DESPITE DEFEAT, BUSH ADMINISTRATION DETERMINED TO OPPOSE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
By Ali H. Aslan, Washington
Zaman, Turkey
Nov 13 2006
Matt Bryza, a top-level official from the U.S. State Department,
asserted that the George Bush Administration would strongly oppose
any draft law on the recognition of an Armenian genocide.
However, he added that given the complexity of the new political
environment since the midterm elections, it was hard for them to
precisely foresee any outcome.
Matt Bryza was speaking at the annual convention of the Assembly
of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA) and commented on the
possibility of an Armenian genocide bill introduced to the House of
Representatives, where the Democrats have recently gained control.
He described the new situation as a change in the political reality
and said that it was impossible for the administration to predict
how the new mechanism would operate with regards to the fate of any
proposal for recognition of the Armenian genocide.
Newly ensconced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, promised the
Armenian lobby to support any bill regarding the genocide.
Asked whether President Bush would call Pelosi to ensure that any such
draft would not be put on the agenda, Bryza said that he would make his
own suggestion but was unable to know how the president would proceed.
The Armenian lobby is expected to submit genocide bills to both wings
of Congress following its inauguration.
Meanwhile, in his address at the meeting, Bryza, drew attention to
Russian attempts at being the sole energy supplier to the region and
underlined the importance of Turkish-American strategic cooperation.

ARMENIAN CHURCH IN SWANSEA CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
By Teri Maddox
News-Democrat
Belleville News-Democrat, IL
Nov 12 2006
Lisa Bedian drives more than 100 miles round trip to attend services
at Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Armenian Church in Swansea.
She was married by its Armenian Orthodox priest last weekend.
“It’s very important to me personally to keep the Armenian culture
and traditions alive,” said Bedian, 49, of St. Charles, Mo., the
granddaughter of Armenian immigrants. “Armenia was the first country
to adopt Christianity (as its national religion) in 301 A.D.”
The church is celebrating its 50th anniversary today with a 10
a.m. service and Divine Liturgy by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian of
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America.
The service will be followed by a 1 p.m. banquet at the Sheraton Four
Points Hotel in Fairview Heights.
Many church members are descendants of people who survived or died in
what some historians call an “Armenian genocide” that peaked during
World War I, when Armenia was ruled by Ottoman Turks. Hundreds of
thousands of non-Muslims were killed.
“My mother was a survivor,” said 50th anniversary committee chairwoman
Zabelle Vartanian, 65, of Belleville. “My father was already (in the
United States).”
Vartanian’s parents were founding members of the church, organized in
East St. Louis in 1956. The Swansea building was consecrated in 1978.
Today, the church has about 100 members from throughout the St. Louis
region. That includes recent Armenian immigrants escaping political
unrest and religious persecution in Azerbaijan.
“For the Armenian community, this church is a lifeline,” said
Vartanian, a school counselor. “It’s our religious home. It’s our
cultural home.”
The church is led by the Rev. Abraham Ohanesian, who commutes from
Detroit two weekends a month.
“I fly in on Saturday and visit families, take care of issues and
get the altar ready for the Sunday service,” he said.
On Saturday evening, the church dedicated a khachkar (stone cross).
It will be surrounded by a memorial garden, where people can meditate
and remember genocide victims.
The 6-by-3-foot cross was handcarved in Armenia out of native stone.
“It’s a true piece of art,” Vartanian said. “It’s gorgeous.”
Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Armenian Church is at 400 Huntwood
Road in Swansea, near Wolf Branch schools. Today’s celebration will
include remarks by U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello. For more information,
call Vartanian at 398-4302.

ABOUT THE CHURCH: WHAT IS THE ARMENIAN CHURCH?
Belleville News-Democrat, IL
Nov 12 2006
The Church of Armenia acknowledges as its original founders two of
the 12 apostles of Christ, Thaddeus and Bartholomew. Armenia was the
first nation to adopt the Christian faith as its national religion in
301 A.D., 21 years before the Holy Roman Empire. The spiritual center
of the Armenian Church is Etchmiadzin near the capitol of Armenia,
Erevan, and is the seat of the head of the church, the Catholicos.
The Armenian Church does not answer to the Pope of the Roman Catholic
Church.
Since their conversion in the fourth century, Armenians have clung
to their faith and maintained a passionate devotion to Christianity
despite being conquered by many nations of many faiths including
Persians (modern Iran), Romans, the Ottoman empire, Turks and others.
All of these conquerors tried to drive Christianity from this small
nation and impose their respective religions. All of them failed
and the Armenians have held onto their Christian faith for more than
1,700 years.
Armenian Churches exist on six continents around the world.
Where is Armenia? The modern state of Armenia is a former Soviet
Republic located to the east of Turkey, south of Georgia and west of
Azerbaijan. Historic Armenia includes Mount Ararat, the spot where
the Bible says Noah’s Ark landed after the Great Flood of the Old
Testament.
How long have Armenians lived in the metro-east?The first Armenians
may have arrived in the Metro East in the 1890s. Their numbers grew
in the early 1900s, many of them immigrating after they escaped the
Armenian genocide by the Turks from 1915-1923. Nearly 1.5 million
Armenians died during these year, which have been described as the
“holocaust of World War I.”
The Armenian community in this region has grown throughout the years
as the original immigrants married and had families and other Armenian
immigrants came here from Russia, Lebanon, and most recently from Baku,
Azerbaijan. Several hundred Armenian families live in the St. Louis
area. They include physicians, lawyers, educators, professionals and
elected officials among others.
When was the Armenian metro-east church founded? The church was
originally founded in 1956 in East St. Louis. The present building in
Swancea was dedicated in November 1978. Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat
Church is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
What does Shoghagat mean? The word “Shoghagat,” the original name of
the church, literally means “dripping of beams from heaven.” This name
was chosen in 1956 by the Godfather of the church, Levon Bagdasaroff.
Source: Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Church
ntertainment/15994193.htm

MAN KILLED WHILE STANDING NEAR FREEWAY CALL BOX
(CBS) North Hollywood
Nov 12, 2006 5:21 pm US/Pacific
A man using a freeway call box in North Hollywood was fatally struck
at the split between the Ventura (101) and Hollywood (170) freeways,
according to the California Highway Patrol and a media stringer
service.
Eprem Kniazian, 56, was standing next to a call box on the northbound
side of the freeway when a vehicle struck him, north of Vineland
Avenue, according to CHP Officer David Porter.
Four separate accidents occurred in the same general area since
midnight, Porter said. The man’s vehicle was disabled and stopped on
the right shoulder.
The 26-year-old woman who fatally struck him, was arrested on suspicion
of drunk driving and felony vehicular manslaughter following the
accident.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities were notified
of the crash at 3:52 a.m.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The
Associated Press contributed to this report.)
–Boundary_(ID_knaAgZwWYRrvaYoFYlXrKw)–

PARISIAN COURT REJECTED SUIT AGAINST TURKISH CONSUL
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.11.2006 14:53 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Parisian circuit court rejected the suit brought
against Turkish Consul Aydin Sezgin. The suit was brought by an
Armenian organization over the posted on the Consulate’s website
material denying the Armenian Genocide. Yet in 2004 the court said that
due to diplomatic immunity Turkish Consul cannot be convicted. After
this the Armenian organization appealed to the Supreme Court,
reports Yerkir.

KOCHARIAN: NUMBER OF TOURISTS VISITING ARMENIA INCREASING
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.11.2006 15:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In 2007 the number of tourists visiting Armenia
will exceed 500 thousand, Armenian President Robert Kocharian told
reporters yesterday during the opening ceremony of Multy Rest House
hotel complex in Tsaghkadzor. President Kocharian remarked that the
“development of tourism is impossible if proper attention is not paid
to the ecology issues.”
“No tourist will come to have a rest in unattractive conveniences,”
the President said adding that the ecological state of Tsaghkadzor
has considerably improved.
According to the Armenian Statistical Service in January-September of
2006 over 270 thousand tourists visited Armenia. As compared to 2005
the number of tourists increased with 18.3%, reports newsarmenia.ru.

BORUSEWICZ: KARABAKH CONFLICT SHOULD BE SETTLED WITH TWO PRINCIPLES
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.11.2006 16:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Karabakh conflict should be settled taking
into account the principles of territorial integrity and the rights
of nations to self-determination, Polish parliament speaker Bogdan
Borusewicz said. These two principles are opposed in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, which should however be resolved with appliance
of both of them, Borusewicz told a news conference in Baku. “Poland
is not an adherent to conflicts and I am not a representative of
any of the sides. But I think that the conflict should be settled
peacefully and the only way is to follow the directions of the OSCE
Minsk Group, which should determine the steps to be taken for the
conflict resolution,” he added.
Borusewicz also reiterated the proposal he made in Yerevan early
this week. He said Poland is ready to mediate for alleviating tension
between Turkey and Armenia. “Poland enjoys good relations both with
Turkey and Armenia. We can advance initiatives that will reduce
distrust. Our diplomacy can represent Armenia’s interest in Turkey
and Turkey’s interests in Armenia. Despite blockade there is trade
and contacts.
There are also difficulties but we consider that certain conditions
should be created and both sides should demonstrate interest,” he
resumed, reports Day.az.

RA AMBASSADOR HANDED CREDENTIALS TO CZECH PRESIDENT
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.11.2006 17:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ November 7 newly appointed Armenian Ambassador to
Czechia Ashot Hovakimian handed his credentials to Czech President
Vaclav Klaus, reported the RA MFA press office. During the meeting
the interlocutors assessed highly the friendly relations established
between the two states and remarked that there is still much to be
done in political, economic and cultural fields. They also touched
upon the cooperation with using the possibilities provided by the
Armenia-EU Action Plan within the New Neighborhood Policy. Completing
the meeting President Klaus wished every success to the newly appointed
Ambassador in performing his high mission. Ashot Hovakimian also met
with a number of top officials to discuss the Armenian-Czech bilateral
relations and approve some measures for their encouragement.

ARMENIA STATE WITH AVERAGE RISK RATE FOR BUSINESS
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.11.2006 15:09 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia is a state with average risk rate for
business, says the annual report issued by Control Risks consulting
group. According to the experts Armenia refers to the category of
states where political situation causes risks of “average level.”
Russia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are
included into the same category. The U.S., UK and Japan are described
as states with sustainable political foundation but “tending to
negative changes.”
The annual report contains the analysis of the situation in 198 states
and determines the degree of risk for business proceeding from the
political situation and security. In the opinion of the analysts,
the atmosphere in 49% of the countries is not favorable for business
development, reports IA Regnum.

RA DELEGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN NATO PA SESSION IN QUEBEC
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.11.2006 18:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian delegation led by chairman of the standing
parliamentary commission on defense, home affairs and national security
Amarais Grigoryan will take part in the upcoming session of the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly in Quebec (Canada) November 13-17. According
to Grigoryan, among the other issues the session will debate on
British parliamentarian Frank Cook’s report on NATO’s role in the
South Caucasus. He also informed that the Armenian side has already
submitted a number of remarks and proposals that can bring the report
“closer to objective reality”. “We support further strengthening of
ties between Armenia and NATO. Our cooperation can be described as
full and lasting,” he said. He also added that the NATO Information
Center that opened in Yerevan not long ago is the evidence of Armenia’s
interest in expanding and deepening tires with NATO, reports Mediamax.