Category: News

WWF: Landmark Toxics Treaty Becomes International Law
WASHINGTON, May 17 /U.S. Newswire/ — World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
said today that the entry into force on May 17th of the Stockholm
Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) will significantly
reduce toxic threats to wildlife and people throughout the world.
“WWF applauds the initiative and commitment of the 59 countries
that have joined the treaty and we urge the United States and other
governments to get on board quickly,” said Brooks Yeager, vice
president of WWF’s Global Threats Program and formerly the chief
U.S. negotiator for the POPs treaty. “The Stockholm Convention is a
shining example of how the international community can come together
to address a serious environmental and health threat. Whales, polar
bears, birds of prey, and people throughout the world will benefit
from eliminating the toxic chemicals targeted by this progressive,
new global regime.”
The treaty will ban or severely restrict 12 extremely harmful
chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and
several pesticides, with provisions to add additional chemicals in the
future. POPs have four key characteristics: they are toxic; they are
persistent, resisting normal processes that break down contaminants;
they accumulate in the body fat of people, marine mammals and other
animals, and are passed from mother to fetus; and they can travel
great distances on wind and water currents. Even small quantities of
POPs can cause nervous system damage, diseases of the immune system,
reproductive and developmental disorders, and cancers.
France became the 50th party on Feb. 17, 2004, triggering a 90-
day countdown for the treaty to become binding international law
for countries that have ratified it. In the three years since the
treaty has been open for ratification, 59 countries have joined the
Convention. The United States is noticeably absent from the list
of Parties. Although the U.S. signed the treaty in May 2001, there
exists considerable disagreement about how to amend existing laws to
implement the treaty. The first Conference of Parties (COP) is slated
to take place in Uruguay from 2 to 6 May, 2005. To participate as
a party at this crucial first meeting, governments need to join at
least 90 days beforehand — by Feb. 1, 2005.
“WWF wants the United States to become a party to the Stockholm
Convention in time to participate in the first COP, but not if that
requires bad legislation,” said Clifton Curtis, director of WWF’s
Global Toxics Program. “The White House is pushing language that goes
way too far in divorcing the Stockholm new chemicals “adding mechanism”
from the domestic process — and then piles on industry-favored baggage
with controversial cost-benefit and sound-science type requirements,
all of which would make it very difficult to regulate any POP added
to the treaty.”
For further information: Tina Skaar: 202-778-9606, 202-487-1181
(mobile) or tina.skaar(At)wwfus.org; Kerry Zobor: 202-778-9509 or
kerry.zobor(At)wwfus.org
Note:
Additional information about the Stockholm Convention is available
at
The 59 parties to the Stockholm Convention are: Antigua and Barbuda,
Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana,
Canada, Chad, Ctte d’Ivoire, Czech Republic, Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji,
Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Iceland, Japan, Lebanon, Lesotho,
Liberia, Luxembourg, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar,
Nauru, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay,
Philippines, Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland,
Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United Republic
of Tanzania, Uruguay, Vietnam, Yemen.
Contact: Tina Skaar, 202-778-9606 or tina.skaar(At)wwfus.org, or
Kerry Zobor, 202-778-9509 or kerry.zobor(At)wwfus.org, both of the
World Wildlife Fund
05/17 12:05

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
CROSSROAD E-NEWSLETTER: May 13, 2004
CRITICAL ISSUES OF LIFE & FAITH
WILL BE DISCUSSED IN MID-ATLANTIC
ADULT CHRISTIAN EDUCATION PROGRAM
The Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC) has planned a unique
program for adults in the mid-atlantic region. The Adult Christian Education
program will include lectures, Bible studies, panel discussions, small group
discussions, and worship services over the weekend of June 25 to 27, 2004.
The seminar will take place at St. Mary of Providence Center in Elverson,
Pennsylvania, beginning Friday evening, June 25 and continue through Sunday
afternoon, June 27.
The main portion of the program will take place on Saturday and those
who do not wish to stay the entire weekend can attend the Saturday session
only. The main speaker on Saturday will be Dr. Vigen Guroian, Professor of
Theology and Ethics at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland. Professor
Guroian is the first Armenian theologian ever elected to the American
Theological Society and the Orthodox Theological Society of America. He has
served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Christian Ethics, has
been active in both the National Council of Churches and the World Council
of Churches, and is a member on numerous editorial boards. His published
works include nearly 150 articles, and six books with three more scheduled
to be published later this year.
Professor Guroian will provide an Armenian Orthodox Perspective to many
issues that are currently in the headlines. His presentation will focus
issues like marriage, gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia, cremation, suicide
and reproductive technologies.
Complete information about the seminar, registration form, and
directions to the Center are on the Prelacy web page,
or you may contact Archdeacon Shant Kazanjian at
the AREC office, 212-689-7810.
EARLY REGISTRATION FOR
DATEV INSTITUTE SAVES $$$
A reminder that the deadline for the early-bird registration for the St.
Gregory of Datev Institute Summer program is this Saturday, May 15. Register
by this Saturday and save $50. To register, just go to the Prelacy website
(), print the registration form,
fill it out and sent it in with your payment.
The Datev Summer Program will take place June 27 to July 4, 2004, for
junior and senior high school students, at the St. Mary of Providence
Center, Elverson, Pennsylvania.
JEOPARDY TOURNAMENTS CONTINUE
St. Stephen’s Saturday School team won the New England area Jeopardy
Tournament organized by the Armenian National Education Committee (ANEC).
The Mourad School of Rhode Island was the runner-up.
A capacity audience attended the competition, which took place at St.
Stephen Church, Watertown, MA, on May 8. Five teams from the following
schools participated: St. Stephen Elementary School, St. Stephen Saturday
School (Watertown), Armenian Sisters Academy (Lexington), Mourad Armenian
School (Providence) and St. Gregory School (North Andover).
The next regional competition will take place this Saturday, May 15, in
Chicago for the Midwestern Armenian schools.
THEATRE WORKSHOP AT SIAMANTO ACADEMY
Nora Armani, renowned Armenian stage, TV, radio and film actress, has
been invited to conduct a theatre workshop with the students of the Siamanto
Academy, this Saturday, May 15, 2004. The multi-lingual, award-winning Ms
Armani will share her experiences growing up as an Armenian in Egypt and her
theatrical experiences in London and Paris.
The Siamanto Academy meets every Saturday at the Armenian Center, 69-23
47th Avenue, Woodside, New York, 11 am to 2:30 pm. The college-accredited
Academy offers Armenian language, history and Christian studies for high
school students. For information contact Gilda B. Kupelian, Director of the
Armenian National Education Committee (ANEC): [email protected]
PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN VISITS ANTELIAS
Armenia’s president, Robert Kocharian, is visiting Lebanon upon the
invitation of President Lahoud. Yesterday, May 12, President Kocharian met
with His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, at the
Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia. Clergy serving the Catholicosate and
members of the Executive Council attended the meeting.
On the first day of his visit to Lebanon, the President and His Holiness
had a breakfast meeting at which time they discussed issues pertaining to
Armenia and Diaspora-Armenia relations. They both emphasized the importance
of strengthening the national unity at this critical point of the history of
the Armenian people.
OUTREACH ISSUE DEDICATED TO
ARCHBISHOP MESROB ASHJIAN
The special issue of Outreach, dedicated to the late Archbishop Mesrob
Ashjian, is complete and can be seen on line by visiting the Prelacy web
site,
CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
FEATURES ARTICLE BY PETER BALAKIAN
The May 7, 2004 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education features an
article written by Peter Balakian, entitled How a Poet Writes History
Without Going Mad. Balakian, the author of The Burning Tigris: The Armenian
Genocide and America’s Response, as well as numerous books of poetry and the
highly-acclaimed memoir, Black Dog of Fate, notes that a prominent Armenian
psychiatrist asked how he is able to write about massacre, deportation,
rape, and torture without becoming depressed or even incapacitated. Balakian
then goes on to describe how he came to write The Burning Tigris.
Balakian writes, In the face of such horror, can a writer even suggest
there is pleasure and excitement in doing the work, in the act of writing? I
came to The Burning Tigris as someone who has spent most of his life writing
in the rhythms and image language of the lyric poem and, at the time, was
finishing a book of new poems. In the 1990s I wrote a memoir, Black Dog of
Fate, about growing up Armenian American in the suburbs of Northern New
Jersey in the 1950s and 60s and gradually awakening to the history of the
Armenian Genocide my grandparents had lived through. One of the challenges
for me in crossing genre boundaries was to find the ways I could bring along
the appropriate aspects of my craft. In writing a memoir, I discovered that
the past could be opened up by finding images in memory that, like a thread,
could unravel into a once-forgotten experience.
Balakian concludes his long article with the observation that the
artistic challenges of locating the events, the characters, and their voices
in sensory, human time was an energizing force that kept me writing when the
darkness of the subjects could have shut me down.
ALMOST SISTERS, NEARLY BROTHERS
BY SUSAN ARPAJIAN JOLLEY
The current issue of TRANSFORMATIONS, The Journal of Inclusive
Scholarship and Pedagogy, includes a beautifully written article by Susan
Arpajian Jolley, titled Almost Sisters, Nearly Brothers.
Susan, a high school teacher in Delran, New Jersey, in a moving
narrative relates her emotionally charged experiences during her teaching of
English to a group of students, including several students from Turkey. Her
ambivalent feelings at the beginning of the journey become as much a
learning experience for her as for her students. She remembers the stories
of her childhood told by her grandparents and the images they conjure. She
writes, I hold these images in my mind because Agyuls country and my
grandparents land are the same. But Agyul is Turkish, and I am Armenian. If
you know the history that many people do not, the story of what has been
termed the first genocide of the modern age, you will understand.
Susan gives poignant, if different, voices to her grandmothers. Both are
survivors. Both have experienced unbelievable losses. Her maternal
grandmother withdraws and the full extent of her story goes with her to the
grave. Her paternal grandmother becomes a highly respected leader in the
Philadelphia Armenian community, an activist, a teacher of the Armenian
language.
Susan concludes, This teaching and learning experience brought us
together in ways that never would have happened otherwise, and we’re all
better for it. My new perspective will not solve any political problems
between our two nationalities, but, at least on a personal level, it is a
step.
Susan is the daughter of Vazken and Rose Arpajian, active members of St.
Gregory Church in Philadelphia, and the granddaughter of the late Kevork and
Ardemis Arpajian and Movses and Arek Zakarian.
The full article will be published in a forthcoming issue of Outreach.
NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY
WILL CONVENE NEXT WEEK
The National Representative Assembly (NRA) of the Eastern Prelacy will
convene in Philadelphia, May 19 through 21. The host parish is St. Gregory
the Illuminator. For more details visit the Prelacy web-site:
ST. ILLUMINATORS ARMENIAN DAY SCHOOL
ANNUAL DINNER DANCE TOMORROW EVENING
The annual dinner-dance of St. Illuminators Armenian Day School will
take place tomorrow evening, Friday, May 14, 2004, at the Terrace on the
Park, Flushing, NY, at 8 p.m. Archbishop Oshagan will honor Mrs. Anna
Kayaloff with a special certificate of merit for her many years of dedicated
service to the Armenian Church and the school. For details contact the
school office, 718-478-4073.
PRELATE WILL VISIT BOSTON, WHITINSVILLE
Saturday, May 15, the Prelate will travel to Boston where he will meet
with the board of St. Stephen Elementary School to discuss the proposed
addition to the school. St. Stephen School was recently rated as one of the
best in the area.
From Boston, Archbishop Oshagan will go to Whitinsville where on Sunday,
May 16, he will officiate at the Divine Liturgy and deliver the Sermon at
St. Asdvadzadzin Church. He will also officiate at the ordination of Diran
Der Khosrofian to the rank of deacon and Hratch Simonian to the rank of
acolyte. Following the services His Eminence will preside over the annual
anniversary banquet of the church where His Eminence will award a special
Certificate of Merit to Alan Goshgarian for his many years of dedicated
service to the Armenian Church.
ASCENSION DAY
Next Thursday, May 20, 2004, is Holy Ascension Day (Hampartzoum). The
Prelate will celebrate this Feast in Philadelphia during the National
Representative Assembly at St. Gregory Church. The faithful of the
Philadelphia community are expected to celebrate this joyous feast-the last
of the dominical events of the life of Jesus as written in the Gospels, by
attending the Divine Liturgy on Thursday evening, 7:30 p.m., officiated by
V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar of the Prelacy.
After the miraculous Resurrection, Jesus appeared before the Disciples
numerous times. On Ascension Day, forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus
met with his disciples and gave final instructions. He advised them not to
begin widespread teaching until the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost)
when they would be empowered with new power and ability. Two of the
evangelists, Mark and Luke, conclude their writings with the Ascension.
The Ascension took place at the village of Bethany, on the Mount of
Olives. After his final instructions, according to the Gospel, Jesus was
received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God.
There are many Armenian traditions associated with the commemoration of
Ascension Day. One tradition that has remained active is the telling of
fortunes for young women (Vijakahanoutiun), which has been immortalized in a
famous scene in the opera Anoush.
The Ascension is described in the New Testament in Mark 16:19; Luke
24:50-51; and Acts 1:9-11.
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
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DEFENSE MINISTER SHRUGS OFF FEARS OF NEW WAR
ArmenPress
May 13 2004
YEREVAN, MAY 13, ARMENPRESS: Armenian defense minister Serzh Sarkisian
brushed away Wednesday the talk about a shaky peace and the possible
resumption of hostilities in Nagorno Karabagh, saying they do not
correspond to reality. “But this does not mean that I can exclude
the renewal of military actions in any time,” he said to reporters.
Sarkisian said the main guarantees against a new war are the ongoing
talks between the conflicting sides, the capability of the armed
forces and the activity of international peace brokers. “We have not
been sitting on our hands and I think that today our army differs
substantially, in terms of its strength from what we had back in
1993-1994. It is very different now,’ he said.

FREEDOM TO POLITICAL PRISONERS!
A1 Plus | 15:27:27 | 17-05-2004 | Politics |
Civil Will For and Against organization staged a series of protest
actions last week. This week as well started with the organization-held
protest action outside the General Prosecutor’s Office in Yerevan.
The demands remain the same – to release political prisoners. The
action participants say they are determined to continue their
struggle until all political prisoners are released. The protesters
told journalists they found National Assembly Vice-Speaker Tigran
Torossyan’s recent statement that there are no political prisoners
in Armenia ridiculous and showed a list of 14 people.
Gemma Galstyan, mother of Republic party member and political prisoner
Suren Surenyants, took part in the action. She said her son has
health problems.
“I am being denied meeting with my son, because of, as they say,
a special order given by Prosecutor General”, she said.
By the end of the action, protesters sent a paper with the demand
signed by 1,700 citizens.

Armenian defectors go on hunger strike – Azeri TV
ANS TV, Baku
17 May 04
Roman Teryan and Artur Apresyan, Armenian citizens who fled from
[Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan’s regime and arrived in
Azerbaijan, started a hunger strike today. They asked international
organizations for political asylum in a third country.
Teryan and Apresyan, who are being held in the Azerbaijani National
Security Ministry’s remand centre, are protesting against the
indifference that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Baku
office has shown to their plight and a failure to send them to a
third country.
[Passage omitted: minor details]

Iran, Armenia gain “stategic importance” from pipeline – Armenian minister
Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
17 May 04
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said in Yerevan today [17
May] that “the construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline will
seriously change the situation in the region”.
The Armenian foreign minister called the signing of the document on the
construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline “a most important event”.
Vardan Oskanyan expressed the opinion that after the construction
of the gas pipeline, Iran and Armenia “will acquire new strategic
importance in the region”.

Protestors urge release of Armenian political prisoners
A1+ web site
17 May 04
17 May: An initiative group of the “For and against civic will”
public organizations today staged another picket outside the
Prosecutor-General’s Office.
The aim of the action has not changed, i.e. the release of political
prisoners. Shayane Yesayan, a member of the Nor Hayastan [New Armenia]
public organization, says that the protest action will continue until
there are no political prisoners in Armenia.
She believes that one should not take seriously a statement by Deputy
Speaker of the National Assembly Tigran Torosyan that we have no
political prisoners in the country at all, whereas, there are 14 men
in Armenia. A list of them was submitted to journalists by members
of the Nor Hayastan.
The protest action was attended by Dzhemma Galstyan, the mother of
Suren Surenyants, a member of the Anrapetutyun Party and a political
prisoner.
She said that Suren Surenyants was in a poor health at present:
“We have repeatedly appealed to various instances, asking for the
transfer of Surenyants from the investigatory isolation ward of the
National Security Ministry to another place, however, our requests
remained unanswered.”
Surenyants’ mother considers that his issue can only be resolved
through the mediation of international organizations: “I am not
permitted to see my son because of a special instruction from the
prosecutor-general.”
At the end of the protest action, members of the initiative group
handed over a statement to the Prosecutor-General’s Office, which was
signed by 1,700 citizens, urging it to release the political prisoners.

Azeri daily says cease-fire plays into Armenia’s hands
Yeni Musavat, Baku
17 May 04
Text of Elsad Pasa report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on
17 May headlined “Protracted cease-fire” and sub-headed “Why are the
authorities speaking out against Heydar Aliyev’s ‘heritage’?”
The news that the question “Is there an alternative to the
cease-fire?” has finally been answered affirmatively by a number of
people representing the circles close to the incumbent authorities
for the first time in the last 10 years continues to reverberate.
Members of the [ruling] New Azerbaijan Party and those patronizing them
have been eulogizing about the cease-fire since 12 May 1994, heaping
praise on [former Azerbaijani President] Heydar Aliyev for signing
the accords equivalent to acknowledging defeat. They even ignored
the death of thousands of their compatriots who fell victim to enemy
sniper shots already after the agreement and continued describing
the cease-fire as something extraordinary. They kept saying in all
election campaigns that “there are no more war victims, mothers are
no longer shedding tears for their killed sons”, trying to convince
the nation that the cease-fire was the best available option.
Eventually, the fact that several opposition candidates standing in
the latest [presidential] elections voiced their intention to start
war if they come to power won considerable support in society. It is
the result of Heydar Aliyev’s unsuccessful “peace-loving” policy that
Azerbaijani society now believes in the inevitability of war in order
to regain control over our lands. Moreover, many see [Azerbaijani
President] Ilham Aliyev’s suggestion to start the Karabakh talks
from scratch as a conclusive proof of the collapse of his father’s
“wise policy”.
And finally, the deputies known for their dedication and intimacy
to the tribal leader are clearly expressing their concern with the
fact that the cease-fire has become so protracted. It is noteworthy
that even MP Qudrat Hasanquliyev voiced his protest at calls to view
the cease-fire as a victory, suggested that military expenditure
from the state budget be increased, stressed that the cease-fire was
playing into the hands of the Armenians and that the enemy should be
given one year to vacate our lands or face war. His colleague Elman
Mammadov also acknowledged that the cease-fire was more in Armenia’s
interests than in Azerbaijan’s. In any case, the fact that calls for
war are being made by the people close to the authorities, especially
members of the parliament, makes the issue quite serious. Those who
earlier accused us of impeding Heydar Aliyev’s peace negotiations
and vehemently blamed us for condemning the cease-fire regime are
now making exactly the same statements.
According to political analyst Rasim Musabayov, there are people in
the parliament who seem to understand that the cease-fire is not in
Azerbaijan’s interests.
“On the other hand, the Azerbaijani authorities want to reinforce their
positions by using the military tone in the negotiations. However,
they don’t realize that it is no longer possible to intimidate anyone
in the modern world by such methods. Everyone knows only too well
the real strength of the parties to the conflict. They should try
to appear more flexible in the talks and in the meantime change the
balance of forces in their favour.”
Musabayov thinks the Azerbaijani authorities are unlikely to decide
to start military action in the foreseeable future.
“To make the decision to go to war, the Azerbaijani army has got to
be adequately prepared. I cannot say how prepared the army is now,”
he said.

Armenia to continue cooperation with ITERA
Gateway 2 Russia, Russia
May 17 2004
Armenian President Robert Kocharian met with Igor Makarov, head of the
ITERA group. Mr. Kocharian expressed interest in further cooperation
with ITERA. The agenda was dominated by natural gas supplies to the
republic and cooperation in the energy sphere. Armenian President
praised ITERA’s performance in Armenia in the past years. He said the
company was Armenia’s long time partner, which met its obligations,
and expressed confidence that mutually beneficial cooperation would
continue.
Mr. Kocharian visited Russia on May 13-15. During the visit, he met
with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov
and Alexey Miller, head of the Gazprom company.
Armenia’s energy sector relies heavily on imported gas. ITERA
supplied gas to the republic from 1996 to 2004. Until 2002, it fully
satisfied Armenia’s natural gas needs. Since 1996, the company has
supplied about 9bn cubic meters of natural gas to the republic.
Gazprom resumed gas supplies to Armenia in June 2003, and it is the
only gas supplier now. In 2003, Gazprom supplied 288.4m cubic meters
of gas to Armenian consumers, and ITERA – about 1bn cubic meters of
gas. This year, Gazprom plans to deliver about 1.4bn cubic meters of
gas to the republic.
ITERA has a 10 percent stake in Armrosgazprom, set up in 1997. The
Armenian government and Gazprom have each 45 percent in the project.
Armrosgazprom controls the entire gas distribution system in Armenia.
It supplies natural gas and generates electricity.

Azeri pressure group demands end to BBC’s “biased coverage” of Karabakh
MPA news agency
17 May 04
Baku, 17 May: Members of the Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO)
and public figures are expected to visit the Martyrs’ Avenue tomorrow
(18 May) to mark the anniversary of the occupation of Lacin. Leaflets
calling for a guerrilla war against the Armenian occupiers will be
handed out, the chairman of the KLO, Akif Nagi, told MPA.
He said the organization’s youth subdivision had appealed to Grave
Crimes Court Judge Mansur Ibayev, asking him to release [Chairman
of the Karabakh war veterans organization] Etimad Asadov on bail
considering his participation in the protection of Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity and the fact that he was wounded [in the Karabakh
war]. Young members of the organization said that each of them was
ready to take Asadov’s place in prison.
Nagi added that the KLO had addressed the British embassy in Azerbaijan
over misinformation about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict by the
BBC’s Central Asia and Caucasus correspondent.
[Passage omitted]
The KLO demands that the diplomatic mission address relevant bodies in
Great Britain in order to put an end to the BBC’s biased coverage. The
organization places responsibility for the consequences of such
actions with the British embassy.