PRESS OFFICE
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. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
July 31, 2006
___________________
KHRIMIAN LYCEUM STUDENTS IN NEW YORK CITY GRADUATE
Six young Armenians were celebrated in New York City’s St. Vartan Cathedral
on June 10, 2006, after they completed the six-year course of study that
makes up the Khrimian Lyceum program of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern).
The graduating students were: Armen Acopian, Ani Ardzivian, Haig Halajian,
Nareg Haviters, Lori Khrimian, and Vatche Zohrabian. They had completed six
years of monthly classes focused on the Armenian language, religion,
history, and culture. They had also participated in classes teaching
Armenian dance, music, theater, and fine arts.
Janet Demirozu, the teacher for the graduating class, spoke during the
graduation service about the quality of the students’s characters. She has
known some of them since they were 4 or 5 years old. She thanked the
students’ parents for recognizing the importance of sharing our Armenian
culture.
The program is designed to instill a sense of Armenian pride in students, as
well as to give them skills needed to be leaders in the Armenian community.
The graduates will be taking their Armenian heritage to college this fall,
to schools such as New York University, Villanova, Boston University, and
Columbia.
Gilda Buchakjian-Kupelian, coordinator of Armenian studies for the Diocese,
oversees the Khrimian Lyceum program. She spoke to the graduates and their
families about what constitutes the Armenian identity and the importance of
imparting it to the next generation.
“It has been transmitted to us without interruption and under dire
circumstances,” she said. “We have no right to treat it carelessly. We
need to prioritize the instruction of the Armenian language, use our
language, be actively involved in the Armenian community and hold the
Armenian torch with pride.”
The graduation services were officiated by Archbishop Yeghise Gizirian and
Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of the cathedral. In speaking to the graduates,
Archbishop Gizirian focused on the importance of education.
“Next to the Armenian Church, the Armenian school has been the mediator and
the fort that has sustained the Armenian nation over the years,” he said,
expressing joy at seeing young people express themselves through farewell
messages delivered in fluent Armenian.
The day also included an Azkatroshm service, which recognized students who
have completed the first three years of the Khrimian Lyceum program. This
year, they were: Nirva Aydin, Rosine Ghichlian, Nairi Hartounian, Shant
Keskinyan.
The Azkatroshm ceremonies were conducted by Shakeh Kadehjian. The service
began with the singing of “Oorakh Ler” by Maro Partamian, accompanied by
Florence Avakian on the organ.
The graduates were each presented with a silver medal depicting the Armenian
cross, a map of Armenia, and an image of Ararat, which was graciously
provided by Hampar and Tamar Kaiserian.
A reception in the Diocesan Center’s Vartan Hall followed the services.
Students were presented with a yearbook containing their writing and
artwork.
The Khrimian Lyceum is a six-year program for graduates of local parish
Armenian schools. Studies focus on Armenian language, religion, history,
and culture, as well as developing leadership skills and a sense of
community pride. The program is offered in both New York City and Boston.
For more information on this program, contact Gilda Buchakjian-Kupelian,
coordinator of Armenian studies for the Diocese, via e-mail at
[email protected] or by calling (212) 686-0710 ext. 48.
— 7/31/06
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): The 2006 Khrimian Lyceum students sit in the front pew
of New York City’s St. Vartan Cathedral during the graduation service on
June 10.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Teacher Shakeh Kadehjian leads students from the
Khrimian Lyceum in a reading during its Azkatroshm ceremony marking the
completion of three years of the six-year program.
PHOTO CAPTION (3): Graduates and teachers with Archbishop Yeghise Gizirian
and Fr. Mardiros Chevian at the St. Vartan Cathedral following the
graduation service on June 10.
PHOTO CAPTION (4): Students honored during the Azkatroshm ceremony with
their teachers, Archbishop Yeghise Gizirian, and Fr. Mardiros Chevian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
07/31/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1. ARF Bureau Issues Announcement on Lebanon Crisis 2. Bryza Says Karabakh Peace Possible After 2006 3. Turkish Opposition Supports Cross-border Operation 1. ARF Bureau Issues Announcement on Lebanon Crisis YEREVAN--The Bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation issued an announcement Monday urging all Armenians to actively participate in the relief efforts for Lebanon and called for an immediate cease-fire, especially in light of the civilian death toll following the Israeli bombing of a shelter in the city of Qana. Below is the translated text of the announcement: The Armenian Revolutionary Federation has been following the developments of the last three weeks in the Middle East with grave concern, and condemns the Israeli bombing of Lebanon's vital infrastructures and people, the most heinous of which was the bombing of a shelter in Qana. The ARF also is disappointed in the international community, especially the leading world powers and the UN Security Council for their inability to establish an immediate and complete cease-fire. The international community cannot allow the current bloody violence to continue against Lebanon, all the while abusing all international norms and depriving the people of Lebanon of from their fundamental right to life and property. The continuous Israeli bombing campaign already has dealt a severe blow to the vital mechanisms of the country's vital infrastructure and has turned significant portions of the population into refugees, a large number of whom have already left the country. O and others have sought refuge in governmental and non-governmental institutions. The intensifying and immediate need for relief for refugees is far beyond Lebanon's means and requires the immediate and complete rallying of the international community. The Lebanese-Armenian communityalthough away from the epicenter of military activitiesonce again is bearing the brunt of the ramifications of this acrimonious crisis. Yet again and despite its modest means, our community in Lebanon, which has come together around its political parties, has extended a helping hand to tend to the tremendous needs of the refugee population. A special committee comprised of representatives from Armenian organizations has taken on the immediate care and needs of the thousands of refugees who have sought shelter in Armenian-populated areas. On a daily basis the committee is immersed in the relief this effort, thus enabling helping all governmental and organizational relief projects to take shape. The situation resulting from this military campaign has created new challenges for our people. It is imperative for our community in Lebanon to be able to successfully tackle future issues related to the economic stability of Armenian-populated areas, as well as the security and safety of educational and other institutions. All Armenian institutions and factions have a decisive role to play in this aspecteffort. A movement to assist the victims of Lebanon has already begun in the Diaspora, and the government of Armenia has already sent the first phase of its relief shipment to that country. We call on all Armenians, especially our corps of affiliate organizations, to support Lebanese relief efforts in all countries. Lebanon often has served as a vital safe haven for the Armenian people. Today, the people of Lebanon need our moral and financial assistance. 2. Bryza Says Karabakh Peace Possible After 2006 YEREVAN, STEPANAKERT, BAKU (RFE/RL, Armenpress)--The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will not necessarily remain unresolved in the immediate future if Armenia and Azerbaijan fail to hammer out a framework peace accord this year, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza said on Saturday. He insisted that elections due in the two countries in 2007 and 2008 will not be an insurmountable obstacle to a compromise solution, reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "I think it's possible to work through an election season and still make progress," Bryza said in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL. "It's up to the [Armenian and Azeri] presidents as to whether or not they have enough good will and political courage to do so. [Their failure to cut a deal in 2006] doesn't have to be the end of the process. It's just easier, much easier, if we get the heavy lifting done now." Bryza said he still hopes that Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian will iron out their differences in the coming months on the most recent peace proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group. "Of course I'm still hopeful," he said. "If I weren't hopeful, why would I even want to put in an effort? This isn't about theater, it's about results." Bryza was speaking in Yerevan after what he described as "encouraging" talks with Kocharian that marked the start of his first tour of the conflict zone since his appointment as US co-chair of the Minsk Group. In two subsequent statements, the mediating group's American, French and Russian co-chairs indicated their frustration with the fiasco. They said they will initiate no more Armenian-Azeri talks until the two sides display greater commitment to a lasting peace. Bryza, who proceeded to Stepanakert Saturday, met with Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Arkady Ghoukassian, reported Armenpress news agency. Following the meeting, Ghoukassian said "undoubtedly, one of the principal issues of our meeting was the participation of Nagorno Karabakh in the negotiations, and I think that Mr. Bryza understands that without Nagorno Karabakh the conflict cannot be settled." He added that he believes that all mediators also realize the necessity for Karabakh to participate in the peace talks. Ghoukassian noted that without visiting Karabakh and getting acquainted with the situation on the ground, the newly-appointed co-chair would not be able to completely grasp the situation in the region. "I did not have major expectations from Mr. Bryza's visit as I knew that he would not be putting forth new proposals, but was here to listen to us. In this respect my expectations have been justified because we could entirely present our positions," Ghoukassian said. He also discussed the fact that mediators had not visited Karabakh for a long time, explaining that he had received several invitations to meet with negotiators in Yerevan, but "I think that it would be right to hold such meetings in Stepanakert," Ghoukassian explained. "The ideas, which were to be specified, coordinated and discussed for a long time, have been articulated," said Karabakh Foreign Minister Georgi Petrossian, who participated in the meeting. "Mr. Bryza is energetic enough to make up his mind constructively," the minister said. After the meeting Bryza refused to comment on the meeting noting at the same time that it was held in a positive and constructive atmosphere. "It is just a familiarizing visit and I have not arrived here to present any new suggestions. I have arrived here to get acquainted with your viewpoints and suggestions," Bryza said. Noting that it would be wrong to have any expectations from the visit, Matthew Bryza also said that after the regional visit he will leave for Paris to discuss all approaches and suggestions with other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, reported the Armenpress news agency. Bryza, who is apparently the most high-ranking US official to ever visit Karabakh, appeared to downplay the Stepanakert government's objections, implying that it is Baku and Yerevan that have final say in the peace process. "It's really up to Presidents Kocharian and Aliyev whether or not they will agree to the formula," he said. "We are just waiting for a sign from the presidents as to whether or not they would like to restart a formal process," he added. Bryza said he is visiting the region to get "some more guidance from the presidents themselves to determine how they would like to take the process further." He said he was assured by Kocharian that the Minsk Group plan is essentially acceptable to Yerevan, reported RFE/RL. "I enjoyed hearing his account of where things stand and how we got here," he said. "I felt a constructive, candid attitude on his part. He was very open. And he helped me think through what sort of recommendations I might bring to my fellow co-chairs." Asked whether he found the kind of "political will" for compromise which was demanded by the mediators, Bryza replied: "I think there is political will here definitely to keep the process going. There have been public statements that the [Minsk Group's proposed] framework, the principles are agreeable [for Armenia]. "What's never clear is whether or not there is enough will on both sides to eliminate or to resolve the distance that still stands between them. But I will just say I feel encouraged after today's discussions." Armenian officials have claimed implicitly that the two rounds of negotiations between Kocharian and Aliyev this year collapsed because the latter backtracked on his earlier acceptance of the key principles of the peace plan that were officially disclosed by the Minsk Group co-chairs last month. Bryza effectively denied this and was careful not to blame any of the parties for the deadlock, saying that they both want to "enact some changes to the ideas that are on the table." "The principles that are on the table don't constitute an agreement," argued the US administration official. "They are principles, suggestions. So it's not possible for anyone to walk away from an agreement, if there isn't an agreement." At the heart of those principles is the idea of holding a referendum on Karabakh's status after the liberation of most of the Armenian-occupied districts in Azerbaijan proper surrounding the disputed enclave. Bryza confirmed that the mediators believe the status should be decided by the "people of Karabakh" "But the question is how do you define the people of Karabakh? And there were residents there in 1988 who wish to participate," he added in a clear reference to the region's displaced Azeri minority. "All these things have still to be worked out as part of a broad package." Following Bryza's visit to Baku, Aliyev made a speech on AzTV saying, "neither today nor tomorrow, or under any conditions, Azerbaijan will agree to the separation of Nagorno Karabakh," reported Armenpress. Aliyev said that the issue of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan cannot become a subject for the discussion at the negotiations. "Azerbaijan will not agree to the conditions which imply separation of Nagorno Karabakh," Aliyev stressed. Other Azeri officials have repeatedly stated in recent weeks that they will never accept any deal that could legitimize Karabakh's secession from Azerbaijan. Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov was quoted by the Day.az news service earlier this week as indicating that Baku is only ready to let the Karabakh Armenians decide the extent of their autonomy within Azerbaijan. "The principle of self-determination does not mean a breach of territorial integrity," Mammadyarov said. Some of them warned earlier that failure to do so before the end of this year would keep the peace process deadlocked for at least three more years. They pointed to parliamentary and presidential elections due in Armenia in 2007 and 2008 respectively and an Azeri presidential ballot scheduled for 2008. Many observers believe that it will be even more difficult for each side to make painful concessions to the other in the run-up to the polls. But in an indication of the mediators' fading hopes for 2006, Bryza insisted that a Karabakh settlement will be feasible even during the election period. "I don't necessarily feel that there needs to be a hard deadline on the peace process," he said. "It's better if we have a sense of what compromises might be suggested before other political events [in Armenia and Azerbaijan] move forward. But it doesn't have to be by the end of this year." "I would argue that the elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan don't pose an obstacle to reaching an agreement," continued the US mediator. "They just pose an additional complicating factor. It's up to the presidents to guide their populations or societies, their voters in whatever direction they wish: a) to win the vote for themselves and their political parties, but b) to build support for the agreement. "If the presidents succeed, with our help as mediators, in finalizing and eliminating the final differences with regard to this framework agreement and if they come up with an agreement that's mutually acceptable, that should be a plus in an election. That's a huge achievement that should actually help political leaders and their parties to win votes. So it could be useful to have elections. The is question is, though, will the presidents have decided to take these tough decisions in time?" 3. Turkish Opposition Supports Cross-border Operation ANKARA (Zaman)--Opposition parties in the parliament have given their full support to the Turkish cabinet's statement that 'Turkey is going to make full use of its international rights to prevent terrorist attacks against the country,' Zaman Daily reports. The Republican People's Party (CHP) said the decision may even be called a belated one, while the True Path Party (DYP) said they would fully support the government in a "cross-border operation." The Motherland Party said Turkey should risk everything for the unity of the country. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) stated Turkey's legitimate defense right is fully supported in international law, while the Great Union Party (BBP) announced Turkey should enter northern Iraq and eradicate terrorism by implementing permanent measures. CHP's Parliamentary Group Deputy Leader Ali Topuz held a news conference at the parliament and gave his assessment on the stance the government has taken to combat terrorism. Citing that Turkey does not need permission from other countries to implement counter-terrorism offensives, Topuz said, "Turkey has the right, and is even obliged to eradicate terrorism at its source." Topuz asked the government not to follow the "suggestions intended to distract the nation," which are likely to come from the United States and Iraq, and warned that if the government followed such suggestions and its failure to carry out defense operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), would result in a greater situation. In a news conference held at the party's headquarters, Motherland Party leader Erkan Mumcu announced his party's support for the notion of a cross-border operation. Mumcu called on the Parliament to convene an extraordinary session and issue a "joint declaration" on the issue. Mumcu asked the government to employ good judgment, and said Turkey should show its determination to use its legitimate rights within the framework of international law when its national security is in danger of being compromised. Addressing members of the press outside the parliament building in Ankara, DYP leader Mehmet Agar stressed that Turkey may implement its rights under international law if diplomatic efforts prove fruitless. Asking the government to be courageous, Agar said, "Our opposition will not go beyond Habur. Counter-terrorism is a totally national concept and we fully support the government if Turkey is to take a step in this direction." MHP leader Devlet Bahceli issued a written statement saying that terrorist actions aimed at compromising the country's security and national unity have started to escalate to a dangerous level. Bahceli pointed out all the necessary measures must be taken for an effective struggle against terrorism and political divisiveness, as he called for a total mobilization to ensure this. BBP leader Muhsin Yazicioglu gave an assessment on the issue during a visit to the office of the Saglik-Is (Trade Union for Health). Yazicioglu also said that Turkey should launch a cross-border operation, adding that those supporting terrorism should be considered "the enemy" no matter where they are in the world and they should be punished. Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer, in a written statement, emphasized the right to conduct a cross-border operation is in Turkey's hand. Sezer said no country can solve its problems with the help of other countries, adding that Turkey should show that establishing security beyond its borders is its own decision. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

California Courier Online, August 3, 2006
1 – Commentary
Turkish Troops Shouldn’t Take Part
In Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
2 – Garo H. Armen Named Recipient of Sabin
Vaccine Institute’s Humanitarian Award
3 – Amirian Brothers Host Aug. 5 Mixer
For Special Needs Children in Gavar
4 – Primate Relieves
Deacon Babajanyan
From All Duties
5 – Iran’s Teymourian to Play For
English Premiere League Team
6 – Chief Steve Simonian Honored
By L.A. County Supervisors
************************************** ************************************
1 – Commentary
Turkish Troops Shouldn’t Take Part
In Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
In the past three weeks, hundreds of innocent men, women and children have
been killed and thousands injured on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
While the bulk of the blame for the fighting falls on the warring parties, the
United States, as the only superpower, has its share of responsibility in
this bloody affair.
The disastrous situation in the Middle East is about to get even worse,
thanks to officials in Washington who have other agendas than bringing peace to the
region. David Ignatius revealed in his July 21 article in the Washington Post
that the Bush administration was considering the deployment of a
multinational “stabilization force” in southern Lebanon, composed of troopsfrom Turkey
and several other countries. Unlike a traditional United Nations peacekeeping
force, this would be a robust peace-enforcement unit that would be ready to
shoot it out with Hezbollah fighters or anyone else in their way.
The United States and Britain, with their forces bogged down in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and unwelcome in Lebanon due to their tendentious approach to the
Middle East conflict, are looking for others to die in place of their own
soldiers. The Turkish Daily News quoted a Washington analyst stating that sending
Turkish troops to Lebanon “involves a major risk of serious casualties while
doing somebody else’s work.”
Turkish leaders, on the other hand, despite the obvious dangers posed by such
an engagement, are eager to send thousands of their soldiers to the South of
Lebanon, not to bring peace, but to extend their country’s influence far
beyond their borders. Turks know that, up until a century ago, most neighboring
countries were a part of the Ottoman Empire. Unfortunately for the Turks and
their Washington cohorts, the population of these countries also remembers that
infamous Empire, but not so fondly. In addition to Armenians, the ancestorsof
the inhabitants of today’s Lebanon, be they Syrians, Lebanese, Palestiniansor
Kurds suffered untold deprivations and outright massacres under the repressive
Ottoman regime.
Of particular concern is the appearance of Turkish troops in a country witha
sizable Armenian population, the direct descendants of the 1.5 million
Armenians massacred and expelled during the 1915 Genocide. In the 1970’s and 80’s
there were scores of attacks by young Lebanese Armenians against Turkish
diplomats in Lebanon and elsewhere. Bringing thousands of Turkish troops inthe
proximity of a large Armenian community for the first time since 1915 contains all
the ingredients of a bloody clash in the making. In the process of trying to
quell one conflict, the Bush administration is sowing the seeds of future new
confrontations.
In addition, most Arabs do not look too kindly at the strategic alliance
between Israel and Turkey. These two countries along with the United States
conduct periodic joint military exercises.
Another complicating factor is that the Turkish soldiers and people in
southern Lebanon belong to two different, often rival Islamic sects. The Turks are
Sunni, while the Hezbollah fighters and their followers are Shia.
Fortunately, not everyone in Turkey is as eager as Prime Minister Recep Tayyp
Erdogan to send Turkish soldiers to southern Lebanon. Several opposition
leaders were quoted as saying that Turkey should not enter “such a swamp.”
An international force is probably necessary to maintain the peace on the
Lebanese-Israeli border, but does it have to include a Turkish contingent? There
are plenty of other countries that could send troops to Lebanon without
risking a confrontation with the local population. If the United States andIsrael
are so enamored with Turkish soldiers, they can station them on the Israeli,
rather than the Lebanese side of the border!
As there are several Armenians in the Lebanese cabinet and parliament, they
should ask their government to reject the participation of Turkish troops in
the proposed multinational force. Such a force cannot be sent without the
approval of the Lebanese authorities. When Turkey offered to contribute troops to
the coalition in Iraq, the Iraqi government, despite pressure from Washington,
refused to accept them, in order to avoid clashes between Turkish soldiers and
Iraqi Kurds.
It is simply unacceptable that in the pursuit of their political agendas, the
neo-cons in Washington encourage sending Turkish troops to Lebanon. The
international community should not allow such irresponsible action that would
perpetuate the conflict in the Middle East rather than bring peace and stability to
the region.
****************************************** ********************************
2 – Garo H. Armen Named Recipient of Sabin
Vaccine Institute’s Humanitarian Award
NEW YORK, NY (Science Letter) – Antigenics Inc., Chairman and CEO Garo H.
Armen was named the 2006 recipient of the Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Humanitarian
Award.
