Category: News

PRESS OFFICE
Armenian Holy Apostolic Church Canadian Diocese
Contact; Deacon Hagop Arslanian, Assistant to the Primate
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont Quebec H2V 3H2
Tel; 514-276-9479, Fax; 514-276-9960
Email; [email protected] Website;
ON THE OCCASSION OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CANADIAN ARMENIAN
DIOCESE PILGRIMAGE TO STE. ANNE DE BAUPRE
Among the many events celebrating the 20th anniversary of the
establishment of the Canadian Armenian Church Diocese, perhaps the
most significant and memorable could be considered the three-day
pilgrimage on the weekend of July 9-11 to Quebec City’s Ste. Anne de
Baupre Shrine. This was the initiative of Rev. Fr. Zareh Avak Kahana
Zargarian, Pastor of Toronto’s Holy Trinity Church, and organized by
the Church’s Christian Education Council, under the auspices of His
Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate.
In the afternoon of July 9, about 150 pilgrims arrived from Toronto to
Montreal, where they were greeted and welcomed by Rev. Fr. Vazken
Boyadjian, Pastor of St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral. After a
brief rest, they visited two famous Montreal landmarks – the
St. Joseph’s Oratory and Notre Dame Basilica – where the pilgrims
prayed jointly, then retired for the night in high spirits.
The next morning, some 120 pilgrims from Montreal’s St. Gregory the
Illuminator and Laval’s Holy Cross Churches joined the Toronto group
and the caravan of busses carrying close to 270 pilgrims headed
towards Quebec City, after the blessings and prayers of the Primate,
Rev. Fr. Hayrig Apegha Hovhannisian, Rev. Archpriest Fr. Zareh
Zargarian and guest visitor Rev. Fr. Zaven Avak Kahana
Arzoumanian. The three-hour pleasant journey was marked by religious,
national and popular songs all the way to Quebec City. Upon arrival to
Ste. Anne De Baupre Shrine, the pilgrims were welcomed by the
sacristan of the Shrine Fr. Pallette. The Divine Liturgy was
celebrated on the main altar by the Primate, assisted by
Rev. Fr. Hayrig and Rev. Fr. Zareh. The Altar servers were the young
Deacons and Sub-deacons of Holy Trinity led by senior deacons Nourhan
Ipekjian and Ara Anmahouni. The choir of Holy Trinity conducted by
Mr. Hagop Deukmedjian sang harmoniously throughout the ceremonies,
highly impressing the attending large number of both Armenian and
non-Armenian faithful, who were also joined by the small Armenian
community of Quebec City. It was the first time that Armenian Badarak
was being celebrated in the magnificent Shrine. Darius Gumushian, 21,
says “I am now a pilgrim. Becoming one has taken me to the depths of
Quebec to huge cathedrals that could only be found in books or
television. Here I learned to take nothing for granted and that we are
not only God fearing community on earth. Rethinking with our
counterparts in Montreal and Quebec City is always a good
thing. However, more importantly, the spiritual aspect is most
important by performing the Holy Badarak in other Churches. I believe
we all bonded well and I cannot wait to return to Toronto to share our
experiences with others”.
Following lunch the pilgrims had a tour of the old city and arrived in
Montreal to be hosted to a wonderful and warm reception in Laval, by
the Holy Cross Church. A joyous program extending into the late night
kept everybody in high spirits. “Before coming to the pilgrimage I did
not understand the reason I was going, but now when we have performed
mass at the beautiful churches it felt different. Spiritually, I felt
very good” Saro Sahagian, 19.
On Sunday morning, pilgrims assembled in St. Gregory the Illuminator
Cathedral, where the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Rev. Archpriest
Fr. Zareh Zargarian, assisted by Rev. Fr. Vazken Boyadjian. The altar
servers and the choir singers were from Toronto’s Holy Trinity. Before
the sermon, Fr. Boyadjian welcomed the pilgrims and Fr. Zareh, who had
been the pastor of St. Gregory the Illuminator for seven years before
moving to Toronto, said in his sermon that this pilgrimage was a
reaffirmation of our faith in God and in the Mother See of the
Armenian Holy Apostolic Church in Etchmiadzin. In appreciation of the
Primate’s dynamism, Fr. Zargarian presented His Eminence with a
decorative cross as a memory from this historic pilgrimage. Bishop
Galstanian in turn thanked all and presented Fr. Zargarian with an
antique chest cross, wishing him strength and good health in his
mission of service to the church and to our people. “The pilgrimage
to Montreal was very enlightening. I was very surprised by the impact
I received spiritually after this historical event. It was a great
honor for me to be able to celebrate Holy Mass at the Cathedral in
Montreal. The pilgrimage rejoiced and recharged my soul which will
last me through the hardships o this world” says sub-deacon Mher
Torossian, 20.
Following the ceremonies, upon the directive of His Holiness the
Catholicos of All Armenians, prayers for the repose of the souls of
benefactors Alex and Marie Manoogians were conducted. The congregation
then assembled in the Church’s Marie Manoogian hall where a luncheon
was served by the Parish Council and the Ladies’
Auxiliary. Rev. Fr. Zaven Arzoumanian welcomed the pilgrims and
praised the organizers as well as the participants for a unique type
of event to commemorate the Diocese’s 20th anniversary. Fr. Boyadjian
thanked once again the young deacons and presented each one of them
with the Church’s emblem. “I think that this pilgrimage is very
special, because there is a difference in doing the Holy Masses where
we did because there is a history and I really enjoyed it” Haigaz
Mirzoyan, 23.
The gathering ended by Fr. Hayrig’s blessings, and the pilgrims went
up to the Diocesan quarters to receive the Primate’s blessings before
departing for Toronto.
Indeed this has been a weekend full of spiritual revival and joy for
the pilgrims and for the clergy alike.
Department of Christian Education
Information Office

