Gilford native receives Rona Jaffe Writers Award

August 31, 2005
Citizen Online -- Laconia, New Hampshire

Fiction writer and Gilford native Rebecca Curtis was recently one of six recipients of the 2005 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Awards, given annually to women writers in the early stages of their careers.
[...]
The awards of $10,000 will be presented to the six recipients in New York on Sept. 22.
[...]
{Curtis} plans to begin a novel based on the memoirs of Azni Gostonian, an Armenian woman who survived the Turkish genocide by marrying a Turk and who eventually escaped with the help of a Turkish woman who befriended her. She ended up in Manchester where she became a close friend of Curtis' grandmother.

Curtis plans to use her Writers Award for research and travel to Armenia.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Bikers Traverse Armenia to Aid Farmers

Aug 28, 2005
New California Media
Asbarez Armenian Daily,
News Report, Staff

FRESNO--Six Armenians from the United States left for Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh Republic on August 20 to bike through the countryside as a part of the Armenian Technology Group's (ATG) effort to promote agrotourism there.

The Fresno, California based ATG was formed in 1989 to assist the Armenian people to become self-sufficient in food production. Much of its work has revolved around the seed multiplication program, which aims to make high-quality seeds available to Armenian grain farmers. [...].
[...]
In 1999, {Vatche} Soghomonian rode from Stepanakert to Yerevan to give a jump-start to the ATG-proposed grape nursery in Khramort, a village in Karabagh ravaged by war. ATG estimates that every dollar invested in the nursery increases local income 14-fold.[...].
[...]
{last year } [...] Soghomonian embarked on a marathon bicycle ride [...] that took him nearly 700 kilometers across the mountains and plains of Armenia. The ride played a critical role in raising the funds to purchase four milk-cooling tanks to serve as storage for rural farmers, allowing their surplus milk to be kept fresh and to be sold to dairy processors.
[...]
This year's Bike-a-Thon has the specific goal of raising the funds needed to train professional veterinarians who will work with the Central Diagnostic Lab to help increase farm production and income, ensure that milk and dairy products are safe for consumption. [...].
[...]
Soghomonian, who [...] recently qualified for the Tour de France, will lead the other riders from Yerevan, then peddle towards Khor Virab, and then on to Noravank. They will then journey to Yeghegnatsor and through Areni wine country, stopping to have a taste of Armenia's wines. The tour will continue to Sisian, and then Goris, followed by a stop at Khapan, and onward to Meghri. The bikers will pass through Karabagh, visiting Shushi and Stepanakert. They will visit the ATG wine grape nursery in Khramort, funded by diaspora Armenians, and ride to the ancient Gantzasar monastery. The tour will then climb from Yeghegnatsor to Martuni, and along Lake Sevan, then continuing on to Oshagan, Sardarabad, and finally visit Echmiadzin before returning to Yerevan.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

SCV's Fencing Master

7/31/2005
The Signal
Michelle Sathe
Signal Staff Writer

Tigran Shaginian always appreciated the strategy of his chosen sport. “Fencing is like a physical chess. You find a way to get to your goal,” Shaginian said.
[...]
Shaginian went on to become a four-time champion of the Russian National Fencing team and a pentathlete at the 1980 Olympics, as well as an International Master. He left Russia on a visa in 1989 to stay with relatives and never looked back.
[...]
[...] Shaginian [...] in 1997, [...] opened the first Swords fencing studio in his adopted city of Burbank, where he continues to reside with wife Taguy and daughters Diana, 15, and Anush, 13. He became an American citizen in 1994.

Today, Shaginian owns Swords studios from the San Fernando Valley to Ventura County in addition to the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you’ll find Shaginian at the Santa Clarita Athletic Club off of Calgrove Boulevard.
[...]
Traditionally a European sport, fencing’s popularity is growing exponentially in America. When Shaginian opened his first Swords, there were only five fencing studios in all of Southern California. Today, there are 14 of Shaginian’s studios alone.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

The latest news from the USOC - August 25

(Courtesy of United States Olympic Committee)

Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - The following is a recap of events from the United States Olympic Committee.

World University Games: (Aug. 21) The 2005 Summer World University Games officially ended with the Closing Ceremony at Ataturk Stadium in Izmir, Turkey. The USA won 17 gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze medals for a total of 43 and finished fifth overall.
[...]
Wrestling: (Aug. 17) Greco-Roman wrestler Justin Ruiz (Colorado Springs, Colo.) placed fifth at 96kg/211.5 lbs. after losing in the bronze-medal match to Armenia's Robert Petrosyan, 2-0, 1-1. Jeremiah Davis (El Cajon, Calif.) lost his repechage match, 0-6, 5-3, 7-0, to Sasun Chambaryan of Armenia. [...]
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Lights, Camera, Auction

August 26, 2005
The Moscow Times
By Tom Birchenough

As Russia waits for any real development in transferring parts of its film industry into private hands [...]

In 2004, private investors took ownership of the Vilnius-based Lithuanian Film Studio, and last month, Armenia headed in a similar direction. Yerevan's historic Armenfilm, founded in 1923 and long part of the rich film tradition of the Caucasus, passed into the hands of the well-connected local media group CS Media City, or CSMC, and its subsidiary Armenia Film Studios, for the sum of 350 million drams (just over $750,000).
[...]
Now, despite its august history and continuing difficulties, priorities for the newly privatized studio look more than up-to-date, especially in promoting lower-budget production using digital filming equipment, which could give greater flexibility to the studio's new management by removing the need for difficult laboratory processing. "Digital cinematography ... [offers the] possibility to reduce the gap between countries with extremely developed film industries and countries where annually only a couple of movies are being shot," wrote Edgar Baghdasaryan, the director of Armenia Film Studios, in an online statement.
[...]
Though the price of the deal may look on the low side, CSMC has pledged to invest as much as $66 million in the studio over the next 10 years. In addition, it has promised to support four new local feature films a year, as well as associated short-film and animation work. The first fruits of the media company's work, in the form of two local productions, "Arshile" and "Mariam," are already under way.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Turkish FM Gul Warmly Views Attending Armenian Conference

By Cihan News Agency, Anadolu News Agency (aa) 25 August 2005

ANKARA - Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has conveyed that he might attend the postponed academic conference titled "Ottoman Armenians During the Decline of the Empire", which will be held at the Bogazici University, Istanbul between September 23 and 25.

Gul announced he might also not be able to attend the conference because he is envisioned to be in New York to attend the United Nations (UN) General Assembly studies on the same dates. Gul received an invitation to the disputed conference on Wednesday and said he viewed such conferences as crucial opportunities to express Turkey's theses regarding the Armenian issue. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan said Gul might attend the "final session" of the conference if his schedule allows.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Rockers on a roll - Accessing System's spiritual side

Aug 26, 2005
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Dan Deluca
Inquirer Music Critic

Daron Malakian, the guitarist and principal songwriter for the dazzlingly versatile Armenian American heavy rock band System of a Down, is not a religious man.

But when Malakian[...] talks about the creative outpouring that led to SOAD's two 2005 albums, Mezmerize (out now) and Hypnotize (due in November), he speaks in spiritual terms.

"The best way I can explain it is that I'm like a religious person who prays a lot," says Malakian, 30, who was born to parents who emigrated from Iraq to System's home base of Los Angeles. (The other band members were born in Armenia and Lebanon, but they all attended the same Armenian private school in L.A.)

"You pray a lot to get closer to God. For me, my religion is what I do with music. I'm very into it. I'm very serious about it," he says. "And I'm always ready for my higher power to channel the music through me. That's what I wait for."
[...]
With such an ambitious musical agenda and lyrics that often take a confrontational political stance - and frequently mention the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Turkish government between 1915 and 1923, which Malakian calls a "genocide" - it's one of the wonders of modern popular music that System of a Down is a multi-million-selling band.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Armenian, Turkish Students Make Friends In First-Ever Joint Course

24, August 2005
Armenialiberty.org
By Lusine Grigorian

[...]
The ten-day school {which brought together 24 students from Armenia and Turkey in the southeastern Turkish city of Antakya from August 8-19} was organized by the Turkish chapter of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, an international human rights organization, and financed by the Council of Europe. It combined academic coursework with debates on Turkish-Armenian relations and joint cultural activities.

“We expected young people from the two countries to lay the groundwork for further bilateral discussions and I think we succeeded in achieving that,” Emel Kurma of the Turkish Helsinki Civic Assembly told RFE/RL. “How can we look to the future without forgetting the past? I think this was the main thrust of the discussions. We did not aim to make scholarly discoveries. The idea was to let young people got to know each other.”
[...]
Gayane [...] had never socialized with any Turks before and her perceptions of the neighboring nation were shaped by its government’s continuing denial of the Armenian genocide.

“I was worried that the discussions will be tense and mutually hostile,” explains the 20-year-old political science student at Yerevan State University.

But those fears proved misplaced as soon as she and ten other young Armenians met fellow students from Turkey. [...].
[...]
[...] The principal source of her Armenian-related knowledge was professor Murat Belge of Istanbul’s Bilgi University, one of the few Turkish academics who openly challenge official Ankara’s view on the 1915-1918 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. [...]. “I was never taught any lessons on the Armenia problem in school,” Melih {an attending Turkish student} said. “[...]. I will now also try to find and read some books.”

Most of the other Turkish participants shared her critical take on their government’s strong denial of the genocide. One of them, Mehmet Ali, surprised the Armenians even more when he sang an Armenian folk song. “‘Kanchum em, ari, ari’ means ‘I’m calling you, come, come,” he said, translating the opening words of the love song.
[...]
The organizers hope that such events will become regular and will help to break the ice in Turkish-Armenian relations. Their most immediate objective is to hold the next summer school in Armenia.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Watertown museum preserves the history and culture of Armenia

8/25/2005
Vanadzor.net
by Mark Pratt

[...]
The largest Armenian museum in the U.S. preserves and promotes the distinct and vibrant culture of the Armenian people, who have survived and thrived despite their sad history.

It houses a collection of 20,000 artifacts, and continually changing displays of ornate Bibles, Gospels and prayer books; colorful rugs, clothing and textiles; antique musical instruments; ancient coins from the time before Christ; dazzling jewelry and more.

"This museum is ethnic wealth and history accumulated in one place," executive director Berj Chekijian said.

Founded in 1971 in the basement of a church in Belmont, the museum moved to its current location in busy Watertown Square in 1990. It now draws about 7,000 visitors annually.

The Boston suburb has long been a center of Armenian immigration. Of Watertown’s 34,000 residents, more than 20 percent can claim Armenian descent, by Lind-Sinanian’s estimate.
[...]
But it’s not necessary to have Armenian blood to appreciate the museum. The sheer beauty of the jewelry, rugs and textiles have universal appeal, and the museum also explains Armenians’ contributions to U.S. and world history.
[...]
The museum also highlights prominent Armenian-Americans, including Dr. Jack Kevorkian, best known for being an advocate of doctor-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. But Kevorkian, [...] is also a writer, artist and composer, and the museum has samples of that work.
[...]
Moses Hadji Gulesian, a Boston coppersmith, is credited with saving the USS Constitution. When the Navy wanted to haul the warship into Boston Harbor to use for target practice, Gulesian recognized its historical significance and offered to buy it. It’s now one of Boston’s top tourist attractions.
[...].

{For the location of the museum, the visiting hours and entrance fees please click here.}

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Darchinyan retains titles

24aug05
The Mercury
By Adrian Warren

VIC Darchinyan has given Australian boxing a big boost as he retained the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight world title with a crushing fifth-round technical knockout over Columbian challenger Jair Jiminez.

Darchinyan, who also retained the less prestigious International Boxing Organisation flyweight world title, outclassed and outgunned a game challenger, who absorbed tremendous punishment at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.
[...]
Darchinyan said he would head to Armenia for a two-week holiday on September 5 before returning to Australia to finalise the date of his wedding to his fiancee, Olga.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

GM Ashot Anastasian of Armenia won the title

August 24, 2005
The Telegraph

[...]
GM Ashot Anastasian of Armenia (7) won the title {of the 15th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival} after playing a quick draw with GM Alexei Federov of Belarus.[...]
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Self-Determination and Realpolitik, Reflections on Kurds and Palestinians

23 Aug 2005
KRG
By Shlomo Avineri

[...] for a national movement to be successful, it needs geopolitical allies. National movements that lack them—for reasons of history, geography, or consanguinity—usually fail. Those allies are usually imperial powers, and so every war for national liberation is intertwined with realpolitik, a reality that usually makes the spokespeople of national movements uneasy, and makes the proponents of the right to national self-determination squirm. Yet it is undeniable.
[...]
[...]. Without British and Russian diplomatic support for Greek independence from the Ottomans (in the geopolitical context of “The Eastern Question”), Greek highlanders and Albanian-speaking seafarers from the island of Hydra would have been crushed. The same applies to the emergence of independent Serbia in later decades; [...].
[...]
This brings us to the big losers. Primary among them—next to the Armenians—were, until recently, the Kurds. [...].
[...]
The disintegration of the Ottoman Empire after World War I appeared to give Kurds a window of opportunity. Though many Kurds participated in the Turkish massacre of the Armenians during the war, the Allies, especially the British, thought the establishment of a Kurdish state would be useful to their imperial plans.
[...]
[...] the Treaty of Sèvres, signed between the defeated Ottomans and the Allies in 1920, envisaged a Kurdish state. [...].
[...]
[...] the Sèvres Treaty also reads, “Turkey hereby recognizes Armenia as a free and independent state.”
[...]
None of this was to be. Sèvres represented the nadir of Turkish power. Like all post–World War I treaties, it was a victors’ treaty imposed on the losers—Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey. A new war eventually annulled Sèvres. Before there was time to implement it, Italy and Greece tried to grab more territory from a crumbling Turkey. Initially they succeeded. Smyrna was occupied by Greek forces, which then began a march into the Anatolian highlands. But the humiliated Turkish military rallied and mounted counterattacks, which eventually brought Mustapha Kemal (later known as Atatürk) to power. He won a series of battles against the Greeks and Italians, abolished the caliphate, and proclaimed Turkey a national republic. The result was modern Turkey. The Treaty of Sèvres no longer represented the realities of power. A new treaty had to be negotiated between the Allies (including chastened Greece and Italy) and a robust, self-assured new Turkish state.
[...]
Just as Sèvres represented Turkey’s weakness, the Treaty of Lausanne, which superseded it in July 1923, reflected Turkish victories and the relative weakness of the Allies. Lord Curzon, the British secretary of state, remarked, “Hitherto we have dictated our peace treaties. Now we are negotiating one with the enemy who has an army in being while we have none, an unheard of position.” Gone was independent Armenia (its rump was incorporated into the Soviet Union, to emerge as an independent nation only in 1991). Similarly, gone was the mechanism that promised to establish independent Kurdistan. Turkey retains part of the Kurdish areas through today, and Mosul became part of Iraq. Neither Armenia nor Kurdistan exists in the Treaty of Lausanne.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Turkish FM Opens the Armenian Conference

24 August 2005
JTW

Kemalcan YUREKLI (JTW) ISTANBUL - A conference on Armenians, which was postponed due to sharp reactions in the media and the Turkish public, has been rescheduled for September 23-25 at Bosporus University in Istanbul. [...]. The rector invited Gul to make opening ceremony of the conference and FM and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul accepted the invitation, Hurriyet reports.

The participants in the Armenian conference will include professors from Bosporus and Sabanci Universities, as well as Turkish academics from Turkey and around the world.

Lasting two days, with 12 sessions, and featuring the participation of 38 academics, the conference will have panels like "Deportation and Massacre," "Disaster and Rescue Stories," "Memories and Witnessnes," "Things the World Knew that Turkey did not Know."
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Dean Vows Support For Armenian Genocide Recognition

22, August 2005
Armenialiberty.org
By Emil Danielyan

Former U.S. presidential candidate Howard Dean ended a two-day visit to Armenia at the weekend with a pledge to drum up greater support among fellow Democrats in the U.S. Congress for legislation recognizing the genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.

Dean, who now heads the Democratic Party’s governing National Committee, criticized the administration of President George W. Bush for its failure to publicly refer to the 1915-1918 mass killings and deportations of Armenians as a genocide. He said Washington should not fear antagonizing the government of Turkey, a key U.S. ally which strongly denies that the massacres were part of a premeditated effort to exterminate the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire.
[...]
Dean went on to express his support for a draft congressional resolution that calls on Bush to “accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide” in his annual messages to the U.S.-Armenian community. “The Democrats do not control the House [of Representatives] or the Senate or, unfortunately, the White House,” he said. “But when I get home I will be speaking with the Democratic leadership of the House and ask them to support this resolution. And if we get a few Republicans we can pass it.”

The resolution was formally introduced on July 14 and has since been sponsored by 112 congressmen. Many of them are affiliated with the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, the largest bipartisan ethnic coalition in the U.S. lower chamber. Most of the 142 members of the Caucus represent California, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Massachusetts -- the traditional Democratic strongholds that have the highest concentration of Americans of Armenian descent.
[...]
Dean, who many Democrats hope will help to revive their party’s fortunes, admitted that the existence of the influential Armenian-American community was a key reason for his decision to visit Armenia.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

'CILICIA' REACHES FINAL DESTINATION IN LONDON

23/08/2005
AZG Armenian Daily
By Ruzan Poghosian

"Cilicia" completed the second stage of its "Navigation in 7 Seas," reaching Portsmouth. The trip lasted about a year.

RA President Robert Kocharian send a congratulation massage to Karen Balayan, the captain of the ship, and the crew. The message says the following: "Overcoming long distances and hazards, you proudly sailed under the flag of our motherland, displaying strong will and firmness." Arkady Ghukasian, president of NKR, said that it is symbolic that the first stage of the navigation ended on the eve of the 14th anniversary of Nagorno Karabakh's independence. "I am greatly proud of you, as well as all the Artsakhi people are. I am sure that your deed will be an invaluable phenomenon for the further generations and they will follow your example."
[...]
Yervand Zakaryan, Yerevan mayor, also congratulated the crew of the ship. "This historical event let the flag of the independent Armenia wave in the Atlantic Ocean after 800 years," he said.

{See also http://www.ayasclub.com and http://www.cilicia.de}

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Chess battle heats up

23 August 2005
Khaleej Times Online
By A Correspondent

ABU DHABI — Grandmasters Aleksej Aleksandrov of Belarus, Anastasian Ashot of Armenia and Alexander Goloshchapov of Ukraine shared the lead with 5.5 points in the Masters section at the end of the seventh round of Abu Dhabi Chess Festival here at the Khalidia Palace Hotel on Monday night.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Saakashvili: No Political Problems with Armenia

/ Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2005-08-23 11:30:42

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said after talks with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian on August 22 that the two presidents discussed opportunities for deepening economic cooperation, adding that the two countries “have no political problems” in bilateral relations.
[...]
“We are developing close cooperation with Armenia and we can say for sure that there are no political problems in the relations between our countries… We can not live separately from each other, hence economic integration is necessary,” Saakashvili said at a joint news conference with the Armenian President.
[...]
“Mutual trust between the two presidents is a precondition for building relations between the two countries,” President Kocharian said, adding that these relations should not be a source of concern for Russia.

“As far as I know [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin, with whom I also have mutually trustful relations, also attributes great importance to personal contacts [between leaders],” the Armenian President said.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Møller: EU could expand further

23 August 2005
Denmark.dk

[...]
From the Pyrenees in the west to the Caucasus in the east. That could be the extent of the EU one day, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs {of Denmark} Per Stig Møller. A union that included countries such as Armenia and Georgia is not unthinkable for Møller, reported daily newspaper JydskeVestkysten on Tuesday.
[...]
Møller emphasised that a different Turkey than the one we know today would be offered membership - or it might be offered a status in the EU that distinguished it from being a full member.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

System of a Down fires double shot

08/21/05 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom
BY ROBERT HICKS
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY RECORD

System of a Down's bassist, Shavo Odadjian, is the foundation that holds together all the seemingly disjointed parts in the Los Angeles band's eclectic music.
[...]
[...] the band's music has defied the odds and transformed these four Armenian-American bohemians into multi-platinum rock stars.
[...]
Odadjian, 32, is the only band member who was born in Armenia. His grandfather was placed in an American orphanage in Greece until he matured and moved back to Armenia. From his grandfather and his parents, he learned about the Armenian genocide at the hand of the Turks in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Two of the band's songs deal with the ongoing political issues concerning the Turkish government's failure to recognize officially the Armenian genocide. One song is "Pluck" from the band's 1998 self-titled debut CD. The other is a new song called "Holy Mountain" from the forthcoming "Hypnotize" CD.

"It talks about the fact that we have this mountain range that is an historical landmark for Armenians. It was taken over by the Turks. The reason why they are holy is because in the Bible, Noah's ark landed on those mountains," he said of Mount Ararat and Mount Masis on the border of Turkey and Armenia.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Alexander, Ashot share lead

22 August 2005
Khaleej Times Online
By A Correspondent

ABU DHABI — [...]

Grandmaster Anastasian Ashot of Armenia came up with a cautious approach in French defence to earn a half point against Kobalia Mikhail on the top board.[...].

[...] Grandmaster Goloshchapov Alexander of Ukraine defeated Grandmaster Chernyshov Konstantin of Russia and joined Ashot in the lead with five points in the Masters section.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Armenian GDP up 11.7% in Jan-July

Aug 22 2005 11:13AM
Interfax

YEREVAN. Aug 19 (Interfax) - GDP in Armenia in January-July 2005 increased 11.7% year-on-year to 915.2 billion dram, a source in the National Statistics Service told Interfax.

Industrial production in the first seven months of this year increased 6.3% to 361.9 billion dram, with agricultural production up 14.1% to 184.5 billion dram.
Production of electricity increased 4% to 3.83 billion dram.

Construction in January-July increased 26.8% year-on-year to 56.5 billion dram.

Foreign trade increased 29.5% to $1.456 billion.

Armenian GDP increased 10.1% in 2004, with industrial production up 2.1% and agricultural production - 14.5%.

The official exchange rate on August 19 was 464.37 dram to the dollar.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

System of a Down delivers mesmerizing album

By CRAIG LAUE, For Pulse

True rock music should have a message. If it is done right, it is rebellious, controversial and pure. System of a Down is one of a handful of bands to incorporate these key elements in its music. The group's music is a melting pot of aggression and melody --- anger with a dose of humor, controversial yet tongue-in-cheek. System of a Down may be one of the most important groups on the rock scene today.

"Mezmerize," one of two albums recorded for 2005, lets the band explore even more uncharted territory. System of a Down's members are themselves a melting pot of different cultures. Two members hail from Armenia, one from Lebanon and another from Hollywood. The unlikely quartet cranks out an unmistakable sound.
[...]
"Mezmerize" reveals a band not only growing more confident over time, but continually changing. System of a Down dares to be different, be itself and show a no-compromise attitude. The band refuses to bow down to label pressure, which makes it a true rock band --- rebellious and dangerous.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Iran Provides Grant to Armenia

Monday, August 22, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com

LONDON, August 22 (IranMania) - Cabinet approved payment of a 10-million-dollar grant to seven states upon a proposal of the Foreign Ministry, IRNA reported.
[...]
The credit {half a million dollars to Armenia} will be allocated [...] for [...] implementation of development projects [...].

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

15.000 Tourists Visit Ani City

JTW
19 August 2005

KARS (JTW) - When Turkish government opened Ani region to civilian activities, the 5.000-years-old historical town lured thousands of tourists. More than 15,000 tourists visit Ani in a year. Ani is one of the oldest Turkish towns and home of the first Seljuki Mosque Ebul Menucehr Camii (1071).

Ministry of Culture expects more than 20.000 visitors to Ani in 2005.

Ani is an important town for the Armenians as well. There are 10 historical churches in Ani region.

Ani is very close to Turkey-Armenia border.

{To learn more aout Ani and the fate of Armenian monuments in Turkey please click here-1 , here-2, here-3, here-4 and here-5}

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

System of Down on the upswing

Friday, August 19, 2005
NorthJursey.com
By MARIKO BECK
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

[...]
Daron Malakian never expected commercial success as a musician. Born to immigrant parents and raised in a ramshackle area of Hollywood, System of a Down's guitarist and vocalist admits he's a little leery of mainstream adulation.

"I always knew I would be an artist, but to be successful is crazy," Malakian says. "I have two parents who are artists, but they never made any money."

Indeed, the Los Angeles quartet, all of Armenian descent, would seem an unlikely candidate for arena rock band status. They're definitely not pretty boys. Two of them sport creative facial hair. And their music is confrontational and unrelenting in a time of "American Idol" pop ballads and heartfelt emotion.
[...]
"To really get to know any place in the world, you have to go to its ghettos," Malakian says. "You can say I lived in the ghettos. I grew up in a neighborhood where there was a hotel with hookers out in front and stuff like that."

As part of their cultural heritage, the band members also grew up in the shadow of the Armenian genocide.

For the past three years, System of a Down has performed a benefit concert to commemorate the genocide and raise money for human rights groups. More than a half-million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923. The survivors scattered across the globe.

The diaspora is evident by looking at the birthplaces of the four System members. Malakian is the only U.S. native. Lead vocalist Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan were born in Beirut. Bassist Shavo Odadjian was born in Armenia.
[...]
System of a Down has developed a reputation for questioning the powers that be and for biting political and social commentary. "Mezmerize" is no exception. In the track "BYOB," Malakian and Tankian share vocal duties. The war in Iraq transforms into a party where everybody is "dancing in the desert blowing up the sunshine." Then they ask: "Why don't presidents fight the war?/ Why do they always send the poor?"
[...]
The self-effacing Malakian says he never expects anyone to like the band's songs. Despite the acclaim that "Toxicity" brought, the group never once thought about how "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" would be received by critics or by fans. Trying to force songs into a mold is the artistic kiss of death, Malakian says. "We've got to be our favorite band," he says. "We have to love ourselves. If you love yourself, other people love you, too.

"Even my own tastes can't interfere with the song," he continues. "The song comes from another place. You can't feed the song what you want. The song asks for things, and you have to give them."

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

U.S. Democrat Dean Visits Armenia

8/19/2005 at 13:54
Vanadzor.com
by Emil Danielyan

Howard Dean, a former U.S. presidential hopeful who now heads the Democratic National Committee, began a two-day visit Armenia on Friday, meeting with President Robert Kocharian and other senior officials.

Official Armenian sources said his talks with President Robert Kocharian, parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian focused on the current state of U.S.-Armenian relations, the situation in the South Caucasus and international efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenia’s strained relations with Turkey, a key U.S. ally, were also on the agenda, they said.
[...]
[...] Dean, who nearly won the Democratic Party’s nomination in the last U.S. presidential election, told Baghdasarian and leaders of the Armenian parliament factions that “development of democracy is the only possibility of progress in Armenia” and that the U.S. has always been ready to support the process. [...].

Dean was also reported to note the Democratic Party’s “strong ties” with the influential Armenian-American community, saying that it will continue to support pro-Armenian resolutions in Congress.
[...]
[...] Dean himself had expressed a desire to visit Armenia as well as Georgia as part of his ongoing tour of Eastern Europe. The prominent Democrat also met on Friday with U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans and is due to visit the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan on Saturday.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

GM Ashot Anastasian of Armenia shot into sole lead

August 20, 2005
Outlook india.com

[...]
From our Chess Correspondent Abu Dhabi (UAE) Aug 20 (PTI) Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Grandmaster Alexander Gooshchapov of Ukraine in the fifth round of the Master's section of Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival here.

Grandmaster Ashot Anastasian of Armenia shot into sole lead with an emphatic victory over GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan of Iran. The Armenian took his tally to an impressive 4.5 points and is now trailed by five players including Goloshchapov on 4 points. Ganguly, after the loss, remained on 3 points.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Saakashvili Crackdown Credited With Influx Of Armenian Tourists

Baku Today
Radio Free Europe 18/08/2005 10:13
[...]
According to Vladimir Badalian, a co-chairman of the Armenian-Georgian Association of Business Cooperation, at least 10,000 Armenian tourists have traveled to Georgia’s Black Sea region of Ajaria this year and many more are likely to do so next year. He said they were attracted by not only the relatively low cost of the Ajarian seaside resorts but also by the virtual eradication of police corruption on Georgia’s roads.
[...]
Saakashvili welcomed last week the influx of holidaymakers from Armenia, similarly attributing it to his crackdown on police corruption. [...].
[...]
Saakashvili also called for closer economic times between the two neighboring nations. “I see with delight how rapidly the Armenian economy is developing. Annual growth in Armenia is about 10 per cent,” he said, according to the Georgian Imedi TV. “I think that there are many things we should learn from Armenia, for example how to organize the banking system, a system for micro-loans, a cooperative system in agriculture and the export of agricultural produce.”
[...]
Badalian, [...] was also in Batumi last week along with a group of businessmen from Armenia. He said they are interested in investing in the local tourism infrastructure and were encouraged to do so by local authorities.

Badalian also noted growing Armenian business{es} {are showing} interest in Georgia’s broader economy. “The manufacturing sector of Georgia has lagged behind that of Armenia,” he explained. “Many businessmen here, for whom the Armenian market is too small, are now looking for new markets.”

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Taxing Times for Armenians

Friday, August 19, 2005
IWPR
By Naira Melkumian in Yerevan {a freelance journalist in Yerevan }

Big businesses in Armenia pay far less tax than their counterparts in other post-Soviet countries, with the burden of taxation borne by ordinary citizens and small companies, official statistics reveal.
[...]
According to the IMF 2004 report, the country’s biggest businessmen pay only 23 per cent of all taxes while they can potentially contribute 75 per cent.
[...]
After urging from the International Monetary Fund, IMF, the state tax department recently published two lists of the country’s 300 highest taxpayers, which paint an extraordinary picture of the country’s economy that is embarrassing to both government and big business.
[...]
"The tax collection level in Armenia is the lowest among the countries of the CIS," McHugh {the IMF’s representative in Armenia} told IWPR.

Economists say this is because some of the country’s best-known businesses are not paying big tax bills – a fact that although commonly believed in Armenia for many years has now been proved by the publication of the two lists detailing which taxpayers pay what into the treasury.
[...]
Only two big companies, Grand Tobacco and International Masis Tabak, are among the leading taxpayers in the current list.

Grand Tobacco is in fifth position having paid 2.3 billion drams (more than five million US dollars) for the first half of this year or 2.9 per cent of all taxes collected by the tax department.
[...]
There has been criticism for example that Kotaik Beer {71 per cent of which belongs to the French firm Castel}, which dominates 60 per cent of Armenia’s lucrative beer market, has paid no profit tax at all – at the same time as its smaller competitor Yerevan Beer paid 128 million drams (290,0000 dollars).
[...]
Under the law, companies that acquire more than one million dollars of over overseas funds every two years are exempt from such taxation.
[...]
Most of the taxes collected in Armenia are collected indirectly. Parliamentary deputy Victor Dallakian estimated that 80 per cent of revenues come from indirect taxes, while developed economies collect around 70 per cent of their revenue from direct taxes.

According to the finance ministry, 46.2 per cent of tax revenues come from VAT, while profit tax provides only 17.4 per cent, and income tax 8.4 per cent of the budget.

[...]Felix Tsolakian, head of the tax department, told IWPR that over the last two years there has been a 40 per cent increase in the proportion of direct taxes in total tax revenues. [...].

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Imprisoned Duke student free

By Ray Gronberg : The Herald-Sun
gronberg@heraldsun.com
Aug 17, 2005 : 8:57 pm ET

[...]
"I am happy to be free," Turkyilmaz was quoted as saying in a report by Armenialiberty.org, a branch of Radio Free Europe. "I now want to concentrate on my doctoral dissertation. I was, I am and I will remain a friend of the Armenians."
[...]
Turkyilmaz -- a Kurd considered sympathetic to the Armenian point of view -- was pulled off a plane by authorities on June 17 as he prepared to leave the country. He was later charged with two counts of smuggling under a law that bars the export without permission of books that are more than 50 years old.

Tuesday's court hearing upheld the seizure of 88 books published more 50 years ago that Turkyilmaz had purchased from second-hand book dealers. A judge, however, ordered authorities to return to the scholar compact discs that contained his research notes.

According to Armenialiberty.org, a prosecutor said the smuggling charge was "absolutely substantiated," but agreed that there were mitigating circumstances. Turkyilmaz received a two-year suspended sentence.

The law in question would have supported a prison sentence of between four and eight years.
[...]
Turkyilmaz' dissertation adviser, Duke professor Orin Starn, traveled to Armenia to attend the trial and told Armenialiberty.org's reporters that Duke officials were "very pleased" by Tuesday's court decision.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

City leader sparks row by backing claim of genocide

Tuesday, 16th August 2005
Edinburgh Evening News Online
By GARETH ROSE

COUNCIL leader Donald Anderson has become embroiled in an international row over whether the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians during the First World War was genocide.
[...]
Councillor Anderson first became involved in the issue when the Capital hosted a Holocaust Memorial Day in 2003.

But now, the city leader plans to go one step further and put forward a motion to the council in October recognising that "it was indeed genocide".

Councillor Anderson first became involved in the issue when the Capital hosted a Holocaust Memorial Day in 2003.

But now, the city leader plans to go one step further and put forward a motion to the council in October recognising that "it was indeed genocide".
[...]
But the move has raised the ire of the Turkish community in Edinburgh and Councillor Anderson has also received complaints from the Turkish ambassador, who has pointed to the fact that history accepts many Turkish people died at Armenian hands.

In a letter to the ambassador, Cllr Anderson said: "Having researched this issue, I am in no doubt that the Armenian community suffered a genocide at the hands of the Ottoman regime.

"There are substantial eyewitness accounts that are well documented and there is, I believe, wide support for the view that the historical evidence is robust and compelling for genocide.

"You mention in your letter that atrocities were carried out against Turks by the Armenian side and undoubtedly this is true. There were atrocities on all sides of what was an extremely bitter period of ethnic conflict. However, this was not genocide and was not state-sponsored."

He added: "As council leader I have to advise you that I am convinced of the need to support recognition for what I believe was genocide.

"I would encourage you as ambassador for a great and dynamic country to reconsider your position."
[...]
Murat Toruntay, chairman of the Turkish Association, said: "There are two sides to the story and I am pleased Cllr Anderson is prepared to listen to both. I was in Turkey recently and it was being talked about. The government does not accept that it was genocide."

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Convicted, But Free, in Armenia

August 17, 2005
Inside Highered
By Doug Lederman

A Duke University doctoral student was freed Tuesday, after an Armenian court found him guilty of illegally trying to take books out of the country but suspended his two-year prison sentence.
[...]
In July, Armenian authorities charged [...] {Yektan Turkyilmaz} with violating an article in the Armenian Constitution that bars transportation out of the country of certain “raw materials or cultural values” without prior permission. Armenians customs regulations require travelers to declare books that are at least 50 years old, as 88 of Turkyilmaz’s books reportedly were.
[...]
In a trial that started last week and ended Tuesday, prosecutors argued that they had clearly proven that Turkyilmaz had violated the law, but cited “mitigating circumstances,” including his youthfulness and his “at least partly truthful” testimony in accepting a largely symbolic suspended sentence, according to the Web site Armenialiberty.org, part of Radio Free Europe. The news service said that the judge had ordered the confiscation of the 88 books, and that Turkyilmaz will remain in Armenia for two weeks until the verdict becomes official.
[...]
Orin Starn, a Duke professor of cultural anthropology who, as Turkyilmaz’s adviser, attended the trial, told Armenialiberty.org that “Duke University is very pleased that Yektan has been given his freedom. The books that Yektan collected were a reflection of his interest in Armenia. I know that Yektan will do wonderful work that will help us to understand the history of this region and the facts of the Armenian genocide.”

