150 tonnes of relief sent to Beslan from RF cities, other states

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 10, 2004 Friday

MOSCOW, September 10 — Humanitarian aid is supplied to the small
North Ossetian city of Beslan affected in the terrorist act from all
over the world. About 150 tonnes of humanitarian aid were supplied
after the tragic events in North Ossetia, a source in the Russian
Emergencies Ministry told Itar-Tass on Friday. “This is medicines,
medical equipment, bandages, syringes, mobile medical stations,
donor blood and ambulances,” the source emphasised.

Airplanes from Russian cities, CIS and other countries with
humanitarian aid have come to Beslan already for a week.

In particular, only Moscow, St. Petersburg and Mineralnye Vody sent
39 tonnes of medicines and foodstuffs in this North Ossetian city.
Italy, the United States, France, Norway, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Greece,
Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Poland and Finland sent humanitarian
aid. The authorities of these countries sent to Beslan not only
medical equipment and medicines that are needed for the treatment
of the terror victims but also foodstuffs and clothes. Citizens of
Armenia and Greece have donated more than 200 kilograms of blood for
the wounded people in the terrorist act, and this blood has already
been supplied to the Vladikavkaz blood donor station.

Old Etonian gets seven years for Guinea coup plot
By Peta Thornycroft in Harare and David Blair, Africa Correspondent

The Daily Telegraph/UK
(Filed: 11/09/2004)

Simon Mann, an old Etonian and former SAS officer, stood expressionless
in khaki prison fatigues yesterday as he was sentenced to seven years
in a Zimbabwean jail for trying to buy weapons.

The biggest mercenary trial in Africa’s recent history ended in the
capital Harare with Mann’s 67 accomplices receiving prison sentences
of between 12 and 18 months for immigration and aviation offences. Two
other men were acquitted.

The court reserved its harshest sentence for 51-year-old Mann, who
holds British and South African citizenship.

“The accused [Mann] was the author of the whole transaction,” said
Mishrod Guvamombe, the magistrate, imposing sentence in a makeshift
court inside Harare’s maximum security prison. “He was caught while
trying to take the firearms out of the country.”

Mann had admitted trying to buy weapons valued at more than £100,000
from the state-owned defence company in Zimbabwe.

Prosecutors said the arms would have been used to overthrow the regime
of Equatorial Guinea. Mann and the 69 other men, all South Africans,
were arrested at Harare airport in March, supposedly bound for the
oil-rich West African dictatorship.

They were on board a Boeing 727, valued at about £2 million, which
Mr Guvamombe turned over to the Zimbabwean state.

Explaining his decision to impose a sentence on Mann nearing the
maximum of 10 years laid down in Zimbabwean law, the magistrate said
the offences “were well planned and well executed and that must be
reflected in the penalty”.

Mann’s lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, described the sentence as
“excessive”. But he ruled out an appeal to the supreme court.

Mann is likely to serve his sentence in Chikurubi maximum security
prison, where he has been held since his arrest six months ago.

After serving across the world with the SAS, he helped found Executive
Outcomes, a South African-based mercenary company in 1989. Despite his
experience, his last operation was a bungled and amateurish venture.

Maps of Equatorial Guinea and vital details about the operation were
found on the aircraft. The coup plot had been widely discussed for
months by former members of South Africa’s special forces before it
went into action. Mann and his colleagues were arrested after South
Africa’s intelligence service learned of their plans and alerted
Zimbabwe.

The men he hired for the operation were treated far more leniently. The
court sentenced 65 of them to a year behind bars for breaching aviation
and immigration laws. The remaining two were sentenced to 18 months.

The men testified that Mann agreed to pay them £3,300 each for taking
part in the operation. Mann’s family in Britain has given the men’s
relatives a one-off payment of £550.

Executive Outcomes was wound up in 1999 after South Africa banned
mercenary activity. But Mann remained active in the security business.

He lived in the expensive Cape Town suburb of Constantia, a few
streets away from Sir Mark Thatcher, the former prime minister’s son,
who has also been charged with involvement in the Guinean plot.

Fifteen other men, all South African or Armenian, are still on trial
in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea. One, Nick du Toit,
whose evidence implicated Sir Mark, faces a possible death sentence.

Action not words

The Guardian, UK
Sept 11 2004

Leader

America’s declaration that genocide is taking place in Sudan has
injected fresh urgency – and controversy – into the international
debate about what the UN unhesitatingly calls the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis. It was only to be expected that the Khartoum
government would reject the charge, but there has also been a lukewarm
response elsewhere to Colin Powell’s statement to the Senate foreign
relations committee. The US secretary of state says genocide is
taking place on the basis of evidence that black African villagers
in Darfur are being targeted with the specific intent of destroying
“a group in whole or part”. Human rights organisations have welcomed
the shift. Britain’s official response is that grave crimes are
being committed by the government-backed Janjaweed Arab militias and
that the UN should mount an urgent investigation. Is this a case of
diplomatic sensibilities masking a brutal truth? Is it right to have
reservations about using the G word?

Situations previously characterised as genocide include the Turkish
massacre of 1.5 million Armenians during the first world war and,
less controversially, the Nazis’ extermination of six million Jews
in the second world war, when the term was coined from the Greek
word genos (race or tribe) with the Latin word cide (to kill). It
has been widely applied to Pol Pot’s Cambodia of the 1970s and made
bloody reappearances in Rwanda in 1994 and in the aftermath of the
wars of the Yugoslavian succession. Slobodan Milosevic, the former
Serbian president, is facing a genocide charge at the Hague war crimes
tribunal. Radislav Krstic, a Bosnian Serb general, was convicted of
genocide for his role in the Srebrenica massacre of 7,000 Muslim men
and boys.

Sudanese officials will admit to nothing more than a humanitarian
crisis created by ethnic strife and have contemptuously accused Mr
Powell of seeking black votes in the forthcoming US presidential
election. Khartoum also argues that the intervention will undermine
delicate peace negotiations with Darfur rebel groups in Nigeria. Most
of the facts, though, are indisputable: 50,000 people have died since
February 2003 and over a million have been displaced. Aid workers
yesterday reported a new mass influx of refugees into one camp in
southern Darfur. Harrowing images have been on our TV screens for
long enough to fuel demands for something that goes beyond agonised
handwringing and ineffective quiet diplomacy

It is true that behind the debate in the US lies guilt about
the shameful failure to act when the first reports of genocide
emerged from Rwanda a decade ago. That is only natural. The genocide
characterisation may also be intended to galvanise the international
community – though targeted sanctions such as an assets freeze and a
travel ban on senior Sudanese officials would be more effective than
the oil embargo currently being proposed by Washington. That is opposed
by China, an importer of Sudanese oil and a security council member,
as well as by Pakistan and Algeria. And there is the familiar dilemma
that such sanctions are a notoriously blunt instrument, as the Iraqi
experience taught. But urgent though the crisis is, Washington and
London are still not trying the sort of heavy-duty arm-twisting they
tried when seeking a second UN resolution authorising war on Saddam.

Mr Powell’s intervention puts the US a step ahead of the EU, which
says it wants a UN investigation. But the real question is not about
a dictionary definition of genocide. No one can claim that Sudan
is not experiencing a terrible human tragedy. As Oxfam has been
warning in appeals for help to save lives: time is short and people
are dying. Recognising the scale of human suffering is a prerequisite
to action. Words, however resonant, are not enough.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NATO DELEGATION DUE IN ARMENIA ON SEPTEMBER 13

ArmenPress
Sept 10 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS: A NATO delegation comprising
members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Security and Civic
Enlargement Committee and the Political Commission’s sub-committee
is due to Armenia on September 13 for a three-day visit.

On September 13 NATO officials will meet with parliament chairman
Arthur Baghdasarian and Mher Shahgeldian, who is a chairman of a
parliament committee on defense and national security issues and head
of Armenian delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly. A roundtable is
planned for the same day with members of several parliament committees
to discuss a variety of issues on local reforms, international security
and NATO’s role, Armenia’s foreign policy and defense priorities and
Armenia’s contribution to the regional security.

Another round table will be organized with representatives of
non-governmental organizations on September 14. The same day NATO
officials will meet with president Kocharian, defense minister Serzh
Sarkisian, deputy foreign minister Tatul Margarian and police chief
Hayk Harutunian.

The delegation will wrap up its visit by yet another round table
discussions on human rights at the parliament premises on September
15 before leaving for Georgia in the afternoon.

KOCHARIAN REPLACES HEAD OF ARMENIAN DELEGATION TO NATO

ArmenPress
Sept 10 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS: By a September 8 decree Armenian
president Robert Kocharian dismissed Vigen Chitechian of his duties
of head of the Armenian delegation to the North-Atlantic Treaty
Organization. Kocharian’s press office said that Samvel Mkrtchian
was appointed by Kocharian to take up the post.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NEWLY APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF FINLAND HANDS HER CREDENTIALS OVER TO PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN

ArmenPress
Sept 10 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS: The newly appointed ambassador of
Finland to Armenia Ms. Terry Hakkalan, with residence in Helsinki,
handed over her credentials to president Robert Kocharian today.

According to president press services, congratulating the diplomat on
taking up the new post, Robert Kocharian said that Armenian underscores
developing relations with Finland.

The ambassador said that Finland is interested in stimulating
cooperation with South Caucasian countries, and Armenia in particular,
and is watchfully following the developments in the region. She
underscored Armenia’s involvement in European Union New Neighborhood
Project which opens up significant opportunities for cooperation.

The president of the republic and the ambassador exchanged ideas
on stimulating bilateral relations. Ms. Terri Hakalla said that
Finish business community is largely interested in Armenia. The sides
underscored development of a proper legal field and holding a business
forum in order to make business links more active.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Iran’s Khatami reiterates needs to revive spirituality

IRNA web site, Tehran
10 Sep 04

Yerevan, 10 September: President Mohammad Khatami said here Thursday 9
September that followers of all holy religions should try to revive
spirituality throughout the globe to restore peace and security
worldwide.

The president made the remarks here, before leaving for Belarus on
Thursday, in a meeting with Garegin II, Catholicos of all Armenians.

“If the world is now exposed to terror, horror, war and injustice,”
president Khatami said, “This is because it has forgotten the God
and spirituality.”

The meeting was also attended by the representatives of Iranian
Armenians in the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) who are
accompanying President Khatami in his tour of three regional countries.

Garegin II, in return, expressed satisfaction over Tehran-Yerevan
good relations and Tehran’s proper treatment of Iranian Armenians.

Later in the day, the president and his entourage left Yerevan for
Minsk, capital of Belarus Republic.

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:

September 10, 2004
___________________

WEEK-LONG SEMINAR HELPS DEVELOP JUNIOR CHOIR LEADERSHIP

By Mary Selvinazian

After a year of planning, the Association of Armenian Church Choirs of
America (AACCA) held its first junior choir leadership development
seminar: a week-long session for the next generation of choir members.

Held at the Diocese’s new Ararat Center in Greenville, NY, from August 3
to 8, 2004, the seminar brought together 12 young musicians — ranging
in age from 14 to 19 — from 10 parishes throughout the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern). The program’s purpose was to
train qualified leaders for future service as choir directors. The
participants were members of their parish choirs, serving as singers,
organists, and altar servers; each came recommended by his or her parish
priest.

The participants were greeted upon arrival by Fr. Untzag Nalbandian,
director of the Diocese’s Department of Youth and Education, who, on
behalf of Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, commended the young people for
being selected for this new program.

Classes were taught by notable faculty members. Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian,
pastor of the Holy Martyrs Church in Bayside, NY, focused on the role of
the deacon in the Armenian Church. Fr. Mamigon Kiledjian, pastor of St.
Stepanos Church of Elberon, NJ, demonstrated how to properly play
Armenian sacred music on the organ. Dn. Rubik Mailian, choir leader for
the St. John Church of Southfield, MI, discussed voice production
techniques and explored how to direct different vocal sections. Maestro
Khoren Mekanejian, coordinator of Music Ministry for the Diocese, taught
conducting skills to the young participants. Dr. Socrates Boyajian,
choir director for the St. Mary Church of Washington, D.C., gave a
presentation on western music, led a survey of music theory, and taught
ear training.

Since graduates of this program will be given the title of assistant
choir director, part of their graduation requirement was for each to
direct a segment of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, August 8, at the St.
Peter Church of Watervliet, NY, during a badarak celebrated by Fr. Arsen
Barsamian. The complete service was sung a cappella, producing a
haunting blend of voices, reminiscent of ancient renderings of the
Divine Liturgy. Along with conducting, the 12 young singers also joined
in the singing, blending their voices with local choir members and
deacons of the St. Peter Armenian Church. This was the result of the
over six hours of daily instruction, and additional practice time, that
each new assistant choir director put in over the four-day period of the
program.

FUN AND LEARNING

Along with the rigorous daily classroom schedule, the young musicians
had plenty of time for fellowship and social activities.

Through evaluation surveys and comments, the participants indicated that
they were highly motivated by the week of instruction and that they
benefited a great deal from each of the courses. Some indicated that
this week was an experience they would not forget, noting that they
learned more about the Divine Liturgy.

Learning to conduct a choir is what they came for, and their comments
indicated they were not disappointed. Each gained enough confidence to
stand before a crowd and conduct; and each indicated that his or her
hope to return next year for more intensive training.

Dr. Socrates Boyajian, of the AACCA Central Council, spearheaded the
junior choir leadership program and served as the coordinator for the
week’s sessions. Assisting Dr. Boyajian were other AACCA Central
Council members: Dn. Gregory Krikorian, Arpie Kouzouian, Mary
Selvinazian, and Anoush Givelekian; each of whom spent the week at the
Ararat Center to ensure the smooth functioning of the program. Former
Central Council member Anna Garabedian, of Springfield, MA, was also
present.

Each parish sending a young member to the program contributed a sum
toward the expenses of the conference. The balance was picked up by the
AACCA Central Council, which received contributions from generous donors
to help fund this worthy cause.

Participating in the first junior choir leadership development program,
were:
Erika Belezarian from St. Mark, Springfield, MA
Alyne Corrigan and Taleen Terjanian from St. Stepanos, Elberon, NJ
Gregory Dalakian from St. Mary, Livingston, NJ
Tamar Derderian from St. Sahag and St. Mesrob, Wynnewood, PA
Elise Durgarian from Holy Translators, Framingham, MA
Harry Lang and Sarah Malconian from Holy Trinity, Cambridge, MA
Tamara Martirosyan from Sts. Sahag and Mesrob, Providence, RI
Ani Nalbandian from Holy Ascension, Trumbull, CT
Katherine Norris from St. James, Richmond, VA
Dziadzan Sahagian from St. James, Watertown, MA

— 9/10/04

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

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Khoren Mekanejian, coordinator of music ministry for
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), works with
student Gregory Dalakian on his conducting technique during the first
junior choir leadership development seminar organized by the Association
of Armenian Church Choirs of America (AACCA) from August 3 to 8, 2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Fr Mamigon Kiledjian demonstrates proper organ pedal
technique to young musicians during a junior choir leadership
development seminar at the Diocese’s Ararat Center in upstate New York.

PHOTO CAPTION (3): Students at the first junior choir development
seminar are introduced to the Choir Association’s website, which serves
as a useful tool for choir directors.

PHOTO CAPTION (4): Deacon Rubin Mailian speaks on vocal technique to
the young participants of the first ever junior choir leadership
development seminar organized by the Association of Armenian Church
Choirs of America (AACCA) from August 3 to 8, 2004.

# # #

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:

September 10, 2004
___________________

PARISH TURNS OUT FOR ORDINATION SERVICE IN WISCONSIN

In front of the parishioners who are like family, surrounded by the
community he’s called home his whole life, Daniel Korakian got ready to
take on new responsibilities.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), spoke to the crowd, asking them if Korakian
was worthy of being a deacon.

“And they said I was worthy. That just made me think, ‘I hope I am.’
It was wonderful — a beautiful thing,” said the humble Korakian who was
ordained a deacon on Sunday, August 29, 2004, at the St. Mesrob Church
of Racine, WI. “I love this place. I love the people. These people
have been raising me my whole life. I think that’s why I am still
here.”

Korakian grew up in the Racine parish and currently serves as the
parish’s administrator and caretaker. He has been seriously working
towards his ordination for the past 12 years, and feels it was important
to step forward and assume the responsibilities of a deacon, a position
the parish takes very seriously. There is only one other deacon at the
parish.

“I will be able to continue what has been established,” Korakian said.
“The parish doesn’t have to be worried, there is another deacon to
support our senior deacon and to carry on in the future.”

The Primate said Korakian’s selfless devotion to the church is an
example others should follow.

“He is a true steward of the Armenian Church and of his parish. He
knows that each of us must step forward to do the work the Lord calls on
us to do,” the Primate said. “His is truly a ministry of service, which
brings the light of the Lord into the lives of his friends and
neighbors.”

Others in the parish followed Korakian down the path of service. That
same weekend the Primate ordained a number of acolytes and sub-deacons.

On Saturday, August 28, 2004, following an evening vespers service, the
Primate ordained five new acolytes: Grace Bedoian, Amanda Desotell,
Britany Garvin, Alex Janiuk, and Marissa Mahnke.

Along with ordaining Dn. Korakian on Sunday, the Primate ordained five
sub-deacons: Joseph Gabrielian, Richard Kadamian, Aram Katerdjian, Kai
Kazarian, and Stanton Sheridan.

— 9/10/04

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

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate, ordains Daniel
Korakian as a deacon during a service at St. Mesrob Church in Racine,
WI, on Sunday, August 29, 2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): The Primate ordained one deacon and five sub-deacons
at the St. Mesrob Church of Racine, WI, on Sunday, August 29, 2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (3): Parishioners filled St. Mesrob Church of Racine, WI,
on Saturday, August 28, 2004, as the Primate ordained five new acolytes.

PHOTO CAPTION (4): Archbishop Barsamian and Fr. Yeprem Kelegian, pastor
of the St. Mesrob Church of Racine, WI, join the new acolytes ordained
on August 28, 2004.

# # #

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Parliamentarians blame Iran, Armenia for producing chemical weapons

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 10 2004

Baku, September 9, AssA-Irada — Azerbaijan’s neighbors Iran and
Armenia are producing chemical weapons. This evidence can easily be
proved if the UN conducts serious investigations.

This statement was made by MP Elman Mammadov in a Thursday meeting of
the permanent parliamentary commission on security and defense issues.

However, Vice Speaker of the Milli Majlis (parliament) Ziyafat Asgarov,
who was presiding over the meeting, interrupted Mammadov, noting that
the issue is not related to the one on the agenda.*

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress