Hamilton Spectator, Canada
June 24 2006
Keeping the faith in Iran
Minority Rights; Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Judaism: Opening a
window on religious tolerance
By Karl Vick
The Washington Post
YAZD, IRAN (Jun 24, 2006)
The legend describes one cloud of dust chasing another across the epic
desert landscape. Arab horsemen were gaining on the Iranian princess,
it is said, when she reached the looming cliffs, slipped into a seam
in the rock and disappeared forever.
As told by followers of the Zoroastrian faith which was on the run
along with the princess, the tale nurtures not so much hope for the
return of royalty as the survival of minority religions. In a country
whose government is based on the Islamic faith that Arabs carried to
the Persian plateau, that survival is enshrined in law.
The same constitution that created the Islamic Republic of Iran
explicitly protects three other faiths: Zoroastrianism, Christianity
and Judaism.
But how their followers, especially Jews, fare provides a barometer
of actual religious tolerance in Iran and a window into a national
culture with shadings far more subtle than the extremist caricature
its leaders both decry and occasionally encourage.
Iran’s Muslim theocracy reserves one parliamentary seat each for
Jews, Zoroastrians and Assyrian Christians, and two for members of
the Armenian Orthodox community. The slots reflect both respect for
Zoroastrian’s deep roots in Persia, and for the faiths that, like
Islam, trace their origins to Abraham.
“They are the roots; we are the branches,” said Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
That protection does not appear to extend to the Bahai, who practice
a faith the government regards as heretical. Human rights groups have
documented scores of cases of persecution, including executions. Last
month, 54 Bahai youths were arrested in the southern city of Shiraz,
where the faith originated in the 19th century.
In addition, some Iranian Jews complain of occasional harassment
since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad focused new wrath on Israel.
When Ahmadinejad expressed doubts in December that the Holocaust
occurred, Moris Motamed called a news conference in his role as the
member of Parliament representing Iranian Jews. “I said this kind
of comment is a way of insulting the Jewish community as a whole,
not only inside Iran,” Motamed said in an interview.
Iranian officials emphasize that Iran objects not to Judaism but to
Zionism, the effort to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. Yet
in Tehran, Jews say Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric has prompted threats not
heard in more than 15 years.
“No, not ordinary people, but mostly the Basij,” said a Jewish
shopkeeper, saying the harassment came from the paramilitary from
which Ahmadinejad emerged. “The thing they usually say is ‘dirty
Jew.’ But I believe these people are insane. They’re not real people.”
Motamed said he had received few complaints and was working with
Ahmadinejad’s government to follow through with a deal negotiated
under his predecessor, former president Mohammad Khatami, to permit
Iranian Jews to travel to Israel for Jewish holidays.
He said police responded “right away” a week earlier when a Tehran
Jew reported being threatened. “And I say this with confidence: If
the same thing happened with Muslims, the police would not have been
as quick to act.”
The situation of Christians appears more elusive.
“We have many problems,” said the man outside St. Sarkis Church, the
Armenian Orthodox headquarters where officials twice declined requests
for an interview. He gave only a first name, Patrick. “Everyone has
problems, but for Christians it’s harder than others.” Like other
Christians who spoke privately, he complained that government jobs
are off-limits.
Numbers tell part of the story. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran’s
Jewish population has dropped from more than 100,000 to perhaps 25,000,
Christians from 300,000 to around 100,000. But some say the exodus
reflects less specific persecution than the opportunity to escape a
country where almost everyone was being made miserable. The religious
minorities, with concerned sponsors offering relocation funds, had
a way out.
“Whatever the government does, they do it to all of us,” said Ardeshir
Bahrami, 64, a Zoroastrian in Yazd.
Zoroastrians appear to enjoy the most respect inside Iran. Reasons
relate to Iran’s 2,500-year history. The faith claims to be the first
to recognize a single, omniscient god. Until its founder, Zoroaster,
emerged as early as the 14th century B.C. (the date is disputed),
people were paying tributes to pagan gods and grappling fearfully
with questions of cause and effect.
Zoroaster made it simple. There was good, he said, and there was
bad. Darkness and light. Zoroastrianism urges following the light,
symbolized in the open flame nursed for 1,536 years on the andirons
in the house of worship, called a “fire temple,” on Yazd’s main street.
A plaque lists the creed:
Good thoughts. Good words. Good deeds. “It’s a simple religion,”
Bahrami said. “It’s really not very hard to observe.”
In Yazd, a pleasant, desert city in the centre of Iran, Zoroastrians
are known for honesty. Prices in a shop owned by a Zoroastrian are
considered a benchmark that competing shops are compared against.
Children are told that when arriving in a strange town near dark,
seek out a Zoroastrian home to spend the night in.
“I’m sorry to say it and it might sound offensive, but these
Zoroastrians are better Muslims than we are,” said Yazd driver
Mohammad Pardehbaf.
Iranians also respect Zoroastrianism as the faith of Iran’s heroic
age. It was the state religion under emperors as Cyrus, Xerxes and
Darius, whose tombs are adorned with the Zoroastrians’ distinctive
symbol of a bearded man in profile between outstretched wings. The
symbol is also atop a towering monument that Iran’s clerical
leaders erected in Yazd’s Zoroastrian cemetery to honour a hero of
the eight-year war with Iraq. Like others in the cemetery, the stone
lists not date of death but date of “second birth.” Zoroastrians
celebrate funerals as birthday parties.
“There is no mourning. If someone dies, we celebrate it, because we
know what’s going to happen after death,” said Payman Bastani, 27.
The faith was not always so simple. As the state religion,
Zoroastrianism spawned a priestly class that grew less popular as it
grew more corrupt. Zoroastrianism survived, especially in the deserts
of central Iran, where the royal family was said to disappear. And as
it returned to its essence, it also emerged as an example to faiths
supposedly fuelling a clash of civilizations.
“This is exactly what we believe,” Bastani said. “Religion is not
here to complicate your life. It’s all about simplicity. God created
it to give comfort to human beings, not to frustrate everyone.”

2TheAdvocate, LA
June 24 2006
New church unites La. Armenians
Newly dedicated church brings La. Armenians together in BR
By ANNABELLE ARMSTRONG
Special to The Advocate
Published: Jun 24, 2006
Louisiana’s first and only Armenian congregation remains small and
spread out even after 23 years.
But bringing the dedicated membership together for monthly worship
preserves a connection to a history, language and culture that might
otherwise have been left a world behind.
“It’s a great honor and privilege to pray in my own language, and to
teach my children how to pray in the language I was taught,” said
K.G. Moutafian, who was 14 in 1980 when his parents moved to Baton
Rouge from Beirut, Lebanon.
Today he’s one of about 80 members at St. Garabed Armenian Church,
6208 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge. Congregants, ranging in age from
babies to septuagenarians, reside throughout Louisiana, most in Baton
Rouge and New Orleans.
“Going to church is like a family reunion,” said Vasken Kaltakdjian,
47, Moutafian’s cousin and chairman of the church council.
“Many of us are related because one family member would come to the
United States, then bring another family member here, and so on.”
Kaltakdjian, born in Damascus, Syria, was 19 when his parents, Serop
and Marie Kaltakdjian, moved the family to the United States.
The Armenian language, not closely related to any other language in
the world, is spoken in the colorful, traditional and ritualistic
church service.
The church sanctuary, a newly renovated labor hall, has a vaulted,
open beam ceiling, cypress woodworking, with brick and carpeted
flooring that lend a serene effect. The altar features an alcove with
a dramatic mural of the baby Jesus and Mary, the work of Hiak
Azarian, an Armenian ecclesiastical artist.
The Apostolic Armenian Church dates back to A.D. 301, when St.
Gregory the Illuminator started the conversion of the people to
Christianity.
Today’s worshippers are descendants of Armenians who fled their
homeland during the Turks’ massacre of 1915, scattering to
neighboring countries, including Russia, and now located around the
world.
The Louisiana church began in 1983, when then-reigning Archbishop of
the Armenian Church of America Torkom Manoogian came from New York
City to form a parish council.
Garabed means Baptist, Vasken Kaltakdjian explained.
“The church is named for St. John the Baptist, who baptized Christ,”
he said, “also for my late grandfather, Garabed Kaltakdjian, of
Damascus, Syria, who dedicated his entire life to the church.”
Services take place monthly now, but for years they were held every
three or four months.
The church met at St. James and St. Luke’s Episcopal churches, but
two and half years ago was able to secure its current
22,500-square-foot site for $180,000 and begin $120,000 in
renovation.
“Now, we want to afford a full-time priest to teach our kids Armenian
history and to have Sunday school,” Moutafian said.
Worshippers drove in from Shreveport, New Orleans, Alexandria and
other cities for the building consecration service on May 14, when
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, primate of the Armenian Church of
America in New York City, officiated.
“On special occasions we are wall-to-wall people,” Vasken said.
The priest, the Rev. Nersess Jebejian, flew in from the Tampa Bay
area, a trip he has made for 23-plus years.
It will be standing room only again at 3 p.m. July 22 when
3-month-olds Gabriella Ani Moutafian and Alexander Sarkis Boyadjian
become the first babies baptized in the new building.
Azar Kayal, 42, a photographer who works in government law
enforcement, plans to make the trip from Alexandria.
Born in Syria, an American 22 years, he brings family members for
special events.
“It means so much to have our own church,” Kayal said. “We take our
religion seriously and try every chance we can to meet together to
foster our heritage, family values and traditions.”
Photo: Advocate staff photo by JAMES CHANCE
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, primate of the Armenian Church of
America in New York City, blesses the St. Garabed Armenian Church
building in Baton Rouge. The ceremony was held May 14 to celebrate
the completion of remodeling work on the building the small
congregation purchased about 2~I years ago. The Very Rev. Father
Ararad Kaltakjian of Toronto, Canada, stands in the rear.
on/3221381.html?showAll=y

Today, Azerbaijan
June 24 2006
NATO Rose-Roth seminar debates on Nagorno Karabakh conflict
24 June 2006 [09:59] – Today.Az
Debate on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict was held during session of
the 63rd Rose-Roth seminar of NATO in Sochi.
Parliamentarian Malahat Hasanova reported from the seminar. The
seminar’s highlight was Russia-NATO relations in terms of security
issues in the South Caucasus.
Large discussions were held on each of the problems existing in the
South Caucasus at the seminar. Experts delivered reports on the
conflicts in the South Caucasus, and parliamentarians from
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia commented on these reports.
Vladimir Kazimirov’s report was debated before the discussions on the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister Tofig
Musayev delivered a speech.
Ms.Hasanova also said NATO representatives underscored in their
speeches that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is really causing a
problem to the region, APA reports.
“In general, the experts noted that Azerbaijan’s economy is
developing, and it is becoming a leader in the region. We brought to
the attention of participants Armenians’ continued provocative policy
and their causing massive fires in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan. We stressed that their actions do not coincide with their
words,” the parliamentarian said.
URL:

Athens News Agency, Greece
June 23 2006
Protest demonstrations in Halki against the Armenian Patriarch
ISTANBUL 6/23/2006 (ANA-MPA/A.Kourkoulas)
The protest demonstrations held upon the arrival of Catholicos and
Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians Karekin II in Istanbul, Turkey on
June 20 were repeated in Halki at the Prince’s Islands, off the coasts
of Istanbul, where he visited the closed Halki Seminary on Thursday
as the guest of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The Ecumenical
Patriarch is the host of Patriarch Karekin II and Constantinople
Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Mesrop who are
also scheduled to visit the Armenian summer camps at the Prince’s
Islands on board the patriarchal yacht “Halki”.
Increased security measures went into effect around the yacht which
was escorted by two Turkish Coastguard speedboats after information
that nationalists had gathered to protest against the visit.
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II is on a formal pastoral
visit to Istanbul at the joint invitation of Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew and Constantinople Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic
Church Archbishop Mesrop.

AAM WILL NOT ALLY WITH BARGAVACH HAYASTAN
Lragir.am
24 June 06
To refute the rumored alliance between the All-Armenian Movement and
the Bargavach Hayastan Party, the leader of the AAM Ararat Zurabyan
announced June 24 at the Azdak Club that the AAM cannot cooperate
with a political force which is unable to have any ideology. “It is
never possible,” says Ararat Zurabyan.
According to the leader of the AAM, over the past 8 years that
the party has been out of power, “The AAM remained faithful to its
principles and did not make a deal with this government.” “By the way,
we had such opportunities, because we got more proposals than those
who offer their services to this government,” states Ararat Zurabyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IN NORMAL COUNTRIES THERE WOULD BE RESIGNATIONS
Lragir.am
24 June 06
With regard to the shooting in one of the streets in Yerevan and
the woman killed by a stray bullet Ararat Zurabyan, All-Armenian
Movement leader, said first the head of fish decays. According to
him, in a tiny country like Armenia the head of the police knows
everyone’s habits. However, “the situation does not allow him
to change anything.” This situation is, according to the AAM, the
consequence of the atmosphere in the political, economic and all the
other spheres. “One cannot feel safe even at daytime because one may
encounter an incident despite everything,” says Ararat Zurabyan.
Giving his condolences to the family of the killed woman, Ararat
Zurabyan notes that in a normal country and society there would be
resignations, visits to the family of the victim, words of comfort,
lending a hand. It is not so here. There are not even condolences.
Ararat Zurabyan says gangs have emerged in Armenia, who have no
restrictions. “Considering the passivity of the relevant agencies,
the Police, etc., an uncontrollable situation has occurred. I would
not like to draw parallels, but people say, this country needs
Vano, and the situation is unbearable,” reports Ararat Zurabyan
and reminds about the time, when Vano Siradeghyan was the minister
of internal affairs. “There was shooting, cars were stolen, it was
terrible, the police were afraid to go out to the street, nobody was
insured. Siradeghyan managed to establish order in a very short period
of time,” reminds Ararat Zurabyan. According to Ararat Zurabyan, a
member of the same party as Vano Siradeghyan, quick establishment of
public order did not involve 100 percent compliance with the laws, but,
“I can state for sure that the laws are not observed by 100 percent
in any country. But we managed to establish law and order. There
were no criminal strongmen in Yerevan, they were in prison on
outside Armenia. Children wanted to be policemen, not a strongman
or bodyguard,” says the leader of the All-Armenian Movement. “The
government would no way have relations with a criminal. Nobody can
say that the minister of internal affairs Vano Siradeghyan dined with
criminal strongmen,” states Ararat Zurabyan and reports the current
situation. “We have witnessed and read in the press for a number of
times, that Serge Sargsyan, or someone else dined together, greeted
or saw away,” says Ararat Zurabyan. And for a general comparison of
the AAM and the present government, he proposes to compare the past
and the present parliaments.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  (374 10) 517 163
Fax:  (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Website: 
June 24, 2006
Pontiff of All Armenians Visits Churches and National Institutions in
Istanbul
On June 23, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians and His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob Mutafian, Armenian Patriarch
of Constantinople, accompanied by the pontifical entourage, visited the
Church of St. Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God) in Baklkyugh, Istanbul, as
well as the Dadian National Academy adjacent to the church.
Following the “Hrashapar” service in the sanctuary and His Holiness’ message
of blessing to the faithful, the Catholicos of All Armenians and the
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople were escorted to the hall of the school
and enjoyed a program presented by the students of the Academy.  The St.
Astvatsatsin Church and the Dadian Academy are located in a section of
Istanbul which has the second highest Armenian population.
His Holiness Karekin II spoke to the 400 students, as well as the teachers,
administrators and hundreds of faithful, emphasizing the important role that
the Armenians of Istanbul have played in the life of the nation for more
than 500 years, noting that they have brought honor to the Armenian people
through their spiritual and cultural activities.  His Holiness also placed
great importance on the church and school being located adjacent to one
another, and commended the parish council, the teaching staff and
administration of the community for their efforts.  The Catholicos of All
Armenians also congratulated the students for their skills, devotion and
talents, and invited them to travel to Armenia and visit the Armenian Church
Youth Centers operating under the auspices of the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin and the Armenian General Benevolent Union.
The entourage next traveled to the Holy Savior National Hospital, where they
were greeted by Mr. Bedros Shirinoghlu, chairman of the Pontifical Visit
Committee and a trustee of the hospital.  His Beatitude Mesrob introduced
the history of the hospital to the guests, informing them that it was
established more than 175 years ago and remains through the present day as
the largest Armenian national institution in Turkey.  His Beatitude also
noted that it was the first hospital founded in the Ottoman Empire, and
continues its mission of providing health care to the Armenian community of
the country.  The Holy Savior Hospital, in addition to providing health care
to children and adults, also operates a home for the aged and a center for
physically disabled children.
The Armenian Pontiff visited with the patients, met with the physicians and
health care staff, as well as the administrators and the trustees of the
medical center.  In the hospital’s chapel, His Holiness presided during a
requiem service offered in memory of all past benefactors of the
institution.
In his remarks, the Catholicos of All Armenians extended his words of thanks
and appreciation to the Patriarch and the trustees of the center, and noted
that the service provided by the hospital is the best expression of
Christian teaching and love.  His Holiness emphasized that every individual
is called to serve his fellow man, and that the Holy Savior Hospital,
through its humanity and philanthropy, is providing the best example of that
Christian mission of service.
The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople next escorted His Holiness Karekin
II and the entourage on a tour of the hospital’s museum, following which the
guests were hosted to a lunch by the trustees. 
In the afternoon, the Pontiff of All Armenians visited the Church of St.
Gevork in Samatia, which until the year 1641, had been the headquarters of
the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.  His Holiness Karekin II
blessed the countless Armenians who had gathered to see him and kiss his
holy right hand, and extended his words of love and encouragement to the
faithful.  The Catholicos of All Armenians also visited the historic
Sahakian National Academy, which is located adjacent to the church, and met
with the students, teachers and administrators of the institution.
##
–Boundary_(ID_gxZEsHcPi+zscwLiv JEQlw)–

Selected Armenian Films Festival to Be Held in Tokyo
PanARMENIAN.Net
24.06.2006 13:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ August 11, 12 and 19 Selected Armenian Films Festival
will be held in Tokyo. Return to Promised Land, Documentalist by
Harutyun Khchatryan, I Found Us, God by Vigen Chaldranyan, Mariam by
Edgar Baghdasaryan, Nahapet by Henrik Malyan, the Color of Grenade
by Sergey Paradjanov and Calendar by Atom Egoyan will be screened. A
specially formed Executive Committee in cooperation with Association
of Armenia-Japan Friendship, Spling, Eurospace and Stenfrans cultural
center has organized the Festival.
The Association of Armenia-Japan Friendship is founded in 1991 with
the goal of stimulating mutual understanding between two peoples,
exchange of information, organization of exhibitions and festivals
via tourist group visits. The Association is publishing information
brochures Ararat and Araks, the Azg reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Kocharian: Armenia Will Keep Participating in Karabakh Talks
PanARMENIAN.Net
24.06.2006 13:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia will continue its participation in the talks
over settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict Armenian President
Robert Kocharian stated on Friday in Minsk at a full composition
session of the CSTO Council of Collective Security. “It was suggested
at the latest Bucharest meeting to take the project on the issue, drawn
by the mediators, as the basis, however Azerbaijan did not approve
of the project and the talks will continue,” the President said.
Robert Kocharian noted “the dynamical development of military and
technical cooperation within the CSTO framework.” At that, in his
words, Armenia “considers necessary to specify the parameters of the
mechanisms of provision of military and technical assistance to CSTO
members in case of external aggression.” The President also urged to
refrain from steps, “which may run counter to interests of the CSTO
member states,” reports Interfax.

Ljubljana ready to Create Conditions for Talks of Armenian and Azeri Leaders
PanARMENIAN.Net
24.06.2006 14:21 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The head and people of Slovenia “support the
position of Azerbaijan in the process of settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, said Borut Megusar, Consul of Slovenia in Azerbaijan. Megusar
expressed his regret that during the chairmanship of Slovenia in OSCE
in 2005, it wasn’t achieved to obtain a positive result related to
the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, it doesn’t mean
that Slovenia has no concerns about the conflict, Megusar remarked.
“I always inform the head of Slovenia about the process happening
around this conflict. Official Ljubljana attentively follows the
process of solution of the conflict,” Megusar emphasized. According
to him, Ljubljana is ready to create a situation for the continuation
of talks between the heads of conflict sides. Then, some decision
may be found on the question, told Megusar, Trend reports.