ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
01/19/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) ARF Bureau Member Hovannisian Slams Jones's MKR Statement 2) Youth Demonstration Vocalizes Concern about US Remarks on Karabagh 3) Vatican Unveils Monument of Saint Gregory the Illuminator 4) ARS Annual Christmas Party Honors Longtime Volunteer Sarkissian 1) ARF Bureau Member Hovannisian Slams Jones's MKR Statement YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Responding to the outgoing US Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones's incendiary statement about the Mountainous Karabagh Republic, Armenian National Assembly vice speaker and Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau member Vahan Hovannisian told Yerkir media on Wednesday that the American official's stated opinions were the result of Turkish and Azeri lobbying efforts. As reported by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) on Wednesday, Jones, during a January 13 video conference discussing US bilateral relations with Russia, called for increased US engagement in resolving regional conflicts in the former Soviet Union, stating: "It is in Russia's interest for these areas--for Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Mountainous Karabagh--to be stable, for corruption to end there, for the criminal secessionists who rule there to be removed. It is not appropriate for this kind of instability and criminality to exist right in the middle of Europe." Hovhannisian said that Jones's statements are both obnoxious and baseless. "Jones is an outgoing official, and had never made similar comments during her tenure as assistant secretary of state." This fact, according to Hovhannisian, indicates that high ranking American officials had not authorized her to express such statements. He added that Jones's stance does not actually reflect official US policy. "Don't forget former Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly rapporteur on Karabagh, Terry Davis, who issued a report after leaving the post. The same goes for the next rapporteur, David Atkinson," Hovhannisian said. On Wednesday, the US embassy in Yerevan issued a statement in response to situation, noting, "US policy with respect to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not changed. The United States does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent country, and its leadership is not recognized internationally or by the United States." "The United States supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds that the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiation between the parties in the Minsk Group process," continued the statement. "The United States remains actively engaged in advancing a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the Minsk Group process. We are encouraged by the continuing talks between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "Assistant Secretary Jones's comment quoted in the Moscow Times was directed at the need for the US and Russia to work together to resolve the conflicts and advance transparency and rule of law in the conflict areas. We recognize that the circumstances of each conflict are unique." 2) Youth Demonstration Vocalizes Concern about US Remarks on Karabagh YEREVAN--Representatives of several youth organizations in Armenia expressed their indignation with US Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones's recent statement referring to Mountainous Karabagh's leaders as "criminal secessionists" and calling for their removal from power. Organized by the "Baze" youth group, demonstrators gathered in front of the US embassy in Armenia on Wednesday. Participants included representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Republican, and Orinats Yerkir youth groups, as well as non-governmental organizations. The demonstration closed down Bagramyan Avenue, while police protected them by forming a chain and controlling the traffic. Carrying posters that read "Shame on Elizabeth Jones" and "No to double standards," the youth expressed their outrage at Jones's remarks on January 13 during a digital video-conference with journalists in US Embassies in Moscow, Rome, and Bratislava. Expressing the Armenian American community's shock and outrage at Assistant Secretary Jones's remarks, the ANCA, on Tuesday, also condemned her statements "as counter to the long-standing US policy of helping the parties reach a negotiated settlement." The ANCA also called on the Administration to begin repairing this damage by immediately and clearly renouncing the unfair and inaccurate remarks. 3) Vatican Unveils Monument of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (VATICAN CITY)--Pope John-Paul II, along with Armenian Church officials, attended the official inauguration of the statue of Saint Gregory the Illuminator in the Vatican on January 19. The almost 18 feet high statue was placed in the last remaining empty niche along the walls leading to St. Peter's Basilica, which house the statues of famous saints. It is situated at the site where visitors wait to climb the cupola. An almost two-foot gilt bronze Armenian Cross is situated in the right hand of the statue, and a Holy Bible in the left. Two Armenian crosses and Saint Gregory's adorn the statue's vestment. The Latin and Armenian inscription on the pedestal reads, "Saint Gregory Illuminator of Armenia 301." On his trip to Armenia to mark the 1700th anniversary of the conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity, Pope John-Paul II became inspired by a visit to Khor-Virab where Saint Gregory was confined, crouched in the dark for 13 years. Thus, at the urging of the Armenian catholic Patriarch Nerses-Bedros XIX, the Pope pledged to do his utmost to erect, in the Vatican, a statue of the Saint Illuminator of the first Christian nation. In 2001, the Vatican Launched an international design contest for a marble statue of the Founder of the Armenian Church. The winner was artist Khachik Kazandjian from Paris, who recently created a 30 feet high monument of Alfred Nobel. That statue is in the center of the city of Sevran where Nobel lived and worked. Kazandjian is also a founding member and the First President of the Society of Armenian Artists of France. 4) ARS Annual Christmas Party Honors Longtime Volunteer Sarkissian GLENDALE--The Armenian Relief Society Western Region (ARS-WR) annual Christmas party took on a special celebratory mood on January 4, not only because 350 ARS members from San Diego to the San Fernando Valley, representing three generations, gathered to celebrate, but also because one of its finest members was honored. ARS social services worker Annig Sarkissian was honored for her dedicated volunteer work throughout the years. As Santa escorted Sarkissian, who was a little shy, from her seat to the stage, ARS members were ready to speak of her efforts and present a commemorative plaque. Explaining that volunteer work lies at the heart of the ARS, ARS-WR Social Services Director Sona Zinzalian explained Sarkissian's work as incomparable. Zinzalian described her as the kind of volunteer who does not stop when her work is done, but asks if other committees need help. ARS-WR Regional Executive Chair Angela Savoian expressed the Regional Executive's appreciation of Sarkissian's presence within the office saying, "We are so happy that we have someone like you among us." In her turn, the honoree, who is in her eighties, promised to volunteer until she turns 100. Members of the ARS Central Executive (CE) and ARF Central Committee representative were among the attendees. An east coast transplant, Yeretzgin Habeshian, officiated the prayers. Speaking on behalf of the ARS-CE, Anahid Meymarian urged the membership to stay physically and mentally healthy in order to carry on the name and reputation of the ARS--an organization which will celebrate its centennial in 5 years. Savoian invited the Regional Executive members to join her for a toast, expressing her appreciation for being surrounded by like-minded board members who make the meetings an enjoyable place to discuss serious issues for the ARS. She also announced the start of a campaign to assist the tsunami victims. On January 15, the ARS-WR Regional headquarters were open to accept donations. ARS General Accountant Jassik Jarahian, party coordinator, had arranging for performances by Razmig Mansourian and Alen Aghajanian, as well as a cappuccino service, and a uniquely decorated fruit table donated by Arthur Hamedi. For a brief few hours, the ARS enjoyed the company of fellow members in a happy and carefree atmosphere, only to return to their chapters and continue working for their communities. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

Armenians Remember Azerbaijan Riot Victims
.c The Associated Press
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Hundreds of Armenians, most of them refugees
from neighboring Azerbaijan, marched in Yerevan on Wednesday in memory
of the victims of riots in that country that killed at least two dozen
ethnic Armenians 15 years ago.
Marchers placed wreaths and flowers at the foot of the Armenian
capital’s Monument to the Victims of Genocide.
After the January 1990 rioting in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku, Soviet
President Mikhail Gorbachev sent troops in to crush an uprising by
Azerbaijani nationalists, and more than 100 people were killed.
The outbreak of violence was one of several clashes linked to the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azerbaijan that is in
ethnic Armenian hands after a 1988-1994 war that killed some 30,000
people and drove 1 million others from their homes.
No settlement has been reached over Nagorno-Karabakh, and the
unresolved conflict damages both nations’ economies and raises the
threat of renewed war.
On Tuesday, the Armenian government’s ombudswoman, Larisa Alaverdian,
a Baku native, called for compensation for refugees and deportees from
Azerbaijan and restitution of the property they left behind.
01/19/05 19:22 EST

Two Las Vegas Girls Are Deported to Armenia
KLAS-tv.com (Las Vegas, Nevada)
January 18, 2005
By Atle Erlingsson, Reporter ([email protected])
Two local teenaged girls are headed for Armenia, a country completely
foreign to them. They grew up here and are completely Americanized, but
federal immigration says they’re not legal residents and must leave. The
family told Eyewitness News their heart-wrenching story.
Fourteen years ago the girls and their mother fled the former Soviet
Union seeking asylum in the United States. They were denied and ordered
to leave but ultimately slipped through the cracks and were able to
establish a new life here. They became a successful and productive
family. Now, years later the government is breaking the family bonds.
The pain is so deep. Ruben Sarkisian can only cry. His two oldest
daughters, 18-year-old Emma and 17-year-old Miriam, have been taken
away. Federal immigration officials detained the girls as they tried to
gain residency Friday at the Las Vegas office of the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services, or USCIS. They are now in Los Angeles just
hours away from being flown to Armenia.
Ruben Sarkisian said, “We never had an opportunity to say goodbye to
each other, and it’s just so difficult to describe for me.”
Sarkisian is safe to stay here. He married an American woman although
later divorced. The three younger sisters are also okay because they
were born here. But Emma and Miriam have no such protection. They are
two American teenagers forced to return to Armenia, a country completely
foreign to everything they know.
“They don’t know how to write. They don’t know how to speak. There is
nobody who will take care of them there. And I have no idea how I can
help them,” Ruben said.
The federal government says there is little the Sarkisian’s can do.
The family’s attorney, Jerry Stuchiner, is baffled the girls aren’t
being allowed to stay and become residents, especially after so many
years in the country. “These girls are not terrorists. They’re not
criminals. They’re girls,” Stuchiner said.
Immigration and customs enforcement officials declined to speak on
camera about this case. They say they’re simply following the law. The
girls were denied asylum and must be deported.
There are many complicated and tangled legal issues that are too
difficult for a 13-year-old girl, like Michelle, to understand. She just
wants her older sisters to come home. “I don’t understand. They didn’t
do anything wrong. They just wanted to be successful like you and
everybody else. They didn’t do anything. Like, why they were taken? I
don’t understand,” she stated.
Sarkisian has no way of contacting his daughters who will soon to be
thousands of miles away with nothing but the clothes on their backs. “I
feel like my family is being destroyed because we are nothing without
these girls. We are just one piece and this is how we’ll always be,”
Rueben said.
They are a family of six, physically broken apart with little hope in
sight. What’s even more painful for the family is the father, who owns a
local Tropicana Pizza restaurant, is just months, possibly weeks, away
from establishing full citizenship.
If the government waited for that, the girls would then be allowed to
stay. But once in Armenia, they will have to file all new paperwork,
which could take years.
USCIS falls under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security. It was formerly known as INS, or Immigration and
Naturalization Services.
;nav=168XVNXS

ARMENIAN MP SAYS USE OF FORCE AGAINST IRAN “UNACCEPTABLE”
Arminfo
19 Jan 05
YEREVAN
Armenia believes that any use of force against neighbouring Iran is
unacceptable and might have dangerous repercussions, the head of the
Foreign Relations Commission of the Armenian National Assembly and a
representative of the supreme body of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation – Dashnaktsutyun, Armen Rustamyan, told an Arminfo
correspondent today when commenting on the US president’s statement
about the possibility of using military force against Iran if the
latter continues developing its nuclear programme.
“Iran is Armenia’s closest neighbour and strategic partner. Not very
long ago when Armenia was facing difficult times, it was the friendly
relations with Iran that helped the republic overcome the blockade and
economic recession. And it is quite natural that any use of force
against Iran runs counter to the interests of Armenia,” Armen
Rustamyan said.
The head of the commission stressed that the military action in Iraq,
which the United States carried out without the consent of the UN
Security Council, should give Washington food for thought. He said
decisions on the use of military force against any country without the
consent of the UN Security Council threaten with dangerous and
unpredictable consequences, which was the case in Iraq.

SUCCESS OF SCULPTOR FROM ARTSAKH
Azg/arm
20 Jan 05
Recently, Robert Askarian, a sculptor from Nagorno Karabakh,
participated in the international symposium of sculpture organized in
the Brazilian city of Bruskve. He was awarded among the best 10
sculptures. It is worth mentioning that 184 sculptures arrived in this
Brazilian city from various countries of the world to participate in
the symposium.
Robert Askarian’s “The Angels’ Rendezvous” sculpture was chosen among
the other works and passed to another stage. Robert Askarian was proud
and delighted to represent Artsakh, an internationally unrecognized
country, among the other countries of the world.
In 2004, the sculpture created by Robert Askarian and dedicated to the
1000th anniversary of “The Book of Mournful Songs” by Grigor Narekatsi
was set in Kaunas, Lithuania. The sculptor was awarded NKR’s annual
award after Yeghishe Charents by the end of 2004.
The sculptor stated at the press conference that the participants and
the organizers of the symposium highly estimated the Armenian culture
and he was proud of representing his nation abroad.
We are hopeful that “The Angels’ Rendezvous” by Robert Askarian will
be given a higher prize during the conclusion of the symposium’s
results this summer in Brazil.
By Kim Gabrielian in Stepanakert

Armenia’s foreign minister signs deal for talks with Arab League
MENA news agency
19 Jan 05

Cairo, 19 Jan: Visiting Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan held
talks on Wednesday [19 January] with Egyptian International
Cooperation Minister Fayizah Abu-al-Naja and Arab League
Secretary-General Amr Musa. [Passage omitted]
The Armenian top diplomat signed earlier in the day a protocol for
consultations with the Arab League.
In exclusive statements to MENA, Oskanyan said the protocol would help
launch a new stage for cooperation between Armenia and the pan-Arab
organization.
Oskanyan said his talks with the Arab League chief were very fruitful
and would have a positive impact on Armenia’s relations with the Arab
world.
As for Iraq, he voiced hope Iraq would soon succeed in restoring
stability under an elected Iraqi government.
On the Palestinian track, Oskanyan said his country supports the
Palestinians’ right to establish a sovereign Palestinian state, living
in peace with Israel.

Sunday, January 16, 2005
**********************************
NOTES / COMMENTS
***************************
If fools outnumber the wise, they will choose a fool as a leader.
*
Some of my critics pretend to know better, but instead of sharing their wisdom, they prefer to share their venom.
*
Because three readers disagreed with me, a fourth reader writes: “If one man calls you a fool, you may not have a problem. If two men call you a fool, you may have a problem. If three men call you a fool, you might as well resign yourself to the fact that you are a damn fool.”
*
Maybe so, but it is also written: “Not everyone who identifies himself as a man is one.”
*
It is also written: “You cannot contradict the braying of an ass. Neither can you contradict the braying of three, or, for that matter, four asses.”
*
Let it be said, if this is not written, it shall be.
*
I knew we were in deep trouble on the day one of our elder statesmen wrote me a letter saying he could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was spelling my name wrong.
*
“May you go to hell!” might as well be synonymous with “May you spend the rest of your life working for an Armenian.” I know what I am saying; I have been in both places.
*
A tolerant atheist is closer to god than an intolerant Christian.
*
I wish someone had warned me that in the first thousand days of every important undertaking, you will make a thousand mistakes; and the worst mistake you can make is to assume that in the second thousand years, you will make only 999 mistakes.
#
Monday, January 17, 2005
***********************************
In the December 16, 2004 issue of LE POINT, a Paris-based French-language illustrated weekly, there are a number of articles, commentaries and a long interview about Turkey in which Armenians are inevitably mentioned and discussed.
*
“There is a Christian – a Bulgarian or an Armenian – in the family tree of every Turk [alive today],” states Levent Yilmaz, identified as a young Turkish intellectual.
*
To the question, “Why is it that there is a law that prohibits all mention of the Armenian genocide of 1915-1916?” Yilmaz replies: “No, that is not true. The law does not mention this or any other event specifically. It speaks only of blasphemy against the integrity and unity of the Republic – a judge is free to interpret the law in many ways.”
*
To the question whether or not Turkey is in denial of the Armenian genocide, Yilmas is willing to admit that the Armenian genocide is the last great national taboo, and it must be openly discussed, which is being done by a number of Turkish historians, among them Taner Akcam and Tayyip Erdogan. He goes on to say that Vahakn Dadrian’s book was published recently without cuts. The debate, he adds, is whether or not the word genocide, “which was coined in 1948 in reference to the Jewish genocide,” can be applied to the Armenian experience.
*
In the concluding remarks of the editorial on page 3 by Claude Imbert, we read: “Turkey’s ambition is to be part of the West, but its interests lie in the East with the Turkish-speaking peoples of the Caucasus and by the Caspian Sea. Turkey also comes with a heavy freight of controversies (Cyprus, Armenia, Kurdistan)….”
*
A subtitle in an essay titled “Europe: The Battle of Turkey,” reads: “The Non-Recognition of the Armenian Genocide: Is It an Obstacle to
Its Membership?” It goes on to say that it will be a point of contention during the next ten years of negotiations.
*
Far from being “forgotten,” it looks like our genocide is very much alive and kicking.
*
Elsewhere, in the same issue, and on the occasion of the sale of one of his paintings at Christie’s in London, Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817-1900) is identified as a Russian. It seems, an anonymous buyer paid 2.1 million euros for it – “a record so far for a 19th-century Russian painting.”
#
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
***********************************
The internet is a useful medium in so far as it allows hoodlums and cowards to expose themselves.
*
There should be an unspoken law that says, if you are going to attack or insult someone on the internet, you should identify yourself, because to do so anonymously is a sure symptom of cowardice.
*
We are insensitive to human rights issues. We don’t even like to mention free speech. After all, who among us can plead not guilty to the charge of not having violated the free speech of a fellow Armenian by means of insults masquerading as criticism?
*
And since literature is inconceivable without free speech, it follows, we are all guilty of implementing a policy of systematic extermination of our intellectual class. But perhaps what I am talking about here is not free speech but civilized conduct.
*
When was the last time any one of our academics spoke up in defense of free speech? As for our bosses, bishops, and benefactors (our axis of evil): what can I say about them that has not already been said by Raffi, Baronian, Odian, Voskanian, Shahnour, Massikian, and Zarian, among many others?
#
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
**************************************
When I first met an assimilated Armenian in Italy, I remember, he looked down at me as an odd curiosity, and I looked at him as a brazen renegade. I was wrong and he may have been right. Because, as a teenager, I might as well have been a walking encyclopedia of chauvinist clichés and a dupe who believed my elders knew better and they had done whatever was humanly possible to save and preserve the nation. I know better today.
*
In a commentary, I read the following: “The inhabitants in many of the hardest hit areas [by the tsunami] are amongst the poorest in the world. One reason they live in squalor is that the governments in their countries rule by force, keeping everything for the ruling class. Long before the tsunami hit, peasant populations had been excluded from aid programs intended to benefit them.”
My first thought: our homeland too has been hit by an invisible and slow-motion tsunami of bureaucratic corruption and incompetence. We, in the Diaspora, may be better off financially, but are we really better of morally?
*
A headline in our paper reads: “Pope wants more dialogue between Jews and Catholics.” I can’t help wondering what were they doing during the last 2000 years? – except perhaps calling one another blasphemers. And what will they call one another after 2000 years of dialogue? Brothers? Maybe. But perhaps the real question should be: Will they ever stop thinking of one another as blasphemers? Can they, without sacrificing a central tenet of their faith?
#

Armenian TV fined for rebroadcasting French TV programmes
Arminfo
18 Jan 05
YEREVAN
A fine to the tune of 200 minimum salaries has been imposed on
Hayrenik TV under the decision of the National TV and Radio Commission
for violating Article 10 of the law on TV and radio.
The TV company has been rebroadcasting programmes of France’s Mezzo TV
since December last year without an appropriate agreement with the
French TV channel, the chairman of the commission, Grigoriy Amalyan,
has told journalists. In addition, the management of the TV channel
failed to duly inform the national commission about rebroadcasting
French TV, as stipulated by law.
Another grave violation of the national laws was that the channel
illegally showed several movies.
[Passage omitted: minor details]

Over 3,000 foreigners visited Karabakh in 2004 – Armenian web site
Yerkir web site
18 Jan 05
YEREVAN
A total of 3,172 foreign nationals – 203 from the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) and 2,969 from other countries of the world –
visited the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic in 2004, Armenpress reported
quoting the republic’s Foreign Ministry.
This figure does not include the foreigners who travelled to Karabakh
as members of foreign diplomatic delegations and missions, Yura
Zakaryan of the ministry said.
He added that 70 per cent of the visitors were tourists, and the other
30 had business goals. The vast majority of the visitors were members
of the Armenian diaspora.

QUISLING’S CASTLE BECOMES CENTER FOR HOLOCAUST
Armenian Genocide to Be Represented There As well
Azg/arm
19 Jan 05
The Deutsche Press Agentur news agency informed from Oslo, Norway,
that the castle of Vidkun Quisling, former nazi ruler Norway, is
rebuilt into the Center for Holocaust Studies. The castle is situated
on the Bigdoy Island, in the west from Oslo. After long-lasting
construction works, 25 historians and other scientists will move to
the castle which has an area of 3 thousand square meters. In 1933-45,
the former minister and the head of the former Norwegian nazi occupant
government cooperated with Hitler. At present, only the study of
Quisling and the jewelry parlor of her wife are left untouched in the
castle and can remind of the former owners and the dwellers of the
building. 735 Norwegian Jews were killed in the times of Holocaust in
total and only 50 survived. According to the January 8 issue of The
Armenian Mirror Spectator, that cites other newspapers, Quisling was
arrested on May 9, 1945. He established Nacional Samling, Norwegian
party of Nazi in 1933. His name became the synonym for the term
“traitor.” He was executed on October 24, 1945.
It is envisaged that a permanent exhibition dedicated to the Holocaust
will open in the castle in September, 2006. Photos and documents of
the Herero genocide (South-Western Africa, 1905), the Armenian
genocide in Turkey (1915), the Cambodian genocide (1975), the genocide
in Rwanda (1994), the Balkan genocide (1995) will be exhibited at the
center, as well.
“Perhaps, we will also include historical documents concerning the
events in Darfur (Sudan) in the exhibition, too,” stated Odd-Bjorn
Furen, 62-year-old historian, stated. The representatives of the Oslo
Jewish community make the half of the center’s administration.
The idea of making the castle a center for genocide studies belongs to
retired general Bjorn Egg, former prisoner of the Sachsenhausen
concentration camp.
“We are not going to appeal to the feelings. We will emphasize
reasonable thinking and serious studies, to avert such tragedies in
future,” the head of the center said.
By Hakob Tsulikian