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Ecumenical Delegation to Visit Armenia

Posted GMT 8-16-2005 15:38:27
By Daniel Blake
www.christiantoday.com

A five-member ecumenical delegation is set to visit Armenia from Aug. 24 to Sep. 1, 2005. The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, will take part in this visit which has been organised by the Canadian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church. This comes in response to an invitation by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, to visit the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
[...]
It will be recorded as the first ever visit to Armenia by a delegation from Canada.[...].

Other members of the delegation are Archbishop Sotirios, Metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Canada, Archbishop Brendan O'Brien, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and Professor Richard Schneider, President of the Canadian Council of Churches.
[...]
The Armenian Orthodox Church is a member of the Orthodox family of churches which includes Coptic, Syrian, Armenian, Ethiopian, Eritrean and the (Indian) Malankara. The Anglicans and the Oriental family are currently in the midst of theological dialogue, which follows an agreed statement on Christology in November 2002 reached by the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox International Commission.
[...]
Relationships between the Anglican Church of Canada and the Canadian Diocese of the Armenian Orthodox Church goes back 125 years, when the Anglicans offered the liturgical space and hospitality in Anglican churches to the Armenians during the absence of Armenian sanctuaries.

The relationship between the Armenian Orthodox Church and the Canadian Anglicans has been strengthened to become recognised more through the Scholarship of St. Basil the Great, which is administered by the Anglican Foundation. [...].

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Armenian rojak, S'pore style

August 17, 2005
Electric New Paper

[...] former Mrs Singapore Brigitte Ow [...]
[...]
[...] is Armenian and like many Armenian Singaporeans, she married outside the community.

Identities are changing for this minority group, one of the smallest in Singapore.

While Mrs Ow's grandfather is pure Armenian, her mother, Madam Loretta Tan, is half Armenian.

[...] Although never numbering more than 100, Armenians played a key role in Singapore's early history. They are responsible for four of Singapore's most recognisable icons.

• The Sarkis brothers who founded the Raffles Hotel were Armenian.
  
• Another Armenian, Mr Catchick Moses, founded The Straits Times.
  
• Vanda Miss Joaquim, the national flower, was so named after its founder Agnes Joaquim, an Armenian horticulturalist.

The Armenians' place of worship, the Armenian Apostolic Church of St Gregory the Illuminator, is a national monument.

Located at Hill Street, it is the oldest Christian place of worship in Singapore.

'Armenians came to Singapore for very different reasons,' said Mr Gregory Basmadjian, one of the trustees of the Armenian Church.

'They did not come just to trade. They were also fleeing persecution at home.'
[...]
The Armenian Singaporean community numbers about 20 and the group is finding it hard to keep traditions alive.
[...]
The church here is the centre of the Armenian community, but since the end of World War II, it does not have a priest.

There are only services four or five times a year when foreign priests visit. Christmas also falls on 6 Jan, not 25 Dec.

In 1948, they were removed from the national census and placed in the 'Others' category.
[...]
Although only 12 families settled here, the small community began to play a crucial role here {in Singaore}.

Half of the Armenian community left after World War II when businesses were destroyed by the war.

The Raffles Hotel was sold. The Sarkis brothers did not have money to repair the hotel. In any case, tourism was dead.

The Armenians also began to feel alienated in a Singapore slowly acquiring a new cultural and political identity.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

U.S. University Renews Calls For Turkish Student’s Release

8/16/2005 at 05:27
Vanadzor.net
by Emil Danielyan

A representative of the prestigious Duke University in the United States reiterated on Monday its calls for the release of a Turkish doctoral student who is standing trial in Armenia for allegedly trying to smuggle old books to Turkey.

Armenian prosecutors, however, remained clearly unwilling to drop their unusually harsh charges brought against Yektan Turkyilmaz despite his insistence that he was unaware of Armenian laws regulating the export of objects that are deemed “cultural or historical values.” The 33-year-old scholar also exposed his frustration with his two-month incarceration as he was cross-examined in a district court in Yerevan.
[...]
Many scholars in the United States and Turkey believe that the offence was not serious enough to warrant imprisonment. More than 200 of them have signed an open letter to Kocharian that demands an end to the controversial prosecution. Among the letter’s signatories are prominent Turkish intellectuals that recognize the 1915-1918 Armenian massacres in Ottoman Turkey as genocide as well as Hrant Dink, editor of the Istanbul-based Armenian newspaper “Agos.”

Dink was also present at Monday’s court proceedings in Yerevan. “It must be admitted that Yektan certainly did something wrong with regard to the laws of the Republic of Armenia,” he told RFE/RL. “But Yektan is not a criminal. He is a serious intellectual. He committed a serious offence unintentionally and you just can’t use books for criminal prosecution. Such things are not accepted in the world.”

Dink, who himself is facing a possible jail sentence in Turkey for publicly emphasizing his Armenian heritage, also pointed out that Turkyilmaz is among few Turkish academics who openly question Ankara’s decades-long denial of the Armenian genocide. “We [Istanbul’s Armenian community] have a handful of Turkish intellectuals standing by our side and Yektan is one of them,” he said.

But according to the indictment read out by Piloyan on Friday, the defendant was aware of the existing procedures for the export of rare books and other artifacts. At the heart of that accusation is the pre-trial written testimony of the owner of an antique shop in Yerevan, Armen Khorenian, who claimed to have warned Turkyilmaz of the need to have an official permission.

But Khorenian appeared to contradict himself on Friday, telling the court that “Yektan may have not understood what I mean.” Several traders from whom Turkyilmaz bought the books, two of them printed in the 17th century, testified that they themselves lack knowledge of the relevant legal requirements and never discussed them with the Turkish scholar.

Turkyilmaz also retracted his own pre-trial statement that he actually sent one Armenian book, published in Venice in 1885, to Istanbul through his sister Zeynep who visited him in Yerevan in late May and early June. That testimony forms the basis of one of the two counts of smuggling on which Turkyilmaz is being prosecuted. Piloyan repeatedly mentioned it during the cross-examination.

The defendant claimed that in reality he gave the book to one of his Yerevan friends and simply did not want the investigators from the National Security Service, the Armenian successor to the Soviet-era KGB, to interrogate him. “I have been visiting Armenia for the past three years and I have developed a circle of friends here and established contacts with academics,” he said, speaking in Turkish through an interpreter. “But because of this case my relationships with them have suffered an incredible damage. Everyone who has dealt with me has been summoned to the KGB for questioning.

“I said that I sent the book to Turkey through my sister because she wasn’t here [during the investigation] and nobody could therefore interrogate her. I have not taken a single book out of Armenia.”
[...]
Turkyilmaz looked increasingly frustrated and showed signs of despair as he was grilled by the prosecutor. “I’ve been in such a mental state during my detention that I don’t know if it can be cured afterwards,” he stated at one point.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

"Millenium challenges" program to provide 56.5 Million USD for reconstruction of village roads

News selected by Luc MATHIAS, source Armen Press
Published on 14/08/2005
[...]
[...]. More than 300 communities will be joined to roads having inter-state importance. [...].

