Category: News

INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE TO TAKE PLACE IN THE NKR
STEPANAKERT, November 29 (Noyan Tapan). In 2005, an international
scientific conference dedicated to the 1600th anniversary of opening
the first school in Artsakh will take place in Nagorno Karabakh, the
Information and Analytical Department of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh reported.
According to Head of the Artsakh State University Hamlet Grigorian,
the conference will be conducted in late May, and scientists from
various countries of the world expressed their wish to take part in
it.
“Today, we have already prepared a great material dedicated to the
history of formation of Artsakh’s educational system from the ancient
times till nowadays. The conference will take place in Stepanakert,
Shoushi and, naturally, on the territory of the ancient cloister of
Amaras, where the first school was opened”, Hamlet Grigorian noted.
The Amaras cloister occupies a special place among the monuments of
Artsakh-Karabakh, as the dissemination of Christianity in the region
and the neighboring Armenian provinces began just here. During the
following centuries, the cloister remained one of the famous centers
of the spiritual and cultural life of Artsakh. It’s well known that
the creator of the Armenian alphabet, Mesrop Mashtots, began teaching
the Armenian written language in the East Armenia in Amaras, where the
first school was founded.

-PRESS RELEASE
-“Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund
-Governmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
-Contact: Artak Harutyunyan
-Tel: 3741 52 09 40
-Fax: 3741 52 37 95
-E-mail: [email protected]
-Web:
29.11.2004
Telethon results-more than $11 million
On November 25, the “Hayastan” Fund’s annual Telethon was launched in
Los-Angeles. The funds raised during this event will be directed to
the construction of the North-South highway started four years
ago. This year’s Telethon was of great success: promises of more than
$11 million were received. Due to this amount the construction of
the160 km long highway will be continued. Armenians worldwide took
part in this event: our compatriots from Armenia, NKR and Diaspora
lent a hand to this project. It should be mentioned that donations of
1 million and 100 thousand dollars were received from Armenia and
NKR. 800.000 Euros were raised during the Phonethon in France
conducted earlier, and about 15 million drams were received from the
Armenian Phonethon.
Among the big donors were Louise Simone Manoogian, Hrair Hovnanian,
Kevork Hovnanian, Sarkis Hakopian, Eduardo Ernekian, Caroline Mugar,
Gerard Cafesjian, Ara Abrahamyan and others.

PRESS RELEASE
Bible Society of Armenia
6/26 Zakiyan St.
Yerevan 375015, Armenia
Tel: (+374 -1) 58.55.09, 56.49.06
Fax: (+374 – 1) 54.24.39
E-mail: [email protected]
November 24, 2004
BRINGING THE BIBLE TO SCHOOLS, ARAGATSOTN
YEREVAN — Within its two-day trip to Aragatsotn a delegation of Bible
Society Board members and World Vision International Organization
visited the Diocese of Aragatsotn and met with 91 school principals,
teachers and students.
The final part of the project, `Bringing the Bibles to Schools,’
which includes the regions of Tavoush, Shirak and Aragatsotn, was
realized owing to the generous support of World Vision International
Organization.
During November 16-17, 2004, the Bible Society and World Vision
International delegation members visited Talin, Tsaghkahovit and Aparan.
The delegation was always accompanied by Very Rev. Fr. Torgom Tonikian,
the Vicar General of the Diocese; Ms. Siramark Ghoukassian, the Head of
the Education, Culture and Sport and her deputy Mr. Parkev
Hambardzoumian. In Talin the delegation was welcomed by Mr. Mnatsakan
Mnatsakanian, the Mayor of the city.
The meetings were usually opened by the Board Secretary who in his
keynote address presented the gathered people with the 200-year history
of United Bible Societies and the 13-year history of the Bible Society
Armenia, its mission in Armenia, and the contents of the six books to be
delivered to schools.
The World Vision International representative Ms. Karine Harutunian
addressed to the gathered students: `Our organization is absolutely
Christian. Our main goal is supporting the Church’s spiritual and
educational mission. Thanks God that The Bible Society of Armenia
exists, because we are able to distribute Bible to our people. By our
participation we express solidarity to our churches, and I believe that
every project must be conducted by the Word of God. Today, I am upset,
because this is the final stage of this project. Unfortunately we did
not take part in this work from the very beginning.’
The sub-region of Tsaghkahovit has mixed population; Armenians, Yezidis
and Kurds. This was one of the unique meetings of the Bible Society
during this project. `Let’s not talk about the differences,’
stated Arshavir Kapoudjian, `But think about the unifying factors: we
are the same Land’s Children, but above all the same God’s sons and
daughters.’
On November 17, 2004, the Governor of the Region Mr Kozalian invited the
delegation for a meeting at the Regional Headquarter and expressed his
joy and thanks for this unique contribution and became acquainted the
activities of both WVI and the BS.
Aparan was the last city in the framework of this project, which has
begun in 2002. Ms. Ghoukassian expressed her gratitude to the Bible
Society and to World Vision International-Armenia for their contribution
and stressed the importance of the Bible, the high quality of its
translation, stating that it was the culmination of the translation art.
The meetings were concluded by the words of Fr. Tonikian, a Board member
of the Bible Society. On behalf of the principals, he expressed his
thanks to the Bible Society and World Vision International-Armenia for
this initiative. `All of us are grateful to you. This project is
absolutely encouraging given our region’s hard climatic conditions and
lack of natural resources. We are not alone. We enjoy the support of
such respected organizations.’
The project `Bringing the Bible to Schools,’ which was launched by
the Bible Society of Armenia two years ago, has now come to the end in
the Republic of Armenia. But every end is a sign for new beginnings, as
bringing the Light and the Word of God is an endless mission. The Bible
Society plans to implement the same project in the Diocese of Artsakh
and in the Javakheti Region.
The Bible Society of Armenia was established in 1991 when the late
Catholicos Vazgen I and representatives of the United Bible Societies
signed a memorandum of understanding, regarding the translation,
publication and dissemination of the Holy Bible in Armenia. The Bible
Society of Armenia is committed to the widest possible meaningful and
effective distribution of the Holy Scriptures in languages and
media which meet the needs of people, at a price they can afford. The
Board of Trustees of The Bible Society of Armenia consists of
representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic
Church and the Union of Armenian Evangelical and Baptist Churches.
For further information on Bible Society of Armenia and its activities,
call (3741) 58-55-09 or 56-49-06; fax (3741) 54-24-39; e-mail
[email protected]
###

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Nov 29 2004
Date for next meeting of Azeri, Armenian foreign ministers not set

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are determining the date for the next
meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Prague,
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told a news briefing on Friday.
He said that the issues pertaining to the Upper Garabagh conflict
discussed at the Prague meetings by the two countries’ foreign
ministers include liberation of occupied land, return of displaced
persons home, restoration of communication and economic cooperation.
In a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart in Berlin, Germany on
November 18, Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanian said Yerevan
was ready to resume the talks.
The fifth Prague meeting, initially scheduled for October 25, was
later postponed after Armenia requested time to analyze the results
of previous meetings.*

New Britain Herald, CT
Nov 29 2004
Athlete of the Week: Jacob Sagherian
Newington High linebacker Jacob Sagherian is one of a handful of
dedicated seniors responsible for the Indians’ transition from CCC
doormats to playoff team.
>From 1994 through 2000, the Indians’ proud tradition was buried deep
beneath a 4-66-2 record.

Thanks in significant part to Sagherian’s effort, Newington is now
preparing to meet Staples-Westport in a Class L semifinal Tuesday
night.
Sagherian helped make that dream a reality Thanksgiving morning by
recording a team-best 11 tackles in a 44-21 defeat of Wethersfield.
In response to his contribution, Jacob Sagherian has been selected as
The Herald Athlete of the Week.
“He’s one of the cornerstones of what we’ve accomplished,”
second-year Newing-ton High football coach Sal Cintorino said of his
defensive captain. “As middle linebacker for two years, he is
certainly the foundation of our defense.”
Sagherian, an All-Herald selection as a junior, leads the Indians
with 113 tackles this season, 46 of them behind the line of
scrimmage. He has also blocked two punts.
His 370 career tackles rank him among the all-time leaders in state
history. He is a two-time All-CCC selection and was an honorable
mention All-Stater last year.
He has achieved honor-roll status throughout his four years at the
school and is a member of the National Honor Society. The leadership
Sagherian exhibits on the field is directly connected to his
activities as a leader among Newington High students and in the
community.
He is also active at his church — the Armenian Church of the Holy
Resurrection in New Britain — where he volunteers for such projects
as selling Christmas trees or serving meals.

The Messenger, Georgia
Nov 29 2004
Fight against corruption continues
By M. Alkhazashvili
A billboard near Rike: “Georgia without corruption”
Soon Georgia wil receive another report by Transparency
International on its performance in fighting coruption
Back in October, NGO Transparency International published its
Corruption Perceptions Index for 2004, in which only seven of the 146
countries ranked were perceived as being more corrupt than Georgia.
The government has sought to eradicate corruption from the top down,
putting many corrupt high ranking officials from the Shevardnadze
administration behind bars, at least until they agreed to pay a
suitable “ransom.”
Although President Saakashvili has stated that in the “high echelons”
of the new administration, there is no corruption, and that he trusts
the new ministers and officials, nevertheless, the fight against the
corruption will continue, and even in the new administration some
officials, judges, and even one MP have been accused of corruption.
At Tuesday’s congress of the National Movement and United Democrats,
President Saakashvili reiterated this telling party members that the
government has been “cleared [of corrupt officials], though the rats
have moved the battlefield to the regions and plan to return to power
from there.”
The government’s anti-corruption measures against the former
authorities are appreciated by the Georgian population, but even so,
the need to fight corruption, and equally importantly, to be seen to
be fighting corruption, is as important now as it was when the Rose
administration came to power. Because, as Transparency
International’s index shows, corruption is still perceived to be a
major problem in the country.
While Georgia has the same rating as Indonesia, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Cote d’Ivoir, the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Angola, neighboring Azerbaijan is perceived as even more corrupt
(140th out of 146) but Armenia (82nd) and Russia (90th) are seen as
less corrupt.
The three Baltic countries Estonia (31st place). Lithuania (44th) and
Latvia (57th) are perceived as the least corrupt post-Soviet
countries, while the seven least corrupt countries are Finland, New
Zealand, Denmark, Island, Singapore, Switzerland and Swiss. In
December, Transparency International will release its Corruption
Barometer and provide a clearer picture of what considers as the
government’s achievements in the past year to improve transparency in
the country.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +3741. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +3741. .562543
Email: [email protected]:
PRESS RELEASE
25 November 2004
Discussion on the issue of “The situation in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan”
in the UN General Assembly Session
“The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan” issue was
included in the agenda of the regular session of the UN General Assembly on
November 23. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Eldar Mamedyarov introduced the
relevant draft, while the Turkish and Pakistani representatives Altay
Cengizer and Masood Khalid delivered parallel speeches. US representative
Ms. Susan Moore gave a speech on behalf of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen.
The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the UN,
Ambassador H.E. Armen Martirosyan, presented the Armenian position on the
issue. He implicated the propagandist essence of the Azeri proposal by
recalling that from the very beginning the idea of including the issue on
the GA’s agenda did not have the support of most countries. The MG
co-chairmen also declared their opposition, considering it both destructive
and inappropriate.
“Azerbaijan tries to present its resolution from the perspective of human
rights and humanitarian law,” stated A.Martirosyan. “And it is accomplishing
by the country which has violated these laws itself – planned and
systematically carried out massacres of Armenians in Baku, cities of Sumgait
and Kirovabad from 1988 to 1990 during peacetime, tries to cloak its own
actions by selective application of separate points of international
humanitarian law. It limits the application of the return of refugees to
“the area of conflict” and to ethnic Azeris only, conveniently leaving out
the rights of over 400 000 Armenians under the same laws, particularly those
from the immediate conflict zone from Shahumian, Getashen and Northern
Martakert. Their homes today are fully confiscated and populated by ethnic
Azeris,”- stated the Armenian representative.
“With this resolution Azerbaijan tries to dissect the issue of the
so-called “occupied territories” from the whole package of negotiations.
However, it fails to admit that those territories have come under the
control of Nagorno Karabagh Armenians as a result of the war unleashed by
Azerbaijan in an attempt to stifle the peaceful drive of the people of
Nagorno Karabagh for self-determination,” stated A. Martirosyan.
“Today those territories are serving as security belt around Nagorno
Karabagh. Given the efforts for military suppression in the very recent
past, as well as the war-mongering rhetoric of the current Azerbaijani
leadership, the issue of those territories cannot be resolved unless there
is a resolution on the status of Nagorno Karabagh, and security guarantees
are provided,” stressed A. Martirosyan.
