Author: Tavakalian Edgar

Louisville Courier-Journal, KY
June 4 2005

Church helps refugee family settle in Parish assists with housing,
furniture

The Taleb family was photographed this week in front of its new home
in Buechel. From left were mother Knarik; Khamdi, 8; Malik, 18; Lili,
14; Usan, 22; Muhamed, 20; and father Hasanin. St. Gabriel the
Archangel Catholic Church and Catholic Charities rented the
four-bedroom house. (BY ARZA BARNETT, THE COURIER-JOURNAL)

QUICK TAKE

Name: St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church
Address: 5505 Bardstown Road
Services: Sunday Mass, 7:30, 9 and 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; Saturday
Mass, 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m.; daily Mass, Monday through Friday, 8:15
a.m.
Congregation: About 2,000 families
Telephone: 239-5481
Web site:

By Christopher Hall
Special to The Courier-Journal

On Wednesday afternoon a small cluster of people stood anxiously
waiting at the arrival gate at Louisville International Airport.

Members of St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church, with a
representative from Catholic Charities, were ready to greet a family
they’d never met before.

St. Gabriel, which is in Fern Creek, and Catholic Charities are
co-sponsors of a refugee family of seven, whose tortuous journey over
the last five or six years has taken them from Armenia to Azerbaijan
to Russia, and finally to Louisville.

The Taleb family — Hasanin Qaid Mohammed Taleb and his wife, Knarik
Taleb, and their four sons and a daughter, ages 8 to 22 — arrived
about 1:30 to be greeted by hugs, handshakes and signs saying
“Welcome Home.”

Catholic Charities brings hundreds of refugees and immigrants to
Louisville each year. Perhaps five families a year have the help of a
co-sponsor parish such as St. Gabriel or frequent co-sponsors St.
Margaret Mary and Holy Trinity, according to Gail Dupre,
community-resource developer for the Migration and Refugee Services
of Catholic Charities.

For several months, a committee at St. Gabriel headed by Sister Ruth
Ann Haunz, a pastoral associate, and two church members, Glendon
Smith and his 17-year-old daughter, Abbey, has been preparing a place
for the refugee family.

The church and Catholic Charities rented a four-bedroom house in
Buechel, and church members organized drives to raise money and
gather household supplies and furniture.

“We’ve been anticipating this day for five months,” Glendon Smith
told a friend at the airport.

The rent will be paid by Catholic Charities from federal grant money,
Dupre said. The U.S. Conference of Bishops contracts with the federal
government to help resettle refugees regardless of religious
persuasion, she said.

At the airport, Dupre said that she wasn’t sure why the family had
fled its homeland but that it could be because of their ethnicity or
mixed marriage.

Hasanin Taleb is an Arabic Muslim from Yemen, and his wife is an
Armenian Christian, Dupre said.

“These are folks that are seeking refuge from persecution,” Dupre
said.

Members of the church have made a six-month commitment to assist the
family and have formed committees to help the family with
transportation and other needs. Catholic Charities also will help
with job searches and learning English.

Dupre said the relationship between refugee family and church usually
lasts far longer than the six-month commitment.

“The tough part is getting people organized, and Sister Ruth Ann and
Glendon have done a tremendous job at St. Gabriel,” Dupre said. “It’s
yeoman’s service. They coordinated everything.”

The church’s pastor, the Rev. John Stoltz, called his congregation’s
work a ministry of hospitality and a “wonderful Christian witness.”

Hasanin Taleb said through an interpreter Wednesday that he and his
family were very tired, and happy to have finally arrived.

“We have been working for almost five or six years to come here,” he
said. “It’s very good.”

“We are so happy,” the oldest son, Usan, 22, told one of the church
members as they walked down the airport concourse toward the baggage
claim, ready to go to their new home.

Armenia to help Georgia improve living standards in ethnic region

Yerkir website
3 Jun 05

Yerevan. 3 June: Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan has met
Georgian Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze and Prime Minister Zurab
Noghaideli in Tbilisi.

The meeting discussed the socioeconomic situation in Javakhk [Georgia’s
Armenian-populated Javakheti region].

The Armenian prime minister said that with Georgia’s consent, Armenia
is ready to repair roads in Javakhk and improve the socioeconomic
situation in this region.

The Georgian officials accepted Armenia’s offer with pleasure.

