PARTIES HAVE DIFFERENT OPINION ON PROLONGATION OF ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN IRAQ

Panorama.am
17:06 05/12/06

Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan refuted a statement made an hour
ago which said no country withdrew from peacekeeping mission in
Iraq. After the break he said there are 27 countries with 159,000
soldiers in Iraq and Netherlands and Portugal have withdrawn.

Viktor Dallakyan, member of parliament, also said South Korea and
Italy have also withdrawn.

The interim committee on foreign relations has given a positive
response to the proposal of the president to prolong the term of the
Armenian contingent in Iraq for one more year. The chairman of the
committee, Armen Rustamyan from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnakcutiun) have voted against, however. He said he has expressed
the disposition of his party. Dashnakcutiun was against sending troops
to Iraq and is against prolongation of its term.

Parties expressed different opinions on prolongation of mission with
Justice block saying they will vote against. The voting will take
place tomorrow.

GENETIC RESEARCH EXCLUDED TURKISH ORIGIN OF HAMSHEN ARMENIANS

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.12.2006 13:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The initial results of the genetic research of
Hamshen Armenians launched in 2003 have been received. As reported
by Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of Russia, quoting project
director Levon Yepiskoposyan, the genetic DNA analysis taken from
Hamshen Armenians of Krasnodar and Rostov regions was carried out on
the London university college jointly with British colleagues. The
genetic investigation showed the following:

-Hamshen Armenians represent rather isolated territorial group,
Armenian origin of which make no doubt.

-The hypothesis advanced by Turkish scientists on the so-called
Turkish origin of Armenian-speaking.

Hamshens was completely refuted.

Some clarity was introduced in the problem of Hamshens’ homeland. To
receive a final answer to this question the genetic history of Hamshens
is being investigated.

Hamshen Armenians make the majority of the Armenian population of the
Krasnodar region and some regions of Kuban and Adygea. They originate
from the region of Hamshen of Western Armenia, who settled in Kuban
after the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. According to the
experts, some 250 thousand Armenians live in Adygea and Abkhazia. The
number of islamized Hamshen Armenians living in Turkey varies from
700 thousand to 1.5.2 million.

SERGEY LAVROV ON KARABAKH: EXCESSIVE PUBLICITY HARDLY WILL HELP THE JOB

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.12.2006 13:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "To sweeten the bitter pill of OSCE FA Ministers’
futile session as current chairmen of OSCE the Belgian tried to
declare about progress at Nagorno Karabakh talks " says the Russian
newspaper "Vremya Novostey". "Confidence between Azerbaijan and
Armenia has essentially grown, and it is very important since you
will see the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict next year",
declared the current president of OSCE Karel de Gukht . During the
session was coordinated a statement on Nagorno Karabakh, "which
is acceptable for Armenia and for Azerbaijan", Russian FA Minister
S. Lavrov said. But obviously this statement Moscow accepts without
particular enthusiasm. Sergey Lavrov approved it as a political signal
for supporting the negotiation process, pointing out, " Any excessive
publicity, any promises to reach an agreement during a certain period
of time hardly will help the job", the newspaper writes.

PASHIKYAN IS THE THIRD IN SARATOV

A1+
[01:06 pm] 06 December, 2006

Armenian chess player Arman Pashikyan took the third place in the
international tournament in Saratov with 6.5 points from 9 possible.

The winners were Savchenko and Chernishov from Russia with 7 points
each. Another Armenian chess player, Gabriel Sargsyan, participated
in the tournament too.

He had only 5.5 points.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Documenting Truth: An Interview with Carla Garapedian
By Khatchig Mouradian

The Armenian Weekly
December 2, 2006

The LA Times has described film director Carla Garapedian’s work as
"documenting truth in dangerous places." After documenting truth in
different parts of the world, Garapedian has returned to her roots, and
explores the continued denial of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and its
allies in "Screamers," a documentary that will premiere in Los Angeles on
Dec. 8.

"Screamers" tells of how the world’s major powers continually turned away
when genocide was being committed, whether in the Ottoman Empire, Rwanda or
Darfur. Multiple platinum selling rock band System of a Down partners with
Garapedian and producer Peter McAlevey to send a powerful message through
the band’s music and activism. Also featured in the documentary are Pulitzer
Prize winning scholar Samantha Power, FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, and
Genocide survivors.

