TOROSYAN SENDS CONDOLENCES TELEGRAMS ON YELTSIN’S DEATH
Panorama.am
19:32 25/04/2007
Today Tigran Torosyan, speaker of the Armenian parliament, sent
condolences telegrams to Boris Grizlov, Russian State Duma chairman,
and Sergei Mironov, Federation Council chairman, on Boris Yeltsin’s
death. Torosyan pinpointed to the great role Yeltsin played in
development of Armenian-Russian ties.
The speaker rendered his condolences to "Russian nation, relatives
and friends of Boris Nikolaevich."
AZERBAIJAN SENDS PROTEST NOTE TO RUSSIA
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 24 2007
Russian ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan
Vasili Istratov was today called to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry,
the ministry told the APA.
Araz Azimov, deputy foreign minister received the ambassador and
officially protested to the Russian RTR channel’s report on ‘Nagorno
Karabakh Republic’. Araz Azimov said that the report casts shadow
on Nakhchivan’s belonging to Azerbaijan and this position does not
coincide with Russia’s official position. Deputy Foreign Minister
expressed hope that the RTR will not broadcast reports propagating
separatist tendencies any more.
Following this, Araz Azimov gave the protest note to the Russian
ambassador.
Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan told the APA that Vasili Istratov
said he will inform Russia of the position of Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry.
PARTICIPANTS IN TRADITIONAL TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION TO WALK BY YEREVAN STREETS TO TSITSERNAKABERD MEMORIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
Arminfo
2007-04-23 17:48:00
Participants in traditional torchlight procession to walk by Yerevan
streets to Tsitsernakaberd Memorial of Armenian Genocide Victims.
A traditional torchlight procession of ARFD Dashnaktsutiun party
members will be held tonight in Yerevan in memory of the Armenian
Genocide victims in Ottoman Turkey in 1915. As ARFD’s press-service
told ArmInfo, the torchbearers will walk to the Eternal Fire of
Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex.
RUSSIA MAY INJECT HEAVY FUNDS IN ARMENIA’S URANIUM PROJECT
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
April 23, 2007 Monday 07:50 AM EST
Russian federal atomic energy agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko does
not rule out that Russia may inject several hundreds of millions of
dollars in Armenia’s uranium project.
"I believe that Russia may inject from several dozens up to several
hundreds of millions of dollars in Armenia’s uranium exploration and
development via a joiÎt venture," he said.
–Boundary_(ID_P6H8z+uEPyld4QunzEFn+A)–
TURKS STAGE DEMO IN US AHEAD OF APRIL 24
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 23 2007
The Federation of Turkish-American Associations (TADF) and the Young
Turks Association held a joint rally titled "An End to Armenian Lies,"
in a show of protest against Armenian allegations of genocide days
before April 24, when Armenians mark the anniversary of what they
claim was the beginning of a systematic genocide campaign at the
hands of the late Ottoman Empire.
Addressing more than 500 participants ahead of the four-hour long rally
on Saturday, TADF President Atilla Pak called on the US administration
to be fair, while also saying that their primary goal was to give
accurate information about the alleged genocide.
"Bringing up allegations of genocide spells hiding the truth. Today
unfortunately truths are being denied and facts are being distorted.
Turks have never committed genocide along their thousands year long
history," Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Baki
Ýlkin, who also attended the rally, told reporters for his part.
Meanwhile, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once more declined to
meet with a group of Turkish parliamentarians who were lobbying in
Washington a resolution based on Armenian allegations of genocide,
as she did with two other Turkish parliamentarian group in the
recent past.
The resolution was presented to the US House of Representatives
earlier this year, though the timing of the vote has yet to be
decided. Turkey has warned that passage of the resolution would harm
strategic relations with the United States and undermine cooperation
in key regions across the world, in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.
During a February visit, Pelosi refused to meet Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul as well.
–Boundary_(ID_NcCD3wQMSvPyc91sUdREIA)–
Hardship didn’t steal life’s joy: Survivor of massacres in Syria served God,
others.
Jim Steinberg, The Fresno Bee – California – KRTBN
Published: Apr 20, 2007
The Rev. Harry M. Missirlian of Fresno survived Ottoman Turkish
massacres of Armenians in Syria, suffered his parents’ and siblings’
disappearance and began life as an orphan with nothing.
Then he began a new lifetime of learning and prayer.
The Rev. Missirlian, who arrived in Fresno in 1953 to become minister
of Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church, died April 11 at 94.
Reflecting on his life, he wrote in his book, "Treasures in Earthen
Vessels": "Bitterness takes the glory out of sunset, the joy out of
life, the song out of a gurgling brook, the light out of stars. Let
bitterness bury itself. There are more important things to do."
The Rev. Missirlian spoke Armenian, Arabic, French, Turkish and
English. He read the Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament
in Greek.
