Pope: Roots of Europe Cannot be Alienated

By Cihan News Agency
Thursday 28, 2005

Pope Benedict XVI, who chose his name after being inspired by
Benedict XV, said during his first that Europe cannot be alienated
from its Christian roots during his first public address in Saint
Peter Square.

“Benedict XV had ruled the church during the chaotic period of World
War I had a unique and brave idea of peace. I will try to provide
harmony and peace among the people and follow in his footsteps,” The
Pope then clarified his choice of this name. The life of Benedict XV
reawakened Christianity in Europe and it is significant in the sense
that he too is named Benedict, the Pope added. Benedict XV who
inspired hisname was known as the pope who sent a letter to Sultan
Murad V in 1915 after allegations regarding atrocities against the
Armenians on Ottoman territory and then when on to continue to
exchange letters with the founder of te Turkish Republic Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk in the years that followed.

TNA Parliament Bureau / Ankara
April 28 2005

Head of Turkish Parliament Arinc’s protests Poland’s ‘genocide’
decision

Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday sent a letter of protest to
his Polish counterpart Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz regarding the Polish
Parliament’s recent decision to recognize the so-called Armenian
genocide. In the letter, Arinc cancelled three functions due to be
held between the two nations’ parliaments.

Arinc stated in the letter that the Polish Parliament’s decision to
recognize the allegations had aroused indignation and disappointment
among Turkish parliamentarians. He added:

A decision by a friendly nation to cast mutually tragic events which
occurred between Turks and Armenians during World War I in a
one-sided manner has aroused disappointment in the Turkish nation.
ThePolish Parliament’s decision was an unfortunate development in
terms of relations between our two countries. The environment of
friendship between our nations cannot be reconciled with this
decision.’

Arinc also stated that the Polish Parliament Friendship Group’s
official visit to Ankara scheduled for May 9-13 had been cancelled.
He added that the Polish Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission’s
Turkish visit scheduled for May 25-30 had also been cancelled, and
two Turkish deputies scheduled to pay a visit to Poland now would not
do so.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

News Statesman , UK
April 28 2005

World view – Lindsey Hilsum explains why history won’t go away
Lindsey Hilsum
Monday 2nd May 2005

The age of instant news has shortened our attention span, and blinded
us to the pressing historical concerns of much of the world. By
Lindsey Hilsum

As he was readying German troops to invade Poland, Hitler persuaded
his colleagues that their brutality would soon be forgotten. “Who,
after all, speaks today of the extermination of the Armenians?” he
asked. The answer is that the descendants of the victims speak of it,
and will not allow the heirs of the perpetrators to forget. Turkey
maintains that it never happened, but the genocide of more than a
million Armenians under the Ottomans in 1915 is still a live
political issue.

While British voters seem only too happy to – in the Prime Minister’s
words – “draw a line” under the invasion of Iraq just two years ago,
elsewhere in the world, what happened even 2,000 years ago is still a
matter of dispute. The age of instant news has shortened our
attention span and blinded us to the pressing historical concerns of
much of the world.

This, maybe more than anything else, sets Europe and North America
apart. We are the generation which, in Francis Fukuyama’s words, has
lived through “the end of history”, when communism was defeated and
capitalism became the accepted global ideology. British politics
reflects our post-ideological age, when all that Conservative and
Labour can find to squabble over is the odd billion in the welfare
budget. We are all social democrats now.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown don’t think Britain’s policy towards
Africa has anything to do with colonialism. But the reason Robert
Mugabe strikes a chord across Africa when he rails against Blair is
that history matters in places where people are still trying to forge
an identity. The Americans are surprised when Iraqis compare their
behaviour with that of British colonialists in Mesopotamia in the
1920s; they see their mission as an essentially modern attempt at
spreading democracy, while many Iraqis regard it as just another
imperialist foray.

To study the discourse of al-Qaeda is to see an entirely different
time-frame, in which the events of the seventh century – when Islam
was in the ascendant – are more important than what happens today.
When Islamists struck in Madrid, commentators struggled to explain
the location. Was it because Spain had troops in Iraq? That was part
of it, but the real injury dates back to 1492, when Isabella and
Ferdinand drove out the Moors. “You know of the Spanish crusade
against Muslims, and that not much time has passed since the
expulsion from al-Andalus and the tribunals of the Inquisition,” said
Serhane ben Abdelmajid Fakhet, the alleged leader of the Madrid train
bombers.

The past is always ripe for manipulation. The recent anti-Japan
demonstrations in China were supposedly sparked by a Japanese school
textbook, which referred to the 1937 Nanjing massacre as an
“incident” – as if up to 300,000 Chinese had died by accident, rather
than being slaughtered by the Japanese Imperial Army. There’s no
doubt that the Japanese authorities have equivocated over war crimes
committed in the 1930s and 1940s, yet these textbooks – used in less
than 1 per cent of Japanese schools – have been around for years.
China’s real aim was to assert herself as the rising power in Asia,
and to show the world why Japan should not have a seat on an expanded
UN Security Council. Japan and China are in dispute over oil and gas
in the South China Sea, but the state-controlled Chinese media
reignited the schoolbooks issue as the most effective way to engage
the masses.

Western politicians do understand the symbolic significance of
history when they need to, even if they don’t feel it. On 24 April,
as tens of thousands of Armenians commemorated the start of the 1915
genocide, President Bush carefully referred to it as the “Great
Calamity”, a way of acknowledging the pain of Armenians without
offending his Turkish allies by using the word genocide.

The official Turkish version of history is that many Armenians sided
with the Russians in the First World War, and therefore – inevitably
– there were killings on both sides. The genocide has become an issue
in Turkey’s proposed entry into the EU. France, the European country
with the most doubts about this and which also has a large Armenian
population, is insisting Turkey confess to genocide before it can be
admitted. The Turkish government has established a commission to
re-examine history – a hard task, given that denying the genocide has
been official policy since the massacres were perpetrated.

History never goes away, and it never stops. We are condemned to
misunderstanding if we do not follow the twists and changes as
history is reworked to justify current actions. “Forward not back”
would be a meaningless slogan in most places because, although
globalisation has spread western products across the world, beyond
our shores they’re really not thinking what we’re thinking.

Lindsey Hilsum is international editor for Channel 4 News

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
April 28 2005

AZERBAIJANIS HOLD RALLY OF PROTEST IN SWITZERLAND
[April 28, 2005, 14:23:03]

The Sweden-Azerbaijan Turks Association on 24 April has hold in Bern
a rally of protest against `genocide’ claims of the Armenians, State
Committee on Works with Azerbaijanis Living Abroad said.

In the 4-hour action, were raised slogans exposing intention of the
Armenians without any historical ground.

Participants of the rally – Azerbaijani country-fellows have adopted
an address to prove groundless claims of the notorious `genocide’.
The document was sent to state bodies, Parliament and public
organizations of Switzerland.

Many Swiss media organs have covered the action.

The News Anatolian, Turkey
April 28 2005

Armenian issue escalates tension between Turkey, Russia
By SENEM CAGLAYAN

Despite a Foreign Ministry statement condemning and rejecting the
Russian Duma’s recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide claims,
Armenians in Russia declare that they’ve unveiled ‘genocide’
monuments, an act that escalates the tension and further damages
relations between Ankara and Moscow
The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a written announcement on Tuesday
condemning and rejecting the Russian Duma’s recognition last Friday
of the so-called Armenian genocide claims.

“Recognition of the event, which is a strained reflection of mutual
sorrows and pains of Armenians and Turks, by a state that knows the
conditions of World War I is incomprehensible,” said the Foreign
Ministry in its announcement.

The statement went on to mention that recognition of the Armenian
claims of genocide by the Duma is contrary to developing relations
between Ankara and Moscow, and added, “Turkey believes that
historians will come to a well-balanced conclusion on this
controversial problem. This is why Turkey has encouraged a
constructive and well-intentioned undertaking to gather Armenian and
Turkish historians together to investigate the events and
developments of 1915, and to examine archives in other states.”

The announcement went on to say that the Russian Duma, rather than
supporting the well-intentioned undertaking, had made an announcement
which is contrary to the need of cultivating good and friendly
feelings between the public these days and generations to come. “It’s
an ill-fated declaration that also contradicts attempts to attain
peace and stability in our region, and with good neighborhood
relations,” it added.

Armenians unveil ‘genocide’ monuments in Russia

Despite Tuesday’s Foreign Ministry statement condemning and rejecting
the Duma’s recognition, Armenians in Russia declared on Tuesday that
they’ve unveiled “genocide” monuments, an act that escalates the
tension and further damages bilateral relations between Turkey and
Russia.

Armenians living in Russia stated that they unveiled monuments in
Krasnodar and Stavropol to commemorate the so-called genocide.

According to news published on the Russian Southern Federal
District’s website, Armenians unveiled their monuments in Stavropol
and Krasnodar with the permission of Pyatigorsk’s local
administration.

The cities of Stavropol and Krasnodar are located on the Black Sea
and are known to have many people of Armenian descent living there.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The News Anatolian, Turkey
April 28 2005

Bush’s Armenian message was clear: US could not risk losing Turkey
By SENEM CAGLAYAN

The message given by the statement of U.S. President George W. Bush
on April 24 was clear: The U.S. cannot risk losing Turkey right now.
Although the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) started a
campaign months before April 24, the date they claim for the 90th
anniversary of the so-called Armenian genocide, a campaign pushing
President Bush to recognize their claims in his annual statement, and
even won the support of over 200 U.S. congressmen, Bush did not use
the word “genocide,” since Washington is in no hurry to alienate or
even lose Turkey.

The lack of recognition of the Armenian claims by Bush doesn’t mean
that the U.S. President does not believe in the “genocide”
allegations. The truth is that he could not risk increasing the
tension between Turkey and the U.S., in a relationship that has been
rocky of late.

Moreover, Bush’s avoidance of the “g” word does nothing to prevent
the Armenian lobby from bringing the controversial claims to a vote
in the U.S. Congress. If a recognition proposal ever comes to a vote,
it stands a good chance of approval by the Congress since 210
congressmen – 178 representatives and 32 senators – are on record
backing the claims.

The U.S. House of Representatives has 435 members, and the Senate
100.

Also, 30 of the 50 U.S. states have previously recognized the
Armenian claims, and on Sunday former actor and California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger declared April 24 a “Day of Remembrance of the
Armenian Genocide” in his state, which has a large population of
ethnic Armenians.

The campaign of the Armenian lobby started months before April 24
with messages and letters to Washington urging Bush to explicitly
recognize the so-called Armenian genocide claims. While the lobby
called for U.S. recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide
claims, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan rejected an Ankara
proposal for a joint commission of Turkish and Armenian historians to
investigate the controversial problem.

The Armenians claimed in their letters that during the 2000
presidential election campaign, President Bush promised that he would
recognize the so-called Armenian genocide.

U.S. presidents on April 24 traditionally issue some sort of
statement to commemorate the pain and sorrow that Armenians faced at
the end of World War I, but no president to date – Bush included –
has explicitly called the disputed events a “genocide.” But in their
letter bombardment this year, the Armenian lobby made an all-out
effort for Bush to recognize the “genocide” claims.

They were successful in winning the support of 210 members of the
U.S. Congress who signed a letter to Bush asking him to recognize the
Armenian claims.

In a last-minute push, Armenians were bussed into Washington en masse
on last Thursday for a memorial ceremony of the 90th anniversary of
the so-called genocide at the U.S. Congress.

Despite this steady barrage of propagandizing from the Armenian
lobby, they were not successful in urging Bush to recognize their
claims, since Bush did not use the “g” word in his annual statement.

It is clear that Washington is not ready to lose one of its closest
allies in the Middle East region – Turkey. There are three factors
behind this:

First of all, the U.S. needs to continue its presence at the Incirlik
Military Airbase to carry out its agenda in the Middle East and
specifically to continue its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Turkey could be considered the starting point of Washington’s Greater
Middle East Initiative (GME), which shapes the U.S.’ policy towards
the Middle East. Thus, the U.S. needs friendly relations with Turkey
to properly use the Incirlik base in its actions in the Middle East.

Although Turkey is a Muslim country, its secular, democratic
governing system is also an important asset for U.S. promotion of the
GME. The U.S. frequently cites Turkey as an example proving that
Muslim countries can lead a democratic way of life.

The second factor behind Bush’s statement is Washington’s ongoing aim
of making Turkey unilaterally dependant on the U.S. The aim of this
policy is to make Turkey economically dependant on the U.S., since
Turkey is a big market for the U.S. goods and services and a cheap
place for U.S. firms to make investments. In line with this policy,
the U.S. both supports Turkey’s membership in the European Union and
tries to leave Turkey economically dependant on it.

Thirdly, Washington does not want to exacerbate tensions between the
U.S. and Turkey during this critical period, since the U.S. is sure
that it needs the support of Turkey, especially in its operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan and in attaining peace and stability in the
Middle East. It is also aware of the growing anti-American sentiment
within Turkey which threatens to spoil all its plans in the region.

The News Anatolian, Turkey
April 28 2005

In policy shift, Ankara turns tables to criticize the European Union
View: Zeynep Gurcanli

This week’s partnership council meeting between Turkey and European
Union could be described as a cornerstone in the critical process
towards the beginning of Ankara’s accession negotiations, scheduled
for Oct. 3.

During the meeting in Luxembourg, the Turkish government changed its
strategy towards the European Union, abandoning a defensive stance in
favor of a more aggressive approach to the criticisms of the Union.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who represented Turkey at the
partnership council meeting, faced all the criticisms and
expectations of European ministers on human rights, religious
minority rights, and Cyprus, by underlining the EU’s own deficiencies
in all these fields.

The main issue at the meeting was certainly the signing of Ankara
Protocol by Turkey, extending the Customs Union to the 10 new member
states of EU, including the Greek Cypriot administration, which
Turkey does not recognize.

When the European side asked for the signing of the protocol by
Turkey, Gul brought the issue of the EU’s long-delayed promise to
offer economic deals and financial aid to the Turkish Cypriots. The
EU had promised to end its economic isolation of the North with a
trade facilitation agreement and aid worth $336 million a reward for
Turkish Cypriots’ approval of a UN-drafted reunification plan in a
referendum last year. However, Greek Cypriots, who rejected the plan
in a separate vote, have blocked the aid, fearing the package could
lead to de facto recognition of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC).

Gul’s criticisms of European demands for Turkish support to restart
the Cyprus negotiations between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots were
even tougher. `Let me ask you,” he said during the meeting, according
to Turkish officials. “Do you really think that it’s Turkey that
should take steps towards a solution in Cyprus?’ He also criticized
the passages in the position paper put on the table by EU ministers
asking Turkey `to normalize its relations with the EU.’ `Do you think
that our relations with EU are abnormal?’ he asked. He underlined the
need to normalize relations between Turkish and Greek Cypriots first,
according to the same sources.

The EU officials at the meeting were silenced by Gul’s remarks on
Cyprus. Later Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg, whose
nation is the current term president of the EU, told reporters he had
“issued an apology” on behalf of the EU for not yet implementing the
2004 measures, which were drafted before Cyprus joined the EU on May
1 last year. “It’s not yet possible to put them into practice,”
Asselborn said, but added that the EU “must do everything it can to
implement them.”

The second issue of European criticism towards Turkey was the rights
of religious and ethnic minorities. EU officials underlined the
importance of recognition of the ecumenical status of the Fener
Orthodox Patriarch and demanded the opening of the religious seminary
in Heybeliada. They also put forth the issue of `expanding the
cultural rights’ of ethnic groups in Turkey.

Foreign Minister Gul was also prepared for these criticisms. He
brought up the living conditions of the Turkish minority in western
Thrace, Greece. `We are working to ameliorate the situation in our
country on minority rights,’ said Gul, and gave some examples. But he
added, `Please be just in your criticisms on the minority issue. The
living conditions of Turkish-origin citizens of Greece, a full member
country of the EU, are also continuing to be a big problem. Do you
know that Turks in western Thrace can’t even elect their own mufti
[Muslim authority]?’

Asselborn and EU Commissioner Responsible for Enlargement Olli Rehn
went over a list of reforms Turkey must implement before negotiations
begin during the meeting, according to EU sources. Rehn said that
while progress on reforms has been “significant, it is essential now
to keep up the momentum.” He mentioned that Turkey’s penal code
reforms need to be put back on track so they are implemented in time.
He also said the EU continued to have “serious concerns” over torture
and ill-treatment “that continue to occur” and gave the example of
the beating of the Women’s Day demonstrators by Turkish security
forces.

Gul said Turkey “was aware how important implementation is,” adding
his government would ensure that all EU demands are met on time.
“There should be no suspicion whatsoever,” he said. Gul described the
Women’s Day beating as a `road accident.’

The surprise issue of the partnership council meeting between EU and
Turkey was the so-called Armenian genocide claims. The issue was
brought to the table by European officials due to the great pressure
of France and the Netherlands.

Gul informed the EU officials about the recent demarche of Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan sent a letter to
Armenian president, suggesting the establishment of a joint
commission by historians of the two countries to study the claims.

Gul, during the Tuesday meeting, also gave some examples of the
tolerant policies of the Ottoman Empire towards religious minorities.
`If the Ottoman government wished, it could have erased all the
different religions other than Islam from the Balkans and Anatolia
during that time,’ Gul was quoted as saying. `The Armenians and other
religious groups in Turkey survived due to this tolerant policy of
the Ottomans. Today, Turkey too has no problems with the Armenians.’

Gul also asked the Europeans not to use the national feelings of the
Turks for only the domestic consumption of European countries.

The last criticisms of the Europeans was about the role of the
Turkish military within domestic politics. Gul’s response to this
criticism was saying that there is some improvement on the issue.

After countering all the criticisms of the European officials with
his own criticisms of the Union, Gul concluded by asking the
Europeans to treat fairly Turkey. `We expect the same treatment
towards Turkey as the other candidate countries,’ he said.

Zaman, Turkey
April 28 2005

Turkey Issues Russia Diplomatic Notes on So Called Genocide
By Suleyman Kurt
Published: Thursday 28, 2005
zaman.com

The Turkish Foreign Ministry delivered a diplomatic note protesting a
resolution in favor of the alleged Armenian genocide by the Russian
Federation Federal Parliament, the Duma, on April 22.

The Russian Ambassador to Ankara was summoned to the Turkish Ministry
and he was told that the resolution was a very unfortunate one. The
Turkish Ambassador to Moscow, Kurtulus Taskent, on the hand, went to
the Russian Foreign Ministry and protested the resolution. Ankara
declared that instead of supporting Turkey’s positive intentions
regarding the issue, making such a declaration is an unfortunate act
by Russia in terms of restoring good relations. Ankara keeps contacts
with Germany through top-level talks to avoid a similar resolution in
that country. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder will visit Turkey on
May1-2 and objections that would derive from such a resolution will
be raised by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Similar
resolutions by the parliaments of three countries were prevented in
2005. Fifteen countries have approved parliamentary resolutions, many
after 1992 , on the recognition of the genocide allegations so far.

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
April 28 2005

Bennett keeps eyes on Armenia

By Joanne Hartunian/ Guest Columnist
Thursday, April 28, 2005

Eleven years ago, I consulted with Dr. Linda Bennett concerning a
young girl in the Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association youth
exchange program from Yerevan, Armenia who needed eyeglasses. Dr.
Bennett said she’d do what she could. She’s been doing what she could
since then, and 100 times over.

Over the years she saw exchange educators and students with
various stages of vision problems, including one boy who had
malnutrition blindness. As she treated the Belmont High School
visitors in her Cushing Square office, Dr. Bennett would tell them,
“Don’t forget to get come and get your eyes checked again.” The
participants would try to explain that they were on a U.S. Department
of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs funded youth
exchange program and that it would be impossible to come to American
again. Dr. Bennett always told the students and teachers, “You never
know when I’ll see you again!”

Belmont High School is partnered with School #65 in Shengavit
region of Yerevan, Armenia. Year after year, as educators and
students arrived on the doorstep of Belmont High School, Dr. Bennett
and her office staff cleared the office to accommodate the groups
that the Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association brought to the
Boston area. Dr. Bennett’s office visit became a living legend where
she showed the students a children’s video, treated them to lunch,
and let them play games for an afternoon, in addition to giving eye
exams and, where necessary, eyeglasses. In one instance, an educator
needed specialized eye surgery, which Dr. Bennett arranged.

Year after year, Dr. Bennett would call me and inquire, “When
are the Armenian students and teachers coming to Belmont High School
this year?”

Armenian students and educators are unable to come to the United
States with the Secondary School Partnership Program to Promote Civil
Society any longer, due to State Department budget cuts. So she
decided if the children couldn’t come to her, she would go to them.

Dr. Bennett spoke at an annual optometric convention last April and
told them about the children in Armenia. Her efforts mobilized an
18-person mission team through Volunteer Optometric Services to
Humanity (), which went to Armenia this month to conduct
six all-day school clinics.

Local optometrists who accompanied Dr. Bennett on the trip were
Dr. Joseph D’Amico, Worcester, team leader; Dr. Christine Russian,
Lahey Clinic; Dr. James Fantazian, Billerica; Dr. Karen Koumjian,
Watertown; and Dr. Taline Farra, New England College of Optometry.
Kimberly Balfour of Belmont Day School, a registered nurse, ran a
blood pressure clinic on site, because high blood pressure may be
indicative of eye care issues.

We were assisted by logistics coordinator Peggy Hovanessian,
Lexington; and site coordinator Anna Karakhanyan of Armenia. AMARAS
Arts Alliance of Watertown is the United States sponsoring
organization and Yerevan Cambridge Sister City Association is the
Republic of Armenia’s inviting organization.

The team was registered with the Republic of Armenia’s
Humanitarian Commission and Ministry of Health and the 18
participants took eye equipment, eyeglasses, candy, children’s
clothing, and school supplies with them, weighing close to one ton.

While in Armenia they were hosted in a government guest house
and had dinner in the homes of the many people Dr. Bennett has
treated.

Belmont High School, the Armenian Memorial Church, Watertown;
Armenian Church of the Holy Translators; Framingham; Knights and
Daughters of Vartan, New England; United Armenian Calvary
Congregational Church, Troy, N.Y.; St. Vartanantz Church, Chelmsford;
Mt. Holyoke College Chaplains Office; General Optical, Cambridge; and
Armenian Library and Museum of America, Watertown, contributed toward
the project’s eyeglass goals. Rev. Joanne Hartunian is program
manager for the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Association, and
project manager for the Armenian vision clinics.

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
April 28 2005

Erebuni Armenian Chorus to sing May 15
Thursday, April 28, 2005

The Erebuni Armenian Chorus of Greater Boston will hold its Spring
Concert on May 15 at 3 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Church, 1321 Centre
St., Newton.

A special feature of Erebuni’s program will be an appearance by
the children’s chorus of the Montessori Educare School of Newton and
the St. James Armenian Church Jr. Choir/Chorale of Watertown. More
than 60 youngsters, many of whom are not of Armenian descent, will
share their unique repertoire which includes Armenian music.

This is the 10th anniversary year for the Erebuni Chorus which
performs a cappella music, much of which has been arranged for
four-part singing by its founder and artistic director, Maestro Artur
Veranian. The chorus has an international repertoire of music –
Armenian and non-Armenian, traditional and classical, liturgical and
modern. The group has been invited again this year to appear at the
Massachusetts State House during its annual Armenian Genocide
commemorative program in April.

Erebuni’s Spring Concert will include musical compositions of
Komitas Vardapet, Makar Ekmalian, Sayat Nova, Alexander Haroutunian,
Robert Amirkhanian, and Robert Petrossian, among others. Conducting
the entire program, both adult and children’s choruses, will be
Maestro Veranian, who has won many grand and special prizes in
international competitions in Italy, Germany and Spain. Former
conductor of the Armenian State Academic Chorus and the State Chamber
Orchestra in Armenia, Veranian is currently on the faculty of the
Montessori Educare School and is music director of St. James Armenian
Apostolic Church.

Tickets for the concert are available through any Erebuni Chorus
member at $15 for adults and $5 for children under 12. For further
information, please contact Nicole Simmons at 617-484-6748, Hasmig
Maserejian at 617-484-1451, or write to Erebuni Armenian Chorus of
Greater Boston, P.O. Box 378, Belmont, MA 02478.