Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Jan 30 2004

20 to vie for 4 seats on council

Candidate field sets city record

By Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer

GLENDALE – Voters are gearing up for what officials said is the
largest City Council field in Glendale’s history with 20 candidates
and four seats on the ballot.
Election officials are verifying the 100 signatures each council
hopeful is required to submit with their filing forms, in the wake of
Thursday’s deadline. The city clerk will announce Wednesday whether
the signatures of registered voters for each applicant were adequate.

“It will be an interesting race. We have a wide variety of
candidates,” said City Clerk Doris Twedt, who said the most
candidates running in previous City Council elections was 13 in 1999.

The large field of candidates for the April 5 election is most likely
due to Gus Gomez’s departure, who left his seat earlier this month
after he was elected Superior Court judge.

“I think having an open seat is certainly is a catalyst for more
individuals to be interested in running,” Councilman Rafi Manoukian
said. “And that’s historically true not just for City Council but for
other elected positions as well. Whenever you have open seats,
invariably there are more candidates running.”

In addition to incumbents Frank Quintero, Dave Weaver and Bob
Yousefian, 17 residents filed their forms by Thursday’s deadline:

Vrej Agajanian; Aram Barsoumian; John Drayman, 46, a member of the
Montrose Shopping Park Association board; Pauline Field, 56, involved
with the creation of the city’s Commission on the Status of Women;
Hovik Gabikian, 35, eligibility worker; Glynda Gomez, 40, prosecutor
with the California Department of Justice; Shirley Yap Griffin; Steve
Hedrick, 52, a former Disney executive who now owns his own show
production company; Chahe Keuroghelian, former Glendale police
spokesman; Joe Mandoky; Larry Miller; Ara Najarian, 44, member of the
Glendale Community College board; Richard Seeley; businessman Garry
K. Sinanian; John E. Stevenson; Odalis Suarez; and attorney Anahid
Oshagan.

The controversial Americana at Brand development may also have
sparked interest in getting involved in local politics, said Larry
Levine, a political consultant with offices in Sherman Oaks.

“It’s definitely unusual. It usually takes one hot-button issue to
generate that much interest,” Levine said. “But it’s hard to know
what’s motivating 17 non-incumbents to run for office.”

Of the 17 non-incumbents, seven are of Armenian descent.

“The Armenian political community has been growing in influence over
the past 10 years and this could be a byproduct of that,” Levine
said. “This involvement could indicate the group is maturing in its
political interest in civic affairs.”

With so many people running, the biggest challenge may be a candidate
being seen as an individual.

“The biggest challenge is differentiating themselves from others in
the crowd and getting their message out to the public,” Manoukian
said. “It’s going to be difficult for the community to sort out who’s
who, and that’s the task of the candidate to get through to the
community.”

Anita Q. Gabrielian, Armine Hacopian, Victor King and Linda Sheffield
filed papers to run for three open positions on the Glendale
Community College Board of Trustees.

Ronald Borucki and Phillip Kazanjian filed forms for the city
treasurer position.

The city clerk and school board position deadlines are Feb. 1 because
incumbents are not running in those races.

Kansas City Star , MO
Jan 30 2004

Rebuilt Armenia stands as example

Tsunami responders can learn lessons from ’88 earthquake

By MARK McDONALD Knight Ridder Newspapers

SPITAK, Armenia – When rescuers pulled victims from the rubble of the
sugar factory in Spitak in 1988, the corpses seemed like ghastly,
crimson ghosts.

The bodies were covered with an awful goo, a coagulated mixture of
blood and powdered sugar.

The earthquake that crushed the sugar plant also destroyed every
other factory in this mountainous patch of northern Armenia. The
6.9-magnitude quake flattened schools, churches, homes and hospitals.
More than 25,000 people died. Half a million were left homeless.

The 1988 disaster was hardly on the scale of last month’s Asian
tsunami, but the grief and horror were the same. So was the
international response – massive, immediate, global and heartfelt.

But despite the huge donations and many successes, post-earthquake
Armenia could serve as a cautionary tale for the tsunami region: Even
the most heavily financed and best-intentioned relief missions can be
derailed by the aftershocks of economic crises, corruption, politics
and war.

`The people in the tsunami, their pain is our pain,’ said Asya
Khakchikyan, 70, who lost her husband, daughter and granddaughter in
the Spitak quake. `When I see the faces of those poor people in Asia,
I see the faces of the ones I lost.’

Other disaster zones have had bitter experiences with relief efforts
that dwindled or disappeared almost as soon as they started. When the
news media move on, aid missions often do the same.

That didn’t happen in Armenia, government officials, diplomats, aid
workers and survivors agree. After 16 years, international relief
efforts continue, many of them generous and effective.

A housing program under the U.S. Agency for International Development
ended only last month in Gyumri. The Peace Corps has 85 volunteers in
Armenia, several U.N. programs remain active, and dozens of
international agencies and private foundations continue to work in
the region.

`We haven’t recovered yet, but at least say we’re no longer dying,’
said Albert Papoyan, mayor of the hardscrabble village of Shirmakoot,
the epicenter of the quake. `We’re finally starting to breathe.’

An estimated 20,000 people across the quake zone still occupy the
metal shipping containers known here as `domiks.’ The containers once
held emergency provisions that came from abroad. Now people live in
them.

Only one of Spitak’s factories is back in business, and it employs
only a small fraction of the people it did before.

Some aid workers complain that some people still expect handouts.

Spitak lost 5,003 persons to the earthquake, nearly a fourth of its
population. The quake struck Dec. 7, just before noon, when children
were in school and most adults were working at the sugar plant, the
elevator factory, the leather tannery or the sewing collective.

International aid poured in. The grand total after 16 years is
difficult to estimate, although government officials suggest it could
be close to $2 billion, half of what has been pledged for tsunami
relief.

`The whole world helped Spitak,’ Asatryan said.

Today, Spitak’s new neighborhoods are known as the French, Italian
and Uzbek districts, commemorating the countries that financed them.

The immediate U.S. response was a planeload of search-and-rescue dogs
and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Va. American tents, heaters,
food and medicine soon followed. Trauma counselors also arrived,
along with some teachers of transcendental meditation.

Today, Armenia is one of the largest per-capita recipients of U.S.
government aid in the world, reportedly second only to Israel. A
large and influential immigrant population in the United States helps
drive those government appropriations.

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Jan 29 2005

Erdogan: We Have Been Maintaining Our Preparatory Efforts For Our
E.U. Membership Process

Anadolu Agency: 1/29/2005
DAVOS (AA) – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on
Friday, ”we have been maintaining our preparatory efforts for our EU
membership process. Also, efforts have been under way to form the
legal infrastructure for the Ankara Agreement. We are in favor of
solution.”
Prime Minister Erdogan, who is currently in Davos town of
Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum, held a news
conference.
Upon a question about so-called Armenian genocide, Prime
Minister Erdogan said, ”our official position is clear. According to
our point of view, not politicians but historians should deal with
such issues. As the Republic of Turkey, we have opened air corridor
with Armenia, and also initiated trade. There are 30 thousand
citizens of Armenian origin in Turkey. They do not have such
problems.”

-TURKEY-ISRAEL RELATIONS-
Upon a question about Turkey-Israel relations, Prime Minister
Erdogan said, ”Turkey is in favor of peace in the Middle East.
Turkey has good relations both with Israel and Palestine. But we are
against all kinds of acts of terrorism. We want two separate states
in the Middle East. We have launched a series of initiatives to this
end following the elections in Palestine. Foreign Minister & Deputy
Prime Minister Abdullah Gul paid visits to Israel and Palestine.”
”Our trade volume with Israel is about 2.5 billion U.S.
dollars. I will visit Israel and Palestine in the coming months. We
have always advocate a peaceful atmosphere. Both Israel and Palestine
should fulfil their responsibilities to this end,” he said.

-EU-
Replying to a question about Turkey’s EU membership process,
Prime Minister Erdogan said, ”we have been maintaining our
preparatory efforts for our EU membership process. Also, efforts have
been under way to form the legal infrastructure for the Ankara
Agreement. We do not want any delay. We are in favor of solution.”

-ELECTIONS IN IRAQ-
Upon a question about upcoming elections in Iraq, Prime Minister
Erdogan said, ”the elections will constitute a transition into
democracy. The new government should define the next process
carefully. It will have a heavy responsibility since it will prepare
a new constitution. This constitution should not allow sovereignty of
ethnic elements over each other. It should preserve Iraq’s
territorial integrity.”

-UKRAINE’S EU MEMBERSHIP-
Upon a question about Ukraine’s EU membership, Prime Minister
Erdogan said, ”as you know, the EU’s enlargement process has been
continuing. We support Ukraine’s EU membership as long as it is in
line with rules.”

Town Hall, DC
Jan 29 2005

Packed, Stacked and Ready to Whack
Doug Giles (archive)

Our Constitution is currently under a greater threat than a teenaged
boy at a Michael Jackson sleepover. Yes, this rock solid
foundational document, a major cause of our country’s amazing
success, is undergoing some serious thrashing by judges, bureaucrats,
politicians, prosecutors and police. I don’t know about you … but I
do not like the fact that the very people who should uphold our
rights are stretching them thinner than Fiona Apple on a rack.

One of the basic human rights that constantly has to be defended is
the right to keep and bear arms. Why did the original founders of
this great American experiment toss this given, no-duh, entitlement
into the Constitution? Well … it wasn’t so that we would be
guaranteed that we could hunt squirrels and woodchucks without
serving time, as great as that is. It was for the purpose of
defending ourselves against perps when the cops are running a little
late, and for the purpose of protecting ourselves against the
government should the system go south.

What concerns me is how both the Federal and State governments,
driven by rabid lawmakers, continue to be such a pain in the derriere
with respect to the right to possess a firearm. In just a few short
years, our supposed Constitution-honoring government has made it
grueling to obtain, practically impossible to carry, and God help you
if you actually legitimately have to use … a gun.

Listen … Pollyanna … it’s a bad bad day and the potential beginning
of a serious nightmare when the government forbids you to buy, or
tries to take from you, your weapon.

This is one of the major lessons history screams at us.

For those of you who missed your world history classes because you
were taking transgender sensitivity training, let me highlight a few
ignoble moments in the world’s gun-ridding record.

Take Germany for example. Soon after WWI, the liberal powers thought
that relieving citizens of their rifles would restore peace in the
streets. The general populace bought this nonsense because at that
time there were no astute bloggers, Fox News, NRA or ClashRadio.com
to shoot down such a stupid idea. And for a while, no doubt, I’m
sure everyone felt warm and fuzzy.

The warm and fuzzy feelings, however, gave way to cold hard reality
when the Austrian Jerk Emeritus goose-stepped his way into power and
began to unfold his Mein Crap. This was relatively easy for Adolf to
do. Why was his big lie easy to sell? One major reason was that the
ones who were not buying his crack really couldn’t do squat about it
… because, you see … they had allowed the government to seize their
weapons just a few short years prior to The Dipstick’s ascent.

Sure, they could and did resist as much as possible, but when dealing
with a tyrant, sometimes the only way to communicate your displeasure
with his dementia is with the crack of gun fire. Unfortunately, the
dissenters were, by and large, weaponless. The only ones allowed to
own firearms were Hitler, his wizards and the ones who danced to his
tortuous tune.

And for those who need more examples of how a disarmed populace
stands more vulnerable than Ashlee Simpson before a Bose voice
processor … let’s see … what massive slaughter of unarmed citizens
should I use to hammer the point further home? How about how the
Turks systematically disarmed and then slaughtered, plus or minus,
one million Armenians back in the early 1900’s? Or the
`disarm-oppress-and kill’ campaigns executed by bad leaders upon the
innocent people of Cambodia, the Soviet Union, China, Sudan, Rwanda,
Uganda, Indonesia, Iran, and Iraq?

How’s that?

As Judge Andrew Napolitano points out in his book, Constitutional
Chaos: What Happens When the Government Breaks Its Own Laws, nowhere
in the annals of world history do an unarmed people ever fare well.
Never has an act of genocide in the 20th century occurred where the
citizens were packing. I guarantee that if the Gestapo had been
strafed with 180 grain 30/06 lead, or pounded repeatedly at close
range with 00buck from 12 gauge riot gun … the numbers lost during
that crazy crew’s reign of terror would have been far, far less. But
the GP acquiesced in peacetime to the bad idea of giving up their
guns to quell violence, obviously never imagining that their
government would ever go bad. But it did. And once it did … the
unarmed citizens were slaughtered by the armed government. Judge
Kozinski framed it nicely: `Tyranny thrives best where the government
doesn’t fear the wrath of armed people.’

My ClashPoint is this: I’m sure some reflexively irate idealist is
thinking that that was then and this is now and there is no way such
atrocities will ever happen again, and that John Lennon’s vision for
the world will not just be imagined, but actualized.

That’s cool.

I’m ready for the lion to lay down with the lamb; however, in this
waiting period between now and when Xanadu actually manifests, I’m
not giving up my right to keep and bear arms while looking solely to
the government to cover my back. Our framers got it right: armed
people are free people. As much as I laud, appreciate, and look to
our Constitution-honoring soldiers and law enforcers to serve and
protect me and my house, I also know it is my right and my duty to be
packed, stacked and ready to whack just in case things get loopy.

Doug Giles’ provocative weekly one-hour radio program, ‘The Clash’,
has re-launched with several new features. Go to clashradio.com and
hit ‘listen live.’

Anadolu Agency
Jan 29 2005

Aslan: According To Official Figures, About Ten Thousand Turkish
People Had Been Massacred By Armenians In Erzurum

Anadolu Agency: 1/29/2005
ERZURUM (AA) – Documents about massacres committed by the Armenians
against Turkish people in eastern city of Erzurum and adjacent areas
between the years of 1918 and 1920 were compiled by Assistant Prof.
Betul Aslan of Ataturk University in a book entitled ”Armenian
Events in Erzurum”.
The book includes a brief history of Armenians in Anatolia,
documents about massacres committed by Armenians, results of
excavations in the city, testimonies of those who witnessed the
massacres, and recollections of Russian, German and American
officials in the region such as Russian officer Tverdo Khlebov,
Russian nurse Tatyana Karameli, German journalist Paul Wietz and
former Council of Germany in Erzurum Edgar Andres.
In an interview with the A.A, Aslan said, ”Armenians have been
doing everything in their power to keep their baseless allegations
high on world’s agenda. There was not any single document proving
their allegations about such a genocide.”
”But, Armenian gangs committed massacres in Erzurum after
Russian soldiers withdrew from the city. According to official
figures, about 10 thousand Turkish people were killed by Armenians in
Erzurum. However, unofficial figures gave the number of slain people
as 50 thousand,” she added.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Jan 29 2005

Nixon Center Expert Baran: The U.S. Intends To Change The Status Quo
In Turkey’s Region
Anadolu Agency: 1/29/2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AA) – The International Security & Energy Program
Director of the Nixon Center Zeyno Baran has stated that the United
States intends to change the status quo in Turkey’s region. ”Hence,
Turkey would have to pursue a more active policy,” affirmed Baran.
Participating in a panel discussion, sponsored by the
American-Turkish Council (ATC) and Atlantic Council in Washington,
D.C., Baran referred to U.S. President’s inaugural address, where he
mentioned the importance of the spread of democracy globally, and
remarked that in such a scenario Turkey must make clear where it
stands. ”Turkey’s stance will have an impact on the strategic
partnership between Turkey and the U.S..” she said.
Baran pointed out that understanding the reasons behind the Iraq
War is crucial. ”The United States believes that the status quo in
the region created a fertile ground for the September 11 attack. The
US’s intention is clear and they want to change the structure of the
region (Middle East),” remarked Baran. -TURKEY & RUSSIA DON’T WANT
ANY CHANGE-
Baran added that the recent close relations between Turkey and
Russia indicate that the cooperation between the two countries stand
to preserve the status quo in the region. ”Both Turkey and Russia
are worried about changes in the region. They want to preserve the
status quo,” expressed Baran.
According to Baran, being a NATO member, Turkey’s relations with
Russia are a matter of concern for security experts. Baran said that
the Turkish deputies’ qualification of events in Iraq as ”genocide”
will result in a ”tough” resolution on the so-called Armenian
genocide in the U.S. congress.
Meanwhile, the American-Turkish Council (ATC) Defense & Security
Relations Committee Chairman Preston Hughes indicated that the U.S.
strongly supports Turkey’s bid to join the EU. ”It is important for
Turkey to understand that it will come under pressure by the EU. We
must not abandon our beliefs that relations between Turkey and the
USA are in the interest of both countries,” told Hughes.
Hughes elaborated that time to time disappointments may occur on
both sides. ”For example, the Turks have been disappointed with the
lack of U.S. assistance to wipe away the terrorist organization PKK
in northern Iraq. Similarly, the U.S. was disappointed with Turkey’s
decision not to help Americans open a northern front in Iraq. Despite
such disappointments, the two countries must not forget that they
share common values on democracy. We must not burn the bridges that
so closely bring us together,” stressed Hughes.

Portsmouth Herald Maine News, NH
Jan 29 2005

A first for kids, gallery alike

By Elizabeth Kenny
[email protected]

KITTERY, Maine – Inside the Haley Farm Gallery, between the room’s
exposed beams, a different form of artwork hangs on display.
It’s the first exhibit at the new gallery, and for many of the
artists, it is the first time their paintings have ever been made
available to the public – aside from their parent’s refrigerators.

Paintings from Frisbee Elementary School students were the first
pieces of art ever hung at the new gallery located at 178 Haley Road.
Beginning Saturday, Feb. 5, Mitchell Primary School students’ artwork
will be on display for public viewing.

The exhibit is called “A Child’s View.”

Gallery co-owner Jackie Abramian has two children in the schools;
their talent in art became the inspiration for the gallery’s first
exhibit to be focused around children, she said.

“We wanted to bring something to the community where kids’ artwork
can be displayed,” she said. “It’s a delight for kids to walk in the
door and see their work hanging up.”

The work ranges from students’ own rendition of Pablo Picasso’s work
to paper tissue snowflakes.

The future goal, Abramian said, is to allow the students to sell
their work to help fund the Parent Teacher Association in town.

By selling their work, even if they are only in first grade, it will
give them a better understanding of what it is like to be a real
artist, Abramian said.

According to Mitchell School Principal David Foster, students are not
disappointed that their work isn’t for sale yet; they are just
excited to see it on display.

“The kids are thrilled to pieces,” he said. “Art should be more than
just once a week, and it’s great to have kids’ self-esteem pumped.”

“It helps highlight our art program,” said Frisbee Principal Greg
Knight. “It shows how valuable art is in the learning process. I felt
honored we were asked to be the very first art show in this gallery.”

Abramian and her husband, Harout DerSimonian, who is co-owner of the
gallery, said they recently moved to Kittery with the intent to open
the gallery and worldly gift shop.

The couple decided to open the gallery daily in the afternoons, to
allow parents and their children to stop by after school, DerSimonian
said.

“The work is fantastic,” Abramian said Friday, standing alongside the
vibrant colors painted by the children. “The gallery really came to
life.”

Although the first two exhibits display the artwork of children, by
March, the gallery will expand to showcase “adult” artwork as well,
Abramian said.

In March, the work of Berj Kailian and Samuel Bak, two Boston-based
artists, will be displayed. The exhibit will be called “Survival
Through Creativity.”

Both artists, Abramian said, have used their art skills to tell their
own stories of survival. One of the painters survived the Jewish
Holocaust; the other is a survivor of the Armenian genocide, Abramian
said.

The opening reception for Mitchell Primary School artwork is on
Saturday, Feb. 5, from 3 to 5 p.m.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Jan 29 2005

AMBASSADORS OF GERMANY AND GREECE PRESENT COPY OF THEIR CREDENTIALS
TO FOREIGN MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN
[January 29, 2005, 17:53:36]

Minister of foreign affairs of the Azerbaijan Republic Elmar
Mammadyarov on January 28 has met the newly appointed ambassadors of
the Federative Republic of Germany and Greece to the country Detlet
Lingeman and Themistokles Dimidis, who presented copy of their
credentials.

Congratulating the new ambassadors, the Minister expressed hope that
they would make every effort to develop the relations between
Azerbaijan and their countries.

Expressing pleasure of his appointment as ambassador to Azerbaijan,
ambassador Detlet Lingeman said he would do hi best to develop the
German-Azerbaijani relations.

Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan updated the German diplomat on
socio-political situation in the country, also informed on occupation
of 20 percent of lands of the country by the Armenian armed forces,
on illegal settlement of population in the occupied territories,
which contradicts requirement of the international Geneva Convention.
Speaking of Azerbaijan’s integration to the Euro-Atlantic structures,
Mr. Mammadyarov said occupation of the territories is a great
obstacle on this way.

Ambassador Themistokles Dimidis said to do most effective to serve
the bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Greece.

Speaking of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Greece, in particular,
in the energy sphere, Minister Mammadyarov said this cooperation is
of great importance from the point of view of strategic-geographic
position of both countries.

In the meeting, also were exchanged views on a number of issues of
mutual interest.

Washington Times
Jan 30 2005

Commentary: The mysteries of mercy

By Martin Sieff
UPI Senior News Analyst

Washington, DC, Jan. 28 (UPI) — It’s easy to despair looking at the
world this week of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the
Auschwitz concentration camp by the Soviet Red Army. From Cambodia to
Sudan, and from Rwanda to Bosnia, the chronicle of man’s inhumanity
to man has remained a stunning spectacle with genocide remaining
frightfully in fashion through the second half of the 20th century
and into the 21st.

With millions continuing to die every year of starvation, disease,
civil war and merciless pillaging across the continent of Africa in
particular, it is obvious that this is still not “the best of all
possible worlds” — an attitude the great French 18th century
philosopher Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire ridiculed in his classic
satirical novel “Candide.”

Given the enduring realities of human greed, hatred, cowardice and
envy, the recurrence of monstrous crimes against entire races and
religious groups of people — be they Christians, Muslims,
Cambodians, Bosnians, Chinese, Tibetans or Tutsis — over the second
half of the 20th century is arguably as predictable as the genocide
of Jews, Gypsies, Ukrainians, Armenians and Chinese in the half
century that went before.

It’s easy to overlook, therefore, other common trends in modern human
history that have been far more positive, yet may be so obvious that
they are almost always unseen. One of the most important is the wise,
commonsense observation of the great Mahatma Gandhi, architect of the
huge non-violence movement that broke the back of the British will to
remain in India: “There have always been tyrants and murderers, and
for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always
fall. Think of it. Always.”

It’s also easy to overlook during this week of the anniversary of the
liberation of Auschwitz that it and the other Nazi death camps were
indeed liberated. And less than a decade later when Soviet dictator
Josef Stalin died, his eventual successor, Nikita Khrushchev threw
open the gates of the infamous Soviet Gulag Archipelago, freeing
millions of survivors who had been convinced they would never see
their homes again.

It’s easy to forget that, as the movie “Saving Private Ryan”
dramatically reminded an entire generation of Americans, millions of
American, Soviet and British soldiers, and their Canadian,
Australian, French and many other allies, fought and died to destroy
the terrible regimes that had ravaged the human race in the 1930s and
’40s. Those awful actions eventually called forth an even greater and
ultimately decisive reaction.

The bravery and decency of hundreds of millions of human beings was
called forth as never before during World War II to protect their
nations and the wider human race from the actions of scores of
millions more who had been deceived or enticed into supporting
monstrous regimes. Eventually, the Soviet communist colossus, too,
crumbled into dust, just as Gandhi had predicted.

In 1993, the already classic movie “Schindler’s List” directed by
Steven Spielberg and starring Liam Neeson celebrated the heroism of
an ordinary, indeed, more than slightly seedy German businessman who
saved more than a thousand Jewish lives from the Holocaust. The awful
crimes he saw around him called forth from him a decency he himself
had never before realized was there.

And now, movie theaters around the world are showing a similar tale,
“Hotel Rwanda,” the story of Paul Rusesabagina, played in the movie
by the great American actor Don Cheadle. He was another ordinary man
who was not looking to be a hero but whose sense of decency saved
more than 1,200 lives from the extraordinary slaughter of 800,000
Tutsis and moderate Hutus by Hutu extremists in Rwanda in 1994.

It’s easy to demonize every German, or Russian, or Chinese, or
Israeli, or Arab, or Hutu that ever lived and blame the horrific
crimes perpetrated by crazed mobs or brainwashed multitudes in
specific times and places on everyone who fits the appropriate label.
It is much more difficult by far to remember the eternal words of the
great Gulag chronicler Alexander Solzhenitsyn when he warned, “the
line between good and evil runs through every human heart.”

Even Nazis could know mercy. One Nazi Party member, John Rabe, saved
a quarter of a million lives during the massacre of hundreds of
thousands of Chinese during the rape of the city of Nanking by
conquering Japanese forces in 1937.

The day after world leaders solemnly met at Auschwitz, the terrible
“capital of death” where at least 1.5 million human lives, most of
them Jewish, were deliberately and systematically snuffed out, Louis
Michel, the 25-nation European Union’s Commissioner for Development
and Humanitarian Aid, addressed a European Institute conference in
Washington. Michel straightforwardly noted, “The bald figures speak
for themselves. More than a billion people in the world live on less
than one dollar a day; 11 million children — most under the age of 5
— die each year; over 6 million of these deaths are due to
preventable diseases.” But Michel continued, “This is no time to
despair; this is the time for us to act.”

In the Book of Deuteronomy, the Bible records God stating, “I have
set before you life and death: Choose therefore life.” On the
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, it is well to remember
that the camp was indeed liberated, even though it was too late for
so many — and that the way of life, as well as the way of death,
still remains open before us.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LasVegas Sun, NV
Jan 30 2005

Sisters who faced deportation to Armenia return home to Las Vegas

By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Two teenage sisters who spent more than two weeks
awaiting deportation to a country they haven’t seen since they were
toddlers returned home Friday after being released from immigration
custody.

“It feels great. I’m so happy to see my family,” said Emma Sarkisian,
18, who was surrounded by family and friends at her father’s pizza
shop in Henderson.

Sarkisian and her sister Mariam, 17, had been held at a Los Angeles
immigration center since Jan. 14.

Although the sisters were born in what is now known as Armenia, they
were raised in the United States after their father emigrated from
the former Soviet Union in 1991.

The sisters’ residency status was not discovered until a trip to the
Department of Motor Vehicles. After meeting with immigration
officials in Las Vegas, they learned they faced an outstanding
deportation order. Until then, the family thought the sisters were
properly documented.

They were taken into custody after they complied with a summons to
report to the local immigration office. There they learned they were
being sent to Armenia, a place where they have no family and hadn’t
seen since they were 3- and 4-year-olds.

“It was terrible,” Emma Sarkisian said, recalling her despair about
being sent to Armenia. “How am I going to go back? I don’t read. I
don’t write. I don’t speak.”

Immigration officials agreed late Thursday to release the sisters
into their father’s custody after Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to give the case “personal
attention.”

“We’ve thoroughly reviewed the case and have decided based on
humanitarian reasons to release them,” said Virginia Kice,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. “This doesn’t convey
any legal immigration status on them.”

“ICE will continue to review the case,” she said.

The girls’ father, Rouben Sarkisian, is a legal resident, who can
file for citizenship and then seek residency status for his
daughters.

Mariam Sarkisian expressed gratitude for being reunited with her
family and away from the detention center in Los Angeles.

“It was horrible,” Sarkisian said. “You just think about your family,
the stuff you really don’t appreciate until it’s taken away from
you.”