The Albert B. Sabin Annual Awards recognize extraordinary figures in
biotechnology, medical research and medical reporting, and were celebrated at a gala,
themed “Celebrating Hope for a Healthier World,” in New York City.
“In each case, these extraordinary individuals didn’t settle for high
achievement in just one area, but they broadened their horizons and multiplied their
effect,” said H. R. Shepherd, DSc, chairman of the Sabin Vaccine Institute.
“They each found new ways to further medical science, reaching out to help a
greater cross-section of humanity.”
Armen cofounded Antigenics in 1994 with Pramod K. Srivastava, PhD. Armen is
also the founder and chairman of the Children of Armenia Fund, a charitable
organization established in 2000 that is dedicated to the positive development of
the children and youth of Armenia.
>From mid-2002 through 2004, Armen also served as chairman of the board of
directors of the pharmaceutical company Elan Corp. He received a PhD in physical
chemistry from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.
************************************************** ***********************
3 – Amirian Brothers Host Aug. 5 Mixer
For Special Needs Children in Gavar
GLENDALE – A wine & cheese mixer will be held Aug. 5 in Glendale, 4 to 7
p.m., to acquaint guests about the Gavar Special School for children in Armenia.
Jason and Tera Sprague, current Peace Corps volunteers living in Gavar will
give a short presentation about the school which was built in 1976. The event
is hosted by brothers Robert and Avo Amirian, of Glendale.
With continued help and support, Gavar Special School hopes to become a
model school for the education and integration of special needs children
throughout Armenia. However, this change and improvement needs a broad base of
involvement from many people.
Special needs children in rural Armenia with physical and mental handicaps
gain access to education through the Gavar Special School, located in the
Gegharkunik region of Armenia, the poorest of the regions in Armenia. Thisvery
rural area, with Lake Sevan at its center, accounts for approximately 40% of
Armenia’s land. The region has been affected by the Karabagh conflict with
Azerbaijan, taking in thousands of refugees. Special needs children, in particular,
face hardship.
Due to social stigma, families with physically or mentally handicapped
children frequently hide these children away. Subsequently, a large percentage of
these children receive no education or social interaction. In Gegharkunik
alone, there are an estimated 650 special needs children of which only 20% are
attending any school.
Gavar Special School has partnered with the Orion Philanthropic Center of
Newport Beach, Calif., which gives donors the ability to give a tax deductible
donation to the school.
A documentary film illustrating the challenges, successes, needs and vision
for special education in Gegharkunik through Gavar Special School has been
produced in Armenian and English with the help of St. James Catholic Churchin
Cazenovia, New York and Mano Handian of Pasadena, Calif. This DVD is free to. To
request a copy, visit GavarSpecialSchool.org.
The improvement of Gavar Special School has two branches. The first branch
is improvement of the physical structure of the school and its grounds. The
second branch is improvement of teaching methods to shift from an outdated
education style to a western model.
Assistance from individuals such as, civic groups, Armenian Diaspora
organizations and international aid organizations, has helped change and improvements
begin to be realized.
Information and RSVP can be given by calling Robert Amirian at 818.482.5516.
************************************ **************************************
4 -. Primate Relieves
Deacon Babajanyan
From All Duties
BURBANK, Calif. – Western Diocese Primate, Archbishop Hovnan Derderian has
relieved Deacon Arman Babajanyan from all duties and privileges associated with
the Diaconate, the Western Diocese announced in a statement released last week.
The Western Diocese announcement explains that the Armenia-born Babajanyan,
had evaded military service in the homeland and “had forged the seal of the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, as well as the signature” of Primate Derderian.
“In light of the=80¦dishonorable acts on the past of Mr. Babajanyan which brings
shame to the Diaconate,” the Western Diocese statement noted, the Primate has
relieved Babajanyan from his duties.
********’******************************** *********************************
5 – Iran’s Teymourian to Play For
English Premiere League Team
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
TEHRAN, Iran – Midfielder Andranik Teymourian – the only Christian on an
otherwise Muslim national team – is moving to English Premier League club Bolton
Wanderers, the ISNA news agency reported Wednesday.
The 23-year old Iranian-Armenian, widely known as Ando, will leave the Abu
Moslem club in Mashad, northeastern Iran, and play in England next season, ISNA
said.
Ando was among his side’s best at this year’s World Cup, where Iran lost two
games and drew one, dropping out in the group stage.
ISNA said Abu Moslem president Nasser Shafaq confirmed the transfer and said
that the Bolton manager would come to Iran next week to finalize the contact.
After Karim Baqeri, who played for Charlton Athletic in the 2000- 2001
season, Ando would be the second Iranian to play in the Premier League.
He was the second Iranian-Armenian to play for Iran in a World Cup final
round.
In 1978, defender Andranik Eskandarian played at the World Cup in Argentina.
He was signed by New York Cosmos to play with football legends such as Franz
Beckenbauer and Pele.
******************************************** ******************************
6 – Chief Steve Simonian Honored by L.A. County Supervisors
LOS ANGELES – Retiring as Chief of the Bureau of Investigations for the L.A.
County District Attorney’s Office, Steve Simonian received a scroll from the
L.A. County presented by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich at the Board of
Supervisors meeting on July 25.
Chief Simonian began his career as a police officer for the City of
Montebello in 1966, moving up the ranks until his appointment to Chief of Police in
1989. He retired from the Montebello Police Department in 1998 and continued his
outstanding record of public service in the City of La Habra where he
currently serves as Mayor.
In 2000, Simonian was selected by District Attorney Steve Cooley to serve as
the Chief of the Bureau of Investigations for the Los Angeles County District
Attorney’s Office. In 2006, he received a lifetime achievement award from the
Peace Officers Association of Los Angeles County, the Association of Los
Angeles Deputy Sheriffs Lifetime Achievement Award, and an honorary membership in
the Shomrin Society.
***************************************** *********************************
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authorship.

Middle East
By L. Carl Brown
>From Foreign Affairs, May/June 2006
The Great Game of Genocide: Imperialism, Nationalism, and the
Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians. Donald Bloxham. : Oxford
University Press, 2005, 344 pp.$35.00
The Great Game of Genocide: Imperialism, Nationalism, and the
Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians
Donald Bloxham
Oxford University Press, 2005, 344pp., $35.00
The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide
Guenter Lewy
University of Utah Press, 2005, 356pp., $24.95
During World War I, the Ottoman decision to deport Armenians out of
the war zone in eastern Anatolia set in motion a massacre that
produced casualties probably numbering well over a million. As much as
40 percent of the prewar Armenian population in Anatolia may have been
destroyed, a destruction proportionally far greater than that of any
other people in the terrible carnage that was World War I. Was this a
premeditated plan to annihilate the Armenian population? Was it
genocide? The authors of both these books give unstinting attention to
the horrors that occurred, but they differ in their judgments about
whether the massacres were premeditated and about the Ottoman role.
