BURIAL PLACE OF APOSTLE MATTHEW ‘FOUND’ IN KYRGYZSTAN
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Aug. 30, 2006
(RFE/RL) August 30, 2006 — A Kyrgyz archaeologist believes he may
have located the burial place of the Apostle Matthew.
Vladimir Ploskikh told a news briefing in Bishkek today that his team
this summer uncovered on the northeastern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul
what he believes are the remains of the Christian monastery that
a 14th-century map indicates is the site where the Apostle Matthew
was buried.
According to legends, Apostle Matthew died on his way to India and
established several Christian communities during the course of his
journey.
The document, which is kept in Venice and is known as the Catalan map,
mentions a place named “Issicol,” where it says there is “a cloister
of the Armenian Brothers where the body of the Apostle and Evangelist
Saint Matthew is.”
Ploskikh, however, cautioned that further investigation is needed.
Four years ago, a Russian-born U.S. photographer, Sergei Melnikoff,
said he had found Apostle Matthew’s grave near Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyz
scientists dismissed his claims.

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING TO DECIDE PRESIDENTS’ MEETING
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug. 30, 2006
“It is premature to talk about Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents’
meeting,” Armenian President Robert Kocharyan’s press secretary Victor
Sogogmonyan told a press conference today in Yerevan, APA reports.
He said the meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers
has been agreed.
“The Ministers will try to pave the way for the Presidents’ meeting.
Their meeting will be held depending on the result of the Ministers’
meeting,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU’S EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMISSIONER CALLS FOR DECREASING DEFENSE EXPENDITURE IN AZERBAIJAN
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug. 30, 2006
In an unusually strongly worded speech, delivered at a conference
in Slovenia on August 28, the EU’s external relations commissioner,
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, observed that “defense expenditure in Georgia
and Azerbaijan is going through the roof.” APA reports quoting
RFE/Radio Liberty.
Ferrero-Waldner noted in her speech that increases in defense
expenditure send a negative message in terms of resolving the region’s
conflicts. The commissioner also says such increases are unjustifiable
in countries that are “in desperate need of investment in education,
health, and small businesses.”
The commissioner also criticized leaders in the region for their
“inflammatory rhetoric.” She also noted there has been “little or no
progress” toward settling the conflicts in the region, including the
Nagorno-Garabagh conflict.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told the APA it is not informed about
Ferrero-Waldner’s statement. The Ministry official said such statement
might be regarded as interference with the interior affairs of an
independent state.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE HENCHAGIAN AND ARF PARTIES
The Lebanese chapter of the Social Democratic Henchagian Party in Lebanon
visited His Holiness Aram I on August 28. The delegation included Armenian
Member of Parliament Dr. Yeghig Djeredjian and member of the party’s central
committee, Dr. Matsag Poladian.
The discussions focused on the current situation in Lebanon, the possibility
of reviving the structures of the Armenian community of Lebanon and the
participation of Turkish troops in the peacekeeping forces in the country.
On August 27 His Holiness received the central committee of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation accompanied by Member of Parliament Hagop
Pakradouni. The two sides discussed the efforts for improving the internal
political situation in Lebanon, the issue of Turkish participation in the
international peacekeeping forces in South Lebanon and the necessity to
revitalize the life of the Armenian community of Lebanon and its
pan-Diaspora role.
During both meetings His Holiness praised the work carried out by the
parties. He also stressed the importance of organizing the Armenian national
structures and particularly saving Armenian schools from the financial
difficulties they face while opening their doors widely to Armenian
students. “The Armenian school is the heart of the Armenian community.
Therefore, every effort should be exerted to keep the heart of the community
healthy. We are confident that our communities in the Diaspora will support
and help the Armenians of Lebanon in their efforts to preserve the
activeness of their educational and cultural structures,” said Aram I.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
IN HIS LETTER TO THE LEBANESE PRESIDENT
AND GOVERNMENT
“HOW CAN AN OCCUPYING FORCE TAKE PART
IN A PEACEKEEPING MISSION?”
ASKS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I
In a letter sent to the President of the Republic of Lebanon, Gen. Emile
Lahoud His Holiness Aram I questions the potential participation of Turkey
in the peacekeeping forces in South Lebanon. “How will a country, the
distant and recent past of which is full of massacres and bloody pages,
participate in a peacekeeping mission? How will a country, that occupies
part of Cyprus, contribute to a peace process? How will a country, that has
a military alliance with Israel, dedicate itself to the mission of securing
Lebanon’s borders? Finally, how will a country that ignores the human rights
of its own people become part of a mission indebted to defend international
conventions and laws?” writes His Holiness Aram I.
“Now that a new and hopeful page is being opened in the history of Lebanon,
with the latter exerting every effort to restore its territorial integrity
and sovereignty and re-establish its unique place and role in the
international community, we demand and expect that such issues are
considered with a correct viewpoint and through a wider perspective with the
full commitment of pursuing Lebanon’s supreme interests,” adds His Holiness.
His Holiness stresses that “based on these facts, the presence of Turkey in
the United Nations peacekeeping forces will never be beneficial to Lebanon.
The Armenian community of Lebanon with all its spiritual and communal
structures, political and civil organizations, strongly believes in this.
Also, such is the belief of all the communities of the Armenian Diaspora
that are under the jurisdiction of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.”
Bishop Kegham Khatcherian, Primate of the Diocese of Lebanon, visited the
presidential palace in Baabda on Monday 28 August, personally delivering the
Pontiff’s letter to President Gen. Emile Lahoud. The Bishop asked that the
President pass the letter on to the government.
His Holiness Aram I had also expressed his concern about this issue during a
meeting with the representative of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora recently.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

The Boston Globe
Armenians try to stall appointment of US envoy
By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff | August 30, 2006
When John Evans, the US ambassador to Armenia, last year described the
deaths and forced exile of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians early in
the last century as genocide, the local Armenian community rejoiced.
The Bush administration has described the events in Ottoman Turkey as
“horrific” and a “tragedy,” but not as genocide. Turkey, an
important US ally, strongly objects to that description, calling the
deaths and deportations the outcome of a civil conflict with bloodshed
on both sides.
But even though he retracted the comments, Evans, a 35-year State
Department veteran, was recalled from his post in May, a move many
Armenians contend was punishment for his characterization of Turkey’s
role.
Now, Armenians and their backers in Congress are trying to hold up the
appointment of the man President Bush wants to succeed Evans, Richard
E. Hoagland, who has declined to describe what happened as genocide.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has delayed its consideration
of Hoagland’s appointment because of the controversy. At a June
confirmation hearing, senators grilled Hoagland, who said he wanted to
avoid “getting stuck in the past and vocabulary.”
US Representative Edward J. Markey, a Democrat who represents
Watertown, home to a longstanding and vocal Armenian-American
community, said, “I don’t think he should be confirmed until
President Bush publicly states that there was a genocide and allows
his new ambassador to make that same statement.”
The committee plans to meet Sept. 7 to decide Hoagland’s
fate. Congressional aides said the vote on whether to recommend that
the full Senate approve the nomination will be close.
If the senators reject Hoagland, Bush could make a recess
appointment. Armenian communities across the country will be watching
closely.
“We would be disappointed if he were appointed without an
acknowledgement of genocide,” said Bryan Ardouny, executive director
of the Armenian Assembly of America , a Washington-based citizens
advocacy group.
After Evans was recalled, Markey sent a letter to the administration,
cosigned by 59 other House members, questioning the apparent
dismissal. US Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy,
Massachusetts Democrats, sent a similar letter.
In response, a State Department assistant secretary wrote that “all
US ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the President and as advocates
of the President’s policies,” and he denied Evans was being removed
under pressure from the Turkish government.
The controversy over Evans and Hoagland is the latest of many battles
that have consumed Armenian communities.
In a lawsuit now pending in US District Court in Boston, a teacher and
a student from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and the Assembly
of Turkish American Associations have demanded that the state
Department of Education include dissenting views in a state curriculum
guide on the topic.
Armenians and their supporters say including those views is like
endorsing the stance of Holocaust deniers.
Harvey Silverglate, a First Amendment lawyer who has argued that
excluding the dissenting views is a violation of the principle of free
speech, said “every American citizen has the right to state his or
her view as to whether or not this was a genocide.”
But, he added, “if somebody is officially representing the United
States and the US government has a certain position, it is reasonable
for the administration to insist that the official convey the official
US position.”
Yvonne Abraham can be reached at [email protected].
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

The Fresno Bee
Legislators aid recovery of Armenians’ assets
By E.J. Schultz / Bee Capitol Bureau
(Updated Wednesday, August 30, 2006, 4:16 AM)
SACRAMENTO – Lawyers seeking to recover millions of dollars in bank deposits
for Armenian genocide victims are getting some help this week from state
lawmakers.
A class-action lawsuit filed against two German banks seeks the return of
cash, bonds, gold jewelry and other assets that lawyers believe are owed to
an estimated 2,000 heirs of genocide victims, including some possibly living
in the San Joaquin Valley, home of thousands of Armenian-Americans.
Senate Bill 1524 by Sen. Chuck Poochigian, R-Fresno, and Sen. Jackie Speier,
D-Hillsborough – both of Armenian decent – would extend the statute of
limitations for such claims until 2016. It passed the Assembly on Monday on
a 77-0 vote and will likely pass the Senate before the session ends
Thursday.
Gov. Schwarzenegger supports the bill, according to his office.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this year on behalf of several Armenians
living in Southern California. Lawyers have argued that the plaintiffs are
free to sue under current law, but attorneys for the defendants have replied
that the statute of limitations prohibits the action, said Vartkes
Yeghiayan, a Los Angeles-area attorney representing the Armenians.
If the bill were to become law, it “would certainly fortify our position,”
Yeghiayan said.
Deutsche Bank A.G., one of the two banks sued, did not return a call for
comment. The other bank sued is Dresdner Bank A.G.
The bill has already cleared the Legislature once this year. But it was tied
to another bill that would have allowed Mexican-American victims of a 1930s
deportation campaign to seek damages for being forcibly sent back to Mexico.
The repatriation was sometimes violent, as immigrants were taken across the
border on trucks, buses and trains, according to the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Educational Fund, which backed the bill.
Schwarzenegger vetoed the Mexican deportation bill last week, arguing that
it would have allowed “private litigation of potentially thousands of claims
against the state, local governments and private citizens.”
The governor did not act on the Armenian bill, allowing lawmakers to pull it
back and remove the hook to the Mexican bill. Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Santa Ana,
who led the effort to link the two bills, criticized Republicans for
supporting the Armenian bill but rejecting the Mexican bill.
“I have been consistently concerned about the hypocrisy that has shown up on
the Senate floor from my Republican colleagues on these two bills,” said
Dunn, who supports the Armenian bill. “The unfortunate continuing injustice
here is that the handful of surviving victims of the illegal deportation of
the 1930s still do not have an opportunity for their day in court.”
Poochigian said the bills never should have been linked because “they are
completely different issues.” The Armenian bill, he said, deals with
breaches of contract by private entities, rather than claims against the
state of California.
The Armenian genocide refers to the period between 1915 and 1923, when
Armenians were driven from their homeland in the Ottoman Empire by means of
torture, starvation and murder. The Armenian community says that 1.5 million
people died.
The effort to recover bank deposits comes on the heels of a successful drive
to secure millions of dollars in unpaid insurance claims owed to genocide
victims. New York Life Insurance Co. and heirs of about 2,400 policy holders
agreed on a $20 million settlement in 2004, followed by a $17 million
settlement between French life insurance company AXA and about 5,000 people
and charities, according to published reports.
The deals were made possible as a result of Poochigian-authored legislation
that extended the statute of limitations for insurance claims until 2010.
The current bill allows genocide victims or heirs living in the state to go
beyond insurance policies and seek bank deposit claims until 2016.
“It rights a terrible wrong dating back to the beginning of the last
century,” Speier said.
There are no firm estimates on how much money and assets could be recovered,
but “all indications are it’s enormous,” said lead attorney Mark Geragos in
a phone interview last week.
Geragos – an Armenian-American whose family name is Geragosian – has
emotional ties to the case. His grandparents fled the genocide and settled
in Fresno, where they ran a grocery store on Belmont Street, he said.
The famed Los Angeles attorney has handled a number of high-profile cases
and his client list has included the likes of Michael Jackson, Scott
Petersen and, most recently, the trainer for Barry Bonds.
But the Armenian case, Geragos said, has the “greatest personal significance
of any of the cases I’ve ever been associated with.”
The reporter can be reached at [email protected]
or (916) 326-5541.
2653098p-13355164c.html

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance
22 Concord Lane
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact: Bianca Bagatourian
Tel: 617-871-6764
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
“THE ARMENIAN DRAMATIC ARTS ALLIANCE SPONSORS A READING OF WILLIAM
SAROYAN’S PLAY HELLO OUT THERE” AT THE ARMENIAN LIBRARY AND MUSEUM OF
AMERICA
On Sunday June 11, 2006 in Watertown, MA, the Armenian Dramatic Arts
Alliance (ADAA), a newly formed non-profit organization dedicated to
projecting the Armenian voice on a world stage sponsored a reading of
one of William Saroyan’s lesser known plays, `Hello Out There’ at the
Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA). The reading was
presented in ALMA’s contemporary art gallery on the 3rd floor of their
museum building and coincided with the exhibit “May name is Bill:
Remembering William Saroyan” in the Terjenian Hall. The play was
directed by Zoya Kachadurian of NYC and starred Paul Shafer, Danielle
Bauman, Jason Taylor, Michele Markarian.
Jacqueline Papasian Kazarian from San Francisco gave an interesting
talk about her `Uncle Bill’ after the reading and a reception followed
for the guests Saroyan is better known for his story “The Daring Young
Man on the Flying Trapeze” and his play “The Time of Your Life”.
Written in 1941, `Hello Out There,’ tells the story of a wandering
gambler who finds himself arrested and jailed in a small Texas town
after a false claim of rape. A young girl who serves as the jail’s
cook is the only person to believe in the gambler. The gambler
ultimately gives all of his money to the girl before a mob, headed by
the husband of the alleged victim, breaks into the jail to kill the
gambler. This play was first produced for the Lobero Theatre in Santa
Barbara. On the 10th of September, 1941, `Hello Out There’ served as
the curtain-raiser to George Bernard Shaw’s `The Devil’s Disciple.’
Sponsoring and supporting readings and productions of Armenian plays
and scripts is at the heart of the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance’s
mission to share the Armenian voice. For more information, please go
to

ARMENIAN AMERICAN LEADERSHIP OPPOSES DEPLOYMENT OF TURKISH FORCES IN LEBANON
“Far from being a credible peacemaker, Turkey
carries heavy liabilities that would only
complicate an already complex peacemaking mission
that the U.S. must pursue in Lebanon and the region.
— Armenian American leadership
letter to President Bush
WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical
churches in the United States were joined today by leading
grassroots Armenian American organizations in urging President Bush
to oppose the deployment of Turkish forces within Lebanon as part
of an international peacekeeping operation.
In a letter sent today to the White House, the community leaders
stressed that, “Turkey’s record of genocide, massacres, aggression
and torture is deeply inscribed in the collective memory of the
Lebanese, the Armenians, the Greeks, the Cypriots, the Kurds and
the Arab people everywhere. Far from being a credible peacemaker,
Turkey carries heavy liabilities that would only complicate an
already complex peacemaking mission that the U.S. must pursue in
Lebanon and the region.”
The following Churches and community organizations participated in
this initiative:
Armenian Catholic Exarchy of the United States and Canada
Armenian Missionary Association of America
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Eastern U.S.
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Western U.S.
Armenian American Democratic Leadership Council
Armenian National Committee of America
Armenian Relief Society
Armenian Youth Federation
Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and Educational Society
Homenetmen Armenian General Athletic Union
National Organization of Republican Armenians
The leadership of the Lebanese Armenian community unanimously and
forcefully opposes the introduction of Turkish troops onto Lebanese
soil. Earlier this month, the three Armenian political parties in
Lebanon, namely the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the Social
Democratic Henchakian Party, and the Armenian Democratic Liberal
Party, issued a joint declaration expressing the collective
opposition of Lebanese Armenians to any Turkish participation in
peacekeeping operations. An appeal against the introduction of
Turkish forces was also released by Lebanon’s Armenian religious
leadership, comprising the Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic,
and Armenian Evangelical communities.
His Holiness, Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia, earlier this week
wrote a letter to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United
Nations, expressing opposition to the deployment of Turkish forces
in Lebanon. In a powerfully worded letter he addressed Turkey’s
ongoing use of aggression and genocide, describing Turkish
participation in a peacekeeping mission as “morally unacceptable.”
The opposition of the Greek American community to the inclusion of
Turkish forces in Lebanon’s peacekeeping operation was communicated
to the President last month in a letter from the American Hellenic
Institute.
The full text of the community-wide letter is provided below.
#####
August 30, 2006
The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We write to you today, as leaders of the Armenian American
community, to convey to you our deep concern regarding the
Administration’s insistent efforts to have Turkish armed forces
included in the international peacekeeping force that is currently
being organized for Lebanon.
While the final decision with regard to the presence and the
composition of the international peacekeeping force rests with the
Lebanese government, it is a well-known fact that the United States
has been the key player – as it should – in this matter by
providing vitally needed leadership to the present peacemaking
initiative. Needless to say, we commend the Administration for
leading the diplomatic efforts to achieve immediate and lasting
peace in Lebanon. It is in that light that we strongly urge you to
refrain from making Turkey part of this sensitive process. Turkey’s
record of genocide, massacres, aggression and torture is deeply
inscribed in the collective memory of the Lebanese, the Armenians,
the Greeks, the Cypriots, the Kurds and the Arab people everywhere.
Far from being a credible peacemaker, Turkey carries heavy
liabilities that would only complicate an already complex
peacemaking mission that the U.S. must pursue in Lebanon and the
region.
Mr. President, the introduction of Turkish military forces into
this region will serve only to undermine our nation’s interest in a
lasting and equitable peace. As such, we join with our friends in
the Greek American community in respectfully urging you to take all
appropriate measures to ensure that Turkish forces do not take part
in any peacekeeping operations in Lebanon.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.
Sincerely yours,
Armenian Catholic Exarchy of the United States and Canada
Armenian Missionary Association of America
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church – Eastern U.S.
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church – Western U.S.
Armenian American Democratic Leadership Council
Armenian National Committee of America
Armenian Relief Society
Armenian Youth Federation
Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and Educational Society
Homenetmen Armenian General Athletic Union
National Organization of Republican Armenians

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:
PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
ARGENTINEAN REPRESENTATIVE VISITS AGBU CENTRAL OFFICE IN NEW YORK
On August 17, 2006, Mr. and Mrs. Sergio and Suzanna Nahabetian visited
AGBU Central Office in New York to meet with members of the AGBU
Central Board and better acquaint themselves with the work and
activities of the international Armenian organization. A member of the
Buenos Aires legislature, Sergio Nahabetian met with AGBU Central
Board members, Michael Ansour and Carol Aslanian, to discuss topics of
mutual interest, focusing on issues of particular importance to the
100,000 strong Armenian Argentinean community.
An active member of Buenos Aires’ thriving Armenian community,
Nahabetian has been a member of AGBU since his childhood and served as
chairman of the Armenian Youth Association (AYA) of AGBU Buenos
Aires. He and his wife are both active on various other AGBU
committees. Nahapetian is also the director of the bilingual
Armenian-Spanish Sardarabad newspaper, president of the city’s Tekeyan
Association, and former secretary of Armenia Fund’s Argentinean
section. Nahabetian was elected to the Buenos Aires Assembly in
October of last year.
Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City with
an annual budget of $34 million, AGBU preserves and promotes the
Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and
humanitarian programs, annually serving some 400,000 Armenians in 35
countries.