Author: Khoyetsian Rose

PROMISES AND POLITICAL INSTRUCTIONS
Shahan Kandaharian

Aztag Daily
Jan 22 2009
Lebanon

The whole world watched intently the 44rt president of the United
States as he swore into office. The reasons for the curiousity,
expectations, interpretations, as well as the extent and the wave of
sympathy that the election of Barak Obama has created in the masses
are more than one.

First of all, it was the American public who wanted to take part
in the launching ceremony of the practical implementation of the
principle of §change¦; in that way, perhaps, they would have
responded to the start-off of a new era for the United States as well
as they would have been there physically. At the same time, however,
the demand for change implies the rejection of the former system,
and the more elemental is the momentum of the change, the deeper
is the determination to reject the previous state of affairs. These
thoughts were reshaped when at a historic moment the masses that had
gathered in the main districts of Washington gave the impression of
a reinforcing movement than just a popular gathering.

And when we say the former state of affairs, we mean the present awful
crisis created by the country’s economic policy, the oversaturated
military industry, the extraordinary increase of armament, the two
wars waged in an eight-year period as well as the landscape of the
results of the country’s foreign policy.

The acceptance of the office by the first figure of this superpower
had also moved the curiosity of related countries and their populace,
who have been impacted by the consequences of deep crises of this
country. It’s obvious that the economic crisis that broke in the
United States had its fast and destructive domino effect all around
the world. After all the United States has a founding role in the
shaping of the new world order and consequently clear and obvious is
the fact that the interested parties will try to find new situations
to take advantage of.

These were the themes boiling in the American and the international
media, with analyses, interpretations, political forecasts, which
gave sometimes complementary and sometimes opposite opinions about
the events taking place in Washington.

Let’s turn to the Armenian parts of the world. Basically there were
two directions that are noteworthy. First of all, of course, there
are the publications of the American-Armenian public organizations,
the lobbying groups and their political propaganda as well as the
Armenian media. In the case of the first, naturally there were
the reminders of the promises made during pre-election campaigns,
the mention of the previous candidate and now the president elect’s
truly unprecedented and explicit stances, not only with respect to the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which he finds an imperative,
but also the Karabagh self-determination issue, which he finds an issue
to sit at the round table for. It was mentioned that for the first
time Armenian folkloric groups were participating in the festivals
taking place prior to the ceremony of swearing into office. Also,
that the ambassador of Armenia to the United States was invited to
attend the ceremony. Although this last fact is not worth shedding a
spotlight on, given the fact that all ambassadors are sent invitations
to attend an important official ceremony as such.

The important interpretations published in the Armenian media must have
caught the attention of those who follow closely the Armenian-American
relations §dossier¦.

It’s still too early to predict future events based on signs in
current events. The only tangible evidence is the questioning of the
newly appointed foreign minister by Senator Menendez; the minister’s
answer was not a surprise, understandably and logically.

The election of presidents both for the congress, the country and the
state includes new dynamic factors for the Armenians. It’s right to
express enthusiasm in official stances for the purpose of continuing
lobbying and following up the pre-election promises. However, it’s
obvious that the policy of the new-and-old administration can keep or
break this or that part of the promises only according to the demands
of the political rationale in a given situation.

We hope that the promises of the newly elected president will be in
accordance with the demands of the political rationale during his years
in office. Or better to say, we, as state and public organizations,
must continue working for that purpose.

–Boundary_(ID_kafsdspx+V/0DKym7OOAbA)–

LOANS EXTENDED BY ARMENIAN BANKING SYSTEM TO RESIDENTS GROW BY 4.1% TO 642.8BLN IN Q4 2008

ARKA
Jan 28, 2009

YEREVAN, January 28. /ARKA/. Volume of loans extended by Armenian
banking system to residents, including deposits, factoring and leasing,
had totaled 642.8bln Drams by the end of December 2008, which is an
increase of 4.1% or 25.3bln Drams over the fourth quarter, says the
report of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) on activities of Armenian
banks in Q4 2008.

Lending growth rate was considerable in the field of agriculture
in the period – an increase of 15.1% or 4.8bln Drams up to 36.5bln
Drams. Loans in financial sector grew by 10.4% or 2.4bln Drams up to
25bln Drams. Lending to construction grew by 5.5% or 2.1bln Drams to
39.5bln Drams.

Loans extended to industry went up by 1.9% or 85.9bln Drams. Loans
provided to other fields grew by 6.4% up to 55.6bln Drams.

In the reporting period, loans provided by banks to transport and
communication sector went up by 4.7% up to 10.2bln Drams, to trade
sector – by 4.8% up to 132bln Drams.

Consumer credits grew by 2bln Drams or 1.2% up to 174.5bln Drams over
the reporting quarter, while mortgage credits went up by 2.3bln Drams
or 3.2% up to 83.6bln Drams.

Consumer credits constitute the highest share of overall lending –
27.15%, trade credits – 20.54%, loans credits to industry – 13.36%
and mortgage credits are 13.01%.0D

According to the preliminary information of ARKA News Agency,
the following three banks possess the largest credit portfolio
among Armenian banks – ACBA-Credit Agricole (82.9bln Drams),
Ardshininvestbank (72.7bln Drams) and HSBC Bank Armenia (71.8bln
Drams).

There were 22 banks with 380 branches operating in Yerevan at the
end of December 2008.

ERGENEKON’S FIRST ACTION: MERSIN

Today’s Zaman
o?load=detay&link=165200&bolum=101
Jan 27 2009
Turkey

It is known that the Ergenekon terror organization took a different
shape during the Feb. 28 process. The BCG, which successfully ended
the RP-DYP coalition government through a postmodern military coup, was
reconvened and reactivated after the AK Party came to power in 2002.

Records in the journals of former Naval Forces Commander Adm. Ozden
Ornek in 2004 and 2005 showed that the organization was at work
attempting to stage military coups. Despite announcements that these
journals would be included in the Ergenekon indictment, no action has
been taken so far. But the detention of the leading figures mentioned
in the journals in connection with the Ergenekon investigation may
be taken as a sign of willingness to prosecute these coup attempts.

These coups were masterfully aborted by Chief of General Staff
Gen. Hilmi Ozkök, Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ä°lker BaÅ~_bug
and Gen. YaÅ~_ar Buyukanıt. It was argued that a group of commanders
including Gendarmerie Forces Commander Gen. Å~^ener Eruygur supported
the coup attempts.

The vast majority of the commanders supporting the coups retired in
2005 and 2006. The Ergenekon indictment argues that these retired
figures decided to carry on their struggle as civilians.

A Turkish flag was burned in 2005 during Nevruz activies in
Mersin. After the incident, the "Union of Patriotic Forces", a group
releated to Ergenekon, held a rally in an attempt to raise tension
between Turks and Kurds.

The flag rally held in Mersin on April 15, 2006, was the first
action of the renewed Ergenekon. A group calling itself the "Union of
Patriotic Forces" held a rally in the city in an attempt to escalate
tension between Turks and Kurds after an incident during Nevruz
activities in which a Turkish flag was burned.

Some retired generals, including Hasan Kundakcı, Suat İlhan, Kucuk,
HurÅ~_it Tolon, Korkut Eken and Yavuz Erturk, extended support to
the group, led by Taner Unal, who was previously expelled from the MHP.

Footage depicting a ceremony in which retired Col. Fikri Karadag,
chairperson of the Kuvayı Milliye Association, led an oath taking
ceremony followed the flag rally. The ceremony was unusual because
the attendees were becoming members by taking their oath on a gun. It
was interesting to note that a substantial part of the governing
bodies of these two organizations were retired military officers. The
figures leading these associations were arrested in connection with
the Ergenekon investigation; the bombs and weapons seized during the
police search in their homes seem to prove that they were planning
violent activities.

