Author: Vanyan Gary

ST. SARGIS FESTIVAL MARKED IN ARMENIAN DIOCESE OF DAMASCUS AND REQUIEM
HELD IN MEMORY OF ARMENIANS PERISHED IN BAKU IN JANUARY 1990
YEREVAN, January 28 (Noyan Tapan). Armenia has no strategy (national
ideas and goals) in the sphere of foreign policy and it “plays
complementarism.” The January 28 joint statement of Vazgen Manukian,
Chairman of the National-Democratic Union, Ashot Manucharian,
Political Secretary of the Union of Socialist Forces, and Paruyr
Hayrikian, Chairman of the National Self-Determination Union, said
this. The statement was publicized by Paruyr Hayrikian at the press
conference held the same day. According to the statement, “yielding to
the provocation of one of the numerous levers of systematized foreign
policy of Turkey, representative of Turkish press (correspondent of
the Zaman newspaper: NT), Vardan Oskanian, RA Foreign Minister,
declared that the Republic of Armenia has nothing against the Kars
treaty.” According to P.Hayrikian, Turkish Prime Minister Erdoghan is
sure that no sensible Armenian should accept the Kars treaty of 1921
legalizing the Armenian Genocide but “instead of accepting and
continuing the thought of the Turkish Prime Minister our Minister
commits mistakes, which are difficult to understand.” In Hayrikian’s
opinion, today’s Armenia may be considered as Armenia of “outpost”
period, and the statesmen as “little members of Komsomol” looking
towards Moscow who only strive for preserving their power. According
to him, the pan-Armenian interests are ignored on the international
arena and everything is moved to the Karabakh (“not Artsakh”) plane,
as a result of which Artsakh itself will gain nothing. Hayrikian
declared that the Turkish diplomacy managed to lead the
Armenian-Turkish relations to Turkey’s demanding lands from
Armenia. In his estimation, today the state committing a Genocide and
seizing the historical lands of Armenia puts forward a condition to
Armenia, again to surrender the territories if not in favor of Turkey
by the example of the Moscow-Kars treaty of 1921 then in favor nof
Azerbaijan as it was done in case of Nakhichevan. According to
Hayrikian, today they also demand Artsakh and Armenia has no power
resisting this. “We only defend ourselves.” According to the
statement, “not only every pupil” but the President of Armenia and his
supporters should know that “the Genocide was summed up and fixed by
the Moscow treaty of 1921 and its copy, Kars treaty.”

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 28 2005
Pressure group says OSCE fact-finding mission will be biased

The Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO) chairman Akif Naghi told a
news conference on Thursday that no impartial results should be
expected from the OSCE fact-finding mission to arrive in Baku on
Friday.
Naghi said that vesting the conflict settlement in the OSCE,
incessant and meaningless talks meet the interests of Armenia and not
those of Azerbaijan. He also said that the GLO will disclose its own
position on the issue after thoroughly studying the mission’s
activity.
The GLO chairman added that the organization intends to hold actions
in numerous countries soon, protesting Armenia’s aggression against
Azerbaijan, jointly with the Azerbaijani communities there.*

COOPERATION OF ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN ICHTHYOLOGISTS
Azg/arm
28 Jan 05
The Inner Hydrosystems’ Research Institute of the Russian Academy of
Sciences will conduct a five-year research of the Sevan Lake in
cooperation with Armenian hydroecologists and ichthyologists. The
Armenian hydroecologists are going to participate at the research
program of Russia’s lakes and reservoirs. A ship designed for research
has arrived from Russia to help the research. The ship ‘s equipment
enables to pursue researches in deep waters.
The Russian scientists will bring to Armenia Ekholot, a sonograph that
will provide information on the lake’s bottom’s relief, fishâ=80=99s
number and locations.
The Armenian and Russian scientists will supplement each other as both
sides have specialists that the other side lacks.
By Karine Danielian

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
26 gennaio 2005

TURCHIA: GERMANIA, SCHROEDER NON TACCIA SU STERMINO ARMENI ;
APPELLO INTELLETTUALE DOPO STRALCIO TESTI SCUOLA BRANDEBURGO
BERLINO
(ANSA) – BERLINO, 26 GEN – L’intellettuale ebreo Ralph
Giordano ha sollecitato il cancelliere Gerhard Schroeder a non
tacere sul genocidio degli armeni e a ricordare ad Ankara che
senza un riconoscimento morale delle sue responsabilita’ la
Turchia non puo’ essere ammessa nell’Unione europea.

