Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
July 19, 2004
CONTACT: David Zenian
E-mail: [email protected]
ADMINISTRATION’S OPPOSITION TO A GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
WILL NOT SERVE ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS
Washington, DC – The Bush Administration’s determination to bloc any
Congressional resolution reaffirming the Armenian Genocide will further
erode Washington’s ability to normalize relations between Armenia and
Turkey, the Armenian Assembly said Monday.
“It is obvious that there is ample bipartisan support to pass any
legislation on this subject, therefore the Administration’s latest statement
on the issue was totally unnecessary, and at best, it only served to further
pander to Turkey, just as President Bush did during the recent NATO
Conference,” Assembly Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian said.
During the NATO Conference in Istanbul last month, President Bush described
Turkey as a “strong, secular democracy, a majority Muslim society, and a
close ally of free nations” and said “your country, with 150 years of
democratic and social reform, stands as a model to others” – totally
ignoring the dark days of the 1915-16 Armenian Genocide during the final
days of the Ottoman Empire.
“In its most recent statement, the Administration says its goal is to
bolster reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia along with greater
cooperation between the two countries, and yet it continues to contribute to
Turkish intransigence,” Barsamian said.
“Despite four years of pressure from the United States, Turkey has not
appreciably changed its hostile policies against Armenia. It has not lifted
its blockade of Armenia, thus maintaining the only closed border in Europe,
or established diplomatic relations with its neighbor. The Administration is
wrong on the facts regarding Turkey-Armenia relations, wrong on its policies
and wrong in its politics – international and domestic,” Barsamian added.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
NR#2004-069

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Youth Federation
Western United States
104 N. Belmont St. Suite 206
Glendale, CA 91206
Contact: Vicken Sosikian
Tel: 818.507.1933
Fax: 818.240.3442
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
AYF Nanor Krikorian Scholarship Recipients are Chosen
Glendale – The Armenian Youth Federation `Garo Madenlian’ Public Affairs
Office announced Thursday that it has chosen the seven recipients of the
`Nanor Krikorian’ Scholarship.
Over 30 Scholarship applications, which were made available to all high
school seniors of Armenian descent, were received. After closely reviewing
all applications 11 finalists were called for interviews, of which seven
were chosen to receive scholarships.
The AYF provided a total of $3500 in scholarships to a total of seven
qualified applicants. The recipients were Hovik Dermenchyan of El Camino
High School, Talar Kharadjian and Marilyn Keoseyan of Granada Hills High
School, Victoria Shpak and Lucinee Tovmasyan of Montebello High School, and
Natalie Djabourian and Talar Gurunian of Mesrobian High School.
Each of the seven scholarship recipients have not only displayed commendable
academic achievements but have also held roles as activists in the Armenian
community, while displaying exemplary dedication to cultural, political, and
community involvement.
`The AYF prides itself in contributing to the education of the youth,’ said
scholarship coordinator Ani Garibyan. `We are proud of the recipients and
know that our investment in them will payoff with dividends to the Armenian
American community in the future.’
Now in its second year, the Nanor Krikorian Scholarship has awarded 16
graduating high school seniors of Armenian descent a total of $6100. The
scholarship is named after a young AYF activist, Nanor Krikorian, whose life
was cut short by cancer. Those interested in contributing to the expansion
of the scholarship can mail donations payable to AYF to 104 N. Belmont St.
#206 Glendale, CA 91206.
The Armenian Youth Federation strives to serve Armenian American Communities
West of the Mississippi through education, athletics, political activism,
cultural activities and social settings. To learn more about the Armenian
Youth Federation please log on to
#####

Russia to investigate murder of editor
By Arkady Ostrovsky
Financial Times
Jul 19, 2004

Russian police are investigating the murder of Payl Peloyan, editor of
a magazine for the Armenian community, who was killed in Moscow on
Saturday.
Mr Peloyan was the second journalist killed in Moscow in under 10
days.
Mr Peloyan, who edited a Russian language arts and literature magazine
for the Armenian community called Armyansky Pereulok (Armenian Lane),
was found dead with knife wounds to his chest on the side of a Moscow
road. Arkady Ostrovsky, Moscow

Azeri ex-state adviser calls for right definition of Karabakh conflict
ANS TV, Baku
18 Jul 04

[Presenter] The government is not defining correctly the term the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and this might cause a problem for
Azerbaijan in the resolution of it, Vafa Quluzada, former foreign
policy adviser, has voiced concern in a statement.
Let us recall that Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan was
described as the Armenian-Azerbaijani [conflict] until 2002, however,
Karabakh’s name was also added to this about two years ago.
[Vafa Quluzada, voice] This is an absolutely wrong description and
therefore, we should revise our policy. We used the term conflict up
to now and we were wrong. We called it the
Azerbaijani-Armenian-Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and we were wrong
again. This is an aggression against the Azerbaijani lands by Armenia
with the help of Russia. When we call it the
Azerbaijan-Armenia-Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, this means that we are
secretly recognizing Nagornyy Karabakh.
You know, maybe the point at that time was to resolve the issue at the
expense of Nagornyy Karabakh. The use of such an expression at the
time was possible. However, [the former president of Azerbaijan]
Heydar Aliyev did not agree with this. Heydar Aliyev completely
rejected what had been done in Key West and opted for the principle of
complete liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani lands.
At present the Azerbaijani leadership should pay attention to the
terminology and avoid wrong terms. It should define this as Armenia’s
aggression against Azerbaijan, or an aggression against Azerbaijan by
Armenia with the help of Russia. Just look at [Georgian President]
Saakashvili who has charged Russia with aggression and occupation, and
he will be the victor. However, when we state that our lands are
disputed, we should then have lengthy talks with the aggressor, then
it turns out that we are fully in accord with the co-chairs [as
received].

Armenian court adjourns hearings on opposition activist’s case
Arminfo
19 Jul 04
Yerevan, 19 July: The Court of Appeal has postponed until 21 July the
consideration of an appeal by the lawyer of Lavrentiy Kirakosyan who
has been convicted of illegal possession of narcotic and psychotropic
substances due to the defendant’s absence from the hearings, lawyer
Vardan Zurnachyan has told journalists.
“My client was not brought to the courtroom because of some
misunderstanding. As a result, the consideration of the appeal has
been postponed until Wednesday [21 July],” Zurnachyan said.
The lawyer added that Kirakosyan had to be hospitalized a short while
ago because his renal lithiasis disease got worse.
The lawyer insisted that Article 86 of the Armenian Criminal Code was
violated during the investigation. Under the article, police officers
cannot act as key witnesses for the prosecution.
[Passage omitted: reported details]

Europe: Journalist murdered in Russia
The Guardian – United Kingdom
Jul 19, 2004

Another prominent foreign journalist has been killed in Moscow eight
days after the American investigative reporter Paul Klebnikov was
murdered outside his office.
Pail Peloyan, the editor of the magazine Armenian Lane, was found on
the hard shoulder of Moscow’s large ring road with severe head
injuries and knife wounds to the chest on Saturday morning.
Klebnikov’s killing highlights the intense risks that journalists face
on a daily basis in Russia. Fifteen have been killed since 2000,
although Klebnikov was the first westerner.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the murder and
the Kremlin for the “climate of lawlessness and impunity” that
permitted the killing to be ordered and carried out. It views Russia
as one of the 10 most dangerous places for journalists to work.
Newspapers have speculated Klebnikov, whose ancestors fled to America
during the Bolshevik revolution, was killed because of his work. He
had published a series of lists naming Russia’s richest people, many
of whom were keen to keep their dubiously acquired wealth private.
Klebnikov’s publisher said last week the journalist had been working
on a book about the 1996 killing of TV news presenter Vladislav
Listiyev. Nick Paton Walsh, Moscow

Armenian president sets up culture council
Arminfo
19 Jul 04

YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has signed a decree setting up a
presidential culture council in order to conduct a single, effective
state policy on culture.
The council is a consultative body, the head of state’s press service
told Arminfo today.
[Passage omitted: list of council members]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Two Armenian fugitives said to be granted asylum in Europe – Azeri lawyer
ANS TV, Baku
19 Jul 04

[Presenter in studio] Fugitives Artur Apresyan and Roman Teryan who
have fled from [President] Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia and come to
Azerbaijan are about to be handed over to a third country, but the
refugees themselves do not know about that yet.
[Correspondent over archive footage of the two fugitives] Artur
Apresyan and Roman Teryan who fled Armenia for Azerbaijan on 7 April
and who have since been held at the National Security Ministry’s
remand facility, will leave Azerbaijan within one month. This
information has been shared with us by the director of the Committee
for Democracy and Human Rights, Cingiz Qanizada.
According to him, this was discussed about 10 days ago during a
meeting between several human rights activists and National Security
Minister Namiq Abbasov. Without elaborating which country this might
be, Qanizada said it would be a West European state. Artur Apresyan
and Roman Teryan are still unaware of this.
The Armenian fugitives are saying that only the Red Cross has been
taking interest in their fate of late.
[Passage omitted: known details]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

allAfrica.com
The Central African Republic Formally Begins Participation in the IMF’s
General Data Dissemination System
International Monetary Fund (Washington, DC)
July 16, 2004
Posted to the web July 19, 2004
Washington, DC
The Central African Republic has begun participating in the International
Monetary Fund’s General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), marking an
important step forward in the development of the country’s statistical
system. Comprehensive information on its statistical production and
dissemination practices were published on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards
Bulletin Board (DSBB) on
June 14, 2004.
The GDDS, established by the IMF in 1997, provides a framework to assist IMF
member countries to develop their statistical systems with the objective of
producing comprehensive and accurate statistics for policy-making and
analysis. It addresses the quality and the dissemination of data. In
addition, the DSBB for the Central African Republic shows the country’s
plans for improvements in its statistical infrastructure and its related
technical assistance needs. This information provides the international
community with useful information to develop and coordinate their technical
cooperation projects in the Central African Republic.
Since its inception, 78 countries have participated in GDDS and have had
their metadata published in the IMF’s DSBB. Of this total, four countries
(Armenia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic) have graduated to
the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).
Mrs. Carol S. Carson, Director of the IMF’s Statistics Department, noted
that GDDS participation was a milestone for these countries. “I am pleased
to note that the Central African Republic has joined the large number of
countries already participating in the GDDS. The commitment being made by
the Central African Republic to improve statistics is an important one,
allowing the country to take full advantage of this framework for developing
their economic, financial, and socio-demographic data.”

Milford Daily News
Hometown parade: Portuguese Picnic draws thousands
By Sara Withee / News Staff Writer
Monday, July 19, 2004
MILFORD — Thousands of people filled Prospect Heights this weekend to eat,
drink and be merry at the annual Portuguese Picnic.
The Portuguese Club’s two-day festival — a Milford tradition since
1918 — began Saturday afternoon with music, smoked meats and games,
thengathered again yesterday for the annual parade, where this year’s mayor,
John Derderian, saluted the masses.
“It was a wonderful experience coming up Water Street, coming down
Prospect Heights,” said Derderian, 55. “It reminded me of my childhood and
coming to the picnic with my family.”
Derderian is the 44th mayor to be elected by the Prospect Heights
Mayors Association. In this position, Derderian will organize the annual
mayors’ reunion in October and spearhead community outreach efforts.
Mayors must have lived part of their youth in the brick row houses the
former Draper Corp. of Hopedale built around 1900 for its workers and
represent one of the area’s five major nationalities: Portuguese, Armenian,
Irish, Italian or Polish.
“I was very honored to be asked,” said Derderian, who is Portuguese and
Armenian.
Yesterday’s parade left Sacred Heart Church on East Main Street at 2
p.m. Milford selectmen Chairman John Seaver and his 10-month-old daughter
Cristina rode in on one of the first floats with Miss Portuguese Community
Mara Lage, 18.
Lage, the second person to hold the title, was joined by Lisa
Goncalves, 16, first runner-up of the February pageant and second runner-up
Liliana Dafonte, 18.
Derderian and a dozen former mayors arrived at the Portuguese Club on
the parade’s last float, then began enjoying the beef stew, tripe and
sardines.
“It’s quite a celebration, a little piece of Americana,” state Rep.
Marie Parente, D-Milford, said.
“It gets better every year,” said Al Azevedo, 61, of Milford, the 1997
Prospect Heights mayor.
Azevedo, who is Portuguese, Albanian and Irish, said the two-day
festival is a chance to reunite with childhood friends with whom he played
outside and shared meals as their parents tried to get by in their new
country.
“We all took care of one another, our parents took care of one
another,” Azevedo said.
Azevedo said he always leaves the celebration with a strong feeling
about his past. “No matter where you go, the people who grew up here,
they’re always here for you,” Azevedo said.
Joseph Lopes, the 1971 Prospect Heights mayor, recalled his youth and
agreed, saying, “There was a level of trust in the community. Very few
people ever locked their doors.”
Fellow former mayor Joe Oneshuck, 70, said he never fully understood
that trust as a child and remembers questioning his father whenever he heard
him talking to a neighbor who spoke a language the family didn’t know.
“He said, ‘It doesn’t matter what they say, I know what they mean.’
They were all in the same situation. They were trying to raise a family.
They were trying to survive,” said Oneshuck, the 1975 mayor.
Oneshuck said he sees the same plight among today’s Prospect Heights’
residents.
“They’re going through the same things with their children as our
parents did,” he said. “They’re all trying to work their way up in society.”
But Lopes noted the melting pot has seen some changes.
“Milford has a lot of Brazilians and Hispanics,” Lopes said. “These
people are the new wave of immigrants. They pretty much represent what our
families did in those times.”
( Sara Withee can be reached at 508-634-7546 or [email protected] )