PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

April 14, 2004
___________________

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY REMEMBERS CHRIST’S LESSONS

By Jake Goshert

This Easter season, the Armenian community gathered at New York City’s St.
Vartan Cathedral to praise Jesus Christ: His life and sacrifice, His victory
over death — and the promise He holds out to all mankind.

“Whatever Jesus told to His disciples or the crowds around Him, it was not
only His word, but also His actions,” said Archbishop Khajag Barsamian,
Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), as he
officiated of a Washing of the Feet service on Holy Thursday, April 8, 2004.
“We received an example of how to be humble, how to respect each other as
human beings, how to be helpful to each other as creations of our Heavenly
Father.”

The Washing of the Feet service, a keystone of the Holy Week celebration,
re-enacts one of the last days of Christ’s earthly ministry. To teach
humility to His disciples, Christ washed the feet of each one.

Each year, the Primate washes the feet of 12 people, who stand in for the
Apostles. This year, the group was made up of deacons, sub-deacons,
acolytes, and altar servers ordained by Archbishop Barsamian.

“With love and devotion they serve on the altar,” the Primate said. “They
are wonderful examples of how one can serve the church, and through the
church, serve the community.”

Sub-deacon Justin Ajamian has been serving his parish, the St. Leon Church
of Fair Lawn, NJ, for five years. He is motivated not just by his faith,
but also by his commitment to the Armenian heritage. Serving the church, he
acknowledges, does mean you become a role model for others.

“When younger acolytes and kids see you walk by in your shabig, they look up
to you,” Ajamian said. “I don’t like the attention, but you do what the
Lord calls you to do.”

The altar servers agree that it is important for them to serve as role
models for younger children.

“They’re bombarded with all types of messages from TV, school, and friends,”
said Deacon Chris Kesici of the St. Stepanos Church of Elberon, NJ. “At
church they see something different: people who through prayer, worship, and
service express their love for God.”

Along with Ajamian and Kesici, other participants in the Washing of the Feet
service were: Dn. Anushavan Margaryan, Dn. Levon Kirakosyan, Dn. Manouel
Rakoubian, Dn. Nurhan Ezik, Dn. Levon Altiparmakian, and Sub-deacon Ardavazd
Arsenian (all from St. Vartan Cathedral); Dn. Sebuh Oscherician, Dn. Hrach
Kasaryan, and sub-deacon Jonathan Najarian (St. Leon Church); and Sub-deacon
Andrew Martaian (St. Thomas Church of Livingston, NJ).

HOLY WEEK CELEBRATION

St. Vartan Cathedral was alive with celebration throughout Holy Week and on
Easter, the holiest week in the Armenian Church calendar.

On Palm Sunday, April 4, 2004, Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of the cathedral,
celebrated a Divine Liturgy and a Turun-Patzek, or “Door-Opening”, Service.
Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

On Holy Friday, April 9, the cathedral hosted a noontime service and an
evening service, the Order of the Entombment of the Lord, or Taghoom
Service. The Divine Liturgy on Great and Holy Saturday, April 10, was
celebrated by Archbishop Yeghishe Gizirian, former Primate of England, with
music provided by the St. Vartan Cathedral Youth Choir, under the direction
of Maro Partamian.

The St. Vartan Cathedral Youth Choir is made up of students from the
Diocesan Khrimian Lyceum, and Diocesan Armenian Saturday schools of New York
and New Jersey. Students of the Diocesan Khrimian Lyceum also read from the
Scriptures on Holy Saturday’s services.

More than 1,500 faithful filled St. Vartan Cathedral for Easter services,
celebrated by Archbishop Barsamian and sung by the St. Vartan Cathedral
Choir under the direction of Maestro Khoren Mekanejian, with Florence
Avakian on the organ. The traditional Antasdan ceremony, or “Blessing of
the Fields,” followed on the cathedral plaza.

The overflow crowd on the plaza also took part in the “Releasing of Doves”
ceremony, during which young people, the Primate, and Armen Martirossian,
Armenia’s ambassador to the United Nations, released 12 doves into the sky,
symbolizing the Apostles spreading Christ’s message throughout the world.

The Easter celebrations were toped off by a luncheon, which included a
home-blessing service, a musical program by the a cappella group Zulal, and
the recognition of the various names associated with the holiday.

“As Christians, we must never forget that the story does not end with
Christ’s sacrifice and death, but with His resurrection. Our Lord had
something more to offer those He loved: not just death on the cross, but
something greater: the promise of eternal life with Him, in God’s Kingdom,”
the Primate said to the overflow crowd on Easter. “That is the gift He
holds out to us — the gift that is ours, if we will accept it. These past
weeks, many people have been deeply moved by what we owe to Jesus. But let
us not forget the gift He offers, which transformed death into hope: the
gift of Easter Sunday. That unshakable sense of hope is what truly
distinguishes us as Christians.”

— 4/13/04

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable on the Eastern
Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Twelve men ordained as deacons, sub-deacons, and altar
servers by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese, line
up to take part in the Washing of the Feet service on Holy Thursday, April
8, 2004, at New York City’s St. Vartan Cathedral.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Re-enacting Christ’s humility, Archbishop Barsamian
washes the feet of Stolebearer Andrew Martaian from the St. Thomas Church of
Tenafly, NJ, one of 12 men participating in the Washing of the Feet service
on Thursday, April 8, 2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (3): An overflow crowd of more than 1,500 people filled New
York City’s St. Vartan Cathedral for Easter services on Sunday, April 11,
2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (4): Parishioners kiss Archbishop Barsamian’s hand cross
during a procession through St. Vartan Cathedral on Easter Sunday, April 11,
2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (5): Armenians line up to receive communion from one of the
three altars used to accommodate the overflow crowd of worshipers on Easter
Sunday, April 11, 2004, at New York City’s St. Vartan Cathedral.

PHOTO CAPTION (6): Archbishop Barsamian performs the traditional Antasdan
ceremony, or “Blessing of the Fields,” on the plaza of St. Vartan Cathedral
on Sunday, April 11, 2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (7): Doves are released from St. Vartan Cathedral on Easter
Sunday to symbolize the 12 Apostles of Christ evangelizing the globe.
(Photo JK Hovhannes)

PHOTO CAPTION (8): Worshipers line up at New York’s St. Vartan Cathedral to
take home blessed butter, following the “Washing of the Feet” service on
Holy Thursday, April 8, 2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (9): The Armenian a cappella group Zulal performs during the
Easter luncheon at New York City’s St. Vartan Cathedral on April 11, 2004.
(Photo JK Hovhannes)

# # #

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

ARMENIA: Journalists beaten at an opposition rally

New York, April 13, 2004 – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
condemns today’s early-morning attack on several Armenian journalists who
were covering an opposition rally in the country’s capital, Yerevan.

According to local and international reports, four journalists were
seriously beaten. Ayk Gevorgian and Avetis Babajanian, reporters with the
opposition daily Aykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times); Levon Grigorian, a
cameraman with the Russian TV channel ORT; and Mher Ghalechian, a journalist
with the opposition weekly Chorrord Ishkhanutyun, were all hurt after being
beaten by police, according to the U.S. government-funded Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

Elina Poghosbekian, editor of the newsletter of the Yerevan Press Club, told
CPJ that Gevorgian was treated for serious injuries but that he is now in
stable condition. CPJ does not currently have information on the status of
the other journalists. Police destroyed the cameras of both Gevorgian and
Grigorian.

The rally, organized by several opposition parties, began yesterday evening
at around 6 p.m. with about 15,000 demonstrators marching toward the
residence of President Robert Kocharian and calling for a referendum on his
rule, RFE/RL reported.

Violence erupted at about 2 a.m., when the lights went out in the area.
Police then beat protestors and the journalists with batons, using stun
grenades and water jets to disperse the remaining demonstrators.

Another opposition rally had been held on April 5. Several hundred police
stood by while about two dozen unidentified men smashed the video cameras of
three Armenian television stations and the still cameras of two opposition
dailies. See CPJ’s alert of April 6, 2004.

“CPJ calls on Armenian authorities to investigate these attacks against our
colleagues and bring those responsible to justice,” said CPJ Executive
Director Ann Cooper. “We also urge officials to ensure that journalists in
Armenia are able to do their jobs freely and safely.”

A1 Plus | 21:06:54 | 14-04-2004 | Politics |

PROSECUTOR CONDEMNING BUT NOT PROMISING

Armenian General Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepyan met Natalia Vutova, Special
Representative of Council of Europe Secretary General in Armenia.

A criminal case was instituted over the incidents in Baghramyan Avenue on
April 12-13. About 100 people who partook in the events, including MPs
Shavarsh Kocharyan, Alexan Karapetyan, Arshak Sadoyan and Vardan Lazarian
were taken in detention and examined as witnesses. All of them were released
after the examination.

Condemning the violence towards the journalists who performed their duty
during the rally, General Prosecutor said that the preliminary inquest body
of the criminal case will refer to the matter and illegal actions will be
disclosed.

Mrs. Vutova in her turn said that Council of Europe closely watches the
events in Armenia and is sure that political extremism will be overcome by
laws in force and political dialogues.

A1 Plus | 21:37:58 | 14-04-2004 | Politics |

PARLIAMENT IS NOT A WEAPONS DEPOT

“Power is seized. What happened on April 13 proved Armenia to be a police
state”, MP, “Republic” Party Chair Albert Bazeyan announced.

He told how policemen and the special detachment had attacked peaceful
people. Bazeyan condemned Parliament leaders saying Parliament is not a
weapon depot to keep their arms and to use them against people.

Rights Group Calls for Investigation into Harsh Treatment of Armenian
Protesters
Melanie Sully
Vienna
Voice of America.
14 Apr 2004, 15:48 UTC

The International Helsinki Federation, a human rights body that
advises the United Nations, said harsh treatment of anti-government
protesters in Armenia is a violation of political and human rights and
that international experts should investigate the abuses.

The Vienna-based International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
(IHF) accused authorities in Armenia of using violence against
demonstrators, and called for the end of what it says is the
authoritarian rule of President Robert Kocharian.

Demonstrations against the Kocharian government have occurred almost
daily since the beginning of the month.

The IHF says police used water cannons to break up a rally Tuesday
near the presidential palace in the capital, Yerevan.

President Kocharian insisted the measures were necessary to combat
political extremists who he said were threatening the constitutional
order.

However, IHF Director Aaron Rhodes says the oppression is likely to
lead to more confrontation and instability. “What they [the
authorities] are doing by disallowing these demonstrations, they are
really perpetuating disorder,” he said. “There are many reports of
police brutality, and including brutality to journalists and a number
of people have been beaten in the context of these demonstrations and
have wound up in hospital.”

Mr. Rhodes added that some journalists had their cameras smashed and
cell phones were disconnected. He also said that copies of a Russian
daily newspaper covering the demonstrations were stopped at the border
and that some television stations were unable to transmit for a time.

Police were reported to have raided opposition offices, smashing
computers and detaining activists.

Mr. Rhodes called for an independent investigation into such incidents
with experts from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), of which Armenia is a member. The OSCE has criticized
recent Armenian presidential and parliamentary elections, saying they
were flawed.

The State Department has said it is concerned over the sharp
escalation in confrontation between the government and its opponents
in the Caucasus republic, once part of the Soviet Union.

Newsday

Armenians Protest Near Presidential Palace

By AVET DEMOURIAN
Associated Press Writer

April 13, 2004, 9:15 PM EDT

YEREVAN, Armenia — Police broke up a protest of some 2,000 people outside
Armenia’s presidential palace on Tuesday, the latest in a series of
demonstrations over last year’s presidential election.

Opposition leaders vowed to keep up their public protests against President
Robert Kocharian, whose re-election a year ago spurred opposition charges of
widespread ballot violations.

“The fight against the unlawful regime will be kept up,” said an opposition
leader, Vazgen Manoukian.

Organizers said several demonstrators were injured, but their condition was
not known.

In Washington, the State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the
United States is concerned about the sharp escalation in the confrontation
between the government and the opposition.

“We call on both sides to enter into a dialogue that will lessen tension and
focus the political process on the challenges of continued political and
economic reform,” Boucher said.

He said physical assaults, raids on political party offices and widespread
arrests and detentions of opposition activists by the police “do not
contribute to creating an atmosphere conducive to political dialogue.”
Boucher added.

Kocharian considers the protests “an act of political extremism,” according
to his spokesman Ashot Kocharian.

Last April, Armenia’s Constitutional Court confirmed the results of the
presidential vote but suggested that a referendum be held within a year to
gauge the public’s confidence.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Dashnaks offer opposition membership of security body

A1+ web site
12 Apr 04

April headlined “Armen Rustamyan: The Dashnaks are ready for
concessions”

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD] issued a
statement on Monday [12 April] containing a package of proposals to
the opposition.

The Dashnaks offer opposition representatives membership of the
president-affiliated Security Council headed by Defence Minister Serzh
Sarkisyan as a way out of the political turmoil in Armenia.

A member of the Dashnaktsutyun party board, Armen Rustamyan, [the
chairman of the Armenian National Assembly’s standing commission for
foreign relations] and a member of the Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary
fraction, Levon Lazarian, answered journalists’ questions.

[Journalist] Was the statement coordinated with the coalition?

[Rustamyan] This is a call for dialogue, which has already been
offered by other members of the coalition.

[Journalist] Do you view yesterday’s arrest of Republic Party member
Suren Surenyants, an attack on the head of the party’s Ararat office
and today’s detention of six opposition activists as a call for
dialogue?

[Lazarian] If the opposition has no intention to abandon its
ambitions of obtaining power, this should dictate the political
situation.

[Journalist] What will be Dashnaktsutyun’s actions in the event of
confrontation with people?

[Rustamyan] People do not want confrontation. The Dashnaks intend to
do their best to prevent confrontation. If we fail to avoid it, we
will consider other solutions.

[Journalist] Do you not think that this is a deadlock?

[Rustamyan] Disagreements are increasing and tomorrow we can grow even
more hostile. All possible efforts should be made to prevent any
clash.

[Journalist] If clashes occur, do you not think they can grow into a
civil war?

[Rustamyan] I do not think that confrontation can turn into a civil
war. There are some rational ideas in the opposition stance, but, at
the same time, there is a hard-line approach. The authorities consider
the opposition as a revolutionary force. In all countries, the
authorities’ main tool is the law. Our current constitution gives the
authorities sweeping powers, while opposition activists put themselves
above the law.

[Journalist] If the coalition rejects your proposals, then what will
be your attitude?

[Rustamyan] Possible agreement could speed up our country’s
development.

[Journalist] Might you quit the coalition in case of failure to reach
accord?

[Rustamyan] We are not tied up by the current status quo. The
Dashnaktsutyun party is eager to compromise and ready to prove that
right now.

[Journalist] Asked about the idea of appointing opposition members to
any post, the defence minister said that he found it ridiculous. How
can you imagine an opposition representative in the Security Council?

[Rustamyan] Any step will be well thought out. Today’s situation needs
concessions from at least one side.

[Journalist] In what issues are you ready for compromise?

[Rustamyan] The anticorruption campaign and constitutional reforms.

Glendale News Press
April 14, 2004

Local Armenians take part in protest

Rallies against the incumbent Armenian president planned at consulate
Thursday in Beverly Hills.

By Ryan Carter, Glendale News-Press
GLENDALE – Local Armenians will join protests against Armenia’s
president Thursday with rallies at the offices of the Consulate
General of Armenia.

In recent weeks, protests have been building inside and outside of
Yerevan, the Armenian capital, with a vocal opposition decrying the
presidency of Robert Kocharyan, who was reelected last year to a
five-year term under a cloud of charges including voter fraud and
ballot stuffing.

In recent days, thousands of protesters have reportedly taken to the
streets, marching on government buildings in Yerevan. They reportedly
had violent clashes with police as recently as Tuesday, reports
said. Several injuries – to activists and journalists – have been
reported.

As the news comes in, Armenians in Glendale and Burbank – among the
most densely populated areas of people of Armenian descent outside of
Armenia – are beginning to mobilize and join the protests from afar.

Harry Sarafian, a Burbank resident and co-chairman of the Coalition
for a Democratic Armenia, spent Tuesday trying to organize a protest
tentatively set for 1 p.m. Thursday at the Consulate General of
Armenia in Beverly Hills. Local Armenians have sent letters about the
issue to local and national representatives, he said.

“The overall feeling is that we are drifting away from democracy,”
Sarafian said. “We had it in the 1990s, but now you could call this a
dictatorship, and the middle class is being eradicated.”

At the heart of the protest is what many have called an illegitimate
presidential election last year, and an unfulfilled promise from an
ensuing Armenian high court decision that a referendum on the
president would be held this year, Sarafian said. That referendum has
not come.

Kocharyan won the disputed March 2003 election in Armenia. But votes
from citizens outside the country were overwhelmingly for challenger
Stepan Demirchyan. In Los Angeles County, for instance, 3,256
Armenians voted for Demirchyan, while the incumbent garnered 285,
according to the Consulate General’s Office.

Sarafian said protesters are demanding that the Armenian parliament
either establish a referendum or that the president resign.

“It’s finally come to a head,” said Peter Darakjian, director of the
Armenian Council of America. “From the election more than a year ago,
it’s been on a daily basis that people feel that [Kocharyan] was put
there unjustly, and that the constitutional court approved the
election unjustly.”

Darakjian lamented that outside of Yerevan, Armenia has not seen
economic reforms or improvements in public infrastructures, after
years of hope in the wake of the country’s independence in 1991.

But not all wholeheartedly agree that the country has stagnated during
Kocharyan’s regime.

“The country has come a long way,” said Pierre Chraghchian, president
of the Glendale chapter of the Armenian National Committee. “If we
compare today to four years ago, nobody can question whether the
standard has improved. Any government should be questioned all of the
time, but the ANC would differ in the approach being taken right now.”

The ANC was founded by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, which is
backing Kocharyan. But the ANC officially is not a political arm, so
it has taken no position on the political situation in Armenia, said
Ardashes Kassakhian, executive director of the ANC’s western
region. He added that any violence is deplorable.

The U.S. State Department has reportedly criticized Yerevan
authorities for their crackdown on demonstrators. Authorities used
water cannons and blank grenades to disperse about 3,000 demonstrators
on Yerevan’s main thoroughfare early Tuesday, according to Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Three Armenian opposition officials arrested as suspects, prosecutor says

Mediamax news agency
14 Apr 04

YEREVAN

Armenian Prosecutor-General Agvan Ovsepyan said today that “if the
police, having acted in full accord with the letter and spirit of the
law, had not prevented the further development of illegal actions of
demonstrators on the night of 12-13 April, we would have to apply
severer official enforcement measures against the violators”.

Agvan Ovsepyan said this today at a meeting with the special
representative of the Council of Europe secretary-general in Armenia,
Natalya Vutova, the press service of the Prosecutor-General’s Office
told Mediamax today.

The prosecutor-general told Natalya Vutova that about 100 participants
in the events had been taken to police and questioned as witnesses,
among them [opposition MPs] Shavarsh Kocharyan, Aleksan Karapetyan,
Arshak Sadoyan and Vardan Lazarian. Agvan Ovsepyan pointed out that
after the questioning, all the four MPs had been set free. He also
said that members of the Republic Party’s political council Vagarshak
Arutyunyan and Gegam Arutyunyan, and Armenian People’s Party press
secretary Ruzanna Khachatryan had been detained as suspects.

Agvan Ovsepyan stated the readiness to regularly meet the special
representative of the Council of Europe secretary-general and provide
her with detailed information about the investigation.

Armenian foreign minister slams US statement on Yerevan events

Mediamax news agency
14 Apr 04

YEREVAN

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan today warned against
superficial judgments on the internal political situation in Armenia.

The minister pointed out that “stability in Armenia has deep roots,
and the events we witness today have been created artificially and
will soon be overcome”, Mediamax reports.

Commenting on the assessment of the official representative of the US
Department of State, Richard Boucher, of the situation in Armenia,
Vardan Oskanyan said that “he has made an attempt to make a balanced
statement”.

“However, Mr Boucher has forgotten one important thing – the
opposition’s calls for violence must be clearly and sharply
condemned. If Richard Boucher’s statement had included this component,
I would have backed it,” Vardan Oskanyan said.

The official representative of the US Department of State, Richard
Boucher, said on 13 April that “the United States is concerned about
the current political situation in Armenia, particularly the sharp
escalation in confrontation between the government and the opposition”.
He also noted that “physical assaults, raids on political party
offices and widespread arrests and detentions of opposition activists
by the police do not contribute to creating an atmosphere conducive to
political dialogue”.