Garapedian earned her Ph.D. in international relations from the London
School of Economics. After working as a correspondent for NBC, she served as
a director and anchor at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Her
documentaries include "Lifting the Veil," "Children of the Secret State,"
"Iran Undercover," and "My Friend the Mercenary."

I talked to her by phone from Watertown, Mass., on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

A.W.-You have filmed various documentaries on crimes against humanity and
human rights abuses in Chechnya, North Korea, Iran and Afghanistan. Your
most recent documentary "Screamers" tackles the issue of the Armenian
Genocide. For the first time, it seems, you travel to the past, and explore
how the destruction of the Armenians in 1915 remains a pressing issue today.
Tell us about this journey.

C.G.-Yes it’s certainly the first time that I tackled a historical subject.
In fact, I really did not want to do it to begin with because there had been
some very good documentaries made about the Armenian Genocide and I didn’t
know how I was going to add any value. In fact, I worked on a couple of such
documentaries by the acclaimed filmmaker Michael Hagopian ["Voices from the
lake" and "Germany and the Secret Genocide"].

When I talked to [System of a Down lead vocalist] Serj Tankian initially, he
said that what interests him is the politics of denial and doing a
documentary that would intersect with the band’s work. Eventually, we made a
political film, and that was something I was more familiar with. In turn,
the BBC was interested in how something that happened in history had become
current politics. There was interest in Turkey’s bid to join the EU, and in
that context, the issue of the Armenian Genocide was being raised in
Turkey-by the likes of novelist Orhan Pamuk-and in Europe. Also, System of a
Down (SOAD) was an interesting phenomenon for the BBC because the band had a
worldwide following and young people were becoming aware about the Armenian
Genocide through the band. There was also the fact that the issue of the
Genocide was still being debated in the U.S. and there was this scandal
surrounding [former Speaker of the House] Dennis Hastert [over his refusal
to bring the Genocide Resolution to the floor]. For all these reasons, the
BBC gave me the initial green light to make the film and I was lucky to have
that.

A.W.-Most of your previous work also deals with crimes against humanity and
human rights violations. Was your Armenian background a catalyst for that?

C.G.-My family was always involved in community events as I was growing up
here in LA. They had a very strong sense of being Armenians in America. So I
grew up with the feeling that our genocide was not being recognized and it
motivated me to look at other peoples’ suffering-war crimes in Chechnya that
were not recognized as war crimes, for instance. I also did a film about
North Korea ["Children of the Secret State"] in a time when America was
trying to contain North Korea’s nuclear issue and not talk about the human
rights violations there. As an Armenian, these issues resonated with me;
these people were victims and their voices were not being heard. Looking
back, I have been motivated by a sense of injustice and it made me want to
help other people get their story out.

A.W.-Talk about how you chose the title of your new documentary.

C.G.-Samantha Power uses the term "screamers" in her Pulitzer Prize winning
book [A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide] when referring
to people who speak up when genocide is taking place. In turn, Serj told me
that when the band first started, major label people approached him and
said, "You guys are really talented, but if you keep screaming and growling
the way you do, you probably won’t get signed by a major label." Serj
thanked them for their advice and kept doing what they were doing. Later on,
when I was interviewing him, Serj told me that in politics, too, we should
all be screamers. That’s how the title of the film came about.

A.W.-When I talk to genocide scholars, I often ask them whether we really
ever mean it when we say "Never Again." What do you think?

C.G.-We don’t mean "Never Again." What I try to do is identify that
hypocrisy because by identifying it we can then move on to say, "OK, so we
don’t mean it, and how does that reflect on us and what we want to achieve
in our foreign policy?" Maybe our policy is always non-intervention, maybe
it is always about how we perceive our national security interests. And in
genocide, what happens is that leaders think intervention is not worth it. I
think that part of the answer is how you define what your national interests
are. I think our national interest should be stopping genocide in the world.
Let’s just say that you do not define intervention by morality or the right
thing to do, but by national security. I think it is in our national
security to stop genocide wherever it’s happening, because it creates
pockets of hate, violence and vengeance, and that backfires. How can we live
peacefully in this world while we allow the most awful thing civilization
has ever known to occur?

I truly believe that genocide is an idea, a belief. And we can change
beliefs. It is like slavery. In the past, we believed that slavery was
perfectly all right and now we know better. We used to believe that it was
OK to make children work in mines and we don’t believe that anymore. If
there are enough people who are indignant and morally outraged about
genocide, they will do something about it, too.

People do get involved when awareness is created. When the tsunami happened
in Indonesia, people here in America donated millions of dollars to help the
victims, sometimes without even knowing where that place was. They thought,
"That could happen to me. I could be sitting in my home and suddenly this
tidal wave comes and takes my whole family away."

A.W.-Television and the media had a role in that, in the sense that people
thought "These are real people just like us" and the same is true in the
case of genocide.

C.G.-Of course, in the case of the Armenian Genocide, there were many
missionaries and diplomats from different countries of the world, which is
why it was very well documented. What makes it hard to tell the story is
that we have the still pictures, but not the moving pictures. I do think
people would feel differently if we had the kind of pictures that we have
for the Holocaust. Yes, television is critical. A friend of mine, a
photographer who was in Sudan, was telling me how difficult it is to get to
places where the atrocities are taking place, and that when you get to the
burnt villages, the atrocities have already happened, so you see the
aftermath but you don’t see it when it’s happening. But still the images are
powerful enough to move people.

A.W.-Let’s talk about the experience of working with SOAD.

C.G.-When I first saw them perform-jumping around and screaming-I was a
little intimidated. When I first heard their music I thought, "Oh my God,
how am I going to work with them?" I was turning the volume down when they
screamed. And when I heard Serj sing the beautiful melodic parts of the
songs, I would then turn the volume up again-there’s an Armenian sound in
their music here. The more I listened to it the more I thought, "I can do
something with this." Now I listen to their music and I don’t know what was
I thinking at first. I didn’t understand it back then. The more I listened,
the more I got used to it.

So at first I was intimidated. Then I was worried about what happens when
one is around a rock group. Am I going to be able to take all these fans,
all these groupies? But they [SOAD] are nice Armenian boys, and I’m a nice
Armenian girl [laughs], so they knew that they had to treat me like a
relative. They tried to be very helpful to me and they knew that I was a
little bit intimidated by the experience of being around them so they tried
to "protect" me.

They are very nice people, and humble, and they haven’t been spoiled by
success at all. The thing that surprised me about them most was that they
are pure musicians. They are not into the publicity or selling the music.
They are very much into the music, and try to be the best musicians they
can, and that surprised me. I used to think that rock musicians were these
kind of crazy, drugged out guys who don’t care and go on stage and pluck a
few notes on the guitar and wonder off. These guys are not like that at all.
They are serious musicians. They put everything into their concert and they
totally exhaust themselves. So I was impressed by that. Working with them
was a very positive experience and I feel changed by it. I will never again
be judgmental about rock bands and musicians. I’m not saying they’re all
like that but I realized I was being judgmental.

I was also being judgmental about the young generation. I thought they only
cared about material things-their clothes, getting the most expensive tennis
shoes, and whether they are going to get the best jobs. The fans I met were
just the opposite. They do care about what is happening in the world, and
they do want to make a difference.

Now, I even understand some of the head banging. It’s kind of a tribal
thing. They get together and they have a sense of community and they also
feel like they are rebelling.

A.W.-What are your plans for the documentary?

C.G.-The first showing of the documentary will be on Dec. 8 in LA-home of
the band. Starting in January, the film will be shown in New York, Boston,
Chicago and Washington. We hope every Armenian shows up and brings a friend,
so that we have the core audience we need to send the message out. In recent
years, more people are going to the movie theatres to see documentaries, and
we are riding on that wave. Watching "Screamers" is also a sort of
entertainment. The people who watch it in the theatres will come out feeling
that they have been to a movie and not just a documentary that they may have
seen on TV. The reason we are having these theatrical screenings is to raise
political awareness. We wanted to do these screenings because the media will
cover it when it’s in the theatres.

AMIC’s Newsletter, Montreal, Canada
AMIC’s Info-Flash
2340 Chemin Lucerne # 30
Ville Mont-Royal, Qc.,
H3R 2J8, Canada
Tel: (514) 739 8950
Fax; (514) 738 2622
Web:
Email: [email protected]

November, 2006

1. Article 1: "Press Release, International Medical Congress of Armenia
2. Article 2: "An important message from Dr. Jerry Manoukian.."
3. Article 3: "A new website in Armenia: ;
4. Article 4: "IV International Symposium: A Practical Approach to
Infectious Diseases 2006. Hot Topics on Immunization and Antimicrobials.
November 5-7 2006, Hilton Buenos Aires, Argentina"
5. Article 5: "The UMAF/Paris mission to Karabagh"
6. Article 6: "The UMAF/Rhone-Alpes (Lyon) shipment to Karabagh and Armenia
7. Article 7: "A message from our member association, the "Armenian American
Health Association of Greater Washington"
8. Article 8: " A message received from Dr. Avedis Matikian
(Marseille/France)
9. Article 9: "What is AMIC?"

************************************* *******
Article 1: Press Release

Second International Medical Congress Organizing Committee
Mamikonyants St. 30 Yerevan 0014 Armenia
Contact: Eva Movsesyan
Tel (37410) 236883
Fax (37410) 284170
Email: [email protected]

The Organizing Committee of the Second International Medical Congress of
Armenia is pleased to announce that the Congress will be held from the 28th
to the 30th of June 2007. The venue of the Congress will be at the historic
Armenia Marriott Hotel on Republic Square in downtown Yerevan. We anticipate
the participation of Armenian medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and
nurses from all over the world.

Satellite Symposia will be held during the Congress with the aim of creating
international partnership programs and providing up-to-date information to
regional doctors (marz) who will be invited separately to participate
without requiring registration. Symposia will take place in Urology,
Neuroscience, Anesthesiology, Ophthalmology, Osteoporosis, and Nursing.

Besides developing medical science in Armenia the international partnership
program is an excellent opportunity to present and discuss general
collaboration projects. Chosen sections are as follows Neurology and Mental
Health, Mother and Child Health, Public Health/Tobacco Control, Medical
Education, FMF, HIV/AIDS, Nursing, Dentistry, Oncology, Primary Health Care,
Health Policy, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Disability/Rehabilitation, Basic
Science, and Pharmacology.

There will be a focus on medical education and the session will be lead by
the newly elected Rector (Dean) of the Medical School, Professor Gohar
Kalyan and the Chairman of the Scientific Committee, Dean of the National
Institute of Health, Dr. Derenik Doumanyan.

The third day of the conference is entirely dedicated to Diaspora-Armenia
projects and strategy of future collaboration.

An outstanding social program will be offered to participants and
attendants.

The official languages of the Congress will be Armenian and English.

The deadline for the abstract submission is March 31st, 2007. Abstracts can
be submitted to [email protected]. The online abstract submission form can
be found at

For any additional information please visit the website: or
correspond with the Organizing Committee of the Congress at the above given
address.

********************************** ***

Article 2 : An important message from Dr. Jerry Manoukian (President of the
San Francisco Congress, July 2005), concerning the website of the Second
Medical International Congress of Armenia.

"Dear All,
The Second International Medical Congress of Armenia is just over 7 months
away. Their website describes registration and abstract
submission as well as some of their special activities (guest lectureship
program, volunteering, etc). As you may have noticed, the website takes
several minutes to download and so is a bit cumbersome.

We have on AMIC’s and our server a "mirror" website at and
This lists some of the information such as abstract
submission, the tentative schedule and the Building Bridges partnership
program. It moves a bit quicker than and will soon have
registration forms and info on the social program.

Please let me know if you find any typos or links that don’t work, or have
any suggestion as to how we can make this mirror site more useful. We do
anticipate having the 2imca.am files forwarded to us in the near future.

Desnevink Yerevanoum kal Hoonis!

Jerry Manoukian,
[email protected]

****************** ********************

Article 3 : A new website in Armenia:

Dr. Ara Ter Grigorian, president of Social and Health Care Agency in Armenia
has sent Info-Flash the following explanation:

The idea of creating this website is to help people of Armenia to be well
informed about State Order, to make our work more transparent and
informative, as well as give information about health reforms and new
policies in Armenia.

1: To inform the population of Armenia as to what are the priorities of the
government in health care, which health programs are included in State Order
and are financed by State Budget. The information is very important as it
shows also which social groups are included in the BBP (Basic Benefit
Package), what kind of documents must be presented for by beneficiaries,
which medical cases or diseases are included in the BBP, etc.

2: The special information is for health policy makers, health
administrators, professionals, and local government authorities, as well as
for Mass Media. There is information about financing of each medical
facility in RA, who has contract with SHA

I hope that in the near future we will have the chance to translate some
information into English.

Ara Ter Grigorian
[email protected]

**************************** ****

Article 4 : IV International Symposium : A Practical Approach to Infectious
Diseases 2006. Hot Topics on Immunizations and Antimicrobials. November 5-7
2006, Hilton Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Editor’s Note: Info-Flash learned that 1040 individuals attended the
following symposium, which was a big success.

This International Symposium was sponsored by the Fighting Infectious
Diseases in Emerging Countries Foundation (FIDEC, founded by Dr. Daniel
Stamboulian) jointly with the Miller School of Medicine, University of
Miami.

The Symposium was organized following the model set at the three previous
meetings, held in Miami, and was mainly oriented to specialists in
Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine in Latin
America and the United States, and all healthcare professionals, interested
in updating their knowledge on Infectious Diseases.
This year’s scientific program focused on the most important topics on
Antibiotics and Vaccines. The opening session on Sunday, November 5
addressed the problem of the use of antibiotics in intensive care, with
special reference to new antibiotics.

Monday was exclusively devoted to vaccines and Tuesday sessions focused on
topics of common Infectious Diseases.
During these three days, a faculty of well-known specialists from USA and
Latin America analyzed and presented updated information on topics chosen
for their frequency and relevance in daily practice.

Dr. Daniel Stamboulian, MD, co-chairman
Emeritus Professor, Infectious Diseases
UCES University, School of Medicine

Dr. Gordon Dickinson, MD, co-chairman
Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases,
University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine

********************************

Art icle 5: The UMAF/Paris mission to Karabagh

Info-Flash received the following information from Dr. Jacques Yervant
(UMAF/Paris):

"Our Karabagh mission (in August 2006) was an enormous success, even if we
did not fully met our objective, i.e. procure eyeglasses to all the children
of Martakert who need one!

We have been able, however, to examine, in six days, more than 2200
individuals in Stepanakert, manufactured (tailor made) more than 800 pairs
of glasses and equipped more than 1400 senior individuals of magnifying
glasses to allow them to read, to sew and to "clean the rice" "printz
makrel" as they say!

Two ophthalmologists, four optometrists and three accompanying technical
persons the mission personnel."

Jacques Yervant, MD
[email protected]

******************* ******************

Article 6 : The UMAF/Rhone-Alpes (Lyon) shipment to Karabagh and Armenia

Info-Flash received the following message from Dr. Hampar Kayayan
(UMAF/Lyon).

"UMAF/Rhone-Alpes, in collaboration with the association of the twin-cities
Vienne-Goris and the help of the UAF for the shipment, has sent 150 hospital
beds to Armenia with additional other equipments.

The whole shipment was a donation from the hospital "Lucien Hussel" of the
city of Vienne (France).

The beds have arrived at their destination at the end of August: 100 beds to
the hospital of Goris (Armenia) and 50 beds to the hospital of Shushi
(Karabagh).

The message was accompanied with a letter of thanks to Mr. Harout Sassounian
of the UAF.

Hampar Kayayan, MD
[email protected]

***************************

A rticle 7 : A message from our member association, the « Armenian American
Health Association of Greater Washington »

The Armenian Medical Associations in the United States have a tradition of
holding health fairs annually, to benefit local Armenian populations.
Info-Flash reported in previous issues on those held by the associations of
New York, Los Angeles, etc. This one concerns the Greater Washington DC
area. Dr. Grigor Khachikian, the president of the association sent the
following message to Info-Flash.

"Our health fair at Soorp Khach church hall was a very successful event for
our Soorp Khach and St Mary parishioners. Individuals approached our medical
specialists and their questions were answered in privacy. Our organization
has been doing this kind of health fairs, and blood-donor events for several
years, and hopefully the flu vaccination program will be added in the future
fairs.

The specialists attended in this fair were:

Hratch Abrahamian, DDS, Teni Abrahamian, DDS, Ada Azarian, MD, PHD, Len
Jangochian, Pharmacist, Hayk Kaftarian, MD, Pediatrics, Shakeh Kaftarian,
PHD Sociology, Alice Kassabian, DSW, Social worker, Alis Marachelian, MPH,
Public Health, Viken Poochikian, MD, Internist, Arpi Simonian, MS, ScM,
Nutritionist, Simon Simonian, MD, Vascular, Ghevond Wartanian, MD, OBGYN,
Haig Yenikomshian, MD, OBGYN.

Briefly, the Christmas party, and the new executive board members election
will take place on December 16th, 2006 at the Armenian Embassy, and just now
we received the confirmation from the Embassy staff for our event.

Dr. Grigor Khachikian, MD
President,
Armenian American Health Association of Greater Washington
[email protected]

All our congratulations to the future board, and its president.

************************************

Article 8: A message received from Dr. Avedis Matikian (Marseille/France)

Dr. Avedis Matikian’s association is building a cardiovascular center (with
coronary angioplasty facilities) in Goris in Southern Armenia with the
collaboration of the famous cardiologist Dr. Hrair Hovaguimian from the
Nork-Marash Hospital. Dr. Avedis Matikian, himself a cardiologist who has
been active in Armenia for several years, is organizing a congress devoted
to interventional cardiology in October 2007.
[email protected]

*********************** ********

Article 9: What is AMIC?

The Armenian Medical International Committee was created 16 years ago. It is
an umbrella organization that unites and promotes Armenian medical
associations throughout the Diaspora, creating thus a large network through
which information and data are exchanged.

AMIC organizes Armenian Medical Congresses. So far nine have been held in
different cities of the Diaspora. In 2007, the "Second International Medical
Congress of Armenia" organized by Armenia will be held in Yerevan (June 28
to June 30).

Since 1998 AMIC has published an online newsletter which is sent free of
charge to all Armenian Health Care Professionals. If you are a health care
professional and are interested in receiving Info-Flash, please send us your
email address ([email protected]). To all those who already receive the Info,
please do not forget to send us your new e-mail address when you change it.
For further information, visit our website:

As of 2005, AMIC in collaboration with Regimedia, has begun publishing a
scientific journal, the "Armenian Medical Review". If you want to subscribe,
please contact one of the following addresses:
[email protected]
[email protected]

The second issue of the AMR (July 2006) devoted to " Catastrophic Events:
Trauma And Recovery" includes the following articles: Editorial (Dr. Haikaz
Grigorian, Editor in chief), "A Prospective Study Of Post-Traumatic Stress
And Depressive Reactions Among Treated And Untreated Adolescents" (Dr. Armen
K. Goenjian), "Disaster Intervention: Long-Term Psychosocial Benefits In
Armenia" (Dr. Louis M. Najarian), "Public Health: An Armenian Perspective"
(Dr. Haroutune K. Armenian), "Reaching Out To Doctors In Armenia’s
Provinces" (Dr. Edina Bobelian), "Salzburg Medical Seminars: A New Approach
To Medical Education In Armenia" (Drs. Bella Grigoryan, Gevorg Yaghjyan),
"Bafa’s Support In The Development Of Orthopedics In Armenia In The Last 15
Years" (Dr. Hayk Avagyan), "Morbidity Of Acute Leucosis In Yerevan: The Role
Of Air-Polluting Substances" (Dr. Elizaveta Amirkhanian), "Perspectives For
Development Of Children’s Epileptology In Armenia" (Drs. Nune Aghababyan, A.
Hakobyan), "The Origins Of The Armenian Medical International Committee
(AMIC) (Dr. Michel Dervichian), "The AMIC Newsletter", "The 9th Armenian
Medical World Congress Of San Francisco" (Dr. Jerry Manoukian)..

Useful information to remember: You can send free of charge from wherever
you are located, medical equipment/medicine through the services of the
United Armenian Fund: President Mr. Harout Sassounian ([email protected])

–Boundary_(ID_UqRsEXIePT2V 6CUaVV+6+w)–

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Father Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I IN DETROIT

"Not only we should build Church, we must be built by the Church, we must
become Church. The Church is not an organization, it is a community of faith
hope and love" said His Holiness Aram I in his pontifical message to the
people at Saint Sarkis Armenian Church in Detroit, Michigan.

His Holiness is in Detroit for a very brief visit on his way to Indiana and
Minnesota where he is invited to deliver lectures at Saint Johns, Notre Dame
and Indiana Universities.

Upon his arrival in Detroit, Aram I was greeted by Archbishop Oshagan
Choloyan; Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Eastern USA, Archbishop
Moushegh Mardirossian; Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Western
region.

On Friday evening, December 1, 2006, after a brief service at Saint Sarkis
Church, Archbishop Oshagan warmly welcomed His Holiness and emphasized the
pastoral importance of his encounter with the Armenian community.

After explaining the purpose of his visit to the USA, His Holiness focused
his message on the meaning of the Church and of the vital importance of
participating in the life of the Church. "As a community of faith, love and
hope, the Church must become a living reality at the heart of our nation. In
fact, from the very inception of the Armenian Church, our people have
identified themselves with the Church. That is why being Armenian has meant
being Christian and the Church has embraced the totality of our nation in
all aspects of its life. We must look at our Church with this understanding;
we must bring an active and responsible participation in the life and
mission of our Church. This is the way of being Christian for the Armenians.
I can not understand a Christian way of life outside the Church. The Church
for us is the house of God which has also become the house of our people. We
must therefore keep this house strong and vivid. Since this is the source of
our spirituality and the values which were given to the world through the
incarnation of Jesus Christ."

After the message of His Holiness, a reception was organized in the main
hall of the church.

This was a wonderful occasion for His Holiness to meet the members of the
Armenian community of Detroit.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Father Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

&quo t;THE YOUTH ARE CALLED TO GIVE A NEW VITALITY
TO THE ARMENIAN CHURCH"
Said His Holiness Aram I

In a powerful message addressed to youth gathering in Detroit, USA, on
Saturday December 2 2006, Catholicos Aram I challenged the Armenian youth to
take the renewal of the Armenian Church seriously: "We must be proud that
the Armenian Church is an ancient Church. We must remind ourselves that we
are the first Christian nation which accepted Christianity as a state
religion, but at the same time we must realize that our Church direly needs
renewal."

After identifying significant aspects of the Armenian Church, His Holiness
centered his reflection on the necessity of the renewal of the Armenian
Church: "By renewal I don’t understand certain adjustments within the
framework of the Armenian Liturgy. By renewal I don’t mean changing the
language of the Liturgy or introducing some changes in the administration or
the structure of the Church. That will be a very superficial and one sided
perceptional renewal. By renewal I understand making our Church a people’s
Church, impacting the life of our people. By renewal I mean making our
Church responsive to the needs and expectations of our people. By renewal I
mean reaffirming the missionary, evangelistic and educational outreach of
the Church. Therefore, the renewal must be perceived as a process permitting
the entire life of the Church."

At the end of his address, His Holiness engaged in dialogue with the youth
by responding to the many questions related basically to the renewal of the
Armenian Church.

The youth gathering, a unique event of its kind in the life of our Church in
North America, jointly organized by the three prelacies under the
jurisdiction of the Armenian Catholicosstae of Cilicia, has brought together
young adults from different parts of the USA and Canada.

The program of the gathering included testimonies, lectures, panel
discussions, informal meetings and a musical event. Worship and biblical
meditations were at heart of this gathering.

In his remarks Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, Eastern USA, stressed the importance of grater
participation of the youth in our Church life. Through his biblical
meditation, Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, Western region, laid the emphasis on serving the spiritual
needs on people. The Prelate of Canada, Archbishop Khajag Hagopian in his
turn shared the concern of the youth and invited them to take an active part
in the reformation of the church.

The gathering was concluded by a firm commitment of the youth to remain
faithful to the very team of this event, "Your Church, your future, engage".

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

December 4, 2006
___________________

BELLEVILLE PARISH MARKS 50 YEARS

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), traveled to Belleville, IL, on November 12, 2006, to
join the parishioners of the Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Church in
celebrating the 50th anniversary of the parish.

The original parish began in 1956 in East St. Louis, IL, and the community
built its new sanctuary in Belleville in 1978.

"This is an intent and focused community," said the Primate. "They have
created a solid foundation for their community, building a beautiful
sanctuary that is reflected in the spirituality present in their homes."

The Primate celebrated a joyful Divine Liturgy on November 12, which was
followed by a banquet. The night before, he led the blessing of a new
khatchkar from Armenia and memorial garden designed to commemorate the
anniversary.

With the memorial garden, the parish hoped to sell 100 bricks, instead they
sold 227 and raised $67,000, including a generous donation of $20,000 from
Dr. Raffi and Lydia Krikorian.

"That $67,000 is a lot for a small community," said one of the anniversary
celebration organizers, Zabelle Vartanian. "But our parish is very strong
in faith. We’re small in number, but strong in resolve."

One of the exciting aspects of the weekend, Vartanian said, was the make-up
of the committee organizing the events.

"The committee was composed of many of our younger people, the ones that
need to step up to the plate now and take over," she said. "They worked
very hard and we had many younger people in the audience, who were moved.
So now we have to work to make sure that spirit remains and continues."

Joining the Primate at the banquet in Belleville were several clergymen with
ties to the community. Fr. Yeprem Kelegian, pastor of the St. Mesrob Church
of Racine, WI, began his ministry as deacon-in-charge of the church in
Belleville. Also attending was Fr. Diran Papazian, who once served as the
visiting pastor of the parish, a duty now performed twice a month by Fr.
Abraham Ohanesian. When he’s not there, the parish’s deacon, George
Marifian, performs services.

The parish has changed and evolved over time as well, moving from its
initial home in East St. Louis and welcoming new waves of immigrants as the
face of the Armenian community in America changed.

Today, the parish is home to a diverse yet small community of about 70
families who regularly attend services.

There is a lot of work and coordination for the small community, but it is
all worth it, Vartanian said. As the parish marked its anniversary,
Vartanian said, the hard work and effort to keep the Armenian Christian
faith alive was worth it even more.

"We’re a very small community and basically a handful of people are there
every week doing most of the work to keep our parish going. So it is a
major accomplishment that the parish has survived," she said. "Our
anniversary is a testimony to the people here who help make sure the church
is maintained."

"In my opinion, and the way I have been nurtured, the church is our home,"
she added. "It is our cultural lifeline. It is not only the religious
home, but it is also the cultural home. People know that to keep our
Armenian culture alive we need the church."

Speaking for the next generation was Nicole Vartanian, who was a guest
speaker of the program and spoke about the importance of maintaining the
Armenian Christian faith and heritage.

— 12/04/06

# # #

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, December 4, 2006

Jerry Kouyoumjian Leaves $2,491,000 to AGBU Programs

The last survivor in his family, Jerry Kouyoumdjian, eager to ensure
AGBU’s mission to promote the Armenian heritage, bequeathed his
estates to the organization that helps 400,000 Armenians annually.

Natives of Kharpet in historic Armenia, the Kouyoumjian family found
refuge in Boston after a long journey that began during the Armenian
Genocide. Setrak Kouyoumdjian and Aznive Kurkdjian fled with their
four sons to the French city of Marseille in the early 1920s, where
they lived with other Armenians who escaped sure death at the hands
of Turkish authorities. Varoujan, known as John, and Zaven, known as
Jerry, were among the four Kouyoumdjian boys who traveled with their
parents and received an education in French schools until they
finally settled in the United States in 1938, on the eve of the
Second World War.

John, born in 1915, completed the 12th grade in Marseille, while
Jerry, born in 1921, left France before completing high school.

Wide-eyed and keen to succeed, John established two retail businesses
in America, one selling greeting cards and the other repairing
watches and selling jewelry. He never married and nurtured his
interest in cultural activities, particularly ballroom dancing, in
which he was a skilled performer.

The younger Jerry joined the United States Army during World War II
and, as a technical officer, served in the Battle of Normandy, in the
Rhineland and throughout Central Europe. His honors included the
European, African, Middle Eastern Theatre Ribbons. After his
honorable discharge in 1945, Jerry joined his older brother John in
the retail business. A bachelor all his life, Jerry loved to help
those less fortunate than himself and also enjoyed supporting the
arts and public television.

Both brothers lived a private, quiet life during their final years in
Boston. Little information remains about the other members of their
immediate family. John passed away at the age of 77 in 1993, while
Jerry lived until this year, when he died at the age of 84.

Totaling $2,491,000, the Jerry Kouyoumdjian Memorial Fund will
support AGBU’s educational, cultural and humanitarian projects in 35
countries.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress