Category: News

Mother Jones, CA
Aug 3 2004
Christians Leaving Iraq
The religious leaders of Iraq’s small Christian community have
long-downplayed the fact that many Iraqi-Christians are leaving Iraq.
But Sunday’s coordinated attacks in Baghdad and Mosul on five
churches — which, unlike mosques, have not previously been targeted
— will no doubt strengthen the resolve of Iraqi-Christians thinking
of leaving Iraq and convince others of the necessity of doing so.
Iraq’s Christians — Chaldean Catholics; Assyrians; Roman and Syriac
Catholics; Greek, Syriac and Armenian Orthodox; Angicans and others
— make up 3 percent of the population, and are concentrated in the
cities. Of course, the lack of security has been a problem for all
Iraqis, whatever their religion, but the country’s Christians feel
particularly vulnerable to attack. For one, many within the
insurgency view the American-led coalition as a Christian crusade and
Iraq’s Christian community as its supporters and collaborators. Shops
selling alcohol, many of them owned by Christians, have been
attacked, their merchandise destroyed, and their owners beaten and
even murdered. As the BBC reported last month, the Iraqi police
blamed the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army for the
attacks: “His men are no longer fighting American and interim Iraqi
government troops, and some suspect they are now channelling their
energies into a moral battle instead.”
Iraq’s national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie held Egyptian
militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi responsible for Sunday’s attacks on the
churches, which occurred during mass, killing 11 people and injuring
47: “Zarqawi and his extremists are basically trying to drive a wedge
between Muslims and Christians in Iraq. It’s clear they want to drive
Christians out of the country.” But as the Christian Science Monitor
reported last month:
“Not all Christians are killed by Islamic militants. Issaq [director
of international relations for the Assyrian Democratic Movement] has
compiled a list of 102 Christians killed since April 9, 2003. Some
were killed for selling alcohol; others for working with Americans as
translators or laundresses. (About 10 percent were killed by
coalition troops, casualties of postwar violence.) Many were
kidnapped and killed for money, a fate that befalls Muslims, too.
But sometimes it’s hard to separate kidnappings from religious
murders. Among Iraqis, there’s a widespread belief that Christians
are wealthy. This stereotype, too, can kill.”
Iraq’s Christians had their churches destroyed and themselves
forcibly relocated under Saddam Hussein, but they didn’t experience
the sort of persecution that the majority Shia, not to say the Kurds,
have been subjected to. Considered less politically threatening by
the Baath Party than Islamic minorities and the Shia majority,
Christians were granted a greater degree of religious freedom in
return for their political obedience. Relations between Muslims and
Christians have generally been placid.
Today, Iraqi Christians are upset about what they say is inadequate
representation in the current government (a claim echoed by every
group) and they fear the creation of an Islamist state. Some
Christian leaders say that a separate Christian province is necessary
to protect the country’s minority. Aside from the obvious failure of
coalition troops to provide security, the United States is blamed by
some Christians for promoting Islamic rule in Iraq, where Christians
date their presence to the first century. As one Assyrian-Iraqi told
UPI in early June:
“The American-funded TV station, Al Iraqia, broadcasts Muslim
programs four times every day and for two hours each Friday but
nothing for the other religions. The recent inauguration of the new
government was opened by a Muslim mullah reciting a long passage and
a prayer from the Koran, but none of our priests were invited. Why do
they do this? Why do the Americans promote Muslims? They need to
promote equality and democracy and freedom, not Muslim dictatorship.”
Among the Iraqi-Christians who have emigrated, some have settled in
neighboring countries like Syria, while others have received asylum
in Australia, North America, and Europe. Australia’s Iraqi-born
population, which includes the various Christian dominations as well
as Kurds and Jews, has grown dramatically since Gulf War. In 1991,
there were 5,186 Iraqi-born persons in Australia, but in 2001, the
last year for which census figures are available there were 24,819.
Among Iraqi-Armenians, who make up one of the smaller Christian
communities, some have emigrated to the Republic of Armenia.
The number of Christians seeking to emigrate is unknown, but the
estimated 800,000 that live in Iraq today represent a marked decline
from the 1987 census that registered 1.4 million Iraqi-Christians.
Shmael Benjamin a member of the political bureau of the Assyrian
Democratic Movement told Reuters: “We’re the Red Indians of Iraq. We
were the majority, today we’re the minority, our percentage is
reducing day by day in this country.” Perhaps, as Slate puts it,
“with Iraq’s Shiites and Kurds having earlier been targeted by
bombings, it was probably only a matter of time before the country’s
Christians would get their turn.” But given the previous attacks on
Christians, the continuing lack of security for everyone, and fears
of a future Islamist state, Iraqi’s Christians are more likely to
draw the conclusion that it is time to pack their bags.
— Nonna Gorilovskaya

Press-Enterprise , CA
Aug 3 2004
Blessing of grapes set for Inland church

TRADITION: The event at the Armenian Apostolic Church of Riverside
observes the Virgin Mary.

