Former U.N. prosecutor seeks GOP nomination
The Sacramento Bee
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
By Andy Furillo, Bee Capitol Bureau
A former Bush administration official has taken out papers to challenge
state Sen. Charles Poochigian for the Republican nomination for state
attorney general, a spokeswoman for the new candidate said Monday.
Pierre-Richard Prosper had served in President Bush’s State Department
as ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues until he recently departed
the administration to enter the attorney general’s race, spokeswoman
Elizabeth Blackney said.
The Denver-born Prosper, 42, had previously served in the Clinton
administration as a top assistant in the criminal division of the
Department of Justice and as special counsel and policy adviser to the
war crimes ambassador.
Prosper also is a former United Nations war crimes prosecutor who
obtained a 1998 genocide conviction against a local official named
Jeal-Paul Akayesu who allowed Hutu police to rape and murder Tutsi women
during the ethnically based Rwandan civil war, according to his official
State Department biography.
From 1994-96, Prosper served as a drug prosecutor for the U.S.
attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Before that, he worked five years as a
Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, including two years he
spent in the Hardcore Gang Division.
The Colorado native was raised in New York and graduated from Boston
College before moving to Southern California and getting his law degree
from Pepperdine University.
“He has a real passion for the rule of law and helping the rule of law
take root,” spokeswoman Blackney said. “Whether it’s in Inglewood or
Compton, where he served, or in Rwanda, the world is growing smaller,
and in California, being the seventh-largest economy in the world, we
need that kind of experience.”
Blackney said Prosper signed organization and statement of intent papers
Monday and mailed them to the secretary of state’s office.
In Poochigian, Prosper will be taking on a Republican stalwart with more
than $2 million in cash on hand as of June 30 and the endorsements of
former Govs. Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian, of every GOP lawmaker in
the state and most of the party’s congressional delegation in
Washington, according to Poochigian’s strategist, Ken Khachigian.
Poochigian has served more than 10 years in the Legislature as a senator
and Assembly member. His resume also includes a three-year stint as
Wilson’s appointments secretary and three years of work as senior staff
member to Deukmejian.
Khachigian said he views Prosper’s candidacy as “inconsequential.”
“I’m looking at somebody who has no ties here …, has no family here,
has no roots here, and has done nothing for the Republican Party here,”
Khachigian said. “It doesn’t make any sense at all. He’s not a Californian.”
On the Democratic side, Los Angles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo has
officially announced for the attorney general’s race that is expected to
pit him against Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown.
The Bee’s Andy Furillo can be reached at (916) 321-1141 or
[email protected].
nt/politics/story/13732076p-14574914c.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]
18 October 2005
PRESENTATION OF 2005 ARCHBISHOP’S WRITING AWARD HONOURING 1600TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN ALPHABET
Sydney, Australia – Saturday, 8 October, 2005 on the Feast of the
Holy Translators, His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate
of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand
presided over the Award Ceremony of the Inaugural 2005 Archbishop’s
Writing Award that was launched in this special 1600th anniversary year
marking the discovery of the Armenian Alphabet by St Mesrob Mashdotz.
The Writing Award was established to stimulate thought and
consciousness in Armenian youth about the relevance of maintaining the
values and faith of Armenian heritage in communities of the Diaspora
in the 21st Century.
Submissions to the competition were received from students in Years 5
to 11 from schools in Sydney and Melbourne including AGBU Alexander
Primary School, St Gregory’s Armenian School, Toumanian Saturday
School, Aginian Saturday School (Melbourne), Armenian HSC Class
as well as two independent entries. The topic for the prose was
“The Armenian Alphabet is important for the Armenian identity”.
Students were given the option of presenting their submissions in
different writing styles and in either Armenian or English. 80%
of written essays were in Armenian.
Parents and students gathered in the Edgarian Hall on the Feast Day
in eager anticipation for the announcement of the award recipients.