Noyan Tapan, Armenia
July 7 2004
Armenians in Turkey want own radio and TV station

Representatives of the Armenian community of Turkey have filed a
statement to the Supreme Board of Radio Television (RTUK) demanding
broadcasts in Armenian. This demand followed the start of broadcasts
in Kurdish and Assyrian by Turkish Radio and Television. Zaman
Turkish daily reports that the editor of Akos Armenian-language daily
published in Istanbul Grant Dink said that the Armenian community has
launched a donation drive to help it be realized. It is expected that
a total of US$300,000 will be donated. Armenian radio has been a
dream for 10 years, Dink added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Noyan Tapan, Armenia
July 9 2004
`Tsaig’ Gumri TV company is fined for 100,000 drams
The National Committee for TV and Radio made a decision at its July 8
meeting to fine `Tsaig’ JSC for 100,000 drams (180 US dollars). As a
result of monitoring conducted by the Committee it was revealed that
`Tsaig’ TV company has violated the demands of the second part of
Article #10 of the Law on TV and Radio. On May 31 and June 14 the TV
company retranslated show `Windows’ of the Russian TNT TV company.
`Tsaig’ did not signed proper agreement on translation of foreign
programs.
The company has to pay the penalty within 15 days after decision is
made.

Noyan Tapan, Armenia
July 14 2004
“Bridge of hope” and “Mission East” announce a competition on the
theme of disability
“Bridge of hope” and “Mission East” announce a competition “Education
For all” on the theme of disability for the best TV/ Radio/ Newspaper
publication. The aim of the competition is to advocate education and
equal opportunities for people with disabilities by means of
elucidation of the theme in media.
Publications made from July 1 – November 20- 2004 are eligible to
participate in the competition. The results will be finalized on
December 1, 2004 and the winners will be presented with Pentium 4 for
the best publication and special prizes for the best TV program,
Radio program and Article.

BBC News
July 17 2004
Moscow magazine editor murdered

The body of a Moscow magazine editor has been found dead on a city
ring road, Russian media reports.
Prosecutors are treating the death of Payl Peloyan, editor of
Armyanski Pereulok (Armenian Lane), as murder, according to RIA
Novosti news agency.
He was found with knife wounds to his chest and bruises on his face,
a police spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Earlier this month, editor of Russian Forbes magazine, Paul
Klebnikov, was shot dead in northern Moscow.

Mr Klebnikov was an outspoken critic of Russia’s oligarchs
Russian police said the body of Mr Peloyan was found at the side of
the MKAD highway encircling Moscow at 0700 (0300GMT) on Saturday.
They were reportedly not ruling out the possibility his death was
linked to his work at the Russian-language arts and literature
magazine serving the Armenian community.
On July 9, Mr Klebnikov – a US citizen – was shot four times as he
left his office in the north of the Russian capital.
He had been an outspoken critic of Russia’s wealthy oligarchs.
US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Mr Klebnikov was the
15th journalist to be killed in connection with his work in Russia
since 2000.
The group called on President Vladimir Putin to address what it calls
the “climate of lawlessness and impunity” that has led to the
killings.

