Author: Khondkarian Raffi

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
for Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B – 1000 BRUXELLES
Tel./Fax : +32 (0) 2 732 70 27
E-mail : [email protected]
Web :
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 27th, 2004
Contact: Talline Tachdjian
Tel.: +32 (0)2 732 70 27
NORWEGIAN CITY OF KRAGERØ HONOURS BODIL BIØRN, UNSUNG HERO AND RELIEF WORKER
DURING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Brussels, Belgium – On the initiative of the Armenian community of
Aleppo, Syria, the Norwegian city of Kragerø (11000 inhabitants)
has erected a statue honoring Bodil Catharina Biørn, who spent 30
years of her life providing relief to the Armenians of Turkey before,
during and after the Armenian Genocide. The statue will be unveiled
on Saturday, May 29.
After studying nursing in Germany, Bodil Biørn, the daughter of
a wealthy ship owner, left her native Kragerø in 1905 to go to
Turkey. There, as part of benevolent evangelical missions, she provided
aid to the Christian populations, and especially to the Armenians,
who endured oppression under the Ottomans and who were regularly
victims of extortion.
Stationed in various regions of the Ottoman Empire (e.g., Van,
Cilicia), Bodil Biørn was in Mush in 1915 when the Genocide began. She
poured her energy into providing assistance to survivors there and
later in Armenia, during the First Republic (1918-1920).
After the Sovietization of Armenia, she continued her philathropical
work in the Armenian orphanages of Syria and Lebanon, where she
adopted an orphan she named Fridjof. She finally left the region to
return to her country in 1936.
The commemorative events in Kragerø are scheduled as follows:
o Saturday, May 29th
12.00 – Exhibition “The Ships Owner’s Daughter” in the Kragerø Museum
12.30 – Address by Jussi Flemming Biørn, son of Fridjof, “Bodil Catharina
Biørn, Philanthropist and Missionary”
14.00 – Unveiling of Bodil Biørn statue, in front of the town hall
16.30 – Showing of the movie « Ararat ».
o Sunday, May 30th
11.00 – Requiem service in memory of Bodil Biørn and the victims of the
Armenian Genocide.
“It is a moral duty for Armenians to pay homage to the many honorable,
just people, often women, often Scandinavians, who provided relief
to the victims of the barbarity committed by the Young Turks. With
this commemoration, Bodil Biørn finally emerges from anonymity and
takes her place beside Maria Jacobsen, Karen Jeppe, Alma Johansson or
Amalia Lange, her sisters in compassion,” declared Laurent Leylekian,
executive director of the European Armenian Federation.
“In these times of questioning about Europe’s borders, we are here to
testify that Europe is foremost a matter of values and identity. In
this regard, Norway, which is not a member of the Union is undeniably
part of our European family. This is not the case of Turkey, however,
which has a long and enduring record of fascism,” concluded Leylekian.
#####

