AMBASSADOR OF RA TO ITALY MEETS ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF MILAN
Noyan Tapan
Nov 12, 2009
MILAN, NOVEMBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Ambassador of
Armenia to Italy Rouben Karapetian visited Milan lately and met the
Armenian community. The Ambassador spoke about the new policy of the
Republic of Armenia during the meeting held at the Armenian House,
in the center of the city. As Pietro Kuciukian informed Hayern Aysor,
the Ambassador met another time the community at the Armenian church.
COMPETITION OF YOUNG RAILROADERS HELD IN SCR
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
12.11.2009 18:42 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Competition, attended by about 35 employees of
railway , who won local contests in all regions of Armenia, was
organized November 12 in the head office of the South Caucasus
Railways.
The competition was held in quiz format, and questions relating to
railroaders’ daily work had been submitted to participants.
The winners were awarded valuable gifts. Jury highly appreciated
the participants’ knowledge and expressed the hope that similar
competitions will be held regularly.
MEETING IN THE NA STANDING COMMITTEE
National Assembly
Nov 11 2009
Armenia
On November 11 Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign
Relations Mr. Armen Rustamyan received Ambassador of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Mr. Charles Lonsdale.
Welcoming the Ambassador Mr. Armen Rustamyan highlighted the necessity
of activating and developing the relations between such committees of
the parliaments of the two countries, partnership of parliamentary
friendship groups and cooperation in international structures. The
guest was interested in the further procedure of the Armenian-Turkish
protocols, which was signed in Zurich. In this context Mr. Armen
Rustamyan gave information on the procedure of the ratification
of the agreements in the Armenian parliament. Mr. Rustamyan said
that the committee led by him organized parliamentary hearings on
Armenian-Turkish relations and initiated protocols. He expressed his
concern on some wordings in the signed document, noting that Armenia,
in general, is for the opening of the borders without preconditions.
During the meeting the sides discussed issues concerning the NK
problem, Armenian-Georgian relations and other issues too.
Banker Takes $12.5 Million ‘Church’ Off Market
Jason Notte
11/11/09 – 05:00 AM EST
LAKE BLUFF, Ill. (TheStreet) — To its adherents, a church is a place
of worship, a sanctuary and a second home. What it often isn’t,
however, is a $12.5 million mansion on Lake Michigan.
Chicago banker and realtor George Michael says he was acting in good
faith when he built a 14-person chapel for his wife, who suffers from an
autonomic heart disorder and progressive multiple sclerosis, in their
five-acre estate. Michael and his wife, his third cousin, had attended
services at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church on Diversey
Street in Chicago before her declining health prompted their move to
the waterfront home on 265 feet of private beach in 2004.
Banker George Michael of Lake Bluff, Ill., built a chapel in his
mansion on Lake Michigan so his ailing wife could continue to attend
services.
When she was no longer able to attend services, Michael built the
chapel and invited Armenian priests to hold services for his family
and guests. Before doing so, however, he applied for a church tax
exemption that state revenue officials initially approved, allowing
him to avoid $80,000 in property taxes. After neighbors told newspaper
reporters that they never saw services held on the property, and a
Department of Revenue judge reversed the initial ruling that he called
a "sham," Michael faced lawsuits, suspended sanitation service, nearly
$800,000 in proposed fines for services, visits from local law
enforcement and the press. The scrutiny led him to put the house on
the market through his own agency in September and October before
withdrawing it.
"We thought it would probably be best if we left Lake Bluff, because
we weren’t wanted there," Michael says. "I put it on the market for a
few days, but I discussed it with my wife, and she doesn’t want to
move."
When the house was listed, however, little about it resembled a house
of worship — Armenian or otherwise. Photos of the chapel were absent
amid shots of five master bedrooms, a master suite with full wet bar
and air hockey table, balconies overlooking Lake Michigan, another
balcony overlooking an indoor pool with a hydraulic cover and
basketball hoop.
The chapel wasn’t mentioned at all in descriptions of the 17 other
rooms — which include a barbershop, home theater, multiple steam
rooms, a wine cellar and formal dining room with a butler’s pantry and
ceiling painted — or the guest house and 12-car heated garage. The
only church-like element displayed was the cathedral ceiling over the
mounted deer’s head and pool table in the building’s great hall.
Even if the nave were included among the offerings, its altar would be
considered artifice by church standards. To found a church in The
Armenian Church of America’s Eastern Diocese, which includes Illinois,
an entire Armenian community must petition the diocese center in New
York for inclusion. Once the diocese makes its own inquiry into the
community and whether it can sustain an Armenian church "in
perpetuity," there is a full blessing process that must take place
before a church can be established, diocese spokesman Chris Zakian
said.