AZERI PRESSURE GROUP STOPS HUNGER STRIKE OVER ARRESTED MEMBERS
Ekho, Baku
17 Jul 04
Text of X. Qasimova’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 17 July
headlined “The KLO has stopped the hunger strike”
Activists of the Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) stopped their
hunger strike yesterday, the KLO deputy chairman, Barat Imani, has
told Ekho. According to him, the action stopped at 1200 (0700 gmt) at
the request of the chairman of the committee to protect the rights of
the arrested KLO activists, Isaxan Asurov, and lawyer Elcin Qambarov.
Imani said that the hunger strikers agreed with Asurov and Qambarov
that the judiciary could see the hunger strike as pressure on the
court.
“The action caused an outcry in society. But we were simply surprised
at the attitude of MPs from the Karabakh region. With the exception of
MP Karam Aliyev, they did not even try to express their opinion on the
issue. As for Karam Aliyev’s statement on the populist actions of the
KLO activists, we try not to react to utterances of this kind,” Imani
said.
(Three KLO members began a hunger strike on 12 July, demanding the
release of six of their colleagues arrested for protesting against the
participation of Armenian officers in a NATO conference in Baku)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI
July 17 2004
Tourism chief considering in-state jobs strategy
Overseas workers nab much of the summer employment
By SCOTT WILLIAMS
Wisconsin’s top tourism official is considering stepped-up efforts to
promote summer job opportunities in the tourism industry as many
attractions recruit workers from overseas despite unemployment here.

Tourism Secretary Jim Holperin said he has no indication that theme
parks and other popular destinations are intentionally passing over
Wisconsin workers. But he said the state lacks a comprehensive
strategy for matching Wisconsin’s jobless to tourism jobs, which
often go to workers from Poland, Finland or other foreign countries.
A state job center in Wisconsin Dells, for example, has stopped
sending representatives to job fairs in Milwaukee, relying instead on
the Internet to reach job seekers in the state’s largest metropolitan
area.
“There might be a programmatic gap,” Holperin said, meaning not
everyone who needs a job is being reached by existing programs.
Destinations in the Dells, Door County and other popular tourist
spots began wide-scale recruiting of foreign workers, typically
college students, when low unemployment in the late 1990s created a
labor shortage. Although the economy has since gone flat and
Wisconsin joblessness is up, many attractions continue hiring from
out of the country for their summer seasonal help, citing other
forces in the marketplace.
Some say residents who live in Milwaukee and those who live in other
areas of high unemployment cannot be coaxed into relocating for the
summer, and that young people in Wisconsin generally must return to
school before the tourist season ends.
At Landmark Resort in Door County, Personnel Director Joanne Stanzel
has hired several college-aged students from Armenia and Romania,
primarily for housekeeping jobs.
Stanzel said some Wisconsin residents seem uninterested in the
drudgery of scrubbing bathrooms and arranging bedsheets.
“Even in desperate times they don’t want to do housekeeping,” she
said. “It’s sad to say.”
One housekeeper, Lilit Vasilyan of Romania, said she worked as a
waitress in her home country but wanted to visit the United States
this summer to improve her English.
Vasilyan, 20, said she is enjoying her job at Landmark and is most
impressed by Door County’s natural scenery.
“I imagined how it would be,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”