DetNews.com, MI
May 25 2004
Pride in up-and-coming Islamic Center shows
Dearborn mosque’s debut will coincide with Arab-American museum
opening
By Shanteé Woodards / The Detroit News
Steve Perez / The Detroit News
DEARBORN — Metro Detroit’s significant Muslim population will soon
have a mosque befitting its size.
Once completed this fall, the Islamic Center of America — which will
be among the largest in the country — will have a 120,000-square-foot
complex that includes the mosque, the Muslim American Youth Academy,
an auditorium and library. Currently, the school is open, and the
other phases of the project will begin after the mosque is
operational.
But the mosque is one of the highlights of the $12 million project
because it will provide the Islamic Center’s 3,000 members with more
room to worship and have community activities. Its current facility
in Detroit – which the group has occupied for about 40 years – is too
cramped to meet all their needs.
Zana Macki said she feels as if she has watched the mosque being
built from the ground up, from the pillars up to the dome that was
added earlier this year. Macki, an Arab-American activist, said she
found it significant that the mosque is going to be near Armenian and
other Christian churches.
“(The new mosque) is very much needed. This is a steppingstone,” said
Macki, a Dearborn Heights resident. “Where else but in America can
you have the freedom to have different religions right next to each
other and practicing their religions freely … and not having any
fear of government?”
There are about 500,000 Arab-Americans living in Metro Detroit. About
30,000 Dearborn residents — about one-third of the city’s population
— are of Arab descent. Arab immigrants have brought the cultures of
more than 20 nations to the Detroit area.
The opening of the mosque will be coupled with that of the Arab
American National Museum, scheduled for October in Dearborn. The
36,000-square-foot museum is being modeled after the
Japanese-American National Museum in Los Angeles and will be the
first of its kind.
The Islamic Center’s existing mosque in Detroit began as the Islamic
Center of Detroit in 1963. Imam Mohammad Jawad Chirri founded the
17,000-square-foot facility after rallying the local Arab community
and his contacts throughout the Middle East.
The opening of the mosque will represent phase two of a construction
project that began in 1997 with the opening of the Muslim American
Youth Academy. The school, which is on the old YMCA site in Dearborn,
opened in time for the 1997-98 school year with 35 students. Now
about 170 students attend the school, which goes from kindergarten to
sixth grade.
When the decision was made to build the new mosque, members of the
group’s construction committee talked to many people in the community
and visited mosques in Cleveland, Toronto and Toledo to see what type
of facility would best fit their needs in Dearborn. They decided a
large-scale community center would be best because of the growing
membership at its existing mosque.
The mosque will feature a prayer area for more than 700 men and a
separate area upstairs for about 300 women. There will also be a
seating area for 1,000 people. It will have separate spaces where
members can drop off their children when they are attending events.
“We can’t profess to say how large the largest (facility) is,” said
Kassim Allie, the mosque’s administrator. “We don’t aim to be the
biggest. We are one of the oldest, and we believe our program is a
high-quality program, and I think we will improve them as we go
along.”
Because Metro Detroit has such a large Muslim population, mosques
often run out of room for religious and cultural events. It doesn’t
help that many of the facilities are buildings like storefronts and
stores that are later transformed into mosques.
Dearborn resident Suehaila Amen saw the inside of the mosque when it
was in its infancy. She is eager to see it complete.
“I know it’s going to be a beautiful thing,” said Amen, who is also
on the executive board of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee. “This one is set up so more visitors and people will be
able to come to a more central location. We have such a large
community here that hopefully we’ll be able to do more things, like
carnivals and festivals, the way other churches do.”
You can reach Shantee’ Woodards at (734)462-2204 or
[email protected].

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 24, 2004, Monday
RUSSIA HAS NO INTENTION TO HASTILY WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS FROM GEORGIA
AND LIQUIDATE ITS MILITARY BASE IN TAJIKISTAN
Any “hasty withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia” is
out of the question, Russia’s Acting Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov
announced during his visit to Yerevan. “In this case the measures taken
during withdrawal of the Russian forces from Germany in early 1990s
won’t pass now,” Ivanov said at his meeting with Serzh Sarkisyan,
his Armenian counterpart. Besides, Sergei Ivanov flatly denied the
information of Moscow’s alleged plans to close the Russian military
base in Tajikistan and withdraw its troops from the republic.
Source: Vremya Novostei, May 21, 2004, p. 1

Religious Life (Bucharest)
Weekly bulletin
Year XII, No 555, 23 May 2004
8. COMMEMORATION IN BUCHAREST OF THE GENOCIDE OF 1915 AGAINST THE ARMENIANS
On 24 April last, a remembrance service took place at the Armenian
Cemetery in Bucharest for the victims of the genocide of 1915 against
the Armenians, in Turkey. The religious service was celebrated by His
Eminence Dirayr Mardichian, Archbishop of the Orthodox Armenians in
Romania, vartabed Khoren Zakarian, Rev. Bogdan Ezras, deacons Haig
Azarian and Radu Holca, near the khacikar raised in the cemetery
in the memory of those killed 89 years ago. Wreaths of flowers were
laid on behalf of the Armenian Embassy in Bucharest, of the Armenian
Archdiocese and of the Armenians* Union in Romania. After the service,
His Eminence Dirayr Mardichian and His Excellency Eghiºe Sarksian,
Ambassador of the Armenia in Bucharest took the floor. The Armenians
present at the remembrance service lit candles and laid flowers near
the khacikar.
Next day, at Dudian library, in the courtyard of the Armenian
Cathedral in Bucharest, a meeting dedicated to the commemoration of
the genocide took place, where publicist Vartan Arachelian and writer
Mihai Rãdulescu delivered speeches. Vartan Arachelian said that the
Armenians in Romania should make the state authorities sensitive
to this issue so that, in the perspective of the anniversary next
year of nine decades since the tragic events in the Ottoman Empire,
the Parliament from Bucharest should recognize the genocide, as the
Parliaments of some other countries have already done. Writer Mihai
Rãdulescu read a lengthy material about the massacres committed
against the Armenians in 1915.
One week before, the Armenian Liturgy of Catholic rite had been
celebrated in the *Holy Trinity* church in Cluj-Napoca, in the
memory of the victims of the Genocide of 1915. Rev. Szakacs Endre,
the parish priest of the Armenian church in Gherla (county of Cluj)
celebrated the religious service.
In the same city, in March, the film Ararat by Atom Egoyan producer was
presented at the headquarters of the German Forum while on 27 April a
photo exhibition was varnished displaying images of the deportations
and massacres committed against the Armenians * informs us the Ararat
magazine, the publication of the Armenians* Union in Romania, issue 8
(293) of 16-30 April 2004.