Prosecutor loses his career in Å~^emdinli

Traces of the Ergenekon organization were subsequently found in
the Å~^emdinli incidents. Buyukanıt made a statement after the
bombing of a bookstore in Å~^emdinli by two noncommissioned military
officers in which he said he knew Ali Kaya, one of the suspects,
well and testified that he was actually a good boy. Van Prosecutor
Ferhat Sarıkaya prepared an indictment in which he accused other
noncommissioned officers, including Ozcan Ä°ldeniz, Veysel AteÅ~_ and
Tansu CavuÅ~_, of involvement in the incident. The indictment was also
interesting because it made reference to Buyukanıt’s statement. The
Supreme Board of Prosecutors and Judges (HSYK) convened to discuss
the matter and disbarred Sarıkaya. The Å~^emdinli case has since
been handled by other courts with no conclusive results.

NevÅ~_ehir-Tokat-Sivas triangle surfaces in Ergenekon labyrinth

As the investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist
organization charged with plotting to overthrow the government,
deepens, police have come to realize that a former senior police
official may have had links to shadowy incidents in a number of cities
in Central Anatolia.

Police recently discovered that Ä°brahim Å~^ahin, former deputy head of
the National Police Department’s Special Operations Unit, may have been
involved in numerous shadowy incidents in Tokat, where he was born,
NevÅ~_ehir and Sivas, where he served as a police officer. Å~^ahin
was arrested on Jan. 7 for suspected membership in the Ergenekon gang.

Å~^ahin’s name has come up in relation to dark events in NevÅ~_ehir,
where he served as the head of the police department just before and
after Turkey’s 1980 military coup. Known to have close ties to criminal
Abdullah Catlı, Å~^ahin was proved to have provided a false identity
card for Catlı and other criminals. Catlı died in an accident in
Susurluk in 1996, the first of many incidents in Turkey that confirmed
the Turkish public’s long-held suspicions of links between the state
and illegal elements. Catlı died in the same car as a police chief
and a deputy who led a southeastern Kurdish clan armed by the state
to fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the crash.

Catlı, the head of the Ulku Yolu Association, which played a
significant role in the process leading up to the 1980 coup, moved
the headquarters of the association to NevÅ~_ehir just before the coup.

Å~^ahin also contributed to providing a false identity card for Haluk
Kırcı, who is currently in jail on charges of having killed seven
university students in the Bahcelievler district of Ankara. Å~^ahin
also served as a police officer between 1978 and 1980 in Kırcı’s
hometown in the eastern province of Erzurum.

Mehmet Ali Agca, convicted of the assassination of Milliyet daily
Editor-in-Chief Abdi Ä°pekci in 1979, fled to NevÅ~_ehir soon after
the murder. Agca and his two friends, suspected of links with the
murder, received their passports from the NevÅ~_ehir Police Department,
where Å~^ahin was in charge.

The Ergenekon investigation has also revealed potential links with
shadowy incidents in Sivas. Å~^ahin’s nephew, Erdal Å~^ahin, was
recently detained along with 11 other suspects in a police raid on
suspicion of gathering intelligence about intellectuals who initiated a
campaign to collect signatures for a statement personally apologizing
for events that took place in 1915 that Armenians claim constituted
genocide. Police seized numerous weapons during the raid, and it was
revealed that Å~^ahin had given one of the detainees a Glock revolver.

Another mysterious incident to which Å~^ahin has links is the
suicide of retired Col. Abdulkerim Kırca, an alleged member of
JÄ°TEM, a clandestine and illegal gendarmerie intelligence unit,
the existence of which is officially denied. Kırca was found dead
in his home after a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) informant joined
dozens of others directing accusations that summary executions were
carried out during the time Kırca served in the gendarmerie in the
predominantly Kurdish Southeast. Å~^ahin is known to have had close
links with Kırca, who was born in Sivas.

Å~^ahin was also implicated in a list of "dirty affairs" in the western
city of Ä°zmir, as revealed in one of the latest waves of Ergenekon
detentions. Å~^ahin was a close friend of Engin Erkılıncoglu and
Erbay Colakoglu, who were recently detained as part of an Ergenekon
operation. He also had close contacts with Oguz Bulut and Bekir
Celik, İzmir provincial heads of Ulku Ocakları, a far-right
youth organization. Bulut and Celik have been accused of gathering
intelligence about an Armenian jeweler and community leader with the
aim of assassinating him. In a police raid on the homes of Celik and
Bulu, police seized two hand grenades, three revolvers, five rifles
and many bullets.