"When an altar is set up, there’s an entire ceremony that consecrates,
first, the plot of land, then the cornerstones on which the altar will
be set upon and then the altar," he says. "It’s not something that’s
taken lightly and not something that can be done ad hoc by any
individual."
The diocese last completed this process in 2007 for an Orlando, Fla.,
parish. The Armenian Church recognizes only four parishes in Illinois
that were founded generations ago, and Michael’s isn’t one of
them. Zakian says the church is sympathetic toward Michael’s wife’s
illness, but notes that Armenian priests routinely visit private
homes, elder-care facilities and hospitals to administer communion.
"It does not require the establishment of an altar and does not
warrant tax-exempt status," Zakian says. "It would be an unusual
circumstance for a person to have a private chapel. Aside from kings
in Armenia, I haven’t heard of people having private chapels."
Though Michael has delisted the home, he says it may return to the
market in the near future. He says both he and his children have been
held to ridicule over the incident, to the point where he opted not to
take them trick-or-treating this Halloween, but that he’s left the
decision to his wife.
"I think it’s probably best that the people of Lake Bluff are free of me,"
Michael says. "If I had it to do all over again, I probably would have
moved right next door to the church on Diversey."
— Reported by Jason Notte in Boston.
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RA PRESIDENT TO OPEN ARMENIAN CULTURAL CENTER IN KALININGRAD
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.11.2009 13:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ RA President Serzh Sargsyan will open Armenian
Cultural Center in Kaliningrad on November 11. The ceremony will
be attended by Kaliningrad oblast governor Georgy Boos and other
officials.
The building will host a library, Sunday school, consulate, exhibition
and concert halls.
NKR PRESIDENT RECEIVED ANDRZEJ KASPRZYK
news.am
Nov 10 2009
Armenia
NKR President Bako Sahakyan received OSCE Personal Representative of
the Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.
The officials discussed issues related to the current situation on
Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces’ contact line in the
course of the meeting, NKR presidential press service informed NEWS.am.
November 10, 2009 OSCE regular monitoring will be held on
Karabakh-Azerbaijani contact line, near Horadiz-Fizuli settlements.
I BELIEVE NO ONE WILL OPPOSE TURKEY’S CO-CHAIRMANSHIP IN OSCE MINSK GROUP: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR
Today
/57252.html
Nov 10 2009
Azerbaijan
Day.Az interview with Professorial Fellow in International Relations
at Oxford University S. Neil MacFarlane.
Day.Az: Media reports claim the White House plans to appoint well
known U.S. State Department diplomat Matthew Bryza as U.S. envoy to
Azerbaijan. How, in your opinion, it will affect the US-Azerbaijani
relations?
Neil MacFarlane: I gather that the Azerbaijani government has
reservations about this appointment. If the two governments disagree
on the appointment, one can assume there would be a modest problem in
the relationship. But the basis of the relationship is material and
it does not depend on disagreements concerning diplomatic appointments.
Q: Do you believe that Turkey can become the 4th member state of
the OSCE Minsk Group? How would this impact the solution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
A: Here the question would be whether any of the conflict parties
objected. I don’t think they would. Also, would the other three
chairs accept. I think Russia would be okay with it, given the general
development of Russo-Turkish relations. The US would be okay with it
too. I don’t see any reason why France would disagree.
Q: What can you say about the possible border opening between Turkey
and Armenia? Are parliaments of the two countries likely to ratify
the protocols?
A: Ratification of the agreement in the two parliaments will be
difficult (perhaps more in Turkey than in Armenia). On balance I
think the two will ratify, but it may go the other way.
AVET ADONTS APPOINTED RA AMBASSADOR TO NETHERLANDS
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.11.2009 12:37 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a
decree to relieve Vigen Chitechyan from the post of RA Ambassador to
Netherlands. Be another decree, Avet Adonts was appointed to the post,
RA leader’s press office reported.
MINISTER NALBANDIAN TO VISIT SWITZERLAND
armradio.am
09.11.2009 18:06
The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, will visit
Switzerland November 10-11, Press and Information Department of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.
A number of bilateral documents will be signed within the framework
of the visit.
LOS ANGELES UNIVERSITY MULLS ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI CONFLICT & TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS
Trend
Nov 6 2009
Azerbaijan
The role of the United States and Russia in the Eurasian space, future
of regional energy projects, Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and Armenian-Turkish relations were discussed at the
University of Southern California in the United States, the Consulate
General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles told Trend News on Nov.6.
Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern
California Robert English and Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los
Angeles Elin Suleymanov, as well as teachers and students of the
university attended the workshop dedicated to Azerbaijan’s view of
politics and security in the Caucasus region.