Summary of “Armed Forces” military programme on Armenian Public TV on 5 June
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
5 Jun 04
1.0003 The opening ceremony of the Armenian Defence Ministry’s National
Strategic Research Institute named after Commander Drastamat Kanayan
took place in Yerevan on 31 May. Video showed the ceremony attended
by Drastamat Kanayan’s grandchild Philip Kanayan, Armenian Defence
Minister Serzh Sarkisyan and other high-ranking Armenian officers
and military attaches of foreign embassies in Armenia. Col Haik
Kotandzhyan, head of the institute, was shown speaking about the
institute’s future work.
2. 0614 Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan visited Tavush
and Lori Regions. Video showed military units of the region and a
power station, construction sites, the Dilizhan health resort and
Yerablur pantheon.
3. 1202 Armenia celebrates International Children Day. Video showed
the celebrations attended by children.
4. 1445 Video showed air defence units, marching soldiers, military
aircraft, training and exercises.
5. 2009 The Armenian Defence Ministry’s medical department has received
reanimobiles and medical equipment. Video showed head of the department
Grigor Adayan speaking about the new equipment.
6. 2410 The state of combat readiness of various units and
implementation of military programmes was the focus of attention of
inspections. Video showed the chief inspector of the Armenian Defence
Ministry, Col-Gen Gurgen Daribaltayan, reporting the results of the
inspection, the units, exercises and military hardware.
7. 2746 Video showed a military unit where sergeant Sergey Kekechyan
and other recruits serve.

Leader of Karabakh leaves for France
Mediamax news agency
7 Jun 04
Yerevan, 7 June: The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic
[NKR], Arkadiy Gukasyan, left for France today.
The head of the information department under the NKR president told
Mediamax news agency today that “Arkadiy Gukasyan will take part in
the cultural events in France dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the
establishment of truce in the zone of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict”.
The cultural programme is organized on the initiative of the Armenian
Union of France “In support of Karabakh” and with the assistance of
the coordination committee of the Armenian organizations of France. The
NKR president will visit Paris, Marseilles and Nice.
It is expected that during the visit Arkadiy Gukasyan will meet the
French cochairman of the OSCE Minsk Group for the settlement of the
Nagornyy Karabakh problem, Henry Jacolin, and representatives of the
Armenian community of this country.

Custody extended for Armenian opposition official
Noyan Tapan news agency
7 Jun 04
Yerevan, 7 June: The first instance court of Yerevan’s Kentron and
Nork-Marash communities chaired by judge Grachya Ovanisyan ruled on 7
June to prolong the custody term by another two months for Vagarshak
Arutyunyan, a member of the political council of the Republic Party
and former defence minister. Arutyunyan’s lawyer Robert Grigoryan,
who provided the report to Noyan Tapan news agency, noted that he
was going to protest this ruling at the court of appeals for civilian
and military cases.
Arutyunyan has been in custody since 13 April on charges under three
articles of the Criminal Code: calling publicly for the seizure of
power, insulting a representative of the authorities and attempting to
seize power. The latter article envisages imprisonment for a period
of 10 to 15 years. An appeal was sent against the first court ruling
on choosing arrest as a preventive measure, but the Court of Appeals
has not yet considered it.

Armenians kill Azeri officer, wound soldier – TV report
ANS TV, Baku
7 Jun 04
[Presenter over still of Azerbaijan’s map] The chief of a battalion,
Capt Zaur Ismayilov, 28, became a martyr today when Armenians fired
from their positions in the village of Horadiz at the Azerbaijani
positions in the village of Cocuq Marcanli [near Iranian border in
southwestern Azerbaijan] at around 0500 [0000 gmt]. The 19-year-old
soldier Bagirov Ramil Vagif oglu was wounded. This was confirmed
by the head of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry’s press service,
Ramiz Malikov.
It was impossible to take the body of the officer away until
retaliatory fire forced the Armenians to stop, ANS TV’s Karabakh
bureau reports, quoting local residents. The wounded soldier was
rushed to a military hospital.
According to another report from the Defence Ministry, units of the
Armenian armed forces fired from a point 1.5 kilometres northeast of
Berkaber village [in Armenia] in Idzhevan District at the Azerbaijani
positions in the village of Qizil Hacili in Qazax District between
2210 and 2230 [1710 and 1730 gmt] on 6 June. From the same point
and from a point located 1.4 kilometres southeast of the occupied
village of Xeyrimli in Qazax District, the Armenians subjected the
village of Mazam in Qazax District to fire from assault rifles and
large-calibre machine guns between 0115 and 0125 on 7 June [1915 and
1925 gmt on 6 June].
The enemy was forced to stop by retaliatory fire in both cases.

Leader of Karabakh urges mediators to help start dialogue with Baku
Noyan Tapan news agency, Yerevan
7 Jun 04
Stepanakert, 7 June: Only direct contacts between the mediators and
the Karabakh side and Stepanakert’s equal participation in the talks
could drive the peace settlement out of the deadlock, the president
of the NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh Republic], Arkadiy Gukasyan, said at a
meeting with the special representative of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the OSCE, Goran Lennmarker, on 4 June. Lennmarker arrived in
Karabakh on a fact-finding visit.
Arkadiy Gukasyan particularly stressed that Nagornyy Karabakh is
suffering from the fact that the conflict has not yet been resolved. As
an unrecognized republic, the NKR is being deprived of financial,
humanitarian and other necessary international assistance. In addition,
the president noted that Nagornyy Karabakh continued to remain under
the transport blockade. Despite these difficulties, Arkadiy Gukasyan
added, Nagornyy Karabakh aspires to make use of the whole of its
limited potential to develop the economic and social fields and to
form a civic society which will meet European standards.
The main information department under the NKR president reported
that Arkadiy Gukasyan expressed the hope that the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly’s interest in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and
its assistance in this process would promote peace in the region. At
the same time, the president stressed that the settlement was
being hindered due mainly to Azerbaijan’s position, its on-going
information war aimed at forming in society an extremely negative
attitude to the Armenian people. The settlement is also handicapped
by constant bellicose statements by the Baku authorities and their
reluctance to hold dialogue with Nagornyy Karabakh. In this connection,
Arkadiy Gukasyan said that rather than draw up recommendations on the
settlement, international mediators should aim at creating necessary
conditions for dialogue between Nagornyy Karabakh and Azerbaijan
which could help the sides resolve the crisis.
[Passage omitted: Lennmarker’s statement]

G2: Architecture: Platform souls: New plans for King’s Cross in London show
the massive scale of the venture. And the smart money – including that of New
York art tycoon Larry Gagosian – is already moving in. By Jonathan Glancey
The Guardian – United Kingdom
Jun 07, 2004
JONATHAN GLANCEY
The hype surrounding the opening of the Gagosian Gallery in King’s
Cross, London, has been so great and the plaudits have been so
glittering that I expected to find something very special indeed. Not,
perhaps, a riposte to the Bilbao Guggenheim by Frank Gehry but a
landmark building; an artistic adventure.
The Gagosian Gallery proves to be a modest creation, housed in a former
garage in Britannia Street, a rats’ alley smelling of diesel and urine,
scuttling across the Metropolitan and Circle underground lines as
they rattle between Farringdon and King’s Cross-St Pancras. Behind
the gaunt facade, Larry Gagosian’s architects, Caruso St John, best
known for their New Art Gallery, in Walsall, which opened in 2000,
have opened up bright, cavernous, concrete-floored, top-lit white
spaces. These are particularly refined white spaces; they have
something of a religious air about them, not least because on a
weekday afternoon this private gallery is as quiet as an abandoned
city church. A security guard sits like a piece of isolated artwork
by the locked door, while bright young things potter about at a vast
reception desk faced with important catalogues. A solitary, studious
looking fellow surveys the brown and white Cy Twombly abstracts,
which hang from the spotless white walls with a degree of respect
owed to icons and statues elsewhere.
None of this is a criticism of this new London art space, which
is one of the best of its kind since Charles Saatchi’s original
gallery in St John’s Wood, designed by the late Max Gordon. Caruso
St John are among our most thoughtful architects, as careful with
the process of building as they are with design. And, yet, for all
its graceful substance, the gallery has something of a temporary air
about it. Should the top end of the art market take a tumble between
now and the completion of the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras in 2007,
it would make a particularly fine restaurant, office or nightclub.
The area will certainly want these as its redevelopment gathers
pace over the next five years. Seedy for decades, King’s Cross is
fast-becoming a blue-chip investment for property developers. Quite how
the promethean building works promised here will pan out is anyone’s
guess. For every impressive new civil engineering achievement, there
will be routine chain stores; for every art gallery, a fast-food
joint. Expect, in time-honoured English tradition, a mix of the
sublime and the banal: the Gormenghast glory of St Pancras raised to
fresh, pinnacled heights as Eurostar trains snake in and out on their
three-mile-a-minute race to and from Paris with its cafes, restaurants,
shops and art galleries. Penny-plain King’s Cross station stripped
of 1970s tat. Both stations are attended by millions of square feet
of gleaming new offices, some 1,800 flats, dozens of shops, washed
and brushed public spaces, three new footbridges over the Regent’s
Canal, restored historic buildings and, so the developers say, more
art galleries.
This leviathan plan, announced last week, for the 67-acre area
north of the Gagosian Gallery, has been prepared by a property
consortium comprising Argent St George, Exel, London and Continental
Railways. Allies and Morrison, immaculate Moderns, and Demetri
Porphyrios, the most convincing of the Prince of Wales’s school of
classicists, have been appointed architects in charge of a development
that, in scale at least, matches the heroic urban projects that shaped
Victorian London. The pounds 2bn project will take at least 15 years
to complete. It may yet be rejected by the mayor of London, who will
surely find its tallest 19-storey towers too modest and its plan not
sufficiently dedicated to the concerns of big business. It may yet be
called in for public inquiry by the government, and either held up,
heavily edited or abandoned while lawyers rack up prodigious fees.
Whatever the process – the rise and fall of commercial and professional
reputations, the jaw-dropping fees, the performance bonuses, pension
top-ups, the gongs awarded and brown envelopes exchanged – King’s
Cross will surely be redeveloped on a titanic scale within the next 10
and 20 years. The dodgy young men, working-class street-walkers and
middle-class kerb-crawlers will move on, along with the purveyors of
kebabs, tattoos and grubby mags. Spick and span corporate offices,
big-brand shops, chain cafes and relentless street furniture
interspersed with well-meant public art will take their place.
Architects of the calibre of Allies and Morrison and Demetri Porphyrios
will do their best to raise the standards of St Pancras but they
cannot hope to control the quality of the tenants who will flock here
in coming years. There will be something like 30,000 new jobs here,
while millions of passengers travelling to and from London and the
Continent, and looking for diversion, will mill around King’s Cross. A
committed few might waft down New Britannia Street to pick up a canvas
by Cy Twombly or a pickled lamb by Damien Hirst.
Gagosian, however, ought to know what most people will want. This
sharp, silver-haired Armenian-American, nicknamed “Go-Go”, began
making money in Santa Monica in the 1970s. “I would buy prints for
$2-$3, put them in aluminium frames and sell them for $15,” says
the Donald Trump of the art world. If Gagosian likes art, he likes
nothing better than closing deals. He opened a small gallery behind
Regent Street a few years ago, also a conversion by Caruso St John,
before homing in on King’s Cross, which offers an optimum deal: a
place to show big, headline-stealing artworks – tens of tons of Serra
– in a handsome setting in the sort of grubby street that makes the
art world trill with excitement, while making a quiet future killing
on the property market.
Gagosian likes art, and knows that this, with all its high society
connections, brings kudos, glamour and outlandishly big bucks. Should
you happen to be a wheeler-dealer who builds a fashionable
gallery showing fashionable artists in one of the most fashionable
up-and-coming parts of London, how can you possibly go wrong?
Gagosian’s gung-ho, yet outwardly, highly refined, venture into the
London art world and King’s Cross is, perhaps, to be preferred to the
run-of-the-mill development that could take place here if we fail to
keep a sharp eye on the area and the hugely ambitious “masterplans”
dreamed up by one developer after the other over the past 15 years. No
one should doubt that the real artwork here is the arrival of the
high-speed Eurostar line. This, like the Midland Railway’s grand
Gothic entry into St Pancras some 140 years ago, will change the face
of the surrounding area, including Britannia Street, for ever.
guardian.co.uk/glancey

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
06/07/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) ANCA Chairman Calls State Department on Its 'Disingenuous' Excuse for Armenian Genocide Exclusion 2) Ghukassian Presses Lenmarker for Equal Footing 3) Construction of Airport Terminal to Take Zvartnots to New Heights 4) Farewell to Former President Ronald Reagan 1) ANCA Chairman Calls State Department on Its 'Disingenuous' Excuse for Armenian Genocide Exclusion WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)--In a detailed letter sent last Friday to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Ken Hachikian pressed the State Department to end its practice of excluding any mention of the Armenian Genocide from the history section of its official website on Armenia. The State Department website features Background Notes on one hundred ninety-eight nations. Each entry includes a brief historical review. The historical section for Armenia makes no mention of Ottoman Turkey's systematic destruction of over one and a half million Armenians, or the "demographic disaster" described by the Library of Congress as having "shifted the center of the Armenian population from the heartland of historical Armenia." The ANCA issued an action alert on this issue in January of this year. Hachikian's letter was written in response to a May 6 State Department letter to Joe Dagdigian, Chairman of the Merrimack Valley ANC chapter. In an April 20 letter to the State Department, Dagdidgian documented a series of serious shortcomings in its website on the history of Armenia, noting, in part: "The historical survey of Armenia omits any reference to the Armenian Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey beginning in 1915. To recount nearly 3,000 years of Armenian history without the inclusion of this cataclysmic and relatively recent event in the history of the Armenian people is inexcusable. Rather than contributing to an understanding of the region, it obscures the region's history and fails to provide the background necessary for understanding current Armenian and regional issues." Responding to Dagdidgian, the Director of the Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs John Fox, wrote: "Country background notes on the State Department's web-site were designed to provide interested readers with concise and up-to-date information regarding key economic and political issues in the country, as well as travel conditions and commercial opportunities. Country background notes also provide a very brief introduction to the country's history. Typically, each background page will collapse over 2,000 years of history into 3-4 concise paragraphs. Consequently, even episodes of great historical importance are often not treated in our background notes." In his sharply critical letter to Secretary Powell, Hachikian spells out the historical inaccuracy, the basic inconsistency, and the moral bankruptcy of the State Department's position of excluding the Armenian Genocide from its history of Armenia: "Rather than acknowledging and taking steps to correct this obvious error--or even indicating a willingness to review this flawed document, the State Department's letter, signed by John Fox of the Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs, instead, sought to reduce this issue of profound historical and contemporary significance to a simple consideration of space." Hachikian goes on with an in-depth review of the assertions made in the State Department letter, concluding that, "we find it plainly disingenuous, if not outright dishonest, to imply that the exclusion of the Armenian Genocide is based on space considerations." He adds, "it is clear that this historically inaccurate refusal to even acknowledge the premeditated extermination between 1915 and 1923 of fully two thirds of all Armenians by Ottoman Turkey and the exile of a nation from its historic homeland of more than three thousand years, represents another very sad chapter in the State Department's complicity in the Turkish government's ongoing immoral campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide." In closing, Hachikian writes, "How truly regrettable I find it to have to engage in word-counts to illustrate the ridiculous and reprehensible lengths to which the State Department goes to help the government of Turkey to deny the undeniable--the crime of genocide committed against the Armenian nation. In the interest of basic morality, historical accuracy, and the State Department's credibility, on behalf of the American-Armenian community, I ask you to immediately correct this obvious and insulting 'error.'" Readers can express their concern about the Armenia Background Notes by visiting the ANCA website, <; 2) Ghukassian Presses Lenmarker for Equal Footing STEPANAKERT (Combined Sources)--The president of Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Special Representative on the Karabagh conflict met in the capital of MKR, Stepanakert, on June 4. Thanking OSCE's Goran Lennmarker for his visit, MKR President Arkady Ghukassian said that only immediate interaction between mediators and MKR representatives, as well as Stepanakert's equal participation in negotiations, could end the stalemate to bring about a peaceful resolution. Ghukassian expressed hope that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's interest in resolving the conflict, as well as its cooperation and involvement, would help the establishment of peace in the region. He, at the same time, stressed that Azerbaijan's extremism via a concerted effort to stir anti-Armenian propaganda, especially among its population, is destructive and stands in the way of progress. The efforts of international mediators, stressed Ghukassian, would better be served if they concentrated on creating conditions for a balanced dialogue between MKR and Azerbaijan, rather than formulating suggestions. Lennmarker said that the goal of his fact-finding mission to MKR and the region is to seek a speedy resolution to the conflict, indicating that all of Europe is interested in accelerating the peace process. He said that the experience gained in settling past conflicts would be a valuable tool in expediting the matter, and ruled out a military settlement to the conflict. 3) Construction of Airport Terminal to Take Zvartnots to New Heights YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--Construction of a new terminal at Armenia's main international airport began on Monday by the Argentine Corporacion America Company managing the project. Representatives of the Argentine company and Armenian government ministers inaugurated the start of construction, describing it as the first stage of the reconstruction of Zvartnots airport, which is to conform to international standards with the completion of the project. The airport's commercial director Juan-Pablo Guechigian, said the project would cost at least $42 million. Justice Minister David Harutiunian, who oversees project implementation, said the new three-story building is slated for completion by 2007, and added that its ground floor, available for passenger use, will be ready at the end of next year, as well as construction of the upper floors. Argentinean Armenian Eduardo Eurnekian, who operates 33 airports across South America, owns Corporacion America which signed a 30-year management contract with the Armenian government in December 2001 and took over Zvartnots several months later. Officials in Yerevan said earlier that the reconstruction will enable Zvartnots to handle at least 1.2 million passengers a year. Up to 800,000 people presently arrive at and depart from the airport each year. Eurnekian reportedly looks to transform the airport into a major transit hub for long-haul flights between Europe and Asia. 4) Farewell to Former President Ronald Reagan (VOA)--A week of remembrances for former President Ronald Reagan began on Monday, when his remains arrived at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California. There, the body will lie in repose for two days, while mourners pay last respects to the 40th US president, who died Saturday at age 93, of pneumonia after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. On Wednesday, Mr. Reagan's body will be flown to Washington ahead of a state funeral on Friday. President Bush has declared Friday a national day of mourning. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev are among the prominent figures planning to attend Friday's state funeral for Ronald Reagan at Washington's National Cathedral. The former British leader has given up public speaking after a series of strokes, but will deliver a videotaped eulogy recorded several months before Reagan's death. Reagan and Thatcher were close friends, politically united by their dislike for communism. Gorbachev forged a relationship with the late president during summit meetings in the final years of the Cold War. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

Foreigners show keen interest in serving in Russian army
Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow
7 Jun 04
Presenter Foreign citizens are showing a very keen interest in serving
in the Russian army. This is borne out by the figures of the military
enlistment centres. Anastasiya (?Izyumskaya) has the details.
Correspondent In the northwest of the country alone, nearly 40
foreigners have expressed a desire to serve under contract in the
Russian armed forces. I would remind you that the possibility of doing
this arose in spring this year after the appropriate amendments had
been made to the law on military service.
The Leningrad Military District mobilization HQ told Interfax news
agency that it is mainly citizens of the former Soviet republics who
want to serve under contract. Among those who have applied there are
also members of the fair sex.
Actually, this interest in military service in Russia is quite easy
to explain: after three years of serving in our army, a foreigner,
if he is from one of the former Soviet republics, can obtain Russian
citizenship.
Presenter I would add that Russian legislation stipulates a three-month
probationary period for contract soldiers.
The Russian news agency Interfax-AVN web site (Moscow, in English
0810 gmt) quoted the acting chief of the Leningrad Military District
mobilization HQ, Col Viktor Martynov, as saying the highest number
of applications by foreign citizens was made in Leningrad and Pskov
Regions.
“The applicants are primarily Ukrainians and Belarusians, and there
are some people from Moldova and Armenia. They are going through
professional selection and medical examination at assembly points of
military commissioner’s offices,” Martynov said.

Armenian officers waiting for Azeri visas to attend NATO conference
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
5 Jun 04
Presenter Baku continues to be faithful to itself. Even today it
is under a cloud of suspicion over whether the Armenian delegation
will be able to take part in the 22 June planning conference for the
Cooperative Best Effort-2004 exercises in Baku.
To recap, many obstacles have been created for the Armenian
servicemen and they were not allowed to go to Baku to take part in
the last planning conference for the Cooperative Best Effort-2004
exercises. The deputy commander of the US European Command, Gen Charles
Wald, who visited Armenia in April, said that Armenian servicemen
would certainly take part in NATO events. The Azerbaijani president
Ilham Aliyev personally assured and promised the American general
that Armenian servicemen would have no problems participating in the
Cooperative Best Effort-2004 exercises. Despite this the Azerbaijani
side has not yet granted the Armenian servicemen entry visas, the
deadline for which is 7 June.
Correspondent The Cooperative Best Effort-2004 programme is of great
importance for Armenia. The member countries’ participation in the
planning conference is also of great importance for NATO. Through the
Best Effort programme improvements should be implemented in the member
countries’ defence spheres and defence systems. Azerbaijan hindering
Armenia’s participation in the planning conference and exercises
certainly casts doubt on the very existence of future NATO programmes.
Chief of the Armenian Defence Ministry’s foreign relations and
international military cooperation department, Maj-Gen Mikael
Melkonyan, captioned I think that if Azerbaijan continues to put up
obstacles, the NATO leadership will take the appropriate decision. It
is even probable that the exercises will not take place.
Correspondent Mikael Melkonyan is optimistic and hopes that the
Azerbaijani side may on the last day grant entry visas to the Armenian
servicemen. At a seminar on military service, objectives and solutions
and the Armenian army’s achievements and objectives, the general of the
Armenian armed forces noted that impressions of our army outside of
our country are quite positive. The Armenian peacekeeping battalion
was recognized the best in the Cooperative Best Effort exercises
which took place in Georgia in 2002 and in Armenia in 2003.
Passage omitted: the seminar also discussed alternative service
Ayk Ovanesyan, “Aylur”

California Courier Online, June 10, 2004
1 – Commentary
Azeri Student at American Univ.
In Bulgaria Threatens Armenians
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
**************************************************************************
2 – Isabel Bayrakdarian Captivates
Haigazian Auxiliary Audience
3 – St. Andrew Church
Hosts Festival in
Cupertino, June 27
4 – Registration Opens for
AGBU-AYA Summer
Basketball League
5 – Professional Society Launches
Outreach Program to Students
6 – Richard Mushegain Holds Winning
Ticket to Ararat Home’s Car Raffle
7 – Exhibit at UCLA to Feature Works
By Genocide Witness Armin Wegner
8 – Montebello Armenian Center Provides
After-School Tutoring for Students
9- Local Red Cross Chapter Honors UAF
************************************************************************
1 – Commentary
Azeri Student at American Univ.
In Bulgaria Threatens Armenians
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Just when Armenians were recovering from the shocking murder of an Armenian
officer who was hacked to death by an Azeri classmate in a NATO Partnership
for Peace program (how ironic?) in Budapest, Hungary on February 19, an
Azeri in Bulgaria makes vicious and racist threats against Armenians.
Rauf Zeynalov, an Azeri student at the American University in Bulgaria
(AUBG), sent on April 30th a very vicious and obscene hate mail to Karen
Vrtanesyan, the web master of , in response to an
article condemning the murder by Ramil Safarov of an Armenian officer in
Hungary. In order to spare our readers’ sensibilities, I have deleted the
crude four-letter words used by Zeynalov in the following e-mail:
“Bitch, I have seen ur (sic) some inventions (sic) in the armenianhouse.org
forum for Ramil Safarov. I wanna (sic) say that Ramil … [expletive deleted]
that bitch armenian (sic) guy in Hungary and belive (sic) me that we, all
azeris (sic) will … [expletive deleted] ur (sic) and all armenians (sic)
mom. Actually, it was ur (sic) mom who was shouting last night in the bed
of one of azeris (sic). And me (sic) … [expletive deleted] ur (sic) sister
:::::::::)))))))) (sic). She was really cool 🙂 (sic). With the wish of …
[expletive deleted] all armenians (sic). By the way we are not gays, so for
sure we will … [expletive deleted] girls and women coming to u (sic), u
(sic) will be … [expletive deleted] in other ways 🙂 … [expletive deleted]
u (sic) !!!”
Vrtanesyan informed the officials of the American University in Bulgaria on
May 17 about the hate mail sent by one of their students, Rauf Zeynalov,
using the university’s e-mail system. Vrtanesyan sent to the University a
copy of Zeynalov’s obscene and threatening e-mail.
David C. Durst, the Interim Chief Academic Officer at the American
University in Bulgaria, immediately responded to Vrtanesyan by saying: “I
have received your letter. This is a serious allegation and I have opened
an investigation of the case.”
Four days later, on May 21, Durst sent the following e-mail to Vrtanesyan:
“I write to inform you of the action the AUBG Administration has taken in
response to the serious threats and offensive language the AUBG student
Rauf Zeynalov used in violation of AUBG’s written rules governing the use
of e-mail on campus. Rauf Zeynalov will not be attending the university
during the fall semester, and before he will be allowed to return to AUBG
he will be required to convince the University Administration to its
satisfaction that he understands the severity of his misguided action and
that he will maintain respect for and work cooperatively with others of
different backgrounds and opinions upon return to the University.”
Karen Vrtanesyan should be commended for bringing the offensive e-mail of
this Azeri hate monger to the immediate attention of the American
University in Bulgaria. David Durst and the officials of AUBG should also
be commended for their prompt action.
Readers should write to David Durst ([email protected]) suggesting that the
Azeri student should be expelled from the University rather than being
suspended just for one semester. Letters should also be sent to the Soros
Foundation’s Open Society Institute in Bulgaria ([email protected]) urging them
to rescind the scholarship they had awarded to Rauf Zeynalov for the full
cost of his educational expenses towards a Bachelor Degree at the American
University in Bulgaria.
Oskanian Responds to Column on David Phillips
In response to my column criticizing the moderator of TARC, David Phillips,
for writing a blatantly anti-Armenian commentary in the Wall Street
Journal, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Mr. Vartan Oskanian, sent me his
reaction:
“The David Phillips article demonstrated either an alarming ignorance of
Armenia’s domestic and foreign policies and realities, or deliberate
distortion. To arrive at conclusions and make predictions based on wrong
information and inappropriate interpretations harms the international
community’s efforts to understand regional processes and developments. If
the reason was ignorance, this is unfortunate, since he had plenty of
opportunity and access to better information. If it was deliberate
distortion, this is even worse since he had cast himself in the role of
conciliator.”
I am pleased that Mr. Oskanian did respond to Phillips in a forthright
manner. After the highly offensive article that Phillips wrote in the Wall
Street Journal, he should no longer have any friends among Armenians.
**************************************************************************
2 – Isabel Bayrakdarian Captivates
Haigazian Auxiliary Audience
PASADENA, CA – The Pasadena home of Dr. and Mrs. John Kassabian set the
background for the appearance of young Canadian-Armenian opera sensation
Isabel Bayrakdarian who captivated her audience at the May 20 benefit
luncheon of the Haigazian University Women’s Auxiliary. Bayrakdarian,
appearing in “The Marriage of Figaro” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
through mid-June, has received outstanding reviews.
The diva was introduced by USC Music Professor Lucina Agbabian Hubbard, a
Haigazian Auxiliary past president, who read excerpts of Bayrakdarian press
reviews from around the world. She played several selections from Isabel’s
CBC album “Joyous Light,” a collection of Armenian liturgical music, and
from her Spanish and Latin award winning CD “Azualao.”
In speaking about her personal background in music, Bayrakdarian who has
sung on stages worldwide said that “it began in the Armenian Church” where
her mother was choir director. All of her brothers and sisters were
encouraged to participate in the liturgy, either musically or on the altar.
“Music refines the soul and it has brought out good qualities in me. Music
makes you think about humanity,” she reflected.
The young soprano, a native of Zahle, Lebanon, emigrated with her family
to Canada and, after receiving a degree in biomedical engineering, attended
the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She commented on being
Armenian. “It’s easy to remain Armenian when you are in your homeland. It’s
difficult to remain Armenian when you are in the diaspora.” She stressed
how important it is to teach children about their heritage and language.
Displaying a unique maturity and spirituality, Isabel is grateful for being
blessed with so very much. “The least I can do,” she said “is to give back
to Him who kissed my throat when I was born. We can all do that with our
talents,” she added.
Bayrakdarian recently returned from her first trip to Armenia with a crew
from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to film a documentary. She
immediately fell in love with the country of her ancestors. She was
thrilled to sing at the 13th century Geghart Monastery carved into the side
of a mountain. “I totally broke down when I went to Geghart. I’m so happy I
lived to see it.”
Rev. Dr. John Khanjian, immediate past president of Haigazian University,
offered the blessing and Auxiliary President Joyce Stein MC’d the program.
Stein thanked Isabel and recognized the audience for supporting the
University which is preparing to celebrate its 50th Anniversary in 2005.
She gave an optimistic report on the University in Beirut which presently
has the highest enrollment in its history. No qualified Armenian student
has ever been turned away from Haigazian because of lack of funds.
A scholarship will be presented this year in loving memory of Evelyn
Levonian who spent many years as an active member and was a past president
of the Auxiliary. She suffered a major stroke eleven years ago and was in
declining health until her passing on May 5.
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3 – St. Andrew Church
Hosts Festival in
Cupertino, June 27
CUPERTINO, CA – St. Andrew Armenian Church of Cupertino will hold its 40th
Annual Festival on June 27 from 11 am to 6 pm on the church grounds.
Featured will be Armenian food; a large variety of favorite Armenian
pastries; a DJ as well as a live band for folk dancing; boutique booths;
games for children, and much more.
Chairman of the Festival, Vahak Awadisian, invites everyone in the San
Francisco Bay Area to join the celebration of St. Andrew’s 40th summer
event.
On his committee are Co-Chairman Ben Toker, Tamara Warren, Mike Kuzirian,
Shant Krikorian, Dr. Peter Abaci and Nubar Manoukian – all members of the
St. Andrew Parish Council, with Fr. Datev Harutyunian, Pastor, as the
Advisor.
St. Andrew Church is located at 11370 S. Stelling Road (near Rainbow Drive
– 1-1/4 miles south of De Anza College) in Cupertino.
For information, call (408) 257-6743 during business hours.
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4 – Registration Opens for
AGBU-AYA Summer
Basketball League
PASADENA, Calif. – The AGBU San Fernando Valley and AGBU Pasadena Chapters,
in conjunction with the AGBU Southern California Central Sports Committee,
welcome and encourage parents to register their boys, ages 10-12 years old,
for the 2004 AGBU-AYA Summer Basketball League.
Team practices will be held from July 10 to Sept. 18, at both the Pasadena
and San Fernando Valley AGBU locations. Team practice days and times for
the AGBU Basketball League will be determined shortly. Actual basketball
games will be held within the aforementioned date period on Saturday at
both locations.
The registration fee is $125 per athlete. Registration forms must be
completed in their entirety. Please include a copy of the athlete’s birth
certificate. Completed applications must be mailed by the June 25, 2004
deadline to either one of the following addresses:
AGBU Valley Chapter, Attn: Summer Basketball League, 6844 Oakdale Ave.,
Canoga Park, CA 91306 or AGBU Pasadena Chapter, Attn: Summer
Basketball League, 2495 E. Mountain Ave., Pasadena CA 91104.
All registered athletes must attend the initial tryout/draft between 1-3:30
pm on July 10, at either the AGBU Manoogian-Demirjian School’s gymnasium in
Canoga Park, or at the AGBU Pasadena gymnasium.
For further information, contact the AGBU Pasadena Center at (626)
794-7942, or the AGBU San Fernando Valley Center at (818) 313-9449 or via
email at [email protected]
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5 – Professional Society Launches
Outreach Program to Students
LOS ANGELES – The Armenian Professional Society (APS) has embarked on an
educational “Student Outreach Program” (SOP) to encourage college education
and familiarize Armenian high school students with the various professions
available to them.
The first SOP presentation was conducted on May 25, at Armenian Mesrobian
School in Pico Rivera. In light of the limited number of Armenian men and
women entering the field of engineering, the subject of the presentation
was “A Career in Engineering.”
APS’ 2nd vice president, Ronnie Nazeley, a graduate of USC with a BS degree
in Chemical Engineering, made the presentation to approximately 50 high
school students, in English and Armenian.
The presentation discussed the various engineering disciplines and the
required curriculum. The presentation dealt with the employment options
upon graduation and the various industries available to engineers, such as
aerospace, petrochemical, power generation, defense, automobile, and
computer. The presentation along with the Q&A session lasted for about 35
minutes and it was well received by the Mesrobian students.
Future presentations will be available in the fields of art, architecture,
finance, medicine and law. Schools interested in a presentation may
contact the APS at P.O. Box 1944, Glendale, CA 91209-1944 or by email at
[email protected].
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6 – Richard Mushegain Holds Winning
Ticket to Ararat Home’s Car Raffle
MISSION HILLS, Calif. – The Ararat Home of Los Angeles held the drawing of
their “Put a Mercedes in Your Garage or $50,000 in Your Bank,” raffle on
May 29 at the Mission Hills campus.
The winning ticket was 997 and was purchased by Richard Mushegain, who
decided to receive the cash prize rather than the car.
Over 300 people were in attendance to observe the raffle ticket drawing
made by Edward Abrahamian, a 100-year-old resident of the Ararat Nursing
Facility.
“Since all of the 1500 tickets were sold, the event was a tremendous
success,” said Board Chairman Robert Taylor. “Without the support of the
Lady Auxiliary and the Guilds as well as the Board Trustees and the
Armenian community, we could not have done it.”
During the Sunday afternoon event, Cong. Brad Sherman (D-27th District),
presented to the Ararat Home an American Flag flown over the Capitol in
Washington, D.C. on April 24, 2004. A member of the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues, Cong. Sherman has been very supportive of Armenia, Nagorno
Karabagh and other Armenian-related issues in Congress.
The Mercedes dealer in Encino, John Steigler, who helped support the
Raffle, presented his remarks of support of the Armenian community to the
attendees.
Wine and mezzas were provided by Arut’s catering.
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7- Exhibit at UCLA to Feature Works
By Genocide Witness Armin Wegner
LOS ANGELES – A photo exhibition entitled “Armin T. Wegner & The Armenians
in Anatolia: 1915-1916” will take place at UCLA from June 13 to July 3, at
the Kerckhoff Grand Salon on Westwood Plaza.
The exhibition is produced by the Armin T. Wegner Society of USA in
cooperation with the Narekatsi Chair at UCLA, supported by German archives,
as well as Sybil Stevens and Mischa Wegner for Wegner family.
Initiated by Dr. Pietro Kuciukian, the exhibition was held in over 80
locations in Italy, which led to the ultimate recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the Italian government.
Armin T. Wegner was a German intellectual, expressionist writer and poet,
civil rights advocate, anti-war activist, photojournalist, and eyewitness
to the Armenian Genocide.
He served as a medical nurse in the Turkish army during WWI. As a personal
caretaker of Field Marshal von der Goltz, he traveled with him along the
Baghdad railroad in Mesopotamia, where he witnessed the Armenian Genocide.
Disobeying orders which were intended to stifle news of the massacres, he
gathered information on the Genocide – collected notes, annotations,
documents, letters and took hundreds of photographs in the Armenian
deportation camps – visible proof of the first systematic genocide of the
twentieth century. At the request of the Turkish Command, Wegner was
eventually arrested by the Germans and was recalled to Germany. His
photographs were confiscated and destroyed, however, he managed to smuggle
some emulsions in his belt with images from the Armenian Genocide.
On June 13, at 4 p.m., the award winning film, “Destination Nowhere: The
Witness,” a documentary by Carlo Massa, will be screened at the Kerckhoff
Grand Salon. Guest speaker will be Armin T. Wegner’s son, Mischa Wegner.
Seating is limited, so please RSVP by e-mailing your name and number of
attendees to [email protected].
****************************************************************
8 – Montebello Armenian Center Provides
After-School Tutoring for Students
MONTEBELLO, Calif. – Starting May 25, After School Tutoring will be
provided free at the Montebello Armenian Center for Armenian students of
all grades, announced a spokesperson for the AYF Vahan Cardashian Chapter.
The chapter, along with the Center Executive Committee, has provided a
state-of-the art computer facility for homework, projects, and research
papers by students from Armenian or public schools. There is no charge for
the use of the facility.
Computer hardware includes four Dell 4600 PCs, color printers, and
scanners. Software provided include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, FrontPage,
Encyclopedia Encarta, and Armenian Language.
Free tutoring subjects include Math, Sciences, History, English, Armenian,
and more.
Students are invited to make use of the facilities every Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Montebello Armenian Center is located at 420 W. Washington Blvd., in
Montebello.
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9 – Local Red Cross Chapter Honors UAF
By Darleene Barrientos
News-Press
GLENDALE — When the local Armenian-American community rallied to collect
medical and school supplies for Armenia, it gave the local Red Cross
chapter a valuable learning experience.
Now, the Glendale-Crescenta Valley Chapter of the Red Cross paid back the
favor by giving the United Armenian Fund its annual Good Neighbor award.
The award was presented at the chapter’s annual meeting June 2 at the
Glendale Hilton. The meeting celebrated the chapter’s 87 years of service
in the community.
The UAF helped pay for the two shipments the Red Cross gathered last year,
helped the Red Cross figure out what would benefit Armenia and assisted the
chapter’s fundraising efforts, said Ron Farina, the chapter’s executive
director.
Their assistance was invaluable because it was the first time the chapter
had undertaken such a project, he added. The UAF led a fund drive and
helped pay for the shipments of 20 pallets of surgical prep trays and 35
chests of school supplies that were flown to Armenia.
“They gave us guidance on what we should look for and how we should conduct
fundraising in the Armenian community,” Farina said.
The chapter collected nearly $5,000 from local Armenian Americans in
Glendale.
“They provided great insight and expertise in what we haven’t been in
before,” assistant chapter manager Irena Efremian said. “They guided us
from A through Z — they were very diligent in explaining what we could do
and not do.”
Receiving the Clara Barton Award was outgoing board member Mary Ann
Plumley, for her outstanding service and dedication of working with the
local Realtor Board and community in promoting Red Cross activities.
Donald A. Huffsmith Jr. was installed as the Red Cross chapter’s incoming
chairman.
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