Lewy sifts the available documentation and the charges and
countercharges of scholars to decide that although the Ottoman
government bears indirect responsibility for overreacting to the
possible security threat Armenians posed and for mishandling the
deportation, there was no plan to eliminate the Armenians; it was not
genocide. To Bloxham, it clearly was. He offers a broad historical
account of Armenian relations with the Ottoman Empire leading up to
the 1915 deportation orders and the ensuing massacre. Thereafter, he
weighs the “international response and responsibility” in this case of
genocide in the years since. A penultimate chapter offers a
penetrating review of official and unofficial U.S. responses from the
time the massacres were taking place to the present.

Naregatsi Art Institute
Vartanants St. 16/1
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel: 58-01-05
E-mail:
Nareg Seferian, Project Manager at [email protected] in Armenia
Seta Iskandarian at [email protected] in the US
PRESS RELEASE
August 1, 2006
The Naregatsi Art Institute (NAI) is proud to announce it has become
the Armenian national partner for the International Child Art
Foundation?s (ICAF) Third Arts Olympiad in Washington, D.C., the
world?s largest and most prestigious art competition for children aged
eight to twelve. The International Arts Olympiad involves three
million children in over 100 countries. Each national partner holds a
National Arts Olympiad, where the winning young artists represent
their countries during the week long festival and exhibition in
Washington, D.C. in June of 2007.
NAI has been chosen to be the national partner due to its dynamic and
growing presence in the art world of Armenia. NAI is dedicated to
serving Armenia?s existing cultural heritage through supporting
Armenian contemporary artists and creating a forum in which the spirit
of art and the common voice can resonate freely. Through its various
projects for children, NAI sees the artistic development of the
children of Armenia as an investment in the artists of tomorrow.
NAI invites all schools, art programs, orphanages, NGOs for children,
and community organizations throughout Armenia to participate in the
Armenian Children?s Arts Olympiad 2006. This free program for children
aged eight to twelve begins with a suggested lesson plan for teachers
in order to help students create paintings and drawings on the theme
?My Favorite Sport?.
Each school or organization may submit up to three artworks created by
their students by the deadline of October 5th, 2006. The Naregatsi
Art Institute?s independent and distinguished panel of judges will
choose the 50 best entries for an art exhibition in October, 2006,
when the 1st place winner will be announced.

Divided by a common language
story/0,,1830481,00.html
The internet is a global revolution in communication – as long as you use
letters from the western alphabet. Kieren McCarthy on the growing pressure
for a net that recognises Asian, Arabic and Hindi characters, too
Thursday July 27, 2006
The Guardian
According to Kaled Fattal, “People say the net works, but it only works for
those communities whose native language is Latin-based. The rest of the
world is totally isolated.” Fattal speaks perfect English but as chairman
and chief executive of the Multilingual Internet Names Consortium (MINC),
and an Arab, he knows that the majority of the world’s population does not.
And he knows that this means the internet is a bewildering and often
incomprehensible place for the billions of people who live east of Greece.
Despite everything you may have heard, the global resource we all know as
the internet is not global at all. Since you are reading this article in
English you probably won’t have noticed, but if your first language was
Chinese, Arabic, Hindi or Tamil, you would know very different. At most
websites you visit you will be scrabbling to find a link to a translated
version in your language, seemingly hidden amid tracts of baffling text.
Even getting to a website in the first place requires that you master the
western alphabet – have you ever tried to type “.com” in Chinese letters?
If you think this situation needn’t worry you as an English speaker, think
again. At a meeting in the House of Commons this month, a number of
prominent MPs and industry experts listed internationalised domain names
(IDNs) as one of the internet’s most pressing priorities. In June, at a
meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann)
in Marrakech, the “father of the internet” himself, Vint Cerf, highlighted
the introduction of IDNs as vital for the future of the net.
Why the urgency? Because a number of companies – and even countries – that
are frustrated by years of delays have started offering the internet in
their own languages by working outside the existing domain name system
(DNS).
The DNS is the internet’s global directory and links particular websites to
particular computers, so if you type in, say, “guardian.co.uk”, no matter
where you are on the internet you always end up at the same website. The
problem is that, at the moment, the DNS works only with western languages.
The logic of maintaining a single global directory has so far prevented
people from building and using a different system that includes their
language, but in the past few years there has been such a build-up in demand
from millions of new internet users that the previous agreements are
starting to unravel and risk causing a split in the internet itself.
If that were to happen, the web address you type in could suddenly end up at
an entirely different website depending on where in the world you are, or
which ISP you use. You may want to buy a book from Amazon.com but find that
you end up at a Russian website all about the world’s longest river. Email
sent to you could end up with someone you don’t know in Korea.
The internet community received a scare in February when China announced it
had created three new top-level domains that were the Chinese equivalents of
“.com”, “.net” and “.china”. If China had decided to break away from the
global internet,others would certainly have soon followed. There was a huge
wave of relief when the Chinese government explained that it had made the
new domains available only within China itself. But the fact that experts
didn’t doubt that China was capable of and willing to separate from the
global internet was a wake-up call in itself.
And it’s not just China. Israel has set up its own internal system for
domains in Hebrew. Korea has done the same in its language – as has Iran,
Syria and Japan.
But as the world grows smaller, these countries are no longer prepared to
stick with their add-on systems, accessible only when they are in their own
country. They want to register a domain name that is accessible across the
world in the same way that western domains have been from day one.
At a May meeting of the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva,
however, the western world finally woke up. MINC’s Fattal demonstrated a
prototype system that worked with the existing internet but also allowed new
languages to be added to the global system.
“We have found a way of connecting these islands [of different-language
networks] and also connecting to the global internet,” Fattal explains.
“With this approach, we can leave the current DNS untouched and safe while
helping coordinate between other countries in the namespace. In other words,
now there’s a choice.”
In Fattal’s presentation, suddenly the internet that we all understand as
the global internet today was represented as the “ASCII ‘English’ internet”,
which took its place alongside the Arabic internet, Persian internet,
Chinese internet, Indian internet, Korean internet and so on.
To understand how we have reached the position where there is a real risk of
the internet fragmenting, you need only review the term ASCII itself. It
stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange and it is the
code devised to enable computers to represent and process all the characters
in the English alphabet (a through to z, plus 0 to 9 and the various symbols
you get on your keyboard such as % and &).
It was first developed in 1967 and written into the internet’s foundations
by American scientists. It is now so hardwired into the net that the only
way to include other characters such as accents on letters, or Chinese or
Arabic script, is to use complex combinations of letters that don’t exist in
English words in order to represent them.
Linguists have created long tables to represent all the possible
combinations and permutations of different languages. In the case of
internet domain names, the address is preceded by “xn--” and then an agreed
code. For example “www.rémax.com” is represented as “;.
Using this method, it suddenly becomes possible to have internet domain
names containing foreign characters, and hence foreign language domain
names.
>From the western perspective this approach was sufficient for the rest of
the world to use the internet. But the problem is that each of these domains
still has to use the existing domain system with “.com” or “.net” – suffixes
that are virtually incomprehensible to non Latin- derived language users.