A wave of detentions on Jan. 7 in the Ergenekon investigation revealed
that the group was planning to assassinate Alevi and Armenian
community leaders, the prime minister and members of the Supreme
Court of Appeals — acts that would have dragged Turkey into chaos
had they been carried out.

Ergenekon ties in Tokat

Å~^ahin was a close friend of retired Col. Mustafa Levent GöktaÅ~_,
who was detained in early January. GöktaÅ~_ was the head of an
operation launched in 1999 to capture the now-jailed leader of the PKK,
Abduallah Ocalan. Ocalan was captured in Kenya in February 1999, while
being transferred from the Greek Embassy to Nairobi’s international
airport. Led by GöktaÅ~_, a group of seven people, including three
members of the National Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T), captured
the head of the terrorist PKK and brought him to Turkey by plane.

Å~^ahin also made frequent phone calls to Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez,
detained in the Jan. 7 raids. Police seized a large number of bombs
and ammunition during searches made in the house of Dönmez, in the
Sapanca district of Balıkesir. A sketch found in his house also
helped police to unearth explosives and ammunition on Jan. 12 at a
site in the Sincan suburb of Ankara.

Journalists murdered in Turkey

Journalists have always been No:1 targets of assassinations. Ugur
Mumcu from the Cumhuriyet daily was one of the most well-known
in this category. The latest victim of the series was Hrant Dink,
assassinated on Jan. 19, 2007.

Assassinations sometimes accelerated the coup process, and they
were sometimes used to justify illegal actions. Intellectuals,
thinkers, academics and journalists have become the targets for
vicious sensationalism.

The recent Ergenekon investigation showed that the organization was
making plans to start a campaign of terrorism, where it would kill
journalists. The list notably included Fehmi Koru of the Yeni Å~^afak
daily. Koru is similar to Ugur Mumcu in a number of respects because
he shed light on many mysterious and unsolved events.

Thousands of people have been murdered in attacks over the years,
staged in shopping centers, schools and in the street. Journalists
have been one of the most targeted groups when military coups have
taken place. Ironically, their colleagues were often the instigators
and most vociferous proponents of the very same coups.

Some of the murdered journalists in Turkey over last 100 years:

Hasan Fehmi Bey/Serbesti (Ä°stanbul –April 6, 1909) Ahmet
Samim/Sada-yı Millet (Ä°stanbul — July 19, 1910) Zeki Bey/Å~^ehrah
(Ä°stanbul — July 10, 1911) Å~^air Huseyin Kami/Alemdar (Konya —
1912 or 1914) Silahcı Tahsin/Silah ve Bomba (Ä°stanbul – July
27, 1914) Hasan Tahsin/Hukuk-u BeÅ~_er (Ä°zmir — July 27, 1919)
Ali Kemal/Peyam-ı Sabah (Ä°zmit — 1922) Abdi Ä°pekci/Milliyet
(Ä°stanbul — Feb. 1, 1979) Ä°lhan Darendelioglu/Ortadogu (Ä°stanbul
— Nov. 19, 1979) Ä°smail Gerceksöz/Ortadogu (Ä°stanbul — April 4,
1980) Umit Kaftancıoglu/TRT (Ä°stanbul — April 11, 1980) Muzaffer
Fevzioglu/Hizmet (Trabzon — April 15, 1980) Recai Unal/Demokrat
(Ä°stanbul — July 22, 1980) Cetin Emec/Hurriyet (Ä°stanbul — March 7,
1990) Turan Dursun/Ä°kibine Dogru (Ä°stanbul — Sept. 4, 1990) Ä°zzet
Kezer/Sabah (Cizre — March 23, 1992) Bulent Ulku/Körfeze BakıÅ~_
(Bursa — April 1, 1992) Mecit Akgun/Yeni Ulke (Nusaybin — June
2, 1992) Hafız Akdemir/Ozgur Gundem (Diyarbakır — June 8, 1992)
Cetin Ababay/Ozgur Halk (Batman — July 29, 1992) Yahya Orhan/Ozgur
Gundem (Ceylanpınar –Aug. 9, 1992) Huseyin Deniz/Ozgur Gundem
(Ceylanpınar –Aug. 9, 1992) Musa Anter/Ozgur Gundem (Diyarbakır —
Sept. 20, 1992) YaÅ~_ar Aktay/Serbest (Hani — Nov. 9, 1992) Hatip
Kapcak/Serbest (Mazıdagı — Nov. 18, 1992) Namık Tarancı/Gercek
(Diyarbakır — Nov. 20, 1992) Ugur Mumcu/Cumhuriyet (Ankara —
Jan. 24, 1993) Rıza GuneÅ~_er/Halkın Gucu (July 14, 1993) Ferhat
Tepe/Ozgur Gundem (Bitlis — July 28, 1993) Nazım Babaoglu/Gundem
(March 12, 1994) Onat Kutlar/Cumhuriyet (Ä°stanbul – Feb. 11, 1995)
Metin Göktepe/Evrensel (Ä°stanbul — Jan. 8, 1996) Kutlu Adalı
/Yeni Duzen (Cyprus — July 8, 1996) Unal Mesuloglu/TRT (Manisa —
Nov. 8, 1997) A. Taner KıÅ~_lalı/Cumhuriyet (Ankara — Oct. 21,
1999) Hrant Dink/Agos (Ä°stanbul — Jan. 19, 2007)

