VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE
V.I.S.

04.02.2005
Fifteenth Year  – N.60

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 2, 2005 (VIS) –

Over the course of the last few weeks the Holy Father has adopted a number
of provisions that can only be made public today. He:

– Appointed Bishop Nechan Karakeheyan, of Ispahan of the Armenians, Iran,
as Ordinary for Armenian Catholics of Eastern Europe, at the same time
assigning him the title of Archbishop “ad personam.” He succeeds Archbishop
Nerses Der Nersessian C.M.A., whose resignation from the same office was
accepted by the Holy Father in accordance with Canon 210 of the Code of
Canons of the Eastern Churches. He also accepted the resignation from the
position of coadjutor of the same Ordinariate presented by Archbishop Vartan
Kechichian, in accordance with Canons 218 and 210 of the Code of Canons of
the Eastern Churches.

NEA:NA:RE:NEC/…/…              VIS 050402 (500)

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CEREMONIAL MARCH ON OCCASION OF 90th ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
TO START IN USA

YEREVAN, APRIL 2. ARMINFO. Hundreds of Californians will gather at the
Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church Hall in Fresno, Calif. to
attend official opening ceremony of the March For Humanity.

As the web site March for Humanity, youth walking the full 215 miles
will all be present and recognized.

The morning after, on April 2 the marchers will begin the historic
walk from Sunnyside High School in Fresno.

California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to Speak at March For
Humanity Opening Ceremony

215 Mile, 19 Day walk will commemorate 90th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide.

GOVERNOR OF SYUNIK REGION PROMISES

YEREVAN, APRIL 2. ARMINFO. Governor of Syunik region, a member of the
Republican Party of Armenia Suren Khachatryan told journalists today.

He said that the sufferer had no evidences that the governor had
organized the burning of his car. Khachatryan assured journalists that
he had instructed the law-enforcement bodies to carry out a detailed
and objective investigation on the case. He expressed intention to
deal with the editor-in-chief within the limits of the Law. He also
said that such statements did not contribute to formation of a
positive image of a journalist. he said.

To note on 1 April, in the town of Goris, the car “NIVA” belonging to
the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Syunats Yerkir” Samvel
Aleksanyan caught fire. Aleksanyan informed ARMINFO that the incident
was a regular terrorist act with respect to his newspaper by the
Governor of Syunik region. Judging on the aforementioned, Aleksanyan’s
interview to the newspaper “Novoye Vremya” dated March 12 has probably
become a reason for the burning. After his interview, Aleksanyan has
been repeatedly warned by the governor and even received anonymous
calls at nights. The editor-in-chief thinks that there is no second
person in Goris except Governor Surik Khachatryan able to burn a car.

At the same time Aleksanyan refuses to make any explanation to the
investigation structures of the region stating that the Armenian
Constitution is not effective in the region, that is why any employee
of the regional law-enforcement bodies may occur in the same situation
with the editor-in-chief when displaying objectiveness.

Armenian, Georgian leaders discuss situation in Armenian-populated region

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
2 Apr 05

[Presenter] Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is paying an informal
two-day visit to Georgia at the invitation of Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili.

The secretary of Georgia’s National Security Council, Gela
Bezhuashvili, said that the presidents will also discuss the situation
in Georgia’s Armenian-populated Javakheti District. The presidents
decided to hold a meeting at the winter mountain resort of Gudauri [in
Georgia] in an informal atmosphere.

Saakashvili stressed in his brief interview that there was no need for
neighbours to hold a special ceremony. We can always pay informal
visits to each other and discuss various issues. These are normal
relations between normal countries and I am very glad about my
friend’s visit, the Georgian president said.

In turn, Kocharyan expressed his confidence that all bilateral issues
on the agenda will be discussed.

In an interview with the Georgian media after the meeting, Georgian
Speaker Nino Burjanadze expressed her satisfaction with the results of
the discussions and the position of the Armenian president.

[Video showed the meeting]

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian American Society for Studies on Stress & Genocide
130 W 79th Street
New York, NY 10024-6387
Tel: 212-362-4018
Fax: 201-941-5110
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

ARMENIAN AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR STUDIES ON STRESS & GENOCIDE (AASSSG)

CONFERENCE

ON

Ninety (90) years post Ottoman Turkish Genocide
Lessons learned & challenges to overcome

On

Friday, 8 April 2005 @ 7 PM

at

Fordham University, 113 W 60th St., (Off 9th Avenue) NYC
12th Floor Faculty Lounge

Keynoter and recipient of 2005 AASSSG Distinguished Achievement Award:
Prof Roger Smith, Professor Emeritus at the College of William and Mary in
Virginia

Panelists:
Prof. Dennis Papazian, Director, Armenian Research Center, University of
Michigan-Dearborn
Prof. Ann L. Saltzman, Co-Director, Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study, Drew
University

Chairperson: Dr. Anie Kalayjian, President of AASSSG & Association for
Disaster & Mass Trauma Studies.

Hosted by: Fordham Psychology Association, SPSSI NY, American Psychological
Association Division 52 International Division, Association for Disaster &
Mass Trauma Studies, and Fordham Psi Chi

REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
For information contact Dr. Kalayjian @ E-mail:
[email protected],
(201) 941-2266

PLEASE CHECK OUT DR.KALAYJIAN’S NEW WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION ON FUTURE EVENTS:

Thursday, March 31, 2005
**************************************
BOOK REVIEW
***************************
CORRESPONDENCE. Volume 2. LETTERS TO GOURGEN MAHARI AND ANTRANIK ANTREASSIAN. By Shahan Shahnour. Collected, edited, and annotated by Krikor Keusseyan. 227 pages. Boston: Mayreni Publishing (50 Watertown St., Watertown, MA 01472). 2005.
******************************************
In his preface, Krikor Keusseyan writes: “The CORRESPONDENCE is a mosaic of opinions and judgments on art, literature and politics.” What makes these opinions eminently readable is their objectivity. Obviously, they were not meant for publication. If they have been published it’s because of Krikor Keusseyan’s steadfast admiration of Shahan Shahnour. But let the author speak for himself.
*
On Siamanto: “A plagiarist who translated Maeterlinck’s verse word by word and passed it on the unsuspecting reader as his own. No one is aware of this, and it was by pure chance that I stumbled on it.”
*
On Simon Simonian: “There is about him the odor of the shopkeeper.”
*
On Arshak Chobanian: “He is an untrustworthy, self-centered careerist.”
*
On Hagop Oshagan: “He is incapable of writing an accessible, clear sentence.”
*
On his fellow Armenians: “I will not comment on my adversaries. As for my so-called friends: if you only knew the acts of stupidity, cowardice, and duplicity that I have witnessed.”
*
On Gostan Zarian: “He describes nature well. The problem is, the principal subject of literature is not nature but man.”
I disagree with Shahnour here. Zarian’s portrait of Charents in his BANCOOP AND THE BONES OF THE MAMMOTH has Dostoevskian penetration. There are, moreover, unforgettable portraits and sketches in all his works – Martiros Saryan in THE TRAVELLER AND HIS ROAD, Zabel Yessayan in the WEST, Lawrence Durrell in THE ISLAND AND A MAN are three that come readily to mind.
*
Shahnour was born in Istanbul but spent most of his life in French hospitals, sanatoria, and retirement homes. In a letter to Mahari he has this to say about his fellow French-Armenians: “They are all well off now, but they can no longer be said to be Armenians. Which is why all that talk of repatriation in the Yerevan press strikes me as so much empty verbiage.”
*
At one point in his career, Shahnour adopted the pseudonym Armen Lubin and published several critically acclaimed volumes of prose and verse in French. In another letter to Mahari he writes: “I have heard it said that I write in French to make a little money. What nonsense! Writing poetry has at no time been a source of income to anyone, be it in France or anywhere else for that matter.”
*
About himself: “I have committed many thoughtless acts in my life, or so they tell me, but no one can testify that these acts have been to the detriment of the nation, only to myself and my reputation, both of which are of no consequence to anyone else but me.”
*
On our dime-a-dozen pundits: “Shopkeepers drop in on me out of nowhere and take it upon themselves to deliver lectures. What do they know about conditions of life in France? What do they know about literature? To learn and to know are two different things. They have learned some things but they lack intuitive knowledge. What am I supposed to do with them? Tell them to shut up? But that’s against my temperament.”
#
Friday, April 01, 2005
**************************************
BOOK REVIEW
*************************
LA VIE COMME ELLE EST (Life as it is): Short stories. By Krikor Zohrab. Translated into French by Mireille Besnilian. 110 pages. Marseilles. Editions Parentheses. 2005.
***********************************************************
A highly respected lawyer, politician, editor, and author, Krikor Zohrab (1861-1915) is remembered today as one of our ablest short story writers. Writes Hagop Oshagan: “Zohrab is one of those rare individuals who do the work and live the lives of eight or ten men and excel in each. He is the most brilliant, accomplished and enduring figure in the Realistic movement of our literature.”
According to Mesrob Janashian: “Zohrab viewed conservatives as hidebound obscurantists. He attacked the Armenian establishment of Constantinople – the Church as well as the bosses. He constantly urged the youth to adopt progressive Western ideas. Even when he went to extremes, he at no time passed the bounds of reason and common sense.”
In American terms he might best be imagined as a hybrid of President Kennedy (Zohrab was likewise assassinated at the height of his powers), and Hemingway – though as a short story writer he is more like Guy de Maupassant in his subtle depiction of feminine psychology, and Anton Chekhov in his sympathetic treatment of the lower classes.
The collection under review contains some of his most widely admired stories. Their translation is so elegantly executed that they read as though they were originally conceived and written in French.
*
The recent study of Armenian women writers by the Canadian academic Victoria Rowe, and now this translation by Mireille (not an Armenian) Besnilian, may suggest that odars are more interested in our literature than our academics and pundits from the Middle East, most of whom happen to be fluent in half-a-dozen languages (or so they tell us), who are, it seems, too busy with far more important projects to have any time left for translating our writers, a great deal of whose works remain terra incognita not only to odars but also to the overwhelming majority of Armenians in the Diaspora who cannot read Armenian.
#
Saturday, April 02, 2005
***********************************
QUOTATIONS FROM
SHAHAN SHAHNOUR’S
CORRESPONDENCE, VOLUME II.
Collected, edited, and annotated by Krikor Keusseyan.
**************************************************
On Vazken Shoushanian:
“I have read only one book by him, an epistolary novel, which is a definite failure because it happens to be a youthful work. Has he written anything better? I asked this question to an associate of his, Nartuni, who answered: “He is a worthless man. He will write nothing of any value.”
I don’t accept this verdict at face value because these two Tashnaks can’t stand each other.”
*
On Antranik Zaroukian:
“When he was young, he was a fanatic Tashnak. And more. He confused swearing with reasoning. He is wrong if he thinks I hold a grudge against him. No, never! Even if he had remained an obstinate partisan I could not have harbored vengeful thoughts in his direction, only pity and scorn.”
*
About the shenanigans of the Jerusalem Monastery:
“Among other thing, Nartuni told me all about the wheeling-and-dealing in Jerusalem and the scandalous conduct of our Holy Fathers there – their alcoholism, contrabandism, womanizing, gambling, thievery…He knows them well having spent some time in their company. He tells me these high-ranking ecclesiastics are themselves former orphans [survivors of the massacres] gathered from the desert. Alas!”
*
On our press:
“In order for our press to play a useful role in our social and political life, there must be such things as public opinion and collective memory, in whose absence blunders will be forgotten and incompetent leaders glorified.”
*
On the literary scene in the Diaspora:
“Our literary market place is now in the hands of senior citizens – Vratsian, Chobanian, Oshagan – individuals who don’t have to work for a living and they have all the time in the world to write and write…Let them write so long as they don’t give us a headache with their endless arguments and senile problems.”
*
In my recent review of this book I neglected to mention that half of it consists of endnotes, that can be read as a brief introduction to 20th-century Armenian history and culture. In addition to being a dedicated fan of Shahnour, Krikor Keusseyan is a meticulous scholar whose comments are as informative as Shahnour’s observations and insights.
#

CATHOLICOS ARAM I AND EMIL LAHUD DISCUSS SITUATION IN LEBANON

ANTILIAS, APRIL 1, NOYAN TAPAN. Catholicos of the Great Cilician House
Aram I and President of Lebanon Emil Lahud discussed a number of
issues concerning the situation in Lebanon on March 25. According to
the press divan of the Great Cilician House, the meetings of Aram I
with the Ambassador of France to Lebanon and the representatives of
the country’s political opposition preceded this meeting.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1 Plus | 16:56:17 | 02-04-2005 | Politics |

DECISION WAS MADE BEFORE APRIL 2

April 2, 2002 member of the National TV and Radio Committee Hrachya
Bayadyan was absent from the committee sitting and did not sign the
decision on depriving A1+ of air license. Several months later he sent
in his resignation on his own will. Today he took part in the action
organized on occasion of the depriving of A1+ of air.

-What was the reason for your being absent from the sitting?

-Nothing was being decided at the sitting. All the issues had been
settled beforehand. Due to this very reason I did not come to the
sitting.

-Do you think decisions are taken due to the same principle to date?

-The situation may be even worse. If at that time the committee
members debated on some issues, today discussion and discrepancies
within the committee are too minor or are absent at all.

-Is it possible that such a committee will ever issue a fair
resolution?

-Surely, not.

-So, A1+ is not likely to receive the air license?

-To tell the truth I do not want to bind the problem with A1+
only. Our mass media are in deplorable condition at the moment.

-Would the situation improve if the committee members were more
independent and resolute?

-I do not believe they will ever become such. If one or two committee
members were appointed by chance, to date such fortuity is excluded.

Interview obtained by Karine Asatryan

Iraq parliament chaos exposes deep rifts amid new violence

[Eduard Ohanesian of Romania’s Libera Newspaper has been taken hostage
in Iraq]

Agence France Presse
31 March 2005

BAGHDAD – The breakdown of a key Iraqi parliament meeting has raised
fears of a delay in drawing up a permanent constitution because of the
failure of Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis to agree on a government.

But in a sign of growing tensions, the US State Department acknowledged
Wednesday that a US citizen had been taken hostage earlier this week in
Iraq along with three Romanian journalists.

As Iraqi political players squandered momentum generated by Iraq’s
January 30 elections, violence raged as six civilians, including an
elderly woman and a child, died in a firefight between rebels and US
soldiers in Mosul.

Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups were huddled in meetings as they
attempted to resuscitate a political process that has been dogged by
infighting two months after the country’s first free vote in 50 years.

Unable to decide on a cabinet or parliament speaker, questions abounded
whether the country’s volatile communal mix could write a permanent
legal charter by mid-August, the deadline set in the interim
constitution (TAL).

“There are certain groups that want to see the TAL as the basis of the
new constitution. If that is agreed upon it will make our job much
easier to finish it by August. But probably we’ll see some big
differences,” said Sunni MP Hajem al-Hassani.

He feared key national identity issues would rear their heads again over
the spring and summer.

“State and religion will definitely come up again, federalism will come
up again, some of the touchy issues will crop up. Personally I think
we’ll see an extension.”

The TAL calls for the permanent constitution to be completed by
mid-August and put to a national referendum in October, but allows an
extra half-year for drafting the document if the sides cannot reach
agreement.

Despite MPs’ eagerness to present a united face to the public, Tuesday’s
parliamentary session ended instead in catcalls and bitter divisions
over the failure to choose a parliament speaker.

As prominent figures including Prime Minister Iyad Allawi bolted from
the proceedings and the media was ejected, parliament adjourned the
session–only the second since the January 30 election–until Sunday.

The debacle brought to the surface the power struggle among the Shiites,
Kurds and Sunnis that has dragged on in closed-door negotiations since
the watershed election that saw millions vote despite security fears.

The failure of politicians to put aside their differences in the face of
a deadly insurgency and a war-shattered economy has stirred anger on the
streets and elicited warnings that parliament risks losing its legitimacy.

In Washington, the State Department declined to release any details on
the American held hostage. But according to Romanian media, he is an
Iraqi-American businessman, Mohammed Munaf, who financed the travel of
the Romanians and acted as their guide in Baghdad.

“We call for the immediate and safe release of all hostages in Iraq,
including the American citizen and the three Romanian journalists who
were taken on Monday,” Steven Pike, a State Department spokesman, told AFP.

Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera showed the three Romanian
journalists in the company of another individual taken hostage by an
unidentified group in Iraq.

Two hooded men were seen pointing their weapons at the four visibly
frightened hostages, who were seated on the ground against the backdrop
of a floral carpet.

The tape was the first apparent confirmation that the three Romanians
were abducted, after the authorities in Bucharest initially declined to
confirm that they were victims of a kidnapping.

Marie-Jeanne Ion, 32, a reporter for Prima TV, her cameraman Sorin
Miscoci, 30, *and Eduard Ohanesian, 37, of the Romania Libera newspaper
were reported missing by the Romanian foreign ministry earlier this week.*

Meanwhile, 18 Iraqis were killed in violence across the country on
Wednesday, including six people who died during clashes between US
troops and insurgents in the northern city of Mosul, security and
medical sources said.

An Opel car chased by US military vehicles was headed toward a US-Iraqi
checkpoint in Mosul when a firefight broke out, said eyewitness Abdel
Rahman Jarallah.

Three men and women were also wounded during the fight, he said.

Ninety-minutes later, gunmen in the central al-Rifia district of Mosul
shot police Captain Ibrahim Amir outside his home and tossed a grenade
to finish him off.

In other violence around Iraq, nine people died Wednesday.

STARTING APRIL 1, BASIC PENSION TO BE INCREASED BY 1,000 DRAMS

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, NOYAN TAPAN. At the March 31 sitting, the RA
government made a decision to increase the basic pension, which makes
3,000 darms, by 1.000 drams (2.1 USD) starting April 1. The RA
Minister of Social Insurance Aghvan Vardanian told reporters following
the sitting that the basic pension has not been increased for several
years. He indicated that at the same time the payments for each year
of the length of service have been increased several times. According
to A. Vardanian, the transfer of the function of social payments
collection from the RA Social Insurance Fund to the State Tax Service
has produced a positive result, also enabling the government to
envisage regular increases in pensions. On the first quarter of 2004,
9.5 bln drams was collected, whereas in the same period of 2005, the
collection made 12.8 bln drams. The minister said it is planned to
collect 5.3 bln drams in April and to increase the monthly collection
to 5.7 bln drams by the end of the year. A. Vardanian noted if this
trend towards the social payment collection increase continues, it is
not ruled out that in the summer, the government may consider the
issue of raising payments for each year of the length of service. The
minister said that 2 mln 200 thousand citizens or 99% have received
the social cards. Among 4.5-5 thousand citizens who have not yet
received the cards, 3 thousand belong to various sects. A. Vardanian
assured that within the next two months, the system will start
functioning efficiently, and the citizens will no longer be required
to to present unnecessary certificates.