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TURKISH MOB ATTACKS FIVE
YOUNG ARMENIANS IN VALANCE
“Our grandparents massacred you, we will continue”

ADL-France/CCAF/Jean Eckian. Sunday November 28 Valance-France. Five young
French citizens of Armenian origin were attacked by a Turkish mob of 15
Turks at the Town Hall of Valance while they were distributing leaflets
against the Turkish entry to the EU.
After destroying their stand, the Turks started throwing bottles and
later attacked the Armenians injuring them. One was hospitalised. Local
Armenians who went back to clean up the area were later attacked by another
Turkish mob of 50, who were shouting “our grand parents massacred you and we
will continue”.
The French police arrested no one.
Armenians organised a protest gathering on Monday, condemning the
events of last Saturday in the Mediterranean town of Marseilles.
Armenians in France, disappointed by the general climate prior to the
December 17 decision and have been writing to Cyprus President Tassos
Papadopoulos asking him to exercise his veto to Turkey, who is hoping to get
a date for accession to Europe.
ARMENIAN PILOTS GET HEAVY PRISON SENTENCES FOR THEIR PART IN A COUP IN
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Arminfo – Yerevan, 26 November: A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced
Armenian pilots to prison terms ranging from 14 to 24 years.
On 8 March of this year, the authorities in Equatorial Guinea
arrested a large group of which among other foreigners, included six
Armenian pilots who were charged with complicity in the organisation of a
coup d’etat in that country. They are now facing imprisonment for up to 26
years.
The Armenian pilots are flatly denying the accusations.

ARMENIA FUND TELETHON RAISES OVER $ 11 MILLION DOLLARS
Glendale, CA (November 26) Armenia Fund, Inc. (AFI) set a fund-raising
record on Thanksgiving Day by raising over $11 million (final total pending)
during its live, 12-hour international broadcast event – Telethon 2004 Make
It Happen.
Airing Thursday, November 25 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 pm, the telethon
raised funds to complete the crucial North-South “Backbone” Highway and
provide for vital infrastructure projects in Armenia and Karabakh. Telethon
2004 was broadcast to over 45 million households in 24 cities throughout the
United State s and Canada, as well as to major capitols and cities in
Europe, South America, the Middle East, the CIS and Armenia. For more
information visit
Armenia Fund, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation, is
the US West coast affiliate of the “Hayastan” All-Armenia Fund (HAAF).
Established in 1994 to facilitate humanitarian assistance to Armenia and
Karabakh, HAAF has administered over $100 million in humanitarian,
rehabilitation and construction aid through the united efforts of Armenian
communities internationally.

“UNLESS THE CONFLICT IS SETTLED PEACEFULLY, AZERBAIJAN WILL RETURN ITS LANDS
BY MILITARY FORCE”
Gibrahayer 30 November, 2004 “Unless the conflict is settled peacefully
Azerbaijan will return its lands by military force.” This is what Azeri
President Ilham Aliev declared in Baku on Friday regarding the Karabakh
problem in a meeting with Goran Lennmarker, special representative of the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary
Assembly for the Karabakh conflict.
Goran Lennmarker highly commended Azerbaijan who “has created
conditio ns for Armenians to live in its territory even though the Karabakh
conflict is not over.”
According to Azeri newspaper Zerkalo there are 30,000 Armenians in
Baku.

TATIANA’S CORNER This corner is reserved for local artist Tatiana
Ferahian’s comic strips which are amalgamations of Armenian-Cypriot social
commentaries, painted with her usual wry and ironic humour, to stimulate and
encourage awareness and interest toward our community’s everyday happenings.

NEWS IN BRIEF
* Police clashed with protesters in Baku protesting the arrival of Armenian
MPs to attend the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Rose-Roth seminar. Several
were arrested.

* Five soldiers of The Karabakh Republic Defence forces were killed and
several were injured in a road accident in Mardakert region, last Sunday.

* More than three thousand youth marched to Tsitsernakaberd the day the
legal proceedings began of murdered officer Gurgen Margarian by an Azeri
officer in Budapest.

* Construction of an Armenian church in the Russian town of Ivanovo will
begin in 2005 as approved by Garegin II, who will participate in the laying
of the church’s cornerstone.

“The comeback of ex-president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian to big
politics is conditioned by rising public demand,” deputy chairman of the
former ruling party, Pan Armenian National Movement, Aram Manukian told
reporters today.

* The Armenians of the Ukraine condemned the actions of the President of
Armenia who had jumped the gun and had congratulated Victor Yanukovich
early.

THE CD OF THE WEEK
HELEN ZINDARSIAN A heartwarming and tender collection of Armenian lullabies,
including traditional selections as well as original compositions.
A heartwarming and tender collection of Armenian lullabies and night songs,
including traditional selections as well as original compositions.
As night falls, moonlight shimmers upon a world where a mother sings an
“oror” (lullaby) for her little one. Like music, the language of a mother’s
love is universal, and the sentimental themes of this CD speak to the hopes
and dreams of every family, culture, and nation. Featuring songs written by
her parents Annig Zindarsian an d Earl Zindars, the CD offers an interesting
blend of styles with crossover appeal into the genres of folk, jazz, and
classical music. The CD also features many traditional Armenian melodies, as
well as some re-discovered treasures of Armenian music.
Order at:
Donation: AYMA Music Library

g i b r a h a y c a l e n d a r

* The literary group of The Hamazkayin “Oshakan” Cyprus Chapter is
organising a lecture about the great novelist PAULO COELHO tonight at 8:00
p.m. Wednesday 1 December 2004 at the “Vahram Utudjian” Hall of The
Armenian Prelacy of Cyprus. The lecturer will be the translator of Coelho’s
popular novel “The Alchemist”, Khachig Mouradian, who accompanied Coelhoon
his recent visit to Armenia. A very interesting lecture, accompanied by
audiovisual material. After the lecture, those who want to take part in an
informal dinner at AYMA, may ring Yura Simonian on 22499889 by Tuesday 30
November 2004.

* Cyprus Amateur Football League Kakaristri Vs AYMA at Latsia Football
Ground on Saturday December 4, 2004 at 2:30 p.m. New signing!!! Former APOEL
striker Ara Bedrossian makes his debut with the colours of AYMA.
STILL ON 8th Exhibition of Armenian Books, under the auspices of Archbishop
Varoujan Hergelian, organised by the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus, with the
participation of Moufflon Bookstore.&nb sp;You can visit the Exhibition
every day from 9 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. except weekends.
The exhibition will also travel to Larnaca and Limassol.

* Armenian Relief Society “Sosse” Chapter Fund Raising Tea for the ARS
Armenia Projects on Sunday 28 November, 2004 at The Holiday Inn Hotel at
4:00 p.m. Proceeds to the “Sosse” Kindergarten of Stepanakert – Republic of
Artsakh. Event images at:
;code=3D13242597&mode=3Dinvite&DCMP=3Disc-email-AlbumInvite

* Cyprus Dart Championships. AYMA is participating in the Cyprus Dart League
with matches being played every Thursday at AYMA.

* AYF Badanegan Miaoutian get-togethers take place on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
at AYMA. Contact Vartoog Karageulian on 24-659245.

* AYMA Chicco Football practices take place every Friday from 7:00 – 8:30
p.m for children starting from the age of 7. Contact Krikor Mahdessian on
99650897.

* AYMA Table Tennis practices take place every Saturday from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m
under the expert guidance of ex-Cyprus Champion Sirvart Costanian. Classes
and practice session for all ages.
AYF meeting on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. at AYMA. Will not take place. See you
all at the Hamazkayin’s lecture on Coelho.

* AYMA Football team practices are now taking place every Tuesday at 9:00
p.m

* Marie Louise Kouyoumdjian sings @ Champs every Friday at at 9:30 p.m. For
reservations call 22873888.

* Bible Study Group organised by The Armenian Prelature of Cyprus. The Group
meets at the Sourp Asdvadzadzin Church on Armenia street, Nicosia. To
receive further details please call Father Momik Habeshian on 99 307966 or
at the Prelature office on 22 493560 email [email protected]

* The English School Old Boys and Girls Association is holding its 2004
Annual General Meeting at the ClubHouse on Wednesday December 8 at 7:00 p.m.
A reception will follow. Contact Yiannos Ioannou on 22316861 email
[email protected]

* AYMA Annual Ball at Hilton Park on January 8, 2005 featuring ANDRE.
Reservations a MUST! Book early.

* Armenian Radio Hour on The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation can be heard
via real audio on . Broadcast times 17:00-18:00 local Cyprus
time (14:00-15:00 GMT) New s bulletins at 17:15 local time on Sundays,
Tuesdays, Fridays. Armenian Cypriots can also tune in on the following radio
frequencies 91.1 FM (Mount Olympus – for Nicosia listeners) 94.2 FM
(Paralimni/Protaras/Agia Napa) 92.4 FM (Larnaca) 96.5 FM (Paphos).

* The Armenian Prelature announces that the next permit for the A rmenian
Cemetery visitation at Ayios Dhometios on the Green line, is scheduled for
Sunday 12 December,2004

* Every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. (Cyprus time +2 GMT) on CyBC’s Trito, Puzant
Nadjarian presents the “History of the Blues”. You can also hear it on Real
Audio from the Internet edition of CyBC on A repeat program
can also be heard seven hours later at 2:00 a.m. local time.