La Germania ha come nessun altro paese una responsabilita
storica perche in virtu’ della sua forza di potente alleato
avrebbe potuto impedire il massacro, ha dichiarato lo scrittore
all’emittente nazionale Deutschlandfunk: “il cancelliere
non potra’ sottrarsi, dovra’ saldare questo conto”.

All’origine delle dichiarazioni c’e la decisione del
Brandeburgo, pare su pressione del console turco, di stralciare
dai testi di scuola il capitolo sul genocidio degli armeni. E’
una decisione che rientra nella tradizione di tutti i governi
tedeschi dal 1914: la Turchia e’ da 90 anni il partner
eterno della Germania, ha osservato Giordano.

Nel 1985 la Francia, ha ricordato, ha gia’ ufficialmente
dichiarato genocidio i crimini dell’Impero Ottomano. La Turchia,
che ne e’ il diretto erede, non solo invece nega i fatti ma
distorce la storia. “Al confine fra Armenia e Turchia un
monumento ricorda non il genocidio dei turchi contro gli armeni
ma degli armeni contro i turchi”, ha criticato l’intellettuale.

A suo avviso, a distanza di 90 anni dai crimini e’ l’ora di
riconoscere la storia: “non potra’ esserci nessuna adesione
della Turchia all’Ue senza un riconoscimento storico e morale di
quello che i turchi hanno fatto agli armeni”, ha detto.

All’indirizzo del premier del Brandeburgo Matthias Platzeck
(Spd), che ha avallato la decisione di ‘epurare’ i libri di
storia nel Land, Giordano ha citato addirittura una frase di
Hitler prima dell’inizio della guerra: “Ci sara’ una guerra
contro uomini, donne e bambini, senza pieta’, tanto chi si
ricorda del genocidio degli armeni”.

Giordano che ha dedicato un film al genocidio
armeno (La questione armena non esiste piu’ – La tragedia di un
popolo) partecipera’ il 24 aprile a Francoforte alle
commemorazioni ufficiali per i 90 anni del massacro degli
armeni. (ANSA)

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Jan 26 2005
Armenia: Country’s Jews Alarmed Over Nascent Anti-Semitism
By Emil Danielyan