However, it was clear from the high-spirited gathering that all
students who participated in the competition were the winners of the
day for the time and effort spent researching the topic will continue
to have long-lasting impact on their understanding and value of the
Armenian Alphabet as a founding block to preserve the Armenian legacy.
His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian presented each and every
student with a special award certificate and a gift that would
be symbolic of their participation and their cultural identity.
The Primate gifted each student a wooden Armenian cross that he brought
back from the Holy Land just one week earlier. The keystone of the
Armenian Alphabet, the motivation and driving force to establish it,
lay in the Holy Cross to ensure the first Christian nation would have
a written language that would propagate the Great Commission of Jesus
to spread the Word of God and lead them to faith.
Awards and prizes were presented in three categories and recipients
of prizes were as follows: Junior Category – Sergei Krjatian (St
Gregory’s Armenian School), runner-up Lenia Kelleyan (St Gregory’s
Armenian School); Middle Category – Natalie Mengolian (Aginian
Saturday School), equal runners-up Rhaya Ratevossian (Toumanian
Saturday School) and Zaven Fenerci (Aginian Saturday School); Senior
Category – Maya Aghajanian (Aginian Saturday School), runner-up Talar
Ohanessian (Armenian HSC). A special award was also presented to Nayiri
Derartinian from St Gregory’s Armenian School for outstanding thought.
On Sunday, 16 October the Primate visited the Armenian Community of
Melbourne and presented awards to students of the Aginian School.
Students and parents were thrilled at having the Archbishop present
to personally award their certificates and prizes. His Eminence
took the opportunity to reflect on the occasion inscribing the deep
value of Armenian heritage in the hearts and minds of the students.
Befittingly, on Saturday, the school celebrated the 20th anniversary
of the completion and inauguration of its school building and dedicated
its celebration to the 1600th Anniversary of the Armenian Alphabet.

PRESS RELEASE
UN Department of Public Information, Yerevan Office
2 Petros Adamyan str., First Floor
Yerevan 375010, Armenia
Contact: Armine Halajyan, UN DPI Information Assistant
Tel.: (374 1) 560 212
Fax/Tel.: (374 1) 561 406
“ARAM KHACHATURIAN: THE LIFE AND WORKS” HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS THE WORLD’S
BEST E-CULTURE DVD/CD-ROM IN 2005
“THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: 1915-1923” DVD/CD-ROM – AMONG THE FIRST TEN
BEST PROJECTS IN E-EDUCATION
“Aram Khachaturian: The Life and Works” DVD/CD-ROM of the Armenian
company “ITE” (Information Technologies Education), has been selected
by the World Summit Award 2005 () Grand Jury as
the world’s best cultural CD/DVD multimedia product of 2005.
Another project of the same company, the interactive CD-ROM “Armenian
Genocide of 1915-1923” was recognized by the World Summit Award 2005
Grand Jury as one of top 10 products in e-learning category and was
specially mentioned.
Those products were selected in a five-stage process from over 20,000
candidates from 168 countries. The selection of the best products in
the world included national evaluations, a 35 member Grand Jury review
of over 750 nominations and a 6-day methodical judging process. The
overall process meets near-scientific requirements of independent,
inter-subjective judgment and of establishing the best available
expert views.
The success of ITE “Bazmaweb” studio proves its further significance
when we consider the fact that other major projects that were chosen
as the world’s best five e-culture products, were the websites
“Eternal Heritage of Egypt” created by IBM, “Virtual Roman Paris”
created by Ministry of Culture of France, “Lakota Winter Counts” of
USA Smithsonian Institution, and the Russian website about the history
of the Second World War (see ).
Shortly before, in June 2005, both Armenian products won All Armenian
2005 National e-content contest “Mashtots 1600″().
As projects with best content, both of them will be officially
announced and presented at the World Summit Award 2005 Exhibition
in the framework of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS)
2005 in Tunisia, from November 16 to 18.