Post-Soviet separatist leaders plan meet

Agence France Presse — English
June 1, 2005 Wednesday 4:22 PM GMT

MOSCOW June 1 — Leaders of separatist regions tacitly backed by Russia
in several former Soviet republics plan to meet later this month to
“coordinate” their campaigns for independence, the top official from
the breakaway South Ossetia region in Georgia said here Wednesday.

“This is not just to see each other but to reinforce the foundations
of our states and to coordinate our actions,” Eduard Kokoity, the
“president” of South Ossetia, was quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency
as saying.

He said the meeting would group the leaders of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia, another separatist part of Georgia, as well as those of
Nagorny Karabakh, a territory occupied by Armenia but located inside
Azerbaijan, and Transdniestr, a Russian-speaking breakaway region
in Moldova.

Kokoity did not specify a time or place for the meeting.

“There are forces trying to disrupt our relations,” he said. “I think
they will not succeed.”

His comments came a week after Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili
called on leaders in Abkhazia and South Ossetia to drop their drive
for independence and return to Georgia.

Azerbaijan to hamper Armenia’s GUAM admission

Baku, May 30, AssA-Irada

Chairman of Ukrainian Supreme Rada (parliament) Vladimir Litvin
has said that Armenia’s admission to GUAM, a regional organization
comprising Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, is possible.

Commenting on the statement, Azerbaijani parliament speaker Murtuz
Alasgarov said that Azerbaijan will hamper Armenia’s admission to
the organization by all means.

Alasgarov told journalists at Baku airport on Sunday upon returning
from the 2nd meeting of the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly held in Yalta
that the possibility of admission of not only European countries but
also several Central Asian countries to GUAM is acceptable.

Armenian Foreign Minister has said that Armenia has not received such
proposal. Official Yerevan will consider the proposal if it is made,
Armenia media quoted Vardan Oskanian as saying.

“However, entering an organization would primarily entail believing
its principles and goals. GUAM is reconsidering its objectives at
this point, as there are a lot of uncertainties”, said Oskanian.*

Kremlin administration chief arrives in Yerevan for talks
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 30, 2005 Monday 12:38 PM Eastern Time

MOSCOW, May 30 — The Kremlin administration chief, Dmitry Medvedev,
will focus on Russian-Armenian relations, especially in the economic
sphere, during his talks with Armenian officials.

Medvedev said upon his arrival in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on
Monday that the question of withdrawing Russian bases from Georgia
concerned primarily Russia and Georgia.

Medvedev will meet Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and other
Armenian leaders, the Kremlin press service told Itar-Tass.

Hariri campaign claims victory in Beirut parliamentary election
BRIAN WHITAKER IN BEIRUT

The Guardian – United Kingdom
May 30, 2005

Lebanese voters went to the polls yesterday at the start of the first
parliamentary election in 30 years that has not been marred by civil
war or heavy-handed Syrian meddling.

The campaign, led by Saad Hariri, 35, the son of Rafik Hariri,
the former prime minister who was assassinated in February, was
celebrating victory after incomplete results showed it had swept
Beirut’s 19 parliamentary seats.

The official results are not due until today, and voting in the rest
of the country is still to come.

But a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity,
confirmed to the Associated Press that the Hariri campaign’s
prediction, with most of the votes counted and the ticket’s margin
of votes, was insurmountable.

After the heady days of street demonstrations that toppled the
Syrian-backed government and helped to drive Syrian forces out of
the country just a few weeks ago, the first phase of the election,
in the capital, Beirut, proved an anti-climax.

Amid complaints of a carve-up by political leaders – 10 of the 19
Beirut seats have already returned candidates unopposed – the big
question was how many of the city’s 420,000 electors would bother
to vote.

Last night, Hassan al-Sabaa, the interior minister, put turnout at
28%, which was less than the 35% for the last election under Syrian
domination in 2000, an embarrassment to the Hariri bloc.

In an effort to get the voters out earlier in the day, fleets of cars
decorated with Hariri posters, ferried supporters to the polls.

Voting appeared fairly brisk in the morning but had dwindled to a
trickle by early afternoon.

An interior ministry official put the turnout during the first six
hours at only 18.5%.

Wearing jeans and an open-neck shirt and surrounded by bodyguards
in suits, Mr Hariri toured the polling stations, where supporters
showered him with rice and chanted his father’s name. He also visited
to his father’s grave.

Riding a wave of sympathy for his murdered father, who many believe
was killed by pro-Syrian elements, he urged people to vote “against
the criminals”.

“The people will have their say today and demonstrate their loyalty
to Rafik Hariri,” he said. “Those who are against us today do not
want a unified country or a unified Beirut.”

Elsewhere, supporters of Christian leader Michel Aoun, who has not
been included in Hariri’s alliance, handed out stickers urging voters
to boycott “the appointments” (as they describe the election).

The Armenian Tashnag party, which is also disaffected over the backroom
electoral deals, issued leaflets saying: “No participation without
proper representation for all in Beirut.”

At a polling station near the American University, one disgruntled
voter said he was supporting an independent candidate. “We are not
against Saad Hariri,” he said, “but we don’t want the people that he
has put here for us. We want to choose our own people.”

More than 100 observers from the EU and UN watched the vote for
irregularities, the first time Lebanon has permitted foreign scrutiny.

“I see it as a potential for a new start,” US senator Joseph Biden,
who came to watch the balloting, told Associated Press. Mr Biden
said the new parliament may not be fundamentally different from the
previous one, but said the atmosphere had improved because “there’s
an occupying force that’s gone”.

TRADE TURNOVER BETWEEN ARMENIA AND INDIA GROWS BY 6 TIMES SINCE 2002

YEREVAN, May 30. /ARKA/. Trade turnover between Armenia and India
has grow by 6 times since 2002, stated Dipak Vohra, Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of India to Armenia. According to him, the expected
trade turnover in 2005 will make $12 mln. “The increase of bilateral
economic cooperation was greatly promoted by Industry and Commerce
Chambers of Armenia and India”, he said. The Ambassador also hopes
for further strengthening of cooperation between the businessmen of
the two countries.

According to the RA National Statistical Service, the volume of
external trade turnover of Armenia and India in 2004 made $8674
thou, having grown by 44,7% compared to 2003. At that, the export of
Armenian products to India made $289,5 thou, against $43,4 thou in
2003, import amounted to $8384,5 thou against $5951,8 thou in 2003.

L.V.-0–

Agence France Presse — German
Freitag, 27. Mai 2005

Erdogan distanziert sich von Minister-Aussagen zu Armenien-Kongress

Istanbul

Nach der Absage einer Historiker-Konferenz zu den Massakern an den
Armeniern im Ersten Weltkrieg hat sich der türkische
Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan von seinem Justizminister
distanziert. Ressortchef Cemil Cicek habe eine persönliche Erklärung
abgegeben, keine Erklärung der Regierung, zitierte die türkische
Nachrichtenagentur Anadolu Erdogan am Freitag.

Cicek hatte die Teilnehmer der an der renommierten Istanbuler
Bosporus-Universität geplanten Veranstaltung des “Verrats”
bezichtigt. Die Konferenz würde “dem türkischen Volk das Messer in
den Rücken stoßen”, sagte Cicek. Das Treffen wurde daraufhin
verschoben.

Die EU hat die Absage scharf kritisiert und vor schädlichen
Auswirkungen auf die EU-Beitrittsgespräche gewarnt. Das türkische
Vorgehen gegen die Armenier während des Ersten Weltkriegs ist
umstritten. Die Armenier sprechen von einem Völkermord mit mehr als
einer Million Toten, die Türkei von einer “kriegsbedingten
Zwangsumsiedlung”; sie setzt die Opferzahl wesentlich niedriger an.
Die Konferenz galt als erster Versuch von türkischen Wissenschaftlern
und Intellektuellen, gemeinsam mit ausländischen Kollegen möglichst
nüchtern der Wahrheit über die damaligen Vorgänge näher zu kommen.

ABC News Transcripts
SHOW: GOOD MORNING AMERICA (07:00 AM ET) – ABC
May 27, 2005 Friday

MURDER MYSTERY? BIZARRE DEATH REOPENED

CHARLES GIBSON, ABC NEWS

But first, we’re going to start with a, something of a mystery. The
death of a young mother five years ago under some very mysterious
circumstances. And now a private investigation into her death is
revealing some new details. ABC’s Jim Avila has been following this
bizarre death and brings us a first look at his “20/20” report on
this very strange case.

JIM AVILA, ABC NEWS

(Voice Over) It was an old-fashioned Armenian church wedding. Mark, a
37 year-old successful carpet salesman and his beautiful young wife,
25 year-old, Linda. By most accounts, it is a marriage of love for
him, and practicality for him. Dave Delician (PH), Linda’s brother,
says even before the wedding Linda had one goal, to become a mom.

DAVE, LINDA’S BROTHER

She wanted a stable family life, and she wanted to have children who
were raised in a stable family.

JIM AVILA

(Voice Over) Mark and Linda Adanalian built a respectable upper
middle-class life in the Armenian capital of America, Fresno,
California. And, yes, by the year 2000, Linda has her family. A dream
come true? Not exactly. Dave, his sister, Meg Bakich (PH), and their
spouses talked to us about Linda and her troubled marriage.

MEG, LINDA’S SISTER

He was mad. He did not want to have another child. And Linda said,
what do you want me to do? She’s here.

JIM AVILA

(Voice Over) And perhaps most telling, the once loving couple hardly
touch anymore. Linda starts recording what she calls Mark’s rage.

MARK, LINDA’S HUSBAND

Two years we haven’t touched each other. Two -over two years? And
it’s going to get worse, Linda, because I’ll tell you something right
now, this is, this is (censored by network) miserable.

JIM AVILA

(Voice Over) Then, Mark and Linda are broad-sided by a life-changing
event. Mark takes ill. The diagnosis is multiple sclerosis. Mark
would not talk to us directly. He asked instead that we speak to his
attorney and friend of 30 years, the best man at his wedding.

WARREN PABOOJIAN, FRIEND OF MARK

Sure, he was angry. They were both angry. Absolutely. I mean, you
know, this is a, this is a tough time. You know, you’re diagnosed
with a, you know, a disease that there’s no cure for. You have a, a
new baby. You’re starting a new business. Everybody is under a lot of
stress.

JIM AVILA

(Voice Over) A day after her youngest child turned two, Linda,
without warning, collapsed on the steps of the very church where she
was married and died at the hospital three hours later. The rush to
save her life left a slew of unanswered questions. Most importantly,
what killed her?

MEG

I never saw a tear. I have never seen Mark more gleeful. He was
jovial. He …

JIM AVILA

(Off Camera) He was happy that his wife had died?

MEG

He was happy, he was relaxed, he was in the best mood.

JIM AVILA

(Voice Over) For Linda’s family, it was just the beginning of a
litany of strange behavior by Mark that makes them more and more
suspicious.

MARK

I have done everything in my power to prove my innocence. I know my
innocence. I took a lie detector test. I did everything.

JIM AVILA

(Voice Over) Linda’s family pushes the coroner for answers. He calls
for Linda’s body to be exhumed. And what they would find out
surprised everyone.

graphics: murder mystery

graphics: cold case: mom dies of poison?

JIM AVILA

(Off Camera) Now, what the coroner found was -in Linda’s body after
her grave was exhumed, changed the focus of the case. In her liver,
in her kidneys, and in her bloodstream there was an elevated level of
a toxic metal. She was poisoned. But was Mark responsible or was he
just a second victim? Tonight on “20/20,” we’ll let you hear more of
those excruciating tapes between -the wife, Linda, and the husband,
Mark. Plus, we’ll show more of the deposition from Mark. And we’ll
bring in a set of fresh eyes, a prosecutor who investigated the case
privately and then took her findings to the Fresno police. All that
tonight on “20/20.” Charlie?

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) All right. Thanks, Jim. And Jim mentioned you can watch
his report at 10:00, 9:00 Central on ABC’s “20/20.”

graphics: 20/20

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) Now 35 minutes after the hour. Time now for the weather.
Tony Perkins in Bryant Park with our huge Rascal Flatts crowd and
Rascal Flatts contest. Tony?

UNDP TO ASSIST PREPARATION OF NATIONAL REPORT OF ARMENIA’S YOUTH

YEREVAN, MAY 27, NOYAN TAPAN. On May 26, Hovik Hoveyan, the RA
Minister of Culture and Youth Issues, and Alexander Avanesov, the
Deputy Standing Representative of the UN Development Program in
Armenia, signed an agreement concerning cooperation around working
out, preparing and publishing “National Report of Armenia’s Youth.”
According to Minister Hovik Hoveyan, in future, a similar cooperation
will be promoted in the cultural spheres as well. According to the
agreement, the works will start from this June 1 and last for a half
and a year. A number of studies and researches will be carried out
during this period which will give an opportunity to discover the
complete picture of the youth in the republic, of the issues they are
interested in.