Lraper Church Bulletin 05/08/2005
Contact: Deacon Vagharshag Seropyan
Armenian Patriarchate
TR-34130 Kumkapi, Istanbul
T: +90 (212) 517-0970, 517-0971
F: +90 (212) 516-4833, 458-1365
[email protected]
THE PATRIARCHAL SEE CONDEMNS THE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN TURKEY AND ISRAEL
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ENG
The Patriarchal See is shocked to learn of the death of five soldiers
in Hakkari, and the death of a mother and daughter in Pendik, Istanbul
– all because of bombs placed by terrorists.
The Patriarchal See is further saddened to learn of the shootings in
a bus in Shfaram in North Israel in which four Israeli Christians of
Arab origin were killed and several people were seriously injured.
The Patriarchal See condemns these crimes against humanity and
expresses sincere condolences to the relatives of the victims.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, together with the other
hierarchical sees of the Armenian Church is a member of the World
Council of Churches and actively supports the WCC Decade to Overcome
Violence.
The Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches Seeking Reconciliation and
Peace (DOV) is an initiative of the World Council of Churches that
calls churches, ecumenical organizations, and all people of goodwill:
* To work together for peace, justice, and reconciliation at all
levels – local, regional, and global.
* To embrace creative approaches to peace building which are
consonant with the spirit of the Gospel.
* To interact and collaborate with local communities, secular
movements, and people of other living faiths towards cultivating
a culture of peace.
* To walk with people who are systematically oppressed by violence,
and to act in solidarity with all struggling for justice, peace,
and the integrity of creation.
* To repent together for our complicity in violence, and to engage
in theological reflection to overcome the spirit, logic, and
practice of violence.
For more information about the Decade to Overcome Violence:
Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace, please visit:

The Honolulu Advertiser
Friday, August 5, 2005
ll/article?AID=/20050805/ENT04/508050317/1131/ENT

Downtown’s Europa dishes up Armenian delights
By Helen Wu
Advertiser Restaurant Critic
Frank and Margarit Lavoie, owners of Kafe Europa, offer
Armenian/Russian style food with homemade pastries baked by
Margarit. Her mother, Kara Mnatsakanyan, right, helps make the daily
specials. Photos by DEBORAH BOOKER | The Honolulu Advertiser
KAFE EUROPA
Rating: 3 1/2 forks
Tardus Financial Plaza
801 Alakea St., No. 101, at Queen Street
230-9941
Summer hours: 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays
Starting in September, also open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays
Clockwise from top left: raspberry-almond tart, Armenian style baklava,
homemade cream puff, okra appetizer and fava-bean salad.
One midsummer evening in Manhattan, a friend and I swooned as our
waiter, Moon, and the rest of the staff at the famed Russian Samovar
restaurant treated us like czarinas. Under the rosy glow of red
lanterns, they covered our table with dishes of basturma (Armenian
dried beef); a royal Baltic fish platter of smoked salmon and sturgeon,
salmon caviar and herring accompanied by plate-sized blini; steaming
cabbage-stuffed pirozhok (savory turnover) and cold borscht.
Vodkas flavored in-house with pear, plum and ginger had us wanting
to try every single one. Russian tea sweetened with cherry preserves
provided a warm and deeply satisfying end to the meal just as the
live music reached a dramatic crescendo.
And thanks to a tip from a reader named Neal suggesting that I check
out a place called Kafe Europa, I’m not going into complete withdrawal
back on home ground. This downtown spot is a grab-n-go coffee stand
unlike the usual sit-down eateries I go to, but it has the basics that
help get me through any hard day – good coffee, sweet pastries and
hearty food. It’s comparable to one of those quality quickie places
that are in most big cities but rare here, and I’m not talking about
okazuyas, lunch wagons or Korean plate-lunch joints.
Kafe Europa has a decidedly unique feel, probably because owners
Margarit and Frank Lavoie aren’t from these parts. Margarit, from
Armenia, and Frank, originally a Bostonian, met when Frank was a
Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia. After visiting Frank’s brother,
who was stationed at Kane’ohe Bay, they traded Boston’s winters for
Hawai’i’s eternal summers. Without any background in the restaurant
business, they are now serving a small selection of homemade Eastern
European foods and tempting desserts to the downtown business crowd.
I asked Margarit how she would describe Armenian food, and she
answered, “It is very close to Greek and Mediterranean food, and
because Armenia was part of the Soviet Union we had an influence
from Russia.”
You’ll find an assortment of seemingly eclectic items on Kafe
Europa’s menu.
On softly warmed pita bread you can get filling sandwiches of beef
kebab ($5.50), vegetarian roasted eggplant with feta ($4.99), or
tender, roasted Australian free range lamb ($6.25). Norwegian smoked
salmon ($5.95 including side salad) on a freshly baked croissant is
another alternative. If this is all too foreign, choose a standard
ham or turkey with melted provolone cheese ($5.25, with side salad)
on a croissant.
But it’s the uncommon dishes that attract me. Daily special plates
include a free can of soda and a salad, and most arrive with basmati
rice – a nice change from the usual sticky kind. Tuesday’s Uzbeki
pilaf ($6.50) comes with hummus and pita bread. This saffron rice
studded with lamb morsels is faintly sweet with carrots. Russian beef
stroganoff ($6.95), moist beef strips baked in a rich sour cream sauce,
is a sell-out favorite on Wednesday for those tired of beef stew.
As for the soup of the day ($4.25; $6.50 with mini-salad and bread
slice), I’ve tried borscht, chicken-mushroom and a pinto bean. None of
them left me hungry, although I wished they were hotter. I usually eye
the deli case for cold appetizers ($3 to $4.50) that come pre-packed
in 8-ounce plastic tubs.
These meze-type snacks such as baba gannouj, lentil salad and
beet salad are almost meals in themselves, and a great option for
vegetarians.
Another treat is cold-pressed, preservative-free Noyan brand
juices from Armenia ($1.99 small, $2.49 medium, $2.99 large,
$4.99 carton; natural pomegranate without added sugar is $2.50,
$3, $3.50, $6.50). Two flavors I’ve never encountered before are
sea-buckthorn that tastes like a zingy, anti-oxidant, power-packed
passion-orange-guava and a refreshingly tart, vitamin C-loaded
Cornelian cherry that resembles a guava concoction.
Kafe Europa’s family recipes extend to its sweets. Although Margarit’s
mother, Kara, assists behind the counter and with some of the cooking,
Margarit does all the baking, which she learned from her grandmother.
Every day, she turns out light-as-a feather pastries that practically
float away as customers come in requesting baklava ($2), napoleons
($2) and tiramisu ($2.50). Occasionally, there are delicate cream
puffs ($2) with a hazelnut glaze that caused me to have a temporary
memory loss about Beard-who and Coco-what. Illy-brand espresso drinks
alone or combined with a pastry can jump-start those suffering from
sluggishness.
Despite not having any tables or parking, Kafe Europa does have
lunchtime lines. Around noon, it’s practically impossible to find a
seat in the Tardus Financial building with the competition from all
the other eateries.
However, Kafe Europa’s reasonably priced, homey food, along with
Frank and Margarit’s genuine, old-world hospitality, work like an
Eastern European charm to keep regulars returning.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER ANDRANIK MARGARYAN HOSTS EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR
ARKA News Agency
Aug 4 2005
YEREVAN, August 5. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan
received Egyptian Ambassador to Armenia Abla Mohammed Abd-Al Rahman
Osman on Thursday. According to Armenian Government’s Press Service,
Margaryan expressed his condolences on victims of terrorists act in
Sharm Al Sheikh noting that aggregate efforts are needed to combat
terrorism. Speaking on Armenian-Egyptian political relationship,
the Premier highly estimated cooperation between the two countries in
international organizations. At the same time, the PM found trade and
economic relations sluggish saying some steps are still being taken
in to spur them.
The Egyptian Ambassador expressed hope that Armenian Premier’s visit
to Egypt will give an impetus to economic cooperation development.
Issues related to the training program for specialists in healthcare,
culture and education areas were discussed at the meeting as well.
M.V. -0–

‘All the King’s Men’ builds on film’s reputation
By Scott Bowles
USA TODAY
Friday, August 5, 2005
If you’re going to remake a classic film, director Steven Zaillian
says, there’s one way to make sure your movie won’t be eclipsed by
the original.
Don’t watch the classic.
“I avoided that film like the plague,” Zaillian says of 1949’s All
the King’s Men. His version of the movie, starring Sean Penn and Jude
Law, opens Dec. 16. “I didn’t want to catch myself making a version
of the old one.”
Zaillian’s movie treads on hallowed ground: The 1949 film, based
loosely on the life of Louisiana governor Huey Long, won three Oscars,
including best picture, actor for Broderick Crawford and supporting
actress for Mercedes McCambridge, and was nominated for four more.
The 1946 book on which the two films are based is just as celebrated,
having won the Pulitzer Prize for author Robert Penn Warren.
So why venture into such vaunted territory? Zaillian, who won an
Oscar for his Schindler’s List screenplay, says the book’s themes of
politics, greed and corruption are timeless.
“The questions the book raised – Do the ends justify the means? Can
you be corrupt and still do good things? – are still pretty relevant,”
he says.
Men tells the story of Willie Stark (Sean Penn), a Southern politician
who rises to power by appealing to the common man while cutting
backroom deals. The story is told through the eyes of his right-hand
man, Jack Burden (Jude Law), who ultimately opposes Stark’s ruthless
political tactics.
Men features a cast that knows its way around an awards ceremony. Oscar
winner Anthony Hopkins, nominee Kate Winslet and Emmy winners Kathy
Baker and James Gandolfini have roles in the film, set and shot in
Baton Rouge.
But will awards committees recognize a movie title already so
decorated? No remake of a movie that won an Oscar for best picture
has won a best-picture Academy Award.
“Remaking the best picture could be seen as an obvious ploy,” says
Dave Karger, who covers the Oscar race for Entertainment Weekly. “Then
again, the first movie got so many nominations, the subject matter
obviously has something going for it.”
Winslet says that the five-decade break between films should be enough
to make the movie seem fresh.
“I hadn’t even heard of the first movie until Steven begged all of
us not to watch it,” she says. “That got me interested, but I stopped
myself and just read the book.
“I don’t think people are going to see this as old, or even a remake,”
she adds. “It’s about a politician who does corrupt things and manages
to (tick) a lot of people off. When isn’t that happening?”
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Russia’s turning Muslim, says mufti
The Australian
06 August 2005
MOSCOW: Russia’s leading Muslim cleric has alarmed Orthodox Church
leaders and nationalists by claiming the country has 23million Muslims,
3 million more than previously believed.
According to the last census, three years ago, about 14.5 million of
Russia’s 144 million people were ethnic Muslims. Religious leaders
have put the number at nearer 20 million.
But the leader of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Ravil Gaynutdin,
said this week the number of ethnic Muslims was 23million and rising.
“They are indigenous residents of our country, not migrants or
immigrants, and have been living here from time immemorial,” the
mufti told a meeting of the European Union of Muslims. “The number
of people professing Islam in Russia is constantly growing.”
Russia is home to an estimated 3 million to 4 million Muslim migrants
from the former Soviet states — about 2 million Azeris, a million
Kazakhs and several hundred thousand Uzbeks, Tajiks and Kyrgyz.
Some Russians are also converting to Islam, according to Sheik Farid
Asadullin, of the Moscow Council of Muftis.
“Russians, Ukrainians and Belarussians, mostly young and intelligent,
see in Islam an answer to their questions,” he said.
Islam was controlled in the Soviet Union, which had only 500 mosques,
but has had a renaissance since 1991, helped by funds from the Middle
East. Russia now has about 5000 mosques.
The rise in the Muslim population has raised fears among Orthodox
Church leaders and nationalists that Russia could eventually become a
Muslim-majority nation. The church claims to have 80million followers,
but religious experts say the number is closer to 40 million and
is falling.
Russia’s population is declining, due in part to high alcohol
consumption, but numbers are rising in Muslim regions, where large
families are common and alcohol consumption is moderate.
Russia’s population dropped by 401,200 in the first half of this year,
but rose in 15 regions, including the Muslim republics of Chechnya,
Dagestan and Ingushetia. The statistics agency said the average
birth rate was 1.8 in Dagestan, compared with 1.3 for Russia overall,
while male life expectancy was 68 in Dagestan, against 58 for Russia.
Aleksei Malashenko, a local expert on Islam, said: “The real problem
is the crisis of the Russian population, not the increase of the
Muslim population. And the church is not as powerful or significant
for Russians as Islam is for Muslims. This doesn’t mean Russia will
be a Muslim society in several years, although maybe in half a century
we’ll see something surprising.”
In the short term, the trend was likely to affect only the North
Caucasus, where the proportion of ethnic Russians was dropping rapidly,
and Moscow, where the proportion of Muslims was rising.
Russian forces have been fighting Chechen rebels for more than a
decade and the bloodshed is now spilling into neighbouring republics
and radicalising many young Muslims.
Moscow, a regular target for Chechen terrorists, has an estimated
1.5 million Muslims, including about 100,000 Chechens.
,5942,16167042,00.html

Turkey blocks planned visit of Swiss politician
The Associated Press
08/05/05 09:32 EDT
BERN, Switzerland (AP) – Turkey has blocked a planned visit of
Switzerland’s economics minister, a Swiss official said Friday,
the latest episode in a long-running diplomatic dispute between the
two governments.
The visit was formally canceled because of “schedule clashes,” said
Christophe Hans, spokesman for Economics Minister Joseph Deiss.
Hans declined to say whether the decision was affected by an argument
over Turkey’s killings of Armenians around the time of World War I,
considered by the Swiss and some other governments to have amounted
to genocide. Ankara fiercely denies that Turks committed genocide.
“We regret the decision and we hope that Mr. Deiss will have the
opportunity to go on an official visit in the future,” Hans said.
Ankara was angered last month when Swiss authorities launched an
investigation into a visiting Turkish politician, Dogu Perincek,
who said the killings weren’t genocide.
Under Switzerland’s anti-racism laws, denying genocide is a crime,
and Perincek was briefly detained after his speech.
Last month, Turkey called the Swiss ambassador to the Foreign
Ministry to protest Perincek’s detention and investigation. Speaking
to another Swiss newspaper at the weekend, Perincek reiterated his
earlier comments.
“There has never been a genocide. That is an international historic
lie,” he told SonntagsBlick.
Similar disputes have erupted in the past between Turkey and
Switzerland.
In June, a Turkish Cabinet minister postponed a visit to Switzerland
to protest an investigation of a Turkish historian who denied the
killings were genocide.
The Swiss foreign minister had been scheduled to travel to Turkey in
2003, but Turkey withdrew its invitation after the parliament of a
western Swiss canton (state) approved a motion calling the killings
a genocide.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARKA NEWS AGENCY PUBLISHES QUARTERLY BULLETIN “INDICATORS OF THE
ARMENIAN BANKS’ ACTIVITY”
ARKA News Agency
Aug 4 2005
YEREVAN, August 4. /ARKA/. ARKA News Agency has published Armenian
Banks’ Activity Indicators quarterly bulletin based on the results
of the 2nd quarter of 2005. The bulletin is made up based on the
uniform financial reports of the banks published in mass media, as
well as additional information provided by the banks. ARKA News Agency
expresses thanks to all the banks, which have provided additional
information on their activity.
The Bulletin includes 75 pages of tables on the banking indicators and
consists of nine main parts, which characterize the banking system:
1. General characteristics of the banks; 2.Assets; 3.
Liabilities; 4. Active and Passive Transactions with non-residents;
5. Capital; 6. Profit/Losses; 7. Cash Flows; 8. Liquidity and
Capitalization; 9. Profitability and Yield Indicators of the Banks.
The Bulletin presents financial state of the Armenian banks in general
and allows to conduct a comparative analysis of their activity.
ARKA News Agency for the first time in Armenia had published the
quarterly bulletin “The Banking Indicators of Armenia” in 1999. A.A.
-0–

ARKA NEWS AGENCY PUBLISHES REGULAR ISSUE OF BULLETIN “CREDIT
ORGANIZATIONS OF ARMENIA”
ARKA News Agency
Aug 4 2005
YEREVAN, August 4. /ARKA/. ARKA News Agency has published the regular
issue of the financial-economic bulletin “Credit Organizations of
Armenia” for the 2nd quarter of 2005. This product is published
quarterly based on the reports of the credit organizations (CO)
published in mass media.
The bulletin includes about 20 pages of tables on various indicators
of the COs’ activities. It is composed of 11 main parts: 1. General
Characteristics of Credit Organizations; 2.Assets; 3. Liabilities; 4.
Capital; 5. Profit/Losses; 6. Money Flows; 7. Normative Indicators of
the COs’ Activities; 9. Capitalization; 10. Consolidated indicators
of the COs’ Activity (Summary); 11.Consolidated indicators of the
COs’ Efficiency.
The Bulletin presents financial state of the Armenian COs and allows
to conduct a comparative analysis of their activity. The product also
includes technical and methodological comments to the tables.
ARKA News Agency operates from May 1, 1996 and specializes in
financial, economic and political information. ARKA News Agency has
been publishing the quarterly bulletin “The Banking Indicators of
Armenia” since 1999 and the quarterly bulletin “Credit Organizations
of Armenia” – since March, 2005. A.A. -0–

Azeri youth movement says leader’s arrest authorities’ provocation
MPA news agency
5 Aug 05
Baku, 5 August: The discrediting and arrest of the leader of the Yeni
Fikir [New Thought] youth movement, Ruslan Basirli, is another show
by the authorities, the deputy chairman of the organization, Fikrat
Faramazoglu, told a news conference today. The operation against
Basirli was organized jointly by Armenian intelligence agencies and
the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry and was aimed at disabling
the democratic youth movement, especially, Yeni Fikir, he said.
Faramazoglu ruled out that Basirli, who is struggling for democratic
values in Azerbaijan, could be hired by foreign intelligence services.
A committee to protect the rights of Basirli has been set up. A number
of youth movements are planning to join this committee.
Speaking at the news conference, lawyer Tofiq Quliyev stressed
that there are no elements of crime in Basirli’s case because as
the video [of Basirli’s meeting in Georgia] shows, he did not speak
about overthrowing the current authorities by force. This incident is
politically motivated, Quliyev said. As for money received by Basirli,
Quliyev said that this money had been received not from Armenians,
but from Georgian democrats.
Basirli’s lawyer, Elcin Qambarov, said that he was illegally denied
access to the detainee. A criminal case has been instituted against
Basirli under Article 278 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, which
envisages punishment for actions aimed at forcible seizure of power,
forcible keeping of power and forcible change of constitutional order.

Arrested youth activist bears moral responsibility – Azeri opposition leader
ANS TV, Baku
5 Aug 05
[Presenter] The chairman of the [opposition] People’s Front
of Azerbaijan Party [PFAP], Ali Karimli, held a news conference
today after the Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General’s Office released a
statement on the detention of the leader of the opposition Yeni Fikir
[New Thought] youth movement, Ruslan Basirli, and accused him of
cooperating with the Armenian special services.
[Correspondent over video of news conference] Basirli should be
made responsible not criminally, but morally, Karimli told the news
conference today. We should recall that Basirli was detained as a
suspect [on 4 August].
[Passage omitted: reported details of the statement on Basirli’s trip
to Georgia; footage of Basirli’s meeting in Georgia shown on TV]
Despite this, Karimli considers Basirli’s arrest as a provocation
against himself. Karimli believes that Basirli’s actions in Tbilisi
might undermine his own reputation as well.
[Karimli referring to footage of Basirli’s meeting in Georgia] He
makes incorrect and inappropriate statements that the USA is preparing
for a revolution in Azerbaijan and makes exaggerated statements about
my deputy and his own deputy. He speaks about nonexistent issues as
if he wants to present himself as a more important figure in order
to make an impression on his interlocutor. All this is, of course,
regrettable, and probably makes him morally responsible before his
close comrades-in-arms.
[Correspondent] Basirli’s comrades-in-arms regret his statement that
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict will be settled by drinking cognac
and eating chocolate, if the democratic forces come to power, Karimli
said. Karimli does not rule out that the Russian special services may
be involved in this incident as well. He explains this by the fact
that Osman Alimuradov, who reported this incident to the Azerbaijani
Prosecutor-General’s Office, is a Russian citizen. But Karimli thinks
that Basirli made the aforesaid statements being unaware that his
interlocutors was an Armenian citizen.
[Karimli] For example, he says – Nobody in Georgian society must learn
what I am saying now. He appeals to his interlocutors as Georgian
citizens. Even if these people are Armenians and representatives of
Armenian intelligence agencies, one gets the impression that Basirli
is unaware of this. He does not treat them as Armenians.
[Correspondent] At the end, Karimli appealed to members of his
party and called on them to control their actions and behaviour. He
requested that the PFAP members do not attend various meetings and
drink alcohol. If a party member loses control of his actions, this
may lead to new provocations, Karimli said.
Mahir Mammadli, Sehrac Azadoglu for ANS.