Author: Vardanian Garo

Lebanon’s Armenians: well-integrated but declining
By Nayla Razzouk – BEIRUT

Middle East Online, UK
April 21 2005

Armenians whose ancestors escaped massacre in Ottoman Turkey gain
Lebanon’s respec with their skills, hard work.

Lebanon’s well-integrated Armenian community is gearing up for the
90th anniversary of the massacre of their ancestors in Ottoman Turkey
amid concerns over emigration which has halved their number in 15
years.

The Christian Armenians have been hit by the same economic hardships
as other communities in the tiny Arab country which welcomed their
forefathers with open arms.

>>From 250,000 at the end of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, during
which tens of thousands emigrated, the Armenian community has
dwindled further to about 120,000, according to political and
religious leaders of the community.

“We suffered emigration like all other communities in post-war
Lebanon. We are trying to face that problem, and so are our churches,
with financial and housing aid,” said MP Jean Ogassabian, one of six
ethnic Armenian deputies in the 128-member parliament.

“But since Armenia’s independence in 1991, many of the funds that we
used to receive are now going” to the former Soviet republic, said
another, MP Serge Tor Sarkissian.

Lebanon hosts the Arab world’s largest Armenian community, the
descendants of survivors of the 1915-1917 massacres of Armenians who
are now leading a global campaign to declare the mass killings a
genocide.

The massacres have been acknowledged as genocide by a number of
countries, including France, Canada and Switzerland. Armenians around
the world will mark the 90th anniversary of the start of the
slaughter on April 24.

“A draft law proposal for official Lebanese recognition of the
genocide has been in my drawer for two years because Lebanon does not
need more crises. We are Lebanese first, and we are forever grateful
to Lebanon,” said Tor Sarkissian.

Most of Lebanon’s Armenians hail from the region of Cilicia, today in
Turkey, and not in the present-day state of Armenia.

>>From refugees living under tents on wastelands, the Armenians gained
the respect of other communities in Lebanon with their skills and
hard work that allowed them to gain prominent economic and political
positions.

The community is today represented by a government minister, six MPs
and three main political parties. The mother and wife of President
Emile Lahoud are of Armenian origin.

Many of Lebanon’s top jewellers, leading industrialists, prominent
physicians, popular television presenters, artists and at least half
of the musicians of the national symphony orchestra are Armenians.

If many Lebanese are known to speak Arabic, French and English, some
Lebanese Armenians are even quadrilingual.

At election time, the Armenian vote is an important factor since many
of them are registered in Beirut and important regions nearby. They
have however often been criticised for voting in block, in favor of
the government of the day.

The Armenians maintained a neutral stand during the war.

“The Armenians mind their own business to the point that they even
celebrate Christmas on their own,” on January 6, said Wassim Husseini
in a joke summing up how Armenians are generally viewed.

But such stereotypes belong more to the past, said Arda Ekmekji, dean
of arts and sciences at Haigazian University, the only Armenian
higher learning institute outside Armenia.

“Today, Lebanese Armenians are completely integrated, they live
across the country and speak perfect Arabic,” she said. “When two
Lebanese meet in Paris, they naturally speak Arabic!”

Beside the input of the family, Armenian identity is kept alive by
active political, cultural and sporting institutions as well as some
70 Armenian schools and the university.

And there is the commemoration of April 24.

Near Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian church north of Beirut,
children file in groups into a mausoleum to watch in silence a
display of skulls from the massacre.

In the all-Armenian village of Anjar, in eastern Lebanon, residents
live amid apple orchards, vineyards and Islamic ruins in six quarters
named after the six villages of mountainous Musa Dagh, in today’s
Turkey.

Armenians from around the world trek to Anjar to pray at the memorial
of the heroic and poorly-armed Armenian villagers in Musa Dagh who,
faced with almost certain death, fought for 40 days against invading
Turks in 1915.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I DELIVERS A LECTURE DURING THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY
CONFERENCE OF EUROPE’S ORTHODOX COUNTRIES

The second inter-parliamentary conference of the Orthodox countries of
Europe kicked off in Athens on April 18. The main theme of the conference
was the interrelation between nation and religion in New Europe.

His Holiness Aram I delivered the first lecture of the conference. The
president of the conference, who presented His Holiness, highlighted Aram I’
s role in the international arena and in ecumenical and inter-church
relations. He expressed his satisfaction that the Catholicos had agreed to
speak at the opening session of the conference.

