualism is not just a disadvantage but a danger
as well.
Serious shortages of bilingual personnel, for example, have been
reported in many areas of government. Soon after 9/11, it was revealed
that a vast amount of data had not been analyzed because of limited
linguistic resources.
In both Afghanistan and Iraq, US government officials have had to rely
a lot on local interpreters and translators and the results have been
far from positive.
The situation is so bad that the American government is considering
a targeted military draft for people with special skills such as
computer knowledge or foreign languages.
Unfortunately, bilingualism still conjures negative images in the
minds of some Americans. Some fear a Balkanization of the country
upon hearing the word bilingual. Images of Canada come to mind right
away. Also, fear that bilingualism may not lead to integration of
new arrivals pushes people to lobby for English-only laws.
Twenty-seven states have passed laws declaring English the official
language, but nothing has changed with regards to reducing immigration
nor the number of languages people speak.
Quebec City in Canada Fear that immigrant kids were not learning
English fast enough pushed California, Arizona, and Massachusetts
voters to virtually do away with bilingual education. The laws
eliminating bilingual education have been passed through the referendum
process in which voters were asked to choose along simplistic lines
of English-yes and Spanish-no.
Yet, most states are continuing bilingual education programs, which
in spite of their name, are not designed to develop skills in two
languages. Bilingual education programs in the U.S. aim to use the
students’ native languages as a springboard to eventual English-only
instruction by ensuring that immigrant students don’t fall behind
academically those born in the U.S.
Developing bilingual skills is really the focus of dual-language
schools which teach subjects in two languages. The numbers of these
type of schools in the U.S. are very small but they are expanding
rapidly as parents increasingly realize the value of bilingualism
for their kids.
Unfortunately, dual-language schools do not go beyond junior high
school. In the vast majority of American highs schools the focus is
on English. So when some high schools begin to recognize and foster
bilingualism, it’s an event worth celebrating.
As English increases its dominance in the world as the language to
know, it’s too easy to rest on our laurels and let the others learn our
language. It’s also dangerous. The smart thing is to go for the gold.
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“ROYAL-ARMENIA” IS IN THE “WAR”
Panorama
18:08 13/10/05
As jurist of the “Royal-Armenia” company Gevorg Minasyan informed,
Ashot Sargsyan will be a new advocate of president of the company
Gagik Hakobyan and the vice-president Aram Ghazaryan.
Let us remind you, that both president and vice-president of the
company were recently called to the National Security and were
arrested. Nobody knows what was the reason for the arrest. But Gevorg
Minasyan implied that the State Tax Service, by all means, has sent
some materials to the NS.
The thing is that “Royal-Armenia” and State Tax Service have been
‘battling’ with each other for already two years. The tax service was
periodically checking the documents of the company, and the company,
in its turn accused the tax service in corruption. As a result
“Royal-Armenia” brought a civil sue against the STS.
If the National Security wins the ‘battle’ so what about the coffee
war?

ANTI-SMOKING CENTER TO CHARGE $50 TO HELP GET RID OF DANGEROUS HABIT
Armenpress
Oct 13 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS: Smokers wishing to give up this
pernicious habit can from now on pay $50 to doctors of a special
anti-smoking center who will help by medications and psychological
consultations to quit smoking.
The center was inaugurated yesterday at a Yerevan hospital. The
treatment of each patient will depend on the extent of their tobacco
dependence. David Petrosian, the chief manager of the center, cited
some figures yesterday saying that this sort of centers have helped to
reduce the number of smokers in the USA and some European countries
from 70 to 25 percent. The center has a dietitian to consult people
fearing they may put on weight after quitting smoking.
The World Health Organization estimates that 63.7 percent of Armenian
men are smokers – the highest rate in Europe. By comparison, an
estimated 60 percent of men in neighboring Georgia are smokers and
31.2 percent in Azerbaijan.
Armenia’s first ever restrictions on smoking in public places came
into force on March 2nd 2005, prohibiting smoking in hospitals,
cultural and education institutions and public transportation. There
are no mechanisms in place for enforcing the measures, and to date
there is little evidence of compliance with the restrictions.

DEPUTY FM DISMISSES CRISIS GROUP STATEMENT
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 13 2005
Baku, October 12, AssA-Irada
Deputy foreign minister and the President’s special envoy on the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper Garabagh conflict Araz Azimov has dismissed
the credibility of a recent statement by the International Crisis
Group, an organization working to prevent conflicts worldwide.
