Lebanon’s Armenians: well-integrated but declining
By Nayla Razzouk – BEIRUT

Middle East Online, UK
April 21 2005

Armenians whose ancestors escaped massacre in Ottoman Turkey gain
Lebanon’s respec with their skills, hard work.

Lebanon’s well-integrated Armenian community is gearing up for the
90th anniversary of the massacre of their ancestors in Ottoman Turkey
amid concerns over emigration which has halved their number in 15
years.

The Christian Armenians have been hit by the same economic hardships
as other communities in the tiny Arab country which welcomed their
forefathers with open arms.

>>From 250,000 at the end of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, during
which tens of thousands emigrated, the Armenian community has
dwindled further to about 120,000, according to political and
religious leaders of the community.

“We suffered emigration like all other communities in post-war
Lebanon. We are trying to face that problem, and so are our churches,
with financial and housing aid,” said MP Jean Ogassabian, one of six
ethnic Armenian deputies in the 128-member parliament.

“But since Armenia’s independence in 1991, many of the funds that we
used to receive are now going” to the former Soviet republic, said
another, MP Serge Tor Sarkissian.

Lebanon hosts the Arab world’s largest Armenian community, the
descendants of survivors of the 1915-1917 massacres of Armenians who
are now leading a global campaign to declare the mass killings a
genocide.

The massacres have been acknowledged as genocide by a number of
countries, including France, Canada and Switzerland. Armenians around
the world will mark the 90th anniversary of the start of the
slaughter on April 24.

“A draft law proposal for official Lebanese recognition of the
genocide has been in my drawer for two years because Lebanon does not
need more crises. We are Lebanese first, and we are forever grateful
to Lebanon,” said Tor Sarkissian.

Most of Lebanon’s Armenians hail from the region of Cilicia, today in
Turkey, and not in the present-day state of Armenia.

>>From refugees living under tents on wastelands, the Armenians gained
the respect of other communities in Lebanon with their skills and
hard work that allowed them to gain prominent economic and political
positions.

The community is today represented by a government minister, six MPs
and three main political parties. The mother and wife of President
Emile Lahoud are of Armenian origin.

Many of Lebanon’s top jewellers, leading industrialists, prominent
physicians, popular television presenters, artists and at least half
of the musicians of the national symphony orchestra are Armenians.

If many Lebanese are known to speak Arabic, French and English, some
Lebanese Armenians are even quadrilingual.

At election time, the Armenian vote is an important factor since many
of them are registered in Beirut and important regions nearby. They
have however often been criticised for voting in block, in favor of
the government of the day.

The Armenians maintained a neutral stand during the war.

“The Armenians mind their own business to the point that they even
celebrate Christmas on their own,” on January 6, said Wassim Husseini
in a joke summing up how Armenians are generally viewed.

But such stereotypes belong more to the past, said Arda Ekmekji, dean
of arts and sciences at Haigazian University, the only Armenian
higher learning institute outside Armenia.

“Today, Lebanese Armenians are completely integrated, they live
across the country and speak perfect Arabic,” she said. “When two
Lebanese meet in Paris, they naturally speak Arabic!”

Beside the input of the family, Armenian identity is kept alive by
active political, cultural and sporting institutions as well as some
70 Armenian schools and the university.

And there is the commemoration of April 24.

Near Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian church north of Beirut,
children file in groups into a mausoleum to watch in silence a
display of skulls from the massacre.

In the all-Armenian village of Anjar, in eastern Lebanon, residents
live amid apple orchards, vineyards and Islamic ruins in six quarters
named after the six villages of mountainous Musa Dagh, in today’s
Turkey.

Armenians from around the world trek to Anjar to pray at the memorial
of the heroic and poorly-armed Armenian villagers in Musa Dagh who,
faced with almost certain death, fought for 40 days against invading
Turks in 1915.

Publisher honoured for courage to publish Kurdish books in Turkey

KurdishMedia, UK
April 21 2005

21/04/2005 — International Freedom of Expression Exchange Abdullah
Keskin, a publisher who has been legally persecuted in Turkey for
publishing books in Kurdish, has won the 2005 Jeri Laber International
Freedom to Publish Award.

The annual prize honours book publishers outside the United States
who show courage in the face of political persecution and restrictions
on freedom of expression.

Keskin is the co-founder of Avesta, the first company in Turkey to
publish books in Kurdish, a language that was banned until recently.
Since its launch in 1996, Avesta has published more than 200 books
in Kurdish, Turkish and French.

More than 10 of Avesta’s books have been banned under Turkey’s
Anti-Terrorist Law, including a translation of former “Washington
Post” reporter Jonathan Randal’s book “After such Knowledge, What
Forgiveness: My Encounters with Kurdistan”. Keskin has also been
charged with disseminating “separatist propaganda.”

Although the Turkish government has relaxed restrictions on freedom
of expression in its bid to enter the European Union, writings on
Kurdish issues are still considered “dangerous” information.

Keskin will be honoured with the award at PEN American Center’s annual
Gala dinner in New York City on 20 April 2005.

The Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award is administered
by the Association of American Publishers’ International Freedom to
Publish Committee.

For more information, visit: – Jeri Laber Award – AAP International
Freedom to Publish Committee – Writings by Jeri Laber

International Freedom of Expression Exchange

Turkish Publisher to Receive 2005 Jeri Laber International Freedom
to Publish Award

New York, New York, April 4, 2005-Abdullah Keskin, the courageous
Turkish publisher of Avesta, has been selected as the 2005 recipient
of the Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award. He is being
recognized for his long commitment to Kurdish writings in the face
of great political obstacles-and personal peril-over the past decade.
The annual award, given for the third year by the International Freedom
to Publish Committee (IFTPC) of the Association of American Publishers,
will be officially presented at PEN’s annual Gala on April 20, 2005
at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Hal Fessenden, chair of the International Freedom to Publish
Committee, said “Abdullah has courageously published politically
sensitive books on Kurdish issues, books long banned in Turkey,
books on current affairs, women’s studies, Mesopotamian culture,
and classics of Eastern and Western literature. We’re delighted to
recognize Abdullah with this award for his unfaltering commitment to
freedom of expression and for publishing such a rich and varied list.”

Abdullah Keskin was born in the Kurdish town of Nusaybin, in eastern
Turkey, in 1967. He is the eldest of ten children, and the first
person from twenty surrounding villages to go to university. While
at Ankara University, he was arrested and charged with reading an
illegal publication; he was held for five months before his trial,
and then acquitted. In 1992, he became the publisher of a weekly
Kurdish newspaper in Istanbul, one of the first to be published in
this prohibited language in Turkey.

In 1996, together with his wife Ruken Bagdu Keskin and sister Songul
Duraker, Abdullah Keskin founded Avesta, the first company in Turkey
to publish books in Kurdish, then still a prohibited language. They
began with four books in Kurdish, and have now published more than
200 books in Kurdish, Turkish, and French by writers from around the
world and across many genres, including women’s studies, literature,
poetry, travel, science, current affairs, minority studies, and
history. Avesta’s books have also been translated into more then
ten languages, including French, English, German, Bulgarian, Arabic,
Farsi, Norwegian, Swedish, Armenian, and Russian. Books prohibited
in Turkey for 150 years were brought to light through their efforts.

More than ten of Avesta’s books have been banned by the Turkish
State Security Council under Turkey’s Anti-Terrorist Law. These have
ranged from doctoral theses by respected scholars to Washington
Post correspondent Jonathan Randal’s “After Such Knowledge, What
Forgiveness: My Encounters with Kurdistan.” Keskin has been charged
with disseminating “separatist propaganda,” and has faced both
imprisonment and stiff fines. The books remain banned even though
Turkey’s laws have now changed. According to one judge’s statement,
Avesta’s fines could not be reduced because the publisher did not
show sufficient regret for his actions.

Although the Turkish Parliament has in recent years passed
constitutional reforms aimed at enhancing freedom of expression,
writing about – and in – Kurdish remains a sensitive and often
dangerous activity. In a recent meeting with a delegation of American
publishers, Keskin wisely commented that while he was not currently
on trial, he was only “storing the coffin” for future use. Throughout
his trials, and despite widespread publicity campaigns to discredit
Avesta’s work, Abdullah Keskin has never retreated from his commitment
to freedom of expression.

“I am pleased this year’s prize is being presented to a
Kurdish-language publisher,” said Keskin, reached in Istanbul.
“Throughout the Kurds’ modern history, our ability to express ourselves
and our culture freely has been repressed. I hope the work of Avesta
and the authors we work with can contribute to the widening of freedoms
enjoyed by Kurds.”

The International Freedom to Publish Award recognizes a book publisher
outside the United States who has demonstrated courage and fortitude
in the face of political persecution and restrictions on freedom of
expression. The award is named in honor of Jeri Laber, one of the
founding members of the IFTPC and the committee’s professional advisor
for more than twenty-five years. She was a founder of Helsinki Watch
(which ultimately became Human Rights Watch), and was its executive
director from 1979 to 1995. Her memoir, The Courage of Strangers:
Coming of Age with the Human Rights Movement, was published in 2002
by Public Affairs Books.

The IFTPC was founded in 1975 by the Association of American Publishers
(AAP). It was one of the first groups in the world formed specifically
to defend and broaden the freedom of the written word and to protect
and promote the rights of book publishers and authors around the
world. Among its activities, the committee monitors and publicizes
free-expression issues around the world, sends fact-finding missions
to countries where free expression is under siege, lobbies both at
home and overseas on behalf of persecuted book publishers, and offers
moral support and practical assistance to threatened publishers abroad.

The AAP is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing
industry. The AAP’s approximately three hundred members include most
of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well
as smaller and nonprofit publishers, university presses, and scholarly
societies. The defense of intellectual freedom at home and freedom of
expression worldwide, the protection of intellectual property rights
in all media, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among
the association’s primary concerns.

PEN American Center and the AAP are partners in ongoing efforts to
protect the freedoms to write, publish, and read in the United States
and to expand these freedoms internationally. Presented at the PEN
Gala in New York, The Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish
Award, the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Awards and the
PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award all serve to draw attention
to women and men who have fought, often at great personal cost,
for these essential freedoms.

PEN American Center

KurdishMedia, UK
April 21 2005

Chief of Staff signals crisis with Greece

21/04/2005 Bianet.org

Chief of Staff Gen. Özkök in his annual evaluation signals soaring
relations with Greece. Özkök also indirectly rebuffs the U.S.
depictions of Turkey as a “model Islamic country”. “Turkey is a
secular republic” Özkök says.

BIA (Istanbul) – Turkish Chief of Staff General Hilmi Özkök calls for
an official apology from Greece regarding a recent ‘flag crisis’,
during his annual evaluation speech at the Military Academy alongside
striking statements on such topics as democracy and Islam, Iraq,
relations with Armenia, the Cyprus issue, the Kurdish armed insurgent
group PKK and the European Union

Recently, a diplomatic crisis erupted between Turkey and Greece when
visiting military students from Turkey found torn ot Turkish flags in
their dormitories where they were officially hosted. The students
were immediately ordered to return. Özkök, insisted to hear an
official apology from Greece “Or,” he said “our relations will
inevitably be revised”.

In his speech, Özkök also reacted against recent depictions
particularly by the successive U. S. Secrataries of State Colin
Powell and Condoleeza Rice of Turkey as a “model Islamic country”
merging democracy and “moderate Islam”.

“We are neither an Islamic country nor an Islamic state,” told Özkök.
“We are a secular democratic republic.”

The other major issues voiced by General Özkök in his speech were
that:

* The Aegean: Greece’s defense expenditures raise doubts.

* Iraq: Kirkuk is ready to erupt.

* The Kurdish question and the PKK: The US is not sensitive enough
for Turkish demands.

* Armenia: Their attitude is dubious.

* The European Union: Membership is not a blessing.

Gen. Özkök started his speech by discussing Turkey’s presumed role in
the Washington sponsored Greater Middle East Project. He said that
albeit it is being viewed as a “model of moderate Islam” within the
framework of this project, “Turkey is neither an Islamic state, nor
an Islamic nation”. Özkök stated that even though “almost the 99.9 %
of the population” are Muslims Turkey is a “secular, lawful state”.

The Chief of Staff added that secularism and laicism are inseparable
parts of the history of Turkish Republic, and they are the catalysts
in building, as well as maintaining, democracy in Turkey. Therefore,
Özkök affirmed, “it is a mistake to believe that any country with a
predominantly Muslim population can follow Turkey’s path and become
democratic”.

The head man of the Turkish Army believes that there can even be a
“national rebellion” if Turkey’s experience is imposed upon another
country.

Greece must issue an official apology

Özkök also spoke about the ‘flag crisis’ that Turkish military
students faced in Greece. He said that “confidence building measures
were taken between the two countries,”, but the damaged flags
incident in Greece “requires an official apology”. Özkök underlined
that if an apology is omitted, “the relations between the two
countries can be revised.”

According to Özkök, Greece’s defense expenditures top the military
expenses list among the European Union countries, and that the Aegean
Islands are still being heavily armed. The Chief of Staff said that
Turkey allots 154 dollars of its gross national income per capita for
military expenses, whereas this figure is 709 dollars in Greece.
Despite his criticisms towards Greece, Özkök affirmed that they
regard ameliorating the relations between two countries as a
priority.

Armenia

Gen. Özkök also spoke about the relations with Armenia, an issue that
tops the agenda of Turkey recently. They desire to “normalize” the
affairs between Turkey and Armenia, he told. However, he assessed
“obedience to fundamental principles of international law and
execution of the requirements of friendly neighborhood” on Armenia’s
behalf is necessary for achieving this result.

Özkök also touched upon the issue of the claims of “Armenian
Genocide”. The Chief of Staff stated that “many Turkish and Armenian
citizens of the Ottoman Empire were killed in the events 1915
incidents”, but the Republic of Turkey is not liable for any of the
events, and this era was closed by the 1924 Lausanne Peace Treaty
what imposes no responsibility on Turkey in that respect. Further,
“most of the deaths on the side of the Armenians were not by
intention, but as a result of the mass deportation; hence, genocide
did not take place,” he argued.

Cyprus is still strategically important

During his annual evaluation speech Özkök spoke about the Cyprus
issue, as well. According to the Chief of Staff, Cyprus is still
important for Turkey’s security and thus, “is a necessity” for the
country.

The Chief of Staff pointed out that Turkish Cypriots signaled their
intention of unity in the Island with the votes they cast in the
referendum for the “Annan Peace Plan”. “So”, Özkök said “new gestures
should not be expected from Turkey”.

The US gives the cold shoulder about the PKK

Saying that the US did not take the necessary steps to combat Kurdish
armed insurgent group PKK based in Northern Iraq, Özkök confirmed
that the situation remains tense in the region with the “surging
attacks on the Turkish military”.

The EU membership is not vital

According to the Chief Staff, the EU membership should not be viewed
as a “blessing”. Özkök says that in the relations with the EU,
“mutual benefits are at stake”, but “it is not the end of the world”
if Turkey cannot become a member of the EU. (EK/SAÖ/EK/YE)

BIA News Center

–Boundary_(ID_NEXjEGTnHGmPq3biJo7jfw)–

FEDERATION EURO-ARMENIENNE
pour la Justice et la Démocratie
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: +32 2 732 70 26
Tel/Fax: +32 2 732 70 27
Email : [email protected]

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE
pour diffusion immédiate
21 avril 2005
Contact :Talline Tachdjian
Tel/Fax :+32 2 732 70 27

L’ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DES CHERCHEURS SUR LES GENOCIDES REFUTE LA
NECESSITE D’UNE COMMISSION D’HISTORIENS SUR LE GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS

L’association a envoyé une lettre ouverte en ce sens au Premier ministre turc
– soulignant l’importance et l’impartialité des preuves déjà accumulées
– réaffirmant l’applicabilité de la Convention de 1948 au Génocide des Arméniens
– condamnant les tentatives de négation comme propagande visant à absoudre les coupables

L’association internationale des chercheurs sur les génocides (AICG) a
envoyé une lettre ouverte au Premier ministre turc, M. Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
le 6 avril dernier, suite à l’annonce faite par le gouvernement turc de
vouloir créer une « commission d’historiens » sur le Génocide des Arméniens.

Cette lettre, cosignée par le président et le vice-président de cette
prestigieuse association, MM. Robert Melson et Israël Charny, ainsi que par
M. Peter Balakian, l’auteur du récent best-seller « le Tigre en flamme », se
présente comme une réponse à l’appel lancé par M. Erdogan en faveur « d’
études impartiales par des historiens » sur le Génocide des Arméniens.

Dans ce courrier, l’association, qui regroupe la majorité des chercheurs
américains et européens sur les questions de génocide souligne que « ce ne
sont pas que les Arméniens qui affirment le Génocide des Arméniens mais des
centaines de chercheurs indépendants, libres de toute affiliation
gouvernementale ». Elle rappelle également « les nombreux travaux
académiques sur le Génocide des Arméniens ».

Citant les principales preuves et les principaux travaux concernant ce
génocide, et notamment les travaux de Raphaël Lemkin et les déclarations d’
Elie Wiesel et de Yehuda Bauer, les signataires insistent sur le fait que
« l’extermination des Arméniens constitue un génocide tel que défini par la
Convention de 1948 des Nations Unies sur la Prévention et la Répression du
Crime de Génocide ».

Reconnaissant qu’on peut admettre différentes interprétations sur le «
comment et le pourquoi » du Génocide des Arméniens, le courrier stipule
néanmoins que « nier sa réalité factuelle et morale n’est pas une démarche
académique mais une propagande visant à absoudre les exécuteurs, condamner
les victimes et effacer le sens éthique de cette histoire ».
Le courrier conclut qu’il est « clairement dans l’intérêt du peuple turc et
de son futur de reconnaître la responsabilité des gouvernements précédents
dans le génocide du peuple arménien, comme le peuple et le gouvernement
allemands l’ont fait pour l’Holocauste ».

La lettre ouverte intégrale est disponible sur le site de la Fédération
Euro-Arménienne
« Cette lettre ouverte, émanant de hautes autorités morales et
scientifiques, recadre clairement le débat, la réalité du Génocide des
Arméniens n’est plus à remettre en question et toute initiative en ce sens
est inutile sinon malsaine » a déclaré Hilda Tchoboian, présidente de la
Fédération Euro-Arménienne.

« Le problème relève maintenant exclusivement du champ politique et non plus
du champ des études historiques et c’est d’abord le problème de la Turquie
qui doit regarder en face son histoire. C’est aussi le problème de l’Union
européenne qui ne saurait admettre en son sein un Etat incapable d’une telle
introspection. » a conclu Hilda Tchoboian.

####

–Boundary_(ID_Adyl+xxCGHf6jxZqVb1RUA)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Family leaves former Soviet republic behind
By Alice Mannette/staff

Staunton News Leader, VA
April 21 2005

Day after day, for the past six years, Victor and Anna Makaryan
would hold their breath, pray and then peer into their mailbox,
only to be greeted by disappointment and frustration. Then, it came:
their passport to freedom. Their visa to live in the United States.

“It wasn’t that we had to leave,” said Victor. “It was that we
wanted to.”

Along with their 20-year-old daughter Anna, the family moved to
Staunton on July 4, leaving their 22-year-old daughter Liana behind.

Life in Armenia was tough. The couple had lived under communist rule
in the Soviet Union, liberation and then war with Azerbaijan.

“The Soviet Union was a big country,” Victor explained. “Many things
good. Many things bad.”

Once the iron curtain came down, heat, water and jobs were in short
supply. The terror of war was devastating. As their stomachs grumbled
while tucked under countless quilts, the Makaryans dreamt of a better
life in the United States.

“My sister and brother-in-law had moved to Staunton. They told us
how wonderful it was here,” Victor said. “We wanted to come.”

On the job Victor has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He
has more than 25 years experience and is considered an expert on
metallurgy, with a vast array of published articles.

Anna, his wife of more than 25 years, also is a mechanical engineer,
though she became a computer programmer after the fall of the Soviet
Union.

Because they could not speak English when they first arrived in
Staunton, finding a job ~W any job ~W was difficult.

“When we applied for one job, we had someone say that they had someone
from Kazakhstan (a former Soviet Republic), he was not a good worker,”
Anna said. “So we didn’t get the job. People judge all your nation
by you.”

But through the help of their church family, Staunton Grace Covenant
Church, the Makaryans found work. Victor installs and repairs
fireplaces for Fireplaces & Things and Anna washes dishes at Baldwin
Park. Their daughter Anna, who holds bachelor’s degrees in French
and international trade, works at Kroger. All three are thankful for
their work.

“The first days of work, I didn’t understand English. I thought they
would fire me,” Victor said.

But his boss, David Gilbert, appreciates Victor’s skills.

“He’s very diligent, very humble and he does a super job,” Gilbert
said. “He’s a brilliant man.”

Although Victor works a blue-collar job, he continues his scientific
work. Just a few months ago, a paper he wrote in Staunton was presented
at an international scientific conference. He had written the paper
in Armenian, sent it to a translator in Boston, then entered it
in English.

“I wanted to write in Armenian; I always wrote in Russian. I am in
America now,” he said. Victor hopes to write his papers in English
someday. But he is working on another paper in Russian. “It’s easier.
I can type it on the computer and not translate it.”

Victor also hopes to work one day as an engineer or scientist.

“I must learn the language first and then apply for a job in my field,”
he said.

Gilbert said he is honored to have Victor as an employee.

“At one point he and his family (in Armenia), had no running water,
no heat ~W they were trying everything to stay warm,” he said.

Choosing a home Life was difficult when Armenia declared independence,
Anna said.

“Food was very expensive. Electricity was out. No job. Many Armenian
people had to go because it was difficult. We had to put a wood stove
in the middle of our living room. It was not pretty,” she said.

Although things are changing, challenges remain. Islamic-dominated
Azerbaijan, on the east, presents a constant threat of war.

“If an Armenian goes there he will be shot,” Victor said.

To the nation’s west is Turkey, whose people killed hundreds of
thousands of Armenians from 1914 to 1918.

“Most Armenians lost relatives during the genocide,” Anna said. Once
a year the Armenian government has a day of remembrance.

To the south is Iran, where relations are civil, said the Makaryans.
Georgia, their friendliest neighbor, lies across mountains to the
north. Because of the terrain, only one train can reach Georgia and
ultimately Russia, their source for food and goods.

“When the weather is bad, we don’t get products,” Anna said.

The economic atmosphere also is bleak. The Makaryans had good jobs
but the wages were low, Victor said. “We make so much more here.”

Yearnings “I miss my sister and brother, but most of all I miss my
daughter,” Anna said.

Liana, at 22, is too old to come to the U.S. on her family’s visa.
Anna said her daughter also prefers to stay in Armenia, working at
a French university.

“I cry sometimes,” Anna said, as tears welled up in her deep brown
eyes. “It’s difficult for mothers, and fathers too. I want to see
her and know how she is every day. What is she eating? What is she
drinking? I want to know when she is getting cold. This is the hardest
part about leaving.”

The younger Anna also misses her sister, aunts, uncles and
grandparents. She longs for apricots and Armenian cheese, which has
a feta-like texture. But she said living in Staunton is a wonderful
opportunity.

“I am learning English,” said the younger Anna. “I thought I knew
English before. But now I see how much I do not know.”

Finding their way Because their daughter is able to translate, the
Makaryans have been able handle many things without outside help. But
they shop without her so they are not completely dependent.

Banks, credit and insurance are new concepts to the Makaryans. But
after their years in Armenia, they find life in America easy.

“Mother’s uncle was sent to Siberia. No reason.” Victor said.
“Someone can say something about you and you go. My parents were
always afraid. But this did not happen in our time. After Stalin’s
time there was not as much danger. It’s a tricky thing. There, Russia
had a lot of good points. Medicine, education is free. Government
controlled prices for bread. On the other hand, we were not allowed
outside the USSR. They decided the books we read, the movies we saw.
But now it is getting better.”

When the family arrived in Staunton they lived with Victor’s sister,
Nuné Mirzoyan, and her family for five months.

“It was helpful. They taught us how to drive,” Anna said. In Armenia,
families are close. Many generations often live under one roof.

“I am thrilled and very thankful to have them here,” said Mirzoyan.
“We just prayed that God would open the door and he did. I am just
so thankful.”

“The church has helped us with furniture and finding an apartment,”
said Anna. “They welcomed us very heartily.”

Keeping the faith “We studied in school that there was no God. God
was a legend. That is what the Soviet Union said,” Anna said. “But
my grandparents taught us the old religion. They were brought up in
the Armenian church.” The Armenian Orthodox Church is similar to the
Eastern Orthodox churches.

“You could not have a job if you were going to church,” added Victor,
whose parents were atheist. “Now it has changed. Now they have to
learn the church history in schools.”

Because of Anna’s grandparents and their unbending belief in God,
Anna’s faith has not wavered. “Armenia was first to be a Christian
country,” Anna said proudly.

Staunton Grace Covenant Church had sponsored the Mirzoyans, who were
refugees in Serbo-Croatia in 1998. When they arrived, the church
rallied around them. Now they are doing the same for their kin.

“These are tremendous people,” said the Rev. Steven Paulus. “They
are more of a blessing to us then we are to them. Their attitude and
perspective is uplifting. It is definitely a two-way street.”

Settled in Staunton The family worries about their native land,
their daughter, siblings and parents. But deep in their heart they
feel that Russia will always help Armenia.

“In their heart every Armenian believes Mount Ararat is theirs,
even though it is in Turkey now. You can see it from every window,”
Anna said. “During the USSR, the Turkish government protested because
Armenians used the symbol of Mount Ararat. They said, you don’t have
the right to use it. The Russian people answered, ‘You have the moon
on your flag, is it your moon?'”

Now Armenia is good, Victor said. “But maybe tomorrow it changes.”

The family is happy to be in Staunton. They say it is beautiful and
green here, while Armenia is full of stones.

“I know this is the right decision,” Victor said.

“We will never forget,” said Anna. “We will always remember Armenia
and keep it in our heart.”

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ROADS: Why people from former Soviet countries are coming to the Valley
By Alice Mannette/Staff

Staunton News Leader, VA
April 21 2005

In 1991, the Berlin Wall came down, the cement blocks were crushed
and many Soviet satellite nations gained independence. With this
new-found freedom came economic hardship, religious persecution of the
non-dominant “new” religion and an ability to immigrate – if selected.

“We left at the time when it was the most devastating: no water,
electricity or power,” said Nuné Mirzoyan. “We were starving and it
was impossible.”

Armenia had suffered economic hardship and a war with neighboring
Islamic-dominated Azerbaijan. The Mirzoyans became refugees, and after
years of harsh circumstances the family was sponsored by Staunton
Grace Christian Church. A little more than six years ago, the church
helped Samuel Mirzoyan find an engineering job and his wife and two
sons an apartment.

“We were so welcomed. People prepared an apartment for us with
everything in it. And I mean everything,” Nuné Mirzoyan said.
In neighboring Kazakhstan, another former Soviet Republic, the dominant
religion is Islam. Toly Kalashnikov fled to the Valley with his family
five years ago because of what he termed “ethnic problems.” His
father, a former speed skating coach, is working in construction.
Ben Zudilin, also of Kazakhstan, said there are more opportunities
in the United States. At one time, he had eight relatives living in
a three-bedroom apartment in Harrisonburg.

“Most of my uncles, aunts and grandmothers are now here,” Zudilin said.

Garotb Borodin, who immigrated to Bridgewater from Kazakhstan almost
nine years ago, said religion is a big part of the reason for coming
to the United States.

“My dad said that he didn’t want us to go through what he did –
Christian persecution,” said Sergei Kvitko of Kyrgyzstan. “When they
opened the doors to come to America, we did.”

Kvitko’s wife Barbara Zaphrozyea is from the Ukraine. The couple
first lived in Los Angeles where they learned English. Their pastor
helped them assimilate. Then they heard of relatives in the Valley
and thought the smaller community would be simpler.

Others from the Ukraine, like Victor Klopov, said they were looking
for new opportunities. Nina Zotov from Belarus agrees. “My parents
were looking for more freedom to do things they wanted to. They came
here and started all over,” Zotov said.

But Svetlana and Pavel Khilkovich, Baptists from Belarus, cited
religious persecution from the Russian Orthodoxy as a reason for
leaving their homeland. The couple came as refugees, but were invited
by their relatives who reside in Harrisonburg.

“It is better there now. Before you were ridiculed in school. They
didn’t want people gathering,” Svetlana Khilkovich said.

Andrey Klimenko from Latvia said, “I want to live in America. There
are much better people here. Less problems.”

Many Valley immigrants from the atheist former Soviet republics agree
with Mirzoyan when she says, “God was very faithful to us.”

–Boundary_(ID_mHIAKAikJoThMTJEwQfCjQ)–

Ankara criticises Poland for condemning Armenian massacres

Radio Polonia, Poland
April 21 2005

21.04.2005

Turkey has sharply criticised Poland for acknowledging the killing
of thousands of Armenians by Turks between 1915 and 1917 as genocide.

Earlier this week Poland joined a list of 15 countries that have
officially acknowledged the killings as genocide when its parliament
passed a resolution condemning the Armenian massacres.

Armenian sources speak about up to 1.5 million victims, while Ankara
counters that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were killed
during World War I when the Armenians rose against their Ottoman
rulers.

Ankara called the resolution passed by Polish parliament
“irresponsible,” and said it would hurt bilateral relations.

Walesa says Turkey should admit to genocide to join

Agence France Presse
April 21 2005

Polish Nobel laureate and former president Lech Walesa on Thursday
said Armenians had the right to demand that the European Union bar
Turkey from joining the bloc until it admits to committing genocide
against Armenians during World War I.

“It is a just claim of the Armenians that Turkey’s entrance into the
European Union should come after admitting genocide,” the former trade
union leader credited with helping trigger the fall of communism in
Eastern Europe said.

Armenia marks on Sunday the 90th anniversary of mass killings in
Ottoman Turkey which Armenia and many other countries consider to
have been genocide but which Turkey denies ever took place.

Walesa’s comments come at a key time for Turkey as it prepares to
launch membership negotiations with the European Union in October.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen perished in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire,
the predecessor of modern Turkey, was falling apart.

“The slaughter in Turkey was the first genocide of the 20th century,”
Walesa said.

Ankara counters that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were
killed in “civil strife” during World War I when the Armenians rose
against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.
The Armenian claims have been damaging to Turkey’s EU bid as it now
faces growing pressure from within the bloc to address the genocide
allegations in what Ankara sees as a politically motivated campaign
to damage its reputation ahead of talks.

On Tuesday Poland joined a list of 15 countries that have officially
acknowledged the killings as genocide when its parliament passed a
resolution condemning the Armenian massacres.

The decision has already drawn protest form Ankara where officials
called it “irresponsible,” and said it would hurt relations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS MEETS WITH THE PRESIDENT OF GREECE

His Holiness Aram I had an official meeting with the president of Greece,
Carolos Papoulialis on April 18. Bishop Khoren Doghramdjian, the prelate of
the Armenian Prelacy of Greece, representatives from the prelacy and Rev.
Housig Mardirossian accompanied His Holiness.

During the forty minutes long meeting His Holiness congratulated the
president for his election nearly two months ago and conveyed to him the
greetings of the president of Lebanon, Gen. Emile Lahoud. His Holiness also
conveyed his approach and viewpoint regarding Lebanon’s current situation
and future perspectives.

The president, who he is closely acquainted with Lebanon, expressed his
satisfaction for the information and analysis presented by His Holiness. He
highlighted the role of Lebanon as a bridge between the Arab World and
Europe and underlined the friendship between Lebanon and Greece.

The Catholicos informed the president about the Catholicosate of Cilicia,
its structure and mission. Responding to the president’s request, Aram I
also spoke about the Armenians of Iran and Lebanon. Papoulialis expressed
his fascination with the degree of organization of the Armenians communities
worldwide and their active participation in the affairs of their home
countries.

His Holiness also talked about the Armenian community of Greece and
presented the primate of the Prelacy of Greece and its representatives to
the president. Papoulialis praised the Armenians of Greece and their
positive role in the country, especially in the cultural and economical
spheres.

His Holiness and the president also spoke about the Armenian Genocide.
Pointing out that the Armenians in Armenia and throughout the Diaspora will
soon commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, His Holiness
reminded the president that the Armenians and Greeks have had historical
ties and today fight for the same cause, a cause for justice and rights. The
president stressed the importance of cooperation between the two nations for
the preservation of human rights.

Aram I and Papoulialis also discussed the important role of the church in
social life and emphasized the importance of serving the people.

The president had delivered the opening remarks at the inter-parliamentary
conference of Orthodox Churches and His Holiness had delivered the first
lecture.

##

View Picture here:

*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I DELIVERS A LECTURE DURING THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY
CONFERENCE OF EUROPE’S ORTHODOX COUNTRIES

The second inter-parliamentary conference of the Orthodox countries of
Europe kicked off in Athens on April 18. The main theme of the conference
was the interrelation between nation and religion in New Europe.

His Holiness Aram I delivered the first lecture of the conference. The
president of the conference, who presented His Holiness, highlighted Aram I’
s role in the international arena and in ecumenical and inter-church
relations. He expressed his satisfaction that the Catholicos had agreed to
speak at the opening session of the conference.

During his lecture, His Holiness Aram I considered interrelation between
religion and nation as essential in today’s globalized world. He regarded
this interrelation as a source for development and progress, as well one for
new concerns and complexities.

Speaking specifically about nation-church interrelations in Europe, His
Holiness concentrated on the following three main points:

1. It is essential to grant a new definition to the concept of nation and
adopt a new approach towards it: A nation is the unity of ethnic, cultural
and religious identities. Is it possible to use the same definition in today
‘s multi-religious, multicultural and multiethnic society, where different
identities are engaged in constant dialogue and hence affect each other
mutually?

The concept of nation also necessitates a concrete geographic area.
Globalization, however, has altered this reality as well. All nations today
have started losing their local and geographic characteristics and cultural
identity and have become subject to the forces of globalization. In these
conditions, it is essential to adopt new sociological, theological and
political approaches towards the concept of nation.

2. It’s essential for the church to engage itself in a discussion about its
own ecclesiological and missionary understandings: The church is not a
fixed, frozen entity; rather, it’s a structure that constantly fulfills
itself. The church should keep pace with the changing conditions of the
world. The Orthodox Church, especially, should cross structural boundaries.
It should not merely be an institutional reality; it should become an
existential presence in people’s lives. In other words, the concept of
“national church” should be replaced with the concept of “people’s church”.
Through this approach, the mission of the church should be directed towards
the people.

His Holiness spoke about the historical experience of the Armenian Church in
this context.

3. The church should have a new approach towards nation-church
interrelations in new Europe: The church, especially in Orthodox countries,
has, for centuries, been the warden of national unity and the source for
national identity. What kind of a church do we want to have today: A
national church or a nationalist one?

The church is a local reality and should, therefore, have some sort of
national identity. At the same time, however, the church is a universal
reality. Where are the limits and the limitations between the local and the
global in this interaction? The church has no right to identify itself with
political and ideological structures. Simultaneously, the church has the
responsibility to fight for justice, human rights and other issues of
concern to the society.

His Holiness emphasized the following points in his concluding remarks:

1.. It’s essential to clearly differentiate between the church-nation and
church-state relations.

2.. It’s important to highlight the church’s mission towards the people,
reduce the church’s activities towards issues that might have political
consequences and give weight to church’s service to the people.

3.. Taking into consideration the multi-religious character of the
European society, the Orthodox churches in Europe should give special
importance to inter-religious relations.

4.. Moral and spiritual values are essential in Europe, which today are in
decade. The church has an important role to play in this respect.

5.. Christianity and specially orthodoxy are an integral part of European
civilization and culture. It’s essential to emphasize the Christian roots of
Europe, which today is in the process of the formation of a new identity.

##

View picture here:

*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.