—

Yılmaz: Governments have no intention of dealing with the deep state

The parliamentary commission for unsolved murders was set up in 1993
and did extensive research for two years. Former Republican People’s
Party (CHP) deputy from Malatya Mustafa Yılmaz, an active member of
the commission, notes that the commission’s work has been obstructed
by some circles.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Yılmaz said, "The prosecutor at the Ankara
State Security Court [DGM], Nusret Demiral, who asked that the DEP
[Democracy Party] deputies be removed from the parliament building,
demanded that the police department not communicate any document or
information to our commission."

Yılmaz further notes that the commission heard from some members
of the Special Warfare Unit. He recalled that those who testified
eventually admitted that the unit existed.

"I requested that the commission investigate counter-guerilla activity,
and my request was approved. The Defense Ministry said there is no such
unit. Upon this notification, we asked for assistance from Parliament
Speaker Husammetin Cindoruk. He said he called Chief of General
Staff Gen. Dogan GureÅ~_. Cindoruk told me that GureÅ~_ assured him
he would do nothing to expose his personnel. I think that none of the
governments, including the AK Party [Justice and Development Party],
has any intention of dealing with the deep state. The administrations
are not determined to resolve Gladio; they’re afraid."

Noting that members of Ergenekon’s predecessor committed murders
in the 1970s under the banner of a counter-guerilla organization,
Yılmaz said: "Ergenekon cannot be isolated from these incidents of
the 1970s. If the investigation is limited to developments in the
post-1980 era, the efforts will be inconclusive."

Recalling that existence of JİTEM has been denied for years, Yılmaz
says commission records show that a female attorney and a captain
testifying before the commission admitted to the presence of such a
unit under the auspices of the Gendarmerie General Command. Yılmaz
adds that the captain who provided this information to the commission
died in a traffic accident shortly after his testimony.

Yılmaz, noting that the commission found that JİTEM created the
Hizbullah terror organiza tion to combat the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK), says that Hizbullah built three camps in the Southeast. Yılmaz
also recalls that the Batman police chief, who provided this
information, was removed from office after he spoke to the commission.

"When SavaÅ~_ Buldan, Adnan Yıldırım and Hacı Karay were abducted
and subsequently killed, we headed to the presidential palace and asked
for help from President [Suleyman] Demirel to resolve the murders,"
Yılmaz said. "In response to our argument that these people were
killed by the state, Demirel said the state does not commit murder. I
said: ‘The state is an apparatus; of course, it does not, but when
those who represent the state do, the state is accused.’ When I made
this statement, he said, ‘This meeting is over,’ and stood up.