He did not dwell on his traumatic childhood but told daughter Dora
Crawford about early terror.
"He was in a train car or on a wagon with a bunch of boys in the
Syrian desert," she said.
"Dad realized this was not good, that they were being taken to
be killed."
Young Missirlian, about 4, managed to free himself, running literally
for his life. He heard others screaming.
He lived in doorways, begging for food, Crawford said, but his
harrowing memories never drowned the Rev. Missirlian in mourning.
He wrote in the third person in his book that he "carries no hatred
in his heart" and "is grateful to God for having miraculously survived
the massacres."
He became a ministry student and did field work in the slums of Beirut,
elsewhere in Lebanon and in Syria.
He married his first wife, Lydia, and worked toward a doctorate at
the University of Chicago.
Before he could write his dissertation, he received a call from the
Pilgrim church in Fresno. He had become used to subzero temperatures
in Chicago, but arrived in Fresno on July 1, 1953. It was 104 degrees.
He served 27 years, drawing satisfaction from construction of its
present campus at First Street and Dakota Avenue, particularly the
sanctuary.
Architect Richard Manoogian designed the church in close consultation
with the Rev. Missirlian, accentuating Armenian history and the life
of Jesus on Earth.
"He was overjoyed about a new sanctuary," Manoogian recalled.
Lydia Missirlian died in 1991. The Rev. Missirlian married his second
wife, Arousiag, a lifetime family friend, in 1993.
She recalled her husband’s compassion, religion and memory of hardship.
"He gave his heart and soul to that congregation," she said. "He
loved the children."
The Rev. Karl Avakian said that the Rev. Missirlian considered
the evil he had seen and suffered within his understanding of God:
"It is remarkable what he overcame. He did not hold that against
humanity and the world."
Arousiag Missirlian said her husband’s outstanding qualities were
compassion, his Christian faith and understanding of hardship: "He
loved the Christian church. He loved visiting people in sickness and
bereavement. People said that whenever anything happened, Harry was
right there."
A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Pilgrim
Armenian Congregational Church, 3673 N. First St. The family requests
that any remembrance be sent to the Armenian Evangelical Union of
North America, 609 E. Colorado St., Glendale, CA 91205.
The reporter can be reached at [email protected]_
(mailto:jsteinberg@fres nobee.com) or (559) 441-6311.
A woman may become Turkey’s next president
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.04.2007 14:44 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Most likely Prime Minister Recep Erdogan will not
nominate his candidature. These assumptions are based on Erdogan’s own
statement that his Justice and Development party (AKP) will initiate a
quite unexpected candidature, which will surprise everyone. The Turkish
media, which offers different versions for that candidate, most often
mentions the name of Nimet Cubukcu, State Minister Responsible for
Women’s and Family Issues. Among factors that increase her chances
are her views on modern Turkish women and her problems, as well as
the secular state system.
Nimet Cubukcu is lawyer by profession and was born in 1965, APA
reports.
MOSCOW FOREIGN STUDENTS TOLD TO STAY IN AS RACIST ATTACKS RISE OVER HITLER’S BIRTHDAY
Buzzle, CA
April 20 2007
Russia’s most prestigious medical institute has told its foreign
students to stay indoors for three days because of fears they may be
attacked by skinheads celebrating Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
The IM Sechenov Medical Academy in Moscow yesterday advised its 2,000
non-Russian students to remain in their dormitories until tomorrow.
The institute’s deputy dean said the extraordinary measures were
necessary because of the risk of attack by ultra-nationalist thugs,
who are traditionally more active around Hitler’s birthday – which
falls on April 20.
"We believe that the best form of medicine is prevention," Sergei
Baronov, deputy dean in the faculty of foreign students, told
the Guardian. "I don’t think the problem in Russia is worse than
anywhere else. But there are a small group of people who are bent
on provocation."
Foreign students are also being taught self-defence and lectures have
been cancelled as security has increased. Officially the shutdown is
described as a fire drill.
"I was shocked when I first heard it," Vijay Ganason, 23, a medical
student from Malaysia, said. "Basically we are staying in. If you
want you can go out. But it’s at your own risk. We’ve filled our
drawers with dried food."
Other students, however, said they welcomed the move.
"We are finally getting a rest and some sleep," said Vishnu Ravee,
21, also from Malaysia. "We’ve been revising very hard and have exams
in a few weeks."
Next door the smell of Indian cooking came from the communal kitchen;
in an adjacent room another medical student slept on a sofa.
The students come from 82 countries – including Britain but mostly
from Malaysia and India – and they live in a renovated 19th century
block not far from campus.
In recent years there has been a steep rise in the number of racist
and xenophobic attacks across Russia. The victims are often migrant
workers from former Soviet Union countries.
Yesterday police said they had detained five suspects in connection
with the latest race stabbings in Moscow, one of which was recorded
on a video camera.
Khairullo Sadykov, 26, a street cleaner from Tajikistan, was stabbed
35 times on Monday evening outside an apartment building near a metro
station in eastern Moscow, a prosecutor, Sergei Vasilovsky, said. He
died at the scene.
According to Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, two teenagers, thought to
be skinheads wearing "high, laced-up army style boots", were captured
on video allegedly carrying out the murder. They were later arrested,
the paper said.
In another attack an Armenian businessman, Karen Abramyan, 46,
was brutally stabbed 20 times also on Monday evening, in south-west
Moscow. He died of his injuries in hospital. Three young men were
arrested.
"After he was taken to hospital the victim said he was attacked because
of his ethnicity, saying the young men were shouting racial epithets,"
a police source told Interfax news agency.
Last year 53 people were killed and 460 injured in racially motivated
attacks, according to the human rights centre Sova. Activists say
that the authorities are in denial about the problem and regularly
classify race attacks as the lesser crime of hooliganism. Courts also
impose lenient sentences, they say.
"It is nice that the university is taking care of us, but on the
other hand it’s absurd that our freedom is being limited because
of some militant groups," said Liah Ganeline, a second-year medical
student from Israel. "In a normal democratic country the authorities
don’t obey the interests of these groups, but on the contrary, law
enforcement forces protect people from them."
She said that students were aware of the real reason for the lockdown –
which has happened over the past two or three years – and that someone
had scrawled the word "skinheads" over the announcement of the measure
posted in a dormitory.
Founded in 1758, Moscow’s medical academy is famous in Russia for
its talented students and rigorous teaching. The institute has 8,000
students studying medicine, dentistry and pharmacology.
Backstory
Russia has been gripped in recent years by a series of brutal racist
attacks on foreigners, with at least 53 people murdered last year
alone. The victims are typically migrant workers in low-paid jobs from
the former Soviet Union. But there are also regular attacks on students
and on Jews. The violence appears to spike around Hitler’s birthday,
on April 20, when foreign embassies receive anonymous emails demanding
that all "non Russians" leave or face death. The attacks occur in all
of Russia’s big cities where immigration and nationalism are on the
rise. The situation is especially bad in St Petersburg and in Voronesh,
a city south of Moscow with a large student population. Critics say
the Kremlin is too lenient towards far-right groups.
ILLOGICAL GAMES
KarabakhOpen
19-04-2007 13:09:50
The pre-election period in Karabakh is interesting, somewhat
controversial and illogical. The parliament forces are still
negotiating over the principles of agreement on naming a single
candidate, all the parties believe that the negotiations are not over
and there is no final decision yet.
At the same time, the Azat Hayrenik Party, which has the second
faction in the parliament by the number of its members, announced some
days ago that they had decided to support Bako Sahakyan. It allows
concluding that the Azat Hayrenik Party has made a decision and does
not need negotiations, because they say nothing can influence their
decision. Moreover, the initiative group to name Bako Sahakyan is
already being formed.
The logical question that occurs is what the point of negotiations
on a single candidate is.
Arthur Mosiyan, the representative of the Central Committee of the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun Artsakh, stated on April 18 that Dashnaktsutyun has not
made a final decision because the negotiations among the parties over
the main principles are not over. It is also illogical that the Azat
Hayrenik Party, which has already endorsed Bako Sahakyan (of course,
if the latter is named), is also one of the negotiating forces. If it
is so, ostensibly the political forces are most probably negotiating
over the likely candidate Bako Sahakyan.
If it is so, it is possible that another candidate is also under
consideration, who logically will not be supported by the Azat Hayrenik
Party. And if there is no other candidate, the other three forces will
have to support the candidate preferred by the Azat Hayrenik Party. It
appears that this party sets the rules of the game in Karabakh.
We only need to understand what these illogical games are for and
who wants to avoid remorse through agreement on the principles.
RA AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE PARTICIPATES IN COUNCIL SITTING OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF FRANCOPHONIE
Noyan Tapan
Apr 19 2007
PARIS, APRIL 19, NOYAN TAPAN. Eduard Nalbandian, the RA President’s
Personal Representative to the International Organization of
Francophonie (IOF), Ambassador of Armenia to France participated and
made a speech at the 63rd sitting of the IOF Permanent Council taken
place in Paris on April 16.
The sitting was dedicated to the organization activity of during
the period of time after the Bucharest summit in September, 2006,
to its current programs, political issues, particularly, the state of
conflicts settlement, human rights and liberties in the territory of
Francophone countries as well as to the cultural variety within the
framework of functioning of the Convention with the same name.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and
Information Department, 68 members of the International Organization
of Francophonie and personal representatives of heads of the observor
countries to that organization participated in the Francophonie
Permanent Council sitting.