KOCHARYAN MADE CONCESSIONS IN VAIN
SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 24, 2005, pp. 1, 5
by Yury Simonyan, Sokhbet Mamedov
GEORGIA DOESN’T CARE ABOUT THE INTERESTS OF NEIGHBORS IN THE SOUTH
CAUCASUS
The Georgian authorities once again deliberately demonstrated that
they care little for the interests of their neighbors in the South
Caucasus. This was made clear at the close of the Eternity 2005 staff
command exercises, organized this week in Tbilisi on the basis of the
National Military Academy of the Georgian Defense Ministry for Russia
and its only military ally in the region Armenia. The exercises were
dedicated to guarding the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline.
Interestingly, this happened right after the two-day meeting of
presidents Mikhail Saakashvili and Robert Kocharyan, which analysts
took primarily as a demonstration of obvious establishment of closer
relations between Yerevan and Tbilisi. However, reality is evidently
a little bit different. Georgia seems to take into account Kocharyan
but until a certain limit.
The military exercises in Tbilisi that will last until the end of the
week include 52 officers of the armed forces of Georgia, Azerbaijan
and Turkey. Turkey finances the exercises. In the course of the
exercises servicemen of the three countries the territories of which
are crossed by the pipeline route are trained to act in emergency
situations in case of appearance of a threat to the BTC. A special
program makes provisions for their training to act efficiently in
case of terrorist acts and subversions. It was planned that military
specialists of the neighboring countries participating in the BTC
project would take part in the exercises in Tbilisi at least as
observers. In the special press release of the Georgian Defense
Ministry it was reported that the relevant invitations would be sent
to the military attaches of all diplomatic missions accredited in
Tbilisi. However, it seemed that organizers of the exercises changed
their mind at the very last moment.
Moscow takes the fact of closing of these exercises for
representatives of Russia as another unfriendly step of the Georgian
authorities. Alexei Bogaturov, deputy general director of the
International Security Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences,
told us, “Everything is clear at this point.” Bogaturov added,
“Overall, I don’t know a single expert or analyst who has hoped that
Georgian authorities may invite Russia party to such an event.
Actions of Tbilisi fully correspond to the line pursued by Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili. Georgian authorities want a halt to
military relations with Russia, have achieved withdrawal of Russian
bases from Georgian territory and its does not make sense for
Saakashvili to invite Russia to any joint actions and even to inform
Moscow about his plans. The German President has an absolutely
different logic. He wants to show that political activeness of not
only Georgia but also all Transcaucasian countries is quite possible
and profitable (both in political and military aspects) even without
participation of Russia. Saakashvili is permanently trying to create
a kind of illusory anti-Russian “resistance front.” Along with this,
he himself does not quite understand to what he needs to resist and
what is the prospect of such front. He simply wants very much to be a
member of at least something and not a simple member but an initiator
of a new coalition.”
Azerbaijan preferred not to notice the action of the Georgian party
because the problem of security of the BTC was much more important.
With regard to possible threats to the $3-billion project, Baku sees
at least two such threats. First, these are possible subversions at
the pipeline on the part of various terrorist organizations. Second,
this is unregulated Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Incidentally,
Steven Mann, advisor on energy resources to the US State Department,
points to this conflict too. In a recent interview with us in Baku,
Mann said directly that peaceful solution of the problem of
Nagorno-Karabakh was the most important condition for provision of
security of the BTC project.
Taking into account these threats diseased President of Azerbaijan
Geidar Aliev issued a special decree on April 20, 2002, on working
out of measures for production of the BTC. At the same time
responsibility for guarding of the BTC was laid on the State Security
Service headed by General Vagif Akhundov.
In any case, later Baku decided that the measures taken were
insufficient for protection of the pipeline. Because shares of the
company that has built the BTC belong primarily to Western
corporations, especially American and British ones, defense
ministries and special services of the West start taking an active
part in provision of security of the pipeline. Frequent visits to
Baku of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, commander of NATO
forces in Europe General James Jones and top-ranking officers of the
Turkish Armed Forces are intended to lay the foundation for creation
of Caspian Guard in Azerbaijan. These will be special forces to
provide for security in the entire Caspian region. The role of the
outpost of the European command of the US, whose zone of
responsibility includes the Caspian region, is prepared for Caspian
Guard. The US government plans to spend approximately $100 million on
creation and functioning of this structure in the next ten years.
According to available information, headquarters of Caspian Guard
equipped with the most modern radar will be located in Baku.
Azerbaijan also does not object to the plans of Pentagon to deploy
American mobile rapid response groups in the territory of the country
in the framework of this program. Analysts expect that very soon
President of Azerbaijan Ilkham Aliev will make the relevant political
decision. Now Baku prefers not to speak about Russia’s interests in
the region controlled by American soldiers.
Translated by Pavel Pushkin

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 26, 2005, Friday
THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN WILL HOLD A MEETING
IN MOSCOW
Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Vardan Oskanyan and
Elnar Mamedyarov, will holding a meeting in Moscow on August 24,
after the end of the meeting of the CIS council of foreign ministers.
Interfax reports that the ministers will focus on settling the
conflict in Nagorny Karabakh.
Source: Vremya Novostei, August 23, 2005, p. 1

Agence France Presse — English
August 25, 2005 Thursday 8:49 AM GMT
Russia to host ex-Soviet grouping amid growing tensions
by Olga Nedbayeva
KAZAN, Russia
The historic Russian city of Kazan on Friday hosts a meeting of
leaders of the 12-nation Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
bloc of former Soviet republics, a forum riven by intra-regional
tensions, but one that may still help clear the air, analysts say.
The leaders will meet during celebrations of the 1000-year
anniversary of this city in Russia’s Tatarstan.
The timing is an intentional ploy — first tried by Russia at the
group’s last meeting in May, which coincided with World War II
commemorations in Moscow — aimed at creating a more relaxed
atmosphere and thus taking some of the heat out of the talks, Fyodor
Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Politics, said.
The leaders, Lukyanov noted, “have a hard time finding a common
language”.
Topping the meeting’s formal agenda is restructuring the operations
of the CIS and cooperation on “humanitarian and social issues,”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
The group will also make a declaration on the forthcoming 20th
anniversary next April of the world’s worst nuclear disaster at the
Chernobyl power station in Ukraine in 1986.
While the CIS block was formed out of the ruins of the Soviet Union
in December 1991 in order to retain some of the structures and ties
that bound the old empire together, Moscow has acknowledged that it
is now of only limited usefulness.
In May Russian President Vladimir Putin said that fulfilling
“economic super-tasks” was beyond the CIS’s competence and instead
described the bloc as a “useful club for exchanging information”.
Western institutions such as the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also acknowledge that the CIS summits
have at least one useful purpose, enabling talks between the leaders
of two of the bloc’s most fractious neighbours, Armenia and
Azerbaijan.
As at previous CIS meetings, Armenian President Robert Kocharian will
hold talks on the sidelines of the summit with his Azeri counterpart
Ilham Aliyev. The talks follow renewed threats by Azerbaijan to
retake territory seized by Armenia during a war in the early 1990s.
In place of the unwieldy CIS, Russia has in recent years sought to
create smaller, more task-specific blocs such as the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation, a security grouping that brings together
Russia, China and four of the Central Asian former Soviet republics.
But even some of these structures have looked battered, as
fundamental tensions have torn apart the former Soviet space in the
last two years, reflected in popular uprisings in both Georgia and
Ukraine.
This week speculation mounted in Russia’s media that a four-way
Single Economic Space, which comprises Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia
and Ukraine, is close to collapse as Ukraine, following last year’s
“orange revolution” against a pro-Moscow administration, plans to
join a rival Westward-looking bloc.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko last week met with his
Georgian, Polish and Lithuanian counterparts to discuss the creation
of a Democratic Choice Community seen as a future counter-weight to
Moscow.
Alexei Makarkin, an analyst at the Moscow-based Political
Technologies Centre, says this nascent axis between the Baltic, Black
and Caspian Seas has all the ingredients needed for success — strong
leaders, Western sponsors, and political and economic goals, such as
exporting democracy and creating a transit corridor for the Westward
shipment of Caspian Sea oil.
“This alternative to the CIS would attract strong figures, leaving
Moscow all alone,” Makarkin said.

Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
Friday, August 26, 2005
Contact: Armen Carapetian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR JACKIE SPEIER TO BE HONORED AT 2005 ANCA-WR
ANNUAL BANQUET
— Armenian American Senator to Receive Woman of the Year Award
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western
Region (ANCA-WR) today announced that California State Senator Jackie
Speier (D-San Mateo) would receive the organization’s prestigious
Woman of the Year award at the 2005 ANCA-WR Annual Banquet to be held
on Sunday, September 18th at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los
Angeles.
Sen. Speier is appreciated throughout the Armenian American community
for her steadfast support of legislation and issues that affect
Armenian Americans in the state. Since her time as an Assemblywoman,
Sen. Speier has authored numerous measures of interest to Armenian
Americans among the unprecedented record of over 300 pieces of
legislation that she has been able to have signed into law. Among her
most recent accomplishments, Sen. Speier authored the 2005 Armenian
Genocide resolution in California and along with fellow Armenian
American legislator Sen. Chuck Poochigian (R-Fresno) authored SB 424,
which was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to
permanently designate April 24 as California Day of Remembrance of the
Armenian Genocide. Sen. Speier is the state’s highest ranking
Democratic elected official of Armenian descent and the only Armenian
American woman currently serving in the state legislature.
“Senator Speier is known throughout the State Capitol as an effective
legislator, and she has used her skills to bring issues of concern to
Armenian Americans forward,” said Steven Dadaian, Chairman of the
ANCA-WR. “The Armenian National Committee is honored to have Senator
accept the Woman of the Year award at our annual banquet this year.”
Sen. Speier’s career-long commitment to public service was nearly cut
short in 1978 when she traveled to Jonestown, Guyana as an aide to
California Congressman Leo J. Ryan’s fact-finding mission that was to
investigate allegations of individuals being held hostage by cult
leader Reverend Jim Jones. On November 18, 1978, at the end of a
two-day investigation, gunmen from the Rev. Jones’ People’s Temple
cult ambushed, shot and killed Congressman Ryan and four others in his
traveling group. Sen. Speier, then 28 years old, was struck by five
bullets and lay on a jungle airstrip for 22 hours awaiting help. The
day she was shot, over 900 cult members committed mass suicide or were
murdered at the People’s Temple compound.
Sen. Speier has stated that “the Jonestown tragedy is a daily reminder
that no one is guaranteed a tomorrow . . . this has absolutely molded
my philosophy and my zest for work and for life.” To this day, she
carries two bullets in her body from the tragic incident in Guyana.
Two years after the Jonestown shootings, Sen. Speier became the
youngest member ever to serve on the San Mateo County Board of
Supervisors when she won her first election by defeating a 20-year
incumbent. Sen. Speier served in the California State Assembly from
1986 to 1996 before being elected to the State Senate, where she is
completing her second term and was recently named Assistant President
Pro-Tem. Last year, Sen. Speier visited the ANCA-WR office to discuss
her intention to run for Lieutenant Governor of the State of
California in 2006. She has since been campaigning for the position
throughout the state, garnering the support of key constituencies. If
elected, Sen. Jackie Speier would become only the second Armenian
American to serve in statewide office since Governor George Deukmejian
(1983-1991).
The ANCA-WR Annual Banquet regularly draws over 700 individuals,
including a long list of dignitaries, such as prominent Members of
Congress and state legislators, as well as a vast number of Armenian
American community leaders and political activists. The annual event
is the largest of its kind and helps raise funds to operate the
nation’s largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots and
political advocacy organization. More honorees are to be announced in
the coming weeks before the annual banquet.
For more information on this year’s ANCA-WR Annual Banquet, or to
reserve a table, call the ANCA-WR office at (818) 500-1918.
The ANCA is the largest and most influential Armenian American
grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a
network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United
States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA
actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a
broad range of issues.
Editor’s Note: Photo attached. Photo caption: From left to right –
ANCA-WR Chairman Steven J. Dadaian, Sen. Jackie Speier, and ANCA-WR
board member Raffi Hamparian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Fresno State News, CA
Aug 26 2005
University Lecture Series will kick off with health advocate Dr. Art
Ulene on Sept. 13

The University Lecture Series at California State University, Fresno
will present seven guest speakers in health, the arts, literature and
the environment in 2005-06. Speakers will include Dr. Art Ulene,
Sergio Arau and Yareli Arizmendi, Joyce Carol Oates, Alfie Kohn, Dr.
Patrick Moore, Dr. Edward Diener and Nouritza Matossian.
The programs will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Satellite Student Union,
2485 E. San Ramon. Free parking will be available in Lots J, O and P
beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Preventive health advocate and radio-TV personality Dr. Art Ulene
will start the series on Tuesday, Sept. 13 by addressing `The
Vitality Challenge: Rx for Health.’ Since 1975, Ulene has spearheaded
the use of television to promote public health. He appeared on NBC’s
`Today’ program for 23 years, and his nationally syndicated special
health series are seen on local TV news programs around the country.
His lecture is co-sponsored by the High Point Foundation and the
College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State. Ulene also will
be the keynote speaker at the conference of childhood obesity
sponsored by the College of Health and Human Services on Sept. 14.
On Oct. 11, the University Lecture Series and the Central Valley
Cultural Heritage Institute will co-sponsor MTV Award Winning
director Sergio Arau and acclaimed actress Yareli Arizmendi. The
husband and wife are co-creators of the politically charged
masterpiece `A Day without a Mexican.’ Arau and Arizmendi’s
multimedia lecture will explore topical news with a Latino point of
view.
Their topic is `Making the Invisible Visible: The Task of the
Artist.’ The lecture will be in conjunction with the First Annual
Diversity Conference, `Culture and Community Building: Transformative
Practices,’ on Oct. 11 at Fresno State.
On Nov. 1, the University Lecture Series, the English Department at
Fresno State and the San Joaquin Literacy Association will host
author Joyce Carol Oates. Oates is one of America’s most versatile
writers and author of a number of distinguished books in several
genres. John Gardner has called her `one of the greatest writers of
our time.’ Her address is entitled `An Evening With Joyce Carol
Oates: A Selection of Readings with Commentary.
Alfie Kohn, who has written for most leading education periodicals,
will speak on Feb. 7 about `Overhauling the Transmission Model.’ Time
magazine described him as `perhaps the country’s most outspoken
critic of education’s fixation on grades and test scores.’ His books
include `What Does It Mean to be Well Educated?’ (2004).
On Feb. 28, the lecture series will host Dr. Patrick Moore, who will
addresses `Environmentalism for the 21st Century.’ Moore has been a
leader in the international environmental field for more than 30
years and is one of the founding members of Greenpeace. He says there
is ineffective communication between special interest groups and the
business community and seeks to reveal the myths and misinformation
that distort environmental debates. In 1991, he founded Greenspirit,
a consultancy focusing on environmental policy and communications.
The University Lecture Series and The High Point Foundation will
present Fresno State alumnus Dr. Edward Diener and his address on the
`Science of Happiness’ on April 4. Diener, a professor of psychology
at the University of Illinois, was called `Dr. Happiness’ by Time
magazine in January 2005. He is the editor of the Journal of
Happiness Studies and author of 180 publications, most in the area of
subjective well-being. He has received several awards, including the
2000 distinguished alumni award from Fresno State.
The final program will be held on April 18 as the lecture series, in
cooperation with the Gorky Festival which is sponsored by the Fresno
Art Museum and the Armenian Museum, present Nouritza Matossian. Her
topic is `A Case of Mistaken Identity: Why Arshile Gorky Changed His
Name.’ Matossian is a British writer, actress, broadcaster and human
rights activist in the arts, contemporary music and history of
Armenia.
The University Lecture Series is sponsored by the Office of the
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the University
Student Union, Associated Students Inc., Coke and James Hallowell,
KJWL Radio, KVPR Radio and Piccadilly Inn Hotels.
Season and advance individual tickets are available at the University
Student Union Information Desk (278-2078). Season tickets are $50
general admission; $35 Fresno State faculty/staff/Alumni
Association/seniors/other students; and $10 Fresno State students.
Individual tickets are $10 general admission; $6 Fresno State
faculty/staff/Alumni Association/seniors/other students; and $2
Fresno State students. Prices on the day of the event increase by $2
for all buyers except Fresno State students.

Duluth Budgeteer News, MN
Aug 26 2005
Johnson proves the Peace Corps is not just for 20-somethings
More and more retirees are opting for ‘no RV required’ travel
Sarah Fleener
Budgeteer News
After Marlene Johnson retired, she was free to do as she pleased: sip
lemonade, play bridge and winter in Arizona. Instead, she joined the
Peace Corps.
`I wanted to do something active,’ she said. `The idea of classic
retirement just didn’t appeal to me.’
Johnson said there is a trend of older folks joining the Peace Corps
because of healthier lifestyles, early retirement and financial
stability.
Johnson was inspired by a traveling peer to look into the Corps and
once she decided to go, she said her family supported her fully.
