JOYCE N. PARSEGHIAN, ATTORNEY: CAMPAIGNED FOR REOPENING OF CLOSTER SCHOOL
By Jay Levin, Staff Writer, North Jersey Media Group
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
November 2, 2006 Thursday
All Editions
Joyce N. Parseghian, an immigration attorney and a lifelong Closter
resident who was active in an unsuccessful effort to preserve and
reuse the borough’s century-old Village School, died Monday.
Ms. Parseghian, 53, had brain cancer, her family said.
In 2001, Ms. Parseghian served on a citizens committee advocating the
renewal of the Village School, which the Board of Education closed
in 1996, deeming it obsolete. Ms. Parseghian attended the school as
a child.
The preservationists contended that the school’s flaws were mostly
cosmetic, and that reopening it would alleviate school district
crowding. The Village School stands empty today.
Linda Parseghian of Demarest said her sister was committed to Closter
and its schools. Joyce Parseghian unsuccessfully ran for the borough’s
school board in 2000.
Ms. Parseghian shared an Englewood law office with a high school
classmate, Richard Abrahamsen. He called her a passionate attorney
who, in representing immigrants, “connected well with people from
all walks of life.”
Ms. Parseghian, a Rutgers Law School graduate, also did pro bono work
for the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, her sister said.
Ms. Parseghian additionally is survived by her son, Michael Doerr of
Closter; her parents, Arax Parseghian of Closter and George Parseghian
of Hackensack; and a brother, George Parseghian Jr. of Closter.
Visitation is 5 to 9 tonight at St. Leon Armenian Church, 12-61 Saddle
River Road, Fair Lawn. The funeral is 10 a.m. Friday at the church,
with interment at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus.
William G. Basralian Funeral Service in Oradell is handling
arrangements.
The family suggests donations to the church.

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN: LONDRES CRITIQUE LA PROPOSITION DE LOI FRANCAISE
Agence France Presse
2 novembre 2006 jeudi 5:38 PM GMT
Un ministre britannique a juge jeudi que la proposition de loi
francaise penalisant la negation du genocide armenien n’etait “pas
la meilleure facon de progresser” sur ce thème.
“En creant des lois sur ces evenements historiques, aussi epouvantables
soient-ils, il y a un risque de les transformer en questions politiques
d’actualite, et franchement, c’est ce qui se passe en France”,
a estime le ministre aux Affaires europeennes Geoff Hoon.
Les deputes francais ont adopte le 12 octobre un texte rendant passible
de prison la negation du genocide armenien de 1915-1917.
Cette proposition de loi doit maintenant etre debattue par le Senat
(la chambre haute du parlement francais).
“Personnellement, je ne crois pas que cette proposition soit
necessairement utile”, a insiste M. Hoon.
–Boundary_(ID_+J07W48iVoZ6DLiL3Rj82Q)–

GENOCIDE ET LOI
M. Robert Jallerat, De Châtellerault (Vienne).
La Nouvelle Republique du Centre Ouest
02 novembre 2006 jeudi
Edition Informations Generales
” A l’annonce d’une proposition de loi interdisant la negation
du genocide des Armeniens en 1915, la Turquie s’est enflammee,
menacant la France de represailles ! Pourtant, ce crime fut commis
sous l’autorite et l’egide du sultan de l’Empire ottoman. On peut
d’ailleurs se demander si ce genocide, dont on a pu penser qu’il fut
ordonne dans la crainte d’un soulèvement du peuple armenien en pleine
guerre, ne fut, en fait, l’achèvement d’un projet ancien qui avait
deja cause, sous l’autorite du sultan Abdul Hamid II, l’extermination
de 300.000 Armeniens en 1894.” Or, l’Empire ottoman a disparu et le
sultanat a ete aboli en 1923. Pourquoi donc la Republique de Turquie,
fondee par Mustapha Kemal, se croit-elle obligee de nier l’existence
d’un crime contre l’humanite par un regime defunt et peu estimable ?”