Azimov said it includes ‘erroneous views’, which is due to ‘either
the lack of awareness or their being incompetent’.
“A number of organizations like ICG operate in the world and their
activity is unofficial. Their report and recommendations are certainly
nothing but their own ideas.”*

LEBANESE SHED FEW TEARS FOR SYRIA’S FEARED ENFORCER
By Lin Noueihed
Reuters AlertNet, UK
Oct 12 2005
BEIRUT, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Abu Hussein could barely conceal his smirk
when he heard that Syria’s dreaded former security chief in Lebanon
was dead.
“This is a blessing because he harmed and betrayed Lebanon and
God punishes the wicked,” chuckled the porter, seated on his stool
outside a residential block in Beirut. “It’s the best news I’ve heard
all year.”
For two decades, Ghazi Kanaan was the chief enforcer of Syrian policy
in neighbouring Lebanon, where he was feared by friend and foe alike.
Many Lebanese learned the hard way not to cross Kanaan’s troops and
“moukhabarat” agents, who never hesitated to use force against those
who got in their way.
Few Lebanese shed a tear over news of the Syrian major-general’s
apparent suicide.
For Bilal Mattar it revives painful memories of his two-day detention
by the Syrians as a teenager during the 1980s.
Mattar, now 28, and his friend had started a fight with a Syrian man
who banned them from playing football near his house.
“They took us and shaved our heads. They tied us up and beat us and
beat us and put cigarettes out on our tongues,” he recalled in the
Beirut electrical goods store he runs.
“You can’t imagine what they did. We virtually crawled out.”
Families of some Lebanese who went missing during the country’s
1975-1990 civil war, say their loved ones remain locked up in Syrian
jails to this day, though Syrian troops and security agents withdrew
from the country amid uproar in April.
Three weeks before he was found dead in his office, U.N.
investigators had questioned Kanaan over the assassination of Lebanese
former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Many Lebanese blame Syria for the Feb. 14 bomb blast that killed
Hariri. Damascus denies any role, but was forced to end its military
and political domination of Lebanon following local protests and
intense global pressure following Hariri’s death.
BEHIND BARS
Four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals are already behind bars, awaiting
trial on murder charges. The U.N. probe is expected to present its
findings this month.
“If he wasn’t guilty, why would he have done that. He must have been
expecting bad news from the report,” said Leila Ahmadieh, a housewife
who broke into a grin at the news.
“This is a happy ending after he oppressed so many Lebanese. Everyone
eventually gets what he deserves; Saddam Hussein was the most brutal
criminal of all and look how he ended up.”
Kanaan left Lebanon after a 20-year sojourn in 2002 to head the Syrian
Political Security Directorate, before becoming interior minister
in 2004.
He handed over his headquarters at the Armenian town of Anjar in the
Bekaa Valley and his office in a west Beirut hotel, to his successor
Rustom Ghazali.
By then, Syria’s grip was unchallenged, only to be swept away
dramatically three years later by a Lebanese and international outcry
over Hariri’s death.
“All I can say is: you reap what you sow. Now he is facing God’s
justice,” said Munir Ibrahim, a retired man chatting to friends on
a street in Beirut.
“One shouldn’t speak ill of the dead but suffice to say, I hope he
drags the rest of them behind him, one by one.”

SUMMARY OF SYNOD OF BISHOPS: 14TH GENERAL CONGREGATION
Kath.net, Germany
Oct 12 2005
VATICAN (kath.net/VIS)
During the Fourteenth General Congregation of the Eleventh Ordinary
General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, held this afternoon in
the Vatican’s Synod Hall, apart from speeches by the Synod Fathers,
the fraternal delegates were given an opportunity to address the
gathering. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal Juan Sandoval
Iniguez.
At the start of this afternoon’s session, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic,
secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, recalled that today is the
43rd anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II and the feast
of Blessed John XXIII.
Following are excerpts of some of the speeches delivered by fraternal
delegates and Synod Fathers:
METROPOLITAN JOHANNIS ZIZIOULAS OF PERGAMO, GREECE. “It is a great
honor for me to be given the opportunity to address this venerable
episcopal Synod and bring to it the fraternal greetings and best
wishes of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Church of
Constantinople. The invitation to our Church to send a fraternal
delegate to this Synod is a gesture of great ecumenical significance.
We respond to it with gratitude and love. We Orthodox are deeply
gratified by the fact that your Synod also regards the Eucharist
as the source and summit of the life and mission of the Church. It
is extremely important that Roman Catholics and Orthodox can say
this with one voice. There may still be things that separate our
two Churches but we both believe that the Eucharist is the heart of
the Church. It is on this basis that we can continue the official
theological dialogue of our two Churches, which is now entering a
new phase. Eucharistic ecclesiology can guide us in our efforts to
overcome a thousand years of separation. For it is a pity to hold
the same conviction of the importance of the Eucharist but not be
able to share it at the same table.”
REV. FILIPPO VAYLTSEV OF THE PATRIARCHATE OF MOSCOW, RUSSIA. “The
Eucharist is the central and most important point of the life of the
Church and of every Christian. Hence, the weakening of Eucharistic
awareness leads to a destruction of ecclesiastic awareness, … and to
errors in the understanding of Christian values. … We would be very
pleased if our experience of Eucharistic life, both past and present,
proves useful and helpful to the Roman Catholic Church. …
It must not be forgotten that preparation for communion in the Russian
Orthodox Church also includes, apart from inner preparation, ‘The Rule’
(strict fasting for three days, visits to Church during these three
days, prayers for communion, and special Eucharistic fasting after
midnight), and Confession is also compulsory. However, these strict
rules are seen by the Church not as an obligation, but as a measure
that was formed historically in accordance with tradition, and that
people apply to themselves.”
MOR SEVERIUS MALKE MOURAD OF THE SYRO-ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE, SYRIA.
“In our Syrian Orthodox Church, we celebrate the divine liturgy
in Syriac-Aramaic, the language of our Lord Jesus; and during the
divine liturgy the very same words which Jesus said in the Upper
Room are recited. And the priest who celebrates this Sacrament, has
to celebrate it alone. I feel proud that I live in the Monastery of St.
Mark in the Old City of Jerusalem, where Jesus had His Last Supper.
.. The presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist is not only His.
bodily presence, but all His fullness in humanity and divinity. So
Lord Jesus is present in all parts of the two elements. … St. Paul
the Apostle exhorts the believer to spiritually prepare himself before
he comes to receive holy communion with faith, reverence and a pure
conscience, and should cleanse his body and observe the pre-communion
fast at 12 midnight. We used to give the sacraments of holy communion
to the children immediately after they receive the sacraments of
Baptism and Confirmation.”
BISHOP NAREG (MANOUG) ALEMEZIAN, ECUMENICAL OFFICIAL OF THE GREAT
HOUSE OF CILICIA, ARMENIA. “The Armenian word used to designate the
Holy Eucharist is ‘Surp Patarag,’ which means holy sacrifice. In the
liturgical life of the Church we are at God’s service (liturgy) and
offer sacrifice of thanksgiving (Eucharist) for gifts received from
Him. Holy Eucharist is centered on the sacrificial giving of our Savior
and generating a communion of love with God and our fellow beings by
the power of the Holy Spirit. … In assessing the constructive role
of bilateral and multilateral ecumenical dialogues in discussing the
theme of ‘Church as Communion,’ I encourage all of us to engage in
the study of Eucharistic ecclesiology, which situates the unity of
the Church in the local celebration of the Holy Eucharist presided
over by the bishop in communion with his brother bishops. In this
respect, the distinctive role of the bishop is underlined as the one
who takes care of the flock entrusted to him by the Good Shepherd,
tending it with a love that is most fully revealed in the Eucharistic
partaking of the one bread for a spiritual and universal communion
in the mystical Body of Christ.”
BISHOP JOHN HIND OF CHICHESTER, ENGLAND. “I bring greetings from the
Archbishop of Canterbury and request for prayers for Anglicans at a
difficult time. … When is it appropriate to share holy communion?
How should we interpret the public giving of communion to the
Protestant Frere Roger Schutz? The Eucharist is not primarily a matter
or rite or ceremonial but a living of the new life in Christ.