{A road specialist of the task group Hakob Petrosian said } the task group has thoroughly studied the state of the roads and bridges and on the basis of the collected information the program will be finally assessed with the participation of US experts. [...].
[...]
{It is hoped} in September a memorandum will be signed [...]. Then the negotiations over the agreement [...] will be ready at the end of the year. In 2006 [...] competition for construction will be held. The construction will last 2007-2010.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Kars-Akhalkalaki railway gains added diplomatic symbolism

Monday, August 15, 2005, #151 (0925)
The Messenger
By M. Alkhazashvili

The possible construction of the Karsi-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway is only on the drawing board but is still a major diplomatic issue for the countries with the most to gain - and lose - as a result of the project.
[...]
[...] Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov has touted the project to both U.S. and German officials [...].

The 90 km long railway which is estimated to cost anywhere from USD 400 million to USD 800 million would connect the Turkish city of Kars and the Georgian city of Akhalkalaki. [...] the three partner countries - Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan - are scheduled to meet in Turkey later this month to further discuss the project.

While Azerbaijan has praised the project, Armenia has expressed concern that the railway would basically cut off Armenia from the lucrative east-west transit rout. [...].
[...]
A major argument for the Armenian side is the existence of railway from Kars to the Armenian city of Gyumri. This once was the artery connecting Turkey to the rest of the South Caucasus rail network, but had not been in operation for nearly 15 years because of the Karabakh conflict. The revival of this line is still not discussed and mainly depends on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in a way that satisfies both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In addition to Armenia, Russia also is not very happy about the project [...]. But so far the most active detractor to the project is the Armenian lobby in the U.S. Congress.

[...]. To this end they have submitted the bill titled South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2005.

The stated goal of the bill (H.R. 3361) is "To prohibit United States assistance to develop or promote any rail connections or railway-related connections that traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey, and that specifically exclude cities in Armenia."
[...]
If successful, the bill would be a major blow to the financing of the railway as neither Georgia or Azerbaijan could afford it on their own. [...].

[...] it is believed that Ankara would take on the bulk of responsibility for financing. [...].

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Church picnic helps people keep in touch with Armenian roots

Published in the Asbury Park Press 08/15/05
BY DAN KAPLAN
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

LONG BRANCH — Virginia Kondakjian and two of her sisters haven't seen each other since Christmas, so they decided to reunite at an event that would signify their family history.

Middletown resident Kondakjian and sisters Mary Bedrosian of Tinton Falls and Margaret Jeffrey of Lakewood joined an estimated 600 others Sunday afternoon at St. Stepanos Armenian Church's 18th Annual Picnic, a fund-raiser for the house of worship in the Elberon section.

"We came here to keep our roots," said Kondakjian, a church member whose parents were born in Armenia. "Too many cultures are losing their roots. The essence of culture should be deep in family ties."

The event coincides with two important religious occurrences in Armenia: The Feast of the Assumption of St. Mary and the Blessing of the Grapes, said the church's pastor, the Rev. Mamigon Kiledjian. In the latter observance, he said, Armenians wait to eat the first harvest of grapes until they are sanctified by clergy.

Sunday's feast was indeed that, with dozens of homemade Armenian dishes on the picnic menu. Popular choices included shish, luleh and chicken kebabs and pilaf, a rice and egg noodle combination made with chicken broth and butter.

For dessert, there was pakhlava, a flaky dough filled with nuts and topped with syrup, and khadayif, a thin pastry layered with nuts and cheese and also topped with syrup.

Church volunteers began preparing the food weeks ago, organizers said.
[...]
The event, which included native music and children's games, drew Armenian-Americans from all parts of the state.
[...]
Money raised — expected to be between $5,000 and $10,000 — goes toward the church, organizers said.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Briner sets record straight over Turkey debate

swissinfo
August 11, 2005 9:33 PM

The president of the Senate foreign-affairs committee {Peter Briner} has denied he ever said that Turkey's massacre of Armenians would not be debated in the chamber.
[...]
The Swiss House of Representatives recognised the death of up to 1.8 million Armenians as genocide in 2003. But unlike many western governments, the Swiss government does not officially speak of "genocide" but of "mass deportation" and "massacre".
[...]
swissinfo: You say reports are false which claim you said the Senate will never recognise the Turkish massacre of Armenians 90 years ago as genocide. What is the Senate's position regarding those events?

Peter Briner: Those reports are based on either a misquote or a misunderstanding – and this is of course most regrettable. What I did say was that when the Swiss House of Representatives had [voted to] recognise the genocide, this was not an issue in the Senate.

The policy of our government – and the Senate foreign-affairs committee – is that the two countries involved, Turkey and Armenia, should investigate the terrible events of 1915 with a committee of historians from both sides.
[...]
swissinfo: So the Armenian question is still a topic of discussion for the Senate?

P.B.: I can never be sure what will be on the Senate's agenda, of course, but right now the postponement of Economics Minister Joseph Deiss' invitation to Turkey will certainly be discussed during our next committee meeting on August 23.
[...]
swissinfo: How would you describe Swiss-Turkish relations at the moment?

P.B.: They are normally good – we felt this when a delegation of the Senate foreign-affairs committee visited the Turkish parliament last September. Then a Turkish delegation visited us this summer and we talked about these things in a friendly way.

Relations have of course been strained by recent events but I think in the long run good relations will prevail. I think relations between the two countries will remain good and prosper as they have done in the past.

swissinfo-interview: Thomas Stephens

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Experts Warn Of IT Staff Shortage In Armenia

Wednesday 10, August 2005
Armenialiberty.net
By Nane Atshemian

Armenia’s information technology industry, the most advanced in the region, is beginning to experience a shortage of skilled labor that could stall its further growth unless urgent government measures are taken to reform the education system, IT experts warned on Wednesday.
[...]
The existence of relatively cheap and skilled workforce in country that was once dubbed the Silicon Valley of the Soviet Union has been principal factor behind the foreign investments. But According to the director of the Armenian Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), a World Bank-funded agency promoting the sector’s development, Armenia will risk losing this trump card unless it embarks on a sweeping overhaul of its system of higher education.
[...]
The main sources of IT-related knowledge in Armenia are the computer science departments of Yerevan State University and the Armenian State Engineering University. The number of applicants seeking to study there has risen dramatically in recent years, with high school graduates attracted by the prospect of finding a job in a sector where the average monthly wage is currently worth $500. Experienced Armenian programmers may well earn $1,000 or more these days.
[...]
[...]. Armenia’s state-run technical colleges, which were primarily designed to serve the now defunct Soviet-era heavy industry, continue to release every year hundreds of mechanical and other non-IT engineers whose chances of finding a job are slim.

Yengibarian, the EIF director, believes that the government should come up with an IT development plan tied to a broader strategy for the country’s economic development. [...].

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Armenian Rhapsodies

Syracuse New Times Net
By Colette Hebert

A hero to Armenians around the world, Syracuse musician, composer and recording artist Daniel Decker has written two nationalist songs that have gained much positive response. Always interested in music from other cultures, Decker frequently travels to his homeland to present his music, most recently in April to memorialize the Armenian genocide that began in 1915.

During his first trip to Armenia in 2001, Decker heard a captivating melody while shopping at an open-air market. Moved by the piece, he located the composer, Ara Gevorkyan, and grew interested in writing lyrics to the music.