–Boundary_(ID_1uRD+IxLQMY3zn2e96uMKw)–

ARMENIA GETS NEW VAS PROVIDER IN PLAYFON

TeleGeography
Jan 27 2009
DC

Value added services (VAS) provider Playfon has launched commercial
services in Armenia, offering a suite of products ranging from
mobile gaming by the world’s top publishers to the greatest music
hits from the major Russian and international record labels. The
company’s extensive portfolio of games, videos and music downloads
is available for all subscribers of local GSM operators ArmenTel
(Beeline) and K Telecom (VivaCell-MTS).

MINISTER OF ECONOMY TO MAKE SPEECH IN ZURICH

Panorama.am
18:32 27/01/2009

Today the Minister of Economy of Armenia Nerses Yeritsyan took part
in Investors’ round table meeting of developing markets in Zurich
and made a speech. This meeting is to precede Davos World Economic
Conference, reports the public relations department of the Ministry.

More than 200 economic experts, representatives from world wide famous
organizations and companies take part in this round table meeting. The
topic of the round table meeting is the impact of global economy on
the developing markets, as well as to discuss the investment programs
to meet the challenges of economic crisis.

Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

January 28, 2009
Contact: Ani Garabedian

Mayor Villaraigosa Remembers Armenian Genocide Survivor Ghazaros Kademian

Los Angeles, CA – In a statement released yesterday, Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa honored the memory of Ghazaros Kademian, a
longtime ANCA supporter and one of the oldest remaining survivors of
the Armenian Genocide. Kademian passed away on January 24, 2009 at
his home in Glendale, California. Kademian, who was born in the
historic city of Zeitoun in 1907, lived a life full of faith and
dedication.

Villaraigosa recalled the remarkable life of Kademian and stressed the
importance of recognition of the Armenian Genocide. During his tenure
in the State Assembly and as Los Angeles Mayor, Villaraigosa has
repeatedly demonstrated his steadfast support for the Armenian
community and has been a consistent supporter of Armenian Genocide
recognition resolutions.

The full text of the statement is included below.

###

Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa

January 27, 2009

"Ghazaros Kademian’s story is one of survival and strength, courage
and conviction, passion and purpose. He emerged from one of the
darkest chapters of human history and worked to shed light on the
tragedy of the Armenian genocide.

"We were all blessed by his spirit, commitment, dedication and
service. And I hope his passing serves as a reminder of our collective
obligation to honor the memory of those who perished and recognize the
facts of past atrocities.

"As Ghazaros looks down upon each of us, may his life and legacy
inspire us all to continue exposing the truth about the horrors of
history and pursuing justice for future generations."

WEBSITE ON COLLECTION OF SIGNATURES TO APOLOGIZE TO ARMENIANS HACKED

ArmInfo
2009-01-26 16:29:00

ArmInfo. The Website on collection of signatures to apologize to
Armenians regarding the 1915 incidents has been hacked.

At present when opening the website one can see a figure in a red dress
with a cowl on which a Turkish symbolic is fixed and an English word
"hacked".

To recall, a website issuing an apology to Armenians regarding the 1915
incidents and called for people to sign in it support was launched
on 5 December 2008 and rose much noise in Turkey. According to the
last data, 27,000 people have their signatures.

LETTER SENT TO NCTR CHAIRMAN GRIGOR AMALYAN

A1+
[04:53 pm] 23 January, 2009

Today the Union of Experts has sent an open letter to Grigor Amalyan,
Chairman of the National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR). The
Union accuses the NCTR Chairman of deliberate idleness. The letter
runs in part:

"Seeing the permissiveness of the Armenian television, the Union
of Experts has initiated an annual nomination entitled "Unpleasant
Transmission." We aim to stop the menacing ruin of future generations
aimed at making fortune.

Mr. Amalyan, we were much surprised to learn that you have welcomed
our initiative. You needn’t welcome our initiative. You had better
work to be worth the salary you are given by tax payers. You are
doomed to idleness as venomous tongues would say. As a result of your
inactivity, our television filled with illiterate, grey, ambiguous
and vulgar expressions.

