FIRST HOLOCAUST OF 20-TH CENTURY
PanArmenian News
Nov 22 2004
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Fronda Warsaw publishing house printed a book by
Polish historian, doctor of the Poznansky University Gregosh Kukharchik
titled “The First Holocaust of the 20-th Century” (Pierwszy Holocaust
XX wieku). The book consists of 220 pages and is dedicated to Armenian
Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. To note, Armenian businessmen residing
in Poland Ruben Yesayan contributed to the publication of the book.
US TERMINATED JACKSON-VANIK AMENDMENT ON ARMENIA
PanArmenian News
Nov 22 2004
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The US Senate approved introducing a number of
changes into the bill “On US Customs Duties”, the constituent of
which is the establishment of normal permanent trade relations with
Armenia, thus terminating the Jackson-Vanik amendment in regards to
Armenia. The Jackson-Vanik amendment functioning since 1974 bans normal
trade relations between the US and several states (specifically with
the former USSR republics), which practice restrictions of migration
rights, especially in respect to the religious minorities. January 2002
President George Bush sent a letter to the Congress with a request
to terminate the Jackson-Vanik amendment’s application to Russia and
eight ex-USSR republics, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Moldavia, Tajikistan, Ukraine. To note, the amendment is not applied
to Georgia and Kirghizia since 2000.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Mideast Mirror
November 22, 2004
>>From today’s Turkish press
[parts omitted]
EU: An editorial in the secular, Kemalist Cumhuriyet reveals some
deep concerns about Turkey and the EU: “EU sides are eager to insist
on severe political terms for Turkey at the negotiation phase. What
has come onto the agenda on Cyprus is quite striking. The Armenian
genocide claim is being put before us. Greece follows the strategy
of exploiting any opportunity it gets. Calculations about ethnic
contradictions in Anatolia are being made. Let us say that for
the sake of joining the EU, we accept in advance all the political
terms that are being thrust upon us and yet the bargaining is still
open-ended. What will happen if Turkey faces a ‘No’, years after it
says ‘Yes’ to everything in advance?”
Engin Ardic also has doubts about the EU in the centre-Right Aksa:
“We cannot say ‘Let’s join the EU but on our own terms’. Either you
accept their terms or you do not. There is nothing in between. If you
insist on joining the EU, you must pull your troops out of Cyprus,
recognize the South the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot
authority over the whole of Cyprus and moreover be a mere bystander as
it swallows the North self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
. It will be very good if you can make them add some ‘guarantees’
to the agreements you will make. Still, there is no guarantee that
you will join the EU even after you have made all these concessions…”
30 MORE ARMENIANS TO BE EXPELLED FROM KRASNODAR REGION OF RUSSIA
PanArmenian News
Nov 22 2004
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today 30 more Armenian citizens, who do not have
Russian registration, will be expelled from the Krasnodar region
of Russia according to the decision of the local court. To remind,
on Friday 10 people were returned to Armenia in the same way. The
tickets are paid by the federal budget.
Azerbaijani president pushes for a U.N. resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh
by AIDA SULTANOVA; Associated Press Writer
Associated Press Worldstream
November 22, 2004 Monday 12:03 PM Eastern Time
NEFT DASHLARI, Azerbaijan — Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev
said Monday he will push for a U.N. resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh
that reflects international recognition of his nation’s territorial
integrity.
“We will not be content solely with discussion. We want to see a new
resolution passed,” Aliev said. The United Nations’ General Assembly
is to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Tuesday.
Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave, has been de facto
independent. Armenian-backed forces won control over the territory
in 1994. Some 30,000 people were killed and a million others were
driven from their homes in the 1988-94 war.
Despite a cease-fire, Armenian-backed forces and Azerbaijani troops
continue to face off across a demilitarized zone, and shooting
occasionally erupts.
In 1993 the General Assembly passed four resolutions demanding
the withdrawal of occupation forces and the return of refugees to
Azerbaijan. However, none of the resolutions has been enforced.
Aliev voiced hope Monday that the new resolution would help solve
the conflict.
“We are trying to increase the number of countries supporting us,
and I am convinced that the role of the resolution will be decisive,”
Aliev said.
He also accused Armenia of hampering the adoption of the resolution
and stalling negotiation efforts. Aliev said Azerbaijan would only be
too glad to see Armenia drop out of the talks and leave negotiations
to Nagorno-Karabakh.
“If Armenia suggests conducting negotiations with Nagorno-Karabakh, let
it … withdraw its occupation forces from Azerbaijan’s territory and
stop providing resources to separatists from its budget. Then we will
solve the Karabakh problem in the shortest period of time,” Aliev said.
He also expressed hope that the Council of Europe, Europe’s top
human rights body, would give “a political evaluation” to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
ANM AND ORITATS YERKIR REPRESENTATIVES TO PARTICIPATE FRENCH RULING PARTY CONGRESS
PanArmenian News
Nov 22 2004
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Representatives of the former Armenian ruling
party – Armenian National Movement (ANM) and of Orinats Yerkir party,
member of the present leading coalition were invited to the congress
of French President Jacques Chirac’s party, the Union for Popular
Movement. Former Minister of National Security David Shahnazarian
will represent the Armenian National Movement at the congress.
Azerbaijan will be represented at the congress by Etibar Mamedov,
the leader of National Independence Party.
ARKA News Agency
Nov 22 2004
Speaker of Armenian Parliament asks Azerbaijani Parliament’s head and
NATO Chairman to provide security of Armenian delegates on Rose-Roth
NATO seminar
Europe could be more insistent in issues of settlement of conflict on
South Caucasus
Special anti-emergency service to be launched in Yerevan soon
Armenia and Azerbaijan should come out with constructive
recommendations on Karabakh conflict settlement, PACE insists
*********************************************************************
SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT ASKS AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT’S HEAD AND
NATO CHAIRMAN TO PROVIDE SECURITY OF ARMENIAN DELEGATES ON ROSE-ROTH
NATO SEMINAR
YEREVAN, November 22. /ARKA/. Speaker of the Armenian Parliament sent
official letters to the Chairman of Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Murtuz
Aleskerov and Chairman of Parliamentary Assembly of NATO Pierre
Leluche with request to provide security of the Armenian delegates on
NATO seminar Rose-Roth. As Armenian Parliament Public and Press
Relations Department told ARKA, the letter was sent on occasion of
recently increasing violence toward Armenians in Azerbaijan and in
other countries by Azerbaijanis, as well as hindering Armenian
officers participation in NATO exercises and expulsion from
Azerbaijan Bulgarian sport commentator of the Armenian descent Eduard
Papazyan. The Armenian Parliament confirming readiness of its
delegates to work in international structures and holding a positive
stance around leaving for Baku, at the same time he expressed its
concern around providing of security of the delegates on Azerbaijani
territory and expects that relevant security guarantees will be
provide to them on Rose-Roth seminar.
Armenian parliamentarians represented by two delegates – head of
associated of Armenian delegation to NATO PA Mher Shahgeldyan and
member of delegation Alexan KArapetyan will participate on the 58th
NATO Rose-Roth seminar in Baku scheduled on Nov 25-27, 2004. T.M.
-0–
*********************************************************************
EUROPE COULD BE MORE INSISTENT IN ISSUES OF SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICT ON
SOUTH CAUCASUS
YEREVAN, November 22. /ARKA/. Europe could be more insistent in
issues of settlement of conflict on the South Caucasus, as Armenian
President Robert Kocharian said, making his speech on Berlin European
Forum. He stressed that the history of forming of the EU shows the
privileges of the regional cooperation that is the way to prosperity
and also an instrument of stability. “Based on its experience Europe
could be more insistent in the issues of the settlement of the
conflicts on the South Caucasus thru incentive to the cooperation”,
he said.
President stressed that one of the main obstacles for the settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is absence of eh regional
cooperation. He mentioned that Armenia believes in the settlement of
the conflicts thru regional cooperation, while Azerbaijan refrains
from the possible cooperation prior to the settlement of the
conflict. Among other obstacles on the way of cooperation of the EU
with the South Caucasus states he named the blockade of Armenia by
Turkey. “We think that it is not normal when the state launching the
negotiations on accession to the EU blockades the participants of the
European Neighborhood policy”, he said, adding that the EU actually
was formed due to pragmatism of its founders. “Everything began not
from parliamentary assemblies and ministerial councils, but
understanding of the common interests and compatibility of the value
systems. We would like to see something similar in the EU’s policy
toward the New Neighborhood participant countries”, Kocharian stated.
T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
SPECIAL ANTI-EMERGENCY SERVICE TO BE LAUNCHED IN YEREVAN SOON
YEREVAN, November 22. /ARKA/. A special anti-emergency service will
be launched in Armenia soon, as the Vice Mayor of Yerevan Vano
Vardanyan said. In his words, it will correspond to the US “911”.
“This program will be in accordance to the international standards.
The service employees will collect the signals received by “1-02″
service and the Emergency Management Department of Armenia”, the
official stressed. According to Vardanyan, similar cooperation of the
Department and the Municipality will allow to react operatively and
efficiently to the signals received from the capital residents. T.M.
-0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN SHOULD COME OUT WITH CONSTRUCTIVE
RECOMMENDATIONS ON KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT, PACE INSISTS
YEREVAN, November 22. /ARKA/. Armenia and Azerbaijan should come out
with constructive recommendations on Karabakh conflict settlement, as
states the published PACE report. According to the document, the
suggestions should be presented through the OSCE Minsk Group.
“Otherwise, the sides should consider the possibility of applying to
the International Justice Court attached to the UN” states the
report. Meanwhile, according to the report, the Council of Europe
should offer experts to Armenia and Azerbaijan, which would assist in
making up of the draft political status of NKR. PACE also expressed
concern regarding the fact that monoethnic territories are being
created in Armenia and Azerbaijan, “which looks a lot like ethnic
clean-ups”.
This report will be discussed at the regular plenary PACE session on
January 24-28, 2005. L.V.-0–
*********************************************************************
18 Assyrians Still Being Held Without Charges in Syria
AINA, CA (Assyrian Int’l News Agency)
Nov 22 2004
Hasaka, Syria (AINA) — Syrian authorities continue to hold eighteen
Assyrians, one Armenian and one Kurd, who demonstrated against the
murder of two Assyrians in Hasaka, Syria on October 31 (story). No
charges have been filed against the detainees and no date has been
set for their release.
Background
A personal conflict between an Arab Muslim from the al-Radhi family
and an Assyrian Christian from the Abraham family culminated in the
murder of an Assyrian man on October 16. The Arab member of the
Al-Radhi family enlisted the aid of members of his family and klan,
including an officer in the Syrian Army, Mudhar al-Radhi, to attack
and kill Naseem Abraham, a 35 year old married Assyrian man. The Arab
attackers mutilated Naseem’s body, dragged his body in the street,
and insulted the Christians in that quarter of the city.
When Naseem’s friend Yalda Yacoub, aged 25, rushed to attend to his
friend, he was prevented from do so, attacked and shot. He was
transferred to the hospital in Damascus. Yalda Yacoub died on the
same day at the hospital.
The following is a list of the names of the detainees.
Name City Court Detained
Jurisdiction Since
Mazen Ibrahim Haido Hassake Juvenile 10/31/2004
Danny Edwar Kako Tel-Jazire Juvenile 10/31/2004
John Tima Ismail Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Tony Shlimon Youkhanna Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Akram Warda Youkhanna Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Samir Khoushaba Iwas Hassake Military Court 10/31/2004
Joseph Mallek Ismail Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Khoushaba Yousif Benyamen Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Fouad Boulos Youkhanna Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Rami Sadeq Ismail Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Johnny Younadam Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Farid Boulos Youkhanna Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Esam Shawkat Hermiz Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Yousif Gabriel Chamoun Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Ashur Gevargis Mameh Tel-Sakra Military Court 10/31/2004
Nineb Birour Abraham Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Samir Ibrahim Yakhannis Tel-Sakra Military Court 10/31/2004
Sarkis Agop Shahinian(Armenian) Hassake Juvenile 10/31/2004
Yousif Abdul-Ahad 11/13/2004
Wasim Khider Mardini(Kurd)Hassake Juvenile 10/31/2004
PRESS OFFICE
Armenian Holy Apostolic Church Canadian Diocese
Contact; Deacon Hagop Arslanian, Assistant to the Primate
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont Quebec H2V 3H2
Tel; 514-276-9479, Fax; 514-276-9960
Email; [email protected]
Website;
November 19, 2004
ORDINATION OF “TBIR” ACOLYTES IN ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR CATHEDRAL IN MONTREAL
Last Sunday, November 14th, 2004, faithful Churchgoers were witness to the
solemn and joyous celebration of the ordination of the “tbir”s in Montreal’s
Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Cathedral, in the presence of and under
the auspices of His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of the Canadian
Diocese as well as on the testimonial of the Church’s Pastor, Father Vazgen
Boyajyan.
The participants in this ordination entered the Church, led by His Eminence
Bishop Bargat Galstanian, accompanied by the melodious “Oorakh Ler Soorp
Yegeghetsi” hymn.
On this occasion, Bishop Galstanian directed his blessings to the
newly-ordained “tbir”s and prayed for God to bestow upon them His heavenly graces of
understanding and humble servitude, so that they may faithfully serve and perform
their duties to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Canadian Armenian
Church community, to the glory of the Holy Trinity.
During this humbling ceremony, the newly-ordained “tbir”s were bestowed both
the order of Psalmist and Sweeper, considered the first step in the liturgical
orders and ranks of the Armenian Church, as well as the four Minor Orders in
the Armenian Church. Combined, these four Minor Orders are usually referred to
as that of “tbir”.
By acceding to the rank of Psalmist and Sweeper, the candidate is received by
the Church and blessed by the Bishop, allowing him (or her) to participate in
the liturgical services of the Church as reader and cantor of the psalms and
granting the candidate the authority to maintain the Church building, its
sanctuary, court and entrance. At the beginning of this service, the Bishop cuts
four locks in the form of a cross from the hair of the candidate as a sign of
initiation.
Following this are the four Minor Orders of the Church. These prepare the
candidate for the rank of Deacon which is the first Major Order in the Armenian
Church. The first of the four Minor Orders is Doorkeeper where the candidate
receives the authority to protect everything kept under lock and key in the
Church, including the building itself. The candidate is presented with a key by
the Bishop, as a sign of this authority and honor. The second is Reader where
the candidate receives the authority to read the Holy Scriptures during Church
services. The candidate receives a Lectionary, a book containing the daily
readings of the Scripture, as a sign of this authority. The third order is
that of Exorcist which bestows upon the candidate the authority to lay hands on
the sick and renounce Satan with those who come to receive the sacrament of
Holy Baptism. The candidate receives a copy of Mashdots, the Book of Rituals.
The fourth and final order is that of Acolyte which grants the candidate the
authority to light the candles and lanterns in the Church and to prepare the
bread and the wine for Holy Communion. Symbolically, the candidate receives a
candlestick and a cruet, with which wine is blessed and served during Communion.
The following are the newly-ordained “tbir”s, who all received the five
orders: Talar Chichmanian, Hilda Tursucuyan, Sandra Afeyan, Emma Kasbarian, Alex
Palabikian, Phillip Palabikian, Avedis Salizyan, Jano Salizyan, Hagop Redjebian
and Ardak Khatchadourian.
A reception in the Church’s Hovsepian Hall followed the ordination ceremony,
where the newly-ordained candidates received the appropriate certificates from
His Eminence and many congratulations from their proud and loving community.
* * *
CANADIAN PRIMATE CELEBRATED DIVINE LITURGY IN ST. VARTAN CATHEDRAL AT NEW
YORK CITY
On Sunday, November 21, 2004, His Grace Bishop Galstanian, Primate of the
Armenian Church Diocese of Canada, celebrated Divine Liturgy at the St. Vartan
Cathedral in New York City.
Upon the initiative of His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanian a small group of
pilgrims accompanied their Primate at St. Vartan Cathedral. Beginning with his
election, Bishop Galstanian planned youth pilgrimages on inter-Diocesan level.
This is the inauguration towards the realization of the Primate’s project to
encourage the faithful, especially in Northern United States and Canada to move
forward and pray together, reflecting upon the challenges and difficulties
ahead.
* * *
COURTESY VISITS TO CANADIAN CHURCH LEADERS CONTINUES
On Thursday, November 18, 2004, His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian visited
the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto and met with Metropolitan Archbishop
Sotirios.
Bishop Galstanian thanked the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan, for creating the
opportunity to meet and discuss many issues concerning the role and mission of
Christian Churches in Canada. The two leaders spoke extensively about the
importance of involvement and participation in the ecumenical life, and examined
the possibilities of further cooperation regarding the views of their
respective churches on various social issues.
Bishop Bagrat Galstanian invited Archbishop Sotirios to participate in an
Ecumenical Pilgrimage to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Spiritual Centre
of Armenian Christianity. His Eminence graciously accepted the invitation to
join the Canadian Church leaders and Ecumenical representatives on a
pilgrimage, organized under the auspices of Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, to the Mother See
of Holy Etchmiadzin in August-September 2005.
* * *
THE THEOLOGICAL LECTURE IN THE HOLY TRINITY AMENIAN CHURCH
Aret Boyajian
The Christian Church Mission of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Toronto
was honored to have Reverend Peishon Vasfy from the St Mark. Orthodox Coptic
Church in Toronto who visited the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church for an
evening seminar, on Saturday Nov 6, 2004.
The title of the seminar was called “Jesus, the Son of God” and covered a
wide range of scripture passages that proved Jesus Christ’s divinity.
Reverend Vasfy began making his statement that we (Christians) are all, in a
way “theologians”, in that we all have some basic knowledge of God through the
reading of Holy Scripture, and that we should not feel lesser than those who
have a formal training in Theology. This means that church going Christians
are responsible and are encouraged to become knowledgeable relating to spiritual
matters both through Holy Scripture (Bible) and the proper Orthodox Church
structures such as clergy and literature.
He also stressed in his lecture by saying that the heresy’s that were
circulated by Arius in the life of the early Church, concerning the divinity of
Christ, is still with us today and that they have to be dealt with seriously by
Christians. This is the reason why the Church fathers of the Orthodox persuasion
were compelled to remain faithful to the true essence of Christ by the
adoption of the Nicene Creed (Havadamk) in the year 325 AD, which affirms the deity
of the “Son of God”.
These religious misconceptions that deny the divinity of Christ can easily be
countered with basic knowledge of Scripture. One of the most compelling
passage evidences that “the Son of God” is divine is found in the book of John,
verse 3:13: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from
heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” Clearly here, Jesus is
referring to himself on earth and at the same time being God in heaven.
The evening was adjourned with a question and answer period followed by
coffee and Armenian pastry for all the participants.
The Christian Church Mission of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church would like
to thank all the members who participated and the following individuals for
this successful evening. Dr Edward Rauf, who is the Chairman of St. Mark Orthodox
Fellowship, helped in the organization of the evening, Deacon Vrej Berberian,
who was our evenings host and last but not least Mrs. Surphui Evran, who
helped secure pastries for the evening.
* * *
THE SHARING OF A UNIQUE HERITAGE BONDS CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES TOGETHER
It has been the vision of Our Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanian to encourage
cooperative Sunday School activities such as multi school visit with the purpose
of bringing together children from all Sunday Schools in Southern Ontario.
Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church Sunday School in Toronto was the host for
the first visit of the school year.
As usual, the Morning Assembly at HTAAC stared with little children arriving
in their red uniforms and Bibles in hand. Mrs. Takoush Knadjian, the new Vice
principal, coordinated and guided the assembly to its scheduled events of the
day. Children sang the morning prayers, the Sunday School march and waited to
hear from the special guest speaker of the day Mrs. Georgina Sarkisian of St
Gregory the Illuminator of St Catharines Ontario. Mrs. Sarkisian is the
Director of the Department of Religious Education of the Canadian Diocese. (DRE)
Mrs. Sarkisian spoke about Remembrance Day. She asked the children if they
knew the reason for Remembrance Day and whether they knew of any Armenian
soldiers who were in the wars. The children were surprised to hear there were 22
soldiers from the Southern Ontario region who volunteered to serve our great
nation, Canada. Today, only three soldiers were living and resided in the Southern
Ontario area.
Mrs. Sarkisian asked the help of Tamar Sarkisian, a visitor from St
Catharines, to give the children red poppies to wear in Remembrance of the 22 soldiers
who were of Armenian heritage.
Following morning assembly Mrs. Sarkisian and Miss Alexia Citak, member of
the DRE from Hamilton St Mary Sunday School, toured the school visiting with the
students and teachers in their classes. The visitors found colorful artwork
and Christmas ornaments being made as an arts and crafts project. In other
classes children stood up and recited Psalms 23 in Armenian. All in all it was a
very important day for the visitors to observe first hand the activities
children participate in at HTAAC Sunday School
Later in the day, the children attended Church and took communion. On behalf
of HTAAC Sunday school we would like to thank our visitors and hope they will
return with many more children from their local Sunday schools.
The idea of cooperative School activities is an exceptional one. We hope the
next activity; the second annual Armenian Children’s Christmas on January 2,
2005, will continue to encourage children to make friends with others who share
their valuable heritage. The friends one makes as a child, last a lifetime.
* * *
MEMBERS OF CENTRAL COUNCIL DEPARTMENT OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION TELECONFERENCE
Georgina Sarkisian, Director
On November 9th, 2004 the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, Diocese of Canada
Department of Christian Education, Central council held a teleconference upon
the request of His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanian. Members participating were
from Hamilton, Mississauga/Oakville, St. Catharines and Toronto.
Highlights of this conference were the completing of Sunday School logos and
colour selection for the new uniforms. A crest for all the Sunday Schools has
been established with the individual church names and colors. The upcoming
joint events were discussed further, with participation by all the Sunday
Schools, at Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Toronto, on Sunday, January 2nd./04. The
Children’s Christmas Service and party will be held at this time.
Also discussed, were the plans to complete the launch on January 2nd. of the
upcoming art competition, under the jurisdiction of His Grace Bishop Bagrat
Galstanian, and directed by the Very Reverend Fr. Hayrig Apegha Hovhannisian.
The theme for this competition is ‘MY VISION OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN’ encompassing
the spiritual visions of events that brought about the holiest of places in
Christendom.
Pentecost celebrations will be held in St. Catharines and an end of the year
picnic in June will be hosted by Hamilton. The summer activities of Camp
Ararat with the inclusion of Teacher Training, were very enthusiastically greeted,
as the dates and permanent location were being completed. The teleconference
ended on a very positive accord.
* * *
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Japonica & Open Society Partner on Critical Thinking Initiative
PROVIDENCE, R.I. and YEREVAN, Republic of Armenia–(BUSINESS WIRE)—-
— Mission to strengthen democracy & free enterprise in emerging democracies
with world-class program —
The Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation – Armenia (“OSIAFA”) and
The Charles & Agnes Kazarian Eternal (“C.A.K.E.”) Foundation – an affiliate of
Japonica Intersectoral – announce an agreement to partner on a critical
thinking initiative to strengthen democracy and free enterprise in emerging
democracies with a world-class educational program. The project’s main goal is to
develop an academic course entitled “Critical Thinking, Research, and Writing
Skills” for introduction into Yerevan’s higher educational institutions.
The “C.A.K.E” Foundation created Japonica Intersectoral, a global
benchmarking and best-practice research firm in Yerevan, whose mission is to strengthen
democracy and free enterprise in developing countries through global
benchmarking and best practice research. Japonica Intersectoral is one of the
largest private-sector employers of professionals with graduate degrees in the
Caucasus and expects to have approximately 50 Research Associates in Yerevan over
the next three years.
S. Michael Levin, the “C.A.K.E.” Foundation’s Chief of Staff, commented,
“For Japonica Intersectoral, the development of world-class Critical Thinking,
Research, and Writing Skills within Yerevan’s higher educational institutions
is mission-critical.”
The project is complementary to Open Society’s regional initiative that is
being led by experts at the Central European University in Budapest. The
OSIAFA has supported a number of educational initiatives in Armenia including
teacher’s training in the RWTC (Reading Writing for Critical Thinking)
methodology. According to Larisa Minasyan, Executive Director of OSIAFA, “For the
success of numerous educational initiatives in higher education, the development
of students’ ability for critical analysis and writing is instrumental.”
The course will be developed by the Center for Educational Development and
Research, NGO working directly with both organizations. Potential pilot
universities include Yerevan State Institute of Economics, Yerevan State
Engineering University, Yerevan State University, American University of Armenia, and
Yerevan State Linguistic University after V. Brusov.
About OSIAFA
The Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation – Armenia, a private
operating and grant making foundation, aims to shape public policy to promote
democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. OSI
was created in 1993 by investor and philanthropist George Soros to support his
foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
About The “C.A.K.E” Foundation
The Charles & Agnes Kazarian Eternal (“C.A.K.E.”) Foundation is a
not-for-profit organization created in 1993 by Paul B. Kazarian, Founder and Managing
Director of Japonica Partners. The “C.A.K.E.” Foundation seeks to empower
Armenians living in both the Diaspora and Armenia through education, technology,
and healthcare. Its three primary initiatives are Japonica Intersectoral,
Shepherd Technologies, and Community Micro-Finance. The “C.A.K.E.” Foundation’s
initiatives are proactively managed and measured according to “New
Philanthropy Benchmarking: Wisdom for the Passionate.”
“C.A.K.E” Foundation S. Michael Levin, 401-861-6160
11/22/2004 16:24 ET