Armenian Fest marks its 8th anniversary
By KEITH J. O’CONNOR, Staff writer

The Republican, MA
Sept 2 2004

Thursday, September 02, 2004

While various towns held “taste” events this summer to sample the
“tasty” fare from area restaurants, it’s the Armenian community
now inviting the public to enjoy a fun day of traditional foods and
dancing with them at their eighth annual Armenian Fest Sunday.

“It’s a time to share our common, everyday foods and our traditions
among ourselves and with other communities,” said Eleanor Demirjian
of St. Mark Women’s Guild.

“And it’s a time to have fun and see friends you only see on occasion
and to catch up on what has been happening with them,” she added.

The event, noon-6 p.m., will be held on the grounds of St. Mark
Armenian Church at 2427 Wilbraham Road, Springfield.

According to parishioner Hagop “Jack” Boyajian, the festival began
eight years ago as a picnic “in the confines of the church hall,”
but soon outgrew its quarters indoors.

“The festival is multipurpose in addition to bringing people together,”
Boyajian said.

“It also serves to sustain the basic needs of the parish such
as meeting gas and electric charges, as well as raising money to
provide charitable funds, such as when we helped those impacted by
an earthquake in Armenia,” he added.

Admission to the festival is free, but money is raised through the
sale of food and other items.

This year’s menu will include hot shish kebab, chicken kebab, and
losh kebab, which is beef and lamb with spices, priced at $10 to $12.

“The dinners come with rice pilaf, salad and bread,” Demirjian said.

Members of the St. Mark Women’s Guild have been cooking around the
clock to stock a bake table where diners can enjoy an appetizer or
dessert “on the spot” or order some to take home. Among Armenian
delicacies for sale will be flaky turnovers called cheese boreg,
spanakopita or spinach boreg, string cheese and boorma, a flaky pastry
with sugar syrup. There will also be a sweet bread called choreg,
stuffed grape leaves and butter cookies.

“Paklava, which is the same as baklava, is a layered filo dough with
nuts, cinnamon, honey and sugar, and is the king of our pastries,”
Demirjian said.

“Our queen of pastries is the boorma, a flaky dough that is a lighter
version of our paklava, with the same ingredients and a nice light
sugary sauce,” she added.

Frozen lahmejune, or flat meat pies, will also be available for sale
to take home by the dozen, Demirjian noted.

“These are flat, like a pizza but with no cheese, and a meat topping
along with spices, peppers, onions and other vegetables,” she said.

To add to the festivities, live music to sit back and tap your toes
or to get up on your feet and dance, will be provided by Hye Echoes.

Visitors can even do a little shopping at this year’s fest where a
“country store” has been set up to sell cracker bread, grains, dried
flowers, a yogurt drink called tahn, Armenian coffee and more.

For those feeling lucky, Anita Assarian will have some fun predicting
fortunes as she reads the future from coffee residue left in a cup
after drinking.

This year’s Armenian Fest will also feature live cooking and dancing
demonstrations.

“We are currently preparing a video cookbook for sale and will be
running a sample of it near the bake table showing the preparations
for several of the baked items we will be selling,” Demirjian said .

To keep the kids entertained, there will be games and a bounce house.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Detroit Free Press, MI
Sept 2 2004

About Chechnya

Population: 1.2 million; 85 percent are Sunni Muslim Chechens, the
remainder are Christians, mostly Russians or Armenians.

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Size: About 5,000 square miles.

History: Chechens have been fighting Russian occupation since the
late 18th Century. But the seeds of the current revolt go back to
World War II, when Chechnya was a semiautonomous republic within the
Soviet Union. While most Chechen males fought German troops, Soviet
dictator Josef Stalin ordered Chechnya wiped off the map. Secret
police burned villages and deported the entire Chechen population to
Kazakhstan and Siberia, accusing them and other Soviet Muslims of
collaborating with the Nazis.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, an independence movement
formed in Chechnya, but Russia refused to allow the secession. As a
result, Chechnya has undergone two civil wars, which have left most
of Chechnya under the control of the federal military. Chechen
separatists still claim an independent Chechnya and have orchestrated
attacks in Chechnya and other regions of Russia, including Moscow.
Some 150,000 people have died as a result of Chechen civil strife
from 1994 to 2003.

The rebel force: Military analysts estimate the number to be in the
low thousands. The rebels are thought to have the support of up to 30
percent of the Chechen population, although the vast majority of
Chechens say they are tired of the bloodshed. Apart from indigenous
Chechen fighters, the separatist force includes foreigners. Some top
commanders are from Saudi Arabia. Suicide bombers have notably
included so-called black widows — Chechen women who lost husbands in
fighting.

Foreign Minister on Prague meeting results

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 2 2004

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov expressed his satisfaction with
the outcome of the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Vardan
Oskanian in Prague on Monday. The results of the meeting have not
been disclosed. Mammadyarov told local ATV channel that
the meeting was a step forward in settling the Upper Garabagh
conflict and that a specific decision on continuing the talks will
be made after the meeting results are reported to the two countries’
presidents. Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents are scheduled to
meet within the summit of the CIS heads of state due in Astana,
Kazakhstan on September 15. Oskanian earlier told journalists that
he did not expect the Prague meeting to yield positive results and
that its only outcome was determining the direction of future talks.

Ankara to mediate talks

A meeting of Azerbaijani, Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers will
be held in Ankara in September, the Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan
Ahmet Unal Cevikoz has told journalists. He said that the date and
agenda of the meeting have not been determined yet. The ministers
will exchange views on issues related to eliminating tensions in the
region, the ambassador added.

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Sept 2 2004

Police, fire seek diversity
Both Glendale departments strive to hire more minorities for public
safety jobs.

By Jackson Bell, News-Press

GLENDALE — For Hagop Kurdian, the youthful dream of becoming a
firefighter wasn’t warmly received by the adults in his family and
elders in his community.

That’s because Kurdian, a Glendale resident of Armenian descent whose
parents immigrated from Lebanon, comes from an ethnic background that
generally regards work in civil service as a “last-resort job” when
one can’t succeed in business.

That was in Lebanon, where firefighting was primitive and a career on
the force was not a well-paid or well-respected career. But in the
U.S., he said firefighters receive good salaries and are held in high
esteem in the community.

“A lot of Armenians are not educated as to what the firefighters do,
so they don’t see this as much of an honorable profession or career,”
said Kurdian, a 23-year-old Glendale fire cadet who aspires to join
the force. “But the more they learn about [the job], the more
supportive they become.”

For a city that estimates nearly one-third of its population is of
Armenian descent, Glendale Fire and Police representatives say their
department personnel does not reflect that statistic. And both
agencies are striving to interest community members of all minorities
to join their ranks.

As of July 31, 2003, the police department’s staff of 368 sworn
officers and support staff had 17 people of Armenian descent, 23 with
an Asian/Pacific Islander background, seven blacks and 84 Latinos,
according to city auditors. The fire department’s staff has two of
Armenian descent, eight Asian/Pacific Islanders, six blacks and 33
Latinos. Fire officials added that the department has never had a
sworn firefighter of Armenian descent, and the employees with an
Armenian background are civilian employees.

Another reason Battalion Chief Harold Scoggins believes Armenians are
underrepresented is because there has been a dramatic uptick in
immigration over the past 25 years. And since the Glendale Fire
Department hires less frequently than other agencies, he said it’s
hard for the department to keep up with sharp demographic shifts.

“But just because we don’t have one, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t
working hard to get Armenians on the department,” said Scoggins, who
heads recruiting and hiring. “We have to start somewhere, and
everyday we’re getting closer.”

Glendale Police, although more diversified than its public-safety
counterpart, is still making efforts to spur more community interest,
said Lt. Bruce Fox, who heads the department’s Professional Standards
Bureau.

An outreach meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Glendale
Police Station’s Community Room, 140 N. Isabel St., where people can
learn how to join the force. Officers of Armenian, Asian and Latino
descent will also be on hand to meet with the public.

But fire and police representatives say standards for candidates will
not be lowered just to diversify their staff.

People interested in learning more can call Scoggins at 548-4050, log
onto or stop and talk to a
firefighter on the street, if they are not responding to an
emergency.

PRESS RELEASE/NEWS REVIEW

MELKONIAN ALUMNI CYPRUS

Contact: Masis der Parthogh

P.O. Box 16077, CY 2085
Nicosia, Cyprus.
Tel. +-357 22 678666
Fax. +-357 22 678664
Email: [email protected]

Melkonian students remain in uncertainty

There were no registrations for the new school year

PHILELEFTHEROS – Monday, August 30, 2004
(Translation)

By Frixos Dalitis

The prospect of the new school year being the last one for the historic
Melkonian school of the Armenians is imminent. Everybody despises this
outcome but the intention of the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) charity foundation is to close the school and sell the land.

The registrations for new students have not taken place this year by
decision of the Executive Board of the foundation and the decision
is to close the school at the end of the new school year. The issue
has caused the extensive reaction of the Armenian community, which
on the initiative of the school’s Alumni Association is resorting to
actions to prevent this closure.

As the vice president of the Alumni Association, Masis der Parthogh,
told “Phileleftheros”, registrations did not take place this year by
decision of the foundation that manages the school. Also, he said,
the local representatives of the AGBU are warning parents that the
school will close and they deserve to find something better for
their children.

As regards the Melkonian, the Environmentalists’ Movement had raised
the issue in November 2003 suggesting that the development zoning
levels for the whole estate be reduced to prevent anyone from selling
it. On April 2, by decision of the Minister of Interior, two thirds
of the land (the twin buildings, the founders’ villa, the boarding
house and the forest) were declared as a protected area. However,
according to Mr. der Parthogh, the company that administers it has
objected to the proposal to declare the land as protected.

“I don’t think this decision can change, because the matter has to go
to the Council of Ministers which I consider is impossible to change
the declaration,” Masis der Parthogh said.

Also, on March 26, the House plenary session called on the government
to intervene so as not only to declare the buildings as protected but
also for it to continue to operate as a school and for the AGBU board
that is based in New York to come into contact and cooperate with the
Armenian community of Cyprus and to discuss the future of the school.

Since then, Mr. der Parthogh said, nothing has happened and the AGBU
representative in Cyprus ignores the House decision and continues to
implement the decisions of the foundation’s board without coming into
contact with anyone.

“We, as the Association, sent a letter to the President of the House,
as well as to all the deputies of the House Education Committee and
the Ministers calling for their immediate intervention, because these
people have not only put aside any decision of the House, but they
ignore it as well. We say, through our Representative in the House,
that we are in a position to undertake the complete management of
the school, if the State, the Parliament or any other body can start
a dialogue for us to take control of the school’s administration,”
Masis der Parthogh said.

Referring to the Association’s position and the actions they are
taking to prevent the school’s closure, he said: “That ground, we
do not accept that it belongs to them, as they claim. Our lawyers
here have been working for months trying to prove the opposite,
that they simply had the administration of the school and not its
ownership. The Melkonian is a private school that belongs to a trust,
the administration of which is in the hands of the foundation.

“From the 1920s to the early 1930s efforts were made to transfer
the ownership to the Armenian Patriarchate in Constantinople. This
is what we are trying to discover with our lawyers with searches in
many countries. Furthermore, what we are saying is that as this is a
trust they cannot sell it, but they can only administer it and nothing
else, so it has to revert to the Armenian community. We are trying
to involve all the bodies, political parties, etc., in order for a
political decision to be taken to ensure the continued operation of
the Melkonian school.”

Ministry of Education’s hands are tied

The Melkonian school is a private school for secondary education with
an offer for free education by agreement of the Republic of Cyprus. It
was established in 1926 and initially operated as an orphanage,
providing shelter and board and later education to orphan Armenians who
survived the genocide by the Turks. Gradually, the Melkonian school
was transformed to a large educational institute for the Armenian
diaspora with an international reputation and for the national culture
for the Armenian community of the diaspora. The school’s continuation
is considered as vital for the Armenian community in Cyprus.

The Ministry of Education, through the Director of Secondary Education,
Andreas Skoteinos, assures that it is doing everything possible within
its ability for the school to continue to operate.

“Some legal problems prevent the Ministry from taking further action
as the school is private and the law does not allow for any further
involvement in the matter,” he said. However, he expressed the hope
that “we will not be led to the prospect of the school closing.”

“O Phileleftheros Ltd.”

Azeri capital’s authorities ban anti-Armenian picket outside French embassy

ANS TV, Baku
2 Sep 04

[Presenter over video of Qudrat Hasanquliyev, chairman of the United
People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party, UPFAP] The Baku city executive
authorities have not permitted the UPFAP to stage a picket outside
the French embassy on 3 September in protest over Armenian officers’
planned visit [to Azerbaijan to attend NATO exercises].

The city authorities said that Azerbaijan’s authoritative bodies
have set some conditions to international organizations in connection
with the Armenian officers’ planned participation in the Baku-hosted
exercises and that the conditions protect the interests of our country.

Hasanquliyev said that the conviction of the members of the Karabakh
Liberation Organization will not make his party give up its struggle.

Azeri pressure group appeals to authorities to arrest Armenian officers

MPA news agency
2 Sep 04

Baku, 2 September: The Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO)
has appealed to the leadership of the republic and the heads of the
law-enforcement agencies for conducting a detailed investigation into
the identities and the military career of the Armenian officers who
intend to take part in the Cooperative Best Effort exercise as part
of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme in Baku on 13-27 September.

The appeal says that the appropriate bodies should investigate if
the Armenian officers took part in military operations during the
Karabakh war and if they have been involved in war crimes. If such
facts are discovered, they should arrest [the Armenian officers]
and bring [them] to account.

The KLO is also planning actions of protest. Its deputy chairman
Samil Mehdi said that the KLO will hold nonstop protests during the
exercise to demand that the authorities deport the Armenian officers
from Azerbaijan if they visit Baku.

Armenian leader congratulates Karabakh on 13th anniversary of independence

Mediamax news agency
2 Sep 04

Yerevan, 2 September: “The experience and historical events of the last
years have confirmed the right choice made by the Karabakh people and
have proven that the establishment of Nagornyy Karabakh’s statehood
is an undeniable reality,” Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has
said in a congratulatory message to the president of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic [NKR], Arkadiy Gukasyan, on the occasion of the
13th anniversary of the NKR establishment celebrated today, Mediamax
has said.

“The reforms implemented in Nagornyy Karabakh, especially in the
economic sphere, and deepening of democracy will ensure a new level
of life. I am sure that the positive processes will continue and
will bring tangible results in the foreseeable future. The Armenian
authorities remain committed to the principles of a peaceful and
just settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem,” the Armenian
president said.

Armenian Speaker calls for expansion of relations with Iran

IRNA web site, Tehran
2 Sep 04

Moscow, 2 September: Armenian National Assembly Chairman Artur
Bagdasaryan on Thursday [2 September] called for further expansion
of mutual cooperation between his country and Iran in various areas.

In a meeting with Iran’s ambassador to Yerevan, Ali Reza Haqiqiyan,
Bagdasaryan said the forthcoming visit by Iran’s President Mohammad
Khatami to Armenia is considered as a significant factor to promote
bilateral ties.

He also attached significance to Iran-Armenia mutual cooperation,
parliamentary relations and further communication between parliamentary
friendship groups of the two countries.

The Iranian diplomat, for his part, attached significance to
Khatami’s visit to Yerevan and parliamentary cooperation between the
two countries.

“The Republic of Armenia enjoys special status in Iranian foreign
policy. Tehran calls for strengthening stability and security and
economy of Armenia, said Haqiqiyan.

President Mohammad Khatami is scheduled to pay an official visit to
the Republic of Armenia in near future.

Armenian politician predicts dissolution of parliament, government

Aravot web site, Yerevan
30 Aug 04

If the ruling coalition does not strip opposition MPs of their
mandates, President Robert Kocharyan will dissolve the National
Assembly and sack the government, the leader of the Democratic Party of
Armenia, Aram Sarkisyan, has told the Aravot paper. The following is
an excerpt from report entitled “Stripping MPs of mandates is a trial
balloon” posted on Armenian newspaper Aravot web site on 30 August:

The leader of the Democratic Party believes that Armenia is just one
step away from an “authoritarian, criminal and oligarchic system”.

“The public is no longer protesting against injustice and
arbitrariness. Next the following will happen: Robert Kocharyan
will dissolve the government as he is fed up with infighting in the
coalition, the distribution of spheres according to party affiliation
and so on. We shall again return to the appointment of ministers on
the strength of their professional qualities.

“However, to do this, a formal reason is required. This move will
be possible if the coalition votes against stripping the opposition
MPs of their mandates. The situation will then become critical which
will provide grounds for dissolving the parliament. The next National
Assembly will represent a gathering of ‘cronies’ which suits Kocharyan
very well.

“If everybody in the country keeps silent when (a former head of the
Credit-Yerevan Bank) Levon Markos states that officials misappropriated
50m dollars, cites facts of corruption and accuses the defence
minister, yet nothing happens, this manifests that our society is
seriously ill and that those who have taken the responsibility for
ruling the country have turned us into idiots,” the DPA leader said.

At one point, when information was leaked that the National Assembly
and the government would be dissolved, the prime minister immediately
said that he would defect to the opposition and the speaker hinted at
the possibility of starting the process of impeaching the president. At
that time, Robert Kocharyan through his press secretary was compelled
to issue a statement that no changes were expected.

On the basis of what Aram Sarkisyan claims that Kocharyan, for fear
of losing his political support, can resort to the dissolution of
the legislative and executive bodies?

“[Prime Minister] Andranik Markaryan and [Speaker] Artur Bagdasaryan
made a big mistake by stating prematurely that they would switch
to the opposition if they were relieved of their posts. Kocharyan
started to think about how to neutralize a possible threat and decided
to bring the punitive bodies up to the level they are at present. To
the incumbent president, the notion of ‘political support’ is double
Dutch, he does not understand what it is. Why should he want political
support if he can simply use the services of oligarchs’ bodyguards?,”
Sarkisyan said.

Aram Sarkisyan did not rule out the possibility that not all the
opposition MPs will be stripped of their mandates at once, but rather
two or three of them, and the rest will be compelled to surrender
their powers. [Passage omitted.]

Speaking about the return of the opposition MPs to parliament,
Sarkisyan recalled that the reasons for the political boycott
had still not been removed: the amendments to law “On referendum”
are not being debated, those guilty of lawlessness have not been
brought to book, and the preliminary investigation into the criminal
case against the [opposition] Justice bloc has been extended for
another two months. “None of the points in the Council of Europe’s
resolution has been honoured,” the DPA leader said, adding: “If the
coalition in the course of negotiations assumes responsibility for
honouring these important conditions, we shall have reason to return
to parliament. However, I am convinced that nothing depends on the
coalition parties. Everything is at will of one man.”