* Listen to Hairenik Association’s online Armenian Radio Station. A variety
of Armenian music online, 24 hours a day, combined with news and other
interesting information about the Armenian community in the US, Armenia,
Artsakh, Javakhk and the Armenian Diaspora.
* 24 Hours of non-stop armenian music and programs on the internet
. . . . . News . . . . . ANC hour . . . . . Song dedications . . . . . Youth
discussions . . . . . Game Shows . . . . . Interviews . . . . . Religious
programs . . . . . Cultural programs . . . . . History . . . . .

Launch Hairenik Radio in your preferred Player,launch Hairenik in your life

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia to quit Karabakh talks if UN adopts pro-Azeri resolution

Arminfo
4 Dec 04

YEREVAN

If the UN adopts the draft resolution [on the situation in
Azerbaijan’s occupied territories], Armenia will not participate in
the negotiations individually and will demand that Nagornyy Karabakh
join the talks, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has told
Armenia’s Kentron TV.

It is because [if the UN adopts the draft] the issue will go beyond
the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and in that case, Armenia will
not be able to conduct any talks individually, Oskanyan said. He added
that the Minsk Group co-chairs in fact recognize Nagornyy Karabakh as
a side to the conflict and that this is obvious from the fact that the
co-chairs go to Nagornyy Karabakh during their every visit to the
region.

Oskanyan said that if Armenia had not assumed the role of a
negotiating side when Azerbaijan refused to start negotiations with
Nagornyy Karabakh, there would have been no talks. He believes that
Armenia’s participation in the negotiations is right. “It is also
right that [Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan is conducting these
talks,” the minister added.

Talking about the consequences of the UN resolution on this issue, the
foreign minister said that if the resolution is adopted, Armenia will
really abandon the bilateral negotiations.

“If Azerbaijan agrees to Arkadiy Gukasyan’s [president of the
self-styled Nagornyy Karabakh republic] joining the talks, we will
continue. If not, responsibility will lie with them,” he said, adding
that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have already expressed their
concern over the issue.

Oskanyan said that in this case, the issue of negotiations between
Azerbaijan and Nagornyy Karabakh will be raised openly. Armenia can
play only the role of a guarantor in this case.

“We will raise the issue from the angle of 1992 in order to better
inform the international community of the real causes of the current
situation,” Oskanyan said, adding that the issue of Nagornyy
Karabakh’s self-determination will be seriously raised in the end.

PanArmenian News
Dec 4 2004

PUTIN WILL VISIT ANKARA FROM THE SECOND ATTEMPT

This will be the first official visit of the Russian head of state to
Turkey in history

On December 5 the President of Russia Vladimir Putin will make an
official visit to Turkey. There are arranged meetings of Russian
President with the President of Turkey Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the Prime
Minister Recep Erdogan, the minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulah Gül
and Turkish businessmen. It is expected to sign four agreements. Most
of the questions which Vladimir Putin is aimed to settle during the
visit to Ankara concern the interests of Armenia.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The visit was to take place in September but it had
been postponed because of the act of terror in Beslan. Putin has
previously been to Turkey in the beginning of the 90’s on the
holidays with his family in Antaliya. But by that time he was not a
president, but a usual KGB officer. But yet it’s the first official
visit of Russian head of state to Turkey during these 500 years of
Russian -Turkish relations. Traditionally the Russians considered
Turkey as an enemy country. Particularly the four Russian -Turkish
Wars are of evidence. The feeble attempts of the former Turkish prime
minister to get into contact with Russian leaders were not crowned
with success. Boris Yeltsin refused to receive Bulent Ejevit who
arrived in Moscow with an official meeting. On the contrary Putin
gives an unambiguous signal of the readiness to be friends.

First of all it’s a matter of economic interests. The interdependency
of the economies of two countries grows every year. The commodity
circulation is planned for 9 milliard dollars this year but according
to some information it has already exceeded that number. The experts
expect the turnover to amount to 20milliard. It should be noticed
that the matter concerns a number which by 40 times exceeds the state
budget of Armenia. Last year 1million 200thousand Russian tourists
visited Turkey. This figure during the first six months of the
current year comparing to the same period of last year increased by
50 per cents.

The cooperation of two countries has good prospects in the sphere of
energy. This cooperation may infringe upon Armenia’s interest. It is
not inconceivable that during the visit the sides may discuss the
possibility of Russia to supply to Turkey electrical energy generated
in Armenia in electric power stations belonging to RAO UES. In spite
of the statement of the Russian Premier Minister Mikhail Fradkov on
the prospects of the Russian gas supply to south en route of Armenia,
this question is hardly to be discussed seriously today. The Russians
pay more attention to the Blue Stream Pipeline by means of which in
the course of coming years 365bcm of gas will be supplied to Turkey.
During the visit Vladimir Putin will try to obtain a guarantee that
Ankara will completely fulfill its obligations within the framework
of this project. Moreover, in the days of visit may be signed an
agreement on investment in Turkish electric energy, gas-transport
infrastructure and also underground gas-holder construction in
Turkey.

The question of laying an oil pipeline from Turkish city Kyikey in
the south-west coast of Black Sea to Ibrikhaba city in Aegean Sea
will be discussed in Ankara. For the present considerable share of
Russian oil still goes to the west on tankers through Bosporus.
Turkey keeps on putting obstacles counting on political concessions
from the Moscow side. The conditions of Russian oil-tankers’ passing
through the channels will certainly be touched upon on the meeting.
Talking on communication it should be mentioned that during the
negotiations Putin and Erdogan may also touch upon a topic of
straight railway service opening between Moscow and Ankara. As
everybody knows the only trunk-railway linking Russia and Turkey lays
trough Armenia and now is blocked by the Turkish side.

The Turks count on the possibility to convince Putin to use his
ascendancy upon the European leaders to soften their position
concerning the membership of Turkey in the EU. During Putin’s visit a
special attention will be paid to military cooperation. The Minister
of Defense Sergey Ivanov is a member of the delegation headed by
Vledimir Putin. With his Turkish colleague he will discuss the
organization of Ka-50-2 helicopter production in Turkey. Besides, the
experts believe that during the visit the situation of the
2.5-3milliard dollar contract on supplies of 145 fighting machine to
Turkey will be made clear. The Americans also take part in the tender
for the execution of this order.

Putins visit is a good reason for Erdogan to strengthen personal
contacts with the Head of the Great Power.

According to some Turkish media, Recep Erdogn is even going to
suggest Putin being godfather on his daughter’s wedding. As everybody
knows in July on his elder daughter’s Esru’s wedding the godfather
was the Prime Minister of Greek Costas Karamanlis, in last August on
his son’s Bilal’s wedding this mission was entrusted to the Prime
Minister of Italy Silvio Berluskoni. The Turkish prime minister has a
chance to become related with the Head of Russia. This chance is his
youngest daughter Sumeye. The problem is that she is too young and
does not want to get married at all. But the commentators expect
Erdogan to insist on the immediate marriage with the first young man
for the sake of personal contact with Valdimir Putin. But it is still
unknown if Putin himself would like to become Erdogan’s relative.

Zaman, Turkey
Dec 4 2004

EP President: Turkey must Recognize Greek Cypriot Administration

While in Ankara two weeks before the European Union (EU)’s December
17th summit, when the EU will decide whether to invite Turkey to
begin full membership negotiations, president of the European
Parliament (EP), Josep Borrell, told Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and the spokesperson for the Turkish Parliament,
Bulent Arinc, that Turkey should recognize the Greek Cypriot
Administration if it wishes to start full membership negotiations
with the European Union (EU).

Borrell travelled to Ankara to discuss a draft resolution about
Turkey that the EP Commission on Foreign Affairs had prepared.
Borrell underscored a report by Camiel Eurlings, the EP’s reporter on
Turkey reporter, which contains specific passages calling for Turkey
to recognize Greek Cyprus.

He said: “Negotiations with the EU finally means recognizing the
counter side and will include a recognition of Cyprus as well. This
is the main component, on which the Commission is currently studying
and the decision will also include.”

Borrell added that there are efforts within the EU Council to
overturn the trade embargo on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC).

While speaking at a joint press conference, Erdogan reiterated his
expectation that the December 17th summit will end in a positive
decision, opening the way for Turkey to begin membership negotiations
in the first half of 2005.

Erdogan and Borrell also discussed the recent demands to reopen the
border with Armenia. Erdogan said that there are four flights per
week into Armenia, even though Yerevan does not recognize the 1921
Kars agreement, which was signed between Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia
and Armenia.

12.04.2004
Foreign News Services
Istanbul

Zaman, Turkey
Dec 4 2004

‘Religious and Cultural Differences do not Hinder EU Membership’

Nearly 200 academics, journalists, politicians and religious figures
from Turkey, Europe and the US gathered in Brussels for the 8th
meeting of the Abant Platform, which was titled “Turkey’s EU Process:
Culture, Identity and Religion.” Among the participants was a
representative from the European Catholic Church Association, who
said yesterday, “European Union membership for Muslim Turkey has no
drawbacks.”

The keynote speakers during yesterday’s session were Professor Rik
Torfs, from Leuven University and Professor Niyazi Oktem. The
president of the Board of Trustees of Turkey’s Journalists and
Writers Foundation, Huseyin Gulerce, said that Abant’s spirit
generated new hope and excitement for Turkey. He shared his belief
that these meetings would only prove that differences between
cultures created richness.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the Turkish Parliament Bulent Arinc and Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul as well as the Honorary President of the
Foundation, Mr. Fethullah Gulen, sent messages to the Platform.

The French Metropolit of the Greek Orthodox Church, Emmanual
Adamakis, ultimately said that the Fener Greek Patriarch supported
Turkey’s EU membership. He lamented however, that the institution’s
dormitories and schools remained closed and stressed that they
existed in Turkey in the name of Christianity, and did not have
ulterior motivations.

“Do not prevent the Church from educating children”, Adamakis said.
Adamakis addressed the illegal status of “ecumenical” and implored
Turkey to recognize the concept.

A representative of the Turkish Armenian Orthodox Patriarch, Sahag
Mashalian, recalled that Christianity reached the west through
Turkey. He then exhorted Turkey to show sufficient tolerance to other
religions even though from time to time such tolerance is
problematic.

Stephen Lante, a representative from the Europe Catholic Churches
Association, said that neither the Catholic Church, nor the Vatican,
regards the EU as a Christian club. Lante did criticize that
processes by which non-Muslims own property and establish foundations
and associations in Turkey were still flawed. He added that the issue
would be addressed on December 17th.

Belgian Professor Dirk Rochtus expressed his opposition to the idea
that because Turkey did not undergo an enlightenment process, and the
subsequent reforms like other European countries, it cannot be a part
of the EU.

Rochtus contended that these values could be learned. He Germany as
an example and said that even though Germany did not realize
enlightenment, it developed its own culture in the 19th century.

12.04.2004
Ali Ihsan Aydin, Selcuk Gultasli
Brussels

San Francisco Chronicle, CA
Dec 4 2004

OAKLAND
Mills staff members win writing awards
Meredith May

Creative writing got a double boost at Mills College this week when
two faculty members snagged two of the country’s most prestigious
fiction writing awards.

Victor LaValle is one of six poets and fiction writers to receive the
New York-based Whiting Writers’ Award. Micheline Aharonian Marcom was
one of five writers nationwide chosen for the Lannan Literary
Fellowship in New Mexico.

LaValle, author of “The Ecstatic” and “slapboxing with jesus:
stories,” was feted in a ceremony at the New York Public Library and
received $35,000. His award puts him in the same club as former
Whiting winners Jeffrey Eugenides and Tony Kushner — both of whom
also won the Pulitzer Prize.

Mills visiting writer Marcom won a $70,000 fellowship to continue
working on her trilogy, which is already drawing widespread acclaim.
Her first book, “Three Apples Fell from Heaven,” is set in Turkey in
1915 and depicts the Ottoman government’s genocide of Armenians. Her
work was named one of the year’s best books by both the Washington
Post and the Los Angeles Times.

Her second book, “The Daydreaming Boy,” centers on a haunted
middle-age survivor of Turkey’s Armenian massacres living in 1960’s
Beirut. She is working on the third novel.

Marcom earned her master’s degree in creative writing from Mills in
1999. LaValle is a 1998 graduate of the master’s fiction program at
Columbia University.

Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia)
December 4, 2004 Saturday
Final Edition

Religion’s role in violence

by Douglas Todd, CanWest News Service

VANCOUVER

University of B.C. psychology professor Ara Norenzayan grew up in
Beirut, Lebanon, during a savage religion-fuelled war between
Christians and Muslims.

As an altar boy in the Armenian Orthodox Church, he sensed the power
of religion for good and evil.

He also became familiar with death.

Now, 15 years after emigrating to North America at the peak of
Lebanon’s bloody conflict, Norenzayan is returning to his roots to
research the relationship between faith, thoughts of death and
violence.

The soft-spoken social psychologist has received a $105,000
three-year grant from Canada’s National Research Council to deepen
his exploration into why people become religious — and why some of
those who turn to religion also turn to hatred.

Devising unique psychological experiments, Norenzayan has already
discovered that the more people are exposed to the reality of death,
the more likely they are to believe in “supernatural agents,” like
God, angels or ancestral spirits.

He’s also concluded that prominent scientists, such as Richard
Dawkins, are off track when they argue belief in God is, along with
the atomic bomb, the greatest danger to world peace.

Norenzayan’s studies suggest antagonism toward outsiders is not a
result of belief in God. It’s the byproduct of people finding a sense
of identity in a religious group.

To find out if there is a link between thoughts of death and belief
in the supernatural, Norenzayan devised two series of tests, one
involving hundreds of students at UBC and another involving subjects
in Malaysia.

He asked one group to write essays about death, reflect on pain in
the context of mortality and read a short story about a boy who dies.
He asked the control group to think about pain in relation to
visiting a dentist and read a story about a boy who

doesn’t die.

Norenzayan and his team found subjects asked to contemplate death
were much more likely than those who weren’t to report they strongly
believe in supernatural agents.

Norenzayan says his experiments are the first to provide “solid
empirical evidence” to back up theories by Soren Kierkegaard and
Ernest Becker that humans become religious because they’re capable of
recognizing they will die.

“One of the definitions of religion is it’s a way of dealing with
anxiety-provoking thoughts,” Norenzayan says in his tidy third-floor
office overlooking the forest and ocean surrounding UBC.

“All religions say death is not literally death, that mortality is
not the end of our being.”

Norenzayan — who maintains he’s not a “strict” religious believer,
despite maintaining ties to the Armenian Orthodox Church — says it’s
shocking how little research psychologists have done into the origins
and effects of spirituality.

“Most academics are blind to the power of religion.”

A typical psychology textbook, he says, contains virtually no mention
of religion, despite the 19th-century American founder of psychology,
William James, devoting a great deal of energy to the subject.

“Most psychologists have no idea why two people who are probably
equally religious — the Dalai Lama and Osama bin Laden — could end
up being so different, with one teaching peace and one preaching
violence,” he says.

With his grant, Norenzayan plans to make his first trip to Lebanon
since he left at age 18. He’ll explore more deeply the impression he
developed as a young man in the war-torn country that spiritual
beliefs can be exploited by leaders to foment aggression against
outsiders.

And he’ll continue his experiments into why religion can breed both
peace-loving tolerance and intolerant fury, both in the Middle East
and North America.

Norenzayan recognizes religion isn’t the only cause of violence, but
he also believes it “is at the top of the list of ideologies that can
kill.”

Norenzayan and his graduate student, Ian Hansen, have discovered it’s
not spiritual devotion that causes violence.

Norenzayan’s work builds on studies of Palestinian Muslims by his
alma mater, the University of Michigan, where researchers found the
more often Palestinian Muslims attended mosque, the more they
supported suicide terrorism.

There was no link, however, between Palestinians’ support for
violence and how often they prayed at home.

The goal of one of Norenzayan’s experiments was to test North
Americans on their tolerance of religious pluralism. In effect, he
wanted to explore how subjects would respond to someone like the main
character in Yann Martel’s book, The Life of Pi, who claims he’s a
Hindu, a Muslim and a Christian.

Norenzayan’s team discovered Buddhists were most tolerant of
followers of other religions. Christians were less tolerant and
Muslims were the least tolerant.

Norenzayan believes that may be because Christianity and Islam
provide more group cohesion, leading to a belief there’s only one
true religion.

They also found that thinking about death can foster religious
tolerance.

Norenzayan found study participants who were reminded frequently
about death were more likely to believe in supernatural agents from
not only their own religion, but from other religions.

“There’s an old saying: ‘In a storm, voyagers will believe in any god
to rescue them.’ To some extent, it’s hopeful that people facing
death will consider addressing other supernatural agents,” says
Norenzayan.

But his research also led him to a more negative side-effect tied to
when people think often about death: They become less accepting of
people who don’t belong to their culture.

Many Christians, for instance, became less tolerant of Jews.

More intense thoughts about death “seemed to make people draw
stronger cultural boundaries.”

Norenzayan is also wondering what the ramifications of his research
are for North America since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,
which made a lot more North Americans anxious about their mortality.

He believes the terrorist attacks created a unique experimental
condition for a study of how increasing consciousness of death
affects religious tolerance.

“Sept. 11,” he says, “was one humongous manipulation of North
Americans’ thoughts about death.”

GRAPHIC: Photo: Glenn Baglo, CanWest News Service; Professor Ara
Norenzayan is a psychology instructor who has just received a grant
to study the relationship between faith, thoughts of death and
violence.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia)
December 4, 2004 Saturday
Final Edition

Diversity & the diva

by Mike Devlin, Times Colonist

IN CONCERT

The Victoria Symphony Legacy Series featuring soprano Isabel
Bayrakdarian and conductor Tania Miller

When: Tonight and Monday, 8 p.m.

Where: Royal Theatre

Tickets: $22-$59

– – –

What a long, arduous journey to Victoria it has been for Isabel
Bayrakdarian. But after a week-long trek that included nine time
zones, four countries and plenty of jet lag, the Armenian-Canadian
soprano is finally in the Garden City, sounding every bit as chipper
as I was led to believe she would be.

“This is nothing. This is a joy, because it’s part of the whole
thing,” she says from her hotel room Friday morning, less than 12
hours after arriving from Toronto via Spain. “No complaints!”

It is clearly not Bayrakdarian’s nature to complain. In fact, the
hyper-busy Toronto resident couldn’t have a nicer disposition —
which is, to be honest, a pleasant surprise given the diva tag so
frequently applied to singers of her calibre.

While stories of passport-toting opera singers with miniature
lap-dogs and even smaller attention spans abound, it was Bayrakdarian
who fretted when our pre-arranged interview was late to start. Just
minutes away was her rehearsal with the Victoria Symphony, who she’s
performing with for the first time tonight at the Royal Theatre.
Bayrakdarian wanted to make every effort to conduct the interview.

“I don’t want to stand you up,” she explains. “If you don’t know that
I was waiting for you, you would think that I was a temperamental
diva. And I don’t want that.”

Her debut with the symphony is arguably the highlight of the
orchestra’s 2004-2005 season. Bayrakdarian, who was born in Beirut to
Armenian parents and emigrated to Canada with her family when she was
15, is considered by many to be among the best at her craft.

She has a world of accolades to support that view. Performances with
Yo Yo Ma and Pinchas Zuckerman; recitals at New York’s Carnegie Hall;
and an honourary fellowship from The Royal Conservatory of Music,
given this June to both her and the Barenaked Ladies for making a
lasting contribution to the arts.

“It’s too much,” Bayrakdarian says incredulously. “It’s way too
much.”

All this from a performer who hadn’t sung a note professionally until
1997. Since then, her stratospheric rise to fame has been as mythical
as some of the roles she’s lent her voice to: as Catherine in A View
from the Bridge at New York’s Metropolitan Opera; Elisa in Il Re
Pastore at the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels; Susanna in Le Nozze
di Figaro at the Opera Bastille in Paris; Clorinda in Il
Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda at the Los Angeles Opera; and
Zerlina in Don Giovanni at Germany’s Salzburg Festival.

If her resume seems impressive for a performer of such a young age
(which, by the way, she chose not to divulge), it is by design. “I
thrive on change, that’s what it is,” Bayrakdarian says.

“My nature, I’m game for anything. I never say, ‘No, no, I
shouldn’t.’ The only time I do that is when it comes to actual music
for the voice. I treat the voice as an instrument. That’s the only
time I become very logical. Any other time I want as much experience,
as much variety.”

Bayrakdarian’s voice was given wide circulation in 2002 via two
acclaimed films: Victoria-bred filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s Ararat and the
second instalment in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, The
Two Towers.

She was a natural choice for both. Her resonant, pitch-perfect tone
fit perfectly with the pair’s epic scope, and was used beautifully
during the widescreen battle scenes that lay at the heart of each.
Her inclusion in Ararat arose from a fast friendship with Egoyan, who
is also of Canadian-Armenian heritage.

According to Bayrakdarian, the two met serendipitously when she was
working on Joyous Light, her chart-topping CD of Armenian sacred
music from 2002, and Egoyan was deep into Ararat, a controversial
telling of the forced evacuation and eventual genocide of more than a
million Armenian people at the hands of Turkish troops in 1915.

Her involvement in the project brought back a wave of old memories,
many of which took their toll emotionally.

“If you speak with any Armenian, we can’t be unbiased about it,
because each and every one of us, just like the Jewish holocaust, has
had a family member who has been affected by the Armenian genocide.
You can’t say it’s a political thing. It’s political, spiritual,
everything. It’s a personal thing. There’s no need to add other
adjectives to it. It’s a personal story for each and every human
being that is born Armenian.”

A far less draining experience for Bayrakdarian was working on the
Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to The Two Towers, and in particular
with Oscar-winning composer and Toronto native Howard Shore. It was
fun but also very stressful, Bayrakdarian remembers, especially
following the series’ immensely successful first instalment.

She recorded her parts in London at the same Abbey Road studios once
used by The Beatles. At the time of the recording, she was in
residence at Opera Bastille in Paris, making not only her Paris debut
but her major role debut and Figaro debut as well.

“It really was a lot of fun to go to London, record this for two
days, and come back to Paris,” she says. “It was a very, very nice
change. The pressure came later, when they said, ‘I hope your
publicist is ready.’ ”

Despite all she has accomplished in the opera world, Bayrakdarian
claims very little compares to the Lord of the Rings experience. “Two
years later I still get fan mail,” she says with a be-mused laugh.
“If only opera was this popular.”

GRAPHIC: Photo: Special to Times Colonist; Soprano Isabel
Bayrakdarian sings with the Victoria Symphony tonight and Monday. She
still gets fan mail for her work on the The Two Towers film
soundtrack.

ANSA English Media Service
December 3, 2004

TURKEY/USA: CONSTANTINOPLE PATRIARCH STRAINS RELATIONS

By Lucio Leante

ANKARA

(ANSA) – ANKARA, December 3 – Relations between the Turkish
government and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara were strained after
the embassy invited Constantinople Orthodox patriarch
Bartholomew II to a reception in Istanbul, calling him
“ecumenical (global) patriarch” of Orthodox Christians across
the world, while Turkish authorities recognise him as patriarch
of Orthodox Christians only in their country.

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Bartholomew
II was “an ordinary Turkish citizen” and accused the U.S.
embassy of having secret motives in deliberately bestowing him
with an inaccurate title.

The embassy’s aim is to disturb religious peace in Turkey,
Erdogan said.

The prime minister added he had ordered all ministers and
other senior state officials not to attend both this reception
and other similar events the U.S. embassy might organise in the
future.

“The United States have always considered Bartholomew II an
ecumenical patriarch,” U.S. ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman
said in a statement.

“Our calling Bartholomew an ecumenical patriarch is not a
sign of a shift in our policy. All reluctant to attend our
receptions are free to abstain from attending,” Edelman added.

“We are not going to deny our identity and Turkey’s
authorities are not going to tell us who we are,” Bartholomew II
said.

“The title ‘ecumenical’ is a historic one and has been first
given to the Constantinople patriarch in 451 A.D.,” patriarchy
spokesman Dositeos Anagnastopulos said.

“The title cannot be changed and there is no need to because
it refers only to the Christian Orthodox Church and does not
have any political significance,” he added.

The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, in which the European powers
recognised Turkey’s independence and received guarantees
concerning the status of three non-Muslim communities in the new
and predominantly Muslim Turkish state: Jewish, Greek Orthodox
and Armenian, recognises the Fener patriarch, as Bartholomew is
called in Istanbul after the name of the district where the
Orthodox patriarchy is located, as spiritual leader only of the
2,000-strong Turkish Orthodox community.

However, Bartholomew also claims to represent the nearly 320
million Orthodox Christians in the world, in competition with
the Russian and Greek patriarchs who claim to do the same.
“The Russian, Greek and Serbian Orthodox churches are hostile
towards Bartholomew and Turkey,” Bilgi University professor
Niyazi Oktem told local news channel NTV.
“Turkey’s interest does not lie in giving up a power to the
benefit of other countries but in keeping as much power for
itself. Why should we help the Russian patriarch who is enemy of
Turkey?” Oktem added.

The true reason behind Turkey’s reluctance to recognise
Bartholomew as ecumenical patriarch is that Turkey’s Islamic
authorities could not bear their predominantly Muslim country to
become a global Christian Orthodox centre and fear it might
become an Orthodox Vatican on Muslim ground.

It is for this reason that the Orthodox seminary in
Heybeliada, an island close to Istanbul, has been closed by law
and the government of the Justice and Development party, which
is believed to have Islamic roots, has not allowed it to re-open
as demanded by the European Union (EU) with whom Turkey hopes to
start entry talks soon. (ANSA).
(BZ/krc)

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
December 4, 2004

MINISTRO FINI, VUOLE L’EUROPA O L’EURASIA? ;
INTERVENTO SULLA PADANIA

ROMA

(ANSA) – ROMA, 4 DIC – “Personalmente, credo che lei, signor
ministro, abbia in testa un’Eurasia, piu’ che un’Europa”. Lo
scrive in un intervento su LA PADANIA Alessandro Ce rivolto al
ministro degli Esteri Gianfranco Fini. “Lei afferma in modo
perentorio – dice l’esponente della Lega – che la Turchia
costituira’ un valore aggiunto all’Europa. Credo che questo
giudizio dipenda dal tipo di idea di Europa che si ha: se si
pensa cioe a un’Europa tradizionalmente intesa o a un’Eurasia.
(…) La Turchia non ha riconosciuto lo sterminio degli armeni.
E noi apriamo un percorso di adesione all’Unione europea senza
che la Turchia abbia effettuato tale riconoscimento? (…) Ci
sono questioni culturali sulle quali (lei) ha sorvolato: in
Turchia non e’ garantita la liberta’ di professare una
religione. E’ garantita all’interno delle chiese, ma non puo
dirsi lo stesso al di fuori delle medesime e noi stiamo aprendo
un percorso di adesione della Turchia nell’Unione europea. Vi
sono questioni identitarie fondamentali: la Turchia, nel 2015,
quando probabilmente sara’ entrata in Europa, avra’ 90 milioni
di abitanti, tutti islamici. Vogliamo un’Europa che abbia ancora
un qualche riferimento ad una matrice cristiana oppure un’Europa
islamica? Tale questione non e’ stata assolutamente affrontata
dal governo”.(ANSA).