FINNISH PRESIDENT ON VISIT IN ARMENIA
Newsroom Finland, Finland
Sept 26 2005
The Finnish President Tarja Halonen arrived Monday into Jerevan,
Armenia, from where she is to begin her three-day official visit to
South Caucasia.
At the Jerevan airport President Halonen and her spouse, Mr Arajarvi,
were met by a high-ranking delegation of officials led by the Armenian
justice minister Davit Harutiunian.
President Halonen and the Armenian President Robert Kotsharian are
to meet Tuesday in bilateral talks.
The talks are to feature exchange of views on the crisis epicentres of
South Caucasia. Mountain Karabah figures among them, a region Armenia
and Azerbaidzhan have fought over with guns. An armistice was signed
in 1994.
Wednesday, President Halonen, Mr Arajarvi and a Finnish business
delegation are to proceed to Georgia.

A BAND’S ARMENIAN ROOTS
Arts Briefly
Broadway World, NY
Sept 26 2005
The rock band System of a Down plans to visit the Batavia, Ill.,
office of Rep. J. Dennis Hastert, Republican of Illinois and speaker
of the House, at noon tomorrow to urge him to bring a resolution
recognizing the Turkish genocide of Armenians between 1915 and 1923
to a full House vote. A rally is scheduled for tomorrow from noon
to 2 p.m. The band joins the Armenian National Committee of America,
Axis of Justice and the Armenian Youth Federation in this campaign.
System of a Down’s four members – Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian,
Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan – are of Armenian descent and have
worked to raise awareness of the issue of genocide against Armenians
and others. On Sept. 15, the House International Relations Committee
approved the resolution.

9/11 FAMILIES AND HEROES ADVANCING AGAINST HIJACKERS OF WORLD TRADE CENTER MEMORIAL
Wes Vernon
renewamerica.us, D.C.
Sept 26 2005
The high-powered liberal establishment that runs Manhattan from the
salons of the East and West sides and wields more than its share of
clout across America is on the defensive because of outraged citizens,
firefighters, police and families of the 9/11 dead. Now Congress may
soon weigh in – big time.
Capitol Hill’s outrage is bipartisan. Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY) is the
vice-chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of
the House Appropriations Committee. That panel oversees the federal
taxpayer dollars (“Taxpayer,” let us never forget, means you and me)
that may end up bankrolling a planned playpen for the “Politically
Correct” instead of creating a proper memorial to the nearly 3,000
who died in the savage, barbaric attack on 9/11. The object of Capitol
Hill wrath in this case is the so-called International Freedom Center
– or IFC). (See my column July 11 – “Political Correctness at Ground
Zero Draws Hill Protest.”)
Congressman Sweeney wants a House committee investigation of this
mess. Chances are his panel will do the investigating and require
the IFC eminences – unaccustomed to taking any sass or challenges to
their authority – to explain themselves.
The lawmaker is joined by his fellow New Yorkers, Reps. Peter King –
the new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee – and Vito
Fosella, both Republicans.
Moreover, the move in the Halls of Congress against moneyed and
prominent know-it-alls who are pushing for the hijacking of the World
Trade Center memorial comes from both sides of the aisle. New York’s
junior senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has turned against the power
players of the IFC, many of whom have treated the Democrat presidential
wannabe as if she walked on water.
“I cannot support the IFC,” Senator Clinton told the New York Post’s
Deborah Orin. Noting the complaints that the IFC is going in a
direction that would make the memorial a center of anti-Americanism,
the senator added, “I am troubled by the serious concerns family
members and first responders have expressed to me,” and that “I do
not believe we can move forward until it [the LMDC- Lower Manhattan
Development Corporation – another group involved in planning the
memorial] heeds and addresses their concerns.”
Clinton took her stand shortly after the IFC issued a required report
to the LMDC in an attempt to prove itself worthy of a spot at Ground
Zero. LMDC Chairman John Whitehead had warned if the IFC failed to
prove itself, “we will find another tenant – consistent with our
objectives – for that space.”
“Guess what?” opined the New York Post in an editorial, “It failed.
Time to find another tenant.” Indeed the hundreds of thousands of
9/11 family members and unions representing about 182,000 police and
firefighters want the IFC out of there – yesterday. So too do the
nearly 50,000 who have signed on to a protest petition on the website,
Take Back the Memorial.
Senator Clinton, who faces the voters of New York in her 2006
re-election bid (as a stepping-stone for her 2008 run for 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue) is not about to row upstream against a political
thicket of angry people who believe they and their loved ones have
been wronged by an anti-Americanism that adds gratuitous personal
insult to grievous injury.
Debra Burlingame, whose brother “Chip” was the pilot of the plane
that terrorists crashed into the Pentagon Sept. 11, told me she thinks
“Senator Clinton recognized that this is no longer a couple of families
who can’t get over the loss of their loved ones [as the PC crowd
wants us to think]. I think that [the senator] understands that we
fairly reflect the feelings of all of those who associate with Ground
Zero-9/11 – that is, to say the first responders, and the survivors,
as well as Americans all across the land.” Uniformed Firefighters
President Steve Cassidy says his members want the memorial to put 9/11
“in context.”
IFC President Tom Bernstein has expressed hope the site will be a
“magnet” for activists, politicians, academics, and scholars to
“discuss” domestic and foreign policy in the post-9/11 world. Given
that George Soros and others of his ilk are helping to bankroll this
disaster, one can easily imagine the Blame America First “discussions”
that would mar the memory of the 9/11 heroes. For example, what
“academics” are we talking about here? Ward Churchill, who called
the 9/11 victims “little Eichmanns?”
The New York Times, the undisputed establishment mouthpiece, fretted
editorially that 9/11 families “will be able to censor” the IFC’s
supposed good works.
Of course, that totally misses the point of the protest. Such a
journalistic display of the tin-ear stems from the simple fact that,
unlike Senator Clinton, the New York Times is not burdened with the
necessity of seeking approval from the voters (though NYT’s circulation
has been on the decline in recent years, a little matter to which it
might want to direct its attention someday).
The Times, of course, urged LMDC to give rubber stamp approval
to the IFC’s plans post-haste. As far as its editorial board was
concerned, New York’s Republican Governor George Pataki “capitulated”
to “a misguided outcry from critics” by directing the IFC to write
the report. A better argument can be made that by not immediately
demanding the IFC’s ouster from the site, the governor dithered and
postponed the day of reckoning. If that kind of slow-motion “action”
continues – as the New York Post put it – “most likely, Ground Zero
will still be a massive hole in the ground four years from now.”
Understand: No one – absolutely nobody – has tried to “censor”
exhibits or lectures on the civil rights movement, the jailing of
Martin Luther King, slavery, the Civil War, the Holocaust, and the
Soviet Gulags. They’re all worthy of public attention. Just not at
Ground Zero. That is not censorship.
To mix 9/11 with these other issues would detract from the proper
memorial to the dead, many of whose body parts were found hours,
days, weeks and months later scattered about in the Hudson River and
in other Manhattan environs.
If you were to ask the curators of the Holocaust – whose purpose
is to honor the 6 million Jews Hitler killed – to honor also the
victims of the 1915 Turkish genocidal slaughter of the Armenians,
those museum gate-keepers would have none of it. In fact, Burlingame
notes they have said as much. And remember, the 6 million Jews were
killed in Europe, not here in Washington, where the Holocaust Museum
is located. Ground Zero, on the other hand, is the exact site where
most of the 9/11 victims were killed. To impose PC at that location
is something akin to grave desecration.
If you live outside of the New York City area, you may not be fully
aware of the full dimensions of this bitter controversy., which
should not be merely “a local story,” but by any reasonable standard,
should be national news. So why isn’t it? Aside from journalistic
laziness or inattentiveness, it is hard not to notice the powerful
media people tied in one way or another to the IFC, the LMDC, or
otherwise connected with the PC venture.
The White House is clearly embarrassed by these developoments. Try
to discuss the matter with anyone there, and you get a quick change
of subject. Liberals keep harping on the fact that IFC Chairman Tom
Bernstein is an old Yale buddy of President Bush. They do not mention,
however, that Bernstein is also President of Human Rights First which
has harassed the administration for locking up terrorists at Gitmo
and has worked hand-in-glove with the ACLU to target the Pentagon
over prisoner abuse. (The ACLU, by the way, wants a “civil liberties”
exhibit at Ground Zero.)
One can envision the long-overdue congressional hearings where the
IFC will have to answer questions related to the Sweeney-King-Fosella
statement Friday that the IFC report “falls well short” of legitimate
concerns and that the IFC “is thumbing its nose at limiting to the
events of 9/11.”
As the congressmen put it, “We have been patient, but the time for
debate is over.” The lawmakers are not shooting from the hip. They
have met with all parties involved in the memorial controversy.
And just in case anyone misses the point, they add, “Perhaps the
opportunity to shed light on the proposed center will allow the
American people to properly scrutinize the potential for their tax
dollars to be spent blaming America for the sins of others.”
Pound the gavel, Mr. Chairman. Call the committee to order. I can
hardly wait.
Wes Vernon is a Washington-based writer and veteran broadcast
journalist.

GROUPS IN SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETI ADVOCATE AUTONOMY
Civil Georgia, Georgia
Sept 26 2005
A group of non-governmental organizations based in Georgia’s southern
region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, which is predominately populated by
ethnic Armenians, held a conference on September 23-24 and discussed
current problems in the region.
In a resolution adopted at the conference, the Council of Armenian
non-governmental organizations in Samtskhe-Javakheti called on the
Georgian leadership to consider granting autonomy to the region with
“broad authority for self-governance, including the right to hold
elections for all bodies of governance,” the Russian news agency
regnum reported on September 26.
Text of the resolution also says that by offering the broadest form of
autonomy to South Ossetia and Abkhazia the Georgian authorities are
“discriminating other ethnicities living in Georgia – the rights of
[other ethnicities] who have demonstrated civil loyalty are being
ignored.”
“Meanwhile, those regions who have violated the country’s territorial
integrity [South Ossetia, Abkhazia], are offered solutions, which
should also be available for [ethnic populations] densly residing in
some of the regions of the country,” the resolution says.
Participants of the conference stated that a federal arrangement
of Georgia could be the best solution to the problem and called on
the Georgian leadership to consider creating a “Samtskhe-Javakheti
Parliament through free and direct elections, which would be authorized
to carry out cultural, education social and economic policies, as
well as [will be authorized] to protect public order.”

WOMEN ISLAMIC GAMES INAUGURATED IN TEHRAN
IranMania, Iran
Sept 26 2005
LONDON, September 26 (IranMania) – The Fourth Women Islamic Games
was inaugurated in an official ceremony at the Enqelab Sports Arena,
according to Iran Daily.
After the inauguration ceremony, the message of the International
Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge was read to the participants.
In his message Rogge wished the organizers of the international
event as well as women athletes every success in their efforts at
the Fourth Women Islamic Games. He also congratulated the organizers
for organizing the event and inviting women from across the globe to
compete in the ongoing games, IRNA reported.
Women are currently competing in 18 different sports fields and the
main aim of the event is to give them the opportunity to be part of
the Olympic and sporting events at international levels.
After Rogge?s message, Faezeh Hashemi, head of the Women Islamic
Sports Federation, briefed the participants about the past activities
of the international event and similarly wished every success for
the participants.
She said the Islamic world is currently going through a difficult
period and is under constant threat from all directions. For this
reason, peace and stability can not be achieved without unity and
elimination of all types of discriminations, she noted.
She argued that international sporting events could pave the way for
positive interactions among the countries and bolster joint values
in scientific, cultural, social, political and economic domains. ?It
could also create balance and widespread peace across the globe.?
She reiterated that the chief aim of the Islamic Republic in organizing
the event is to continue its friendship with other nations, and
promote peace and friendship across the globe.
At Saturday?s games, women athletes competed with each other in a
number of different fields.
Iran?s futsal team managed to beat Turkmenistan 32-1 while England
lost the game to Armenia 3-38. In handball, Iran similarly thrashed
Qatar 39-22 as Jordan did the same to Tajikistan with 34-15.
Iran, however, did not have a good luck in badminton and lost the
game to Indonesia 2-3. Syria, on the contrary, had a lucky day after
it beat Iraq 5-0.
Other winners in badminton were Pakistan and Malaysia which beat
Azerbaijan and Armenia 5-0 respectively.
The Fourth Women Islamic Games will run through September 28.

California Courier Online, September 29, 2005
1 – Commentary
Turkish Society Split on Genocide,
The EU, and Many Other Issues

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The Califorrnia Courier
2 – Catholicos Aram I Will Visit L.A.
Armenian Evangelical Community
3- Louisiania’s Armenians Devastated
By Hurricane Katrina and Aftermath
4 – Musa Dagh Resistance Featured
At Sept. 29 Lecture at Merdinian
5 – Paul Krekorian Takes Big Lead in
California State Assembly Race
6 – Hamazkayin Hosts Cultural Event Marking
1600th Anniversary of Armenian Alphabet
7 – Catholicos Will Visit
Montebello Armenian
Martyrs Monument
8 – St. James Ladies Society Plan
Fall Luncheon, Country Store
9 – Despite Court Challenge, Scholars Hold
Meeting in Turkey on Armenian Genocide
*************************************************************************
1 – Commentary
Turkish Society Split on Genocide,
The EU, and Many Other Issues
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
For 90 years, Turkish officials have denied the reality of the Armenian
Genocide. During the past weekend, for the first time in Turkish history, a
conference was held in Istanbul during which Turkish scholars challenged
the revisionist position of their own government on the Armenian Genocide.
This was not an easy accomplishment. It came about after the organizers
struggled to overcome a series of almost insurmountable legal obstacles and
physical attacks.
The conference was originally planned for last May. However, Justice
Minister Cemil Cicek caused its cancellation at the last minute by accusing
the participating Turkish scholars of being “traitors” and “stabbing Turkey
in the back.”
Embarrassed by stinging criticism from many European officials, Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan quietly urged the organizers to reschedule
the conference for Sept. 23-25, just days before the planned start of talks
for Turkey’s EU membership. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul even promised to
deliver the opening remarks at this unprecedented gathering of Turkish
scholars.
However, just hours before the start of the conference, an Istanbul court
issued an order suspending the gathering. The judge gave the organizers 30
days to respond to a series of bizarre questions on the qualifications and
selection of the scholars as well as the financing of their travel and
lodging expenses.
This eleventh-hour postponement of the conference stunned not only the EU
officials but also most of the Turkish public, including the overwhelming
majority of newspapers and TV stations in Turkey. Both the Prime Minister
and Foreign Minister saw the court order as an attempt to derail Turkey’s
EU membership drive. The judge, petitioned by ultra-nationalists, clearly
exceeded his jurisdiction by interfering in the internal affairs of an
academic institution.
The conference, titled “Ottoman Armenians During the Decline of the Empire:
Issues of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy,” was finally held during
the past weekend after changing its venue to Bilgi University. The
organizers either took or were allowed to take advantage of a loophole in
the court order that had specifically banned two of the three co-sponsoring
universities (Bogazici and Sabanci), but not the third – Bilgi University.
Ultra-nationalist groups and retired military officers had urged all
“patriotic” Turks to converge on the conference site and disrupt the
proceedings. They called the participating Turkish scholars traitors.
Despite the presence of a strong police force to protect the university
from attacks by extremists, the protesters managed to pelt the participants
by eggs and rotten tomatoes. A few trouble-makers even managed to sneak
into the hall and attempt to disrupt the discussions.
Once they passed the gauntlet, scores of scholars presented their papers
over a two-day period. Most of them carefully avoided the use of the word
genocide, due to their fear of being hauled into court and charged with
“denigrating” the Turkish nation. Some of the participants were also weary
of being accused of siding with Armenians on this emotionally-charged
issue. The scholars made it clear, however, that Ottoman officials had
organized the mass deportations and the subsequent killings of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians.
Even though there were very few new revelations on the topic of the
Armenian Genocide during the course of the conference, the significant
aspect of the gathering was the fact that it took place at all. This is the
first time that a group of Turkish scholars, facing the wrath of many of
their radical compatriots and a legal ban, had dared to challenge the
official revisionist position of the Turkish establishment on this issue.
Of course, the proximity of the date of the planned start of Turkey’s EU
membership talks on Oct. 3 played a considerable role in winning the tacit
and reluctant support of the Turkish government for this conference.
Neither Erdogan nor Gul were probably motivated by their “deep seated
beliefs” in academic freedom to support the holding of such a conference in
Turkey.
Turkish society still has a long and uphill battle in deciding its future.
There are powerful conflicting forces within Turkey tearing the country
into two divergent directions: one looking to Europe and the other to an
ultra-nationalist, Islamist, and pan-Turkist orientation.
Before the Turks worry about whether the Europeans would allow them to join
the EU, they themselves would have to decide the direction of their own
society. When millions of Turks are still fanatically clinging to their old
authoritarian mentality, no matter which new laws their government adopts
and which agreements their leaders sign, at the end of the day, these
documents are meaningless pieces of paper. Prime Minister Erdogan’s saying
that his country should be a part of Europe does not make it so. True
reform must first take place in the hearts and minds of the people, before
it can be adopted as a legal code. Such reforms cannot be imposed from
outside. They have to come from within Turkish society.
How long would it take to reform Turkish society is a question to which no
one knows the answer. When millions of Turks are still adamantly opposed to
the most basic values shared by Europeans, it is clear that they are
neither ready now nor would they be ready anytime soon to join the EU.
Turkey should neither be rejected right away nor accepted into the EU in
the foreseeable future. Turkey should not be admitted now because it’s not
and would not be ready to join the ranks of civilized European nations nor
should it be rejected outright for fear of setting completely loose a
monster that would be a clear and present danger to its immediate
neighborhood!
**************************************************************************
2 – Catholicos Aram I Will Visit L.A.
Armenian Evangelical Community
LOS ANGELES – Catholicos Aram I, of the Great House of Cilicia, has
accepted an invitation to visit the Evangelical community of Southern
California during his upcoming Pontifical visit to the region, Oct. 5-19,
the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America announced last week.
The Evangelical Church will welcome the Catholicos on October 7, at 3 p.m.,
at the United Armenian Congregational Church located at 3480 Cahuenga Blvd.
West, in Los Angeles.
A reception will follow at the adjoining Ayvazian Hall.
**************************************************************************
3 – Louisiania’s Armenians Devastated
By Hurricane Katrina and Aftermath
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Twenty-six Armenian families’ homes and businesses were
severely destroyed and damaged by Hurricane Katrina and its devastating
aftermath. During this period of reconstruction and recovery, many of these
families are faced with an unforeseeable future.
The Armenian community of Louisiana is a unique community – unique in size
and spirit. The first Armenians settled here over thirty years ago hailing
from Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Armenia and Iran. In 1984, a few community
leaders gathered and decided the community needed to start a parish and
hold church services in Armenian. In an attempt to foster growth in the
community, Fr. Nersess Jebejian was appointed by the Primate, Archbishop
Torkom Manoogian of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church, as the
mission parish priest to hold services in churches in both New Orleans and
Baton Rouge. The name St. Garabed Armenian Church of Louisiana was given to
the mission parish.
In January 2005, after months of fundraising, planning and construction,
St. Garabed Armenian Church of Louisiana opened its doors as the first
Armenian Church in Louisiana. This debut was a big step for this community,
which has progressed slowly over the years, but nonetheless progressed.
Now many of the Armenians living in the New Orleans Metropolitan area have
been devastated, as many of their homes and businesses have been damaged.
The Armenian community in both LaPlace and Baton Rouge has reached out to
the affected community members by opening their homes to them, providing
them comfort and consolation. Many of the community’s students –
elementary, high school and college/university students – have been
displaced and are either registered elsewhere or absent this semester.
Faced with the daunting task of rebuilding their homes and businesses, as
well as the shocking sights in the area, it will be a long time before some
will be able to move back home. It will be months before they sense or
establish normalcy; and, even when these families are able to move back
home and businesses are repaired and reopened, the uncertain economy will
still create obstacles and challenges.
Hurricane Katrina uprooted more than trees, homes and buildings, it
uprooted lives and divided families. It has, most definitely, divided the
Armenian community. Armenians nationwide have reached out to the community,
sending donations to the affected community members. The Diocese of the
Armenian Church, under the leadership of the Primate, Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian, has sent money to the affected community members. Numerous other
donations have arrived from individuals and organizations around the
country as well.
Donations may be sent to: St. Garabed Armenian Church of Louisiana, 6208
Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70806. Any questions or comments should be
directed to Fr. Nersess Jebejian, the pastor, at (727) 545-0380 or Parish
Council Chairman Vasken Kaltakdjian at (225) 413-4620. You can also e-mail
the Parish Council at [email protected].
Soon, these “Cajun Armenians” will celebrate Mardi Gras, host their
crawfish boils, and cheer on the Saints, but until then faith and community
will prevail.
***************************************************************************
4 – Musa Dagh Resistance Featured
At Sept. 29 Lecture at Merdinian
SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. – Dr. Vahram Shemmassian, professor of Armenian
Studies at the California State University, Northridge, will present a
lecture on “Musa Dagh Genocide Resistance in Light of New Evidence,” on
Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Merdinian School Auditorium, 13330 Roverside
Dr., Sherman Oaks.
The presentation is co-sponsored by the ARPA INSTITUTE and the Moussa Ler
Association of California.
“Musa Dagh” is a household name among Armenians and “rings a bell” among
other people. In July 1915, during the early phase of the Genocide, about
6,000 Armenian highlanders living near the biblical town Antioch were given
deportation orders by the Ottoman government. About one-third heeded the
order and was exiled to the Syrian town of Hama, but the majority decided
to take arms and resist.
No published study exists regarding the fate of those who were dispatched
to Hama. Memoirs published in recent years and archival materials not used
before will be cited to shed new light on certain aspects of the
resistance. A replica of the cross and pictures will also be presented.
Prof. Shemmassian holds a Ph.D. in History from UCLA. His doctoral
dissertation, entitled “The Armenian Villagers of Musa Dagh: A
Historical-Ethnographic Study, 1840-1915,” is currently being revised for
publication.
Dr. Shemmassian has taught Armenian History, Armenian Language, Sociology,
and Western Civilization at the National University, Fresno, CA; Pasadena
City College, Pasadena, CA; and Los Angeles Valley College, Van Nuys, CA.
In 1989-1990, he was the Chair of the Armenology Department at the
now-defunct American Armenian International College, La Verne, CA. As
such, in addition to teaching Armenian subjects, he organized a one-day
symposium on “Armenian-Genocide Issues, 1915-1990.”
He has conducted extensive research in some 30 governmental and
non-governmental archival repositories in the United States, Europe, and
the Middle East, gathering data on such areas of interest as the Armenians
of Musa Dagh and northwestern Syria in general, as well as Armenian
Genocide survivors in the Middle East at the end of World War I. He has
published several scholarly articles, delivered lectures at community
events and in universities, and participated in symposia and conferences.
Dr. Shemmassian has also served as principal of three Armenian day schools
in the greater Los Angeles area, namely, Chamlian School, A.G. Minassian
School, and Merdinian School.
There will be traditional Musa Ler Food/deserts/snacks, at the end of the
lecture.
For information, call Dr. Hagop Panossian at (818)586-9660.
***************************************************************************
5 – Paul Krekorian Takes Big Lead in
California State Assembly Race
GLENDALE – Burbank School Board President Paul Krekorian, the leading
candidate for California State Assembly in the 43rd District, has taken a
huge lead over his opponents in fundraising in the race. Krekorian has
already raised well over $100,000 for the campaign, and his nearest
competitor has raised less than half that amount, according to the records
of the California Secretary of State.
“This campaign continues to gain momentum every week,” Krekorian said. “I
am deeply honored to have earned the confidence of so many supporters in
our community, and I am grateful to everyone who has generously provided
the vital resources we need to win this election. I will continue to work
hard to earn that support and to fight for the interests of our community
when I am elected to the Assembly.”
Krekorian easily surpassed the $100,000 mark with only three fundraising
events. His nearest competitor was former Assemblyman Scott Wildman, who
is seeking a return to his old seat in the Assembly. According to the
Secretary of
State’s records, however, Wildman has raised a total of only about
$49,000.
Glendale City Councilman Frank Quintero has not reported raising any
campaign funds at all and begins his campaign at a significant
disadvantage.
A poll of likely voters taken earlier this year already showed that
Krekorian is the leading candidate. Krekorian has also garnered by far the
most endorsements from elected officials, including Glendale Mayor Rafi
Manoukian and Burbank Mayor Jef VanderBorght. Now, the Krekorian campaign
also has the clear advantage in fundraising.
Krekorian is the only Armenian-American ever elected to public office in
the history of Burbank. He is running for the State Assembly seat
currently held by Assemblymember Dario Frommer, who will be leaving the
office because of term limits. The district includes the communities of
Glendale, Burbank, North Hollywood, Silver Lake and Los Feliz, and is home
to the largest
Armenian-American community in the United States. The election is set for
June of next year.
To make a contribution, call campaign manager Adrin Nazarian at
818-512-4045.
***************************************************************************
6 – Hamazkayin Hosts Cultural Event Marking
1600th Anniversary of Armenian Alphabet
GLENDALE – In celebration of the 1600th anniversary of the Armenian
alphabet, the Hamazkayin Educational and Cultural Society is organizing a
free public cultural event on October 2, 6 p.m., at the Alex Theatre in
Glendale, Calif..
S. Peter Cowe, Professor of Armenian Language and Culture at UCLA and Dr.
Stephan Astourian, Director of Armenian Studies at UC, Berkeley will be the
featured keynote speakers.
The event will be hosted by Ani Hovannisian-Kevorkian and Manoug
Seraydarian.
The event will feature musical performance by Lark and Element.
Hamazkayin’s Ani Dance Ensemble will perform and the evening will include
an original performance, written and directed by Elly award-winning
director Aram Kouyoumdjian.
The year 2005 marks the 1600th year of the birth of our precious Armenian
alphabet, a joyous occasion celebrated by all Armenians around the world.
Sixteen long centuries have passed since the miraculous day that St. Mesrob
Mashdotz of Hatzegatz, created the 36 letters of the Armenian alphabet.
Translated by holy Fathers into the newly created Armenian letters, hymns
and prayers served to preserve and protect the Armenian church from outside
intervention, and thus served to protect the culture.
For more information on the October 2 event, call 213-278-2020 or write to
[email protected].
**************************************************************************
7 – Catholicos Will Visit
Montebello Armenian
Martyrs Monument
MONTEBELLO, Calif. – Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia will
conduct a special Memorial Service at the Armenian Genocide Monument in
Montebello on Oct. 8, at 10 a.m.
The Pontifical Service will be followed by a brief program which will
include as guests members of the Montebello City Council, elected officials
and Armenian-American community representatives.
The event is being organized by the organizing Committee of the Pontifical
Visit under the auspices of Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian
**************************************************************************
8 – St. James Ladies Society Plan
Fall Luncheon, Country Store
LOS ANGELES – The ovens are hot, the kitchen is bustling with activity, at
St. James Armenian Church where the members of the St. James Ladies Society
are preparing for their annual Fall Luncheon and Country Store to be held
Oct. 29, beginning at 11 a.m.
As crowds wait for the doors to open, they are greeted by a vast array of
home baked pastries, breads, delicacies, as well as jams, tourshi and other
Armeniab favorites.
Guests will enjoy a gourmet luncheon and musical program as part of the
afternoon’s festivities. Barbara Neshanian, Chair of the Ladies Society,
reports that this luncheon continues to be one of their most successful
events.
“We are fortunate to have a committee that, year after year, devote their
time, talent and energy towards its success,” she said. Luncheon Committee
chairs are Shirley Moore and Dorothy Carvello.
St. James Church Pastor, Avak Kahana Fr. Arshag Khatchadourian commends and
applauds the members of the Ladies Society for their hard work and
dedication to the church and the Armenian faithful.
While shopping at the Country Store, guests can enjoy a Champagne reception
hosted by Susan and Pierre Pipponian. Arlene Roupinian and Jean Barsam
chair the Raffle prizes. Alice Gondjian, Chair of the Country Store,
expresses her pride at the wide variety of home baked pastries, as well as
Armenian gourmet specialists, prepared by the Ladies Society. Simit and
Khadayif are prepared by Arpi Barsam and her committee. Tourshi is made by
Ann Vaznaian and her committee, and Alice Gondjian’s celebrated choreg will
once again delect many palates.
Program chairman Anne Mills has brought the husband and wife duo of
violinist Samvel Chilingarian and pianist Lucine Nargizian, to perform the
music of Khachadourian and other Armenian composers.
Other Committee members include Lucille Bogosian, Marion Hovivian, Anna
Kachadorian, Naomi Edison, Jeanette Rakoobian, Madeline Taylorson, Stella
Marashlian, Leann Stepanian and Emma Dionysian.
For ticket and information, call Virginia Dulgarian (310) 377-0833, or
Alice Yacoubian (310) 546-3703.
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9 – Despite Court Challenge, Scholars Hold
Meeting in Turkey on Armenian Genocide
By Benjamin Harvey
ISTANBUL (Associated Press) – Demonstrators throwing rotten tomatoes and
eggs and shouting protests again greeted scholars debating the killings of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks early in the 20th Century on the second day of
their conference on Sunday.
The passionately opposed conference is the first public discussion in
Turkey about the massacre of Armenians, and the European Union said it
would be seen as a test of freedom of expression in Turkey, which is a
candidate for EU membership.
The group of about 20 protesters outside the conference venue was smaller
than the hundreds who showed up on Saturday, and organizers of the
conference say Turks have been surprisingly supportive of their efforts,
despite some panelists suggesting that Ottoman Turks committed the first
genocide of the 20th Century.
Discussing the mass killings of Armenians has long been taboo in Turkey,
and scholars who use the word genocide can be prosecuted under a clause in
the Turkish penal code on insulting the national character.
The academic conference had been canceled twice, once in May after the
justice minister said organizers were “stabbing the people in the back,”
and again on Thursday when an Istanbul court ordered the conference closed
and demanded to know the academic qualifications of the speakers.
“This is a fight of ‘can we discuss this thing, or can we not discuss this
thing?”‘ Murat Belge, a member of the organizing committee, said at the
conference opening. “This is something that’s directly related to the
question of what kind of country Turkey is going to be.”
The Armenian issue stirs deep passions among Turks, who are being pushed by
many in the international community to say that their fathers and
grandfathers carried out the first genocide of the 20th century.
“There are so many documents in hand with respect to the destruction of
Armenians,” said Taner Akcam, a Turkish-born professor at the University of
Minnesota, and author of books on the subject including, “A Shameful Act:
The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility.”
On Saturday dozens of officers in riot gear kept hundreds of shouting
protesters at bay. Some protesters pelted arriving panelists with eggs and
rotten tomatoes.
Inside, the audience of more than 300 people was restrained, as only those
invited by the organizing committee and preapproved members of the media
were allowed past security.
The issue has been a taboo for many years in Turkey, with those who speak
out against the killings risking prosecution by a Turkish court. But an
increasing number of Turkish academics have called for a review of the
killings in a country where many see the Ottoman Empire as a symbol of
Turkish greatness.
With the more than 350 participants once again assembled in Istanbul, the
conference’s organizers decided that “we can either do this now or we
cannot do it all again,” said Fatma Müge Gocek, an associate professor of
sociology at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor who was on the
meeting’s advisory committee.
Organizers had selected Bogaziçi as the venue for the meeting precisely
because it is a public institution, but they decided they had no choice but
to relocate to Bilgi. The rectors of all three sponsoring universities
welcomed the participants, who met in marathon sessions to condense into
two days a program that was to have been spread over three.
Because the conference had received so much attention in the Turkish news
media, participants did not even need to be notified of the change, said
Ms. Gocek. Opponents were also aware of the new location, and about 100
protesters showed up on Saturday to heckle participants and pelt them with
eggs and tomatoes, she said.
As the conference concluded, Ms. Gocek said she felt a real “paradigm
shift” had occurred. “We had lots of Turkish journalists there who said
they are not going to use the word ‘alleged’ from now on, in terms of
talking about the genocide. They may refer to ‘genocide claims,’ but they
will no longer talk of an ‘alleged genocide,'” she said.
Papers from the conference will be published immediately in Turkish, which
was the working language of the gathering, and as soon as possible in
English, Ms. Gocek said.
Several governments around the world have recognized the killings of as
many as 1.5 million Armenians in the late Ottoman Empire as genocide.
Turkey vehemently denies the charge, admitting that many Armenians were
killed, but saying the death toll is inflated and that Armenians were
killed along with Turks in civil unrest and intercommunal fighting as the
Ottoman Empire collapsed between 1915 and 1923.
After the conference was shut down Thursday, Turkey drew condemnation from
the European Commission.
The court-ordered cancellation Thursday was an embarrassment for the
country’s leaders, who are set to begin EU negotiations on Oct. 3.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul lamented that “there’s no one better at
hurting themselves than us,” and sent a letter wishing the organizers a
successful conference. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also condemned
the court’s decision, saying it did not befit a democratic country.
The participants were all Turkish speakers and included members of Turkey’s
Armenian minority like Hrant Dink, the editor in chief of Agos, a weekly
Armenian newspaper in Istanbul.
“Ittihat and Terakki Party (Party of Union and Progress) had a plan to
purify whole Anatolia from the non-Turks, starting from the Aegean Region,
before the World War I, and this plan was carried out in entire Anatolia
during the years of the war
(World War I)”, argued Associate Professor Taner Akcam of Minnesota
University.
Taking the floor on the second day of the conference titled “The Armenians
during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire” held at
Istanbul’s Bilgi University, Akcam said that the relocation decision was
made at the end of long discussions and debates.
“The Ottoman documents indicate that the decision to relocate the Armenians
was made to end a deeper problem defined as the ‘eastern problem’ and to
end the dissolution process of the Ottoman Empire. This decision was not a
result of a need that erupted during the war. There are many documents in
hand with respect to the destruction of Armenians,” claimed Akcam.
On the other hand, Dr Ahmet Kuyas of Galatasaray University referred to the
four members of the Ittihat and Terakki Party, and said that a serious
massacre was made those days. According to Kuyas, the architect of this
massacre was Enver Pasha. Kuyas expressed his view that the other three
people who were responsible for these massacres were Talat Pasha, Dr
Bahattin Sakir and Dr Nazim.
Also speaking at the conference, Professor Baskin Oran of Ankara
University’s Political Sciences Department said: “Concept of class,
criticisms of Ataturk, Cyprus, socialism, communism and Kurdistan are no
more taboos in Turkey. There was only one taboo left, and it was Armenian
issue. Now, it is no more a taboo.”
***************************************************************************
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

09.26.2005 Monday – ISTANBUL 23:02
Renowned Photographers Gather in Ankara
By Cihan News Agency
Published: Monday, September 26, 2005
zaman.com
Two important panels on photography will be held among the 40 th Anniversary
activities at the Ankara University Communication Faculty.
“Orientalism and Photography: the West films the East,” to be held October
17, will be attended by Nikos Economopoulos and Alex Webb from the Magnum
Agency, Reza Deghati from National Geographic and Ara Guler from Turkey.
The panel will discuss how contemporary Western photographers look at the
image of the East and the manners of Eastern photographers in representing their
own image.
The second panel, “What is Ara searching for?” will be held at 2:00 p.m., on
October 18 at Ankara University Communication Faculty Art House.
The panel will handle the social processes reflected by the Turkish
photography’s illustrious figure, Arfa Guler’s work of 55 years.
Architect Ragip Buluc will chair the panel and Ara Guler, Enis Batur and
Samih Rifat will attend.
For further information please visit

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB
529 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20045
(202) 662-7500
FAX (202) 662-7512
NPC NEWSMAKER PROGRAM
Media Advisory
TO: Daybooks/Assignment Eds./Press Offices/Correspondents
FM: Peter Hickman/Vice Chairman/NPC Newsmaker Comm.
301/530-1210 (H&O/T&F)/NPC 202/662-7540Tel/662-7560 (Fax)
[email protected]
National Press Club “AFTERNOON NEWSMAKER” News Conference
Thursday, September 29, 2005, 4 p.m.
National Press Club (Murrow Room)
The Vice Speaker of the British House of Lords
BARONESS CAROLINE COX
will discuss
THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS IN
NAGORNO KARABAKH AND SUDAN
Baroness Cox is a human rights advocate who has been active in that area
around the world, and a member of numerous human rights organizations.
At the National Press Club, she will comment on and answer questions
about human rights in the Caucasus and Sudan.
Contacts:
National Press Club: PETER HICKMAN
301/530-1210 (H&O/T&F), 202/662-7540 (Fax), [email protected]
Baroness Cox: EMIL SANAMYAN (Armenian Assembly of America)
202/293-3434×233 (tel), 202/638-4904 (Fax), [email protected]
(30)

Turkey Urges Armenia to Organize a Conference on Armenian terrorism in
Yerevan
JOURNAL OF TURKISH WEEKLY:
ISTANBUL – After the controversial Armenian Conference in Istanbul, Turkish
media and public demand a conference in Yerevan on Armenian terrorism and on
the civilian Turks massacred by the Armenians.
Hurriyet daily’s headline today was “Discuss Yerevan All These” implying
Armenia should be open to discuss Armenian terrorism and Armenian attacks
against the Turkish civilians during the First World War. Armenian
terrorists killed more than 40 Turkish diplomats during the 1970 and 1980s.
Prof. Cengiz Kutay said “We support strongly the Armenian Conference in
Istanbul though we do not share the speeches made in the Conference. It is
strange that Armenians keep the events so-called happened 90 years ago.
However all the Turkish diplomats who were killed by the Armenian terrorists
and the Armenian attacks against the Turkish civilians are forgotten.”
More than 520.000 Turkish villagers were massacred by the Armenian armed
groups in order to establish an independent Armenian in the eastern
provinces of the Ottoman Empire.
JTW
26 September 2005

Posted 09/26/05 09:39
Armenia Bolsters Air Force With 10 Russian Fighters
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, YEREVAN
Armenia has taken delivery of 10 new Russian-made SU fighter jets as part of
a program to update its air force, Armenian Defense Minister Spokesperson
Seiran Shakhsuvaryan said Sept. 26.
“The purpose… is to update the air fleet. We previously had a total of six
such fighters,” the minister told AFP.
He added that the purchase was in compliance with international agreements
limiting the size of conventional forces in Europe.
Armenia’s arch-rival Azerbaijan has been building up its armed forces,
saying it may one day need to use force to retake territory seized by
Armenia in a conflict in the 1990s – should bilateral talks on the problem
fail.
Of the three South Caucasus countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia –
Armenia has maintained the closest ties with Moscow since the end of Soviet
rule in 1991.