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS REAFFIRMS ADHERENCE TO PEACEFUL
SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 24 2004
BUENOS AIRES, May 24 (RIA Novosti) – Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II, the supreme hierarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
is making his first ever official visit to Argentina.
“The purpose of my first patriarchal visit to Argentina is to meet the
Armenian community and bring blessing from Yejmiadzin, the residence of
the Armenian patriarchs (catholicoses),” Garegin II told RIA Novosti.
“I wanted to support my fellow countrymen and encourage them to
uphold their traditions and culture on the South American continent,
as well as make their contribution to the life of Argentina,” said
the patriarch.
“I was glad to see that Armenians enjoy freedom of worship in
Argentine, and that they can live here practising their religion and
cherishing their ethnic values and traditions,” said Garegin II.
“My compatriots came to South America fleeing the genocide of Ottoman
Turkey in 1915. They survived many ordeals and found their home here.
I am pleased with the fact that many Armenians are taking high
positions in Argentina’s government bodies. There are also a lot of
prominent businessmen of Armenian extraction in the country. They
work in all the domains and spheres of life in this country,” said
the Armenian church leader.
There are 7 Armenian schools in Argentina, each of which is attended
by some 350 students, recalled the patriarch.
“I was pleased to learn about an Argentine-Armenian school in Buenos
Aires for Argentine children, where they are taught the Armenian
language and even sing Armenian songs and dance Armenian dances. This
is a sign of gratitude to the country for the warm reception it
extended to Armenians in the turbulent period of their history. A lot
of /joint/ public, charity organisations have also been established
in Argentina.” The Armenian Church advocates a peaceful solution to
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
“From the very beginning of the conflict we have believed that it can
be resolved by peaceful means alone,” Garegin II told RIA Novosti.
(Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian enclave on Azerbaijan’s territory,
declared independence and withdrawal from Azerbaijan in the early
1990s).
“This is our strong belief, and I think this is also the Azerbaijani
people’s desire. In a bid to settle the problem, we have held a meeting
with Sheikh Allakhshukyur Pasha-zade, head of the Ecclesiastical Board
of Muslims of the Caucasus, which was mediated by Patriarch of Moscow
and All Russia Alexis II,” said the Armenian church leader.
“At the meeting we expressed the opinion that the problem must be
resolved peacefully, while hostility between the neighbouring nations
must not be fuelled. We hope the problem will be resolved precisely
in this way,” said the Armenian church leader.
“We are therefore working to ensure favourable prerequisites for
peaceful settlement. Patriarch of All Georgia Ilya II has recently
joined in the process,” noted Garegin II.
The Armenian patriarch earlier visited the Armenian dioceses in
Brazil and Uruguay, the countries that are home to 15,000 and 10,000
Armenians respectively. Argentina’s Armenian community is the largest
one in South America as it consists of some 140,000 people.
While in Argentina, the Armenian church leader has been received by
President Nestor Kirchner and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship
Rafael Bielsa.
The Catholicos of All Armenians blessed believers at St Gregory’s
Cathedral, the residence of the Armenian Apostolic Church in
Argentina. Garegin II will round off his visit to the country on
Tuesday.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
For Immediate Release: May 19, 2004
Contact: Armen Carapetian
Telephone: 818.500.1918
NEVADA ARMENIAN AMERICANS WILL PLAY CRUCIAL ROLE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Bush Approval Rating in Jeopardy With Armenian American Voters Due
to Poor Record on Community Concerns
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA –The explosive growth of the Armenian American
community in Nevada may be the deciding factor in the upcoming
Presidential elections in November as both President George W. Bush
and Senator John Kerry battle it out on the road to the White
House. Along with swing states like New Hampshire, New Mexico,
Michigan and Iowa–Nevada’s five electoral votes are coveted by the
Presidential candidates, in a race that many political observers and
pundits view as “razor close.”
Since 1990, Nevada’s population and economy has grown at a torrid
pace, adding roughly 4,700 residents a month, according to an article
which appeared in The Los Angeles Times on May 6, 2004 by journalist
Mark Barabak. The author noted that Nevada’s population now exceeds
2.2 million–close to double the figure of 14 years ago. The state’s
largest Armenian American advocacy group–the Armenian National
Committee of Nevada (ANCN)–estimates that the Armenian community
has increased five-fold over the last decade. The ANCN estimates that
over 8,000 Armenian Americans now call Nevada home.
“The quick growth of our community in Nevada is a sign of changing
times and will result in a more prominent role for Armenian American
voters in this state,” remarked ANCN Chairman Hriyr Dadaian. “We
already have great relationships with Senator Ensign, Congresswoman
Shelley Berkley and a number of other public officials and we look
forward to expanding our circle of friends. Like everyone else here,
we are watching the Presidential election very closely,” Dadaian added.
Last month the ANCN honored Senator John Ensign (R-NV) as its
“Man of the Year” for introducing legislation that marked the
15th anniversary of the official US adoption of the United Nations
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocides. Senator
Ensign co-authored Senate Resolution 164 with Senator Corzine (D-NJ)
and has 39 co-sponsors, well over a third of the Senate.
“The outcome of the upcoming Presidential election is going
to come down to a few key states,” speculated ANCA-WR Executive
Director, Ardashes Kassakhian. “And we are working on mobilizing all
Armenian-Americans throughout the United States to ensure double the
voter turnout from four years ago.”
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns
of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

No personnel increases planned at Russian base in Armenia
Interfax
May 21 2004
Yerevan. (Interfax-AVN) – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said
there are no plans to deploy more troops to his country’s military base
in Armenia, but said it would be provided with more advanced weapons.
“We have no plans to add more servicemen to the troops stationed at
Russia’s 102nd Military Base in Armenia. Its numerical strength is
sufficient and optimal,” Ivanov told a news conference in Yerevan
on Thursday.
“Another matter is that we need to provide our servicemen with
state-of-the-art weapons and military hardware. We take these plans
seriously,” the defense minister said.

Armenia and Iran ink gas, gas pipeline agreement
Interfax
May 20 2004
Yerevan. (Interfax) – Armenia and Iran signed an agreement on May
13 on Iran providing Armenia with at least 1.1 billion cubic meters
(bcm) of natural gas annually, and the two countries working to build
a pipeline to be launched before January 1, 2007.
Armenian Energy Minster Armen Movsisyan told the press afterwards
that Armenia will pay for the Iranian gas with electricity.
The tentative price tag on building the 41-km Armenian section of
gas pipeline from Megri (near the border with Iran) to Kajaran will
be $96- $100 million. Kajaran-Yerevan pipeline was built earlier and
is ready for use.
The cost of the roughly 100-km Iranian section is expected to be
$120 million. Both parties will build their sections independently,
Movsisyan said.
He declined to identify financial sources for the Armenian section or
how much the Iranian gas will cost, citing commercial confidentiality.
Iranian Oil and Gas Minister Bijan Zanganeh was present for the
signing, and he also declined to specify prices. He noted that the
deal is for 20 years, during which Iran is to supply its neighbor
with up to 36 bcm in exchange for electricity produced in Armenia.
In 1995, the two countries signed an inter-governmental agreement
laying out a route for a gas pipeline running 141 km overall, as well
a gas price of $84 per 1,000 cubic meters. The project is estimated
at $120 million, with the Armenian section costing $90-$100 million
because of difficulties building pipeline through mountainous terrain.
The idea is that Armenia will initially be receiving 700 million cubic
meters of gas a year through the new pipeline, that increasing later
to 1.5 bcm annually.
Armenia and Iran have discussed building this pipeline since 1992.
Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, European countries and China have all
expressed interest.

Armenian leader urges European bank to expand cooperation
Mediamax news agency
19 May 04
Yerevan, 19 May: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan received President
of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD] Jean
Lemierre in Yerevan today.
Kocharyan noted that cooperation between Armenia and the EBRD was not
very expanded and spoke in favour of greater involvement on the part
of the EBRD in the economic development in Armenia.
Jean Lemierre said in turn that drawing up further assistance
programmes in Armenia, the EBRD would focus mainly on programmes of
assistance to small and medium-sized businesses.
They also discussed issues relating to the activities of Armenia’s
banking system and stressed the importance of forming an initial
mortgage market.

ARKA News Agency
May 17, 2004
Armavia Airlines opens new flight Yerevan-Teheran
Regional seminar “Access to Information and Knowledge as Effective
Way of Sustainable Development” to take place in Yerevan
Karabakh Internet sites are among the most readable in the world
The Ministries of Culture of Armenia and NKR sign an agreement on
co-operation
Sergei Ivanov, the acting Minister of Defence of RF to arrive in
Yerevan with two day visit on May 20
*********************************************************************
ARMAVIA AIRLINES OPENS NEW FLIGHT YEREVAN-TEHERAN
YEREVAN, May, 17. /ARKA/. Armavia Airlines opened new regular flight
Yerevan-Teheran. Till June 10, the flights will made once a week on
Saturdays and since June 10 – twice a week on Saturdays and
Wednesdays. “New flights establish direct air communication between
two economic and political centers of South Caucasus and Near East.
The flight will allow decreasing of costs and to make transportation
from one country to another more comfortable. Thus, the company
contributes to creation of transport infrastructure and future growth
of trade-economic and socio-cultural relations of Armenian and Iran”,
press release states.
Since 15 April 2003 the flight operated by Armenian Airlines
transferred to Armavia.
68% of actions of Armavia belong to Aviafin OJSC (the company is
registered in Armenia: the company is own by physical entities,
Russian citizens), while the remaining 32% to MIKA Armenia Trading.
The company is closely cooperates with Siberia airline in the frames
of close cooperation agreement based on which the parties generate
income from passenger transportations. L.D. -0–
*********************************************************************
REGIONAL SEMINAR “ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE AS EFFECTIVE
WAY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT” TO TAKE PLACE IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, May, 17. /ARKA/. Regional seminar “Access to Information and
Knowledge as Effective Way of Sustainable Development” will take
place in Yerevan on May 18, Bioecomed NGO told ARKA. Co-organizers of
the seminar are representation of British Council to Armenia, UNESCO
and OSCE. The basic goal of the seminar is increase of
familiarization of academy societies of South Caucasus on information
resources accessible in World Network, namely science resources,
resources for teaching and education and others. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
KARABAKH INTERNET SITES ARE AMONG THE MOST READABLE IN THE WORLD
YEREVAN, May, 17. /ARKA/. Karabakh Internet sites are among the most
readable in the world, Director of CJSC Karabakh-Telecom Ralph
Eirikian stated in his report “Karabakh in the Internet” in the
frames of the seminar “Eurointegration as a Guarantee of Peace and
Sustainable Development”. Among the best sites he called sites of NKR
MFA, Artsakhworld and the site of Karabakh-Telecom.
The organizers of the seminar devoted to the 10th anniversary since
the armistice in the region of Karabakh conflict are Helsinki-92
Karabakh Committee and European Integration (Armenia) NGO supported
with NKR and RA standing committees on foreign relations, as well as
NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A package of suggestions was worked out in the course of the
round-table discussions and submitted to NKR Government. L.D. -0–
*********************************************************************
THE MINISTRIES OF CULTURE OF ARMENIA AND NKR SIGN AN AGREEMENT ON
CO-OPERATION
YEREVAN, May, 17. /ARKA/. The Ministries of Culture of Armenia and
NKR signed an agreement on co-operation. According to the RA Ministry
of Culture, Youth and Sport, the co-operation to be in different
areas. In particular, joint performances of theatre, musical,
ethnographic and dance groups are encouraged, as well as their
participation in foreign festivals, holding a film week and joint
film shootings. Besides, the agreement stipulates exhibitions
exchange, organization of culture days, as well as inclusion of
groups from NKR into programs on Culture Days in Armenia in foreign
countries. Besides, the agreement provides for co-operation and
exchange of information between the museums, libraries and archives
of two countries, and enrichment of the library fund of NKR.
According to the press release, the RA Ministry of Culture, Youth and
Sport will render its help to Stepanakert State Dramatic theatre
after V. Papazyan in staging new performances. Besides, NKR to be
supported in conducting research and restoration of historical and
cultural monuments, as well as in publication of the corresponding
literature on methodology.
The agreement was signed by Hovik Hovhannisyan, the RA Minister of
Culture, Youth and Sport, and Armen Sargsyan, NKR Minister of
Education, Culture and Sport. A.H.–0–
*********************************************************************
SERGEI IVANOV, THE ACTING MINISTER OF DEFENCE OF RF TO ARRIVE IN
YEREVAN WITH TWO DAY VISIT ON MAY 20
YEREVAN, May 17. /ARKA/. Sergei Ivanov, the acting Minister of
Defence of RF to arrive in Yerevan with two day visit on May 20.
According to the RA Ministry of Defence Press Service Department,
Ivanov to meet the RA President Robert Kocharian and RA Minister of
Defence Serge Sargsyan, as well as to visit the memorial monument to
the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. A.H. –0–
*********************************************************************