Au demeurant, on reste perplexe devant cette attitude de notre
legislateur, qui croit indispensable d’interdire l’expression d’un
avis, d’une opinion. Les arguments, les preuves, ne seraient-ils plus
suffisants pour combattre et effacer les opinions contraires a la
verite et a la morale ? Ne faudrait-il pas mediter cette reflexion de
Spinoza : ” Ce serait s’exposer a un desastre certain que de vouloir
obliger les membres d’une collectivite publique a conformer toutes
leurs paroles aux decrets de l’autorite souveraine. ”
” En outre, de telles interdictions ” legales “, marque d’une societe
qui a a ce point perdu ses valeurs qu’elle se contraint a leur donner
une forme reglementaire, sont-elles en conformite avec l’article 19
de la Declaration universelle des droits de l’homme ? ”
–Boundary_(ID_PuLmU03N/AAlIIFjZf4t+g)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COUCHES, LES DAMNES DE LA TERRE !;
PENALISER LE NEGATIONNISME DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN N’EST PAS UN EXCèS COMMUNAUTARISTE MAIS UN DEVOIR DEMOCRATIQUE.
par TORANIAN Ara; Ara Toranian directeur des Nouvelles d’Armenie Magazine.
Liberation , France
2 novembre 2006
Il ne se passe pas un jour, depuis le vote par l’Assemblee
nationale, le 12 octobre, de la penalisation du negationnisme du
genocide armenien, sans que la presse ne tire a boulets rouges sur le
“communautarisme” qui presiderait a la mise en place de cette loi. Il
ne s’agit que d’agiter des peurs, de pratiquer des amalgames, de dire
leur fait a toutes ces minorites armeniennes, juives, noires qui ont
le mauvais goût de demander au Parlement, a travers les lois Gayssot
ou Taubira, de prendre en consideration leur dignite, de veiller au
respect de leur souffrance, de proteger leur memoire.
Des revendications “particularistes”, qui viendraient fragmenter
l’unite nationale, voir saper les fondements memes de la republique.
Car, dans la belle tradition que nous opposent ces neo-jacobins,
il ne peut y avoir de place pour l’alterite. Et surtout, cessez de
nous polluer avec vos oppressions depassees, vos morts, vos histoires
d’extermination et d’esclavagisme qui se sont deroulees ailleurs et
il y a longtemps. Et tant pis si le negationnisme et les injures ont,
eux, bel et bien lieu ici et maintenant…
Rappelons en effet que le vote de cette loi controversee a ete motive
par la combinaison de deux facteurs : le negationnisme d’Etat de
la Turquie, qui continue a se faire complice de ce crime, et sa
candidature a l’Union europeenne. La Commission europeenne a voulu
fermer les yeux sur cette contradiction en evacuant, contrairement aux
voeux du Parlement europeen, la reconnaissance du genocide armenien
par Ankara du nombre des critères d’adhesion. Renoncement politique
qui donne a la Turquie, 20e puissance mondiale, toute latitude pour
developper jusqu’en France sa propagande negationniste, sans qu’il
soit possible de lui opposer ni d’obligation de retenue ni de frein
autre que la resistance des refugies et de leurs enfants.
Cette loi visait donc a proteger, effectivement, la memoire des
victimes du premier genocide du XXe siècle, un crime contre l’humanite
cense, en principe, concerner tout le monde. Elle apparaissait
egalement comme une possibilite de recours, legal et pacifique, a la
disposition des heritiers des sacrifies de cette barbarie, qui n’ont
nullement l’intention de laisser les voyous a la solde de l’Etat turc
venir cracher sur la tombe de leurs parents.
Fussent-ils deguises en soi-disant historiens, pour donner plus de
credit a leurs agissements, de meme que d’autres s’abritaient naguère
derrière la science ou la biologie pour justifier le racisme.
Ce debat, qui a ete compris par les deputes, en particulier ceux qui
connaissent bien le problème pour avoir dans leur circonscription
des rescapes du “pays de l’epouvante”, aurait merite d’etre
traite serieusement. Ces elus de tous bords qui ont eu le courage
de voter cette loi et d’affronter cette tempete ont en realite
defendu l’honneur et la noblesse du Parlement, au nom des valeurs
democratiques et de la defense des plus faibles contre les pressions
du lobby militaro-industriel et des laquais de la Realpolitik.
Au lieu d’applaudir, certaines elites, decalees par rapport aux
enjeux et dont on ne sait ce qui l’emporte chez elles, de leur
interet corporatiste ou de leur conception monolithique de l’unite
republicaine, s’erigent en promoteurs d’un liberalisme sauvage de
la connaissance historique, qui aura notamment pour consequence de
permettre a ceux qui ont le plus de moyens, en particulier financiers,
d’imposer leur vision du passe… pour mieux contrôler l’avenir. Ainsi,
l’Etat turc pourra repandre son venin negationniste en achetant – c’est
dans sa tradition – des journalistes, des historiens ou des hommes
politiques (pour memoire, l’affaire Sibel Edmonds aux Etats-Unis et
le docu diffuse recemment sur Canal + sur la corruption de decideurs
americains par Ankara).
Les Armeniens, pas plus que les Juifs ou les Noirs, ne sont les
mauvais elèves de la Republique. Il n’y a pas d’unite qui puisse
faire l’economie du respect dû aux diverses composantes de la nation,
par la nation elle-meme. La modernite, la liberte et la democratie
se construiront autour de la prise en charge de ces questions par les
instances democratiques du pays, et certainement pas par le cynisme a
l’egard des pages sombres de l’histoire et le refoulement des douleurs
qu’elles ont generees.
–Boundary_(ID_Yji5COjk7J15poMi9m+Rig)- –
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“MEMOIRES ARMENIENNES”, MUR D’EMOTION
Par Launet Edouard
Liberation , France
2 novembre 2006
A Paris, une installation video fait entendre les voix des temoins
du genocide.
Il y a eu fin septembre le grand raout a Erevan, capitale de
l’Armenie, avec concert d’Aznavour, discours et visite du president
Chirac. Aujourd’hui, a la Villette, a Paris, est erige sur un parquet
de bal un mur d’emotion : l’installation “Memoires armeniennes”
deploie video et geographie pour evoquer le genocide de 1915. C’est
d’ailleurs l’une des rares manifestations prevues dans le cadre
de l’Annee de l’Armenie en France (jusqu’au 14 juillet 2007) a se
colleter directement le sujet.
Le visiteur de l’installation concue par Jacques Kebadian et
Jean-Claude Kebabdjian est accueilli par un brouhaha. Ce sont des
voix surgies d’un mur d’images, quinze ecrans debitant en boucle et
simultanement les paroles de temoins du genocide. Ces mots et images
ont ete captes en 1982 par le cineaste Jacques Kebadian, qui, dix ans
après, en a fait le film Memoire armenienne. Dans les annees 70-80,
se souvient Kebadian, la cause armenienne s’etait reveillee avec
les actions terroristes de l’Asala (Armee secrète de liberation de
l’Armenie). Le cineaste partit alors avec sa camera et la volonte de
“montrer qu’il y a d’autres facons de temoigner, d’agir”.
Aujourd’hui, ces temoignages, tries parmi quinze heures d’archives,
sont reunis sur des ecrans-fenetres inseres dans une grande carte
figurant toute l’etendue des implantations armeniennes avant 1915,
du Caucase a la Turquie. Les ecrans sont repartis de telle facon que
chaque temoin parle depuis sa ville d’origine. De toutes ces personnes
mortes aujourd’hui, il ne reste que leurs paroles. Les reunir ainsi
sur un grand panneau relève evidemment moins d’une entreprise de
pedagogie que de la volonte de former un concert. Ces voix qui se
chevauchent et se repètent composent un choeur bouleversant.
L’installation est completee par des tableaux et quelques photos.
Elle devrait etre presentee l’an prochain a Marseille et a Lyon,
deux villes où la diaspora armenienne est fortement implantee.
Memoires armeniennes
Parquet de bal du parc de la Villette
(près de la maison de la Villette), dans le cadre de l’annee de
l’Armenie en France. Du mer au dim de 14h a 19h, jusqu’au 23 novembre.
–Boundary_(I D_9j+KIkxjo4B/V3OmRPK7gg)–

THEY PASSED A LAW FOR ARMENIANS TO BREAK IT
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 2 2006
The social and economic problems of Javakheti are the consequence of a
political problem, the solution of which may lead to the settlement of
the social economic problem, stated Vahagn Chakhalyan in an intervew
with the Lragir.
Lragir: There are different opinions whether the problem of Javakheti
is political or social and economic. What do you think the problem is?
“We have been stating since 2004 that the problem of Javakheti is
a political problem, and now it is becoming clear that the problem
of Javakheti is political, the social and economic problem is
secondary, in other words, the social and economic problem stemmed
from the political problem. For instance, the stone working factories
in Javakheti employing 3000-5000 people were closed down. These
factories were closed down artificially, though the stones are
demanded in Russia, but the stone working factories were closed down
in 1996-1997. The same is with timber. They bar transporting timber
via Javakheti, allowing only via Marneuli, which is also a political
problem. Or now they are making a new law on transporting the goods
imported from Armenia to Javakheti via Sadakhlo, which is another
political problem. Or the closed-down shops. On October 5, 2005 10
big shops were closed down in Javakheti and the events followed that
we know.”
Lragir: Is it possible to solve the political problem by solving the
social and economic problem? Or should the problem be political by
all means?
“Political solution.”
Lragir: And in your opinion, what political solution is required?
“The Georgian government should admit at last that Javakheti is the
historical homeland of the Armenians, the Armenians have always lived
there and they must remain there with their culture, language and
their rights. Until they admit… They must admit.”
Lragir: If your alliance, as you say, with its real 70 percent votes
appeared in the regional sakrebulo of Javakheti, would you raise the
question of sovereignty of Javakheti?
“We did not think about it but about cultural sovereignty… This would
be our first problem. In fact, now their law bars work. According
to the law on the local election, if you don’t speak Georgian, you
cannot work in these bodies. In fact, they adopted a controversial
law. On the one hand, Armenians were elected, but these Armenians
do not speak Georgian, how they are going to work. They are going to
violate the law. They passed a law for the Armenians to break the law.”
Lragir: You are against stationing a Georgian military base in
Javakheti. What is your attitude towards the Russian military base?
“The withdrawal of the Russian military base, frankly speaking, this
problem is beyond us. We said our word during the protest meeting
on March 13, 2005 but we saw that the decision was made. But we are
against replacing the Russian military base by any other force. We
are against it.”
Lragir: In other words, either the Russian base or nothing?
“No, it’s not a matter of either or, and now we can see that it
is being withdrawn. Today, however, we think no military presense
or presence of other forces is needed in Javakheti. It is clear,
however, that they will use the Kars-Akhalkalaki project to try to
station joint Turkish and Azerbaijani forces here.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DO NOT INTERFERE WITH EACH OTHERS’ BUSINESS
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 2 2006
It is up to the political forces of Armenia what problems will be
raised in the pre-election period in 2007, stated Vahagn Chakhalyan
November 2 at the Pakagits Club, one of the leaders of the United
Javakheti Alliance, who was released from the remand prison of the
National Security Service, where he was kept on charges of illegal
crossing of the border. In answer to the question what he thinks
about the prospect that the question of Javakheti can become one of
the manipulated topics of the Armenian election in 2007 and maybe enen
the central topic, Vahagn Chakhalyan said this is the business of the
participants of the election. However, Vahagn Chakhalyan personally
thinks that it would be better if the political forces present their
standpoint of Javakheti beside other questions.
There is a political party in Armenia, which often appears as
an advocate of the interests of Javakheti independent from the
pre-election period. This political party is the Hzor Hayrenik Party,
which was condemned by the members of United Javakheti for its efforts
to interfere with the home affairs of Javakheti from Armenia.
Unlike his allies, Vahagn Chakhalyan was reserved in speaking about
the Hzor Hayrenik Party and only announced that it is a political
party operating in Armenia and he would not like to interfere with
the home political developments. Of course, this evaluation hints
that the Hzor Hayrenik Party should not try to interfere with the
internal problems of Javakheti.

GROWN-UP AND MATURE BUSINESSMEN BUT STILL COMPLAINING
James Hakobyan
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 2 2006
Several Armenian businessmen showed up at the November 1 hearings
held by the Union of Producers and Entrepreneurs, and expressed
their dissatisfaction concerning the unpredictable fluctuations of
the exchange rate of the dollar and the hypertensive revaluation of
the dram. Besides, the businessmen complained of the policy, the
insifficient anti-black economy efforts. It is notable to mention
the names of those few businessmen who were present in the ceremony
of this “group complaint”. Areg Ghukasyan, the brother of the NKR
president Arkady Ghukasyan, Republican, the owner of the salt mine.
Ashot Baghdasaryan, Republican, the owner of Kilikia Beer Factory, the
government has recently promoted his business considerably by cutting
the excise tax on the local beer. Both Ghukasyan and Baghdasaryan
are members of parliament. Another complainer was Gagik Abrahamyan,
Ara Abrahamyan’s brother, who is in diamond business. The “tribune”
of protest was Arsen Ghazaryan, the chair of the Union of Producers
and Entrepreneurs. It is notable that every time on listening to
his complains a smile appeared on Tigran Sargsyan’s face, which
could not compete with that of the Cheshire cat but was equally
expressive. Either Tigran Sargsyan was daydreaming and was not even
listening to the complaints or he was listening and smiling at their
words. And their words at least arouse a smile. And the reason is
not that they are also operating in the black economy.
Everything is much more simple. Even if we suppose that these
businessmen do everything legally and hate the black economy,
as they assured, it is simply illogical that they are members of
the ruling political party, which is supposed to battle the black
economy. In other words, instead of complaining to the president of
the Central Bank Tigran Sargsyan Areg Ghukasyan and Ashot Baghdasaryan
should complain to the leader of their own political party Andranik
Margaryan, who works as the prime minister of Armenia. Tigran
Sargsyan is an appointed person, who does whatever they tell him
to do. And perhaps he smiled and wondered that these grown-up and
mature businessmen do not know yet that he does not work out policies,
he implements policies. The National Assembly works out the policy,
and the parliament majority is the Republican Party, and therefore
the leader of this political party is the prime minister.
The same businessmen who complain of the unpredictable revaluation of
the dram, the black economy and many other things, during the universal
elections they stood beside Robert Kocharyan. We have to be grateful
that they did not blow a kiss to their relatives and make clear to
them who they should vote for. The same businessmen have never tried
to establish an organization, which would sustain the legal and fair
competition they confess. And though we admit that their complaints
are fair, we nevertheless have to emphasize that their complaints
are not righteous because they are complaining of their cherished
government with whom they signed the unwritten laws of the game. And
when the government breaks the written laws, they do not have the
moral right to protest. In order to gain this right they first need
to build their relations with the government on the written laws.

“BLUE DREAMS”
A1+
[07:01 pm] 02 November, 2006
Today the exhibition titled “Boundless Blue” opened in Gevorgyan
exhibition hall within the framework of the days of France in Armenia.
Over 15 art representatives from Gyumri, Yerevan, Paris and Leon
presented their “blue dreams”.
Suzy Sahakyan, coordinator of the exhibition claims that it is a
kind of a dialogue, a bridge between the Armenian and French art
representatives.
The style is comparatively free. The themes of the photos are the sea,
dreams, swimming people and mermaids.
One of the participants, Arpineh Tokmajyan simply took a snail and
“turned it into a radio” by passing a radio wire inside the snail.
The exhibition will be taken to Paris in March of 2007 and later
to Leon.

ONE NATION, ONE WATER PIPELINE, ONE MINISTRY
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 2 2006
It is quite natural that the Supreme Commander-In-Chief of the
Armed Forces should be interested in the quality, effectiveness of
the army, its armament and equipment. Therefore, the society did
not pay special attention to the fact that on October 23 and 24,
while the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs were preparing for their meeting in Paris,
President Robert Kocharyan visited the border installations. Even
if the foreign ministers are not going to meet, the head of state,
who is the Supreme Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces (though
the reporter of Haylur consistently omitted the word “supreme” and
mentioned “commander-in-chief”) in accordance with the Constitution,
has to keep the army in the focus of attention if the country is in
a neither war, no peace situation.
Besides, the Supreme Commander-In-Chief has another reason to focus
attention on the army. The point is that the government official,
who is supposed to attend to the problems of the army directly,
i.e. the minister of defense, has enlarged considerably the range
of his activities, and as we learned from Haylur, he already takes
part in the cerermonies of opening of rural water pipelines. And
in order not to appear nonsensical, an explanation is provided: the
defense minister participated because this drinking water pipeline
is his promise. We should confess that the participation is not as
nonsensical as its explanation. The defense minister can promise that
the army is always ready to counteract to any attack, and it should
be noted that Serge Sargsyan always does. The defense minister can
promise that the equipment and armament will always be on an adequate
level, and Serge Sargsyan always does. Meanwhile, it appears that
Serge Sargsyan considers himself is an outsider in the army.
Otherwise, it is impossible to understand what relation the defense
minister has to rural water pipelines, if these villages are located
far from the border. It is very good that several villages of the
region of Aragatsotn already have drinking water supply. But what were
the president and the government busy doing if the defense minister
has think about the supply of drinking water to these villages, let
alone a great deal of other things he has to think about in this crazy
world that is called the Caucasus? After all, Serge Sargsyan personally
stated that he has much more important things to do in this country. In
that case, what are the committee of water resourses, the ministry of
territorial governance, the municipality of Aragatsotn, and finally
the president of the Republic busy doing? Is it possible that Robert
Kocharyan has exchanged places with Serge Sargsyan and now attends
to the problems of the army (after all, was it accidental that Haylur
consistently referred to Robert Kocharyan as the Commander-in-Chief,
omitting “supreme”?), but in this case the public should have been
informed. It is possible, for instance, that in his recent meeting
with Safar Abiyev Serge Sargsyan informed him about this replacement
so that they know in Azerbaijan who to address when the necessity
for an army relation occurs.
For during their meeting in Sadarak many years ago Serge Sargsyan
and the Azerbaijani foreign minister exchanged telephone numbers to
contact when necessary. It is possible that in their recent meeting
Serge Sargsyan gave him Robert Kocharyan’s telephone number.
If this is not true, the president of the Republic should demand
explanation from the minister of defense why he attends to water
pipelines, gas, roads and other communication problems, and listens
and makes promises in the villages, which is televised and broadcast
on the Public Television. In this case, perhaps, it would be correct to
save the salaries of the ministers and other officials supposed to deal
with these matters and direct these funds at military expenditure. It
is also possible that Robert Kocharyan is aware why Serge Sargsyan
attends to these matters. In that case, it would be more honest if
the president resigned allowing the defense minister to occupy the
post of the president in order to formalize his actions and fit into
the logic of the system of government.
However, there is another way of formalizing and logicalizing these
actions: the defense minister is displaced, a structural reform is
carried out in the government, namely the ministries of territorial
management and agriculture are joined and Serge Sargsyan is appointed
head of the new government agency. How about the army? God save
the army.