Garegin Chugaszian, president of ITE company will accept the award
on November 16 at a special Gala ceremony to be attended by more
than 500 VIPs from all over the world, including heads of States,
leading representatives of international organizations, the private
sector and civil society.
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), initiated by
the United Nations and directly organized by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a twofold process. The first phase
has been held in Geneva from 10-12 December 2003, while the second
will take place in Tunisia from 16-18 November this year.
The Armenian delegation to participate in WSIS this year will be
headed by the Prime Minister of Armenia Andranik Margaryan. Armenia
will also have the opportunity to present its best e-content products
to consumers in an individual pavilion.
The second Phase of WSIS together with the awards giving ceremony of
the e-contents world contest will take place in Tunisia from 16-18
November of this year. Heads of States (Presidents and Prime Ministers)
and other 500 high ranking guests will participate.
The World Summit Award is organized under the patronage of Austrian
chancellor Wolfgang Schussel, Argentine President Nestor Carlos
Kirchner and other presidents intending to observe existing worldwide
electronic contents be it Internet, DVDs, or CDs. The awards have 8
nominations: e-learning; e-culture; e-science; e-government; e-health;
e-business; e-environment; and e-inclusion.
It is worth mentioning that, amongst 168 countries only 14 had the
chance of gaining the World Summit Award twice and Armenia is one
of these few counties. At the first Phase of WSIS in Geneva (2003)
Armenia was awarded with the WSA 2003 in e-science for the website
“A Space Weather Aerie” created by Ashot Chilingarian’s Cosmic Ray
Division Center (CRD) from the Institute of Physics in Yerevan.
“ITE” (Information Technologies Education), and its “Bazmaweb” studio
are founded in 1998, and represent software company specializing in
the design and development of multimedia products (CD/DVD-ROMS),
as well as knowledge management applications based on portal
technologies(“Armino Web Solutions”).
For getting further information, both in Armenian and English, about
the WSIS Armenia’s participation you can visit the Summit’s website:
which has been prepared by the “Information
Technologies Foundation” (ITF) with the assistance of UN Resident
Coordinator and UN Department of Public Information in Yerevan.
* * * * *

Armenian Youth: Ready to Rock?
Hetq Online, October 17, 2005
On September 2, 2005, Yerevan staged its first international rock
festival, Rock ‘n People, in the capital’s central Republic Square. In
a country where most “live” pop music concerts – a music genre much
preferred over rock – are lip-synched, there are many obstacles to
overcome. However, the organizers of the festival were convinced that
audiences in Armenia would prefer to hear music being played live.
Sound checks, a relatively new phenomenon in the country, can prove
problematic. During the middle of a sound check by Empyray, a band
typified by heavy bass and drum rhythms as well as searing guitar
solos, an official from the nearby Ministry of Foreign Affairs
requested that preparations for the concert be put on hold for half
an hour while an important diplomatic meeting took place.
The number of police, including Ministry of Interior troops deployed
as security for the event, also surprised many. Although the festival
would only attract a few thousand people, hundreds of police assembled
in front of the stage. “Perhaps they think we’ll start a riot,” said
one young rock fan, arriving early to watch the main stage being set
up. “Maybe they like rock music,” joked another.
The location, flanked on all sides by government buildings, a luxury
hotel and the National Art Gallery, might not seem the most appropriate
of venues to stage a rock concert, but with sponsors such as Radio
Van and Viva Cell involved, permission was granted. Viva Cell, the
long awaited competitor to ArmenTel, has been consistent in targeting
its advertising and promotional campaigns towards youth.
Yerevan hasn’t seen a rock festival in such a high profile location
since the end of the Communist era. Even today, many consider the last
years of the Soviet Union to be the heyday of Armenian rock. Bands
such as Asbarez had huge followings and others even had a role to
play as ethnic conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis erupted
over the predominantly ethnically Armenian populated territory of
Nagorno Karabakh.
In 1989, for instance, Vostan Hayots took their set based on the 1915
Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turkey throughout the country and even
performed in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh. The next
day, Soviet troops confiscated their equipment.
“We soon earned the reputation for arriving somewhere just before
trouble broke out,” remembers Hovhannes Kourghinyan, Vostan Hayot’s
vocalist. “When we went to Agarak [in Southern Armenia] there were
clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis and the same happened
in Kapan. We even brought information from Meghri to the Karabakh
Committee. A few people knew what was going to happen and were getting
ready by arming themselves. We were involved in that.”
Gradually, as tensions with Azerbaijan over Karabakh turned into
full-scale war, rock music became less and less popular in Armenia. In
particular, military conscription put an end to the careers of many
young and promising rock musicians. The electricity crisis of the
early nineties also forced many others to find work abroad. “Without
electricity you really can’t play rock music,” says Kourghinyan,
“It’s as simple as that.”
Other musicians were more fortunate, however. Hripsime Jangiryan,
wife of Eduard Abrahamyan, lead singer with Manic Depressive Psychosis
(MDP), remembers how the band assembled a hundred fans in Yerevan’s
Agricultural College in 1993 when the capital was otherwise deprived
of electricity. At the time, Abrahamyan worked as an electrician at
the college, one of the few buildings supplied with power.
A bottle of cognac convinced the college’s elderly security guard to
leave, and the premises became MDP’s to use.
But, even with electricity supplies now constant and Armenia’s
economy well on the mend, there are few people who listen to rock
music in the Republic. Instead, contemporary singers and musicians
are reliant on the support of government-connected businessmen rather
than CD sales to sustain their careers.
Even among those young Armenians that do like rock, however, many say
they instead prefer foreign bands. “In the nineties there were maybe
20 or 30 rock groups in Armenia,” says MDP’s Abrahamyan. “However,
after those difficult years, many left for England, the United States
and Russia. As a result, the market is under-developed and when the
quality of rock music deteriorated, the audience instead turned to
Western groups.”
Attracting listeners is also an ongoing obstacle, especially as rock
music is starved of exposure in the mainstream media. Live concerts
are also out because many young rock fans find it difficult to pay
the 1,000-1,500 drams [$2-$3] entrance fee to Yerevan’s two rock
clubs. Pricing tickets higher – over $15 – can lead to inadequate
sales and cancellations, as one three-day-event planned this August
near Lake Sevan showed.
Armenia’s large Diaspora, a potential market for Armenian music, is
also off-limits to local rock bands because ethnic Armenians living
abroad instead prefer to listen to music that serves a nostalgic or
nationalistic purpose. Even Bambir, a charismatic young band from
Gyumri that is fast earning a reputation with its eccentric live
performances in Yerevan, has so far been unable to find an audience
outside of Armenia.
Narek Barseghyan, Bambir’s 21-year-old guitarist, says that young
Armenians want something different, but a monopoly on the music
industry prevents rock bands from being shown on television or played
on the radio. He also says that when compared to other former Soviet
republics, Armenians are more conservative in their mentality. “In
Georgia, it’s different,” he says. “Here, if you have long hair,
people call you a gypsy.”
Despite the problems, however, Artyom Ayvazyan, president of the
Antennae non-governmental organization (NGO) and the main organizer of
the rock festival, is optimistic. In the past, national rock festivals
in Yerevan have attracted audiences of around 500. The free festival
staged on 2 September, however, attracted at least 2,000 people as
well as rock bands from neighboring Georgia.
“It’s true that rock music doesn’t attract a large audience in
Armenia,” he admits. “However, there are many people who want to listen
to something different, even if they don’t yet know what. Although
very few rock groups are played on the radio, there was almost
nothing before.”
Marieke Kitzen, a Dutch volunteer working with the Bem Youth
Progressive Action Center, a local NGO that considers the development
of youth culture key to involving young Armenians in the country’s
socio-political life, agrees. “I thought the rock concert was a great
success, although at the beginning, when there were more police than
spectators, I had my doubts if rock in Armenia would ever work,”
she says.
Text and Photos by Onnik Krikorian
—
From: Baghdasarian

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee
Eastern United States
P.O. Box 1066
New York, NY 10040
Contact: Doug Geogerian
Tel: 917 428 1918
Fax: 718 651 3637
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Time Apologizes and Prints Letter Condemnding DVD Denying Armenian Genocide
Time Magazine European Edition printed a full-page letter in its October 17,
2005 edition, decrying the magazine~Rs inclusion of a DVD that included a
documentary, which denied the Armenian Genocide. The letter was written by
Bernard Jouanneau, the President of Memory 2000, which is described as
~Srepresentatives of . . .French organizations whose aim is to fight against
racism, anti-Semitism and for the memory of the Armenian Genocide.~T Mr.
Jouanneau is a leading lawyer and activist defending against anti-defamation
concerning the denial of the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide.
Directly following Mr. Jouanneau~Rs letter, Time~Rs editors expressed regret
for the offense caused by distributing the DVD. ~SThe so-called documentary
portion of the DVD presents a one-sided view of history that does not meet
our standards for fairness and accuracy, and we would not have distributed
it had we been aware of its content,~T said the editors. Claiming that the
DVD was not adequately reviewed, the editors announced a change in their
review process to avoid such future incidents. They conclude by apologizing
to the Armenian community.
In his letter, Mr. Jouanneau asserts the magazine~Rs responsibility
regardless of whether or not the Turkish Chamber of Commerce misled them.
He says redress for distributing the DVD to 500,000 house holds across
twelve European countries should include 1) disclosure of officials
standards used by Time when considering the inclusion of an ad and whether a
similar DVD denying the Holocaust would have been acceptable, 2) free
distribution of a ~SDVD prepared by the European Armenian Federation for
Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) regarding the history and modern-day
consequences of the Armenian Genocide,~T and 3) a donation from the revenue
earned from the Turkish advertisement to a nonprofit organization dedicated
to informing the public about the truth of the Armenian genocide and other
genocides.
The letter describes in detail many of the ~Slies, racial defamation,
personal defamation and historical mistakes in this DVD, which contains all
the techniques of disinformation and propaganda.~T Jouanneau points out
footage of Justin McCarthy, a known revisionist of the Armenian Genocide,
who says that the survival of some Armenians proves that a genocide did not
take place. The letter strongly objected to the characterization of all
Armenians as terrorists and accusations that Armenians collaborated with the
Nazis to exterminate the Jews.
Mr. Jouanneau criticizes Time~Rs editors for contributing to Turkey~Rs
campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide. In doing so, Jouanneau condemns
Time for aiding Turkey~Rs precedent of having committed a genocide with
impunity. ~STIME magazine has helped embolden future perpetrators of genocide
with the knowledge that their crimes can be committed without consequence,~T
said Jouanneau.
####

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:
October 17, 2005
___________________
ARMENIAN CHURCH TO BE REPRESENTED AT WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES BY
EASTERN DIOCESAN LEGATE
Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), recently attended a meeting of
U.S. religious leaders to map out goals and objectives for an upcoming
global ecumenical gathering.
The Diocesan legate is one of 13 people appointed by the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin to represent the Armenian Church at the upcoming 9th
assembly of the World Council of Churches in Brazil this February.
In preparation for that meeting, Bishop Aykazian met with more than 150
American religious leaders in Chicago, IL, from October 10 to 12. The
leaders represented a majority of the member churches of the National
Council of Churches (NCC).
“At the meeting we discussed how we should represent the American-based
churches at the World Council of Churches assembly,” said Bishop
Aykazian, who is active in a variety of ecumenical organizations on
behalf of the Eastern Diocese. “We asked, what will our contribution be
and what will be the lessons to be learned from this assembly?”
Bishop Aykazian identified several subjects that interested the gathered
religious leaders in Chicago: problems in the Middle East; combating HIV
in Africa; fighting Islamist terrorism; and the genocide in Sudan. The
last point is something the Armenian Church has been involved with for a
while.
“These are all problems that concern human beings, so we have certain
responsibilities to help. It is the mission of the church to help the
powerless, the poor, the afflicted, the diseased, the sick, the
homeless. It is the main mission of the church,” he said. “And in the
Sudan they have suffered tragic genocide. We know there is a genocide
taking place and it is a continuing genocide and we have to help. But
our church, we as a people, understand more than anyone, because we have
suffered through a genocide.”
At the end of the conference in Chicago, Bishop Aykazian led a prayer
service with a priest from the Orthodox Church of America, an act that
shows the importance the ecumenical movement places on the participation
of Orthodox churches — the Armenian Church in particular.
“I’m very pleased that, thanks to the work of Bishop Vicken, the
Armenian Church has become a leading voice in the ecumenical movement in
the United States and around the globe,” said Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese.
— 10/17/05
# # #

PRESS RELEASE
A.R.F. Zavarian Student Association
Yerevanian Bldg. 4th Floor
Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon
Tel: (961) 01-240167
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
MEETING BETWEEN THE ZSA & FREE PATRIOTIC MOVEMENT CENTRAL COMMITTEES
On Tuesday, the 4th of October 2005, a delegation from the Lebanese
Free Patriotic Movement Party visited the Yerevanian Center, where a
meeting was held between A.R.F. Zavarian Student Association and
F.P.M. Party committees. The meeting best served for strengthening and
developing the existing university-level relationship between the two
parties, and discussing the possibility of organizing future joint
events.
The two parties also talked about the state of the Lebanese Youth and
Student associations on a political level, and emphasized on the
importance of the participation of all parties in taken measures.
After the one hour gathering, both committees agreed on having
periodical meetings for exchange and coordination of opinions.

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:
October 17, 2005
___________________
ARMENIAN CHURCH TAKES PART IN PRAYER SERVICE FOR UNITED NATIONS
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), led a delegation of Armenians who
attended the 5th annual Orthodox Prayer Service for the United
Nations Community.
“This event is a symbolic representation of the power of faith and
the importance of assuring that our faith has a place at the table of
international politics and diplomacy,” the Primate said. “It is also
important that the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches join forces
and stand with a united voice in calling for a full representation
of our faith at the United Nations.”
The annual event is organized by the Joint Commission of the Standing
Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas and the
Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches. This year’s service
was hosted by the Serbian Orthodox Church at the Holy Trinity Greek
Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral in New York City. Each year a different
participating church hosts the event, which also rotates in location
from the Greek Cathedral to St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral.
Attending this year with the Primate was Fr. Daniel Findikyan, dean of
St. Nersess Seminary; Fr. Simeon Odabashian, pastor of the Sts. Sahag
and Mesrob Church of Providence, RI; Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of St.
Vartan Cathedral, a number of seminarians from St. Nersess Seminary;
and Diocesan staff.
Armenia was also represented by His Excellency Armen Martirossyan,
the permanent representative of the Republic of Armenia to the
United Nations.
The guest speaker at this year’s service was His Excellency Dr. Milos
Prica, the permanent representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the
United Nations. He spoke eloquently about his faith and how emulating
the teachings of Christ can help us live in a world of peace. His
Eminence Metropolitan Christopher, Metropolitan of the Midwest American
Metropolitanate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, also spoke on peace,
focusing on the Biblical references to the idea of peacemakers.
“The fact that the prayer service was dedicated to all the personnel
at the United Nations and to bringing piece to the world was very
powerful,” said Jennifer Morris, the coordinator of youth outreach
for the Diocese, who attended the service. “The whole event was very
moving. To see all the bishops on the altar, together, putting aside
any differences they have and coming together to share their love
for Jesus Christ was just amazing.”
