la version francaise suit l’anglais:
ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF CANADA
3401 Olivar-Asselin

Montréal, Québec

H4J 1L5

Tél. (514) 334-1299 Fax (514) 334-6853

——————————————————————————–

PRESS RELEASE
15 October 2004

Contacts: Shant Karabajak 514-334-1299

Roupen Kouyoumdjian 514-336-7095

Aris Babikian 416-497-8972

For immediate release:

ARMENIANS CONCERNED OVER AZERBAIJAN’S CONTINUING WAR RHETORIC

The Armenian National Committee of Canada as well as other Canadian Armenian
organizations have voiced their concern over the ever increasing war rhetoric
uttered by the leaders of Azerbaijan.

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has repeatedly declared that
Azerbaijan could launch a new war in Karabagh. Just two months ago, he stated,
“At any moment we must be able to liberate our territories by military means.
To achieve this we have everything.” Aliyev has directly linked Azerbaijan’s
economic progress to its military “superiority”. “Under these circumstances we
cannot react positively to those calling us to compromise,” Aliyev stated.

Last year, as reported by BBC Monitoring, Azerbaijani Defense Minister General
Safar Abiyev said that occasional violations of the cease-fire were “natural”
since “Azerbaijan is still at war”. Such statements not only undermine the
peace process, but also serve to encourage attacks against Armenia.

On September 11, 2004, while meeting with the population of the town of Barda,
regarding budget increases in defense spending Aliyev stated: “It will
strengthen our Armed Forces and will make the army one of the guarantors of
settling the Karabakh conflict”. “The people of Azerbaijan must be prepared to
liberate its occupied lands by force.” he added.

Dr. Girair Basmadjian, president of the Armenian National Committee of Canada
was quoted as saying: “It deeply worries me that such rhetoric may result in
the resumption of military activity in the region. I would really like to see
the International Community in general and the Canadian government in
particular publicly denounce such warmongering and prevent resumption of
hostilities.”

-30-

Comité National Arménien du Canada

3401 Olivar-Asselin

Montréal, Québec

H4J 1L5

Tél. (514) 334-1299 Fax (514) 334-6853

——————————————————————————–

Communiqué de Presse

15 Octobre, 2004

Contacts: Shant Karabajak 514-334-1299

Roupen Kouyoumdjian 514-336-7095

Aris Babikian 416-497-8972

Pour diffusion immédiate:

Les Arméniens sont inquiétés par la rhétorique de guerre invoquée par
l’Azerbaidjan

Le Comité National Arménien du Canada ainsi que plusieurs autres organizations
arméniennes sont inquiets de la rhétorique guerrière invoquée de plus en plus
par les dirigeants de l’Azerbaidjan.

Le Président de l’Azerbaidjan, Ilham Aliyev, a declaré à plusieurs reprises la
possibilité que la guerre au Karabagh reprenne. Il y a deux mois, il annonca;
“à tout moment nous devons être capable de liberer nos territoires par biais de
l’action militaire. Pour réussir nous avons tous ce qu’il nous faut.” Aliyev
continua en affirmant que “sous les présentes circonstances, nous ne pouvons
réagir de façon positive à ceux qui nous demandent de faire des compromis.”

L’année passée, tel que rapporté par BBC Monitoring, le Ministre de la Défense
de l’Azerbaidjan, Général Safar Abiyev, a dit que les violations du
cessez-le-feu occasionnelles sont “naturelles, puisque l’Azerbaidjan est
toujours en état de guerre.” De telles affirmations ne peuvent que nuire au
processus de paix et qu’encourager de l’action militaire contre l’Arménie.

Le 11 septembre, 2004, lors d’un entretien avec la population du village de
Barda, citant une augmentation dans les dépenses militaires, Aliyev affirma:
“Cela renforcera nos Forces Armées et leur fera l’une des assureurs de la
résolution du conflit du Haut Karabagh”. “Le peuple azeri doit être prêt à
liberer ses territoires par la force” ajouta-t-il.

Le Dr. Girair Basmadjian, Président du Comité National Arménien du Canada a
dit; “Ca m’inquiète énormemment d’entendre de tels propos qui peuvent
éventuellement mener à la résomption du conflit armé dans la région. Je
voudrais voir la Communauté Internationale en général et le Gouvernement
Canadien en particulier condamner publiquement les déclarations militaristes du
Président azeri et d’empêcher la reprise des hostilités.”

-30-

Armenian Station Abruptly Suspends New RFE/RL Television Show

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036
tel: 202-457-6900 * fax: 202-457-6992

CONTACT: Donald Jensen +1-202-457-6948

PRESS RELEASE

(Prague/Washington–October 15, 2004) A new television program created
by and featuring news and analysis from RFE/RL’s Armenian Service,
was abruptly pulled from the schedule of the local Armenian television
station “Kentron” on October 13, according to service director Hrair
Tamrazian. Although the television station’s management has made no
comment on the decision, it is widely suspected that Kentron was
pressured to suspend further broadcasts of the program, either by
official interests or local media competitors.

The television show, a 30-minute long analytical program called
“Azatutiun” (Liberty), debuted to rave reviews on Kentron Sunday,
October 10 and was rebroadcast by Kentron the next day, October
11. Two days later, Tamrazian was informed by Kentron director Petros
Ghazarian that the show would be “indefinitely suspended.” Kentron
has not commented on the reasons behind his station’s decision.

Tamrazian said, “I am very disappointed that, after tireless efforts
by RFE/RL and Kentron that resulted in a very successful TV show, it
was suspended for as yet unknown reasons. I call on the authorities
to investigate this matter and hope that Kentron and RFE/RL will
continue in a joint project that was eagerly awaited by many viewers
and listeners in Armenia.”

Many viewers called the Armenian Service after the show, to express
their appreciation for the program. Viewers said that the program
was a “breakthrough” for Armenian television, because of RFE/RL’s
objectivity, as well as for featuring a new format with two moderators
(male and female) and the show’s ability to “connect” with its
audience. The first show featured an exclusive report from Strasbourg
on recent debate about Armenia in the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE), as well as exclusive interviews about
Armenian-Turkish relations with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian and new U.S. Ambassador John M. Evans.

Viewer enthusiasm, however, was tempered with suspicion that the
show may not remain on the air for long. Said one caller, a teacher:
“My neighbors and I would only love to watch Radio Liberty programs on
TV. But will the authorities agree to that? They kicked out A1+. Will
they let you go on TV?”

The suspension of the “Azatutiun” program was widely covered in
the Armenian press on October 14. According to the daily newspaper
“Haykakan Zhamanak,” “Last Sunday Kentron viewers watched the televised
version of Radio Liberty, but their joy did not last long because
Kentron management decided to limit liberty on its air.”

“Aravot” daily reported on its front page that “Azatutiun” had been
“closed.” The paper went on to allege that the head of Armenian state
television and radio, Aleksan Harutiunian, was instrumental in the ban
because he wanted RFE/RL to lease airtime from his channel and pay for
that. But, “Aravot” writes, it also did not rule out political motives
behind the move, noting that it could be that “the authorities still
do not tolerate any uncontrolled programs on the air.” Harutiunian,
in an interview published in today’s edition of “Aravot,” denied any
involvement in the suspension of “Azatutiun”.

RFE/RL’s Armenian Service broadcasts four hours of programming a
day to Armenia, produced in Prague and the service’s Yerevan Bureau
and transmitted to listeners via shortwave, satellite and FM, AM,
Cable Radio, UKV and longwave signals provided by local affiliate
stations. Azerbaijani Service programming is also available via
the Internet, at the service’s website and
at

# # #

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a private, international
communications service to Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central and
Southwestern Asia funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting
Board of Governors.

York Daily Record, PA
Oct 15 2004

SOUND PLUS VISION EQUALS INTRIGUING EXHIBIT AT YORKARTS
Friday, October 15, 2004

Most people walk past their television sets and don’t give them much
thought. But it’s almost impossible to ignore the strange boob tube
currently on display at YorkArts.

When visitors pass by the TV, a sensor is tripped that causes a nearby
telephone to ring. The voice on the phone then recites passages from
a self-help book.

“It’s kind of the idea that sometimes people turn to the television
for advice,” said Justin Ayala, YorkArts’ program specialist. “And
sometimes it’s not the most sound advice that comes from the
television.”

“Idiot Box,” a piece by Matt Glick of West Chester, is one of several
featured in the audio-visual exhibit “Eye & Ear.” The show features
the work of 13 artists from around the country and continues at
YorkArts, 10 N. Beaver St., York, through Nov. 29.

Other pieces in the exhibit:

– “Ron & Duncan”: Scott Kaplan’s piece features a large shipping crate
with a circle cut out in the bottom. Visitors sit in a chair under
the box, and when they put their head inside the upholstered hole,
a story is told about a group of friends that go on a trip. One
of the friends gets lost and turns up dead. “It elicits a lot of
questions,” Ayala said. “It gets you walking away from it thinking,
‘Is this a real story?'”

– “88”: Eighty-eight piano keys are bound together by a piece of hemp
rope, forming a circular sculpture. Ayala said some pieces in “Eye &
Ear,” like this item by Jerry King Musser, imply a sound rather than
featuring actual sound.

– “Bread Series & Immigration”: The piece by Armenia native Apo
Torosyan features four paintings that have pieces of toast embedded
inside of them. Six-hundred pounds of earth has been dumped in front
of the paintings.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but the gallery
usually stays open until about 5 p.m.

Chinese foreign minister to attend CICA FMs’ meeting in Almaty

Xinhua, China
Oct 15 2004

2004-10-15 22:31:51

BEIJING, Oct. 15 (Xinhuanet) — Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
will pay an official visit to Armenia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan and
attend the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Conference on Interaction
and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia(CICA) to be held from October
18 to 24 in Almaty.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue made the announcementshere
Friday, saying that Li will make this tour at the invitation of Kazakh
State Secretary-Minister of Foreign Affairs KasymzhomartKemelevich
Tokayev, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanyan,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs ofTurkmenistan
Rashid Meredov, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar
Mammadyarov.

CICA, a forum aimed at increasing security in Asia, was first
proposed by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the 47th
UN general assembly in 1992 and its 16 members include China,
Russia,Egypt, Afghanistan, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, India and
Palestine. Enditem

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS OFFICE

Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

October 15, 2004
___________________

SUNDAY SCHOOL PROFESSIONALS FROM SISTER CHRUCHES SHARE IDEAS

On Saturday October 9, 2004, Christian educators from all five Oriental
Orthodox churches gathered for a meeting at the Eastern Diocesan Center
in New York City.

The meeting had several goals. One was to learn about each tradition
and produce resources to teach Sunday School teachers about our sister
churches. The educators also worked on ways they could support one
another’s education efforts by drawing on successes, exploring similar
challenges, and working together on joint projects.

Another goal of the day-long meeting was to create an Oriental Orthodox
identity and presence in Sunday Schools, by cultivating relationships
between parishes and educators.

“This is so remarkable,” said Fr. Anthony Deluca, a representative of
the Malankara Church. “I don’t think the Oriental Orthodox churches
have ever been together in one room for this specific purpose before.”

The meeting was organized by the Standing Committee of Oriental Orthodox
Educators, and the participants will continue to define precise
objectives and plans each church can implement. They decided their
first task would be to create an information booklet outlining the
history, traditions, and demographics of each of the Oriental Orthodox
churches — Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Malankara, and Syrian.

The group will also plan a larger pan-Oriental Orthodox Sunday School
event for next year.

Representing the Armenian Church was Elise Antreassian, Diocesan
Christian education coordinator. She was joined in the meeting by Rev.
Dr. Anthony Deluca and James John both of the Malankara Church, Linda
Khoury of the Syrian Church, Hany Saleeb of the Coptic Church, and Dn.
Sayefa Selassie of the Ethiopian Church.

— 10/15/04

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News
and Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Christian educators from the five Oriental Orthodox
churches gather at the Diocesan Center in New York City for a historic
gathering focused on combining efforts to educate our faithful.

# # #

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES DELEGATION OF EURASIA FOUNDATION
[October 15, 2004, 19:41:12]

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Oct 15 2004

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on 15 October at
the President Palace has received delegation of the Washington-based
Eurasia Foundation.

Greeting the guests, Head of the Azerbaijan State spoke of the
accomplishments reached last years in political, economic, social
and other fields in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s links with the international organizations, funds
and non-governmental organizations develop day by day, President
Ilham Aliyev noted. “From this standpoint, the visit of the Eurasia
Foundation’s delegation to Azerbaijan serves expansion of these
relations.”

Dwelling on the relations between Azerbaijan and the United States,
the President stressed intensive development of bilateral ties in
numerous fields.

The President of Azerbaijan also informed on dynamic economic
development of the Country, underlining that growth of GDP, volume
of investments and budget revenues is a good example of consecutive
realization of the economic reforms in Azerbaijan.

Touching upon Armenia’s aggression against the country, Head of the
Azerbaijan State said that the Armenian armed forces have occupied 20
percent of Azerbaijan’s lands, over one million people have become
refugees and IDPs in their homelands. He expressed hope that the
United States as one of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair would increase
its efforts for peace settlement of this conflict.

President Ilham Aliyev wished the visit of the delegation of Eurasia
Foundation to Azerbaijan to be successful.

Expressing his gratitude for sincere reception and kind words, the
Eurasia Fundation chair Mrs. Sarah Carey presented the authoritative
executives and politicians to the Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev,
told of success of their visit to Azerbaijan. She said the Foundation
promotes development of private section of economy, including
small and medium business, civil society and public management. The
Foundation is functioning in Azerbaijan since 1996, and currently
has 12 representations in the CIS space. The Foundation, mainly,
is financed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID)
and gives grants to many organizations in Azerbaijan as well.

Mrs. Sarah Carey gave high assessment to activity of the Foundation’s
representation in Azerbaijan and expressed satisfaction with assistance
of Azerbaijan Government to the Foundation’s activities.

Head of the foreign relations department of President Administration
Novruz Mammadov, US assistant ambassador in Azerbaijan Jason Highland
took part at the reception.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan: World Food Program Slashes Food Rations To Refugees Due To Funding Woes
By Jean-Christophe Peuch

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Oct 15 2004

The United Nations World Food Program says it has been forced to cut
its aid to displaced Azerbaijanis due to scarce funding. The agency’s
decision is likely to make life much harder for the tens of thousands
of civilians in the country who depend heavily on such foreign aid.
But the WFP’s assistance to displaced persons in the country is just
one aspect of the problem. Thousands of others — refugees from recent
wars in the Caucasus and elsewhere — are also living in Azerbaijan,
and in even worse conditions.

Prague, 15 October 2004 (RFE/RL) — The United Nations World Food
Program (WFP) has decided to reduce food rations for tens of thousands
of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Azerbaijan.

The agency says it is still looking for almost half of the money it
needs to finance a three-year operation that started in January 2003.

Donations collected so far from the United States, Japan, Luxembourg,
Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland amount to
only $11 million.

Rahman Chowdhury, who is the WFP’s country director in Azerbaijan, told
RFE/RL that both financial constraints and a shortage of food supplies
are responsible for the decision to cut assistance to Azerbaijan’s
IDPs. “We have not received enough food during the last couple of
months, and our in-country stocks of food commodities are such that
we cannot provide rations to all the IDPs that we are assisting now,”
he said. “So we decided that we would halve the rations of wheat flour
and that rations for other commodities — such as sugar and oil —
would remain as [they are].”

WFP food rations will be decreased to only 3 kilograms per person
per month.

There has been no official reaction from Baku. In private, however,
government officials lament the WFP’s decision, saying the UN program
should continue running in full until all IDPs are able to return home.

Azerbaijan witnessed the largest forced migrations that accompanied
the breakup of the Soviet Union.

First came thousands of Azeri refugees from Armenia, as tensions
between Yerevan and Baku flared up in the late 1980s. Later, after
Armenian separatists took control of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh
enclave, tens of thousands of Azeris were forced to move into areas
controlled by Baku.

Joined by tens of thousands more Azeris, Kurds, and others, they
were later forced farther into exile as Armenian troops pushed east,
progressively occupying Azerbaijani territories bordering Karabakh.

As the Russian Army gradually broadened its operations to reassert
Moscow’s control over Chechnya, thousands more civilians fled the
breakaway republic through Daghestan and sought refuge in Azerbaijan.

Baku-based nongovernmental organizations believe the Karabakh war has
driven an estimated 800,000 people into exile — roughly one-10th of
Azerbaijan’s current population. In addition, they say some 70,000
refugees from Chechnya, Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq
have found shelter in the country in recent years.

The Karabakh conflict was suspended in 1994. Yet Azerbaijan’s IDPs
cannot return to Armenian-occupied territories and have been living in
the same wretched conditions for the past 10 years. The $10 monthly
stipend they receive from the government does little to improve
their situation.

In the makeshift camps that surround the central towns of Saatli
and Sabirabad, families are crammed into one-room, mud-brick huts.
Elsewhere, people live in abandoned railway wagons and dugouts. About
one-third of children of IDPs reportedly suffer from malnutrition.

Chowdhury said the WFP’s decision to halve food rations may have
serious implications. “The consequences are quite tough because
the winter is coming and that will aggravate their hardships in
the coming months,” he said. “We are aware of this, but because we
don’t have enough food commodities and because we didn’t get enough
contributions from our donor countries in the last three months,
we had to resort to this [measure].”

The UN food agency is only assisting 145,000 IDPs it considers most
in need, and is not dealing with Azerbaijan’s refugees.

Vusal Rajabli is president of Hayat (Life), a Baku-based NGO that
provides humanitarian aid to refugees and IDPs across Azerbaijan. He
said refugees are much more vulnerable than IDPs because, unlike the
latter, they depend almost exclusively on foreign aid.

“Unfortunately, the assistance the government offers refugees is
scarce — I would even say it is extremely small. It covers only 5
to 10 percent of their needs. The government says it has just enough
resources to take care of its internal refugees. Therefore, all
the government can afford goes to IDPs. This makes the situation of
refugees much, much worse. Refugees are taken care of by the Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and our organization in
partnership. The UNHCR offers them financial support, giving each
family that meets its criteria between $60 and $80 per month. But
[those families] represent only 30 percent of all refugees,”
Rajabli said.

Most refugees live in appalling conditions, squatting in deserted
buildings or — for those who get financial help from the UNHCR —
spending their meager subsidies on rooms or small apartments that
have neither heat nor running water.

To add to their hardship, Rajabli said most immigrants live in
administrative limbo and are scarcely protected by the temporary
refugee status offered by the UNHCR. “Most refugees live how they can
and where they can because the government does not help them find a
roof,” he said. “It must be said in its defense, though, that there
is not a single free public building, not a single free dormitory
left because the IDPs have occupied all of them. Yet the government
does not allocate any funds to build temporary refugee camps.”

Another problem facing refugees who arrived after the breakup of the
Soviet Union is the reluctance of Azerbaijani officials to consider
their applications for citizenship. “I haven’t heard of many cases
when those refugees managed to obtain citizenship,” Rajabli said. “I
would say they are 10 or 15 at most. But even these estimates are
questionable.”

Russia adds Armenia, Syria to North-South project

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 15 2004

Armenia and Syria have joined the North-South transport corridor
project, Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin said in a meeting
with his Armenian counterpart in Yerevan. Russian Prime Minister
Mikhail Fradkov has already signed a relevant document, he said.
Levitin emphasized that this will allow to expand the geographic area
for cargo transportation.

However, the Russian official failed to elaborate on Armenia’s
joining the project, considering the fact this country occupies the
territories of Azerbaijan, through which the route lays, and has no
relations with the country.

The North-South transport corridor project envisions transportation
of cargo from South Asia to Europe through the Persian Gulf, Caspian
Sea ports, Russia’s water channels and railways.

The corridor will allow to alter the existing routes for transportation
of container consignments and reduce the time needed to for cargo
transit.*

Map drawn in USA outlines Azerbaijan’s true historic lands

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 15 2004

The State College of Pennsylvania, USA has drawn a new geographic
map of the South Caucasus.

The map suggests that the Sisyan, Gafan, Gorus, Mehri, Sevan and
Kalinino regions, which are Azerbaijan’s historical lands located in
the territory of present-day Armenia, belong to Azerbaijan.

Shusha and Khankandi cities in Upper Garabagh are also presented on
the map as regions of Azerbaijan.

The map indicates Armenia’s Arzni settlement as the territory of
Georgia.*

HEAD OF ARMENIAN CHURCH CONCERNED OVER REGISTRATION OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

ArmenPress
Oct 15 2004

ETCHMIADZIN, OCTOBER 15, ARMENPRESS: As reported earlier, Karekin II,
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, left today for
Moscow to join the local Armenian community as they celebrate the
75-th anniversary of the birth of His Holiness Alexey II, Patriarch
of Moscow and All Russia. During his two-day visit to Moscow, the
Catholicos of All Armenians will also offer the service of Blessing
the Foundation of the new Holy Cross Armenian Cathedral and Diocesan
Headquarters for the Armenian Diocese of New Nakhijevan and Russia.

The Church headquarters said that before departing His Holiness
reflected on the recent news that the “Jehovah’s Witnesses”
religious organization has received official registration by the
state authorities of the Republic of Armenia, expressing his concern
at the registration of yet another totalitarian cult.

His Holiness stated that attempts to justify the registration of this
destructive group are unacceptable, and regards as disingenuous and
unfair the accusations that the Armenian Church and her clergy are
weak and incomplete in their pastoral ministry.

“The Holy Armenian Apostolic Church has a mission to serve, and
notwithstanding all difficulties and challenges, will bring all of
her efforts to realizing that sacred mission in the lives of our
people”, stated His Holiness. The Pontiff of All Armenians expressed
his appreciation to all faithful sons and daughters of the Armenian
Church who have displayed concern and devotion regarding this issue.