The Armenian Apostolic Church of Riverside will hold its annual
church picnic and traditional blessing of the grape service beginning
at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 15 at La Sierra Park, 5215 La Sierra, Riverside.
The blessing of grapes is part of the Orthodox Christian Feast of the
Assumption of St. Mary, an observance of the death, burial,
resurrection and transfer to heaven of the Virgin Mary, the mother of
Jesus.
“Grapes are blessed during the Feast of the Assumption of St. Mary to
symbolize a number of values that are important to life and living,”
the Rev. Dr. Stepanos Dingilian, pastor of the church, said in an
e-mail.
Wine comes from grapes and symbolizes the blood shed by Christ, he
said.
“This ‘blood’ in turn signifies that no achievement that raises the
standard of human civilization is possible without wholehearted
dedication, total commitment and unselfish perseverance,” he said.
Grapes grow in clusters, illustrating that people need family and
community to grow spiritually and mentally and to live a meaningful
life, he said.
The blessing of the grapes is observed on the Feast of St. Mary,
Dingilian said.
For information, call (951) 684-1722, (951) 522-5172 or (909)
883-1066.

Messenger.ge, Georgia
Aug 3 2004
Measured potential for peacebuilding
Azeris and Armenians in Tbilisi feel removed from their homelands’
distant conflict
By Keti Sikharulidze
Armenians and Azerbaijanis share many cultural similarities – in
music, education and cuisine. Moreover, significant segments of both
populations believe that their religious differences do not matter –
says the results of a recent sociological survey conducted by
Armenian and Azerbaijani researchers.
Another notable result of the survey is that the majority of
Azerbaijani refugees from Nagorno-Karabagh believe they can live in
peace and friendship with their Armenian neighbors.
While announcing the results last Wednesday at the Caucuses
International Center of Journalists in Tbilisi, Professor Jeffrey
Halley from the University of Texas Department of Sociology, said
that both sides are eager to support this project. “People think that
a closer social and economic relationship will help to resolve the
conflict,” he said.
“The Azerbaijani population declared that a closer economic and
military relationship would help resolve the problems. But while
Armenians think the problems will be solved only if Azerbaijan agrees
that Nagorno-Karabagh belongs to Armenia, they also declared that
Azerbaijan refugees must return to their homes,” said Professor
Halley.
As implied in its title – On the potential of the Azerbaijani and
Armenian Peoples for Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Cooperation –
the survey aimed to measure the possibility of building a closer
relationship between the people of the two countries.
Approximately 1,000 people from Azerbaijan and 1,000 from Armenia
were surveyed in 2003, as well as 200 Azeri refugees (IDPs) from
Nagorno-Karabagh and 200 Armenians currently living in that region,
which they claim as their own. Participants came from all age groups,
with the majority aged between 26 and 60.
According to the survey, both sides stressed that this conflict can
be resolved only through working together. But as Halley told
journalists, the Armenian and Azeri people blame their governments
for this conflict, although many people in both countries felt
strongly that forces beyond their government play a role in
prolonging the conflict.
Asked if the situation would change if the survey was held now in
2004 instead of 2003, the president of the Armenian Sociological
Association Roubina Ter-Martirosyan said: “We live in a dynamic
world, and if we held this survey this year the situation would
change for the better.”
Dr Sevil Asadova from Azerbaijan said that the results would not be
markedly different, and added: “We have determined how to establish
closer relations and have found the key to this problem. Our main aim
was to learn what these people thought about this problem.”
Many Azerbaijanis and Armenian’s living in Tbilisi, however, told The
Messenger that these problems are distant for them, especially since
they consider Georgia is now their homeland.
“I do not know what is happening there, we are in a vacuum and know
nothing. As it is far from me I do not feel their troubles and need,”
said market clerk Valia Avakian, whose ancestors are Armenian.
Saying that she personally could not imagine why Azerbaijan and
Armenia should have a conflict, she added her family “is more
concerned with the problems in Georgia rather than in Armenia and
Azerbaijan. I am ashamed to say so, but it is true”
An ethnic Azeri Ilgar Mamedov told The Messenger that he enjoys “very
good relations with Armenians in Georgia.”
“When we meet each other, we try not to speak about that conflict at
all to avoid embarrassment,” he said.