In his speech Martirosyan stated again that Nagorno Karabagh has never been
part of independent Azerbaijan. “The people of Nagorno Karabagh have proven
their right to live freely and securely on their own territory both legally
through a referendum conducted in 1991 in full conformity of the existing
Soviet legislation of the time, and by defending this right in the war
unleashed against its population by Azerbaijan,” stated the Armenian
ambassador. He said that the peace should be achieved, first and foremost,
between Nagorno Karabagh and Azerbaijan, which has rejected and walked out
of every single peace proposal made by the OSCE Minsk Group for the last six
years.
“Azerbaijan is not interested in the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno
Karabagh conflict,” stated Martirosyan. “The increased belligerent rhetoric
and incitement of anti-Armenian hatred in Azerbaijan clearly testifies to
the true intentions of its current leadership. The present Azerbaijani
motion aims at torpedoing the negotiations within the OSCE Minsk Group and
diverting the international community’s efforts into parallel processes,
which would allow it to maneuver between them without committing to the
final settlement of the conflict. Azerbaijan tries to use the United Nations
and its General Assembly to do that, Azerbaijan’s initiative to undo the
peace process should not be supported.”
The Assembly was then informed that action on the draft resolution on the
situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan would be taken at a
later date.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Prelacy of Canada
Contact
Name: Dania Ohanian
Phone: (514) 856-1200
E-mail: [email protected]
The Armenian Prelacy of Canada Organizes Bone Marrow Drive with the
Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
November 26, 2004, Montreal (Qc)_ In a step towards lending a hand to
Armenians across the world suffering from blood illnesses, His Eminency,
Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate, upon hearing about the Armenian Bone
Marrow Project, insisted that the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
(ABMDR) bring their drive to Montreal.
Established in 1999, the ABMDR is an internationally accredited,
independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization, whose mission is to
ensure that every Armenian (and others) struck with leukemia or other blood
related diseases have the hope of finding a genetically suitable match for a
bone marrow transplant, which often is the only and final life-saving
procedure for the patient.
The founders of the Registry, Dr. Frieda Jordan and Dr. Sevak Avagyan (who
met each other through the Armenian Relief Society), were at the Armenian
community centre on November 26 for a detailed lecture on the procedures of
the ABMDR and to relay the importance of the Armenian Bone Marrow Project,
which has 9,000 donors to date, but needs 10,000 in order to be a
full-fledged registry.
A member of the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) and the World Marrow
Donor Worldwide (WMDW), the ABMDR shares its database information with other
registries around the world and currently has more than 150 patients in need
of a transplant. The registry has two, state-of-the-art tissue typing
laboratories; one in Yerevan run by Dr. Avagyan (Executive Director), and
the other in Glendora, California, run by Dr. Jordan (President).
Due to the unique genetic make up of Armenians in terms of transplantation
antigens (the substance needed to create antibodies, which leads to the
healthy development of blood cells), finding a bone marrow match is more
likely to occur among other Armenians. With the lack of Armenian donors in
other registries, the ABMDR is the greatest hope for Armenians across the
world to find a potential match.
For every 200 donors, one match is projected and the survival rate after a
transplant for adults is 40 to 50 percent and 60 to 70 percent for children,
depending on a number of factors, including the type and stage of the
disease and the patient’s condition.
A typically painless procedure, becoming a donor only involves withdrawing a
little amount of blood (5 CCs) from which the DNA is extracted and the
antigens are identified. If a match is found, further tests are required and
due to medical advances, becoming a bone marrow donor has become almost
pain-free unlike before, explained Dr. Avagyan.
The ABMDR’s first donor was Armenia’s First Lady, Dr. Bella Kocharian, who
is also the Honorary Chairperson of the registry, whereas the first
voluntary donor in Lebanon during the registry’s visit in April 2004 was His
Holiness Aram I of the House of Cilicia, who was very impressed with the
project.
The ABMDR has received the Presidential Award in the field of medicine in
Armenia, as well as certificates of recognition from California state
government officials, including a special “Woman of the Year Award in
Science and Technology” to Dr. Jordan, among others.
The bone marrow recruitment drive in Montreal will be taking place at the
community centre in the Aharonian Hall on Saturday December 4th and Sunday
December 5th, 2004, between 11am and 2pm and is open to all healthy adults
between 18 and 55 years old.
-30-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
================================================
Monday 29 November 2004
RUSSIA: GOVERNOR LINKS JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES AND ISLAMIC MILITANTS AS
“DESTRUCTIVE CULTS”
Stavropol regional governor Aleksandr Chernogorov has linked Jehovah’s
Witnesses and Islamic militants as “destructive cults” at a major
local conference on “Totalitarian Sects – the Path to the
Destabilisation of the North Caucasus”. Chernogorov maintained that
“Wahhabism” and “Jehovism” [a Soviet-era term for the
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ faith] had infiltrated into southern Russia and were
now “attacking those confessions which provide the foundation of civil
peace” – Orthodoxy and “traditional” Islam. Jehovah’s
Witnesses “think that this might be the beginning of something,”
local Jehovah’s Witness representative Ivan Borshchevsky has told Forum 18
News Service. Recently, Jehovah’s Witnesses have had increasing
difficulties with the authorities. The Stavropol regional religious affairs
official has declined to discuss these matters with Forum 18.
RUSSIA: GOVERNOR LINKS JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES AND ISLAMIC MILITANTS AS
“DESTRUCTIVE CULTS”
By Geraldine Fagan, Forum 18 News Service
On local state television news on 28 September, the governor of Russia’s
southern Stavropol region singled out Jehovah’s Witnesses and linked them
as a danger with Islamic militants, at a major local conference on
“Totalitarian Sects – the Path to the Destabilisation of the
North Caucasus”. Both groups flourish in conditions of unemployment,
corruption and crime, Aleksandr Chernogorov maintained.
According to his official website, Governor Chernogorov went even further
at a working meeting convened in the spa town of Yessentuki in the wake of
the Beslan atrocity. Chaired by President Vladimir Putin’s then
representative in southern Russia, Vladimir Yakovlev, its principal
participants included leaders of the region’s “traditional”
confessions – the Russian Orthodox Church, Islam, the Armenian
Apostolic Church, Judaism and Buddhism.
During the recent years of economic and political reform, Chernogorov told
the 9 September meeting, “destructive cults” such as
“Wahhabism” [an all-embracing term commonly used for militant
Islam] and “Jehovism” [a Soviet-era term for the Jehovah’s
Witnesses’ faith] had infiltrated into southern Russia and were now
“attacking those confessions which provide the foundation of civil
peace” – Orthodoxy and “traditional” Islam. The fact
that this had gone unchecked testified to the flawed nature of Russia’s
1997 law on religion, he maintained, leading Stavropol regional
administration to take “several steps to curtail the activities of
destructive sects, with the support of Orthodox and Muslim clergy.”
One example, according to Chernogorov, was the recent condemnation and
dismissal of a number of imams with Wahhabi views by village assemblies
(see F18News 2 November 2004
) .
“We think that this might be the beginning of something,” local
Jehovah’s Witness representative Ivan Borshchevsky commented to Forum 18 in
Stavropol region’s southern spa town of Pyatigorsk on 30 September. When
police officers broke up Jehovah’s Witness congresses in the region in
2003, he said, they claimed to be acting in accordance with an order issued
by Governor Chernogorov, but the governor has refrained from publicly
expressing a negative stance towards Jehovah’s Witnesses until his recent
statements.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ reported that thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses
were denied entry by Pyatigorsk police to a hired stadium for a three-day
July congress, effectively forcing its cancellation. On 22 and 23 August
2003, the statement continued, police and state officials demanded the
cancellation of a sign-language Jehovah’s Witness event at a hired circus
arena in Stavropol city, the participants of which also cited disruptions
to the electricity and water supply. On 29 August, according to the
Witnesses, police similarly curtailed a three-day convention to be attended
by over a thousand Jehovah’s Witnesses at a Stavropol stadium.
Ivan Borshchevsky told Forum 18 that court appeals filed against the
authorities’ actions in 2003 are still ongoing. While state representatives
argue that they constituted necessary measures in view of possible
terrorist attacks, he added, similar events have been held at the same
venues both before and afterwards without incident.
On 21 June 2004 RIA Novosti Russian news agency reported that Cossacks and
Orthodox clergy in Stavropol region’s southern town of Georgiyevsk had
petitioned the local authorities with a request to examine and take
measures against Jehovah’s Witness activity in the area, pointing out that
the Moscow community of Jehovah’s Witnesses was banned by a court in the
Russian capital on 26 March 2004 (see F18News 29 March 2004
) .
Ivan Borshchevsky told Forum 18 that he was currently unaware of any plans
to prosecute Jehovah’s Witnesses in Stavropol region in the same way as
Moscow. The Cossacks’ complaint came in the wake of a June 2004 Jehovah’s
Witness congress held at a congregation’s own building near Georgiyevsk, he
said, remarking that Jehovah’s Witnesses were now able to hold such events
only on their own premises, so that approximately a thousand participants
for whom there was no room in the Nezlobnaya Kingdom Hall had to sit on
chairs outside. Borshchevsky also remarked that it was no longer possible
to advertise congresses: “Earlier we used to invite the press and
place advertisements in newspapers, but now we issue only oral
invitations.” Cossacks and Russian National Unity nationalists broke
up a Jehovah’s Witness congress held in Georgiyevsk in 1999, he pointed
out.
Ivan Borshchevsky also remarked to Forum 18 that, while all congregations
in his area hold state registration, several encounter restrictions in
gathering for worship. Denied permission to buy or rent property, a
congregation of approximately 100 members in the town of Lermontov is
obliged to meet in several house groups, he said, while one in Yessentuki
is down to its last option of premises for rental. Before Borshchevsky’s
own Pyatigorsk congregation successfully appealed last year against the
local authorities’ refusal to allow the refurbishment of a canteen it had
purchased, he added, one official explained that they had promised then
local Orthodox Metropolitan Gedeon (Dokunin) of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz
“not to let Jehovah’s Witnesses into the town”.
Speaking to Forum 18 on 29 October, Stavropol regional religious affairs
official Vasili Shnyukov declined to respond to questions by telephone.
According to Ivan Borshchevsky, approximately 2,500 Jehovah’s Witnesses now
live in the spa-town area of Kavkazskiye Mineralnyye Vody. Rather than the
product of recent foreign mission, he said, Jehovah’s Witnesses first
appeared in the region in the mid-1950s after Stalin’s order exiling them
to Siberia was annulled: “They were forbidden from returning to either
their place of origin or major industrial centres.” Later in Soviet
times, in 1972, disquieted by the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses activity in
the area, Stavropol regional Council for Religious Affairs compiled a
detailed report on what it called the “antisocial nature of this
sectarian organisation”.
For more background information see Forum 18’s Russia religious freedom
survey at
A printer-friendly map of Russia is available at
;Rootmap=russi
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

Brockton Enterprise, MA
Nov 29 2004
Teacher saw Patriot Act as lesson in civic action
By Theresa Knapp Enos, Enterprise Correspondent
BRIDGEWATER – Raymond P. Ajemian is a history professor at two local
community colleges, but on Nov. 8 he held perhaps his largest class
ever when he gave a civics lesson on the USA Patriot Act to 228
residents at special town meeting.
“It is our responsibility, as local citizens, not only to work out
zoning bylaws but also to look at national laws, and that’s all we’re
asking: For this town to send a message to our legislators that we
want them to re-look at this (Patriot) Act,” Ajemian said.
He is a member of Citizens for an Informed Community, which contends
that portions of the Patriot Act – enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks – violate Americans’ civil liberties.
“We’re not opposed to the Patriot Act, just parts of it,” said
Ajemian, 62, of Bridgewater.
Citizens for an Informed Community is a nonpartisan group formed two
years ago in an attempt to prevent the war in Iraq.
Once the war started, Ajemian said, the group changed its focus and
began to hold forums on a variety of national issues, including the
Patriot Act.
Two years ago, Ajemian suggested to the group that Bridgewater enact
a resolution to ask state and national representatives to take a
closer look at the ramifications of the law. The group was not
interested at the time, but this year jumped on board.
“I presented it to the group and I said that if two or three people
from the group from Bridgewater were interested then I would
proceed,” he said.
Residents Vernon Domingo, Mary Pendleton, Frances Jeffries and Andrew
Harding joined Ajemian in a mission to effect change from the local
level’s effort.
The proposed resolution sparked a 30-minute debate at town meeting,
which ultimately passed the article, making Bridgewater the 47th
community in Massachusetts with such a resolution.
“The Patriot Act probably will have absolutely no effect on people in
Bridgewater,” said Ajemian, who commended town meeting for taking a
stand on a national issue. “But that’s not the point.”
Nationally, since President Bush signed the Patriot Act into law on
Oct. 26, 2001, at least 355 communities, four states and hundreds of
organizations, including the American Library Association and the
National League of Cities, have registered their opposition to
sections of the act and to what they see as a general erosion of
civil liberties since Sept. 11, according to Common Dreams, a
nonprofit news service.
The Patriot Act addresses how government agencies may conduct
investigations “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United
States.” It loosened protections on electronic eavesdropping and
makes it easier for law enforcement agencies to to gather personal
information on Americans, from library loans to medical records.
Supporters say it is a necessary tool for combating terrorism and is
not a dramatic departure from previous laws, but rather an extension
of existing statutes.
Jeffries, a member of the subgroup, said Ajemian was instrumental in
passing Bridgewater’s resolution.
“There is no question that Ray was the one that had the passion and
the drive on the committee,” Jeffries said. “He’s an ordinary citizen
doing extraordinary things.”
Ajemian, who teaches history and politics at Massasoit Community
College in Brockton and Bristol Community College in Fall River,
first got involved with what is now known as the Citizens for an
Informed Community when he saw two people picketing on the Town
Common. He admires people who take a stand on issues that may not
directly affect them. The group now has about 25 members.
“This thing (activism) had been latent within me for quite some
time,” Ajemian said.
He was born in Detroit, received a bachelor’s degree in Middle
Eastern history in 1964 and a master’s degree in American history in
1970 from the University of Michigan. He served in the Army from 1965
to 1967.
He was a teacher in Taunton from 1970 to 1983 and in Dartmouth from
1983 to 1985. He worked for about 18 years in financial services.
Ajemian lives in Bridgewater with his wife, Cristina, also a teacher
at Massasoit Community College, and two children, Peter, 29, and Ani,
25. He is semi-retired and has been teaching at Massasoit for two
years.
“He is a kind gentleman and a good professor,” said Karyn Boutin,
dean of the public service-social science division at Massasoit. “He
is a person of integrity and great respect.”
Paul Bowman, 66, takes Middle Eastern history with Ajemian at
Massasoit. Bowman says Ajemian is a “great instructor and a credit to
the community at Massasoit.”
“I’m not sure if it was personal experience or not, but in our Middle
Eastern class, he brought in a little bit of Armenia when we talked
about Turkey and the (Armenian) massacre,” Bowman said.
In fact, it was from personal experience.
Ajemian’s parents were born in Turkey and were forced to leave during
the Armenian genocide of 1915-18, when an estimated 1-1/2 million
Armenians died during a campaign of deportation, expropriation,
abduction, torture, massacre and starvation.
“Most people aren’t sensitive to the Bill of Rights,” said Ajemian, a
member of the American Civil Liberties Union for 30 years. “I think I
am because both my parents were immigrants that were forced to leave
(Turkey) and come unwillingly to the United States.”
Ajemian said his mother’s family was killed during the genocide. She
was sent to an American orphanage and eventually found her way to the
United States. Ajemian’s father was sent to the United States, when
his grandfather understood there was no other safe choice.
“There are things you learn growing up the child of immigrants. There
were some things my mother would not talk about. That teaches you
something,” Ajemian said. “I think it made me sensitive to government
that can take away people’s rights.”
Other members of the citizens group have had similar life-altering
experiences, including one man who fled South Africa because of
apartheid. Together, they say, they are champions of the U.S.
Constitution.
“The bottom line is, if people don’t speak up, (lawmakers) could
slip,” Ajemian said.
“A lot of people think that it’s not going to happen but it has, and
it could and we have to be vigilant about that,” he said. “I think
that the Patriot Act, at least parts of it, are dangerous.”
Just as Ajemian is passionate about the Patriot Act, he is passionate
about all things Bridgewater, said Town Clerk Ron Adams, who served
with Ajemian on the Planning Board in the 1980s.
During that time, Adams said, the board established the town’s first
master plan with an eye toward increasing lot sizes, saving open
space and preserving the character of the town.
“He has always been community-oriented,” Adams said. “He’s always
been looking for things to do in the town to make it a better place.
The town needs more Ray Ajemians.”
Since passage of the Bridgewater resolution, neighboring communities
have asked for help in passing resolutions of their own, Ajemian
said.
And he hopes the group will continue to spark local interest on
national issues.
Predicted Ajemian, “Patriot (Act) 2 is coming along, but it’s worse
than Patriot 1.”
Parts of the Patriot Act are set to expire in 2005 unless renewed by
Congress. Critics say the renewed law could contain provisions that
would further erode Americans’ rights.
“We can’t leave it up to our representatives to represent us, to make
all the decisions, because sometimes they’re not going to make the
right decisions,” he said. “We have to be heard.”
More information on Citizens for an Informed Community can be found
at