Armenia’s tiny Jewish community is growing concerned by what it says
is mounting anti-Semitism in the South Caucasus country. Virtually
nonexistent in the past, the issue has emerged over the past year
amid a rise in anti-Jewish propaganda and the desecration of a
Holocaust memorial in Yerevan. The government has so far done little
to address the Jewish community’s concerns.
Yerevan, 26 January 2005 (RFE/RL) — Rimma Varzhapetian says she
always felt proud of Armenia when she met fellow Jews from other
parts of the former Soviet Union.
`We always declare everywhere that there has never been anti-Semitism
in Armenia, that Armenia is a good place for Jews to live and, more
importantly, that Armenia is quite a stable country in political and
social respects,’ Varzhapetian says.
That is why the secular leader of Armenia’s Jewish community has had
trouble coming to terms with what she says is a recent rise in
anti-Semitic propaganda.
It began in 2004, when ALM, a private pro-government television
channel, began broadcasting a phone-in talk show hosted by the
station’s owner, Tigran Karapetian. For months, Karapetian used the
platform to air views that portrayed Jews as an unsavory race bent on
dominating Armenia and the wider world.
Varzhapetian says her office in Yerevan received threatening phone
calls after the first series of ALM broadcasts.
Karapetian’s rhetoric appeared to embolden Armen Avetisian, the
openly anti-Semitic leader of the Armenian Aryan Union, a small
ultranationalist party. Avetisian in a recent newspaper interview
alleged that there are as many as 50,000 “disguised” Jews in Armenia,
and promised he would work to have them expelled from the country. He
was arrested on 24 January on charges of inciting ethnic hatred.
A Holocaust memorial in a public park in the center of Yerevan also
came under attack in September, when vandals desecrated the memorial
on the final day of Jewish New Year celebrations.
Yet what shocked the Jewish community most was an interview with
Hranush Kharatian, a prominent ethnologist who heads the Armenian
government’s department on religious and minority affairs. Speaking
to the `Golos Armenii’ (Voice of Armenia) Russian-language newspaper
a month after the memorial’s desecration, Kharatian accused Jewish
leaders of preaching extreme intolerance toward all non-Jews.
In a recent interview with RFE/RL, Kharatian cited what she called
the “aggressive ideology” contained in the Talmud, the book of Jewish
religious laws. `I see in the Talmud numerous points which clearly
state that non-Jews, or infidels that are not Jews, are not human
beings and are animals,’ she said.
Varzhapetian and other community leaders, including Chief Rabbi Gersh
Meir Burshtein, met last month with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian to ask for help in addressing the problem. A ministry
spokesperson, however, said last week the issue is not sufficiently
serious to warrant government attention.
Mikael Danielian heads the Armenian Helsinki Association, a human
rights group that closely monitors anti-Semitic activity in the
country. He criticized the government’s failure to address the issue.
`I am surprised at the serenity of our state officials,” he told
RFE/RL. “It could have very serious consequences for Armenia.”
Armenia’s Jewish community is estimated to number less than 1,000
people. It is largely formed of scientists and other professionals
who moved to Armenia in the 1960s and ’70s to escape persecution in
Russia and Ukraine. Most integrated quickly into society, marrying
ethnic Armenians and adopting Armenian surnames.
Until recently, anti-Semitic sentiment in Armenia was limited to
occasional allegations by nationalist scholars that Jews had aided
the 1915 genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. The theory — which
is not supported by historical evidence — was first aired during the
presentation of an anti-Semitic book at a 2003 meeting of the
Armenian Writers Union. No one in the audience condemned the text.
A global report on anti-Semitism issued this month by the U.S. State
Department dedicates just three paragraphs to Armenia. But that was
sufficient to unleash a fresh wave of anti-Jewish criticism. ALM’s
Karapetian, who was cited by name in the U.S. study, responded with a
two-hour televised monologue lambasting the United States and the
contents of the report.
Several days later, Karapetian received an unexpected phone call
during an ALM broadcast. An Armenian woman living in Israel
criticized his sweeping bias against Jews, but was quickly cut off by
the broadcaster.
“If someone has offended you personally, or if you have problems with
your business, it doesn’t mean you should hold an entire nation
responsible,” the woman said in Russian. `Stop asking hysterical
questions on air,” Karpetian replied. “Shut up and listen to me. You
say it’s inadmissible to say `Jewish tricks.’ But is it permissible
to spit at a priest?’
Karapetian was referring to two recent incidents in Jerusalem in
which Jewish religious students spat at Armenian priests in a show of
their contempt for their Christian faith. The Armenian Apostolic
Church has had a presence in Jersualem’s Old City for centuries.
The incidents have been cited repeatedly in Armenia as supporting
claims of anti-Semitism. But Varzhapetian said Armenia’s Jews are
still hoping not only the government but also civil society will take
steps to stem the rising hatred.
`We are still awaiting a statement [of protest] from prominent
Armenians. Armenians themselves must express indignation. First of
all, because there are very few of us [in Armenia]. Secondly,
protecting ourselves is not quite appropriate,’ Varzhapetian said.
Varzhapetian and other community leaders sent an open letter to
President Robert Kocharian urging an end to the government’s
“conspicuous failure to see those inciting anti-Semitism.” But the
only response to date has been a statement by a cabinet minister
saying ethnic and religious discrimination does not exist in Armenia.

Libération, France
mardi 25 janvier 2005
Europe Robert Badinter, sénateur socialiste, dénonce la stratégie du
Président
«Chirac fait le jeu des souverainistes»
Par Didier HASSOUX
Ancien président du Conseil constitutionnel, le sénateur socialiste
des Hauts-de-Seine Robert Badinter accuse le président de la
République de chercher à «polluer» le débat sur le Traité européen
par la question de l’adhésion de la Turquie.
Le Parlement débute aujourd’hui la révision constitutionnelle
nécessaire pour l’adoption du Traité européen. L’article 2 du projet
de loi précise que tous nouveaux traités d’adhésion seront
obligatoirement soumis à référendum. Pourquoi voulez-vous le
supprimer ?
En procédant de la sorte, on lie dans le débat politique la question
du Traité constitutionnel à celle de l’entrée de la Turquie. C’est
faire le jeu de souverainistes à la Villiers. Il lui sera facile de
dire que les deux sujets sont liés puisque le Parlement en débat
simultanément. C’est un choix politique erroné. Rien ne nous oblige à
régler la question du référendum sur la Turquie – qui aura lieu au
mieux dans dix ans – à la question de l’adoption du Traité
constitutionnel.
Vous dites cela parce vous êtes opposés à l’entrée de la Turquie dans
l’Union ?
Je suis pour l’adoption du Traité constitutionnel. S’il n’est pas un
chef-d’oeuvre, il est tout de même meilleur que celui de Nice qui
nous régit actuellement. Mais, pour des raisons géopolitiques et de
développement d’une Europe-puissance, je suis hostile à l’entrée de
la Turquie dans l’Union européenne. En élargissant l’UE à cette
grande puissance d’Asie mineure, on se résigne à une Europe molle,
une simple Europe-marché, celle que souhaite monsieur Bush. Alors que
le XXIe siècle sera consacré au jeu d’équilibre entre les grandes
puissances régionales à influence mondiale (les Etats-Unis, la Chine,
l’Inde et l’Europe), l’Union européenne n’a aucune raison d’aller
établir ses frontières au-delà de l’Euphrate et d’avoir comme voisins
la Géorgie, l’Arménie, l’Iran, l’Irak et la Syrie.
Qui a intérêt à entretenir cette confusion ?
Que le président de la République ait lié au projet de révision
constitutionnelle la question de la Turquie n’est pas un hasard.
Pourquoi ? Je ne peux formuler que des hypothèses. Première d’entre
elles : dire aux Français de ne pas s’inquiéter avec la Turquie. On
leur promet qu’ils décideront en dernier recours. C’est un leurre.
Dans douze ou quinze ans, il sera moralement impossible de dire non à
l’entrée de la Turquie alors qu’elle aura fait des efforts constants
pour satisfaire aux exigences de l’Union. De surcroît, dire non
signifierait pour les Français s’opposer à un traité déjà signé par
le président de la République et son gouvernement, en même temps que
30 autres responsables d’Etats membres. Ce serait provoquer une crise
nationale et européenne majeure à ce stade du processus. La décision
sur l’adhésion de la Turquie a en fait déjà été prise – en catimini –
par le chef de l’Etat sans jamais que le Parlement ni les citoyens
aient été appelés à en débattre.
Seconde hypothèse. Aujourd’hui, le parti du Président n’est plus le
sien. Mais celui contrôlé par le président du parti. Dans cette
situation, le chef de l’Etat demande, par le biais de ce projet de
révision constitutionnelle, aux élus de l’UMP d’avaliser
implicitement son choix sur l’entrée de la Turquie. Il pense ainsi
faire prévaloir sa volonté et forcer la majorité de l’UMP à s’aligner
sur ses choix, contrairement à ceux de M. Sarkozy. Pareille tactique
risque malheureusement de polluer le débat sur la ratification du
Traité et de compromettre ses chances.
Si l’article 2 n’est pas supprimé, vous vous opposerez au projet de
loi de révision ?
Il y aura d’autres amendements déposés au cours du débat
parlementaire, notamment par les socialistes. C’est à l’issue de ce
débat que j’arrêterai ma position.

CULTURAL LIFE: JULIAN COPE MUSICIAN
The Independent – United Kingdom;
Jan 21, 2005
Interview by Charlotte Cripps