— 10/17/05
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News
and Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Bishops gather at the altar of the Holy Trinity
Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral in New York City on Tuesday,
October 11, 2005, for the 5th annual Orthodox Prayer Service for the
United Nations Community.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Dr. Milos Prica, the permanent representative of
Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, speaks about the need to
live the lessons of Christ.
PHOTO CAPTION (3): Church leaders and diplomatic dignitaries following
the 5th annual Orthodox Prayer Service for the United Nations Community
on Tuesday, October 11, 2005.
# # #
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

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:
October 17, 2005
___________________
PARISHES TAKE UP SPECIAL OFFERING
In response to the devastation Hurricane Katrina caused in New
Orleans, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
asked its parishes to take up special offerings in September and
welcomed donations from all Armenians.
Recently, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the
Western Diocese, presented Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the
Eastern Diocese, with a check for $30,500 to be sent to the Armenian
families of New Orleans who are now being sheltered and helped by
the community in Baton Rouge.
“We heard about the Armenian communities there (in New Orleans).
We are thankful there were no personal losses, but we hear they have
needs,” wrote Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western
Diocese, in an Armenian letter accompanying his diocese’s donation.
“We appreciate that the Eastern Diocese immediately responded to
the needs of those Armenian families and acted to provide financial
support.”
The Western Diocese also raised thousands of dollars to fund recovery
efforts by the Red Cross.
Along with the money from the Western Diocese, the Eastern Diocese
has collected $44,050 for Katrina relief. Half of the money raised by
parishioners in the Eastern Diocese will be sent directly to Armenian
families who lost homes and businesses from the storm and the other
half will be sent to Church World Service (CWS), the humanitarian
aid arm of the National Council of Churches (NCC), to fund long-term
relief efforts.
“Our Armenian brothers and sisters in the New Orleans area are
thankful, I know, for all the support we have provided to them in
this time of crisis,” said Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of
the Eastern Diocese. “And along with our financial help, our prayers
have also been felt down in Louisiana.”
— 10/17/05
# # #

Author Pamuk “did not use the word genocide”
By our correspondent
NRC Handelsblad (Dutch newspaper)
October 17, 2005
Istanbul, Oct. 17. Turkish author Orhan Pamuk defended himself on
television against allegations that he had slandered his country. In
an interview with a Swiss newspaper, Pamuk earlier this year claimed
that “30.000 Kurks and one million Armenians were killed in these
areas and I am not the only who dares to speak about it”. This cost
Pamuk a trial that will begin in December.
However, according to Pamuk, many misread the challenged interview:
“I did not say: we Turks killed so many Armenians. I did not use the
word genocide.” The official Turkish line is that a genocide among
Armenians never took place at the end of the Ottoman empire.
The case around Pamuk is causing more and more fuss within and outside
of Turkey. The European Union, with which Turkey is now negotiating
membership, is very dissatisfied with the whole affair. Euro
commissioner on enlargement, Olli Rehn, recently visited Pamuk and
likewise British author Salman Rushdie, who had to go into hiding for a
long period of time because he was threatened to be killed by radical
Muslims, and took on Pamuk’s defence in a British newspaper. If this
already stirs up so much trouble, while the trial has not even started
yet, then cover yourself, well-known Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali
Birand wrote in a column last week.
Pamuk is being prosecuted based on an article in the new Turkish
Penal Code, forbidding slander against “the Turkish identity”. The
new code at the end of last year caused a great row between Ankara
and Brussels. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan wanted to criminalize
Adultery, which led to a severe admonishment from Brussels. The row
overshadowed the extremely vague articles on the slandering of Turkish
identity that appeared around the same time.
Earlier, Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was given a suspended
sentence of 6 months based on the same article. In an article, Dink
had called on Armenians to distance themselves from the “Turkish
part of their blood” because it “poisoned” them. According to Dink,
Armenians should focus on the future and especially on the new Armenian
state. According to the court, however, Dink had said that there was
“poison” in Turkish blood.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress