PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

THE PAN-DIASPORA CONFERENCE IN ANTELIAS CONCLUDES ITS WORK

ANTELIAS, LEBANON – Initiated by His Holiness Catholicos Aram I and
organized by the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia an International
Conference on Armenian education was held in the Armenian Theological
Seminary, in Bikfaya, Lebanon from 5-7 August 2004. The theme of the
Conference was “The Armenian Education in the Diaspora”. About one
hundred people from different parts of the world, from communities
living in different political, cultural and religious contexts came
together to focus their attention on issues pertaining to the
Armenian-Christian formation today in a new world setting.

In his opening address His Holiness Aram I identified the concerns and
challenges facing the Armenian Christian education in the context of
pluralistic societies. He addressed a number of critical issues, and then
posed two questions. What does it mean to be Armenian Christian? How should
we form the Armenian Christian for tomorrow? His Holiness underscored the
crucial importance of re-evaluating and renewing our educational
methodologies, strategies and programs by making them more relevant and
reliable. At the end of his address His Holiness proposed that Armenia and
Diaspora together engage in a process of developing a Pan-Armenian
educational policy with particular emphasis on the worldwide Armenian
Diaspora.

The agenda of the conference included the following topics: The actual state
of education in different continents where Armenian communities live; the
implications of globalization to education; the role of the church in
Armenian Christian formation; the family as an important educational
instrument; the impact of pluralistic societies on Armenian Education; the
use and misuse of technology in education; the role of the textbooks and the
extra curricula activities; human resources: formation and training; the
contribution of the Saturday schools, Sunday schools and children’s camps to
education; the importance of new community schools for the Armenian
communities established in the West.

The conference addressed these and a number of related matters through
papers, panel discussions and hearings. The active participation of young
educators and women provided new perspectives and dynamism to the
discussion. They challenged the traditional views and approaches and
constantly reminded that in a new world context a renewed perception and
vision of education are imperative. They echoed the challenge of His
Holiness that in the present world of globalization and communication and in
a context of new societies, our education must become more responsive and
attractive.

His Holiness personally attended all the sessions and at the end of each
session he highlighted the emerging concerns and views.

The conference, which was an unprecedented event in the contemporary
Armenian history, summarized its findings in a declaration where a
particular emphasis was laid on the importance of translating the
Conference’s reflection into action.

In his closing remarks His Holiness Aram I identified three words which
should occupy a central place in our educational work: “relevance, coherence
and integrity”. He said “We are living in different contexts. We must,
therefore, develop different educational procedures and strategies. We are
citizens of different countries, yet we are Armenians and part of the
globalized world. We have our own convictions, values and norms, but we are
living in a new environment. Hence, it is vitally important that we develop
the kind of educational policy that provides integrity, relevance and
coherence to our educational work, at the same time preserving our distinct
Armenian Christian identity. This is a great challenge before us and we must
take it seriously and responsibly”, said His Holiness.

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View printable pictures here:

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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Glendale News Press
August 9, 2004

‘I felt so awful being there’
Marine Sgt. Baleny Minas talks about her five months at war and how
they have shaped her political beliefs.

By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press

NORTHEAST GLENDALE – The welcome back sign stretched across the stairway
just inside the front door, and a rainbow of colored balloons littered
the floor. Just outside the door, a balcony overlooked the Chevy Chase
Canyon, Glendale’s bastion of fiscal conservatives and protectors of the
hillsides.

The neighborhood is one of wealth and influence. The Chevy Chase Canyon
is not a hot spot for the Army or Marine recruiters, and the war in Iraq
seems far removed.

Sitting on the back porch of her parents’ house, with the Jacuzzi in
front of her and the garden behind her, Marine Sgt. Baleny Minas seemed
a bit out of place talking about her five months in Iraq. She admitted
that she lives like a princess, quite different from most of the
soldiers with whom she serves. For nearly an hour, Minas talked about
her experiences in Iraq – she returned Aug. 2 and how they shaped her
political beliefs. She vented some frustration, but also toned down her
words, concerned about retribution when her weeklong leave from the
Marines is over.

“I felt so awful being there,” said Minas, who managed test gear for
attack helicopters at a Marine base near Fallouja. “The reasons for the
war have yet to be justified by the administration, and here I am
oppressing a people, much like my people have been oppressed. I’m
Armenian American. We’ve been oppressed. I felt like I don’t belong
there.”

Politics are a strong part of Minas’ life. The daughter of a fiscal
conservative, she always considered herself a Republican, just like her
father. In 2000, she voted for George W. Bush.

Right about that time, she enlisted in the Marine reserves.

“In 2000, [Bill] Clinton was president and the country seemed to be in
the best state,” Minas said. “We were friends with everybody in the
world. I was 20 years old, between junior college and UCLA. I decided
that it’s an opportune time, I’ll go into the reserves.”

In between her one weekend per month and two weeks per year, she started
studying politics. In 2002, she graduated from UCLA with a degree in
political science. She was working toward a master’s degree in public
policy at USC when the Marines activated her reserve unit in January.

She is determined to pursue a career in politics – not necessarily an
elected office – but her political mind-set is quite different from four
years ago. The girl who grew up a Republican now talks like a woman with
liberal ideals.

“I live for politics,” Minas said. “I talk about it all the time. I live
for it all day, I might as well get paid for it.”

Minas held back her criticism of Bush – as Commander in Chief, he is her
boss. Instead, she let her stories tell the tale.

– Tired, overworked troops in her squadron could not sleep because the
generators that powered the air-conditioning units kept breaking.

– The squadron participated in exercises in “nation-building,” when
Iraqis came onto the Marine camp and filled sandbags with the muzzles of
American machine guns trained on them.

– The mortar attacks on the base were part of the job. Sometimes there
were 10 in a day, sometimes a month went by between attacks.

– A pilot, well- respected and popular in the squadron, died from a
gunshot wound to the neck while in flight, the squadron’s only casualty.

“There’s something about being in the military, it’s business as usual,”
Minas said. “You get mortared, and then everybody looks around and says,
‘I’m still alive.’ That mentality, it grows on you. Fear is not an
option.”

While Minas served her time, her family worried. Family friends asked
why they didn’t try to use their money and influence to get her out of
the military. Her brother Shant, fresh out of the Army himself, said
they lived by an honor code.

“If they say you go, you go,” said Shant Minas, whose Army unit went to
Iraq just after his release in April 2003. “Our way of dealing with it,
all of us, we kept ourselves deliberately extra busy the whole time.
We’re just really, really glad to have her back. Words can’t describe
the emotions that we feel, the happiness to have her back. We were
nervous people when she was gone.”

On Sunday, Baleny Minas returned to Camp Pendleton, leaving behind the
comforts of Chevy Chase Canyon. She must prepare the camp for the
arrival of the rest of her squadron, who will not return from Iraq until
early September. Their one-year stint on active duty has already been
extended for a second year, and she has already been told to expect
another trip to Iraq in March.

“I’m honored to serve with the people I’ve served with,” Minas said.
“I’m in an outstanding squadron with exceptional Marines. There’s an
incredible amount of discipline. I just wish these kids actually knew
what they were doing, what’s going on in this war. It’s a silence
campaign.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A GRENADE BLOWN-UP AT ONE OF YEREVAN’S INTERNET CLUBS

YEREVAN, AUGUST 9. ARMINFO. A certain Mais Zohrabian blew up a grenade
at an internet-club in 2 Paronian street in Yerevan today.

According to the information of the Police of Armenia, operator of the
internet club, 42 years old Laura Mnatsakanian died as a result of the
explosion. Mais Zohrabian and the Director of the club Araik Arakelian
were taken to hospital with missile wounds. The public prosecutor’s
office is carrying out an investigation concerning the case on the
explosion.

Iraqi priests defy bombers in half-empty churches

By Matthew Green

BAGHDAD, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Priests thundered defiance on Sunday at
attackers who bombed Iraqi churches a week ago, but fears of more
strikes ensured they were preaching to half-empty pews.

Blasts at five churches in Iraq killed 11 people during evening
prayers last Sunday — inspiring dread among some of Iraq’s 800,000
Christians and invigorating the faith of others.

“We have paid the price of love in Iraq with our blood,” Catholic
Archbishop Antoine Atamian said at Baghdad’s Armenian church, where
the scorched wreckage of a car tipped on its side by one of the blasts
still lay in the street.

“We’re not worried about physical death, we fear the death of the
principles of love and compassion that make up the soul of Iraq,” said
Atamian, who represents the Armenian denomination, one of several
Christian communities in Iraq.

Above him, shards of stained glass dangled from a high window
shattered by the explosion — although the solemn figure of an
Armenian saint in the panel had been spared destruction.

Worshippers at the church said about a third of the usual 600 people
attended mass on Sunday, a major break with tradition for Iraqi
Christians who pride themselves on a much stauncher level of devotion
than in many European countries.

Leaving the church, built with solid arches and an imposing bell
tower, locals said nowhere was safe in Baghdad, where the sound of
mortars and rockets starts soon after sundown most days.

“What can you do?” shrugged May Yousif, 46, who designed the stained
glass damaged in the blast. “At home all night we hear bombing, it’s
the same everywhere.”

Dwarfed by a mainly Muslim population of 25 million, Iraq’s Christians
have been gripped by anxiety since last year’s U.S.-led invasion
toppled Saddam Hussein, who had largely left them free to worship as
they pleased.

Last week’s blasts crushed any hope Christians had of avoiding the
kind of attacks on mosques staged in the past year in apparent
attempts to stir sectarian strife among Muslims.

“THEY WANTED TO KILL PEOPLE”

Divided into various close-knit denominations — such as Armenians,
Assyrians and Chaldeans — many members of the various Christian
communities share a growing sense that they might be targeted for
their religion.

At the Syrian Catholic Church, where workmen gathered to repair damage
caused by another car bomb blast, only about 70 of the usual
1,000-strong congregation made it to a makeshift mass held on Sunday
in a nearby hall.

“They won’t come as they used to before,” said Reverend Raphael
Kutaimi, one of the senior clergy. “They wanted to kill people in the
church, of course this will affect our members.”

Priests have urged Christians to resist the temptation to quit Iraq to
join their brethren in countries such as neighbouring Syria, fearing
an exodus of hundreds of their co-religionists will sap the life force
of their community.

“We will not flee Iraq, our blood was mingled with the blood of Iraq’s
martyrs,” said Peter Haddad, at the church of Mary in Baghdad, where a
good deal of bare wood from pews was visible during his
thinly-attended service.

“We, Muslims and Christians, are united in our efforts and hearts in
this country and over this land,” he said.

For Christians like Leon Terzian, 72, an architect who designed the
Armenian church to echo temples of pre-Christian fire-worshippers, the
attacks simply reinforced his faith.

“After each difficulty, a person goes to God and prays,” he said,
speaking near an altar adorned with vases of red roses. “Christians
never ask for revenge, just for forgiveness.”

(Additional reporting by Omar Anwar and Seif Fuad)

08/08/04 09:11 ET

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian

August 9, 2004

DATEV INSTITUTE: A SCHOOL FOR ARMENIAN CHRISTIAN FORMATION

NEW YORK, NY-“There is something about the evening service that is so
moving. It offers a chance to reflect, a time to meditate. Every day, as
night sets in, I look forward to this special time to communicate with God,”
said Krista Guzelian (a 17-year-old Datev Institute participant from North
Andover, Massachusetts). In the morning around 7:15, groups of teens begin
filing from their dorms towards the chapel, a long driveway away. It is a
sight to behold! This happened every day, every evening and every morning,
for seven days.

Worship framed the communal life of the 76 students from 13 parishes
gathered for the 18th St. Gregory of Datev Institute at St. Mary of
Providence Center in bucolic Elverson, Pennsylvania from June 27 to July 4,
2004, sponsored by the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC) of the
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, under the directorship of
Vicar General Very Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian.

Sandwiched between morning and evening services, the day was packed with
educational events (8:30am-12: 30pm and 7pm-9pm) and recreational activities
(1:30pm-5:30pm). Through interactive presentations, lectures, discussions,
Bible studies, panel discussions the curriculum exposed the participants to
a range of the essentials of Armenian Christianity, from Bible and creeds,
sacraments and chants, feasts and saints, personal and communal prayer,
language and history, to ethics and moral living.

Nora Palandjian, a second year student from Providence, Rhode Island,
captured the spirit of Datev when she said, “Prayer, education and
fellowship-these are the reasons why I come to Datev.” Granted, not everyone
attends Datev with these objectives in mind, or in that order. But they
leave with those three objectives etched in their minds, because they have
been formed and shaped by the prayers and hymns of the Armenian Church, by
the essential elements of the Armenian Apostolic Christianity, and also by
new and renewed friendships. (Visit the Prelacy web site for more
impressions at )

The St. Gregory of Datev Institute is a four-year faith-based, youth program
(one week each year). Those who complete the 4-year program may return for
postgraduate classes. All five levels of study take place concurrently. In
addition, this year the Institute had pre-Datev classes for students ages
10-12. There were 6 pre-datev students, 18 first-year students, 14
second-year students, 11 third-year students, 11 fourth-year students
(graduates), and 16 post-graduates.

The participants enjoyed the presence of the Prelate, His Eminence
Archbishop Oshagan, who took time out of his busy schedule to be with the
Datevatsies, accompanied by Hon. Judge Sarkis and Ardemis Teshoian. Judge
Teshoian delivered the evening lecture telling the students about the
importance of being Armenian in our society and what it means to be an
Armenian American. Utilizing experiences from his own life, he advised the
students to be good citizens and meet the challenges ahead. “Don’t think
that others are better than you, or that you are better than others,” he
said. He told them that participation in both Armenian and American society
is very important. He also stressed the importance of education and the
knowledge of other languages, not only Armenian and English. “In this age of
globalization,” he said, “the one who knows more will be hired and will
advance up the ladder of success. Remember that just as you get happy when
you read about a successful and famous Armenian, someday an Armenian
youngster will read about you and your success and become happy.”

The weeklong program came to a close with the celebration of the Soorp
Badarak at St. Gregory Armenian Church in Philadelphia on Sunday, July 4,
followed by luncheon, graciously provided and served by the Artemis Chapter
of the Armenian Relief Society.

THE EDUCATORS
The instructors of the Institute were: Very Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian,
Very Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Rev. Fr. Mesrob Tashjian, Rev. Fr. Khoren
Habeshian, Rev. Fr. Antranig Baljian, Rev. Fr. Nerses Manoogian, Rev. Fr.
Gomidas Baghsarian, Rev. Fr. Sarkis Aktavoukian, and Dn. Shant Kazanjian. In
addition, the following postgraduate “datevatsies” taught several classes:
Dn. Nishan Baljian, Dn. Dr. Arsen Mekaelian, Barbara Baljian, Nayiri
Baljian, Martha Mekaelian, Jeanette Nazarian.

This year the Institute was privileged to have three guest lecturers: Very
Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian (Media Relations Officer, Catholicosate of
Cilicia), Hon. Judge Sarkis Teshoian, and Prof. John Barnett of St.
Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, NY).

A WORD OF THANKS
Archbishop Oshagan praised the Datev program and thanked the dedicated
teachers who manage to make the entire Datev experience exhilarating,
enjoyable and educational. “I was so pleased to be able to spend a day with
the Datev students and their teachers. I found the caliber of the
participants to be exceptional. “The atmosphere was joyful and very
respectful,” the Prelate said. “I told the students that they are part of
our family and they have the love of God and our Church in their hearts.”

As Archbishop Oshagan noted, a program of this scope is made possible
through the collaborative efforts between AREC and parishes, parents,
volunteer workers, and a number of organizations and individuals. It is meet
and right to acknowledge and thank them for their support and contributions
to the work of the Institute. In the first place, the Institute wishes to
thank the instructors for their labor of love and the parents for entrusting
their children to the Institute for a week of spiritual formation. The
Institute would like to express its gratitude to the following datevatzies
for their invaluable services as supervisors and counselors: Dn. Nishan
Baljian, Dn. Dr. Arsen Mekaelian, Ms. Barbara Baljian, Ms. Nayiri Baljian,
Mr. Arek Hamalian, Mr. James Haddad, Mr. Harout Khatchadourian, Mrs. Martha
Mekaelian, Mr. Mikhail Mekaelian, Ms. Jeanette Nazarian, and to ANEC
director Gilda Kupelian for conducting the Datev Jeopardy program. Many
thanks to those parishes that subsidized a portion of the expenses by
providing scholarships.

The Institute extends its appreciation to the Pashalian Family Education
Fund for the donation of $2,750. The Institute thanks the following generous
supporters: The Prelacy Ladies Guild (PLG), the National Association of
Ladies’ Guild (NALG), the Artemis Chapter of the Armenian Relief Society,
Mrs. Asdghig Kazanjian, and Mr. and Mrs. Noubar Megerian. Thanks also to the
following donors: Mr. and Mrs. Hrant Jilozian, Mrs. Sirvart Kaloustian, Mr.
and Mrs. Zaven Oranjian.

A photo gallery of the 2004 Datev Institute is on the Prelacy web page,

ARABICNEWS.Com

Iraqi Christians will not leave it
Iraq, Politics, 8/9/2004

The Iraqi churches in Baghdad witnessed a notable decrease in the number of
worshippers who took part in yesterday’s mass, the first Sunday after the
simultaneous attacks which targeted 6 churches in Baghdad and Musil in which
10 persons were killed and more than other 40 were injured.

Seats at ” Virgin Mary” Church were almost empty except for very few number
of worshippers who attended the mass. Under the shock of the attacks of last
Sunday, Iraqi Christians prayed for peace and lit candles.

The audience were also few in the Armenian church where remains of a car
destroyed in last Sunday’s aggressions are there.

Rev Antoine Atamian who chaired the mass in the church where number of
audience receded to one third said that the Christians should not leave Iraq
despite the recent attacks against them. He said:” we have paid in blood the
price for our love to Iraq.” He added ” We are not concerned over physical
death, we are scared of the death of the principles of love and amity and
sympathy which all constitute the spirit of Iraq.”

In the Syriac- Catholic Church in Baghdad, workers gathered to repair
damages inflected by the attack which targeted it. The mass which was held
in a nearby hall was attended by 70 persons out of 1,000 believers used to
attend it. Priest Raphael Qatteimi said:” They want to kill people in the
churches, eventually this will affect our members.”

Chicago Sun-Times

Wis. looks at tourism jobs for locals, not foreigners

August 9, 2004

Summer visitors to Wisconsin may be noticing accents beyond the usual
cheeseland variety as hundreds of foreign teenagers are staffing tourist
magnets like the Dells and Door County.

Now, though, some are saying those jobs ought to go to Wisconsin’s
unemployed.

Wisconsin’s tourism secretary wants to start a new effort to promote the
state’s seasonal tourism jobs to its own out-of-work residents.
Jim Holperin said he has no indication that theme parks and other popular
destinations are intentionally passing over Wisconsin workers, but he said
the state lacks a strategy for matching the jobless to tourism posts, which
often go to foreign workers. A program is in its early stage of discussion.

The state’s tourism industry started recruiting foreign workers — typically
college students — in the late 1990s, when low unemployment created a labor
shortage.

Some in the tourism industry say Wisconsin residents in high unemployment
areas are not willing to move for the summer jobs. Some also say residents
don’t seem to be interested in drudgery jobs.

“Even in desperate times, they don’t want to do housekeeping,” said Joanne
Stanzel, personnel director at Landmark Resort in Door County. She has hired
several college-aged students from Armenia and Romania for such jobs.

Tom Diehl, president of Tommy Bartlett Inc., said he hired about 70 young
people from Finland this summer to work at the company’s water shows and
other attractions in Wisconsin Dells.

Lifeguard Tito Suero of the Dominican Republic earns about $1,000 a month at
Noah’s Ark Family Park compared with the $50 a month he would earn doing
similar work in his homeland. “I feel pretty lucky,” the 23-year-old
medical student said.

Jim Cavanaugh, president of the Madison-based South Central Federation of
Labor, said laid-off factory workers would take the seasonal jobs to get a
regular paycheck. But he suspects the tourism industry is afraid a tight
labor market might return and are hesitant to cut off sources of
international labor.

PawtucketTimes.com
Top Stories

City will host R.I. film fest

Joel Furfari 08/09/2004

PAWTUCKET — For the first time since its inception, the Rhode Island
International Film Festival is coming to Pawtucket.

The 100-seat theater inside the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center, 175 Main
St., will host a series of screenings this week as the city plays host to
the festival for the first time.

Herb Weiss, the city’s cultural affairs officer, said officials want to
bring more films into the theater.

“It’s underutilized right now and we’re in discussion with some groups to
see if we can begin bringing in more screenings to the theater,” he said.

Film buffs will be in for a treat this week: The theater will host
screenings on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. The film festival’s gala
opening is Tuesday.

At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, the film “Parallel Lines” will be screened in
Pawtucket. The documentary, directed by Nina Davenport, covers a road trip
across the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
There will also be a screening of Bruce Dellis’ short filmLincoln: A Life
Embellished,” a satirical take on the Civil War president’s life.

On Thursday, the documentary “Germany and the Secret Genocide” will be
screened at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Providence Jewish Film Festival. The
film recounts the Armenian genocide and the complicity of the German
government in the abuses of the Ottoman Turkish government.

The final screening will be Sunday at 2:30 p.m., when the festival brings
“First Israeli in Space: Ilan Ramon.” This documentary film, directed by
Neil Weisbrod of Israel’s Channel One, chronicles the life of Israeli
astronaut who died in last year’s space shuttle Columbia disaster.

A short film called “Indecision,” directed by Mary DeBarry, will also be
screened. The comedy is about a young woman who can’t make up her mind.

Weiss said the film festival is especially exciting because it serves as a
prelude to the upcoming Pawtucket Arts Festival.

“We’re very excited about this new relationship between the two festivals,”
he said.

The film festival, in its eight year, will feature screenings of 265 films
from across the United States and more than 60 countries. Organizers are
expecting 20,000 movie fans to attend screenings.

Actor Andrew McCarthy, of “Pretty in Pink”fame, is making his directorial
debut at the festival, and actor Zach Braff, who plays a doctor on NBC’s
“Scrubs,” is receiving an award.

George Marshall, executive director and chief executive of the festival,
said the event attracts a lot of filmmakers because it’s the only one in New
England where a film can qualify for an Academy Award. He said five films
screened at the festival in the past seven years have been nominated for
Oscars, and two have won.

Eva Saks, a director from New York, will be showing three of her films this
year, including “Date.”Saks has attended the festival six times, and hopes
to shoot one of her upcoming films in the area. She said she keeps returning
to Rhode Island because she’s drawn to the neighborhood feeling and loves
the architecture.

“I’m kind of crazy into this festival, into this town,”she said. ” I dig
it.”

With AP reports.

©The Pawtucket Times 2004

ARMENIA THIS WEEK
Monday, August 9, 2004

KARABAKH MUNICIPAL ELECTION MARKED BY CLOSE RACE FOR STEPANAKERT MAYOR
The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) last Sunday held its third nationwide,
local elections since independence. The race for the Stepanakert mayor was
one of the most tightly contested, with the incumbent mayor defeated and two
candidates advancing to the second round. In all, 381 candidates sought the
posts of town and village mayors and 1,591 ran for seats on local municipal
councils. The NKR Central Election Commission reported that over 60 percent
of those eligible voted throughout NKR.

In Stepanakert, Pavel Najarian, former manager of a local state-owned
construction company, led the poll with 43 percent of the vote. Chairman of
the Parliamentary Committee for Social Affairs Eduard Aghabekian was a
strong second with 35 percent. The incumbent Stepanakert mayor Hamik
Avanesian was a distant third with 9 percent, while two other candidates,
businessman Iosif Adamian and lawyer Vazgen Hairapetian won 8 and 6 percent
respectively. The run-off vote has been set for August 22.

Of the two top candidates, the government is said to favor 53-year-old Pavel
Najarian. Although NKR President Arkady Ghoukasian did not publicly endorse
any of the candidates, the pro-presidential Democratic Artsakh Union, which
has the largest faction in Parliament, withdrew its support from the
unpopular incumbent and is backing Najarian. Graduate of the Yerevan
Polytechnic Institute, Najarian worked in construction most of his life,
with the exception of a brief stint as the Deputy Mayor of Stepanakert
(1993) and service in the Karabakh Army (1994-7).

The other top candidate, 40-year-old parliamentarian Eduard Aghabekian, was
trained as a pharmacist at the Yerevan Medical Institute and the University
of California. He is a decorated veteran of the Karabakh war and had worked
as Deputy Minister of Health from 1997 to 1999. Last April, Aghabekian was
one of the initiators of the Movement-1988 organization, which aims to raise
civic awareness and action against corruption. Aghabekian’s candidacy was
endorsed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, which has the second
largest parliamentary faction.

In a pre-election poll of 300 residents conducted by the Artsakh
Journalists’ Union, over 50 percent said they were dissatisfied with the
handling of past local elections and 46 percent said effectiveness of the
local government has not lived up to their expectations. Most respondents
blamed the faulty local self-government law, which they believe fails to
provide local officials with sufficient authority. In 1997, NKR became first
in the Caucasus to elect its local administration officials and is the only
regional entity, where the capital’s mayor is chosen through elections.
(Sources: R&I Archive; ; Noyan Tapan 7-28, 8-5, 9;
Arminfo 8-9; IWPR Caucasus Report 7-30)

ANTI-ARMENIAN RHETORICAL “COMPETITION” CONTINUES IN BAKU
Azeri officials continue their barrage of threats, demands and complaints
directed at Armenia and NKR. Just in the last week, spokesman for the Azeri
Defense Ministry Ramiz Melikov promised to do away with the Armenian state
in “25 to 30 years” and incorporate its territory into Azerbaijan. “This
people has been a nuisance for its neighbors and has no right to live in
this region,” Melikov said.

The Defense Ministry spokesman predicted that the “world Armenian cabal”
would face certain ruin. Not just yet, however, as the senior official in
the ruling New Azerbaijan Party Ali Ahmedov dismissed the human rights
criticism of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, alleging that it was
under Armenian influence.

Also last week, the Azeri government, which continually threatens to unleash
a new war in Karabakh, protested the holding of annual maneuvers of the
Karabakh Army. The Azeri Central Election Commission, widely chastised for
rubber-stamping the dynastic power transfer in Azerbaijan last year,
protested the holding of a competitive municipal election in Karabakh. The
state-controlled and scandal-plagued Football Federation of Azerbaijan, in
its turn complained about the plans for holding a soccer competition in
Karabakh.

With aggressive rhetoric continuing unabated, a public opinion poll
conducted in 2003 and published last month found strong public support for
peace in both Azerbaijan and Armenia. 97 percent of Armenians and 93 percent
of Azeris surveyed said they desired peace, while 74 percent of Armenians
and 46 percent of Azeris want inter-ethnic relations re-established.
Significantly, there is greater support for reconciliation among the Azeris
displaced by the war (80 percent) than the general population. The American
University in Washington, DC funded the study. (Sources: R&I Archive;
Armenian-Azerbaijani poll 7-28; AP
8-4; Arminfo 8-4, 9; Zerkalo 8-4, 5)

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PRESS RELEASE
August 9, 2004
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:

Armenian-U.S. Bilateral Defense Consultations Held in Kansas

An Armenian Ministry of Defense delegation headed by Deputy Defense
Minister, Lt. Gen. Arthur Aghabekyan, visited Kansas on August 2-7, 2004, to
participate in the third annual round of U.S.-Armenian Bilateral Defense
Consultations. Armenian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman Kirakossian and
Defense Attaché Colonel Armen Sargsyan joined the Armenian delegation for
the consultations. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense James MacDougall
headed the American delegation to the Bilateral Defense Consultations.

The bilateral discussions were held in Kansas because of an active State
Partnership Program between the Kansas National Guard and the Armed Forces
of the Republic of Armenia, commenced in 2003 as part of overall
Armenian-U.S. military cooperation. The consultations addressed the current
state of and perspectives for further military and military-political
cooperation between Armenia and the United States, and other issues of
bilateral interest.

During a visit to State Capitol in Topeka, the Armenian delegation members
met with Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh and Secretary of
Agriculture Adrian J. Polansky, and were later hosted by the Adjutant
General of Kansas National Guard, Maj. Gen. Tod M Bunting in his
headquarters at State Defense Building. The Armenian delegation visited Ft.
Riley and several military installations of U.S. Armed Forces and the Kansas
National Guard, as well as several industrial and national landmarks,
including the Harley Davidson factory, the Eisenhower Presidential Center in
Abilene, KS, and the Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence,
MO.

A special meeting with the representatives of Kansas’s tiny
Armenian-American community, held in Kansas City, KS, was an opportunity to
present Armenia’s progress at home and in strengthening U.S.-Armenian
bilateral relations.