Once you have welcomed our initiative and admitted the sorrowful
state of our television, we would like to ask you a few questions:

Has any TV Company been crackdowned for illegal advertising activity?

How many TV Companies have been warned about low-quality TV products?

How many Companies have been warned against airing immoral films and
bad language?

How many Companies have been notified of their illiteracy?

Best regards,

Union of Experts

WILLIAM GRAHAM TULLIAN TCHIVIDJIAN

Miami Herald
tory/861957.html
Jan 17 2009
FL

Born in Jacksonville and raised in Coral Springs, William Graham
Tullian Tchividjian, 36, is the son of Gigi Tchividjian, the eldest
daughter of Billy and Ruth Graham, and Swiss-Armenian psychologist
Stephan Tchividjian. Commonly known as Tullian, he is named after
Tertullian, an early Christian theologian.

His grandfather preached the dedication sermon for the Coral Ridge
sanctuary in 1974. Tchividjian has a show on church radio station
WAFG-FM 90.3 and occasionally preaches during chapel hour at
Westminster Academy.

He has written two books: Do I Know God? Finding Certainty in
Life’s Most Important Relationship (Multnomah Press, $16.99), and
Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different
(Multnomah Press, $17.99), available in April.

He and Kim, his wife of 15 years, live in Coconut Creek with their
children: Gabe, 14, Nate, 12 and Genna, 7.

ARMENIAN PASSENGER AMONG THOSE ON BOARD US AIRWAYS "MIRACLE FLIGHT"

AZG Armenian Daily
20/01/2009

Religion

"It Was Like One Big Family," says Carl Bazarian

Carl Bazarian said he and other passengers on board the Charlotte-bound
US Airways Flight 1549 "knew we were going to die" yesterday afternoon
when they realized that the jetliner was descending into the Hudson
River.

But within moments their fortunes reversed, as all 150 passengers
and five crew members safely climbed out of the floating aircraft
and awaited rescue.

"We evacuated and everyone helped each other out. It was like one big
family," Mr. Bazarian said. "A near-tragic occurrence turned into a
very positive humanitarian experience."

Bazarian, an active member of the Armenian Church and the vice chairman
of the Fund for Armenian Relief’s Board of Directors, was traveling
via Charlotte to his home in Florida on Thursday, January 15.

About four minutes after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New
York, Mr. Bazarian said, there was a loud noise followed by fire
and smoke. Passengers were "upset, but we weren’t panicky or overly
concerned," he said, explaining that people assumed the pilot would
return to LaGuardia.

Instead, Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III warned passengers
to prepare for impact – and "Boom, we hit the water," Mr. Bazarian
said.

"For about 10 or 11 seconds it’s surreal, but then adrenaline kicks
in," Mr. Bazarian said. Evacuees lined up along the plane’s wings
and waited to be brought to shore. Those standing on the left wing
were ferried to New York. Passengers on the right wing, including
Mr. Bazarian, were taken to New Jersey.

Many were standing without winter coats in the frigid air. Mr. Bazarian
said he was wet up to his knees as the water rose around the Airbus
A320.

Still, the general mood was calm and optimistic.

"I had a good feeling when we were on the wing that we had a good
chance of surviving," Mr. Bazarian said.

The "shared experience, belief in each other, and trust" brought people
together, he added. Women and children boarded the lifeboats first,
followed by the other passengers.

"It was tense, but there was no screaming or yelling or panic,"
Mr. Bazarian said.

Officials are still investigating the crash, but initial
reports said collision with a flock of birds caused the engines to
fail. Mr. Bazarian said once passengers exited the plane, many thanked
the pilot for the expert landing.

Mr. Bazarian returned to LaGuardia yesterday evening and took another
flight to Charlotte. He arrived in Florida this morning.

"Carl is such a fine man, such an excellent leader, and we are grateful
to God for rescuing him and all the passengers on that plane," said
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern).

Mr. Bazarian said his faith offered comfort amidst the tumult. He
was halfway through the Lord’s Prayer when the plane hit water.

"It’s good to have faith in God," he said. "And it worked."

Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)