Books
I am always reading the same thing, a huge amount of Indo-European
mythology and early-language studies, such as Archaeology & Language:
The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins by Colin Renfrew. I’m rereading
Brian Bates’s The Way of Wyrd: Tales of an Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer, about
belief in the undead. My own current project, Let Me Speak to the
Driver, is about whether there is a universal force that drives us. My
favourite book is Zoroastrianism in Armenia by James Russell.
Film
I don’t really watch films, other than loud rock’n’roll ones. The
other night, I watched Eat the Document, the Bob Dylan movie made in
1972. Freebird: The Movie is the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd, a rock band
of weirdos who died in a plane crash. My wife drags me to the cinema
sometimes. I quite like The Lord of the Rings – but there is too much
fighting in all of them. The last Harry Potter film was very mystical,
much better than the first two, which were very Hollywood.
Music
I’m mainly listening to US underground music – Comets of Fire are
playing with me at the Festival Hall. I also like a lot of American
doom metal, such as Sunn 0))) and Khanate. They are all very extreme,
with tracks that last 25 minutes. Another band is Teeth of Lions Rule
the Divine; it’s real trudge-sludge music that sounds like the Earth
is forming. I don’t dislike mainstream music, but I don’t get the
point of it.
Theatre & opera
I hate opera. I think it is rubbish. I don’t accept its metaphor, and
I don’t have the necessary Mediterranean soul to understand it. My
wife worked for years with the former English National Opera boss Sir
Peter Jonas, and he called me a barbarian for hating opera so much. I
haven’t been to the theatre in ages. I wriggle out of going. I spend
most of the time in the middle of nowhere, looking for lost monuments,
so I don’t see what’s on in the city.
Julian Cope plays the Royal Festival Hall, London SE1 (0870 380 0400)
tonight. For details of tour and album, `Citizen Cain’d’, consult

Armenian National Committee of America
Western Region
104 N. Belmont Suite 200
Glendale, CA 91206
Tel: (818) 500-1918
Fax: (818) 246-7353
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
January 21, 2005
Contact: Armen Carapetian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
REP. LINDA SANCHEZ LATEST ADDITION TO CONGRESSIONAL ARMENIAN CAUCUS
— Two term Congresswoman has been active on Genocide Recognition
and U.S.-Armenia Economic Relations Issues
GLENDALE, CA – Southern California Democrat Linda Sanchez (39th
Dist.) is the most recent in a line of Representatives who have
become members of the Congressional Armenian Caucus. She joins
Representatives Ben Chandler (R-KY), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Jerry
Moran (R-KS), and Joe Schwarz (R-MI), all of whom have added their
names to the Caucus over the past three weeks.
Since her election to Congress in 2002, Rep. Sanchez has
consistently been active on issues of concern to the Armenian
American community. In the 108th Congress, she was a cosponsor of a
measure, which granted permanent normal trade relations status
(PNTR) to Armenia. She has also been vocal in urging President
Bush to properly commemorate the Armenian Genocide, joining over
160 of her colleagues in cosigning letters to the President
regarding the topic in April 2003 and 2004.
“We appreciate Rep. Linda Sanchez’s leadership and advocacy on
issues of concern to her Armenian American constituency,” commented
ANCA Western Region Executive Director Ardashes Kassakhian. “It is
through exemplary leadership like hers that we will see the
membership of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian issues continue
to grow.”
An attorney by profession prior to her election to office, Rep.
Sanchez currently serves on the House Government Reforms, Small
Business and Judiciary Committees. She convincingly defeated
Republican Tim Escobar in the 2004 Congressional elections,
garnering 61% of the vote.
Established in 1995 and co-chaired by Representatives Frank Pallone
(D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), the Congressional Armenian
Caucus is a bipartisan forum for the discussion of policies to
foster increased cooperation between the United States and Armenian
governments and to strengthen the enduring bonds between the
American and Armenian peoples.

