Turkey and Armenia
Even we wish you well
Oct 6th 2005 | YEREVAN
>From The Economist print edition
Armenians back Turkey’s hopes for a European future
IF THERE was a country in the world that wished the Turks ill, you might
think it would be Armenia, where most citizens say their people suffered
genocide at the hand of the Ottomans in 1915-and wish Turkey would admit
this. But in fact, Armenians cautiously welcome their neighbour’s
Euro-success.
Armenia’s problems with the Turks are not just historical. Since 1993,
the Ankara authorities have sealed the Turkish-Armenian border, in
solidarity with their kin in Azerbaijan, part of whose territory is
occupied by Armenians.
But people in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, assume that joining Europe
will make Turkey change its ways: both its view of history, and its
treatment of its neighbours. And the city’s weary residents feel they
need a break from tough regional realities. An isolated Armenia has had
to find partners wherever it can. From Moscow to Los Angeles, the
diaspora sends remittances; America’s government also gives aid-$75m
this year. But for ordinary people, life is hard.
The economy has grown on paper but produces little. In what was once a
medium-sized Soviet city, the centre is full of craters where mass
housing has been torn down to make flats for rich exiles. In the words
of a foreign-ministry adviser, “there is no alternative to getting on
with our neighbours.”
Arsen Ghazaryan, who co-chairs an association of Turkish and Armenian
businessmen, is frustrated by the blockade. Braving the cost of transit
through Georgia or Iran, he says, Turkish businessmen do around $100m
worth of trade with Armenia annually. Every summer, thousands of
Armenians catch the rays on Turkish beaches. But Mr Ghazaryan thinks of
what might be: with its deep ports and vibrant internal market, he sees
Turkey as a natural partner.
In their attitude to Turkey, there are differences between local and
overseas Armenians. While Armenia’s government hails Turkey’s
breakthrough, many in the diaspora called it an undeserved reward for an
unrepentant nation. “It’s easy to be principled in the diaspora,”
retorts a young woman in Yerevan. “They don’t have to live between
Turkey and Azerbaijan.”

Alleged scammer bilks $20M
Van Nuys man arrested on eight counts of fraud targeted at Armenian
residents.
By Tania Chatila (GLENDALE PRESS – Published: October 7, 2005)
PASADENA — A 43-year-old Van Nuys man was arrested Thursday on eight felony
counts of federal mail fraud in connection with an alleged investment scam
that bilked about $20 million from mostly Armenian-Americans, many of whom
were from Glendale and Burbank, said officials with the United States
Attorney’s Office.
Melkon Gharakhanian, whose alias was Mike Garian, allegedly used his
Glendale-based company, National Investment Enterprises Inc. to collect $20
million from 1999 to 2001 from investors who thought their money was going
toward the purchase of technological security systems, United States
Attorney’s Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said.
Many of those victims — 200 of them — were from the Glendale-Burbank area,
officials said.
“He had a storefront in Glendale and solicited a lot of business through
word of mouth in the community,” Mrozek said.
Gharakhanian, who was arrested at a Pasadena post office, allegedly used the
mail to send investors false monthly statements about the company and its
purchases of shares, he said.
“This is mail fraud, and it’s investment fraud, and that’s pretty serious,”
said Renee Focht, spokeswoman for the United States Postal Inspection
Service.
In 2001, after allegedly using investor funds for personal use and to pay
for the company’s operating expenses, National Investment Enterprises Inc.
flopped, Mrozek said.
“Basically the company collapsed, as ponzi schemes usually do when the
requests for withdrawals exceeds the amount of money [the company has],” he
said. “Basically he’s collecting money and he’s not making investments as
promised, but he’s telling people he’s making all this money for them.”
Investors lost about $5 million when the company collapsed, Mrozek said.
Gharakhanian could face up to 40 years in federal prison if convicted on all
eight counts, he said.
Gharakhanian will appear today in United States District Court in Los
Angeles.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Celebrating 38 letters
Armenian pontiff’s arrival and the 1,600-year-old Armenian alphabet are
cause for joy.
By Tania Chatila (GLENDALE PRESS – Published: October 7, 2005)
To understand the history of Armenian spirituality is to understand the
history of the Armenian Alphabet.
“The alphabet brought national identity to the Armenian people,” said Garbis
Der Yeghiayan, founding president of Mashdots College in Glendale, which is
named after the creator of the Armenian alphabet. “That was culturally and
nationally so very important for them.”
Now, 1,600 years after the alphabet’s creation, the Armenian community in
Glendale is celebrating, driven by a hope to worship in their own language
and, at the same time, celebrate the arrival of His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Armenian pontiff, who traveled from Antelias, Lebanon, and arrived in
Los Angeles Wednesday, was at the Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter
Thursday night to celebrate the alphabet’s creation and meet with the
community.
“It’s really symbolic,” said Ani Aghajani, who has been a member of
Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter for 18 years. “It’s two really important
things coming together. Our language and our religion were the two things
that kept our people together for the hundreds of years we had nothing to
belong to.”
This is the first of several appearances he will make locally, including a
blessing at the new Western Prelacy building in La Crescenta on Saturday and
a visit to Glendale Adventist Medical Center on Thursday.
“These meetings give him the opportunity to reinvigorate the community with
a sense of purpose and a message of building bridges,” said Zanku Armenian,
spokesman for the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of
America. “It allows the pontiff to maintain a connection with his people,
his flock, his churches — and vice versa.”
Aside from the arrival of the pontiff, Thursday’s event featured 38
paintings from Armenian artists who were each assigned a letter of the
alphabet and were asked to paint what that letter inspired them to paint,
chapter officials said.
Saint Mesrob Mashdots of Armenia invented the Armenian alphabet in 405 A.D.
to provide the Armenian community with an outlet to worship in their own
written language, Der Yeghiayan said.
“For hundreds of years after adopting Christianity, Armenians did not have
the opportunity to worship God in their own language because the Bible had
to be read in different languages,” Der Yeghiayan said.
Before the alphabet was adopted, Armenians would read the Bible in Greek,
Assyrian or Persian.
Traditional Armenian legends say Mashdots received a revelation from God,
who revealed the letters of what would be the alphabet to him in a dream,
Der Yeghiayan said.
Historically, Mashdots spent years studying the language and meeting with
other scholars to create the alphabet’s first 22 letters, he said. After
testing the alphabet, he then decided to increase the letters to 36, and
after his death two more letters were added, bringing the alphabet to its
current total of 38.
“The first task for him and his associates was to translate the Bible,” he
said, adding that fifth century of Armenian civilization is considered to be
the Golden Era because of the alphabet’s creation and the Bible’s
translation.
“More people started to go to church to worship,” he said. “They were so
proud that they could finally read their own Bible in their own language.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

latimes.com
October 7, 2005
Flocks Turn Out to See Armenian Church Leader on Visit to Los Angeles
His Holiness Aram I will be in area for two weeks, then will go to Fresno,
San Francisco.
By K. Connie Kang, Times Staff Writer
Members of the Armenian American community in Southern California are
turning out in large numbers to welcome His Holiness Aram I, the spiritual
head of one of the Armenian Apostolic Church’s two branches, as the pontiff
starts a two-week trip to the area.
The visit of the Catholicos formally began Wednesday night in Little Armenia
in Hollywood, where members of St. Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church rolled
out a red carpet sprinkled with rose petals for his entrance. An estimated
1,000 people from various parts of the Los Angeles area and beyond packed
the sanctuary and spilled out to the street.
Resplendent in a red cape with gold clasp over a traditional black robe and
hood, the imposing Catholicos gave a ringing message in Armenian during the
90-minute service. Aram also spoke briefly in English for the benefit of the
non-Armenian-speaking visitors, including representatives of Roman Catholic,
Coptic and other churches who came to pay their respects.
“Your presence in this church of God with us is indeed an eloquent
manifestation of our togetherness in our common Lord Jesus Christ,” he said
in a booming voice. “We may have differences of dogmatic positions. We may
have different theologies. But, we all belong to the one church of God, and
we are all committed to having Jesus Christ as our common Lord. We need to
come together and have the cross of Christ as a living message of love, of
togetherness, of service, of sacrifice, and through that, manifest our
unity.”
Aram has served for the last 15 years as moderator of the World Council of
Churches, a group of more than 300 Christian denominations that promotes
understanding among them.
Long after the service in Hollywood, Aram remained inside the ornate
sanctuary to bless a long line of congregants, who kissed his right hand.
“We were overwhelmed,” said Janet Aidaharian, a ninth-grader at Rose and
Alex Pilibos Armenian School, after the blessing.
“We felt very much honored to see a pope – especially [one of] our
nationality,” said Mary Setepanyan, another ninth-grader at the school,
located across from the church.
George Terzian, a retired truck driver from Miami, said he drove all the way
from Florida to pay “my respect.”
“I am so proud to be here,” he said. “I am only sorry that my wife could not
be here because she is ill.”
Aram has a busy schedule in the area, including meetings with congregants,
students, government leaders and clergy.
This morning, Aram is scheduled to meet with students at Glendale High
School. Tonight, he will speak at Holy Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church in
Encino. On Saturday, Aram will visit the Armenian Genocide Monument in
Montebello. Next Friday, he is scheduled to attend a Los Angeles City Hall
reception in his honor and speak to the World Affairs Council of Los
Angeles. On Oct. 15, the pontiff will participate in a USC symposium,
“Christian Response to Violence.”
After his Southern California visit, the pontiff will go to Fresno and San
Francisco before heading to the East Coast and then back to Lebanon.
Aram was elected in 1995 as head of the Great House of Cilicia, the diaspora
branch of the church, which is based in Lebanon. The other branch, the
Catholicosate of Echmiadzin (the Catholicosate of All Armenians) is
headquartered in Armenia. Its pontiff, His Holiness Karekin II, visited
California in June.
The church became divided administratively more than 50 years ago as the
former Soviet Union, of which Armenia was part, curbed religious freedom.
Some Armenian Apostolic churches abroad broke with the mother church and
switched allegiance to the Lebanon-based side. Others remained loyal to
church headquarters in Armenia. Though the two branches offer the same
liturgy and creed, more U.S. Armenians are believed to be affiliated with
Karekin’s Armenia-based church.
In an interview Thursday at his hotel suite in Universal City, Aram said he
believes the existence of two Catholicosates has turned out to be a
blessing. He said he hopes for more collaboration between the two on
important issues.
“Two-headed eagle is stronger,” he said, pointing to a gold seal with a
double-headed eagle on a gold chain around his neck.
“The church, being the church of the people, kept pace with the changing
times and circumstances,” he said.
He said it is important that Armenians living abroad integrate and become
part of the communities where they live, but that they should not forget
their heritage. While being part of U.S. life, Armenian Americans must
“preserve our particulars, being faithful to our roots,” he said.
He said he believes the United States has a significant role to play in
promoting its values and working for peace with justice. “This has been a
society of values, of basic human principles and aspirations,” he said.
“This country has been a source of freedom, liberty and justice.”

BBC NEWS
7 October 2005
Turkey sentences Armenian writer
Journalists have raised concerns about aspects of the penal reforms
A journalist in Turkey has been found guilty of insulting Turkish identity
and given a suspended six-month jail sentence by a court in Istanbul.
Hrant Dink, of Armenian-Turkish descent, wrote a newspaper column which he
argued was aimed at improving relations between Turkey and Armenia.
The prosecution interpreted one part as an insult, but Mr Dink has said he
will appeal against the ruling.
The verdict follows criminal code reforms as Turkey seeks to join the EU.
The reforms were intended to improve freedom of speech in Turkey.
The article written by Mr Dink addressed the killings of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians during Ottoman rule in 1917.
Armenians, supported by several countries, want Turkey to recognise the
events as a genocide. Turkey rejects that description, saying the deaths
occurred in a civil war in which many Turks were also killed.
Humiliation
A paragraph in the article calling on Armenians to symbolically reject “the
adulterated part of their Turkish blood” was taken as offensive.
” If I’m guilty of insulting a nation then it’s a matter of honour not to
live here” Hrant Dink.
The judge ruled that Mr Dink’s newspaper column implied that Turkish blood
was dirty.
He is the editor of a bilingual Armenian-Turkish newspaper, Agos.
The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford said the judge ordered a suspended sentence as it
was Mr Dink’s first offence.
But the nationalist lawyers who brought the case were disappointed.
“There was an obvious humiliation and result of this case should be at least
two and a half years or three years criminal charge,” one said.
“But I think that Turkish courts are under big pressure due to these
European Union accession talks.”
‘No crime’
Mr Dink’s lawyer Fethiye Cetin said the ruling showed how little had changed
under Turkey’s new criminal code, despite international and internal
pressure.
“There was no crime here,” she told the BBC. “We expected our client to get
off.”
Our correspondent says human rights lawyers believe his case shows there are
still no-go areas for discussion here and the new laws leave substantial
room for interpretation.
Mr Dink says he will appeal against the ruling. But if he cannot clear his
name, he will leave the country.
“If I’m guilty of insulting a nation,” he told the BBC, “then it’s a matter
of honour not to live here.”

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 MEETS WITH THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF ST. CATHARINS
After meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada, Paul Martin, His Holiness
Aram I stopped in St. Catharins, where he met with the Armenian community on
October 4. His Holiness was greeted by believers, the board of trustees of
the St. Boghos Church and representatives form the community at the Armenian
Center.
Archbishop James Wingel of St. Catharins Catholic Church, Antonios Semaan of
the Coptic Orthodox Church, Fr. Magarious Giannopoulos of the Greek Orthodox
Church and other spiritual officials greeted His Holiness upon his arrival
to St. Catharins.
Jim Bradley, Ontario’s tourism minister, Carol Discher, the deputy of St.
Catharin’s governor and other officials participated in the official
luncheon held in honor of His Holiness. Around 200 believers gathered in the
Center’s hall to listen to His Holiness’ message.
Sera Mazmanian delivered the opening remarks, warmly welcoming His Holiness
“who had not forgotten his small flock in this far away city.”
Catholic Archbishop Wingel greeted His Holiness, highlighting his
international efficacy and contribution to the dialogue between religions
and churches. He assured that the Catholicos’ election as the chairman of
the World Council of Churches and his unprecedented re-election greatly
contributed to the strengthening of relations between Christian Churches.
The chairman of the St. Boghos Church, Raffi Stamboulian, read out a letter
by Prime Minister Paul Martin who expressed his happiness on the occasion of
the 10trh anniversary of His Holiness’ enthronement, the 75th anniversary of
the Seminary’s establishment and the 1600th anniversary of the Consecration
of the Armenian Alphabet.
Carol Discher read out a welcoming letter written by St. Catharin’s
governor. Tourism minister Jim Bradley also welcomed His Holiness.
Sebouh Tokadjian and Sarkis Balabanian expressed the local Armenian
community’s greetings and welcomed His Holiness in St. Catharins. The
“Anoush” dance group of the Armenian Relief Society and solo singer Garbis
Zakarian entertained the audience.
The Prelate of Canada, Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, spoke with high regard
about the thoughts and views expressed by His Holiness during his speeches
in Canada lately, pointing out that they would be “guidelines for us in the
future.”
“His Holiness’ visit that brought him as far as St. Catharins is a tangible
expression of his love towards this small community, which is not at all
marginalized because of its distance,” he said.
His Holiness first spoke in English, expressing his gratitude to the present
foreign spiritual leaders and officials who have always encouraged the local
Armenian community.
He then delivered his Pontifical message, calling upon Armenian to uphold
the spirit of toleration as an important step in securing mutual
understanding. The Pontiff considered Christianity’s meaning to be based on
faith, hope and love and called upon the attendants to make these truths the
three pillars of their individual and collective lives.
Believers then had the opportunity to kiss His Holiness’ right hand.
His Holiness returned to Toronto late at night. He will then travel to Los
Angeles to continue his Pontifical Visit in North America.
##
View pictures here:
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the dioceses 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
The Eurasia Foundation
Representative Office in Armenia
4 Demirchyan Str., Yerevan 375019, Armenia
Contact: Alisa Alaverdyan
Tel: (374 10) 586059, 586159
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

eurasia foundation increases inter-municipal cooperation

Yerevan, Armenia- The Eurasia Foundation Representative Office in Armenia
recently awarded more than $100,000 to ten municipalities and community
unions for the promotion of inter-municipal networking and cooperation. By
creating networks between urban and rural municipalities, community members
and municipal leaders will have an opportunity to jointly identify and solve
community problems. Strong local government is critical to Armenia’s
development because local authorities ensure the delivery of services that
respond to community needs.

The grant recipients were selected through an open competition that was
announced in July following a series of informational seminars on project
design. Recipients include the municipalities of Berdavan, Martuni, Masis,
Metsamor, Sisian and Vedi, as well as the inter-community unions of Aparan,
Ararat, Noyemberyan and Tumanyan. Both the employees of rural and urban
municipalities and residents of Armenia’s communities will benefit from the
projects supported by the Foundation. These projects will:

* Create inter-municipal networks, which will be equipped with
Intranet systems that will host legislation databases and allow the exchange
of information between municipalities on issues of common interest;
* Support trainings for municipality and community union employees
on the use of these systems and management skills;
* Support the development of inter-municipal strategies for
increasing the efficient use of community resources and improving services
to citizenry.

“The Eurasia Foundation is promoting effective local governance by
developing municipalities’ technical and professional skills and fostering
cooperation between local authorities. As a result of these projects, we can
expect to see the establishment of vibrant inter-municipal networks,” says
the Eurasia Foundation Armenia Country Director Ara Nazinyan.

***
_____
Privately managed with support from USAID and other donors, the Eurasia
Foundation has made more than 7,500 grants totaling over $153 million in 12
countries of the former Soviet Union since 1993. The Eurasia Foundation has
operated in Armenia since 1995 encouraging the development of civil society,
public administration and private enterprise. For additional information
about Eurasia Foundation activities in Armenia and a list of our independent
advisory board members, please visit <; or _____ This press release was made possible through support provided by the Office of Economic Growth, Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of Award No. EMT-G-00-02-00008-00. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
================================================
Friday 7 October 2005
ROMANIA: TOO MUCH POWER FOR THE STATE AND RECOGNIZED COMMUNITIES?
Romanian religious minorities have told Forum 18 News Service of their
concerns about the undefined powers given to the state by the draft
religion law, due to passed by the end of 2005, and the privileges the law
gives the highest status religious communities. Amongst areas of concern
Forum 18 has been told of are legal protection being given only to members
of 18 state-recognized “religious denominations,” and the undefined powers
the state is given to decide which communities will be so classified in
future. Some have suggested to Forum 18 that the law breaks the Romanian
Constitution, and concerns have also been expressed about the lack of
legal personality of unrecognized groups, preventing them from buying
property, building churches or having paid staff or ministers.
ROMANIA: TOO MUCH POWER FOR THE STATE AND RECOGNIZED COMMUNITIES?
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service
Romania’s draft religion law, discussion of which in parliamentary
committees is set to resume next week, is intended to become law by the
end of 2005. As well as being concerned about the law’s three-tier system
of state recognition (see F18News 6 October 2005
<;), religious minorities have told Forum 18 News Service of their concerns about the undefined powers which the law gives the state and the privileges the law gives the highest status religious communities. Under the new law, all 18 faiths recognised by the government as "religious denominations" will receive the highest level of status. They are: the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox diocese, the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Catholic Church, the Old Rite Christian (Orthodox) Church, the Reformed (Protestant) Church, the Christian Evangelical Church, the Romanian Evangelical Church, the Evangelical Augustinian Church, the Lutheran Evangelical Church-Synod Presbyterian, the Unitarian Church, the Baptist Church, the Pentecostal Church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, Judaism, Islam, and Jehovah's Witnesses (whose status as a denomination was confirmed after long legal battles in May 2003). Under the draft law, only "recognised religious denominations" or "cults" have the right to provide religious education in public schools, establish their own religious schools, or receive financial support from the state. Article 13 paragraph 3 of the draft Article 13 paragraph 3 prescribes punishment only for those who obstruct the religious practice of members of the recognised denominations. Unrecognised communities enjoy no such protection. In a bizarre proposal, only religious denominations and the lesser category of religious associations will be allowed to call themselves "church". "In our culture it is important to have the title 'church'," pastor Lucian Chis, head of the Federation of Autonomous Christian Churches, told Forum 18 from Timisoara. "If you don't, you're treated not as a church but as a 'sect'. This is a problem, as lots of churches don't have 300 members." But Agafatei of the State Secretariat insists any group can call itself a church, although not in law without legal status. The River of Revival Pentecostal church thinks that dividing religious communities up in this way "does not respect the Romanian Constitution, which guarantees absolute equality between people, regardless of religion." The state has great but undefined powers in deciding which religious communities should gain this status. Article 5 states that religious associations can only gain the status of denomination if they guarantee "durability and stability." The Jehovah's Witnesses are concerned that such undefined criteria are open to the "whimsical excesses of the state" and could lead to "discriminatory interpretation." Baptists are among the religious communities which oppose the time limit of 12 years before a community can start to apply for recognition. River of Revival Pentecostal church also notes that the new law would not allow religious communities with fewer than 300 members to gain legal status. Such newly-founded communities, it complained to Forum 18 News Service, "cannot promote their identity, having no right to purchase property, to build churches or to have paid staff or ministers". The church added that the registration system with different categories of religious communities with differing rights "may lead to discrimination and persecution". The Jehovah's Witnesses agree with this, stating that "it is unconstitutional that citizens who share a certain religious creed and wish to manifest their religious freedom collectively should be obligated to go through an intermediary stage of 'religious association', which provides few rights and then become a 'religious denomination' after a certain period of time," they told Forum 18. The River of Revival church has further concerns about the procedure for approval to become a religious association. "In the court the government is represented by a prosecutor and an inspector from the State Secretariat of the Romanian government. We do not consider this to be appropriate." Mihai Agafatei of the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations says that under the law on juridical entities, which also covers religious associations, prosecutors attend all such court sessions, so religious associations are being treated no differently. The church is asking for a number of changes, including the right for as few as 21 people to begin a religious association and use the name "church" with their group. Such an association, the church stated, should be allowed to have the same rights and freedoms as any religious community. Agafatei of the State Secretariat defended the three-tier registration system, claiming that the 18 recognised religious denominations themselves want this and that the European experts and the Council of Europe Venice Commission also recommended this. Asked by Forum 18 on 7 October why religious communities which already have the top-level legal status should be allowed to set such a high threshold that other religious communities will be unable to meet he had no answer. (Religious denominations also have to be consulted over any future changes to the religion law.) Some faiths, including the Baha'is, Reform Adventists and Old Believers, have failed to gain state recognition in recent years. "We have 7,000 members, more than four or five of the denominations currently recognised," Wargha Enayati of the Baha'i community told Forum 18 from Bucharest on 6 October. "We've been here in Romania since 1926, but it's impossible - under the old law and the new - for us to be recognised as a religious denomination. This is not fair." He believes that if a distinction is made between religious communities on the basis of size, it should be set at the lowest membership level among current recognised denominations. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the lowest, with only about 700 members. In a lengthy analysis signed by its president, Pastor Paul Negrut, the Baptist Union complained that nowhere in the draft is the separation of the state and religious communities explicitly mentioned, a concern shared by the Jehovah's Witnesses. Agafatei of the State Secretariat told Forum 18 such a declaration was unnecessary, as the country's Constitution already specifies that religious communities are autonomous. Although the Baptist Union welcomed the earlier removal from the draft that the recognised religious denominations were "public property", it regretted that no recognition was inserted that they are "private property". The Baptist Union fears this lack could lead to eventual government attempts to influence religious communities. "The eventual use of such power and influence cannot be accepted by the church since it is contrary to its purpose and its calling," it declared. The Baptist Union also complains that the draft law continues the practice of state payment of the wages for religious personnel and the upkeep of places of worship, something the Baptists believe "consolidates government control over the denominations". The Baptists have not accepted such financial support although they are currently a recognised denomination. "We believe that the financial support of each denomination ought to come from individuals as well as commercial entities that can decide to support the denomination of their own choosing by receiving from the government a tax deduction in the amount of their donation," it proposes, pointing out that no donations to non-profit entities are currently tax-deductible. Agafatei of the State Secretariat defended this as a Romanian "tradition". "The state doesn't oblige religious communities to take the money it offers," he told Forum 18. Religious education in schools is another controversial area. The Baptist Union is worried about Article 39 paragraph 4 of the draft, which appears to require schools set up by religious denominations for their own communities to offer religious education to pupils of another faith who voluntarily choose to attend the school. Another concern was expressed by the Enayati of the Baha'is, who told Forum 18 that without religious denomination status the Baha'is, who he says do not engage in proselytism, cannot even be invited into schools during comparative religion classes to explain what they believe. Cemeteries are also controversial in a country where the dominant Orthodox Church often allows burials in their cemeteries only under Orthodox rites. Many minorities and human rights activists welcome the requirement in Article 29 paragraph 2 that local authorities provide secular graveyards for all citizens, but fear that without an enforcement mechanism local officials may never provide such facilities. The Baptists are also worried that religious freedom can be restricted on "national security," grounds, replacing the "public safety" grounds specified in Article 8 (2) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Article 5 paragraph 3 and Article 49 paragraph 3 of the religion law replaces the ECHR phrase "public safety" with "national security". "Keeping in mind the different understanding of the two phrases - the two of them never to be interchangeably used - and in light of past practices where a truly totalitarian state under the pretext of 'national security' persecuted Christians from our denominations for having fellowship with believers in other nations, we believe the texts of the two articles must be modified to respect the text of the European Convention on Human Rights." Agafatei of the State Secretariat conceded that the use of the term "national security" was a mistake and that this should be "public safety". He said this will be corrected. Some remain concerned that the draft law does not spell out the role of the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations, part of the Ministry of Culture and Religion. Minorities already complain that the State Secretariat is staffed by Orthodox believers who believe their role is to defend the rights of their Church. "The current staff is anything but professional or neutral," one human rights activist who has been involved in this area told Forum 18. "Without operational enforcement of the law's provisions and without professional staff, we will be stuck with the Romanian dilemma: reform implemented by dinosaurs." "You have to look not only at what the law says, but how it will be enacted in its social context," Dorina Nastase of the Bucharest-based think tank the Romanian Centre for Global Studies told Forum 18 on 6 October. "The consensus in the Bucharest elite is that Romania should protect its identity by protecting the Romanian Orthodox Church." A printer-friendly map of Romania is available at <;Rootmap=romani>
(END)
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YOUNG EGYPTIAN PHOTOGRAPHER YOUSSEF NABIL TURNS HIS LENS ON HIMSELF
By Kaelen Wilson-Goldie Daily Star staff Friday
The Daily Star, Lebanon
October 7 2005
Self-portrait exhibition at Cairo gallery one of artist’s four
high-profile shows this year
BEIRUT: Renowned novelist Naguib Mahfouz: all glasses and graying
goatee with a smile pronouncing itself in the curve of his cheeks.
Legendary bellydancer Fifi Abdou: her famous waist cinched in a black
evening gown, standing on what look to be a powerful pair of shins,
her body cropped at her sternum. The movie star Suhair Nassim, aka
Youssra: eyes closed to convey lust and longing, planting a sumptuous
kiss on the lips of her own reflection. The crude yet immensely popular
singer Shaaban Abdel Rehim (of “I Hate Israel” fame): a close-up of
his hands, weighed down with heavy gold rings and bracelets, gently
folded over his soft and protruding gut.
Young Egyptian photographer Youssef Nabil may be best known for his
celebrity portraiture (all of the above plus Paulo Coelho, Julian
Schnabel and John Waters, to name a few) and his quirky images of
colleagues and friends, such as singer Natacha Atlas (a close-up of her
cleavage), actress Rosy De Palma (sticking her tongue out the corner
of her mouth) and artists Shirin Neshat (in severe black eyeliner),
Tracey Emin (in cowboy boots over argyle socks) and Ghada Amer (face
down on her drafting board with a thimble on her middle finger). But
from now through October 12, Nabil is showing a much different face
at Cairo’s Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art – his own.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with myself since I moved to Paris three
years ago,” says Nabil, in an interview conducted between Paris and
Beirut. “It reminded me of my childhood. I was a very introverted
child, always by myself in my room. That made me ask myself many
questions about my life and existence. I decided to talk about it in
my work.”
The Townhouse show, titled “Realities to Dreams,” features 11
self-portraits, all done in Nabil’s signature style. He takes
evocative, high-contrast black-and-white photographs with a
35-millimeter camera. Then he applies the antiquated technique of
hand-painting them all, meticulously, painstakingly, one at a time
(he prints his photographs in editions of 10, but the hand-coloring
essentially renders each picture unique).
Whether he’s shooting himself or a subject, Nabil works on location,
not inside a studio. The set-up doesn’t take much time, he says. “I
ask people to look the way they usually are … No makeup as I do it
myself when coloring the photo. I like to meet people at least one time
before the shoot. We feel things [out] and talk about everything. Then
the day of the shoot is really fast, sometimes it’s only for 10 or
15 minutes … Most of the time I spend is when I color. It takes me
three days to do one photo. I also could photograph any time of the
day, but to start coloring I need to be in a certain mental flow and
free from all other thoughts.”
Nabil, who turns 33 next month, originally wanted to be a filmmaker.
As a kid he was inspired by the retro glamor of Egyptian cinema’s
golden age, and particularly by the photo-novels used to accompany
those old films. He studied literature at Cairo University and
began taking pictures at 19. Then he got two opportunities he’d be
crazy to refuse – the first as an assistant to New York-based fashion
photographer David Lachapelle (who, interestingly enough, just released
his own first film, the critically acclaimed documentary “Rize”
about hip-hop dance styles krumping and clowning in Los Angeles),
the second as an assistant to Paris-based fashion photographer and
celebrity portraitist Mario Testino.
In addition to learning from the expertise of Lachapelle and
Testino, both giants in terms of fashion photography and skilled at
crossing over into contemporary art, Nabil benefited immensely from
a long friendship with legendary Egyptian-Armenian photographer Leon
Boyadjian, better known as Van Leo. With Van Leo’s work, Nabil shares
a sense of faded beauty, crumbling elegance, and rootless nostalgia.
While it is tempting to read Nabil’s self-portraits as an homage
to Van Leo, who once rather famously shot 400 pictures of himself
donning 400 different identities in a single year, Nabil insists his
intentions are personal, interior and reflective.
“I started doing them in 1992 in my room,” he explains. Of the images
on view at Townhouse, he adds: “I did all of them during the past three
years, in my travels. Some I had the idea [for] before and traveled
specially to do the portrait, and some were more spontaneous. I felt
in all of them that I was a visitor.”
The effect of Nabil’s current exhibition in Cairo, and of his
self-portraits on their own as a body of work, is subtle, like a
graceful accumulation of gestures. What becomes clear when looking
at them all at once is that Nabil never faces his own camera directly.
He looks above or to the side of the lens or he turns his head
completely. The viewer becomes Nabil’s accomplice, gazing out onto
the same scene and then, inevitably, searching for something. What
can be seen in this quaint lantern nestled into a pile of autumn
leaves? What can be found hidden among the delicate leaves and lily
pads of an English park east of Paris?
“There is always something that we look for, that we wish to have
or understand or achieve,” he says. But “nothing is complete, and
nothing will remain the same.”
As a title, “Realities to Dreams” is “a personal thing. Since I was
a kid I had a way of mixing my dreams with my realities and realities
with my dreams. It’s my way of seeing things, too … ”
The Townhouse show is one of four high-profile exhibitions Nabil
has lined up for the rest of this year. Through October 14, his more
glamorous imagery and celebrity portraiture is on view at the upstart
Dubai gallery Third Line.
In late November, Nabil is participating in the Institut du Monde
Arabe’s blockbuster show on contemporary Arab photography, featuring
nearly 25 artists from Jananne al-Ani, Nadim Asfar and Lara Baladi
to Susan Hefuna, Randa Shaath, Ahlam Shibli and the team of Paola
Yacoub and Michel Lasserre. Nabil will show self-portraits and nudes.
Before the year is out, he has another solo exhibition at Patricia
Liligant in New York, a 57th Street gallery that specializes in vintage
and contemporary photography and houses an archive of work by the likes
of Hans Bellmer, Brassai and Man Ray (not bad company to be in). There,
Nabil will show “Not Afraid to Love,” a collection of work done on
more sexual themes (photographs like the one titled “Tamer,” framing
a young man with an issue of Playboy draped lazily across his chest,
an arm reaching down, out of the composition, into the imagination).
Nabil doesn’t imagine he’ll ever give up black-and-white film,
hand-tinting or the idea of portraiture. “I like people and like
watching them,” he jokes. “I guess I’m a voyeur by nature.” He hasn’t
given up on film and is writing his first movie now. He hopes to take
Elizabeth Taylor’s portrait one day. And he still pines for never
having the chance to shoot Frida Kahlo or Umm Kalthoum. Impossible
in reality, perhaps. But highly plausible in Nabil’s dreams.
Youssef Nabil’s “Realities to Dreams” is on view at Cairo’s Townhouse
Gallery of Contemporary Art through October 12. For more information,
call +20 2 576 8086 or check out
“Youssef Nabil: Portraits” is on view at Dubai’s Third Line through
October 14. For more information, call +971 4 394 3194 or check out

SAHAKYAN NAMED NONSENSE THE CONCEPT OF DUAL CITIZENSHIP
ARMINFO News Agency
October 6, 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6. ARMINFO. Though the draft reforms excepts the
ban on dual citizenship from the Constitution, it is per se nonsense,
leader of the parliamentary Republican party faction Galust Sahakyan
expressed such an opinion during a press-conference at the National
press-club.
In his words, the ban was excepted by the draft authors with the aim
to involve more intensive the Armenian Diaspora into the processes
taken place in Armenia. “This matter has been regulated by special
agreements between the two countries, and I cannot imagine someone
who lives abroad but pays taxes in Armenia and serves in the Armenian
army. It is nonsense”, Sahakyan stated. At the same time, he noted
that the law on dual citizenship certainly “will secure” the country
against undesirable precedents.