The ‘hordes’ linger in Europe’s memory: Turkey’s EU membership
By Nicolas Cheviron

AFP
2 Oct 04

ISTANBUL: When Europe first saw the Turks nearly 1,000 years ago,
Byzantine historians believed they had met “the hordes of the
Apocalypse”; ten centuries later, Europe’s collective memory is still
marked by prejudice against this nation now knocking at the EU’s door.

To this earliest recollection of the Turks’ parentage with the
terrible Huns who ravaged Europe half a millennium earlier,
traditional European history has added the more recent memory of the
threat they posed to Christian Europe after their conversion to Islam
in the 10th century.

The arrival of the “scourge of Christianity” on Mediterranean shores
in the 11th century led to a series of wars between Christian princes
and the Seljuk Dynasty, from whose ashes the Ottomans emerged in the
early 1300s.

Modern European schoolbooks still retain bitter memories of these
conflicts, from the 1071 defeat of the Byzantines at Manzikert –
modern Malazgirt, in eastern Turkey – to the fall of Constantinople –
now Istanbul – in 1453 and the failed sieges of Vienna in 1529 and
1683. But Ottoman domination of the Balkans and the Mediterranean did
not last forever and from the late 17th century on, Europe stopped
seeing the empire as a threat and began eying it as possible prey,
particularly from the 19th century on, when it was famously called
“The Sick Man of Europe.”

As the once mighty and opulent Ottoman Empire declined and the Age of
Enlightenment spread across Europe, the image of the Turk merged with
that of Islam as a civilization impossible to modernize and despotic
by nature.

Thus, Europe tended to sneer at all attempts by the Turks to
westernize – from Selim III, strangled in the seraglio in 1808 for his
efforts, to the Young Turks movement of 1908 and Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk’s proclamation of the modern Turkish Republic in 1923 – as
cosmetic measures failing to attack the root problems of a backward
culture.

Many 20th century researchers, however, have explained that prejudices
against the Turks were not as widespread as contemporary chroniclers
would have us believe. As early as 1536, Francis I, King of France,
did not hesitate to form an alliance with the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman
the Magnificent against what he saw as a far greater enemy: the Holy
Roman Empire of the House of Habsburg.

“With the exception of some localized areas of contact… Westerners
at the start of the Modern Age never really feared the Muslim
(Turkish) threat,” wrote French historian Jean Delumeau in his book,
Fear in The West.

Until the beginning of the 16th century, Delumeau wrote, large numbers
of Christians, mostly peasants, fled to Ottoman provinces to escape
Europe’s harsh feudal system.

“Of the 48 Grand Viziers (the Ottoman equivalent of prime minister)
who ruled from 1453 to 1623,” he wrote, “at least 33 were renegades” –
Christians who converted to Islam to serve the Sultan.

Thierry Hentsch, author of the book “The Imaginary Orient”, claims
that the negative image of the Turk was simply a sort of instrument
the Europeans devised to better define their own selves.

“The West showed interest (in the Turks and their culture) without
realizing that they were really interested in themselves,” he
wrote. “They represented it to better identify themselves, they
denigrated it to reassure – or to frighten – themselves, and they
dreamed of it to escape.”

One historic problem remains, however, that casts a pall on latter-day
relations: the massacre by Ottoman troops in 1915 of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians, which much of Europe considers genocide, a
term the Turkish authorities reject. -AFP

Thursday, September 30, 2004
**********************************
BUDDHA, SOCRATES, JESUS.
THE SEMANTICS OF RELIGION,
PHILOSOPHY, AND MYSTICISM.
GOOD AND EVIL.
GOD AND THE DEVIL.
****************************************************
Abandon old habits of thought. Do not even think in terms of good and evil, or right and wrong. Forget what you were taught. Get rid of all preconceptions: that’s the only way to grasp reality. This indeed is the central message of Buddhism.
*
Now compare this with Christianity’s “Love your enemy,” – an idea so new, so strange, and so much against the grain that after two thousand years of countless sermons in countless churches it has yet to penetrate our crocodilian brain. The only way to understand it is by abandoning all definitions, because (according to the recent academic discipline of semantics) words and their definitions are at the root of all our misconceptions and prejudices.
*
Abandoning all definitions: that’s also the mantra adopted by Socrates. In his dialogues Socrates begins by stating that he knows nothing and ends by proving that his interlocutors know even less. And who are his interlocutors? Generals, statesmen, philosophers – in short, la crème de la crème of Athenian society at the peak of its Golden Age. As the dialogues unfold, Socrates makes it abundantly clear that the commonly accepted definitions of such terms as justice, goodness, beauty, and courage are full of inconsistencies and contradictions.
*
What I am trying to say here has been said before by far better men than myself, among them Aldous Huxley in his PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY, and Arnold Toynbee in the 10th volume of his STUDY OF HISTORY. The aim of all religions, schools of philosophy and mysticism is the same. It is only when religions acquire a power structure, a hierarchy and bureaucracy, rituals and mumbo jumbo that they betray the original intent of their founders and become instruments of the devil by legitimizing intolerance, fallacies, prejudice, hatred, war and massacre.
#
Friday, October 01, 2004
******************************
ON FANATICS
**********************
Fanatics are not born but made, and what makes them are fanatics in the opposite camp. Armenian fanatics exist today because Turkish fanatics existed yesterday; and Turkish fanatics will exist tomorrow because Armenian fanatics exist today. Fanaticism is an endless cycle and if allowed to prevail, the world is bound to drown in blood.
*
When fanatics fight, it is the defenseless and the innocent who die.
*
All fanatics operate on a number of false assumptions or illusions, among them: (one) they are the only answer to a very important question; (two) they are not fanatics but realistic moderates who understand the nature of the adversary; (three) they are instruments of a noble principle or even messengers of God; and (four) they are la crème de la creme (rather than la crème de la scum).
*
One reason the Bible is a perennial best seller is that there is something for everyone in it. Good men will find many passages that speak of compassion, mercy, forgiveness, tolerance, and love, and bad men will find many more lines that justify criminal conduct, including the massacre not only of enemy tribes, including their women and children, but also their cattle. Hence Shakespeare’s dictum: “Even the devil can quote the Scriptures to his advantage.”
*
One of my born-again critics – make it, crypto-commissars or frustrated executioners parading as devout Christians – writes: “There was a time when we burned blasphemers like you at the stake.”
*
If “a bourgeois is a bourgeois regardless of nationality”(Lenin), so is a fanatic. A Muslim fanatic and a Christian fanatic might as well be interchangeable, faceless units that share the same ambition: to drag the world back to the Middle Ages and to hell with such degenerate Western concepts as democracy, human rights, free speech, and the separation of church and state.
*
For every proud Armenian, there are probably ten or more proud Turks. In a battle of prides, we don’t have a chance. Which is why I prefer to identify myself as a humble human being that has no use for pride.
*
Where there is chauvinist pride, there will also be self-righteous arrogance, intolerance, hatred, fanaticism, and inevitably bloodshed.
#
Saturday, October 02, 2004
******************************
WE ARE ALL ASSASSINS
********************************
From an interview with Yan Moix, a contemporary French author: “There is only one reason that prevents us from behaving like animals: the laws of the land. Without laws we would behave like wild beasts in the jungle.” (LE POINT, September 2, 2004).
*
Where there is power, it will be abused. This might as well be one of those rare rules that have no exceptions.
*
Knowledge is power. But so is phony knowledge, which can be even more dangerous than abysmal ignorance. By phony knowledge I have in mind the kind that we ascribe to religious leaders, be they popes, ayatollahs or gurus.
*
Think of the countless heretics who were persecuted, tortured and killed by the Church on the grounds that church leaders knew God’s will or the workings of the divine mind better than their victims.
*
Closer to home: consider the ease with which we verbally abuse one another on the Internet simply because the computer gives us the power to do so.
*
I remember the title of a 1952 French film directed by Andre Cayatte, NOUS SOMMES TOUS DES ASSASSINS (We Are All Assassins) that became a widely used slogan. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that a fraction of our brain is crocodilian, (students of anatomy tell us this to be literally true), and it will seize the flimsiest excuse to take over our “human” brain.
*
If a Pope of Rome and a Stalin can behave like ruthless killers in the name of a religion of love or an ideology based on the brotherhood of all men, who among us will plead not guilty or pretend that his brain has no crocodilian fraction?
*
The Turks massacred us because they had the power to do so. Does that mean we wouldn’t have done the same to them if our positions had been reversed? To put it differently: Is the crocodilian fraction of the Turkish brain bigger than ours? Or, are all men assassins except us?
#

Armenianow.com
Oct 2, 2004

Grounded: Abovian’s “satellite town” has lost its orbit

By Arpi Harutyunyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent

The hometown of his memory hardly resembles the place where Aram Khachatryan
lives today.
”Biureghavan was the richest city of our region,” says the 67 year old
retiree. “We used to make huge production for the republic. And we used to
live in such conditions that we couldn’t complain.”
Now, there’s little to do but complain. And few are listening.
There is hardly a city, town or village in Armenia that hasn’t suffered the
destructive fallout of political, social, economic upheaval. Some 15 years
since socialism started to crumble some societies have fared better than
others. In Biureghavan, a settlement of 5,000 or 11,000 depending on who you
listen to, about 16 kilometers north of Yerevan, recovery seems as distant
as Khachataryan’s memory of a different time.

The mayor sees a different picture than his citizens.
“Our city was one of the best places in Armenia,” recalls 72 year old Asatur
Manukyan. “People had no problems. We had good jobs and we lived in good
conditions. Every man had several jobs and maintained his family very well.
People from the city even used to come here, work and again return.”
If it is now forgotten, Biureghavan was once one of Armenia’s per capita
leaders of manufacturing.
The town covered 250 hectares of residential area and an area nearly half as
big (120 hectares) in factories.
At its peak, Biureghavan was home to 27 factories and enterprises.
”Thanks to technologies created by our specialists we began producing
cut-glass from Armenian stones,” explains Giulnara Sargsyan, head of the
Department of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sport of the Biureghavan
municipality, adding that methods of stone production created in Biureghavan
were adopted by factories in the US, Italy, Greece.
Chandeliers produced in Biureghavan are hung in the Yerevan underground,
inside the Opera House and inside the Karen Demirchyan Sport Complex.
Unlike other Armenian towns, Biureghavan was not a settlement that grew on
the foundation of early settlers. Comparable to the history of cities in the
American mid-west, industry built Biureghavan.
It started out as an area of practically no vegetation about 60 years ago,
when the first labor dwellings were referred to as “mud settlements”. In
those days, it was also occupied with prisoners who had been paroled and
given houses, called “white houses”. Laborers who were working on nearby
health resorts were settled in Biureghavan and, later, refugees from
Azerbaijan.
Until about 1968 Biureghavan was not thought of as a town, but as a workmen’s
settlement – a place to live while work was carried out somewhere else. In
fact it was called “Arzni” settlement because most of its occupants were
employees of the Arzni water bottling plant.
But then came the factories. And with them, people. Hostels were constructed
and then permanent residences. And then more factories and more people,
drawn to the once “muddy settlement” to work at places such as Almakar
(stone processing) and Siunenergashin (producing electrical poles) and
Hayapaki glass factory.
In 1974, the town was given official urban status and its new name. (Named
for the largest factory which produced “Biuregh” . Literally, the name means
“Crystal Town”.)
The population exceeded 10,000, almost all with jobs, and some with more
than one. Biureghavan had four schools, four kindergartens, a music school,
sports school, a vocational-technical school, hospital, cinema, library,
arena, public parks.
But for all its growth, Biureghavan was largely considered an annex of
Abovian, the regional center.
“That’s why there is now a great difference between Abovian and
Biureghavan,” explains Sargsyan. “It seems our city was Abovian’s
satellite. We were producing and they were benefiting from it. And our
leaders were taking care of the essential social needs.”

Once industrial, now foodshops are Biureghavan’s main enterprises.
In 1994 Biureghavan was given the status of a city. It celebrates its 10th
anniversary this year. But for most residents there is little to celebrate.
For, even before it was designated a city, Biureghavan, made redundant by
the collapse of the system that created it, had started to decline.
Production stopped. Debts didn’t. The city plunged into widespread
unemployment. Personal savings held from the glory days, dwindled.
While some residents of other Armenian cities turned to agriculture and
cattle breeding for sustenance, Biureghavan – not suited for life on the
land – had nowhere to turn.
Mayor Shavarsh Sedrakyan says the city will have a modest celebration later
this year to mark its 10th anniversary.
It is a city without its own telephone code, no gas system, no 24-hour water
service, no city market, no church, no maternity home.
According to Vardan Avetisyan, head of the city health center, there is
little need for the latter.
“Last year, for instance, only 110 children were born, meaning one birth
every three-four days,” Vardanyan says. “Before, there were more than 300
children born each year.”
Biureghavan now has two schools of general education, one special school and
one kindergarten. All are in bad condition.
“They say children are our future. But today there are no conditions for
them,” says Anahit Sargsyan, head of the kindergarten. “The building of the
kindergarten has never been fully repaired: toilets are in a bad state,
there is oil-cloth on the windows instead of glass, there’s not enough
dishes, furniture and toys.”
Place of leisure are out of the question. Beginning with evening hours the
town starts dozing. There is no cinema, theatre, concert hall, park or a
cafe. Youngsters complain there’s nothing interesting in their town. “There’s
no action here. Life is dead here. That’s why youngsters spend their leisure
either in Abovian or in Yerevan. As for me, I would use the first chance to
move to Yerevan,” says Ani Gasparyan, 20.
Today, in Biureghavan, not only the youngsters, but also men who take care
of families have nothing to do. Most of them are in Russia. Many have moved
with families.
“Half of the town is empty. There isn’t such a building where four or five
doors are not constantly closed,” says 67 year old Nikolay Sargsyan,
bitterly. “People leave for good. If you count now, there can hardly be more
than 5,000 citizens.”
Nikolay gathers with other elderly to play nardi.
He moved his family from Yerevan to Biureghavan in 1969 and worked in a
factory. Now, other nardi players are his family.
“My whole family got separated. My children went to Russia. What could they
do? There was no job,” Nikolay says. “Here, there are several private
enterprises where employees are being cheated, they make them work but pay
trifling sums.”
His bitterness is not unique.
“We have no jobs. Men are playing nardi or cards, just to do something,”
says Misha Margaryan, age 65. “Many are in Russia and a significant part is
unemployed. Eighty percent of men have left here. Biureghavan has become
Armenia’s poorest town.”
While Misha’s assessment exaggerates conditions, it is certain that life in
his town is far from what it used to be.
“Today, even women with their children are collecting bottles from the
garbage and sell them to live. In winter, we cut and burn the trees that we’ve
planted with our own hands, in order to get warm, otherwise we’ll die from
cold,” continues Yurik Manucharyan, who is 64.
Mayor Sedrakyan sees a different Biureghavan. He says that 50 percent of the
population is employed and that “we’re pretty well provided for, socially”.
Only four factories – each with about 100-150 jobs – are now in operation,
according to the mayor. Those four have been privatized, but the mayor does
not know who the owners are.
According to the mayor: “At present there are 11,500 people living in
Biureghavan. The number was the same before. During some period people would
go to Russia but now there is a certain influx.”
His constituents laugh at the mayor’s assessment, and say that because he
lives well doesn’t mean they do.
Sedrakyan has made some improvements since becoming mayor in 2002. Trees
have been planted, there’s a garbage pick up service, street lights have
been installed . . .
“Our republic is going up in a rocket and we’re not falling behind,”
Sedrakyan says. “Biureghavan is in a rocket, too. I assure that in 2005 not
only the town will be well off, but all the citizens will be socially
provided. They will all have jobs.”
But for the nardi players and the teachers in crumbling schools and the
families separated by hardship the “rocket” city, once a satellite of
progress, is going nowhere.

St Nersess Armenian Seminary
150 Stratton Rd.
New Rochelle, NY 10804
914-636-2003

October 1, 2004
St Nersess Seminary
Press Release
September 24, 2004

Major Developments at 43rd Annual Meeting of the St. Nersess Board of
Directors

The Board of Directors of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary convened for their
43rd annual meeting on Saturday, September 18 at the Seminary in New
Rochelle, New York. Even the remains of Hurricane Ivan, dumping rains down
on New Rochelle, could not stifle the undeniable spirit of accomplishment
and excitement surrounding the visible growth taking place at St. Nersess.

“No one can deny that we have turned the corner,” said the dean, V. Rev. Fr.
Daniel Findikyan, during his report to the Board.

Following several years of fallow enrollment, the seminary began this
academic year with twelve students preparing for ministry in the Armenian
Church, ten of them preparing for priesthood, and two anticipating
ministries in youth ministry and education. Eleven of the seminarians are
attached to the Eastern Diocese. One student is an ordained priest from
Bulgaria, who is pursuing a special one-year program in pastoral ministry.
The Seminary also serves the Western and Canadian Dioceses.

Presiding at Saturday’s meeting were: His Eminence Abp. Khajag Barsamian,
Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church and President ex
officio of the Board; and His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Primate of the
Diocese of Canada and ex officio Vice-President. His Eminence Abp. Hovnan
Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese and the other ex officio Vice
President was unable to attend.

Also present were the elected officers of the Board: Mrs. Artemis Nazerian
(Secretary), Dr. Raffy Hovanessian (Treasurer), Rev. Karekin Kasparian
(Asst. Secretary) and Mr. Sarkis Bedevian (Asst. Treasurer).

Other members participating in the annual meeting were: Mr. Haig Dadourian
(Chairman of the Eastern Diocesan Council), Mr. Shahe Jebejian, Mr. Asbed
Zakarian, Mr. John Amboian, Ms. Elise Antreassian-Bayizian, Mrs. Barbara
Merguerian, Mr. Antranig Ouzoonian (Chairman of the Building Committee),
Rev. Fr. Karekin Kasparian, and Rev. Kevork Arakelian.

St. Nersess to Create Its Own Accredited Master’s Program

In a particularly exciting development, the Board authorized the seminary
faculty to create a new Master of Divinity program (M.Div.) and curriculum,
which would address the specific needs of Armenian clergy in North America.
It is this program that will be submitted to federal and state agencies for
accreditation.

For 35 years St. Nersess has offered its students a joint M.Div. degree in
collaboration with nearby St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Our
collaboration with St. Vladimir’s permitted our seminarians to earn a
recognized theological degree by completing effectively all of the course
requirements at St. Vladimir’s plus a few specialized courses at St.
Nersess. The collaboration worked well as long as the Armenian Studies
requirements of St. Nersess remained relatively light.

During the past few years, St. Nersess has developed a qualified full-time
faculty. Consequently its course offerings in specifically Armenian subjects
have grown substantially (Classical and Modern Armenian language, music,
liturgy, history, theology, patristics, canon law, preaching, parish
administration and others). The number of courses required by St. Nersess
and St. Vladimir’s has increased to the point that the joint-program is no
longer tenable. Currently our seminarians are pursuing the equivalent of
almost two full Master’s degrees.

New Program Will Be Tailored to Meet Needs of Armenian Church Parishes in
North America

“For the last few years we have felt that we were the dog being wagged by
the tail,” said Dr. Abraham Terian, Academic Dean. “The program that our
seminarians followed was largely determined by St. Vladimir’s, which
ultimately granted the degree. By creating our own M.Div. curriculum, we
will eliminate redundancy in coursework and reshape the program, focusing on
courses and objectives that are most important for an Armenian Priest in
North America,” Terian said.

“St. Nersess will not discontinue its relationship with St. Vladimir’s,”
said Dr. Roberta Ervine, Associate Professor of Armenian Studies. “But the
number of courses our students take there will be greatly reduced.
Meanwhile, we will have the opportunity to send our students to other area
institutions such as Fordham, Yale, and Princeton Universities for select
courses,” she said.

Fr. Findikyan added, “The faculty has long desired to organize semesters
abroad. We’d like to shut down the seminary and transport our students,
faculty and courses to a sister seminary in Armenia or Jerusalem for one
semester . We would offer there, for the benefit of all, whatever courses we
would otherwise be teaching here. At the same time, our students would
benefit from all that the great centers of our church have to offer,
studying, traveling, making friends. I can’t imagine a more exciting and
mutually beneficial exchange program. All of this will become possible once
our new M.Div. makes us masters of our own destiny,” he said.

The Board has authorized the faculty to create and implement the program as
soon as possible, if necessary, even before formal accreditation is
received. Once accreditation is granted, those who have successfully
completed the St. Nersess program would automatically be eligible to receive
the accredited degree retroactively.

“By authorizing this monumental step, you have steered the Seminary on a
path of continued growth and development in recruitment of students and
faculty, as well as development of our financial base,” Fr. Findikyan said,
addressing the Board. “This will be a great challenge, but I believe that it
will bear abundant fruit for our church and our people.”

Catholicos Karekin I Theological Center

The Board also discussed the imminent construction of a new library facility
on the Seminary grounds, to be known as “The Catholicos Karekin I
Theological Center” of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. Adjacent to the
Theological Center will be an Armenian chapel. Both have been made possible
by the generous support of Mr. and Mrs. Haig and Elza Didizian, their
children and their family. While the entire cost of construction has been
assumed by the Didizian family, some funds will need to be raised for
interior furnishings. (For more information about the Theological Center and
the Seminary’s building plan click here).

Growing Interest in Western Diocese

Representing the Western Diocese was Rev. Fr. Kevork Arakelian, Pastor of
St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church (Fowler, CA). Fr. Kevork is the
first St. Nersess alumnus to be ordained a priest.

Fr. Arakelian transmitted warm greetings from Abp. Hovnan Derderian, who was
unable to attend this meeting, but expressed his full support for the work
and continued growth of St. Nersess. Fr. Arakelian announced that in the
next two years, Hovnan Srpazan would be sending four students to St.
Nersess, with a steady flow of students coming in subsequent years. His
Eminence also expressed his desire that the Dean visit the Western Diocese
on a regular basis, and at least yearly, in order to promote the Seminary’s
work. He also announced that two pages would be reserved for St. Nersess to
contribute news items, essays, and educational articles in each monthly
issue of The Mother Church, the official publication of the Western Diocese.
His Eminence’s proposals were enthusiastically received by the Board
members.

New Board Members Elected

Re-elected to six-year terms on the Board of Directors were Rev. Fr. Karekin
Kasparian, Rev. Fr. Garabed Kochakian, and Mrs. Barbara Merguerian. Also
elected were three new members: Mr. Hagop Kouyoumjian (Holmdel, NJ), Mr.
John Ohanian (San Diego, CA) and Dr. Edward Sarkisian (Northville, MI).

Before adjourning the meeting, Abp. Barsamian publicly thanked Mr. Sarkis
Bedevian, outgoing Board member, for his many years of dedicated service to
the Seminary and to the Armenian Church at large.

Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) _www.anca.org_
()

PRESS RELEASE Friday, October 1, 2004

Contact: Armen Carapetian 818.500.1918

SENATOR JACKIE SPEIER TO BE ONE OF MANY HONORED GUESTS AT OCTOBER
ANNUAL BANQUET

ANCA-WR Meets with State’s Highest Ranking Armenian Democratic Public
Official

Glendale, CA – California State Senator Jackie Speier (D-San
Francisco, San Mateo) visited the offices of the Armenian National
Committee of America- Western Region (ANCA-WR) on Tuesday, September
28 to discuss issues of concern to Armenian-Americans in California
with community leaders. Members of the ANCA-WR Board of Directors and
the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) greeted the Senator and were briefed
on the issues that the Senator has been working onin the State
Capitol.

Senator Speier will be amongst the many public officials in attendance
at this year’s Annual Banquet which will be held at the Ritz-Carlton
Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California on October 24, 2004. ANCA-WR
Chairman Raffi Hamparian welcomed Senator Speier to the ANCA-WR
headquarters and thanked her for steadfast support of legislation and
issues that affect Armenian-Americans in the state. The Senator is
the state’s highest ranking Democratic elected official of Armenian
descent and the only Armenian-American woman currently serving in the
State Legislature.

ANCA-WR Board Member Steven Dadaian briefed the Senator on economic
developments in the Republic of Armenia and highlighted the necessity
for the State of California to remain committed to its promise of
establishing the California Regional Trade Office in Armenia. Angela
Savoian, Chairwoman of the ARS Western United States, also briefed the
Senator on the history of the ARS and described the essential social
services that the organization continues to provide to immigrants.
During the meeting, Senator Speier reiterated the importance of her
Armenian ancestry in shaping her commitment to being a public servant
and fighting for justice.

Senator Speier’s career-long commitment to public service was nearly
cut short in 1978 when she traveled as legal counsel to California
Congressman Leo J. Ryan to Jonestown, Guyana as part of a
U.S. fact-finding mission that was to investigate rumors that people,
including many Bay Area families, were being held hostage by cult
leader Rev. Jim Jones. On November 18, 1978, at the end of a two-day
investigation, gunmen from the Peoples Temple cult ambushed, shot and
killed Congressman Ryan and four others in his traveling group.
Speier, then 28 years old, was struck by five bullets and was `left
for dead’ on a jungle airstrip for 22 hours. The day she was shot,
911 cult members committed mass suicide or were murdered at the
Peoples Temple compound. Senator Speier has stated that `the
Jonestown tragedy is a daily reminder that no one is guaranteed
tomorrow . . . this has absolutely molded my philosophy and my zest
for work and for life.’ To this day, she carries two bullets in her
body from the incident.

Two years after the Jonestown shootings, Speier became the youngest
member ever to serve on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors when
she won her first election by defeating a 20-year incumbent. Senator
Speier served in the State Assembly from 1986 to 1996 before being
elected to the State Senate where she is completing her second term.

Senator Speier has announced her intent to run for Lieutenant Governor
of the State of California. If elected, Senator Jackie Speier would
become only the second Armenian-American to serve in statewide office
since Governor George Deukmejian (1983 – 1991).

`Senator Speier’s dedication to public service and to the people of
California is truly admirable and an excellent example for other young
aspiring Armenian-Americans to follow,’ commented Ardashes Kassakhian,
ANCA-WR Executive Director. `We’re looking forward to having her
attend our Annual Banquet on October 24th and joining us in honoring
other Armenian-American public officials who have paved the way for
future leaders,’ added Kassakhian referring to the ANCA-WR Annual
Banquet which will honor Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) with the
ANCA-WR Legacy Award and State Senator Chuck Poochigian (R-Fresno)
with the Person of the Year Award. The annual event draws over 750
community leaders and activists, public officials, academicians and
ANC supporters.

Individuals or organizations interested in attending the ANCA-WR
Annual Banquet may call the ANCA-WR Offices at (818) 500-1918 to
reserve their table or individual tickets.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and
most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters, and supporters throughoutthe United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the
concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues.

Editor’s Note: Photo available upon request. Photo caption: State
Senator Jackie Speier discusses Armenian American issues with ANCA-WR
Board Chair Raffi
Hamparian and Board Member Steven Dadaian.

#####

AJA Presents Awards

By Staff
.c The Associated Press

By Staff

xfdep
AJA-Presents-Awards <Wire: Executive Quote and Information Service>
<Publication: JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone> <Date: August 1, 2004>
<Head: AJA Presents Awards> <Tran: JCK080104-000> <Byline: Staff>
<Section: Departments> <Subsection: Associations> <Type: Blurb>
<Executive: Gurdjian, Pierre; director; McKinsey & Co, Brussels>
<Category: Retail> During the BaselWorld 2004 Watch and Jewelry Show,
the Armenian Jewellers Association (AJA) held its annual meeting and
dinner, attended by about 100 members and their guests. Guest speaker
Pierre Gurdjian, director of McKinsey Co, Brussels, introduced the

Armenia 2020 project, which focuses on identifying alternative
development models for Armenia with a view to contributing to
Armenia’s future economic development. Gurdjian commented specifically
on the dynamics of marketing in the diamond and jewelry industry and
outlining strategies for survival in a rapidly changing industry. The
annual AJA awards for 2004 honored Vartan Sirmakes, managing director
and co-founder of Franck Muller, Geneva, who received the Lifetime
Achievement Award for his contribution to the Swiss luxury watch
industry; Vahe Isnar, Lily Jewelry Manufacturing, Toronto, who was
recognized for his contribution to the development of the jewelry
industry in the Republic of Armenia; and Melkon Hagopian, Hagopian
Jewels, Beirut, who was named Designer of the Year in recognition of
his creativity in jewelry design. The board announced that it would
hold its next meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, on Oct. 22, 2004, to
coincide with a special one-day conference (scheduled for Oct. 23,
2004) on jewelry industry matters hosted by the government and
organized by AJA. For more information, e-mail:
[email protected] ght: Content copyright 2004, Reed
Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc. Formatting
copyright 2004, FDCH e-Media, Inc. (f/k/a Federal Document Clearing
House, Inc.).

10/01/04 23:35 EDT

PROTECTOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN KARABAKH

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
01 Oct 04

The chairman of the parliament committee of foreign relations and
information Vahram Atanessian undertook the bill `On the protector of
human rights’ which was included in the schedule of the ninth session
of the NKR National Assembly. The bill may be discussed in October. If
the law is adopted, for the first time in our country an ombudsman
will be appointed whose only responsibility will be to protect
people’s rights. The notion of ombudsman first appeared in Sweden. In
the second half of the 20th century most countries of the world
already had the institution of the protector of human rights. Usually
the ombudsman is appointed by the parliament although in some
countries the president also takes part in this, but originally this
is a parliamentary form of protection of human rights. The ombudsman’s
decisions, as a rule, do not have force of law, however, being
included in the report of the ombudsman with a negative shade is a
blow to the carrier of any official. It is notable that the protector
of human rights views the actions not only from the point of view of
correspondence to the law but also to justice and appropriateness. As
a rule the person who is known in public as frank, respectable, able
to work independently is appointed as ombudsman. Who will be ombudsman
in Karabakh after the adoption of the law is not discussed
yet. Perhaps it will be discussed along with the law.

NAIRA HAYRUMIAN.
01-10-2004

Abkhaz presidential race in final lap
By Zaal Anjaparidze for The Jamestown Foundation (30/09/04)

Georgia has watched the unfolding of the presidential race in its breakaway
republic of Abkhazia with a strangely Olympian calm.

On 3 October, voters in Abkhazia will choose a successor to their
ailing president. Vladislav Ardzinba led the region in its fight for
independence from Georgia in 1992 and 1993 before becoming president
of the self-declared republic in 1994. The new president of Abkhazia
will win a five-year term, subject to a two-term limit. The Georgian
government has watched the unfolding campaign with an Olympian
calm. As recently as 21 September, Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili described plans to re-incorporate Abkhazia into Georgia
at the 59th session of the UN General Assembly. No comments on the
election were made at the traditional commemoration of 27 September,
the day the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi, fell 11 years ago, effecting the
secession of the region. Earlier, Saakashvili dismissed the elections
as illegitimate and Nino Burjanadze, chair of the Georgian parliament,
warned Russia against conferring any recognition or legitimacy on
the elections.

Favored candidate, radically anti-GeorgianA number of candidates have
registered, although several refused to comply with a controversial
new law passed on 3 August that requires candidates to pass an
Abkhaz-language test and to have been resident in Abkhazia for the past
five years. Alexander Ankvab, a popular former Abkhaz interior minister
now living in Russia, and Nodar Khashba, a former mayor of Sukhumi
and now a high-ranking official in the Russian Civil Defense and
Emergencies Ministry, were denied registration by the Central Election
Commission (CEC) after they refused to sit the Abkhaz language test and
failed to meet residency criteria. Among the registered candidates,
the front-runner is Raul Khadzhimba, a former prime minister. His
running mate is Vitaly Smyr, the Abkhaz minister of agriculture and
food. Khadzhimba has a KGB background and the endorsement of President
Ardzinba plus rumored backing from Moscow. He also is supported by
many divisions and bureaucrats in Abkhaz state agencies. Georgian
commentators depict Khadzhimba as the most radically anti-Georgian
of the candidates. Khadzhimba has already made it clear that he plans
to make major changes to the constitution if elected. The amendments
include giving the president the power to dissolve parliament and
introducing parliamentary confirmation of new governments.

United AbkhaziaSergei Bagapsh, director-general of the Chernomorenergo
electricity company, trails Khadzhimba. Bagapsh served as prime
minister from 1997 to 2001. He is standing as a candidate for the
recently merged United Abkhazia movement and the Amtsakhara veterans’
organization and is regarded as the main opposition candidate. His
chances are thought to have increased after the disqualification
of Aytayra movement candidate Alexander Ankvab, who, in return for
urging Aytayra supporters to back Bagapsh, has been promised the
post of prime minister in the event of a Bagapsh victory. Both the
Georgian and Abkhaz media have made a point of the fact that Bagapsh
has a Georgian wife, but remain divided over how this will affect his
policies and popularity. Analysts speculate that a united opposition
would decrease the chances of a Khadzhimba victory. Bagapsh’s running
mate is the historian Stanislav Lakoba. Sergei Shamba, former foreign
minister, is running third with a platform urging “greater political,
economic, and humanitarian” integration with Russia. Shamba has angrily
denied rumors that he intends to pull out of the presidential race at
the last minute and throw his support to another candidate. Shamba’s
running mate is Vladimir Arshba, head of the Ministry of Defense
General Staff. The other two candidates concede they have slim chances
for victory. Anri Jergenia is also a former prime minister (running
with Ruslan Kishmaria, chairman of the Gali district administration),
while Yakub Lakoba is leader of the Abkhaz People’s Party (running
with Fatima Kvitsinia, arbitration court judge).

Fairness increasingly doubtfulThe fairness of the elections is
increasingly doubtful. The CEC denied requests from the League of
Voters for Fair Elections to serve as monitors. This NGO had severely
criticized the CEC’s performance. The CEC claimed that the election
law contained no provision for NGOs to act as observers unless they
have been invited to do so by the Abkhaz authorities. The UN and
OSCE do not consider the elections legitimate and therefore will
not send monitoring teams. Instead, members of the Russian State
Duma and representatives from Russia’s North Caucasus republics,
South Ossetia, and Karabakh are expected to act as election
observers. Although the Abkhaz CEC lists 165â^À^Ù 248 eligible
voters, down from 216â^À^Ù000 in the 2002 parliamentary elections,
Georgian sources further lower this figure to 70â^À^Ù000, due to
widespread population shifts before and after the war. Additionally,
most voters in Abkhazia are believed to hold Russian citizenship, and
therefore may not be able to prove their eligibility to vote. Abkhazia
has yet to introduce internal passports and officials are issuing
special forms as an interim measure. Bagapsh shared his surprise that
the CEC still did not have the exact number for Abkhazia’s population
and the number of voters. “How can you hold fair elections without
these data?” he asked.

Abkhazia not mentally prepared for pollMore critically minded
commentators are pessimistic regarding the elections. Oleg Damenia,
an Abkhaz analyst, argues that the Abkhaz electorate is not mentally
prepared for a fair election, as its psychological makeup still
bears Soviet-era habits. “The pre-election campaign has overstepped
all permissible limits, and thus it’s difficult to forecast whether
the electorate would behave within the licit framework,” he said.
According to Damenia, losers will likely protest after election
day. Candidate Shamba has warned that vote rigging would only play
into the hands of external forces, and Abkhazia might see a replay
of the Georgian or Yugoslav revolutions. Recently, representatives
of the Sukhumi-based branch of Soros Foundation have dismissed some
media allegations that the Foundation might financially support a
“pro-Georgian” candidate. Some analysts still consider that Ardzinba’s
departure creates an opportunity to change the relationship between
Georgia and the Abkhaz leadership. They argue that Tbilisi could take
advantage of the struggle between the Moscow-backed Khadzhimba and
his opponents. But the Abkhaz separatists have resolutely rejected
any plans for reintegrating Abkhazia with Georgia. On 29 September,
the Abkhaz Ministry of State Security claimed that Georgian task
forces and weaponry are concentrating along the Abkhaz border,
and it called on residents of Abkhazia to exercise vigilance. The
ministry’s special statement also claims that President Saakashvili
directed Georgian special services to step up subversive activities
in Abkhazia, particularly in the Georgian -populated Gali district, in
order to provoke conflict among supporters of the Abkhaz presidential
candidates. Tbilisi has not responded to these statements.

This article originally appeared in Eurasia Daily Monitor,
published by The Jamestown Foundation in Washington, DC., at
(). Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan
organization supported by tax-deductible contributions from
corporations, foundations, and individuals.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
10/01/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://

1) ARF Armenia Pushes Accelerated Reforms to Resolve Critical Issues
2) ANCA-WR Praises Effort by Lawmakers to Reaffirm Armenian Genocide
3) Chirac Promises Turkey EU Referendum
4) Another Sosse Kindergarten Opens Doors
5) Noah’s Ark Libarary Continues The Quest for Knowledge
6) ADAPTATION or WHEN HOLLYWOOD MET WASHINGTON

1) ARF Armenia Pushes Accelerated Reforms to Resolve Critical Issues

YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s (ARF) Supreme Body
representative Armen Rustamian and National Assembly’s ARF faction leader
Levon
Mkrtchian held a news conference on Friday to present the party’s
activities in
the past year, along with future plans.
Rustamian, who mentioned that the party’s Supreme Convention is scheduled for
October, said, “In order to make the discussions more effective, we need to
know public opinion on our activities. Then the convention will shape our
strategy for the next two years.”
Speaking of ARF’s motives to join the ruling coalition, Rustamian pointed to
two reasons. “First, we wanted the issues we deemed critical to be considered
as such by the government, and to ensure our participation in resolving those
issues. The coalition greatly contributed to establishing stability in the
country, as well as strengthening the country’s position on the international
arena. When the political situation escalated this year, however, it became
clear that there is definite discontent.”
“The coalition’s main objective should be to accelerate the country’s
development so as to decrease the level of objective discontent,” Rustamian
continued.
He noted that due to specifics of the transitional period, the country is
shifting to a plutocracy rather than democracy. As for those measures aimed at
curtailing negative developments, Rustamian pointed to the fight against
corruption as a pivotal step, adding that the ARF’s faction in the National
Assembly will soon introduce a number of draft laws related to the issue.”
He also noted that accountability should play a key role in the policy of
choosing people to public offices, and that a system of checks and balances
must be instituted.
He detailed the party’s stance on the Constitution, Elections Code, social
issues, and the justice system.
Asked to comment on the coalition’s activities during the past year,
Rustamian
said not enough has been done to resolve crucial issues, and deemed it
necessary to accelerate the pace of reforms.

2) ANCA-WR Praises Effort by Lawmakers to Reaffirm Armenian Genocide

–Members of Congress Urge House Speaker to Schedule Genocide Resolution and
Maintain Schiff Amendment in Foreign Ops Bill

WASHINGTON, DC–The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
(ANCA-WR) praised the bipartisan effort of sixty-four Members of Congress who
joined Congressmen George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (R-CA), and Frank
Pallone (D-NJ) in sending a letter to House of Representatives Speaker J.
Dennis Hastert (R-IL) in support of a resolution acknowledging the Armenian
genocide (H.Res. 193) and calling on the leadership of the House to maintain
the “Schiff Amendment,” which unanimously passed in the House of
Representatives by a voice vote on July 15, 2004.
“Next year will mark the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian
genocide,” Congressman Schiff said, “and it would be a noble and fitting
gesture for this nation to recognize the deaths of 1.5 million Armenian men,
women and children, while some of the survivors still remain.”
Among the signatories to the letter were Representatives Neil Abercrombie
(D-HI) Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Howard Berman (D-CA),
Lois Capps (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Bob Filner (D-CA), Raul Grijalva
(D-AZ), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Nick Lampson (D-TX), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA),
Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Devin Nunes (R-CA), George Radanovich (R-CA), Loretta
Sanchez (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA)Mike Thompson (D-CA), Diane Watson (D-CA),
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Anna Eshoo (D-CA).
Congresswoman Eshoo, who will be honored at the upcoming ANCA-WR 2004 Banquet
on October 24 in Pasadena, CA, also joined her fellow Congressman of Armenian
descent, Rep. John E. Sweeney (R-NY), in issuing a separate letter to
Congressional colleagues urging them to co-sign the letter to Speaker Hastert.
Thousands of Armenian Americans from across the United States utilized the
ANCA’s WebFax tool to communicate their support for this effort to their
Representatives in Congress.
“Given all of this support, it should be clear to the House Leadership that
the American people prefer justice to indifference and hypocrisy when it comes
to genocide,” remarked Ardashes Kassakhian, Executive Director of the ANCA-WR.
“We’re calling on House Leaders to do what’s right and end their opposition to
this simple, commonsense piece of legislation,” said Kassakhian.
H.Res. 193, and its Senate companion S.Res. 164, is a resolution that
officially recognizes the Armenian genocide and marks the 15th anniversary of
President Ronald Reagan signing the 1987 genocide Convention Implementation
Act, also known as the Proxmire Act. H.Res. 193 passed the House Judiciary
Committee on May 22, 2003, shortly after its introduction on April 10, 2003.
The House of Representatives voted to adopt the Schiff Amendment to the House
version of the Foreign Operations spending bill, which aims to prohibit the
Government of Turkey from using US foreign aid to lobby against H.Res. 193.

3) Chirac Promises Turkey EU Referendum

STRASBOURG (Reuters)–President Jacques Chirac has promised to hold a
referendum on Turkey’s entry to the European Union if the bloc agrees to its
accession, despite the risk that France could block its membership.
Bowing to political pressure for French people to have a say on Turkey,
Chirac
said he had urged the government to propose changes to France’s
constitution so
that referendums have to be held on any other future enlargement of the
25-member bloc.
His call is likely to alarm Ankara and could cause concern among all
prospective EU members.
“Let me reassure you right away–the French people will have their say,”
Chirac told a news conference following talks with German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder in Strasbourg in eastern France on Friday.
A referendum is unlikely for more than a decade. But an opinion poll this
week
showed 56 percent of French people oppose Turkey’s immediate entry due to
fears
on jobs and concerns about letting in a mainly Muslim country that links
Europe
to Asia.
Chirac’s ruling conservative party has also opposed Ankara’s candidacy and
called for a referendum, even though the president supports Turkey’s
accession.

Chirac’s promises of a public vote are intended to prevent voters’ concerns
over Turkey clouding a referendum next year on the EU constitution and
increasing the chances of France rejecting the treaty–a vote which could
torpedo it.
Chirac gave no details of the changes he wanted in France’s constitution,
apart from saying votes on future EU enlargement should be put to a public
vote.
“It would be compulsory to ask the French people via a referendum on this
enlargement or any other possible enlargements, and not via the parliamentary
process,” he said,

COMMISSION REPORT

The European Commission is expected to recommend in a report on Wednesday
that
the EU opens entry talks with Turkey. A final decision will be taken when EU
leaders meet in December; the accession talks would be expected to last for
several years.
There was no referendum in France before the EU expanded to 25 members in
May.
French people are concerned that France’s influence in the EU has been diluted
by enlargement and that the entry of a country of 71 million people will water
it down more.
Chirac said he and Schroeder agreed that Turkey had made a lot of progress by
introducing democratic and economic reforms but had not yet fulfilled all the
terms for entry.
“We have an interest in having Turkey with us,” Chirac said. “It creates a
prospect of democracy and peace taking root on the whole of the European
continent … so that we avoid the mistakes and violence of the past.”
France’s foreign and finance ministers, both of whom are members of Chirac’s
Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party, have in the past few days proposed
holding a referendum on Turkey’s entry when the time comes.
There is some hope for Turkey. This week’s poll showed 63 percent of French
could one day foresee Turkey’s accession.
Chirac did not make clear whether he wanted changes made to France’s
constitution in time for a further enlargement expected to take in Romania and
Bulgaria in 2007. Croatia is expected to join the bloc soon after Romania and
Bulgaria.

4) Another Sosse Kindergarten Opens Doors

–Misserlians fund ARS Shushi school

SHUSHI (Noyan Tapan)–The Armenian Relief Society ‘Soseh’ Kindergarten of
Shushi in Mountainous Karabagh Republic, officially opened on September 30,
offering elementary education and devoted care to 50 children. Yetvart and
Vergine Misserlian of San Fransisco are the benefactors of the new
kindergarten.
The ARS founded its first ‘Sosse’ kindergarten in Stepanakert, in 1997,
offering the children of Artsakh basic care and elementary education in
Armenian culture. This worthy endeavor has continued for the last 7 years, to
provide education to more than 520 children in Karabagh, and gainful
employment
to over 100 adults.

5) Noah’s Ark Libarary Continues The Quest for Knowledge

By Ani Shahinian
Asbarez Staff

HOLLYWOODSeptember 26 marked the official opening of the Rose & Alex Pilibos
Armenian School’s state of the art gymnasium and library. It was a significant
day in the school’s 35-year history as it represented the culmination of years
of tireless work and dedication. Inspired by the biblical story of Noah’s ark,
the library finds itself in “floating” form as it hovers above the gymnasium
roof. School Principal Viken Yacoubian expressed that the library symbolizes
transition and the immigrants’ voyage, yet it is anchored firmly with huge
columns representing Armenia’s heritage and culture.
Many community members and supporters were on hand, as student council
president Ara Tomassian, the afternoon’s emcee, welcomed them. After Reverend
Vassilian offered his blessings and congratulations, Board of Regents of
Prelacy Schools member Roubina Peroomian spoke enthusiastically about the
worthwhile project and its journey to completion.
Inspirational words by US Congresswoman Diane Watson, representing
California’s 33rd Congressional district, encouraged the preservation of
ethnicity and culture and praised the school’s integral role in educating
young
Armenian American students. She said the 33rd district, with its mix of
Armenians, Greeks, Hispanics, among other ethnicities, is a true reflection of
what America is about. The Congresswoman spoke of parallels between the
Armenian and African American communities, remarking, “We share a common
heritage of having been transported through the diaspora to a new home in
America.” Watson noted the resilience of the Armenians, despite its history of
suffering, and the unique contributions the Armenian American community has
made to society. Pledging her continued commitment to representing
Armenians in
her district, Watson said that through such endeavors, “Your children and
children’s children will never forget who they are.”
On behalf of the school’s finance committee, Marie Demirjian extended
gratitude to all who helped endlessly in the actualization of the project.
Angela Sassounian, a member of the educational committee, said that the
library
will not only serve the needs of the students, but also the school’s teachers
and parents, as well as the larger Pilibos family.
As the afternoon came to a close, Principal Viken Yacoubian acknowledged not
only those who dedicated themselves to the project in the present time, but
specifically extended appreciation to “those who came before us. It is the
force of their vision, love, and commitment that has made the project
possible.” He remarked that the school will continue on its path, as the
vision
of becoming an integral part of the larger society, while being “anchored” by
our Armenian heritage is realized.
StudioWorks Architects’ principals Robert Mangurian and Mary-Ann Ray, who
designed the stunning building, were also present during the ceremony. They
found harmony in the contradictory building types by fusing “exercise of the
body” and “education of the mind.” The pomegranate-red library can be entered
through an existing four-story classroom building by elevator or via outdoor
stairs with metal treads and jaunty nautical railings. Inside, the library is
one big, long room housing 9,000 Armenian and English-language books, a
reading
room, a children’s storytelling nook, an online research area, and a
librarian’s office. The 14,000-square-foot gym includes regulation high school
basketball and volleyball facilities, bleacher seating for 275 people, a
student store, an exercise room, locker rooms, restrooms, coaches’ offices, a
maintenance shop, and equipment storage.

6) ADAPTATION or WHEN HOLLYWOOD MET WASHINGTON

By Skeptik Sininkian

Ok, now I know I promised you the sequel to last week’s drama/comedy/action
thriller but I couldn’t help but digress for just a bit considering that
Thursday night everyone I knew was watching the Presidential debate. In fact,
last night’s match up provided me with enough material for three different
columns and I am tempted to dump the continuation of last week’s column all
together. But I won’t let you down. A promise is a promise and we’ll pick up
from where we left off with Episode 2 of our Hollywood script-turned-reality.
And as before, with any highly anticipated movie, we have to have at least 20
minutes of nonsensical previews! So in the spirit of remaining true to the
Hollywood theme, we will now cover the debate in preview format.
Well, what can I say, just when I thought it was safe to put some money down
on the election, Kerry pulls off a big win. The smart money is still on Bush
but Kerry came through big mainly because he stood to lose more than George W.
Bush in the debates. The President, on the other hand, had been
handicapped by
his Achilles’ heel, namely, his lack of intelligence. But it wasn’t Bush’s
lack
of knowledge on the issues that cooked his goose. It was his smug arrogance
which, when juxtaposed with Kerry’s cool and calm demeanor, made him look like
a spoiled and impatient brat.
The President did make some good points, jabbing Kerry repeatedly on his
inconsistency on the Iraq War. (Don’t you love living in an era where we
can be
at war without formally DECLARING war? I’m being sarcastic. Quick Skeptik
Factoid: Did you know The United States hasn’t formally declared war on anyone
since World War II). Kerry was unable to respond clearly to the President’s
inquiries into his stance on the war because Kerry doesn’t really have one.
During the same debate, he questioned going to war numerous times and then
said
that he could do the job better. My Democrat friends were dancing in the
street
after Kerry’s performance in the debate but I wasn’t sure why? Kerry’s
apparently back in the race and that’s supposedly a good thing? From what I
understood during the debate, Kerry’s planning on staying in Iraq and I don’t
know what magic wand he’s going to use to make our boys and girls immune to
enemy bullets. (Sigh)
But Kerry did make the point that Bush became distracted during his War on
Terror and shifted his focus from the Mountains of Bora Bora (I just like
saying Bora Bora) where Osama Bin Laden was hiding and redirected troops to
Iraq. And speaking of Iraq and the debates and the election and the hunt for
Osama Bin Laden…we are now ready to continue or regularly scheduled program.
(By the way, my mother still thinks that there’s a conspiracy to catch or
reveal the capture of Bin Laden before Election Day).
When we last left our kingdom in chaos, we had an inexperienced king with
delusions of greatness leading his people into a war against an invisible
enemy. The king wastes the surplus of the kingdom’s coffers and squanders away
any respect that the other kingdoms had for

Act V The Rat Race or It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
[Setting: Washington, DC]

The ceremonial day of selecting a new leader is fast approaching. Initially,
the king’s challenger appreciated widespread popularity, not as much for his
own abilities but out of dislike toward the king. The king responds by having
his servants attack the challenging prince’s credibility as a veteran of the
foreign wars. Both men hold great festivals to curry favor with the people but
the king emerges stronger from his celebration. As the day of the actual
festival to select the next king draws closer, rumors begin to circulate that
the king is about the capture his adversarythe infamous and elusive invisible
enemy. People work themselves into frenzy at the prospect of capturing and
finally seeing this monster in the flesh.

Act VI Sleeping With the Enemy?

The festival has nearly arrived and rumors abound about a potential attack or
the message a change in leadership would send to the elusive enemy. Some
think
that he has already been captured while others are certain that he is lurking
outside the gates of the realm waiting for the right moment to attack. Just
before the festival day, the king makes a grand speech about patriotism, the
call of duty, and the legacy of all the kings that came before him. The
subjects cheer their king and believe that he is the only person who can rid
them of this mysterious evil that threatens them. The king’s demoralized
challenger sulks as he watches his opponent play upon the insecurities of the
people and run off with the crown yet again.

Now this is the part in the movie where the camera begins to pan out over the
crowd and we see a lone horseman riding into the town interrupting the king’s
speech. Out of breath, the young soldier announces that the enemy has been
cornered in the mountains far off on the outskirts of the kingdom. The king
announces to his subjects that they will embark on the crusade to bring the
villain to justice as dawn’s first light, but tonight…they will elect the new
leader and prepare for war the next day. People begin to cheer in frenzy at
the
prospect of capturing the enemy and the movie ends with the teaser for the
final and third episodeThe Phantom Menace.
Le Fin. The End. To be Continued…but not by this Skeptik.
This is how it will go down, in the next few weeks we’ll start hearing
reports
of how we’re “closing the noose around the neck of Bin Laden” which will give
us hope that he will be brought to justice. In the meantime, Bush will
continue
to campaign as a Wartime President. And come November, unless Kerry gets off
his clam chowder sipping’ New England Ivy League derriere, we’ll have four
more
years of Bush, a miserable economy, more war, more lives lost along with
respect. It’s sad to think this but sometimes I wonder if Bush was glad
that he
became known as the “Wartime President;” otherwise he’d just be remembered as
being radical and mediocre at best. It’s strange how Hollywood and Washington
DC work sometimes and how a zero turns into a “hero.” Well, that’s it for me
this week. We’ll be back next week after these messages from our sponsors.

Skeptik Sinikian has been brought to you by “Madzoon” [yogurt]the
breakfast of
champions! And “Skhtor” [garlic]”For when plain Madzoon just isn’t enough!”

Sinikian can be reached at [email protected] or visit his blog at

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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;
October 2, 2004
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PRIMATE OF NORTH AMERICAN (ESATERN, WESTERN US) AND CANADIAN DIOCESES MEET IN
TORONTO’S HOLY TRINITY ARMENIAN CHURCH

On Thursday, September 30, 2004 the Primates of Eastern and Western USA and
Canada met at Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church of Toronto. This is the
third meeting of the Primates.

His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian (Diocese of Canada), His Eminence
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian (US Eastern Diocese) and His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan
Derderian (US Western Diocese) had discussions over various issues concerning
the role and the mission of the Armenian Church in North America and Canada.

The Primates agreed to further organize and cooperate in making the mission
of the Armenian Church more vibrant. Discussions focused on Christian
Education, Youth, the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, 1600th anniversary of
the creation of Armenian Alphabet as well as pilgrimages both Inter-Diocesan
and to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
* * *

JOINT CELEBRATION OF ARMENIA’S 13TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE AND OF
LAVAL’S HOLY CROSS CHURCH’S 11TH ANNIVERSARY

Under the auspices of H.E. Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of the Diocese
of the Armenian Church of Canada, and according to a precedence set last year
as well as in collaboration with Armenian community organizations, on the
weekend of September 25-26, the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church of Laval
organized a large-scale celebration of the Church’s 11th anniversary and of
Armenia’s 13th anniversary of independence.

The main celebration took place on Saturday, September 25, when a candle
light dinner and dance was held under a large tent set on the church grounds. In
attendance were the Primate, Federal MP Raymonde Folco, Mayor of the City of
Laval Mr. Gilles Vaillancourt, a representative of Quebec Minister of Education
and Social services Mrs. Michelle Courchesne, representatives of
municipalities, Vicar General of Canada Rt. Rev. Fr. Ararat Kaltakdjian, Rev. Fr. Hayrig
Apegha Hovhannisian, Rev. Fr. Vazken Boyadjyan, pastor of St. Gregory
Illuminator Cathedral, Mr. Stephanos Mamdouh from the Coptic community, Diocesan and
Parish Council representatives, and community organization representatives. The
invocation was offered by Fr. Ararat and welcoming words were presented by Mr.
Shahan Keushgerian, chairman of the organizing committee. Me. Vartan
Dellekian, chairman of the Parish Council, spoke in French and acknowledged the
presence of the dignitaries. Fr. Ararat Kaltakdjian, Pastor of Holy Cross, took the
podium to hand out plaques of appreciation to a score of dedicated
parishioners of the church. He then invited Bishop Galstanian to deliver his message.

The Primate congratulated all those present on the dual anniversary occasions
and wished continued success and prosperity to Motherland Armenia and to the
Holy Cross Church.
His Eminence had special words of gratitude to Mayor Vaillancourt for his
compassion and understanding towards the needs of the Church, and expressed
optimism that working closely with the Mayor’s office, hopefully next year this
celebration will be held in the new church. “The sea hates cowards,” said the
Primate, and added, “we are in the sea and are prepared to face the challenge of
owning our church building and our community center to be able to serve better
our enlarging community in Laval.”

Mayor Vaillancourt thanked the community for the invitation and expressed
appreciation of the Armenian community in Laval for their diligence and
participation in the rapid development of this city. He then assured that everything
will be done to clear any obstacles by way of this community’s dream of a new
church building to come true. The Mayor’s words were received by a thunderous
applause. In her address, Liberal MP from Laval Raymonde Folco expressed her joy
that for the second year she is sharing the joy of the Armenian community in
the dual celebration of the anniversaries of Armenia’s independence and of
Holy Cross’ establishment.

Following a sumptuous dinner, the music was started by Arthur Apkarian’s
dynamic band, and soon the platform was filled with dancers. At the height of
jubilation, even Mayor Vaillancourt joined the Armenian popular “shourchbar”
dances.

The next morning, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Eminence Bishop
Bagrat Galstanian, assisted by Fr. Ararat and Fr. Vazken. The altar servers and
the joint choirs of both churches conducted the singing. At the end of the
Divine Liturgy, a special ceremony of Grace and Thanksgiving was conducted to
celebrate the 13th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

The congregation was then led by a procession of the clergy and the choir to
the front yard of the church where the scouts of AGBU had erected a wooden
Cross and were prepared for the blessing of Armenia’s flag. Following special
prayers and songs of hymns, everybody joined to sing Armenia’s anthem “Mer
Hairenik”, while the flag was being raised slowly. The Primate spoke
enthusiastically thanking the scouts for their patriotism and invited everyone to join in the
major effort of building our new church in Laval and to work toward the
prosperity of the Diocese and the Armenian community in Canada.

Shortly after, the tent area was set up for lunch, and more celebrations with
music, songs and dances brought this festive occasion to a happy ending.

On Sunday, September 19, 2004 Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Toronto
celebrated the 13th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Armenia. Upon the
directives of His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Primate of the Armenian
Church of Canada, all churches were instructed to celebrate this event with the
blessing of the national flag. Four students representing the Armenian Schools
of Toronto from Holy Cross School, Zaroukian School, St. Sahak & St. Mesrob
Saturday School and the Holy Trinity Armenian Church Sunday School, carried the
national flag to the altar where Rev. Archpriest Fr. Zareh Zargarian blessed
it and delivered his sermon to the faithful. In his sermon, Fr. Zareh called
upon everyone to love, cherish and support our beloved homeland, Armenia.
Following his sermon Fr. Zareh invited Mrs. Rebecca Sevazlian, asking her to say
a few words to the faithful. Mrs. Sevazlian, who is 95 years old, is the
beloved mother of our church. She is a survivor of the Armenian Genocide and
dedicated her life to the Armenian Church by working voluntarily, and giving both
moral and monetary support over the years. In a very emotional moment, Mrs.
Sevazlian proclaimed “Keep and honor our flag, for this flag represents our
beloved Armenia”, she said.
* * *

NEWS FROM THE MOTHER SEE OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN

On Sunday September 26, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, ordained the Chancellor of Holy
Etchmiadzin, Fr. Arshag Khachatryan, as a bishop in a ceremony in the
Cathedral of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians has assigned Very
Reverend Father Megerditch Apegha Broshian as the Dean of Vazgenian Theological
Seminary in Sevan. Fr. Broshian is a graduate of Gevorkian Theological Seminary.
During the year 2001-2004 he studied at Mir field College-Leeds University and
earned the degree of Masters in Theology from the University of Cardiff.
* * *

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CANADIAN DIOCESE PARTICIPATE IN PAN NORTH AMERICAN
YOUTH MEETING

Upon the directive and instruction of His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian,
representatives from the Canadian Armenian Diocese Talar Chichmanian, Shogher
Melengutchian, Armen DiMaria, David Kaprielian will participate in Pan North
American Youth meeting in Greenville, New York at Ararat Center (October 1-3).

The intent of this initiative is to bring together four young adult
representatives from each of the three North American Dioceses (Canadian, Eastern and
Western US) for a meeting to discuss common concerns and challenges related to
youth involvement in the Church. The meeting will be an appropriate occasion
to explore the possibility of a joint event that would assemble youth from the
three Dioceses as well as to investigate the feasibility of sponsoring a joint
pilgrimage to Armenia. Participants will draft a document to present to the
respective Primates and Diocesan Councils on ways to involve youth in the life
of the church.
* * *

SUNDAY SCHOOL OF ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR CATHEDRAL ORGANIZED APPLEPICKING

Yeretsgin Marine Zouloyan-Boyajyan

Sunday, 26 September was a memorable day for the Sunday School students of
St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral of Montreal. Organized by the Parents’
Committee of the School, the students enjoyed a day in nature by apple picking.

Following breakfast hosted in the residence of the School’s principal, Mrs.
Houri Hakimian, the children headed by bus to the orchards in the suburb of St.
Eustache, accompanied by members of the Parents’ Committee. It was a joy to
see the happy children going from tree to tree, engaged in picking apples and
filling the baskets they were carrying. Some had to stay in line to climb the
ladders to be able to pick the more attractive apples.

Besides giving the children of our Sunday School a happy and memorable day,
the aim of the trip was to bring the children in contact with the God given
nature and its blessings. At the end of the day, the children expressed their
heart-felt thanks to Mrs. Hakimian for the love and care she lavishes on each and
every of them.
* * *

MEETING BETWEEN HOLY TRINITY ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH AND THE ARMENIAN
BENEVOLENT UNION

On Tuesday September 14, 2004, Rev. Archpriest Fr. Zareh Zargarian and the
Parish Council of the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church held a joint
meeting with the newly appointed board members of the Toronto Armenian General
Benevolent Union.

The purpose of the meeting was to re-establish cooperation between the two
organizations and coordinate activities towards strengthening the Toronto
Armenian identity for future generations.

Rev. Archpriest Fr. Zareh Zargarian stated that the time has come for these
two pillar organizations to exert a concerted effort in bringing back the
youth.
* * *

INTERFAITH COALITION CELEBRATES 20TH YEAR OF PEACE GARDEN

On Sunday, September 19, 2004 the Multi-Faith Peace Coalition celebrated its
20th anniversary. The celebration began at 12:00 p.m. in Nathan Phillips
Square at Toronto’s City Hall and continued into the late evening. The
celebration was full of performances by singers and musical bands. At 3:00 p.m.
spiritual leaders from the coalition stepped up to the stage and began prayers and
readings from Holy Books. Following the prayers a tree planting ceremony was
held as a symbol of peace and friendship. Dn. Vrej Berberian, Assistant to Rev.
Archpriest Fr. Zareh Zargarian, represented the Armenian Holy Apostolic
Church of Toronto, and expressed the respect and homage of the Armenian Church
towards all martyrs.

Twenty years ago on March 5, 1984 Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau
turned the sod to begin the construction of the Peace Garden. On October 2, 1984
Queen Elizabeth II dedicated the Garden. On September 14, 1984 the flame in
the Toronto Peace Garden was lit by Pope John Paul II from and ember that Rev.
Fr. Massey Lombardi, Chairman of the Multi-Faith Peace Garden Coalition,
carried to Toronto from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. He also poured the water
from Nagasaki into the pool of the Toronto Peace Garden. The Peace Garden
was erected as a remembrance of the nuclear conflagration that engulfed both
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also to remind all of us of the dangers of hatred and
the importance of tolerance and mutual respect. As such the Peace Garden is
both a somber memorial and shining reminder that we must pursue peace with all
of our strength and determination for it is surely within our grasp.

Twenty years after its completion, the flame of commemoration still burns
brightly, as does the dream of peace in the hearts of men and women of good will.
But events in Canada and around the world show that peace is a delicate
thing that must be cultivated with care and diligence. It is in that spirit of
stewardship that a collation of more than 20 faith communities has recently been
formed with the Honorable Art Eggleton as Honorary Chairman, to develop a
program that would celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Peace Garden. On
Sunday, September 19, 2004, thousands of Torontonians from all walks of life came
together to celebrate the diversity that is one of our city’s greatest
strengths, and through fellowship, reaffirm our commitment to peace in this city, in
this country and in this world. Everyone was confident that the commitment of
the coalition would make this a successful event. At the same time, they hoped
that they could count on the assistance of the City of Toronto to make this
celebration a meaningful occasion for all participants.
* * *