Press Release of Dutch News Agency ANP on 21 April 2006 about the vandalism
against the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Lyon, France and security measures
during the Armenian Genocide commemoration in Amsterdam on Sunday 23 April
2006 and in Assen on Monday 24 April 2006 (see www.24april.nl0, both
organised by 24 April Committee of the Federation of Armenian Organisations
in Netherlands (FAON).
DUTCH PRESS AGENCY ANP
21 April 2006
Armenian Genocide Commemoration in Lyon and Amsterdam
Inauguration of Armenian Memorial in Centre of Lyon
LYON/AMSTERDAM (ANP) – Monday Armenians will inaugurate in Lyon after long
legally tussle and in spite of vandalism of Turkish extremists a prominent
Memorial in the memory to the victims of the Genocide which started o 24
April 1915 in the Ottoman Empire.
It is remarkable that this Armenian Memorial is situated in the middle of
the city at the Antonin Poncet square, only 200 meters of the central square
Bellecour and nearly 200 meters of the river Rhone, as reported by the
local media on Friday.
The French minister of Home Affairs, Nicolas Sarkozy, expressed his
indignation this week and in a letter to the founders of the Memorial
ensured, that the authors of this vandalism will be severely punished. Last
month during a demonstration of radical Turks who deny the Genocide, the
Memorial under construction was scrawled with slogans denying the Genocide.
The Turkish republic was founded by Turkish nationalists after the first
world war in what used to be the centre of the Ottoman Empire. By then the
majority of the Armenians in the Empire had been killed systematically and
cruelly. The Armenians state that certainly one and a half million people
were exterminated during the Genocide.
During the twenties the Turkish Republic decided to deny the Genocide. The
Republic still persists in that. According to Ankara the number of Armenian
victims would be 300,000 to 500,000 as a result of Armenian insurrections
and other war operations which got out of hand. This attitude towards the
history, can form an obstacle for a Turkish membership of the EU, according
to observers.
The aggression of radical negationists of Armenian Genocide recently has
increased at commemorations or meetings, According to observers. Therefore
the Federation of Armenian Organisations in the Netherlands (FAON) has asked
for extra security during the commemoration on Sunday afternoon in
Amsterdam. The FAON last month wrote letters to four Dutch ministers to
express their concern about the aggressive actions of Turkish negationists
such as the Grey Wolves.
The Dutch Memorial for the victims of the Armenian Genocide is situated at a
less prominent place than in Lyon. It was finally inaugurated on 24 April
2001 in Assen in the cemetery de Boskamp after lots of difficulties and
opposition during the construction. On Monday a commemoration ceremony will
take place also at this Memorial.

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  (374 10) 517 163
Fax:  (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Website: 
April 21, 2006
International Live Broadcast of April 24 Divine Liturgy
On April 24, 2006, the worldwide Armenian nation will solemnly commemorate
the 91st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.  In the Republic of Armenia,
the commemorative events include the procession of hundreds of thousands of
people to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan
and a special Divine Liturgy which is celebrated in the Mother Cathedral of
Holy Etchmiadzin.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Shoghakat TV Company, working in
conjunction with the “First Channel” of Armenian television (“H1”), are
pleased to announce the live global telecast of this special Divine
Liturgy.  The Liturgy will be followed by a Requiem Service in memory of the
1.5 million victims of the first genocide of the 20th century.
Armenian communities throughout the world will be able to watch this special
Divine Liturgy broadcast live from the Mother Cathedral on Monday, April 24,
2006, on the Armenian H1 “First Channel” available through satellite
providers. 
Live coverage of the day’s events begins at 10:00 AM, (Armenia Daylight
Time).  Please refer to the list below for times and dates of the live
broadcast in your community:
Republic of Armenia – Monday, April 24 at 10:00 AM
Republic of Nagorno Karabagh – Monday, April 24 at 10:00 AM
Middle East
Lebanon – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Syria – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Israel – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
United Arab Emirates – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Kuwait – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Jordan – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Iran – Monday, April 24 at 8:30 AM
Iraq – Monday, April 24 at 9:00 AM
North America
United States (Eastern Daylight Time) – Monday, April 24 at 1:00 AM
United States (Central Daylight Time) – Monday, April 24 at 12:00 AM
United States (Mountain Daylight Time) – Sunday, April 23 at 11:00 PM
United States (Pacific Daylight Time) – Sunday, April 23 at 10:00 PM
Canada (Montreal) – Monday, April 24 at 1:00 AM
Canada (Toronto) – Monday, April 24 at 1:00 AM
Mexico (Mexico City) – Monday, April 24 at 12:00 AM
Europe
United Kingdom – Monday, April 24 at 6:00 AM
France – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Germany – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Austria – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Italy – Monday, April 24  at 7:00 AM
Switzerland – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Spain – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Netherlands – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Belgium – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Sweden – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Czech Republic – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Hungary – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Baltic States – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Romania – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Ukraine – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Greece – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Cyprus – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Russian Federation (Moscow) – Monday, April 24 at 9:00 AM
Russian Federation (St. Petersburg) – Monday, April 24 at 9:00 AM
Russian Federation (Krasnodar) – Monday, April 24 at 9:00 AM
South America
Venezuela – Monday, April 24 at 1:00 AM
Argentina – Monday, April 24 at 2:00 AM
Brazil – Monday, April 24 at 2:00 AM
Uruguay – Monday, April 24 at 2:00 AM
Africa
Egypt – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
South Africa – Monday, April 24 at 7:00 AM
Ethiopia – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Sudan – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Asia
Turkey – Monday, April 24 at 8:00 AM
Georgia – Monday, April 24 at 10:00 AM
India – Monday, April 24 at 10:30 AM
Thailand – Monday, April 24 at 12:00 PM
Singapore – Monday, April 24 at 1:00 PM
Australia & Pacific
Australia (Sydney) – Monday, April 24 at 3:00 PM
Australia (Melbourne) – Monday, April 24 at 3:00 PM
New Zealand – Monday, April 24 at 5:00 PM
##
–Boundary_(ID_1y4lqvGPEY1B23NKybTyWg)–

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  (374 10) 517 163
Fax:  (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Website: 
April 21, 2006
Memorandum of Understanding Signed between the Armenian Church
and Habitat for Humanity International
On April 20, His Grace Bishop Arshak Khachatrian, Chancellor of the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin and Rev. Dr. Kenneth Bensen, representative of
Habitat for Humanity International, signed a Memorandum of Understanding
between the Armenian Church and Habitat for Humanity initiating a new
program entitled the “His Holiness Karekin II” Building Project.  The formal
signing ceremony was held in the Pontifical Residence of the Mother See.
His Grace Bishop Viken Aykazian, Diocesan Legate for the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern), Mr. Ashot Yeghiazarian, Director of
the “Habitat – Armenia” office, Very Rev. Fr. Markos Hovhannisian, Vicar of
the Diocese of Gegharkunik and Mr. Gurgen Martirosian, Mayor of Gavar,
attended the signing ceremony.
The memorandum outlines the cooperation agreement between Habitat for
Humanity International and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin for the
purpose of building homes for needy families and those living in poverty
housing.  According to the agreement, Habitat will organize and implement an
annual building event in Armenia.  With the blessings and under the auspices
of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, approximately 100 new houses are planned to be built in the
coming three years.  At least 37 new homes will be built this year in the
regions of the Republic of Armenia – one house representing each diocese of
the Armenian Church dispersed throughout the world.
Joint cooperation between the Armenian Church and Habitat-Armenia began in
2001, when parish teams of Armenians from the United States came to Armenia
to work in building projects.  Then in June of 2005, His Holiness Karekin II
traveled to Michigan and worked alongside President Jimmy Carter and Mr.
Richard Manoogian, Chairman of the MASCO Corporation, in the Habitat
sponsored “Jimmy Carter Work Project” in Detroit.
 
The inaugural building event under this agreement, entitled “Let us build
with love”, will be held in the Diocese of Gegharkunik from September 5 to
9, 2006. Faithful parishioners from Armenian Church Dioceses around the
world are invited to come to Armenia and participate in this historic
event.  Please contact your diocesan office for details.
 
At the conclusion of the signing ceremony, His Holiness Karekin II received
the representatives of “Habitat” accompanied by Bishop Viken Aykazian.  The
Pontiff of All Armenians blessed the efforts of Habitat throughout the
world, and stressed the importance of poverty reduction, noting that
projects such as these do more that simply put a roof over the head of a
family, moreover, they instill the spirit of volunteerism, love and charity
in the hearts of men.
##
–Boundary_(ID_faUEejbGPECcEcsEi1mpKQ) —

PRESS RELEASE/FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION/PRESS RELEASE
For more information write to:
Email: [email protected]
Prof. Gerard Libaridian
Department of History
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
FIFTH MEETING OF THE WORKSHOP FOR ARMENIAN/TURKISH SCHOLARSHIP TO
CONVENE AT NYU
Public Session Scheduled for Sunday, May 14
The next meeting of the Workshop for Armenian/Turkish Scholarship
(WATS) will convene at New York University, May 14-16. This will be the
fifth meeting of this important undertaking. The three day gathering
will start with a session open to the public, from 7:00-9:00 PM in
the Hemmerdinger Hall, Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East,
1st Floor.
Organized by Professors Fatma Muge Gocek (Sociology, University of
Michigan), Gerard Libaridian (History, Michigan), and Ronald Grigor
Suny (History, Michigan), previous meetings of WATS were held at
the University of Chicago (2000), University of Michigan (2002),
the University of Minnesota (2004) and in Salzburg, Austria last
year. The fifth meeting is being hosted by New York University and
the organizers are joined by Prof.
Paul Boghossian ( Philosophy, NYU). The theme of the workshop
this year is “The Boundaries of Genocide: Intentions, Histories,
Peoples.” “Dialogue is an ideal that often ends up with one side
talking and the other appearing to listen,” commented Prof. Ronald
Suny. “In discussions about the Armenian Genocide of 1915, neither
side – Armenian or Turkish – seemed to understand, or even hear,
what the other was saying.
How could the deportation and massacre of hundreds of thousands of
people be metastasized into a civil war that never occurred? How could
one blame the victims for their own deaths? This workshop has been one
of the most exciting and productive scholarly initiatives in the last
five years that has brought Turkish, Armenian, and other historians
and social scientists together to present research and talk about the
fate of the Armenians and other minorities in the last years of the
Ottoman Empire.” The evening session on May 14 will serve to acquaint
the general public with the work of this initiative. In addition to
introductory comments by Prof. Boghossian and officials of the host
institution, Professors Gocek, Suny and Libaridian will present reports
on various aspects of WATS and answer questions. The public is invited.

The Genocide in Who?
By Tamar Salibian
Critics’ Forum
Film and Music
April 23, 2006
In “The Genocide in Me” (2005), Araz Artinian tells her story of being
a Canadian-Armenian dealing with her father’s national obsession
and struggling with her own identity, while also recounting the
atrocities of the Armenian Genocide and its repercussions. Part
historical document, part travelogue and part family portrait, the
film presents the Armenian Genocide not only as a horrific tragedy
but as an eternal burden that the filmmaker carries in her personal
life. Artinian begins the film with an important and very difficult
question: how can she learn to understand her father’s national
obsession when her own perspective is so different from his? The film
takes important steps to try to answer this and other questions.
The film begins with Artinian visiting a memorial site while, in
a voiceover, she presents her main argument. Artinian states that,
for her, being Armenian was always “much more than being myself,”
and that now, because of the Armenian Genocide, everything to do with
her life, her happiness and her future, “goes back to 1915.” Family
footage shows the filmmaker as a young child playing on the beach,
and with a close-up still frame resembling one from Francois Truffaut’s
“400 Blows,” the film begins its journey.
Artinian’s parents were immigrants from Egypt who settled in Canada.
Araz’s father, Vrej Armen (which stands for “the revenge of the
Armenians”) is an activist in Montreal who was one of the founding
members of the local Sourp Hagop School. Artinian explains how her
grandmother’s intense patriotism and pressure on her father led him
to his activism and his political cause. Vrej Armen’s cause is that
of Genocide recognition, and he has influenced many lives with his
community work. His influence on his own daughter, however, is more
complex. “I’ve been carrying the weight of Turkey’s denial in my
schoolbag since my childhood,” Araz recounts as she worries about
visiting her parents. “`Asdvadz hedus,’ which means `may God be with
me'” she tells the camera before entering her parents’ home to have
dinner and talk.
The film presents a splendidly interwoven mix of archival and recent
footage showing Artinian as a child, a young woman and an adult. In
the dinner scene, the editing masterfully combines old footage of the
family at their dining room table with newer footage of Artinian asking
her parents questions. The young Araz is a playful girl who sings and
dances while the older, present-day Araz searches for answers from
her family. The old footage shows the family affirming their Armenian
language and customs so that Araz and her sister will learn them as
well. The filmmaker presents these affirmations as pressure passed
on from generation to generation resulting in resentment towards her
culture. “I always had a love-hate relationship with my language,”
Araz notes; yet she strives to understand the layers of her culture.
Artinian wishes to understand her father’s national obsession, his
connection to the past, and the repercussions that the Genocide had on
the Armenian people. She wonders, “How can I connect with something I
had never seen before?” and soon embarks on a trip to Turkey to visit
historic Armenian sites. On the trip, she encounters a Turkish tour
guide who denies the major events of the Genocide.
She meets an American traveler who questions such denials. And she
spends time with a young Turkish man of Armenian descent who recounts
his grandmother’s stories of being rescued from the Genocide by a
Turkish man who later became her husband. This trip proves to be
fruitful to the viewer, as we are able to notice what has happened
in Turkey over decades after the Genocide. Yet the viewer also feels
that Artinian often skims the surface of her personal questions
of identity. She asks, “Where do I belong? Do I belong in Armenia,
in Canada or in Turkey?” but does not answer the question.
While Artinian states, “I set aside my personal life” to understand
her father’s national obsession, the study of this obsession becomes
sideswiped during the film by Artinian’s own personal obsession with
intermarriage, a question which is never fully explored. The loose
connection between the study of Armenian history and the question of
love and intermarriage becomes no more than melodrama, as the film
is unable to suggest, ultimately, how one affects the other.
Artinian argues at her parents’ dinner table that intermarriage does
not always have a negative effect on the continuation of Armenian
culture, and her mother responds, “That’s not the problem right now.
The problem is that we have a huge cause ahead of us, and that is
the recognition of the Genocide.” Araz refuses to hear or understand
her mother’s important statement and quickly reminds her family that
the intermarriage question is the important one for her. Herein,
unfortunately, lies the film’s biggest problem. Artinian attempts
to present a complex study of her father, of Armenian history and
of the effects of genocide. Yet in the final moments of the film,
she returns to her question of intermarriage, telling the viewer,
“In spite of the Genocide, I want to be Armenian and free.” It is an
unfortunate ending for a film that asks so many important questions,
ones that perhaps cannot be answered in one film.
All Rights Reserved: Critics Forum, 2006
Tamar Salibian is a filmmaker and writer living in Los Angeles. She
has written for AIM magazine. Her latest film, “Beautiful Armenians,”
recently screened at the Armenian Film Festival in San Francisco.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Atom Egoyan’s `Ararat’ Screened in Bucharest and Costanza

21.04.2006 23:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Events dedicated to the 91st anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide started in Romania. April 19 presentation of `The
History of One Genocide Consigned to Silence’, the book by Romanian
writer of Armenian origin Sergeu Selyan took place in the Romanian
Union of Writers. Romanian Senate member, head of the standing
committee on financial and budget affairs Varuzhan Voskanian, Armenian
Ambassador to Romania Eghishe Sargsyan and editor of the newspaper
issued by the Armenian Union of Romania Mikael Ghazaryan delivered
speeches during the presentation.
Atom Egoyan’s `Ararat’ film was screened in Bucharest and Costanza;
exhibitions dedicated to the Armenian Genocide opened. The Costanza
governor, RA Ambassador to Romania and head of the Romanian Diocese of
the Armenian Apostolic Church attended the events, reported the RA MFA
press service.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Armenian Genocide Victims to Be Commemorated in Tbilisi
21.04.2006 23:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On the initiative of the Armenian Center of
Cooperation of Georgia (ACCG) and `Nor Serund’, the Union of Armenians
of Georgia a protest action in view of the 91st anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide will be held at the Turkish Embassy in Tbilisi on
April 24, ACCG told PanARMENIAN.Net. Representatives of diasporas of
Georgia and Georgian NGOs are expected to attend the event. On the
same say a liturgy will be chanted in the Armenian Cathedral of Surb
Gevorg and a photo exhibition will be organized in the churchyard. The
events will finish with a march from Surb Gevorg towards Nor
Echmiadzin Church. Candles will be lit around the church.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Rafael Hambartsumyan: `Turkey and Russia Equally Guilty of Armenian Genocide’
21.04.2006 23:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Genocide was organized equally by
Russia and Turkey, historian Rafael Hambartsumyan stated in
Yerevan. In his words, when speaking of the Armenian Genocide several
important and concealed facts should be emphasized. `30 years before
the Genocide Russia put the slogan `Armenia without Armenians’ into
the mouth of prince Golitsyn,’ the Armenian historian said.
According to Hambartsumyan Russia always used Armenians for its own
ends. During the World War II Russia indirectly abetted Turkey in
perpetrating the Genocide by sending over 200 thousand soldiers to the
Russian-German front.
`As result of Moscow Treaty of 1921 Eastern Armenia was almost
completely occupied and divided between Turkey, Azerbaijan and
Georgia. The main purpose of the Treaty was the elimination of the
Armenian Republic,’ he said
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanARMENIAN.Net
German Writer Received RA President’s Award for Contribution to the
Armenian Genocide Recognition

22.04.2006 00:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ April 15 Armenian President Robert Kocharian signed
a decree on awarding the persons, who contributed to the Armenian
Genocide recognition process, reported RA leader’s press
service. German writer Edgar Hilsenrath received the award for the
book titled `The Tale of the Last Thought’ and Verjine Svazlyan was
awarded for the book titled `The Armenian Genocide and Historical
Memory of People’.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanARMENIAN.Net
Armenian-Georgian-Ajarian Business Forum to Be Held in Ajaria in May
22.04.2006 00:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An Armenian-Georgian-Ajarian business forum will be
held in Ajaria late May. The forum will be followed by an
Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental sitting. According to chairman of
the Armenian-Georgian and Armenian-Ajarian associations Vladimir
Badalyan, the Armenian-Georgian association has been successfully
functioning for two years already.
`One of the tasks of the Armenian-Georgian association is the
organization of summer vacations in foreign states for the middle
section of the Armenian population. 12 thousand Armenian citizens took
a vacation to Ajaria in 2005. This figure can double if the transport
problem is solved,’ Badalyan said.
Badalyan noted that presently the journey from Armenia to Batumi takes
16 hours, meanwhile the construction of a road through Javakhk will
shorten the way with 6 hours. `It will contribute to the development
of Javakhk and attract investments to the Ajarian economy,’ he said.