Syracuse Post Standard, NY
Aug 3 2004
Solvay man writes hit songs for Armenia
Decker has written lyrics for works by a prominent Armenian composer.
By Mark Bialczak
Staff writer
You could argue that Daniel Decker gets more attention in Armenia
than he does in his hometown of Solvay.
After all, an American TV crew has yet to surreptitiously follow
Decker around for a couple of days for a network series.
That’s exactly what happened to Decker when he visited his wife
Armine Khurshudian’s homeland in May.
Unbeknownst to Decker, cameras followed him from the moment he walked
in the airport gate. Three days later, the host of the show, the
title of which translates into “By Their Steps,” caught Decker in the
lobby of his hotel for a face-to-face interview.
The host’s questions and Decker’s answers were translated by
Khurshudian and Armenian composer Ara Gevorgian. Decker was in
Armenia to work with Gevorgian, who’s one of the country’s most
prominent composers. For several years now, Decker has written lyrics
to pair with Gevorgian’s grand musical landscapes.
Decker pops a DVD of the 30-minute TV show into his portable computer
and relives the moment, from the stalker-like opening to the “big
reveal” in the hotel lobby.
American Armenians there for a visit applaud in the background when
Decker moves to the lobby piano and performs his piece “Redemption’s
Song.”
That piece appears on this year’s independently made, 11-song disc
“My Offering.”
The Christian-based recording also includes “Noah’s Prayer,” the
collaboration between Decker and Gevorgian that made him famous for
his 2002 performance of the song on Armenian Independence Day, May
28, 2002, with the Armenian Opera Orchestra. A video of that
performance, which has Mount Aratat
jutting in the background, was part of the Armenian show chronicling
that year’s significant events. The video still is played often on
Armenia TV, as well as on the big screen in the capital city of
Yerevan’s version of Times Square.
Decker writes and sings in English. The Armenians get his message.
His next video release in Armenia will be “Adana,” named for the city
that was one of the primary locations of the Armenian genocide during
World War I. In the lyrics, Decker describes how more than a million
Armenians were “slaughtered because they would not renounce their
faith in Christ.”
Decker says he loves writing for the Armenian people because of their
huge spirit.
He’s working on programs to provide financial aid to the poor in his
wife’s home country. Khurshudian moved to Syracuse after marrying
Decker in 2001, but they visit there as frequently as possible.
“On my fourth trip to Armenia, we went to the place where I had heard
the melody to ‘Noah’s Prayer’ (composed by Gevorgian) for the first
time,” Decker says. “I saw an old man being helped by a young girl.
They were begging for coins. People were giving them 10 drams. There
are 550 drams to a dollar. This had a huge impact on me.”
So Decker is working with Armenian programs that provide soup
kitchens, school supplies and clothing for the poor.
“They’re caring. They’re warm. There’s something about the Armenian
people that’s really touching,” Decker says. “It absolutely changed
my life. I decided I’d dedicate my career, my life, to helping these
Armenian people who have so little. This is just the beginning now.”

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
Aug 3 2004
Armenian and Azeri Presidents to Meet in September
Armenian and Azeri Presidents’ next meeting will be in September at
the Astana Summit of CIS countries, 525th newspaper reported on
Tuesday.
Before the bilateral meeting of Presidents there will be arranged a
three sided meeting with the participation of Russian President,
Vladimir Putin, reported Olaylar on Monday.
At the bilateral meeting presidents will discuss the latest situation
on the resolution process of Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the OSCE’s
Minsk group’s suggestions on the conflict settlement.

di-ve.com, Malta
Aug 3 2004
Malta wins Bronze Medal
by di-ve.com
The Women’s National team made history once again by winning the
first ever medal at senior level at a Promotion Cup.
The team won the bronze medal in the 9th edition of the Promotion Cup
in Andorra after beating Armenia 69-61. The result does not show the
superiority that Malta had throughout the match as it was only in the
last session were the team was administrating the game that the
Armenians managed to make the result more respectable.
This win means that Malta won four out of its five games played in
Andorra, and has by far got the best ever result in a Promotion Cup.
The team arrived back in Malta on Monday morning.
MALTA 69
ARMENIA 61
Session Scores: (Malta First) 1st qtr: 17-14 2nd qtr: 18-16 3rd qtr:
26-14 4th qtr: 8-17.
Top Scorers: Lucienne Bezzina 25, Irene Farrugia 20, Dorianne Galea
9.

Zaman, Turkey
Aug 3 2004
‘Church Attacks are the work of a new group’
A new group that calls itself the “Iraq Planning and Watch
Committee” claimed responsibility for the attacks on five churches in
the Iraqi cities of Musul (Mosul) and Bagdat (Baghdad) on Sunday,
August 1.
“The fighters for the Islamic faith have committed the attacks on
churches of the crusaders’ bad, fetid and corrupt Christianity with
car bombs,” the group posted on its website. “The war in Iraq and
Afghanistan no doubt is a crusade aimed at Islam and Muslims. The US
and the agents never hesitated to fight against Islam with the Pope’s
approval.”
The Iraqi government believes that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, who is
linked to Al Qaeda, executed the attacks that claimed the lives of 11
people. A Security Adviser to the Iraqi government, Muvaffaq Al
Rubai, said yesterday there is no doubt that Al Zarqawi operated the
attacks. Clues furthermore indicate that Zarqawi supporters targeted
the churches. Al Rubai said that the attacks were orchestrated so
that Christians would flee the country, “Al Zarqawi and his followers
are trying to come between Muslims and Christians,” concluded Al
Rubai.
The highest authority among Shiites, Ali Al Huseyni Al Sistani,
called the coordinated attacks a crime. The Vatican, Arab Emirates,
and the Organization of Islamic Conference also condemned the events.
Two of the churches served the Armenian and Catholic communities.
650,000 Christians, most of who reside in Baghdad, live in Iraq.
Iraqi Keldanis and Syriacs are the most important Christian groups.
In related news, one person was killed during a skirmish between
Muqtada Al-Sadr’s militia, and the US forces that surrounded Sadr’s
house in Necef (Najaf) yesterday.

Reuters
Aug 3 2004
CrisisWatch No.12
International Crisis Group (ICG) – Belgium
Website:
July 2004 saw deteriorations in eight conflict situations worldwide,
according to August’s CrisisWatch bulletin. The 30 July simultaneous
suicide bombings of the U.S. and Israeli embassies and the general
prosecutor’s office in Tashkent aggravated the situation in
Uzbekistan. In Kashmir, violence increased in the run-up to
Indo-Pakistan peace talks, leaving over 200 dead, including numerous
civilians. Sri Lanka’s February 2002 ceasefire grew increasingly
fragile with the 8 July suicide bombing in Colombo, which killed four
police officers. Throughout the month, Thailand saw almost daily
killings of policemen, officials and village administrators in the
south of the country. The situations in Guinea, Madagascar, Moldova
and Peru also deteriorated in July.
On the positive side, four potential conflict situations showed some
improvement last month. After intensive negotiations, months of
stalemate in Côte d’Ivoire ended with a potential breakthrough, as
the opposition agreed to rejoin President Gbagbo’s government
following compromises on both sides. However, considerable scepticism
on implementation of the deal remained. In Nigeria, recent flare-ups
of ethno-religious violence, which had left hundreds dead in previous
months, subsided. Algeria and Bolivia also showed improvement in
July.
For August 2004, CrisisWatch identifies Sri Lanka and Georgia as
Conflict Risk Alerts, or situations at particular risk of further
conflict in the coming month. The only Conflict Resolution
Opportunity identified for August is Nagorno-Karabakh, where reports
of new Armenian flexibility have raised hopes of progress in
negotiations with Azerbaijan.
TRENDS AND WATCHLIST SUMMARY
JULY 2004 TRENDS
Deteriorated Situations
Guinea, Kashmir, Madagascar, Moldova, Peru, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Uzbekistan
Improved Situations
Algeria, Bolivia, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria
Unchanged Situations
Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Basque
region (Spain), Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Chad, Chechnya (Russia),
China (internal), Colombia, Cyprus, DR Congo, Ethiopia/Eritrea, East
Timor, Egypt, Georgia, Haiti, India (non-Kashmir), Indonesia, Iran,
Iraq, Israel/Occupied Territories, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo,
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Morocco,
Myanmar/Burma, Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Nepal, North Korea,
Northern Ireland (UK), Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia,
Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan Strait,
Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Venezuela, Western Sahara,
Yemen, Zimbabwe
AUGUST 2004 WATCHLIST
Conflict Risk Alert
Georgia, Sri Lanka
Conflict Resolution Opportunity
Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Associated Press
Aug 3 2004
Iraqi Christians slowly fleeing to Syria
Pressure from Islamists forcing minority out, exiles say
SALIM ABRAHAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DAMASCUS, Syria – In small but steady numbers, Iraqi Christians are
moving to Syria to escape the threats and violence of Islamic
extremists, say Iraqi Christian exiles.
“The religious and ethnic pressure on us is tremendous,” said
Shamasha Muayad Shamoun Georges, 45, a deacon of the Chaldean Solaqa
Church in Baghdad, who fled to Syria two weeks ago with his wife and
five children.
Georges said the pressure comes from “Muslim extremists,” not from
the interim Iraqi government, which has a Christian as minister of
immigration and refugees.
During Sunday evening mass, suspected Islamic militants set off a
series of explosions at five churches in Baghdad and the northern
Iraqi city of Mosul, killing at least seven people and wounding
dozens. It was the first major assault on Iraq’s Christian minority
since the Iraqi war began last year.
Christians number about 750,000 people among Iraq’s total population
of about 25 million. They include the Chaldean-Assyrians, the
majority sect, Armenians – one of whose churches was bombed on
Sunday, Syrian Catholics and Syrian Orthodox.
Islamic militants have told Christian owners of liquor stores to
close down their businesses, and they have threatened Christians who
run beauty salons and shops selling fashionable clothes.
Georges said he does not expect such pressure to end soon.
Another Iraqi Christian in Syria, Jacqueline Isho, said that when
Christians complain to the authorities in Iraq, they are “always
ignored.”
“Some police sympathize with, or support, those Islamists and gangs,”
Isho said.
Scores of Iraqi Christian families move to Syria and Jordan every
day, according to Emanuel Khoshaba, a representative of the Iraqi
Assyrian Democratic Movement in Syria.
Khoshaba said there are now 10,000 Iraqi Christians in Syria, and 90
percent of them arrived after the Iraqi war began in March last year.
Such figures could not be confirmed with government officials as
Syrian and Jordanian immigration forms do not ask a person’s
religion.
“I have run away because gangs kept on threatening me,” said Adeeb
Goga Matti, 48, who belongs to a wealthy Chaldean-Assyrian family in
Baghdad.
He said his 10-year-old nephew, Patrous Yakou, was kidnapped at the
end of 2003 and released only after his family paid a ransom of
$15,000 (U.S.).
After the kidnapping, Matti stopped sending his four children to
school.
“Chaldean-Assyrians are the easiest targets for gangsters because
they don’t belong to a tribal system like other Iraqis,” Matti
stressed. Muslim Iraqis tend to belong to clans who rally round and
protect their members.
Matti is in Damascus applying for a visa to Australia. Iraqi
Christians in Syria are also applying to emigrate to Canada, the
United States and other Western countries.
Albert Sargon, 24, and his wife, Suhat, 26, left Iraq last month.
“I ran away from threatening messages sent by Islamists because I was
working as a cook for Americans,” Sargon said.
He and his wife do not plan to return.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian, Azeri troops exchange fire across front line
Noyan Tapan news agency, Yerevan
2 Aug 04
Bilik Dunyasi news agency, Baku
2 Aug 04

Armenian and Azeri forces have exchanged fire across the front line in
Azerbaijan’s northwestern Qazax District.
Quoting the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, Bilik Dunyasi news agency
reported on 2 August: “The Armenian armed forces based in the south of
the occupied village of Asagi Askipara in Azerbaijan’s Qazax District
fired on the positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the east of
the village from sub-machine-guns for about 35 minutes, starting from
0055 this morning [1955 gmt on 1 August].” The Defence Ministry press
service said that the enemy was silenced by retaliatory fire and there
were no casualties, according to Bilik Dunyasi.
Armenian news agency Noyan Tapan reported on 2 August: “For several
hours during the night of 1-2 August the village of Berkaber in
Armenia’s Tavush Region came under intermittent fire from Azerbaijan’s
Qazax District.” Quoting the community leader in Berkaber, Volodya
Madatyan, Noyan Tapan said that there had been no casualties.