The problem was initially overcome by keyboard manufacturers adding buttons
with “.com” printed on them that did nothing but add “.com” to the end of
what a user had typed. But as the number of new top-level domains has
expanded over time, this sticking plaster approach has proved unworkable.
People want their own domains in their own language, as was made clear by a
recent addition to Japan’s own internal domain name system that advertised
itself: “At last – the domain name you can spell!”
There is only one organisation that can add new top-level domains to the
existing global internet, and it is a not-for-profit company based in
California and controlled by the US government: Icann.
Icann was first approached in the year it was created – 1998 – with the aim
of introducing “internationalised domain names” into its system. But it has
yet to introduce a single one. Many members of the global internet community
have cried foul at the endless delays from a company based in the least
linguistically diverse area of the world (the US has speakers of 170
different languages, compared to 364 in Europe and 2,390 in Africa).
These accusations have only been strengthened by the fact it is American
companies that own and run the existing global domains and so have the most
to lose from new foreign-language additions. These companies not only have
disproportionate influence over Icann but have also been insisting on being
given automatic ownership rights to any foreign versions of their domains –
an argument of such corrupt logic that the very fact it is even discussed is
a major cause of concern.
On top of that, the proud and ancient cultures of Asia, Africa and the
Middle East are offended by the very suggestion that they should need to
apply to a private US company in order to have their language accepted as
legitimate on the internet.
As overall coordinator of the domain name system, Icann is caught in a bind
in which it is desperate to avoid the political repercussions of approving
or not approving languages, whilst at the same time maintaining overall
charge of the domain name system to prevent everything falling apart.
Icann has successfully delayed the day it has to make such decisions by
pointing to the complex technical issues that have to be decided first.
However, with non- Latin-language networks becoming increasingly advanced,
China making it clear it is prepared to break away from the internet, MINC
touting a solution that could bypass its processes altogether and, perhaps
most crucially, Microsoft deciding to include IDN10 technology in the new
version of Internet Explorer, out later this year, Icann has been left with
no choice but to speed up the technical side of internationalised domain
names in a bid to keep the net together.
Once that technical side is completed, it will take a masterstroke of
international political will to keep the internet as we now know it together
in one piece.
The sore reality is that global internet politics mean nothing to users in
Korea, Syria or Egypt. They simply want to be able to use this remarkable
medium in their own language, in their own way.

Turkish Assyrians Condemn Israeli Attacks
Zaman Online, Turkey
July 30 2006
The Assyrian Christian community in Turkey has condemned the ongoing
Israeli aggression against Lebanon, criticizing Israel for massacring
innocent people.
Christian Assyrian Church priest Gabriel Akyuz labeled the Israeli
attacks as savagery. Akyuz said that the attacks were not justified.
“The United Nations should immediately call for a ceasefire in
Lebanon,” he said.
“We, as men of religion, can only pray for peace,” Akyuz added.
Father Akyuz said that thousands of Assyrian in Lebanon were living
in fear due to the Israeli attacks. “Some Assyrians who fled from
Beirut found shelter with the Assyrian community in Antakya.”
“We are all members of the same family; there is no discrimination
among Muslims, Christians, Jews and Armenians. The war should be
stopped.”

Azerbaijan: Caucasus powder keg
The Halifax Chronicle Herald, Nova Scotia (Canada)
July 30 2006
Strategic country on the East-West fault line sets its sights on
better ties with the West as it prepares for new oil wealth and fresh
conflicts with neighbours
By SCOTT TAYLOR Special to The NovaScotian
‘WE WERE engaged in heavy fighting with Armenian troops near my home
village of Lachin when a mortar shell hit my friend’s trench. When I
got to him I saw that his belly had been ripped open by the shrapnel
and he was screaming in mortal pain. He died in my arms as I tried
to stuff his intestines back inside him.”
At this point the storyteller suddenly goes silent as he relives the
horror of that experience, which occurred nearly 14 years ago. Now
37, Gurhan Iliyev was just a 23-year-old sergeant in the Azerbaijan
civil defence force when war erupted with Armenia in 1992. With
the international media focused at that time on the break-up of the
former Yugoslavia and the genocide in Rwanda, this border dispute in
the Caucasus region got very little news coverage in North America.
Yet it was a brutal clash spanning 24 months that left 30,000 dead
(mostly civilians), 100,000 wounded and nearly one million people
forced from their homes. Armenia and Azerbaijan were both former
republics of the Soviet Union and were formally granted (along with
Georgia) their independence in May 1992. All three republics were
allocated the same amount of Soviet military material to form their
own independent armies.
Within the recognized borders of Azerbaijan there is a mountainous
region known as Nagorno-Karabakh where a sizeable Armenian minority
resided. Taking advantage of Azerbaijan’s post-independence political
disorder, the Armenian army entered the territory in 1992.
“We fought back, but our local defence battalion was short of heavy
weaponry – we had only two trucks and 650 men,” said Iliyev. “The
Armenians were well equipped and they were assisted by the Russian 366
Motorized Rifle Regiment. As a result, we took enormous casualties.”
After completely securing the region, the Armenians continued to push
into Azerbaijan. Ethnic Azeris were forcibly removed from the newly
occupied territories.
Having successfully ousted his political rivals, then-president Heydar
Aliyev was able to solidify his leadership of Azerbaijan in 1993 and
ordered creation of a formal army to deal with the crisis situation
in Nagorno-Karabakh. Within 12 months the Azeris had managed to train
and field six full infantry brigades, and their deployment to the
front reversed the Armenian advances.
“In one offensive in the south we were able to recapture 12 villages
occupied by the Armenians,” said Maj.-Gen. Ramiz Najafov, one of the
key architects of the fledgling Azerbaijani army. “While in the north
we were able to destroy an entire Armenian regiment in just three
days of heavy fighting.”
The campaign became a stalemate, and a ceasefire was signed in 1994.
After the ceasefire, Armenian forces fortified their positions in the
occupied Azerbaijani territories; the Azeris built trenches around
the disputed region and the root causes for the conflict remained
unresolved. What had been a little-regarded war would soon become an
almost completely forgotten, but still simmering, flashpoint.
My discussion with Gurhan Iliyev took place at a pleasant outdoor
restaurant close to the train station in Saatly, southern Azerbaijan.
In the company of two other Canadian journalists and escorted by
officials from the foreign ministry, we had been brought to the city
to observe firsthand the ongoing plight of the nearly 800,000 Azeris
who were forcibly displaced during the 1992-94 war.
Across the tracks from this restaurant is a four-kilometre stretch
of railway boxcars, which serve as temporary homes for some 2,000
Azeri internally displaced persons.
There is minimal privacy because on average, two families share a
single boxcar. Even after 14 years of continuous residence, there
are few comforts.
“Every (displaced person) is entitled to a monthly ration, which
includes flour, rice, sugar and oil,” said Senan Huseynov, the
Azerbaijani director for refugees. “On top of that they receive an
allowance of 30,000 manats ($8 Cdn) per month to purchase meat and
other foodstuffs.”