If it is to be truly Christian, there must be criteria for mutual
recognition. No less important is the extent to which we suffer
with each other. … In the Eucharist it is not our fellowship that
is being celebrated, but our reconciliation with God which creates
our fellowship. … If the Eucharist is itself ‘Mysterium fidei’
then it must follow that our fellowship or communion in the Church
is also a ‘mysterion,’ in other words, speaking something we cannot
understand by reason alone. Finally, being united with Christ in His
self‑offering orients us not only towards God but also towards
every single one of our human brothers and sisters, for whom in their
amazing diversity the Son of God gave His life.”
CARDINAL GERALDO MAJELLA AGNELO, ARCHBISHOP OF SAO SALVADOR DA BAHIA,
BRAZIL. “We know how, from the first centuries of Christianity,
special attention was paid to faithful who could not participate in the
celebration of Eucharistic sacrifice, which was why the conservation
of the Eucharist was instituted, to meet the various requirements
of such situations. … I would like to underline the situation
of the sick, prisoners and elderly people who have difficulty in
moving independently. I would also mention here the need to train lay
faithful to promote visits by a priest for sacramental reconciliation,
and then to continue their pastoral care by bringing Eucharistic
communion. Today, many persons feel alone because they lack close
relatives, or because they have been placed in permanent nursing
homes, or due to the difficulties in walking that force them to remain
confined to their beds with no possibility of receiving visits from
relatives and friends, or even rejected because they are no longer
productive. In a world with so many means of communication, people,
even healthy people, often live in isolation and silence. However,
in moments of suffering people become sensitive and needful of an
expression of God’s goodness and mercy.
Thus God needs our efforts and our testimony to fulfill the experience
of His love.”
FIFTEENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION
This morning in the Synod Hall, the Fifteenth general Congregation of
the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops was held. The
president delegate on duty was Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo,
and 239 Synod Fathers were present.
Given below are excerpts from some of the speeches delivered this
morning by Synod Fathers and auditors:
ARCHBISHOP OSWALD THOMAS COLMAN GOMES OF COLOMBO, SRI LANKA. “We have
to promote a visible demonstration of our faith in the Eucharistic
Lord. And this has to be done more in deed than in word. Reference
has already been made here to many abuses and aberrations in the
celebration of the Eucharist and gross lack of reverence for the Most
Blessed Sacrament. … Particular reference has been made to secularism
and relativism. It is unfortunate that these are even creeping into
Asia. While respecting common liturgical norms we need to make a deep
study of the cultural patterns of the various worshippers and have them
integrated to our liturgy. The cultural patterns of people differ from
continent to continent, and often from country to country. Therefore
liturgists in these respective areas will have to make a study of
these patterns and integrate the highest forms of adoration into the
adoration of the Eucharist. … Finally, today we have the serious
problem of Christian fundamentalism which affects our belief in the
Eucharist. This Synod has to address its mind to this danger. Else
it would be like an effort to plant a beautiful tree – our faith in
the Eucharist – when there is a dangerous virus attacking it.”
BISHOP ANGEL FLORO MARTINEZ I.E.M.E., OF GOKWE, ZIMBABWE. “Let me
inform you of the main challenges our faithful are facing, not of a
theological but of a pastoral nature. The first challenge concerns
the availability or accessibility of the Eucharist to many of our
Catholics. The shortage of priests and the scattering of our faithful
in our vast rural areas means that priests are available to them for
the Eucharist only once a month, every two months or even longer.
This challenges the centrality of the Eucharist in the lives of our
Catholics. Could our rural Christian communities that rely mostly on
the celebration of the Word be called Eucharistic communities? This
is an interesting question that could be discussed in our working
groups. The second challenge concerns the Eucharist and Marriage. The
Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) published a second
pastoral letter on the Eucharist this year under this heading,
exhorting the faithful to appreciate the greatness of the Eucharist and
its deep relationship with the dignity of the Sacrament of Marriage,
and to regularize their situation. Many Catholics who used to receive
the Eucharist in their youth no longer do so in their adult lives
because of irregular marriages.”
CARDINAL GEORGE PELL, ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. “Many Synod
Fathers have spoken of the difficulties experienced by the Church
throughout the world. Some of these are caused by our own mistakes.
Vatican Council II brought great blessings and substantial gains,
for example, continuing missionary expansion and the new movements
and communities. But it was also followed by confusion, some decline,
especially in the West, and pockets of collapse. Good intentions are
not enough. … My recommendations to the Synod on how to deal with
these ‘shadows’ presuppose the maintenance in the Latin Church of
the ancient tradition and life‑giving discipline of mandatory
celibacy for the diocesan clergy as well as the religious orders. To
loosen this tradition now would be a serious error, which would
provoke confusion in the mission areas and would not strengthen
spiritual vitality in the First World. It would be a departure
from the practice of the Lord Himself, bring significant practical
disadvantages to the work of the Church, e.g. financial, and weaken
the sign value of the priesthood; it would weaken, too, the witness
to loving sacrifice, and to the reality of the Last Things, and the
rewards of Heaven. … Communion services or liturgies of the Word
should not be substituted for Mass, when priests are available. Such
unnecessary substitutions are often not motivated by a hunger for the
Bread of Life, but by ignorance and confusion or even by hostility
to the ministerial priesthood and the Sacraments.”
BISHOP LUIGI PADOVESE O.F.M. Cap., APOSTOLIC VICAR OF ANATOLIA,
TURKEY. “I speak as bishop of the Church of Anatolia, an area that saw
the first great expansion of Jesus’ message and in which Christians are
now reduced to just a few thousand. The only Christians in the city
of Tarsus, homeland of the Apostle Paul, are three nuns who welcome
pilgrims; pilgrims who must get a permit in order to celebrate the
Eucharist in the only remaining church-museum.
The same is true for the church-museum of St. Peter in Antioch. In
that city was born John Chrysostom, the 16th centenary of whose death
in exile falls in 2007. With his homilies, Chrysostom reminds us that
the Eucharist was and is the privileged place for announcing Christ.
His memory, as well as the more recent recollection of bishops such as
Clemens von Galen and Oscar Romero, is a living testimony of the bond
between the memorial of Jesus’ sacrifice and the people who found
therein the motivation and strength for a proclamation undertaken
with intelligence and courage and frankness.”
BR. ALVARO RODRIGUEZ ECHEVERRIA F.S.C., PRESIDENT OF THE UNION
OF SUPERIORS GENERAL, COSTA RICA. “The ‘Instrumentum laboris’ of
the Synod underlines the Church’s hope in its young people. Young
people today, living in globalized cultures marked by the incessant
change of perspectives, and in a society ruined by so much economic
insecurity and by the glorification of violence, find it difficult
to articulate the story of their lives in a way that gives meaning,
direction and purpose to their youthful dreams. Today more than
yesterday, then, we need to satisfy the thirst and hunger felt by
young people as they search for a mystical experience of union with
Jesus. There is not doubt that He is a force attracting young people
today. … Drinking from the source that is the Eucharist, … they
also find the strength to discover in this world their own crucified
brothers and sisters, those who suffer under the oppression of wars,
of violence, of hunger. Those without a future. From this source
and summit, they come away burning with a new passion, and with the
strength of grace to participate in the Church’s mission in society and
in the world. … The Eucharist is also the summit whence all (young
people’s) actions flow. In this way, the Eucharist is not unconnected
to the social and political concern felt by Christ’s disciples among
the men and women of the world, especially among the poor.”
MOYSES LAURO DE AZEVEDO FILHO, FOUNDER AND MODERATOR GENERAL OF THE
SHALOM CATHOLIC COMMUNITY, BRAZIL. “One of the most important fruits
of the Eucharist which we must cultivate is ‘parresia.’ Parresia
is a Greek word which in the New Testament takes on the meaning of
audacity in proclaiming Christ. In the period of carnival, in Brazil,
when youngsters are exposed to serious dangers, the Catholic Shalom
Community promoted … a moment of adoration before the Most Holy
Sacrament. It was impressive to see what many consider impossible:
one hundred thousand young people in deep adoring silence before
the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This was a prelude to
Cologne. Even more impressive were the fruits of this and of other
actions of this type: many conversions, a large number of confessions,
commitment to the Church with a return to participation in Mass, an
awakening of priestly vocations, and love and service to the poor. We
discovered that the best reply to the challenge of secularization is
to present Christ with audacity!”

DR. VAHAKN ATAMYAN ELECTED BY 52%
Gibrahayer e-magazine, Cyprus
Oct 12 2005
(Gibrahayer – Nicosia 11, October) 48 year old Dr.Vahakn Atamyan is
the new representative of the Armenian community in the Cyprus House
of Representatives. He will serve for eight months. He won 52% of the
vote in last Sunday’s by-election, that was held after the death of
Bedros Kalaydjian, who passed away last month.
His candidacy was supported by the Shahoumian Communist faction,
the Henchagian Social Democrats, Ramgavar Liberal Party, the AGBU
and Melkonian Alumni.
The Armenian community of Cyprus gave Parsegh Zartarian’s independent
candidacy 4% of the vote while Dashnaktsoutiun’s candidate –
Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Cyprus – 33 year old
Dr.Antranik Ashdjian gained 44% of the electorate. (detailed results
on ).
The results were extremely similar to the 2001 vote. Issues
like the closure of Melkonian, the regression of our community’s
Armenian character and the primitive methods of conducting day-to-day
community affairs, the lack of transparency and checks and balances,
made minimal impact on a community that has been heading downwards,
towards a doubtful future littered with scandals, mismanagement and
lack of imagination.
NEWS IN BRIEF
~UThe situation in Akhalkalak is very tense. Tax officers from
Akhaltsakha closed 10 stores demanding acquirement documents for
the goods they traded. Shop-keepers told them that they bring goods
from Tbilisi and get no document there. A few hundred residents of
Akhalkalak gathered before the town administration protesting about
the activities of the tax officers.
~UA 43-year-old Van Nuys man – Melkon Gharakhanian – was arrested
on eight felony counts of federal mail fraud in connection with an
alleged investment scam that bilked about $20 million from mostly
Armenian-Americans, many of whom were from Glendale.
~UFrench President Jacques Chirac said that Turkey would need to
undergo a “major cultural revolution” before entering the European
Union, and he reiterated that France would hold a referendum on
admitting Ankara to the bloc.
~UThe French Insurance Company Axa agreed to pay $17 million to
descendants of life insurance policyholders who perished during the
Armenian Genocide.
~UThe decision of who will be given the Nobel Prize for Literature
has been delayed due to a split among the judges. The announcement is
now scheduled this Thursday. The split occurred over honoring Turkish
writer Orhan Pamuk author of several books including “My Name is Red”
and “Snow”. Pamuk faces trial later this year for having said that
Turkey was GUILTY of the Armenian Genocide.
~UDubai International Properties, a leading property developer
based in the U.A.E., has agreed to invest $5 billion in projects in
Istanbul. The deal between the company and the Istanbul municipality
was signed late Thursday at a ceremony presided over by Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – a former Istanbul mayor – and Dubai’s
Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum.
~UA journalist in Turkey has been found guilty of insulting Turkish
identity and given a suspended six-month jail sentence by a court in
Istanbul. Hrant Dink, of Armenian-Turkish descent, wrote a newspaper
column which he argued was aimed at improving relations between
Turkey and Armenia. The prosecution interpreted one part as an insult,
but Mr Dink has said he will appeal against the ruling. The verdict
follows criminal code reforms as Turkey seeks to join the EU.
The article written by Mr Dink addressed the killings of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians during Ottoman rule.
Gibrahay calendar ~UCartoonist Massis Araradian in Cyprus. His best
collection of Armenian and International political satire will be
exhibited at The Utudjian Hall of the Armenian Prelature on Friday
October 14, 2005 at 8:00 pm. Organised by The Hamazkayin Oshagan
Cyprus Chapter. Dinner at AYMA will follow by reservation only with
Alice Nadjarian on 99689948.
~UBadanegan meetings – for children from 7- 12 years old – have begun.
They take place every Saturday at 4:00 pm at AYMA.
~UAYMA/HMEM Chicco football practices take place every Friday at 7:30pm
at AYMA ~UEric Simonian invites you to Orpheas Piano Bar. Every Friday:
Spanish Duo Band Flamengo and Salsa. Starting from October 7, 2005,
Italian Chef Sergio at your service. Every Saturday Blues Night with
guitarist George. Marie Louise Kouyoumdjian will soon be performing
at Orpheas Piano Bar together with Eric Simonian. Details to follow.
~UBadanegan meetings – for children from 7- 12 years old – have begun.
They take place every Saturday at 4:00 pm at AYMA.
AYMA/HMEM Chicco football practices take place every Friday at 7:30pm
at AYMA ~UArmenian Radio Hour on The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation
via real audio on . Broadcast 17:00-18:00 local Cyprus
time (14:00-15:00 GMT). Armenian news every Friday, Saturday, Sunday
and Tuesday.
~UNew Year’s Eve Dinner and Dance in London
Harout Pampoukdjian and his Band will be performing in London at the
Royal Lancaster at Hyde Park – London on Saturday 31 December 2005.
Organised by HOM (Armenian Relief Society), Hamazkayin and HMEM.
~UThe Honourary Consul of Brasil, Mr. Garo Keheyian, invites you to a
series of Brasilian cultural events in Nicosia, throughout the month
of October. For more information, visit

NKR AND ARMENIA STRENGTHEN JUDICIAL – LEGAL TIES
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 11 2005
The issues referring to improvement of Nagorno Karabakh judicial –
legal system, as well as further strengthening of ties between the
corresponding organs of Armenia and NKR were discussed in the course
of the NKR President Arkady Ghoukasyan’s meeting with the delegation
of RA Courts of Cassation, Appeal and Economy headed by Court of
Cassation Chair Oganes Manoukyan.
According to the information De Facto got at the Central information
department under the NKR President, during the meeting Oganes
Manoukyan informed the President of the fact that the Cooperation
Agreement had been signed in Stepanakert, according to which fruitful
interaction between RA and NKR judicial structures had been assumed as
basis. According to Manoukyan, the parties are to exchange professional
information, render legal and consultation assistance.
In his turn the NKR President Arkady Ghoukasyan voiced confidence
that the cooperation between the two Armenian Republics’ judicial
organs would be useful and effective for both parties.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
Section WORLD A13
Banning things will not change anything¹
Charged with insulting Turkish identity and army, controversial author faces
jail time
By LEVON SEVUNTS, Montreal
When Dora Sakayan first published her grandfather¹s diary in Montreal, she
had no inkling that 10 years later it could land someone a half a world away
in court, facing as much as two years in jail.
But then, she never dreamed that her grandfather¹s diary, an eyewitness
account of the events in which several members of his family perished, along
with 30,000 Greeks and Armenians at the hands of Turkish nationalist forces
in Izmir in 1922, would ever be published in Turkey.
Ragip Zarakolu, a prominent activist and human-rights activist. dared to
translate and publish Mrs. Sakayan¹s book, An Armenian Doctor in Turkey.
Garabed Hatcherian: My Smyrna Ordeal of 1922. Now, he is charged with
insulting the armed forces, Turkish identity and the memory of Kemal
Ataturk, the iconic founder of the Turkish republic.
³I was worried and upset that he is suffering because of me, because of
my book,² Mrs. Sakayan said during an interview over a cup of Turkish coffee
and homemade sweets in her downtown apartment. ³But he calmed me down,
saying that he sees this as his calling, to use the courthouse as a platform
to speak out on human rights, the rights of Turkey¹s ethnic minorities and
as an opportunity to fight historical revisionism.²
Mr. Zarakolu has a track record of defying Turkish authorities. He was
imprisoned for three years for his activism in 1971 by the military junta.
In 1977, Mr. Zarakolu and his now-deceased wife Ayse Nur founded the Belge
(The Document) Publishing House, which has been a target for Turkish
censorship laws ever since. The couple was imprisoned, their books were
impounded and they were forced to pay heavy fines. In 1995, their offices
were firebombed by a right-wing group.
Mr. Zarakolu¹s legal troubles began because Turkey officially denies
that the massacres and deportations of the Armenian population of Ottoman
Turkey during the First World War constituted genocide. That puts Turkey at
odds with the majority of genocide scholars, as well as more than 20
parliaments, including Canada¹s. The Armenian question has been a taboo
protected by draconian censorship laws in Turkey.
What irked Turkish authorities most about her book is that it deals with
massacres perpetrated by some of the founders of the modern Turkish
republic, not by young Turks, which was the case between 1915 and 1918, Mrs.
Sakayan said.
In his defence statement during the first court hearing in the case on
Sept. 21, Mr. Zarakolu said Turkey owed an apology to Mrs. Sakayan¹s
grandfather, a Turkish citizen and a decorated military doctor, who served
his country despite the Armenian massacres.
³Publishing this book can be counted as part of that apology.² Mr.
Zarakolu told the court. ³The accusations that the book insults the Turkish
national character or the Turkish army are totally unfair. All these events
really happened. Banning things will not change anything.²
Mr. Zarakolu is also facing two different criminal proceedings related
to another book on the Armenian genocide that he published and a critical
magazine article he wrote about Turkish policy toward Iraqi Kurds.
The trial for the magazine article is set for Oct. 11, and he is due to
return to court on Nov. 22 for the hearings on Mrs. Sakayan¹s book.
The case of Mr. Zarakolu comes at an embarrassing moment for Turkish
authorities as they prepare to start negotiations for eventual membership in
the European Union. Abolishing their censorship laws is one of the
preconditons for Turkey joining the EU.
Yet despite some changes to the penal code, about 60 Turkish writers and
publishers are facing trials in Turkey, said Kjell Olaf Jensen, president of
the Norwegian PEN Centre, which has been closely monitorng the trials.
Among them is the world-famous Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk. Mr. Pamuk
will be brought before an Istanbul court on Dec. 16, 2005. He faces as many
as three years of prison for a comment he published in a Swiss newspaper
earlier this year, in which he criticised the Turkish positon on the
Armenian genocide and the Kurdish issue.
³I find the whole thing completely absurd,² Mr. jensen said. ³Are these
the same authorities who want Turkey to become member of the EU?²
Special to the Globe and Mail
Photo: Dora Sakayan photoghraphed in her Montreal apartment

Celebrating 38 letters
Armenian pontiff’s arrival and the 1,600-year-old Armenian alphabet are
cause for joy.
By Tania Chatila (GLENDALE PRESS – Published: October 7, 2005)
To understand the history of Armenian spirituality is to understand the
history of the Armenian Alphabet.
“The alphabet brought national identity to the Armenian people,” said Garbis
Der Yeghiayan, founding president of Mashdots College in Glendale, which is
named after the creator of the Armenian alphabet. “That was culturally and
nationally so very important for them.”
Now, 1,600 years after the alphabet’s creation, the Armenian community in
Glendale is celebrating, driven by a hope to worship in their own language
and, at the same time, celebrate the arrival of His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Armenian pontiff, who traveled from Antelias, Lebanon, and arrived in
Los Angeles Wednesday, was at the Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter
Thursday night to celebrate the alphabet’s creation and meet with the
community.
“It’s really symbolic,” said Ani Aghajani, who has been a member of
Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter for 18 years. “It’s two really important
things coming together. Our language and our religion were the two things
that kept our people together for the hundreds of years we had nothing to
belong to.”
This is the first of several appearances he will make locally, including a
blessing at the new Western Prelacy building in La Crescenta on Saturday and
a visit to Glendale Adventist Medical Center on Thursday.
“These meetings give him the opportunity to reinvigorate the community with
a sense of purpose and a message of building bridges,” said Zanku Armenian,
spokesman for the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of
America. “It allows the pontiff to maintain a connection with his people,
his flock, his churches — and vice versa.”
Aside from the arrival of the pontiff, Thursday’s event featured 38
paintings from Armenian artists who were each assigned a letter of the
alphabet and were asked to paint what that letter inspired them to paint,
chapter officials said.
Saint Mesrob Mashdots of Armenia invented the Armenian alphabet in 405 A.D.
to provide the Armenian community with an outlet to worship in their own
written language, Der Yeghiayan said.
“For hundreds of years after adopting Christianity, Armenians did not have
the opportunity to worship God in their own language because the Bible had
to be read in different languages,” Der Yeghiayan said.
Before the alphabet was adopted, Armenians would read the Bible in Greek,
Assyrian or Persian.
Traditional Armenian legends say Mashdots received a revelation from God,
who revealed the letters of what would be the alphabet to him in a dream,
Der Yeghiayan said.
Historically, Mashdots spent years studying the language and meeting with
other scholars to create the alphabet’s first 22 letters, he said. After
testing the alphabet, he then decided to increase the letters to 36, and
after his death two more letters were added, bringing the alphabet to its
current total of 38.
“The first task for him and his associates was to translate the Bible,” he
said, adding that fifth century of Armenian civilization is considered to be
the Golden Era because of the alphabet’s creation and the Bible’s
translation.
“More people started to go to church to worship,” he said. “They were so
proud that they could finally read their own Bible in their own language.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress