Armenia should act quickly to avert Turkish-Georgian-Azeri rail link – paper
Hayots Ashkharh, Yerevan
1 Oct 04
Armenia should take a wide range of urgent measures in order to
prevent the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway that will
link Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Armenian newspaper Hayots
Ashkharh has said. The railway will strengthen Armenia’s dependence on
Georgia and prevent the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, which
will leave the country in a blockade forever, it said. For this
reason, Armenia should persuade Europe, the USA and Russia that the
Kars-Akhalkalaki railway will allow Turkey to continue the economic
blockade of Armenia and will speed up the withdrawal of Russian troops
from Georgia, the newspaper said. The following is the text of Sarkis
Gevorkyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Hayots Ashkharh on 1 October
headlined “Three against one”. Subheadings as published:
Kars-Akhalkalaki is challenge to Armenia
As is known, Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan are having ongoing
negotiations on the construction of the Kars Turkey -Akhalkalaki
Georgia’ Armenian-populated region railway.
The negotiations that are being held by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov in Turkey show that Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s
efforts to do everything possible to prevent the Kars-Gyumri railway
from operating and Georgia’s desire to have a direct railway link with
Turkey, and in this way, to preserve Armenia’s dependence on the
Georgian railway, are a basis for a consensus between the three
sides. Thus, they should receive 800m dollars and the problem may be
regarded as settled to the detriment of Armenia.
We think that Armenia should take systematic steps to stave off the
Turkish-Georgian-Azerbaijani railway deal.
For Turkey, which is waiting for a European Union decision to start
entry negotiations, the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway
will be a challenge not so much to Armenia as to the European family.
Let us recall that President of the European Commission Romano Prodi,
who recently visited Yerevan, diplomatically confirmed that at some
moment during the European Union negotiations with Turkey, the need to
establish relations with Armenia will be raised with Turkey. We think
that Turkey also understands this very well.
For this reason, not waiting for the start of the negotiations, it is
already trying to make the European family speak out against this, by
deepening the communications blockade of our country. Turkey, together
with Georgia and Azerbaijan, will start asking for money from European
and American banks – about 800m dollars – to implement the
Kars-Akhalkalaki project.
Such a deal is a blow not only to the EU, but also to the regional
interests of the USA, which demands that the Armenian-Turkish border
be opened. Moreover, this “three-sided plot” also runs counter to the
interests of Russia, which is urged to withdraw its troops from
Akhalkalaki.
Therefore, the “political excesses” of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway,
which seem to be the “sovereign rights” of the three countries of the
region, could turn into a very peculiar point of comparison between
the interests of superpowers and fail this project, if Armenian
diplomacy takes intensive steps in different directions
simultaneously.
European direction
At present, when the EU is specifying the terms of the negotiations
with Turkey, Armenia should demand that the European family discuss
the political consequences of the Turkish initiative to make the
Armenian blockade continue endlessly with the help of European money,
and also the consequences of bypassing the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi
communications system because of the construction of the
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway. This would mean another obstacle,
instead of opening the Armenian-Turkish border as published . Seeing
the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway as a way of opening Armenia will open an
opportunity to prevent this project from being financed by European
banks, as it will be a blow to the opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border, as well as to the European programmes regarding the unity of
the South Caucasus.
American direction
The USA has always tried to open the Armenian-Turkish border. But how
is it going to implement it, if the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway may
become a trump card in the hands of Turkey for substantiating the
existence of the unnecessary Kars-Gyumri link, if not for political
but at least for economic purposes? So the USA’s Armenian lobby should
also try to raise this problem with the US Department of State to
ensure that America does not finance the project.
Russian direction
Russia seems to be indifferent to the route of the railway that will
connect Turkey with the South Caucasus, but in fact, it is not.
If the existing Kars-Gyumri railway starts operating, the formation of
an anti-Russian vector in economic integration between Turkey, Georgia
and Azerbaijan in the West-East direction, that is, the Baku-Ceyhan’s
“railway option”, will be ruled out.
Moreover, the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway will speed
up the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Akhalkalaki as there will
be no obstacle to the economic integration of the countries of the
region. Also, the Russian base deployed in Gyumri will find itself in
a communications blockade if Russia withdraws its troops from
Akhalkalaki and Batumi. The preservation of Armenia’s dependence on
Georgia through creating a railway link with Turkey may also provide
opportunities for the free movement of the Russian forces in Gyumri
via the Georgian railway.
Thus, Armenian diplomacy should draw up a wide range of urgent
measures in all three directions – European, American and Russian – in
order to prevent the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway,
which will leave Armenia in a blockade forever.

NATO seminar to focus on Karabakh conflict – Azeri MP
Trend news agency
2 Oct 04
BAKU
Trend correspondent Q. Azizoglu: The upcoming 58th Rose-Roth seminar
of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Baku on 26-28 November will
focus on the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, the
Azerbaijani deputy speaker and head of the Azerbaijani delegation to
the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Ziyafat Asgarov, has told
journalists.