During his lecture, His Holiness Aram I considered interrelation between
religion and nation as essential in today’s globalized world. He regarded
this interrelation as a source for development and progress, as well one for
new concerns and complexities.

Speaking specifically about nation-church interrelations in Europe, His
Holiness concentrated on the following three main points:

1. It is essential to grant a new definition to the concept of nation and
adopt a new approach towards it: A nation is the unity of ethnic, cultural
and religious identities. Is it possible to use the same definition in today
‘s multi-religious, multicultural and multiethnic society, where different
identities are engaged in constant dialogue and hence affect each other
mutually?

The concept of nation also necessitates a concrete geographic area.
Globalization, however, has altered this reality as well. All nations today
have started losing their local and geographic characteristics and cultural
identity and have become subject to the forces of globalization. In these
conditions, it is essential to adopt new sociological, theological and
political approaches towards the concept of nation.

2. It’s essential for the church to engage itself in a discussion about its
own ecclesiological and missionary understandings: The church is not a
fixed, frozen entity; rather, it’s a structure that constantly fulfills
itself. The church should keep pace with the changing conditions of the
world. The Orthodox Church, especially, should cross structural boundaries.
It should not merely be an institutional reality; it should become an
existential presence in people’s lives. In other words, the concept of
“national church” should be replaced with the concept of “people’s church”.
Through this approach, the mission of the church should be directed towards
the people.

His Holiness spoke about the historical experience of the Armenian Church in
this context.

3. The church should have a new approach towards nation-church
interrelations in new Europe: The church, especially in Orthodox countries,
has, for centuries, been the warden of national unity and the source for
national identity. What kind of a church do we want to have today: A
national church or a nationalist one?

The church is a local reality and should, therefore, have some sort of
national identity. At the same time, however, the church is a universal
reality. Where are the limits and the limitations between the local and the
global in this interaction? The church has no right to identify itself with
political and ideological structures. Simultaneously, the church has the
responsibility to fight for justice, human rights and other issues of
concern to the society.

His Holiness emphasized the following points in his concluding remarks:

1.. It’s essential to clearly differentiate between the church-nation and
church-state relations.

2.. It’s important to highlight the church’s mission towards the people,
reduce the church’s activities towards issues that might have political
consequences and give weight to church’s service to the people.

3.. Taking into consideration the multi-religious character of the
European society, the Orthodox churches in Europe should give special
importance to inter-religious relations.

4.. Moral and spiritual values are essential in Europe, which today are in
decade. The church has an important role to play in this respect.

5.. Christianity and specially orthodoxy are an integral part of European
civilization and culture. It’s essential to emphasize the Christian roots of
Europe, which today is in the process of the formation of a new identity.

##

View picture here:

*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Armenians in Greece mark 90th anniversary of mass killings in Ottoman Empire

AP Worldstream
Apr 20, 2005

More than 500 Armenians on Wednesday marked the 90th anniversary of
mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Surrounded by candles on the ground, children danced in central Athens
to traditional Armenian music. Many of those present waved red, blue
and orange Armenian flags, or wore black T-shirts bearing the words:
“Turkey _ 90 years of denial.”

Armenians say some 1.5 million of their people were killed as the
Ottoman Empire forced them from eastern Turkey between 1915 and 1923 _
and that this was a deliberate campaign of genocide.

Turkey denies a genocide was committed, saying the death count is
inflated and insisting that Armenians were killed or displaced as
the Ottoman Empire tried to secure its border with Russia and stop
attacks by Armenian militants.

“People remember and we want to make people know this story … We want
the Turkish people to recognize this genocide, because they don’t,”
said Rita Kalomiri, a Greek-Armenian student at the gathering.

The Armenians later marched to the Turkish embassy in Athens for a
peaceful protest.

Polish lawmakers recognized the mass killing as a genocide Tuesday _
a decision condemned by Ankara the next day. France and Russia have
already declared the killings a genocide and there is strong pressure
from Armenian Diaspora groups on the U.S. Congress to do the same.

Turkey has no diplomatic ties with Armenia but called earlier this
month for the two countries to jointly research the killings.

Mayor joins Washington, D.C. observance of Armenian Genocide

Providence Journal , RI
April 20 2005

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, April 20, 2005

WARWICK — Mayor Scott Avedisian will be in Washington for a Capital
Hill ceremony this evening marking the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide.

The the two-hour observance, arranged by Congressmen Frank Pallone Jr.,
D-N.J., and Joe Knollenberg, R-Minn., is slated for 6:30 p.m. in the
Cannon Caucus Room.

Among the expected participants are survivors of the 1915-1923 massacre
of some 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.

The keynote speakers will be Henry Morgenthau III, whose grandfather,
Henry Morgenthau, was the U.S. ambassador to Turkey during the
years of the genocide, and Dr. Ryan LaHurd, president of the Near
East Foundation.

The Armenian flag will be lowered to half-staff at Warwick City Hall
on April 25 next Monday in recognition of Armenian Martyrs Day.

“To this day, the Turkish government has not acknowledged that the
genocide ever occurred,” Avedisian said. “Armenian Martyrs Day is
recognized by many as a way to remember the past and to bring dignity
to the Armenian martyrs and pray for their repose.”

US EMBASSY MOVES TO NEW PREMISES FROM APRIL 29 TO MAY 1

Armenpress

YEREVAN, APRIL 19, ARMENPRESS: The U.S. Embassy in Armenia said today
it will move from its current building on Baghramian Avenue to its
new premises at the corner of Admiral Isakov Avenue and American
Avenue from April 29 through May 1. The embassy will be closed to
the public on April 29.

The public is advised of the following information:

The new general Embassy telephone number is: 46-47-00. The new Fax
number is 46-47-42. Those numbers will go into effect on April 29.

The new address is: American Embassy 1 American Avenue, 375082
Yerevan, Armenia

Embassy Work hours will continue to be 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday
through Friday.

The public entrance to the new Embassy compound is on the East Side
of the compound at the bottom of the newly named American Avenue
(off of Admiral Isakov Avenue and the Old Etchmiadzin Hwy. Most
of the parking lot at the Embassy is restricted to employees, but
there is limited visitor parking for consular patrons and official
visitors. Several Minibus (“marshrutka”) routes on Admiral Isakov
Avenue stop at the American Avenue intersection, including: 13, 15,
90, 94, 100, 113 and 114.

A service entrance at the West end of the compound is intended for
employee use only. Members of the public will not be allowed to enter
through that facility.

Information on other services for the public follows:

The Consular Section will close at the end of the day on Wednesday,
April 27, and reopen on Tuesday, May 3. With the reopening, the
Consular Section will resume its regular public hours:

– Visa interviews are conducted every weekday from 09:00 to 12:00.

– Visa appointment tickets may be obtained Monday through Thursday
at 13:00 at the Embassy consular entrance.

– U.S. Citizen Services hours are from 14:00 to 17:00 on weekdays.

During the time of closure, American citizens with emergency needs
can still contact the Consular Section via the Embassy switchboard
at (37410) 52-16-11 on April 27 and 28 or (37410) 46-47-00 on May
2. If the emergency occurs after regular business hours, describe the
emergency and ask for the Embassy duty officer. An emergency is defined
as a life or death situation that requires immediate assistance.

The U.S. Embassy Information Resource Center (IRC – library) has
already moved its collection of books to its new space, and is closed
as of April 15. The IRC will reopen on May 11 with a new public access
schedule. New hours will be 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Turning a blind eye to ‘genocide’ in Sudan
By Thibauld Malterre

Daily Times, Pakistan
April 20 2005

On December 9 1948, the UN unanimously adopted a convention on
genocide, identifying it as a crime ‘committed with the intention to
destroy in whole or part a national, ethnical, racial or religious
group’

IT is almost 60 years since the word “genocide” entered the lexicon of
international law, and it has been used to characterise officially the
mass slaughter of Armenians, Jews and Rwandans in the 20th century. It
was first used at the military war crimes tribunal at Nuremburg in
1945 at the end of World War II, though in the end the Nazis on trial
there were found guilty of “crimes against humanity”.

The word was invented in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew who
found shelter in the United States. It is a hybrid, combining the
Greek word “genos”, meaning a race or people, and the Latin suffix
“-cide” (as in fratricide or parricide), itself a formation from the
Latin verb “caedere” to kill.

On December 11 1946 the United Nations gave the word a formal
definition as “the denial of the right to existence of entire human
groups” in reference to the killing of Jews during World War II.

On December 9 1948, the UN unanimously adopted a convention on
genocide, identifying it as a crime “committed with the intention to
destroy in whole or part a national, ethnical, racial or religious
group”.

The UN recognised in 1985 the killing of hundreds of thousands of
Armenians between 1915 and 1917 as a genocide, as well as the mass
murder of Jews by Nazi Germany, and in June 1994 the killing of
an estimated 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis by their Hutu compatriots that
same year.

Beyond these three instances, the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), established by the UN Security Council,
in 2001 sentenced a Bosnian Serb general to 35 years in jail for
“complicity in genocide” in connection with the massacre of 7,000
Muslim cvilians in Srebenica in 1995.

The UN and Cambodia have agreed that former Khmer Rouge leaders of
a regime that was responsible for the deaths of almost two million
Cambodians (20 percent of the population) should face charges of
crimes against humanity and genocide. Their trial could start in the
coming months.

In January this year a UN committee decided that though crimes against
humanity had been committed in the Darfur region of Sudan they did
not amount to genocide in the absence of any evidence of central
government genocidal intention.

Some historians argue that mass killings, such as those of Chinese
by Mongols in the 13th century and of the indigenous peoples of the
Americas by conquistadors and colonists are covered by the definition.

Armenians are preparing to mark the 90th anniversary on April 24 of
the start of the controversial 1915-1917 massacres, which they say
1.5 million of their kinsmen perished. Ankara argues that 300,000
Armenians and thousands of Turks were killed in what was civil strife
during World War I when the Armenians rose against their Ottoman
rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

Armenians to mark 90th anniversary of genocide

Reign of terror led to deaths of 1.5 million people

By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
[email protected]

The 1915 Armenian genocide directly touched the lives of Almas
Boghosian, 97, and the Rev. Aram A. Stepanian, shown at the
Asdvadzadzin Armenian Apostolic Church of Whitinsville.

“It was the worst day in my life. My mother died the next day after
she gave me away.”

Almas Boghosian, 97, of Whitinsville,,
REFLECTING ON THE 1915 ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

NORTHBRIDGE – The Rev. Aram A. Stepanian said he is living proof that
the Armenian genocide took place 90 years ago, and that his own name
is a poignant reminder of an unthinkable tragedy – one of tens of
thousands of tragedies – that took place along the Euphrates River
and regions now known as Syria and Lebanon.

On April 24, 1915, Turkish soldiers rounded up 250 Armenian
intellectuals, clergy and leaders and killed them, beginning a
widespread reign of terror that led to the deaths of 1.5 million
Armenians. The soldiers went from village to village, rounded up the
men and killed them. Subsequently, women and children were led out
to the deserts on death marches.

April 24 is commemorated each year by Armenians as Martyrs Day.

Rev. Stepanian’s father was the oldest of six children, four boys and
two girls. His father remembered during the mass exodus that took
place during the massacre that his mother led five of the children
and carried the sixth, a toddler, in her arms along the Euphrates to
escape. The toddler’s name was Aram.

“She couldn’t carry Aram anymore, so she threw him into the river,”
Rev. Stepanian said. “That’s why my father named me Aram, after his
youngest brother.”

There were so many bodies in the river, the father of Rev. Stepanian’s
wife once told him, that he saved himself by swimming through the
bodies for protection.

Rev. Stepanian’s grandmother was able to cross the river successfully
with the remaining brothers and sisters, but died afterward.

“The reason I was born was because the massacre and deportation
took place. I am the proof,” Rev. Stepanian said. “I’m the child of
a survivor.”

Rev. Stepanian, pastor of St. Asdvadzadzin Armenian Apostolic Church
of Whitinsville, was born 66 years ago in Der-El-Zor, Syria, where
the Armenian massacre took place. His grandfather and great-uncle
were killed in the genocide.

His mother was 4 or 5 years old, he said, when Turkish police came
and took her father away and killed him. His grandmother was urged
to marry to avoid an arranged marriage with a Turk, he said.

His father’s uncle, Krikor, was a priest when they arrested him in
1915, Rev. Stepanian said. Because he was a member of the clergy, Rev.
Stepanian’s great-uncle had a traditional long beard. Krikor was asked
by the Turks to deny his Armenian Christian faith and become a Muslim,
he said.

“I’d rather be tortured than deny my faith,” my great-uncle responded,
Rev. Stepanian said. The Turks took great pains to torture him by
pulling out his fingernails and the long hairs of his beard, he said.

His great-uncle’s 5-year-old son was standing beside Krikor when they
gave him a choice: be killed first or watch your son killed.

Rev. Stepanian said his great-uncle responded, “Please kill me first.
I don’t want to see my son killed.”

“The Turks laughed,” Rev. Stepanian said, and it was their pleasure
to kill his son first.

“They burned him alive,” Rev. Stepanian said. Upon witnessing the
horrific death of his son, he added, “my uncle had a heart attack
and died.”

Rev. Stepanian said his father named his youngest brother Krikor
after his great-uncle.

Stories such as these from countless Armenians bear testament to the
genocide that took place from 1915 to 1923.

“Generally, Armenians are tough,” Rev. Stepanian said. “All these
tragedies made us fighters. We’re hard and tough like gold that goes
through the fire to be purified.”

Beginning Thursday, Armenians in Central Massachusetts will commemorate
the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide for 90 hours.

Almas Boghosian, 97, of Whitinsville was born in Hussenek and is a
longtime, faithful parishioner at the Armenian Church in Whitinsville.
In 1915, her family was deported and sent on the march through the
desert of Der Zor, Syria, where thousands of Armenians perished. Mrs.
Boghosian was the only survivor of her family; her mother, father and
two sisters died. The younger sister died of thirst while being carried
on her mother’s back, she said. During the journey, a wealthy Arab
family offered to adopt her, and after a long, painful deliberation,
her mother consented and turned her over to the family.

“What kind of mother would leave a little child?” Mrs. Boghosian’s
mother asked rhetorically.

But the wealthy shopkeeper said to her mother, “All of you are going
to die, let me adopt the little girl.”

“It was the worst day in my life,” Mrs. Boghosian said. “My mother
died the next day after she gave me away.”

However, a few years later, an edict was delivered to those harboring
Christian children to surrender them to a Protestant orphanage,
and the Arab family turned Mrs. Boghosian over to the orphanage.

Mrs . Boghosian lived in the orphanage in Aleppo, Syria, for a few
years until two women who came to work there recognized her and told
her she had an aunt living in the United States. The aunt agreed to pay
her passage to America, and in 1922, Mrs. Boghosian boarded a ship at
Beirut and traveled 17 days to Providence to begin the next chapter
of her life. Her uncle weighed her teenage frame when she arrived:
79 pounds.

A year after she arrived, a marriage to Kachadoor Boghosian was
arranged. They had three children. Mrs. Boghosian has six grandchildren
and seven great-grandchildren.

When asked how she found the strength to endure the massacre, mass
exodus and abandonment by her mother, living with virtual strangers
and coming to a foreign country alone, Mrs. Boghosian said, “You have
to fight alone. I had to fight to survive.”

Though she said she doesn’t like to look back, Mrs. Boghosian said she
agreed to share her personal stories as a witness, and to commemorate
the nine decades since the Armenian genocide.

For years and years, “I always wanted to just look forward,” Mrs.
Boghosian said.

Rev. Stepanian called Mrs. Boghosian a “shining lady” and an
inspirational woman who has important Armenian history to share.

The message of a sermon he preached a couple of weeks ago, he said, was
for his congregation to “be content now.” But to honor all the martyrs
who died in the genocide and to honor survivors such as Mrs. Boghosian,
Rev. Stepanian said, it is important also to live courageously.

Zaman, Turkey
April 16 2005

Armenians React to Erdogan’s ‘Joint Research Commission’ Offer
By aa

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has conveyed his proposal
to form a joint commission to investigate the events of 1915 to the
Armenian Minister of State in an official letter.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Erdogan emphasized, “Turkish and Armenian people share a common
history and geography in a sensitive area of the world. We have lived
together for many years but there are differences in evaluating and
commenting upon a period of their shared history.

These differences, which left bitter memories for both nations in the
past, do not make the relations between the two countries any easier
today either,” said Erdogan adding these views are shared by main
opposition Republican People’s Party leader Deniz Baykal also.

In his letter, Erdogan suggested that as a joint proposal from the
ruling party and main opposition party, a group consisting of Turkish
and Armenian historians should investigate the events of 1915 not
only in Turkish and Armenian archives but also in the archives of the
third countries related to the topic and to share the data with the
international community.

In response to Erdogan’s proposal, some from the Armenian parliament
put forward the precondition that “the claims should be recognized
first”. One of the coalition partners in power, Tasnaksutyun Party
Parliamentary group leader Levon Mkrtchian asserted that the alleged
Armenian genocide should be recognized and condemned by the whole
world. The Justice Block Secretary Victor Dalakian also alleged that
Turkey should recognize the genocide claims and offer an apology to
Armenians adding, “We can hold a dialogue with Turkey about all other
issues.”

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR GENOCIDE AND HUMAN RIGHTS STUDIES
(A Division of the Zoryan Institute)
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
Tel: 416-250-9807 Fax: 416-512-1736 E-mail: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: George Shirinian
DATE: April 15, 2005
Tel: 416-250-9807

Genocide Awareness Ad To Appear in US News & World Report

Cambridge, MA – April is the month for commemoration of the genocides of the
Armenians, Jews, and Rwandans. In pursuit of awareness of human rights and
the prevention of genocide, the International Institute for Genocide and
Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) (the IIGHRS) has
prepared a full-page ad in the April 25 issue of US News & World Report.
This weekly, one of the most influential national news magazines, with a
readership in the millions, will be on newsstands on April 18.

A descendant of survivors of the Armenian Genocide, who wishes to remain
anonymous, has made the ad possible “in memory of millions of voices
silenced by genocide.” This was done with a special gift on the occasion of
the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

He explained, “In 2003, I lost both of my mother’s parents – in their late
90’s – two of only a few remaining survivors of the Armenian Genocide.
Their stories of what they experienced and their journey haunted me for many
years. I promised them that I would not forget those stories. As the idea
of this commemorative ad came forward in my mind, I had difficulty – mainly
due to the healing of the personal trauma of their stories – in determining
the best way to communicate this message. I also wanted to make absolutely
certain that every fact in the ad is credible and can be substantiated. That
is why I was drawn to the IIGHRS (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) for
help.”

The IIGHRS, which deals with genocide and human rights studies, saw an
opportunity to satisfy the sponsor’s interest in having his personal message
expressed in a manner that also promotes awareness of all genocides, the
enormity of their destructiveness, the universality of his trauma, and the
need for the prevention of genocide.

The ad’s headline paraphrases a famous quote from Edmund Burke, “All it
takes for evil to win is for good people to do nothing.” The center of the
page depicts a compelling photograph of a survivor of the Armenian Genocide,
taken by Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian. The ad then refers to several cases
of genocide and the fact that genocide continues to occur. The phrase “Déjà
vu?” links all those with the genocide that is taking place right now in
Darfur, Sudan.

“I am very moved by the message of this advertisement,” declared Lora
Otajian, one of the graduates of the Genocide and Human Rights University
Program, and a Research Assistant at the Institute. “In the eyes of the
survivor’s photograph, I recognize the pain of so many survivors of other
genocides. It makes me realize, as the descendant of survivors of genocide,
that my pain is shared by others.”

“I encourage all those concerned about the universal issues of genocide and
human rights to buy one or more copies, for yourself, for family members,
for friends,” declared Amanda Duncombe, Coordinator of the Genocide and
Human Rights University Program, “as we are told that if sales are brisk
enough, the issue will even be reprinted. This will show publishers that
there is a large and eager audience interested in learning more about the
Armenian experience and ultimately how to prevent genocide.”

The ad concludes with the invitation, “Learn how you can make a difference,”
and directs readers to a specially created web site,
, which elaborates on this message and contains
information and additional sources of information on genocide.

The Zoryan Institute is the first non-profit, international center devoted
to the research and documentation of contemporary issues related to Armenian
social, political and cultural life. To this end, the Institute conducts
multidisciplinary research, publication, and educational programs dealing
with Armenia, the Armenian Genocide, and Diaspora, within a universal
context.

FACTOR OF “BONAPARTISM” PREVENTS ARMENIAN WOMAN TO TAKE UP LEADING POST

YEREVAN, APRIL 15. ARMINFO. “There is a factor of “Bonapartism” in
Armenia, which is one of the obstacles for women to take up a leading
post”, stated Head of Armenia’s National Statistical Service Stepan
Mnatsakanyan during Apr 15 presentation of “Women and Men of Armenia –
2003” book answering ARMINFO’s question.

In his words, in 2003-2004 most of students of secondary professional
and high educational institutions were women – 69.7% and 55.8%
respectively. However, a very little percent of women become leaders
in any organizations irrespective of the sphere of activity. Speaking
about problems of gender statistics, Mnatsakanyan noted that it is
practically absent in the sphere of business, ulterior employment,
there are no data on trafficking and illegal migration, too.

To note, 3/4 of working population in Armenia’s regions are women,
however, none of them hold a post of governor. 82-83% of members of
political parties are men, women totaled only 5% of Armenian
Parliamentarians. “Women and men of Armenia – 2005” statistical book
is published in Armenian and English by Armenia’s NSS, at the
assistance of Armenian Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs and by
financial means of UNDP Yerevan Office and Swiss International
Development Agency (SIDA).