As well the Saatly boxcar compound we visited a camp of crudely
constructed mud brick houses, home to about 10,000. The standard
layout for these shelters is three tiny rooms totalling 240 square
feet of space and housing up to seven people. The luckiest of the
refugees are now being relocated into custom-built compounds complete
with community centres and medical clinics.
These new housing developments are still intended to be temporary.
The displaced Azeris remain in virtual limbo – pawns in a political
process that has been bogged down for 12 years.
When the 1994 ceasefire was first brokered, the Organization of
Security and Co-operation in Europe established the Minsk Group to
oversee and monitor the agreements. To date the United Nations has
passed a total of four resolutions calling upon the Armenians to
withdraw their military from the occupied territories as a first step
to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh situation.
That was supposed to be followed by the resettlement of the displaced
people into their former homes.
With no threat of any international military force being deployed to
enforce these resolutions, the Armenians have refused to pull back
their forces.
Fact-finding missions and the security organization continually
report that the Armenians continue to destroy Azeri infrastructure
while building their own facilities inside the occupied territories
in flagrant violation of the ceasefire.
One of the main roadblocks to settling this crisis is that both
Azerbaijan and Armenia refuse to budge on a referendum on the
future state of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenians want any decision on
self-determination to be limited to people who live in the region. If
Azeris are returned to the area before such a vote, the Armenians
would still represent about a 3:1 majority in Nagorno-Karabakh. The
Azerbaijani position is that any such referendum must be decided
by all 8.5 million residents of the country, which would certainly
reject any separation of the territory.
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov recently conceded that Azerbaijan
would grant Karabakh the “highest level of autonomy in exchange for an
immediate withdrawal.” But the Minsk Group has grown frustrated with
the lack of any real progress. In a statement released earlier this
month, U.S. co-chairman Matthew Bryza chided both the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents for their failure to make any concessions.
In response to the OSCE report, the Azerbaijani president said
he remains “committed to peace, but he cannot accept the current
situation.”
To up the political ante, Azerbaijan has embarked on a massive
military build-up.
“By next year we will have doubled our defence budget up to a total
of $1.2 billion (U.S.),” said Maj.-Gen. Najafov. “We will be spending
the equivalent of the entire Armenian federal budget just on defence.”
While such a build-up would certainly change the regional strategic
balance, international observers say this posturing is a long way
from resulting in war. “Most of the money being spent is to increase
their own salaries, not to add to their tactical capability,” said
one Baku diplomat.
“They are not out purchasing attack helicopters right now, but if
they start to do that we’ll know they’re serious about settling this
by forceful means.”
That is not to say that the international community takes the
Nagorno-Karabakh situation lightly. The same diplomat summarized the
crisis as being mistakenly identified as a frozen conflict. “There
are tens of thousands of soldiers equipped with tanks manning trenches
and occasionally shooting at each other,” he said.
“When people are being killed, it is difficult to say the conflict
is frozen.”
Next week: A new oil pipeline has raised the stakes, and Azerbaijan
struggles to westernize. Scott Taylor is a columnist for The Chronicle
Herald and editor in chief of the military affairs magazine Esprit de
Corps. First of a two-part series by The Chronicle Herald’s military
affairs columnist.
an/518912.html

Novelist takes on Turkish ‘taboo’
Arizona Republic, AZ
July 30, 2006
University of Arizona Professor Elif Shafak has a freedom problem.
She used the freedom of speech to exercise the freedom to tell
her truth.
But by doing so, she may have cost herself, well, her freedom.
advertisement
Shafak, a 35-year-old native of Turkey, is waiting to stand trial
in Istanbul on charges of “insulting Turkishness.” A trial date has
not been set. The reputed insults appear in her novel The Bastard of
Istanbul, written in English but translated into Turkish and published
in Turkey on March 8. The book is already a bestseller there.
The problem comes down to a disagreement about what happened to the
Armenian population living in Turkey in 1915. Ethnic Armenians say
Turkey killed up to 1.5 million of their people during a genocidal
war that lasted about eight years.
The International Association of Genocide Scholars, the definitive
body of researchers who study genocide, has affirmed the historical
fact of the Armenian Genocide. Polish jurist Raphael Lemkin, when
he coined the term genocide in 1944, cited the Turkish extermination
of the Armenians and the Nazi extermination of the Jews as defining
examples of what he meant.
A character in Shafak’s book talks about “genocide survivors who lost
all their relatives in the hands of Turkish butchers in 1915.”
In a telephone interview from Turkey, Shafak said that “the Armenian
Question is one of the biggest political taboos in Turkey.”
Though she hasn’t been jailed and is free to do what she wants,
Shafak has endured weeks of interrogation by a Turkish prosecutor.
She was indicted under Turkey’s Article 301.
That law states that “a person who publicly denigrates Turkishness,
the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, shall be
punishable by imprisonment of between six months and three years.”
Shafak calls it “a huge obstacle in front of freedom of expression”
in her native land.
So does the European Union, which has repeatedly warned Turkey that the
existence of the law could hinder its chance to become an EU member.
“The biggest danger concerning the article is its vagueness,” Shafak
said. “It penalizes those who ‘defame Turkishness’ but what exactly
that means, no one knows. The article is so vague, it is open to
interpretations and therefore, misinterpretations.”
Many authors, publishers and journalists have been charged under
Article 301.
What’s unusual about Shafak’s case is that she has been indicted
for writing a work of fiction. The ultranationalist lawyers have
specifically singled out Armenian characters in the book for
denigrating Turkishness.
One of Turkey’s newspapers even asked, “Are you going to bring
fictional characters into court?”
Minister Counselor Tuluy Tanc of the Turkish Embassy in Washington,
D.C, points out another element of uncertainty in implementing
Article 301.
“In the last paragraph it says that expressions of opinion made for the
purpose of criticism cannot be a crime. If the purpose is criticism,
then that’s all right. It’s a good point: What’s the difference?”
Tanc, too, said the law is too general.
But, Tanc said, just as the Turkish government does not view
what happened to the Armenians in 1915 as genocide, the Turkish
government does not view Article 301 as the suppression of the
freedom of speech. Despite acknowledging the international criticism
of Article 301, he said that due to the separation of powers under
Turkey’s democracy, “the government cannot comment on its merits. The
Parliament has passed it. The courts that interpret this are also
entirely independent of Parliament. Anything I would say would be an
invasion of their duties.”
Tanc added that Turkey is not concerned about the criticism of
Article 301.
A Turkish court convicted an Armenian-Turkish journalist in February
under that law. He received a suspended six-month sentence.
Tanc said case law will determine how Shafak’s and others’ indictments
are handled.
Authors, artists, scientists and professors in the United States and
around the world are campaigning for the charges against Shafak to
be dropped.
Shafak appreciates the international community’s passion for her cause.
Yet, she emphasizes that it is precisely because Turkey’s culture is
becoming more progressive that this tension between ultranationalist
and democratic forces has arisen.
Shafak urges those outside Turkey to ally themselves to the
progressives within her country to propel democracy forward. She
cautions people not to paint all of Turkish society black.
“This is precisely what the Turkish ultranationalists want. They
want to increase the distance between Turkey and the Western world
by defining them as mutually exclusive. We need to prove them wrong
by building more and more intercultural dialogues that transcend
nationalist and religious boundaries.”
For discussion on this article, go to
of0730.html
From: Baghdasarian

An ‘Armenian’ in Kenya: Are they Armenian? Are they brothers? The
latest corruption scandal to hit Kenya is a strange one in a dizzying
series of corruption cases that are hurting the country’s potential
The Gazette (Montreal)
July 30, 2006 Sunday
Final Edition
By BARRY MOODY, Reuters
NAIROBI
A government inquiry does not know the real names of two men it is
investigating, nor their nationality, nor whether they are brothers
as they claim.
A lawyer trying to represent the two alleged “Armenians” was sent
away and told to come back when he works out who they are.
These are two of the more bizarre aspects of a dizzying series of
corruption scandals, piled one on another, which have deepened Kenya’s
reputation as one of the most graft-infested places in the world,
rated 144th out of 158 in the latest survey by the Transparency
International (TI) corruption watchdog.
And in another surreal twist, the Kenyan branch of TI last month
fired its executive director. For corruption.
Recently, new scandals have involved the central bank – whose
governor is on trial for nepotism – a private bank suspected of money
laundering, Kenya’s biggest supermarket chain accused of massive
tax evasion and perhaps most seriously a glaring security breach at
Nairobi airport.
This is in addition to two long-running graft cases worth more than
$1.2 billion U.S. that have forced the resignation of three ministers
in President Mwai Kibaki’s government this year.
The new wave of corruption, stunning even by local standards, has
caused deep disappointment among both Western donor nations and
Kenyans who voted Kibaki to a sweeping victory in 2002 on promises
to root out endemic graft.
“Until we deal comprehensively and ruthlessly with corruption, we
can’t even begin to talk about being proud to be Kenyan,” said Lucy
Oriang, a Daily Nation newspaper columnist.
An official commission of inquiry is now sitting to investigate the
self-styled Armenians, known as the “two Arturs” – partly because
despite their fraternal claims, they have different surnames, which
are believed to be false anyway.
Kibaki ordered the commission after the Arturs were summarily deported
to Dubai after an incident where they stormed into the closed security
area at Nairobi airport carrying guns.
According to evidence at the inquiry, the men, alleged to have wide
criminal connections, also punched a customs official and drew weapons
to confront a hostile crowd.
Not only had they somehow been given passes to the closed areas of
all airports in Kenya, but furnished with the rank of deputy policy
commissioners.
The incident caused howls of protest from Western envoys deeply
concerned at the breaches in aviation security.
“This was another incident of the rot going deep,” said a Western
diplomat in the region who asked not to be named.
Press transcripts of the commission hearings are compulsive reading
for many Kenyans, though there is widespread cynicism over whether
senior officials will be prosecuted.
Opposition politicians say the hurried deportation of the “Armenians”
and the commission itself are a cover-up to hide the fact they enjoyed
protection from powerful figures.
The Arturs, known for their tight black shirts, gold “bling” and big
parties, first came under public scrutiny in March when an opposition
leader accused them of being mercenaries who led a police raid on
Kenya’s second biggest media house.
Internal Security Minister John Michuki staunchly defended the raid
as being in the interests of national security despite a storm of
domestic and international criticism.
Spreading corruption has serious implications for Kibaki, who is
thought to be planning to run for re-election next year.
A recent survey by the government’s own anti-corruption body showed
that Kenyans saw the Security Ministry and the police as the country’s
most corrupt institutions and this is widely seen as contributing to
a rising wave of violent crime.
Taken with the security breaches at the airport, police corruption
concerns Western diplomats. They see Kenya as a growing centre for
narcotics trading, illegal immigration and money laundering.
They also believe corruption makes Kenya vulnerable to terrorism.
“We can’t achieve what we want on terrorism. We can’t work with the
police and security services,” one diplomat said.
“It is very difficult to deal with the country on terrorism if the
police force is corrupt, if the judiciary is corrupt, if ministers
are clearly up to their necks in it,” said Ian Taylor, senior lecturer
in International Relations at St. Andrew’s University, Scotland.
The graft also has an economic impact, frightening away Western
investors, although China and rising Asian powers are eager to step
into the breach.
“Corruption continues to hold back Kenya ,which is supposed to be the
economic powerhouse of east Africa. It gives a very negative perception
to potential investors particularly in the West,” Taylor said.
Both analysts and diplomats agree there is one bright side to the
current wave of scandals, saying a lively democratic press is playing
a leading role in exposing venal politicians.
“It is encouraging that scandals are being exposed. It shows more
progress in openness and transparency,” said Taylor.
Government Pledged to Fight Graft, So New Scandals Disappoint
A wave of graft scandals causing deep disappointment among both foreign
donors and Kenyans has rocked the government of President Mwai Kibaki,
who came to power in 2002 vowing to root out corruption.
Here are key facts about some of the latest scandals to hit east
Africa’s largest economy.
“ARMENIAN” SAGA
-Two men who identified themselves as Armenian brothers Artur
Margariyan and Arthur Sargsian burst into the limelight in March
after a politician accused them of being mercenaries hired by the
government to raid Kenya’s second largest media house.
-Accused of receiving high-level protection for shady dealings, the
flashy, jewellery-bedecked pair were deported to Dubai in June after
a scuffle with customs officers at Nairobi airport in which one drew
a gun. A government inquiry is under way.
NAKUMATT
-In what could be Kenya’s biggest corporate scandal, supermarket
chain Nakumatt was accused of evading millions of dollars in taxes,
helping put its main rival out of business.
-An unpublished 2004 central bank report said Nakumatt turned over
much larger volumes than its closest competitor Uchumi, but paid as
much as 20 times less tax.
CHARTERHOUSE BANK
-Charterhouse bank – accused of being used by Nakumatt and six other
firms to cover up massive tax evasion – was closed by Kenya’s central
bank in June. The small privately-owned bank has denied any wrongdoing.
MULLEI
-Kenya’s former central bank governor Andrew Mullei was asked to step
down from his position in March after he was charged with four counts
of abuse of office.
-Accused of awarding lucrative consultancies to his son and three
associates, Mullei’s trial started on July 12.
ANGLO LEASING
-The Anglo Leasing scandal surfaced in April 2004 when questions were
raised in parliament about why the government overpaid a tender for
forgery-proof passports.
-Contracts to a fictitious firm – covering a range of deals from
passports to naval ships and forensic labs – were believed to be
worth about $200 million. The money was mysteriously returned as
outrage grew.
GOLDENBERG
-The Goldenberg saga saw Kenya lose $1 billion in central bank money
via bogus gold and diamond exports in the 1990s.
-Kibaki ordered a probe into the scandal, which occurred under
then-president Daniel arap Moi. Four former high-ranking officials
are on trial over the scandal.