The Times (London)
July 17, 2004, Saturday
Celebrating the first Christian nation
by Greg Watts
Greg Watts speaks to the spiritual leader of the world-wide Armenian
Church.
IF YOU happen to walk along Iverna Gardens, a quiet street in
Kensington, London, you will come across a very unusual small,
square, church built of white stone.
This is the Church of St Sarkis, home to members of the oldest
Christian nation in the world, Armenia.
Situated between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, Armenia declared
Christianity the state religion in 301 after St Gregory the
Illuminator converted King Trdat III.
The Armenian Church split with mainstream Christendom in 451 when it
disagreed with the Council of Chalcedon’s declaration that Christ had
two natures, human and divine.
Most Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, known as one
of the ancient churches of the East, which are distinct from the
Orthodox churches. Three of the quarters in the old city of Jerusalem
represent the great monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and
Islam. The fourth quarter is home to the Armenians.
The first Armenians to arrive in Britain settled in Manchester in the
19th century. A mixture of textile traders, small manufacturers and
retailers, in 1870 they built the first Armenian church in Britain.
Today, there are an estimated 12,000 Armenians in Britain,
concentrated mainly in London. Apart from St Sarkis, the capital’s
Armenians also worship in nearby St Yeghiche, a former Anglican
church.
Last month, Catholicos Karekin II, the spiritual head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, visited Britain. His itinerary included meetings
with the Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
The ties between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Church of
England are very close and go back more than a century, Catholicos
Karekin said. “The Archbishop of Canterbury and I spoke about the
role of the Church in the world, especially in a world of conflict
and on behalf of all people everywhere. We prayed together for better
understanding in the world.
“Also, we agreed that the Church of England and the holy see of
Etchmiadzin would set up an exchange programme whereby the Church of
England would send student clergy to Etchmiadzin. Armenian student
priests come to Britain with the help of the Church of England.”
Armenia achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. After 70
years of Communist rule, he continued, the Church has to meet a
number of major challenges.
“We need Christian re-education and we must build more churches and
rehabilitate existing churches. And we need more priests. We need
about 2,000 worldwide, but we are graduating only about 50 each year.
We hope soon to double that, and towards that end we are expanding
the seminary in Sevan and we are building a new seminary in Gyumri,
north of the capital Yerevan.”
Young people, said Catholicos Karekin, are flocking to the Church. “I
am very pleased with the interest that our young people are showing
in the Church. We have set up seven youth organisations, which
attract about 5,000 young people each week. These included sports and
traditional Armenian music and folk dancing classes. Also, the
history of the Armenian Church is now being taught in all schools.”
However, he accused what he calls “born-again sects” of destroying
the traditional Armenian family. “These are mostly
American-orientated, and include the charismatics, the Jehovah’s
Witnesses and the Mormons. Because Armenia is a poor country, due to
the combination of the effects of the 1988 earthquake, the war with
Azerbaijan, and the damaging blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan, these
wealthier sects have created a situation whereby faith is a buyable
and sellable commodity. They are offering food and materials in
exchange for abandoning the Armenian Church and becoming one of their
followers. It hurts me to say that some Armenian families realise
that their faith is saleable.”
Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church
in Great Britain, admitted that the Armenian Church in Britain faces
the same problems as other churches in attracting young people. Thus
the K Tahta Armenian Community Sunday School in Acton, West London,
plays an important part in trying to encourage young Armenians to
value and understand both their faith and their culture.
“The school is the only place where young people can learn about
their national identity. There are classes in the catechism, Armenian
language, history and music. We are not nationalists but we love our
nation and our culture,” said Bishop Hovhannisian.
Armenians claim that 1.5 million of their people were killed and
600,000 deported in 1915 by the Ottoman Turks. They condemn the
deaths as organised genocide. But the issue remains controversial
because the Turkish Government has always denied that what happened
qualifies as genocide. It maintains that the deaths were precipitated
by the outbreak of war and were justifiable as a military reaction to
Armenian insurrection.
“The issue of the genocide is very important for Armenians. It’s a
moral issue first of all rather than a political issue. Any genocide
that is not recognised can lead to further genocides. The Armenian
genocide is important for all mankind, not just the Armenians. On
April 24 each year we commemorate all the victims. I hope that one
day all nations will recognise the genocide,” Bishop Hovhannisian
concluded.

The Times (London)
July 17, 2004, Saturday
Legends of little men
by Maureen Freely
BIRDS WITHOUT WINGS
BY LOUIS DE BERNIERES
Secker & Warburg
£17.99; 640pp
ISBN 0 436 20549 1
£14.39 (p&p £2.25)
0870 1608080
During the Ottoman Empire -before the Turks called themselves Turks
-Istanbul and the Aegean coast of Anatolia were as Christian as they
were Muslim. The populations of Crete, the Aegean Islands, and large
parts of the Greek mainland were similarly mixed. The Treaty of
Laus-anne changed all that: almost overnight, the Christians of
Anatolia and most Muslim Greeks were forced from their homes and
dispatched across the border.
On paper, the population exchange made sense. It came at the end of a
war that had seen the Greeks invade Anatolia and the Turks push them
into the sea. There was a strong desire to prevent a sequel -and to
end the massacres, death marches and mass expulsions that had ravaged
both Christian and Muslim communities throughout the region for many
decades. On the ground, though, the story was rather different.
Thousands of peaceful fishing and farming communities were abruptly
ripped asunder and millions made homeless. Eighty years later, their
descendants still carry the memory of what Louis de Bernieres (below)
calls their “absolute destitution and sense of injustice” -as anyone
familiar with the area will know.
He dedicates Birds Without Wings to these forgotten millions and also
to his maternal grandfather, who was wounded at Gallipoli. It is, in
effect, two novels for the price of one. The first is a long and
meandering tale set in a village in hills behind the town now known
as Fethiye. Floating above it and swooping down at brutally regular
intervals to destroy its peace is a second, leaner tale about Mustafa
Kemal, the intrepid Salonica-born soldier-hero who went on to found
the Turkish Republic.
Holding it all together is the mournful, all-knowing narrator that
won this author’s previous books so many devoted readers. His
characters do not just speak: they asseverate. When they asseverate
out of turn, he is quick to put them in their place. Thus, when
Leonidas the schoolteacher attends a meeting of a clandestine society
aiming to restore to Greece all the lands lost to the Ottomans, de
Bernieres is quick to remind us that his dreams are “predicated on
the absolute belief” that his own people are superior to all others
and that “such people, even those as insignificant as Leonidas, are
the motor of history, which is finally nothing but a sorry edifice
constructed from hacked flesh in the name of great ideas”.
He’s right, of couse. Which is why he gets away with it. Well, we’ll
see. It is never clear where the truth about Mustafa Kemal ends and
the embroidery begins.
His Turkish spelling is eccentric and makes you wonder how carefully
he’s checked his facts. Although his account of the Great Game seems
judicious and even handed (he saves his most righteous rage for Lloyd
George), he deviates from both Greek and Turkish official history in
ways that could be controversial. If he’s thinking of visiting either
country in the near future, he should pack dark glasses.
Although his account of Gallipoli is inspired -rarely has the ugly
face of war been so lovingly described -his heart belongs to the
smaller canvas, and his portrayal of sleepy, multi-ethnic village
life before, during, and after the First World War is a magnificent
achievement. Here the sonorous narrator pulls back for long stretches
to let the characters describe the complex web of friendships,
passions, betrayals and heroic acts that bind together its
inhabitants.
They judge themselves by their own standards, which means we must
suspend ours. So the first time we meet Rustem Bey, the village
landlord, he is saving a Greek woman from the town gossips. The
second time we meet him, he is inviting a crowd to stone Tamara, his
unfaithful wife, to death. It may be the penalty laid down by Sharia,
but it is the imam who stops the stoning, shames Rustem Bey, and
saves Tamara’s life. In a village that serves more than one god,
there is always more than one right way of doing things.
That life without blind faith is difficult is clear from the
chequered careers of Levon the Armenian apothecary, Ali the
Snowbringer, Leyla the concubine, Ibrahim the Mad, and Iskandar the
Potter and his son Karatavuk, who ends up fighting with Mustafa Kemal
at Gallipoli. All make terrible mistakes and some are driven by
bigotry. But because they know each other first as neighbours, they
sometimes rise above themselves, and their most generous acts are on
behalf of those marked as enemies. Until one day, when a group of
statesmen gather together to sign a peace treaty. If you’re going to
a beach anywhere on the Aegean this summer, and want to know a bit
more about the local history, read this book and weep.

Agence France Presse
July 16, 2004 Friday
Le gouvernement americain oppose a un amendement hostile a la Turquie
WASHINGTON
Le gouvernement americain s’est declare vendredi fermement oppose a
un amendement presente au Congres americain visant en substance a
conditionner l’aide americaine a la Turquie a l’abandon de ses
efforts pour empecher la reconnaissance d’un genocide des Armeniens
au debut du 20eme siecle.
“L’administration s’oppose fermement a cet amendement qui cherche a
restreindre l’assistance americaine a la Turquie. Il ne doit pas
devenir loi”, a declare le porte-parole du departement d’Etat Richard
Boucher.
“Cet amendement est prejudiciable a la cause que nous defendons tous:
la reconciliation entre la Turquie et l’Armenie”, a-t-il ajoute dans
un communique.
M. Boucher a egalement insiste sur la necessite de poursuivre une
politique de bonnes relations tant avec la Turquie, “alliee au sein
de l’Otan”, qu’avec l’Armenie, “un proche ami”.
Le porte-parole s’est felicite des prises de position du president de
la chambre des representants (chambre basse du Congres) Dennis
Hastert, contre cet amendement.