Asgarov said that the holding of this event in Azerbaijan was a move
towards the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. “The NATO Parliamentary Assembly has been striving to make
its contribution to this issue. Azerbaijan’s main purpose at this
seminar, which will be attended by more than 80 deputies from almost
40 countries, is to ensure that the occupation of the Azerbaijani
lands is discussed, and we have achieved this,” Asgarov said.
Asgarov regretted that “some forces have an interest in disrupting
this event”. “But the main point is not who will attend the seminar,
but what issue will be discussed. That is why, one should take into
account the essence of the issue and not to stage a show about
somebody’s participation in this event,” he added.

Turkey’s president views internal, external issues in keynote speech
Anatolia news agency, Ankara
1 Oct 04
In his keynote speech at the Assembly to mark the beginning of a new
legislative year, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said that Turkey was
making steps to become a” powerful country by means of social
consensus”, and emphasized that the “secular and democratic Turkey”
made these reforms possible. Sezer said that Turkey had “reached a
significant point at its EU membership process” but warned that “we
should not give any pretext that would strengthen those who want to
keep Turkey outside of the European Union”. The Turkish president
complained that the USA and its allies had done nothing to stop the
Kurdish rebels in Iraq but insisted that “Turkey’s relations with the
United States should be carried out on the basis of alliance and
friendship”. Sezer also said that “ending unjust isolation of Turkish
Cypriots is a requirement of credibility and consistency of
international society”. Concluding his speech, Sezer said that “Turkey
would continue to support a democratic, prosperous Iraq” with “its
territorial and national integrity preserved”. The following is text
of report in English by Turkish news agency Anatolia
Ankara, 1 October: Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Friday
1 October : “In systems where the rule of law prevails, supremacy of
one of the legislative, executive or judiciary organs over the others
cannot be in question.”
In his keynote speech at the parliament to mark the beginning of the
new legislative year, President Sezer said: “Our parliament is
representing the national sovereignty and is the basic institution of
our democratic regime. The parliament speeded up development of the
secular and democratic Republic of Turkey with its decisions.”
“The world and Turkey are going through an important period. In the
light of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s reforms and constitutional
principles, we are making the necessary steps to reach the joint goal
of modern society-modern state-powerful country by means of social
consensus,” he said.
“I want to emphasize once again that the republic which was founded by
our nation with great sacrifices under the leadership of Ataturk, is
our most precious wealth. The secular and democratic Republic of
Turkey led us to make all those reforms which were appreciated by the
world. The republic is the most important warranty of a brilliant
future. We do not have any doubt that our citizens will act with
solidarity and responsibility in order to protect Ataturk’s principles
and reforms as well as our unity. When we fulfil our responsibilities,
we will easily reach a better future,” he said.
President Sezer added: “The most advanced and modern stage in social
structure is the rule of law. The values which have been adopted under
the Constitution are the guarantee of all other characteristics of the
republic. The rule of law also includes prevention of abuse of state’s
power because the rule of law is the essential tool to prevent a
political power turning into a repressive regime. In systems where the
rule of law prevails, supremacy of one of the legislative, executive
or judiciary organs over the others cannot be in question.”
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Friday that Turkey reached a
significant point at its EU membership process, adding “yet at the
point we have reached, we should not give any pretext that would
strengthen those who want to keep Turkey outside of European Union.”
He also noted that Turkey should test the sincerity of EU countries.
In his keynote speech at the parliament to mark the beginning of the
new legislative year, President Sezer said, “our EU membership
symbolizes universal values and high living standards and means
concretization of most important social projects to reach the level of
contemporary civilization that was put forward by Ataturk. EU
membership will also be an additional assurance for secular,
multi-party democratic structure of Turkey and will strengthen our
country against every kind of extremism.”
Recalling that Turkey had undertook significant constitutional and
legislative changes to strengthen itself and take under guarantee
basic rights and freedoms, as well as democracy and supremacy of law,
Sezer said, “we have clearly put forward our determination and
capability to take them further.” Sezer said Turkish nation who
carefully noted the statements emanating from Brussels, expected a
just and unbiased evaluation from the EU. “In the Progress Report that
will be issued by the EU Commission we expect a fair evaluation on
comprehensive reforms Turkey has fulfilled and a clear statement on
starting negotiations as soon as possible as it happened with other
candidates,” he said.
Sezer added that contributions that Turkey’s membership would bring to
EU’s global values were obvious. Sezer said EU’s starting membership
talks with Turkey and Turkey’s membership in the end of this process
is the most important message that will be given to Middle Eastern
countries and, in a wider sense, to Islamic world. “This message is
that: values like democracy, human rights and supremacy of law are
universal and the line that separates societies today passes not
between civilizations and religions, but between those who adopt these
values and those who do not. And the West and Islam can embrace each
other by taking these values as basis.”
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Friday that it was unacceptable
to describe Turkey as an Islamic republic or to propose a meaningless
model like “moderate Islam” for Turkey and to show Turkey as a model
country with the pretext of Greater Middle East Initiative. In his
keynote speech at the parliament to mark the beginning of the new
legislative year, President Sezer said, it was impossible to bring
together democracy and a state of religion whether it is “moderate” or
“radical”. Noting that Turkey has chosen its political regime 81 years
ago with proclamation of the republic, Sezer said the regime of
Republic of Turkey is built on the basis of a secular, democratic and
social state of law. He said: “Abuse of religion causes significant
harm both to our constitutional order and democratic progress and to
Islam religion. The reactionary movement continues to pose a major
threat against our democratic and secular state, based on the rule of
law,” adding that fight against fundamentalism should continue with
determination.
Regarding the existence of terrorist organization PKK Kurdistan
Workers’ Party in Iraq, he said that the failure of the United States
and international force in Iraq in starting initiatives against this
terrorist organization in the north of Iraq, contradicted Turkish-US
friendship and international responsibilities in fighting against
terrorism.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Friday that ending unjust
isolation of Turkish Cypriots is a requirement of credibility and
consistency of international society. In his keynote speech at the
parliament to mark the beginning of the new legislative year,
President Sezer said they were pleased to see that Turkey’s efforts to
establish good relations with its neighbours yielded more significant
results every year. “We are taking necessary steps to take further our
relations with Greece, which is an ally and which we target to be a
close partner through the European Union,” Sezer said.
Noting that sincerity and dialogue constituted two essential elements
in relations with Greece, Sezer added: “Turkey thinks the steps it has
taken through this dialogue will not remain unanswered. It should not
be disregarded that sincerity and dialogue are insufficient to
overcome all problems in international relations. It is very obvious
that no just point has been reached in Turkey’s and Turkish Cypriots’
rightful case in Cyprus despite their self-sacrifices and sincere
compromises. Turkish Cypriots have clearly put forward their will to
compromise through democratic processes with the support of
international community, including the UN and the EU. The Greek
Cypriot side had succeeded to make international community believe
just the opposite. Now against insistent attitude of Greek Cypriots in
refraining from peace and unification, ending unjust isolation of
Turkish Cypriots should be a natural result of requirement of
complying with rules of law and justice, political sincerity,
credibility and consistency of international society. We expect some
initiatives that has been started to end this isolation of Turkish
Cypriots to be resulted in a way that meets expectations in a short
period of time.”
Noting that neighbours such as Bulgaria and Romania responded
affirmatively to Turkey’s friendly and constructive attitude, Sezer
said the point reached in relations between Turkey and Russian
Federation was also pleasing. Sezer said reaching permanent stability,
security and prosperity in South Caucasus was of significant
importance for Turkey, which tried to contribute to solutions of
problems through peaceful means. Sezer said the reasons why relations
with Armenia could not be normalized so far were obvious, adding that
“it is Turkey’s sincere wish that this situation created by Armenian
policies should be overcome and the cooperation ring in South Caucasus
should be completed. For this, Armenia should pursue a foreign policy
complying with rules of international law and good neighbourliness
with a will to compromise. It is certain that Turkey will respond in
the same manner to the positive steps that will be taken in this
direction. Every country acting openly, friendly and without
prejudices towards Turkey benefits from this. We expect Armenia to act
with this understanding.”
Sezer said that Turkey’s relations with the United States should be
carried out on the basis of alliance and friendship. He added that the
maturity and mutual benefits of this friendship and alliance have been
proved. “We cannot close our eyes to terrorist organization PKK’s
finding shelter in Iraq and infiltrating from our borders. It is very
obvious that we will not permit restarting of terrorist acts against
Turkey taking advantage of developments in Iraq. We expect our
strategic partner and ally United States to fulfil its
responsibilities on this issue.”
Noting that Turkey would continue to support a democratic, prosperous
Iraq of which its territorial and national integrity are preserved,
Sezer said Turkey’s attributing importance to situation of Turkomans
who were kinsmen to Turkish people should be considered natural. He
added that the uneasiness created by the efforts to possess Kirkuk by
any ethnic group would not be limited to this town, and a turmoil that
would spread to the whole of Iraq would ignite a regional instability
of which its results could not be predicted.
Sezer said that developing relations between Turkey and Syria revealed
benefits of Turkey’s constructive approach. “We think we support
searches for peace and stability in the region as we develop our
relations with Syria. Syria’s establishing normal relations with other
countries, especially Western countries, is to the interest of
Turkey. We will continue to encourage Syria in this direction.” Noting
that normalization in the Middle East was a necessity which should
have been reached much earlier, Sezer said Turkey was ready to make
any contribution that would be asked by the sides for solution of
problems in the region, especially Israel-Palestine dispute. He said:
“We believe that acting together with regional countries and western
friends as well as Israeli and Palestinian authorities will yield a
result in solution of this dispute.”
Sezer added that Turkey would continue to support Afghanistan with
which it has historical and close ties.

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




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