`They were so supportive it was almost anti-climactic,’ she said.
“Go,’ they said. `You’ll love it, and they’ll love you.”
So with their blessing Johnson began her service in Lithuania in 1998
and stayed for three years. While there, she taught English in a
college setting to Lithuanian students. Before retirement, Johnson
had taught business communications at the University of Minnesota
Duluth.
And while she was the teacher in the classroom, she too was schooled
by the Lithuanian people. `The mission of the Peace Corps is to help
us understand others and well as help them to understand us,’ Johnson
said. When Johnson was there, she said most Lithuanians drew their
impressions of Americans from the TV show `Dallas.’
When Johnson was in Lithuania, it had only been seven years free of
Soviet reign. Many of the challenges Johnson ran into sprang from the
fact that Lithuania was just beginning to gain some identity.
During this crucial growing time, Johnson did what she could in the
classroom and even raised money to bring text books into the
classroom – a learning tool rarely granted to students.
After her time in Lithuania, Johnson returned home to Duluth for a
quick year and then in 2003 she was off again.
This time, she went to Armenia to teach English in the secondary
schools as well as provide teacher training.
In Armenia, Johnson’s teaching strategies of participation and
comprehension resonated with both teachers and students. In the
previously Russian occupied Armenia, rehearsal and memorization were
the common classroom practice. Johnson wanted to liven things up.
`It is the custom in Armenia to put the weaker students at the back
of the room and ignore them,’ Johnson said. But she made every
student participate in the language exercises. `Pretty soon, every
one was speaking English on their own.’
The daily life in Armenia was virtually another world for Johnson.
Pizza was a piece of bread with mashed potatoes, corn, peas and
ketchup; every window in her apartment had a view of breath-taking
mountains; and traffic jams meant there was a sheepherder going
through town.
Another challenge was communication. The phones, Internet and mail
service were all unreliable. `Things we take for granted here, are
big problems there,’ she said.
Even bigger problems included political turmoil all around the
country. `While I was there, there was a revolt in Georgia to the
north, they deposed their president in Azerbaijan to the east and
there were poor relations between Armenia and Turkey to the west,’
Johnson said.
Johnson just returned from her travels a few weeks ago. She said the
trip gave her a lot more self-confidence, insight on America as well
as other counties and taught her how to think on her feet.
Since she’s been home, she said she’s shocked at the convenience of
food, and she is relieved that she can cross the street without
worrying about a reckless driver.
Johnson said she would like to stay home now and work on some
genealogy, but she’s already received a call, asking her to teach in
Ecuador.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
August 26, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]
ASSEMBLY GEARS UP FOR ANNUAL TRUSTEES MISSION TO ARMENIA, KARABAKH
Washington, DC – The Assembly is leading its 10th Trustee Mission to
Armenia and Karabakh, a unique 12-day trip that includes expert guided
tours in and around Armenia and meetings with top U.S., Armenia and
Karabakh government officials.

This year’s excursion begins October 19 in London, England, where
Mission Leader Annie Totah will greet travelers before departing for
Yerevan. Once in Armenia, participants will take a driving tour of
the capital, stopping along the way to take in their surroundings.
Additional tour stops will include the Genocide Museum and Memorial at
Tsitsernakabert, Khor Virab, Lake Sevan and Vernisage. During an
optional two-day trip to Karabakh, travelers can also visit
Stepanakert, Shushi and other sites around the country.
Mission participants will also meet with several high-ranking
government officials. In previous years, the group has met with
Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
and Karbakah’s President Arkady Ghoukasian, to name a few.
“On the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of the Assembly Mission,
I am delighted to once again lead this trip to the homeland,” Totah
said. “For most participants, the trip will be a memorable, bonding
and exhilarating experience that will be cherished for years to
come.”
Totah has also made special arrangements for a welcoming reception for
those travelers who will be in London on October 18.
For more information on the Assembly Trustees Mission to Armenia and
Karabakh, please contact Deputy Executive Director Peter Abajian in
Los Angeles at (310) 360-0091 or via email at [email protected]. In
Washington, please call Deputy Director of Development and Membership
Rita Mullane at (202) 393-3434 or [email protected].
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

NR#2005-086
Photograph available on the Assembly’s Web site at the following link:
Caption: Last year the Assembly Mission to Armenia visited St. Gayane
Church, as well as other historical sites in and around Armenia.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
August 26, 2005
___________________
ST. JAMES WELCOMES NEW COMMUNITY LEADER
By Jake Goshert
Dn. Levon Kirakosyan assumed the position of deacon-in-charge of the St.
James Church of Evanston, IL, on August 14, 2005.
“Dn. Levon has shown that he is not only a devout son of the Armenian
Church, but also a proud Armenian,” said Archbishop Khajag Barsamian,
Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern).
“Through his work at the Diocese, he has gained a number of valuable
skills and experiences which will serve him well as he assumes a
leadership role in one of our wonderful Midwest parishes.”
Dn. Kirakosyan grew up in Armenia near Holy Etchmiadzin as a parishioner
in the Araratian Diocese. During a welcome luncheon in Evanston, the
Primate said Dn. Levon truly is answering the call of God to serve the
church.
“Although he is still taking his early steps in fulfilling that call, I
know that, in his heart, this young man who leads his life with
humbleness and reverence, and above all, with love,” the Primate said.
“Deacon Levon Kirakosyan began his life in the very center of our
church’s life: in the Armenian city of Etchmiadzin, home of our holy
Mother See. Growing up in the shadow of Holy Etchmiadzin, Levon was
drawn to our Lord’s service, and is well aware of the deep
responsibility — both to God and to our people — that he is
undertaking.”
A graduate of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary and Yerevan State Economic
University, Dn. Kirakosyan has been working at the Diocesan Center in
New York City for the past five years, first in the development office
and later as assistant to Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of the St. Vartan
Cathedral.
“I learned from Fr. Mardiros how to be a pastor and have a pastoral
approach when dealing with people. I also learned from him
administrative work, how to work in the office and organize my time,
hold meetings,” Dn. Kirakosyan said. “He was like an older brother to
me. He was very, very helpful to me and was very understanding.”
He told his new parishioners in Evanston that the Primate, too, has been
a father figure in his life.
“Since I’ve been here in this country I feel like Srpazan has been a
father to me. He was very understanding and supportive,” the new
deacon-in-charge said. “Since I my parents are in Armenia and I came
here as a young man with no one, I felt I could come to Srpazan and he
would help me. And he always did.”
In his new role in Evanston, Dn. Kirakosyan said he hopes to energize
the parish’s senior citizens and create activities for them during the
week. He also wants to build up youth programs and strengthen the
parish’s Sunday School.
“First and foremost, I’m putting a lot of attention on Sunday School,
which is the future of our church,” he said. “If we don’t have a strong
Sunday School, we won’t have a strong church.”
Dn. Kirakosyan, 30, and his wife, Anna, were blessed with a young son,
Aram, this past July.
“We’re still unpacking and finding our way around Evanston, but I really
like the people here,” Dn. Kirakosyan said.
— 8/26/05
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News
and Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Dn. Levon Kirakosyan, the new deacon-in-charge of
the St. James Church of Evanston, IL, lifts the chalice during the
celebration of the badarak celebrated by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian,
Primate, on August 14, 2005.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Dn. Kirakosyan, left, joins the Primate on the altar
of the St. James Church of Evanston, IL, during the badarak on August
14, 2005.
PHOTO CAPTION (3): Archbishop Barsamian and Dn. Kirakosyan, the
deacon-in-charge of the St. James Church of Evanston, IL, are joined by
some of the parish’s altar servers and choir members following badarak
on August 14, 2005.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian American Cultural Association, Inc.
1300 Crystal Drive, Suite 1504
Arlington, VA 22202
Contact: James Faris
TEL: 703-416-2555
FAX: 703-416-2557
E-mail: [email protected]
Edward and Helen Mardigian Foundation Pledge $250,000 for the Wellness
Center in Armenia
By Christina Yagjian
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian American Cultural Association (AACA), US-based
sponsor of the Armenian American Wellness Center in Yerevan, Armenia,
recently announced a generous pledge of $250,000 from the Edward and Helen
Mardigian Foundation of Michigan. This heartfelt contribution will help to
realize the Wellness Center’s largest transformation to date – the complete
renovation, expansion, and seismic reinforcement of the six-story building
which currently houses the Wellness Center. The expansion project will cost
an estimated 3 million dollars and is expected to be completed by October
2007.
The Wellness Center, originally founded in 1997 to provide previously
non-existent breast screening services to Armenian women, expanded its
services in 2001 to include Western standard cervical screening through Pap
smears and basic gynecology, facilitated by its state-of-the-art pathology
lab.
Upon completion, the renovated Center, in addition to the quality
female-centered services it already provides, will be home to the most
modern Primary Health Care facility in Armenia, emphasizing Family Medicine
and providing quality diagnosis and on-site treatment. The building will
introduce seismic reinforcement techniques developed in California, Western
building standards, and environmentally clean energy generation through
solar power and an innovative energy system known as Combined Heat & Power.
In honor of the Mardigian Foundation’s gift, the fourth floor of the
renovated Wellness Center will be named the Edward & Helen Mardigian
Outpatient Surgery Complex, signified by a plaque placed at the floor’s
entrance. Additionally, they will be recognized by an individual plaque
displayed in the main lobby of the Center. The fourth floor will house an
outpatient surgery complex, introduced in Armenia for the first time, which
will include a fully-equipped surgery room, preparation and recovery area,
sterilization room, and post-surgery observation rooms. The floor will also
include a chemotherapy treatment area and a medical conference room.
“I believe that all of us must work to ensure Armenia’s future, and an
essential piece of the puzzle is developing the country’s capacity to
provide primary healthcare services to everyone,” said Helen Mardigian. “The
Wellness Center has done an excellent job in preventing breast and cervical
cancer in Armenia, and I fully support them as they expand their services to
provide quality healthcare to families as well. The renovated Center will
serve as a model for all other medical facilities throughout Armenia.”
As philanthropists, the Mardigians have long been dedicated to improving
access to quality healthcare and are longtime supporters of issues related
to the Armenian religion, culture, education, and social welfare. Most
notably, they have supported Saint John’s Armenian Church in Detroit, the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, the Armenian Assembly of America,
and the University of Michigan at both the Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses.
Helen Mardigian recently made a donation to the Beaumont Hospital in Royal
Oak, Michigan in memory of her daughter, Marilynn Varbedian.
Reflecting on the Mardigian family, Rita Balian, AACA President and Wellness
Center Founder, explains, “Helen Mardigian and her late husband Edward are
highly respected among Armenian and American communities for their
humanitarian spirit, philanthropy, leadership, and kindness. Helen has been
a role model to me ever since I first met her in the late seventies when we
were working with AGBU/USA under the dedicated leadership of her husband and
I am simply elated that she has decided to reach out and support the
life-saving work of our Wellness Center in Armenia, in which I am so deeply
involved.”
Prior to his retirement in 1985, Edward Mardigian served as the Vice
President of the AGBU International Board and as President of its U.S.
Central Committee. Helen Mardigian has supported the Wellness Center since
2002, and shares in the Center’s mission to save, prolong, and improve the
lives of Armenian women and their families, through early and accurate
detection of breast and cervical cancer and the provision of primary health
care services.
AACA is currently seeking sponsors to fund the construction of individual
floors, with each floor dedicated in honor of its benefactor. The
construction of each floor is estimated at over a quarter of a million
dollars and, to date, AACA has secured sponsors for the second, fourth and
fifth floors of the building.
Although partial funding for the Center’s expansion is being provided by the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has
supported the work of the Wellness Center since 2000, AACA is responsible
for raising over $2 million on its own through grassroots fundraising.
Without the help of generous donors such as Helen Mardigian, Anoush
Mathevosian, and others, this project would not be possible.
For more information about the Wellness Center, or to make a donation,
please contact AACA, a US-registered 501 (c)3 non-profit organization, by
e-mail at [email protected], or by phone at (703) 416-2555.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TSAKHKADZOR TOURIST CENTER TO GET FIRST HAND
VIEW OF CONSTRUCTIONS WORKS
YEREVAN, AUGUST 25. ARMINFO. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
visited Tsakhkadzor tourist center yesterday to get first hand
information on the construction works.
In particular, the president visited the third section of the ropeway
in Tsakhkadzor tourist center which is some 3,000 meters height over
the sea level. The construction meets the latest European standards
and is to be completed within two months. Robert Kocharyan pointed
out the importance of construction for provision of variety and high
quality services to tourists. The president pointed out that the most
important task was upgrading the level of services to international
standards. As a rule in winter time tourist activity in Armenia is
falling. The president hopes that due to development of
infrastructures in Tsakhkadzor tourist center, improvement of service
and construction of new hotels, it will be possible to balance the
seasonal demand for tourist services and offer high quality tourist
products.