‘Fidelio’ returns
Lyric, cast rise above flawed Beethoven opera
The Chicago Tribune
January 19, 2005
By John von Rhein, Tribune music critic
“Fidelio” has been missing in action at Lyric Opera for nearly 24 years,
much too long for a flawed masterpiece that once held sway on Wacker
Drive whenever the great tenor Jon Vickers was available to sing the
punishing role of Florestan.
Beethoven’s only opera attempts to translate the high-flown democratic
ideals he later developed in his Ninth Symphony into credible theatrical
form. He didn’t fully succeed despite his heroic labors. But dramatic
awkwardness finally bows to the music itself: a great score driven by
noble sentiment.
Much of that noble sentiment was recognizable in the radiant Finnish
soprano Karita Mattila’s thrilling portrayal of Leonore, the opera’s
courageous, larger-than-life heroine, at the Lyric’s first performance
of the season Tuesday night at the Civic Opera House.
But the Lyric also did itself proud with its casting of the other roles,
all of them strongly filled.
Whatever inconsistencies of concept marred German stage director Jürgen
Flimm’s updated production from the Metropolitan Opera (taken over in
his absence by his assistant, Gina Lapinski) were more than offset by
the splendidly idiomatic conducting of Christoph von Dohnányi, returning
in triumph to the theater that gave him his U.S. operatic debut 36 years
ago.
Flimm sets the opera in a squalid prison in a totalitarian banana
republic, where crates of automatic weapons are unloaded almost within
reach of the caged inmates. Robert Israel’s drab sets, with their
water-stained concrete walls and junk-filled dungeon, emphasize the
oppressive tyranny Leonore (disguised as the youth Fidelio) must
overcome to rescue her husband, the captive Florestan.
The point is made early on: Unjust political imprisonment knows no one
time or place. A cliché, perhaps, but clichés work when there’s keen
dramatic motivation behind them.
Also, it must be noted that some of the director’s more bothersome
revisionist touches were removed soon after his “Fidelio” bowed at the
Met in 2000. Here the villainous Pizarro (Falk Struckmann) is spared the
hangman’s noose, while the deus ex machina governor, Don Fernando (Alan
Held), is back to being a good guy.
One further plus is that the cumbersome spoken dialogue is cut to the bone.
Mattila’s Leonore is no goody-goody “rescue” heroine but a desperate
housewife fully capable of stealing money, packing a firearm and
deceiving the lovesick innocent, Marzelline (the shining soprano Isabel
Bayrakdarian), to get what she wants.
The Finnish diva is Leonore to the life, hair cropped and shoulders
resolute, totally believable as a young man, as opposed to the usual
overweight diva in drag. No wonder poor Marzelline is fooled into
believing she’s a he.
Mattila sang with full, luminous tone, her “Abscheulicher!” quivering
with horror and outrage. Tough yet vulnerable, she made opera’s first
feminist icon a real person, not a singing abstraction.
Here was another winning performance to set beside her deeply moving
Donna Anna in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” earlier this season.
The first sound we heard from Florestan was a soft high G, a cry of
despair rending the subterranean darkness; Kim Begley lofted it like an
arrow to the heart. If this admirable British singer lacked the vocal
amplitude of the Met’s Ben Heppner, his firm, unforced singing made this
notorious tenor-killer role sound almost easy.
The exemplary René Pape brought a robust, sonorous bass to the
bespectacled, bumbling jailer, Rocco. As the evil governor, German
bass-baritone Struckmann ranted and snarled like Mussolini in a
three-piece suit.
Australian tenor Steve Davislim, in his American operatic debut, sang
sweetly and elegantly even when Jaquino had to wield an Uzi.
Once past a somewhat unsettled overture, Dohnányi invested the orchestra
with the rhythmic drive, tensile strength and harmonic depth of
authentic Beethoven. Wisely, he refused to interpolate Beethoven’s third
“Leonore” overture between the dungeon duet and the final scene, which
invariably makes the jubilant final chorus sound anticlimactic.
The orchestra gave of its best, while the male choristers were deeply
moving in the Prisoners Chorus.
Florence von Gerkan’s costumes stressed khakis and charcoal for the
principals, correctional white for the prisoners.
Lyric’s “Fidelio” plays through Feb. 21; phone (312) 332-2244.
,1,5627092.story?coll=mmx-home_features

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
01/20/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan to Take AGBU to Court on Melkonian Issue 2) Assistant US Secretary of State's Statements Hinder Peace Process Says Karabagh ARF 3) Kentucky Democrat Chandler Joins Armenian Caucus 4) Azeri Ex-Brigade Commander Refuses to Fight Again for Azerbaijan 1) Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan to Take AGBU to Court on Melkonian Issue LOS ANGELES--Reliable sources have confirmed that, in the matter of the Garabed Melkonian Trust, Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan, in his fiduciary capacity as Patriarch of Constantinople, filed a lawsuit against New York-based Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) on January 13, 2005. The suit was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles by plaintiff Mutafyan's California-based attorney. The lawsuit mainly addresses the formal announcement made by the AGBU in March 2004 that it would be closing the Melkonian Educational Institution in Nicosia, Cyprus at the end of the 2005 school year. In July 1921, wealthy Armenian businessman Garabed Melkonian donated a gift to then Patriarch of Constantinople Zaven Der Yeghyayan, to establish and maintain Armenian schools, as well as carry out various charitable works for the Armenian people. In 1924, the value of the gift was at least $3.5 million and per Melkonian's request, an Armenian school and orphanage named the Melkonian Educational Institute was established in Nicosia, Cyprus. In 1925, Patriarch Der Yeghyayan transferred the entire Melkonian gift, including the Melkonian Educational Institute, to the AGBU due to the latter's expressed ability to better manage the trust's assets and execute the donor's intentions. The suit, Arch. Mesrob Mutafyan vs. Armenian General Benevolent Union, petitions to compel AGBU to perform the Trustee's duties and redress a breach of trust by payment of money or otherwise. Asbarez tried to contact Mutafyan for comment but has not yet received a response. 2) Assistant US Secretary of State's Statements Hinder Peace Process Says Karabagh ARF YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Responding to outgoing US Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones's recent statement concerning Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR), Grisha Hayrapetian, a member of the MKR Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Central Committee (CC), said that the comments are "extremely damaging to the peace process." On Wednesday, Jones called for increased US engagement in resolving regional conflicts in the former Soviet Union, stating: "It is in Russia's interest for these areas--for Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Mountainous Karabagh--to be stable, for corruption to end there, for the criminal secessionists who rule there to be removed. It is not appropriate for this kind of instability and criminality to exist right in the middle of Europe." In the article that appeared in the newspaper Aparazh, Hayerapetian emphasized that Jones's statement contradicts those of high-ranking US officials who have repeatedly said that democratic process in MKR has advanced significantly, specifically in contrast to the authoritarian regime of Azerbaijan. He also stressed that the removal of any given country's leadership remains an internal issue for citizens to decide through free elections. 3) Kentucky Democrat Chandler Joins Armenian Caucus Second term Congressman Serves on House International Relations Committee NEW YORK (ANCA-ER)--Representative Ben Chandler (D-KY) became the newest member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues on Wednesday, boosting the Caucus's membership to one hundred forty-five. Congressman Chandler was first elected to the US House in a special election in February 2004 to replace Rep. Ernie Fletcher, who left his seat to successfully run for Governor of Kentucky. Chandler was re-elected to office in November 2004, with 59% of the vote. Congressman Chandler serves on the Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on International Relations, and the Select Committee on Homeland Security. "We welcome Representative Chandler joining the Armenian Issues Caucus and look forward to working with the Congressman on a number of issues of special concern to his Armenian American constituents," said Doug Geogerian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA-ER). "As a member of the Committee on International Relations, we look forward to his support on gaining official recognition of the Armenian Genocide, working to foster stronger US-Armenia bilateral relations, and obtaining a just settlement for the people of Mountainous Karabagh," said Geogerian. Founded in 1995, the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues is a bipartisan forum for the discussion of policies to foster increased cooperation between the United States and Armenian governments and to strengthen the enduring bonds between the American and Armenian peoples. Its two co-chairs are Congressman Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Congressmen Frank Pallone (D-NJ). 4) Azeri Ex-Brigade Commander Refuses to Fight Again for Azerbaijan BAKU (PanArmenian.net)--"I will not fight for Azerbaijan anymore," announced retired Colonel Azer Rustamov, in an interview with Azeri weekly Obozrevatel.net. "I do not wish to fight and others will not go either. They'll prefer to trade in bazaars." Rustamov rose to the rank of full colonel and commander of a brigade in the Fizuli district, where he served from 1999 to 2001. He resigned from the military in 2003. "If war breaks out now, I am not sure whether I'll fight. I witnessed the attitude showed towards the memory of the killed and those, who remained invalid after the war," said Rustamov. "The army, of course, will fight for a certain period. But what will happen when their depleted ranks would need to be replenished? Who will go if over two million people now work in Russia?" Rustamov is also critical of Azerbaijan's foreign policy rhetoric. At present, he is focused on forming "Combat Brotherhood," a non-government organization that would focus on veterans of Afghanistan and other wars. A veteran of wars in Afghanistan and Karabagh, Rustamov was decorated by both the Elchibey and Aliyev administrations with the Order of the Red Star, awarded for length of service. A group of 100 Chechen volunteers, headed by Shamil Basayev and Salman Raduyev, significantly helped the Azeri army, according to Rustamov. CORRECTION In Tuesday's article "Twenty-two Novices Refresh Ranks of ARF," we incorrectly reported that Khajag Dikranian served as the godfather to the novices entering the ranks of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation on January 15; it should have stated Khajag Dikidjian. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. 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