With Gevorkyan's approval, Decker's lyrics created the successful song, "Noah's Prayer," based on the story of Noah and his ark on Mount Ararat. The song's premiere was accompanied by the Armenian Opera Orchestra during the Independence Day celebration in front of Mount Ararat. "It was an amazing experience," Decker explains. "I'm singing this song about Noah and this ark is sitting a few miles behind it."

The pair joined forces again as Decker chose Gevorkyan's melody for "Adana." "It was the perfect music to tell the story of the Armenian genocide," an event that during World War I resulted in the Turks' execution of 1.5 million Armenian Christians. "Most of the world remembers nothing about the event, and I thought this was a story that needs to get out," Decker says.

In April, the song premiered during the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide at a nationally televised concert as Decker sang "Adana" along with singers from Finland, Germany, Moldova, Bulgaria and Armenia, who performed in their native language. "I felt a very heavy weight on my shoulders," Decker says, "singing to descendants of those killed in the genocide."

"Noah's Prayer" and "Adana" are available on Decker's CD My Offering (Candelas Music). [...]. For more information, visit www.danieldecker.com.


Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Church Restoration Raises Hopes For Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation

8/10/2005 at 18:54
Vanadzor.net
by Selcan Hacaoglu AP

Rainwater seeps through the conical dome of Akhtamar’s thousand-year-old church, washing away biblical frescoes from one of the finest surviving monuments of ancient Armenian culture. Bullet holes pock the sandstone walls. After a century of neglect and decades of political wrangling, Turkey has begun restoring the church, a renovation that comes as Turkish leaders face intense pressure from the European Union to improve their treatment of minorities.

The 2 million Turkish Lira ($1.5 million) restoration, ordered and paid for by the Turkish government, began in May and is raising hopes that a small, cautious thaw in relations between Turkey and neighboring Armenia could expand.
[...]
The European Union urged Turkey last year to consider registering Akhtamar in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. [...].

Eastern Turkey was once a heartland of Armenian culture and more than a million Armenians lived in the area at the turn of the 19th century. [...].

Akhtamar, called the Church of Surp Khach, or Holy Cross, was one of the most important churches of those ancient Armenian lands. It was built by Armenian King Gagik I of Vaspurakan and inaugurated in A.D. 921. Gagik’s historian, Thomas Ardzruni, described the church as being near a harbor and a palace with gilded cupolas, peacefully surrounded by the lake. Only the church survived.

By 1113, the church had become the center of the Armenian Patriarchate of Akhtamar and an inspiration to mystics in the area. The island was the center of a renowned school of scribal art and illumination.[...].
[...]
Today, there are virtually no Armenians in eastern Turkey, and Akhtamar has been empty for decades. Some of its reliefs are stained with paint and eggs thrown by vandals. Bullet holes, apparently from shepherds who used the site for target practice, mar the walls.

The church is considered one of the most important examples of Armenian architecture. Elaborate reliefs project up to 10 centimeters (4 inches) from brownish-red sandstone walls, almost like sculptures. Some depict biblical stories such as Jonah being swallowed by the whale and Daniel in the lion’s den. Others show cows, lions, birds and other animals to remind worshippers that the church is an image of paradise.

Erdogan’s government asked the Armenian Christian patriarch in Istanbul, where nearly all of Turkey’s remaining 65,000 Armenians live, to name an architect to help with the restoration. Zakarya Mildanoglu, the architect picked, says he hopes the restoration helps improve relations between Armenia and Turkey, but adds: "We need to be patient. Things that happened a century ago cannot be healed overnight."
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Trial Of Arrested Turkish Scholar Opens In Yerevan

Baku Today
Radio Free Europe 10/08/2005 10:40
[...]
The opening session of the trial adjourned less than an hour after its beginning at the request of one of Turkyilmaz’s newly hired lawyers who said he needs more time to familiarize himself with the case. [...] the next hearing {is} for Friday. Among those attending the first hearing were local human rights activists and officials from the U.S. embassy in Armenia.
[...]
Individuals convicted of smuggling have rarely ended up in jail in Armenia. Hence, growing questions about reasons for the severity of the charges leveled against the Turkish national of Kurdish extraction. The chief prosecutor at the trial, Koryun Piloyan, refused to explain them on Tuesday.

“You don’t look at the issue correctly,” Piloyan told RFE/RL. “[Turkyilmaz’s] deed corresponds to that article of the Criminal Code.”
[...]
“Yektan is a good man, there is nothing bad I can say about him,” said Sevan Deirmenjian, an ethnic Armenian citizen of Turkey who is pursuing a doctoral degree at Yerevan State University and befriended Turkyilmaz after meeting the latter in Armenia.

Avetik Ishkhanian of the Armenian Helsinki Committee, a human rights group, was also at the trial and urged the authorities not to give the defendant a prison sentence.[...].

Ishkhanian was among those who were allowed to visit the arrested scholar at a maximum security prison in Yerevan. “He wasn’t particularly unhappy with conditions there,” he told RFE/RL. “His main grievance was his detention. I also remember him saying that he could imagine being arrested in Turkey but never thought that could happen in Armenia.”

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

REPORT: NO BIG GAINS TO ARMENIA IF TURKEY LIFTS BLOCKADE

Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Eurasianet
Haroutiun Khachatrian 8/09/05
(Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer specializing in economic and political affairs.)

A controversial report [...] presented July 13 by the Armenian-European Political Legal Advice Center (AEPLAC), a prominent think tank sponsored by the European Union [...] contended that Armenia would see its economy expand by only $20-23 million annually, or just 0.67 percent of its current Gross Domestic Product, if Turkey decided to lift its 12-year blockade of the Armenian border. Over the next five years, Armenia’s GDP would see an additional 2.7 percent increase over the country’s level in 2004.
[...]
The report’s findings caught many Armenian academics and journalists by surprise. A widely cited 2000 World Bank study predicted that Armenia would see a 30-percent increase in GDP if both Turkey and Azerbaijan lifted their economic embargos. Since then, the Armenian economy has experienced impressive growth. [...].
[...]
The AEPLAC authors said they took various factors into account, including the 2000 World Bank study and the potential re-entry of Armenian companies into Middle Eastern markets.[...].
[...]
Although the authors of the AEPLAC report state that it was commissioned by the Armenian government, Trade and Economic Development Minister Karen Chshmaritian has denied that the government had anything to do with the preparation of the document.[...].

[...] Chshmaritian told reporters, the government is conducting its own research into the economic impact of Turkey lifting its border blockade. A report is due out later this year, he said.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Mother Pleads For Turkish Scholar’s Release From Armenian Jail

09 August 2005
Baku Today

Radio Free Europe 09/08/2005 09:08

Gulsin Turkyilmaz spoke to RFE/RL after visiting her 33-year-old son Yektan in a maximum security prison in Yerevan where he has been kept since his arrest on June 17. “I hope that they won’t imprison him,” she said. “If he knew that [he is violating Armenian laws] he wouldn’t do that.”

“Yektan would never do any harm to this country,” she added.

Turkyilmaz was allowed to see his mother the day before the start of his trial which is expected to be attended by representatives of Duke University in North Carolina where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Ottoman history. The unusually harsh charges leveled against him have drawn protests from U.S. academic circles, prominent Turkish intellectuals and a retired pro-Armenian U.S. senator.
[...]
Turkey’s government has still not officially commented on the prosecution of the Turkish national. Turkyilmaz is among few Turks who have publicly challenged Ankara’s vehement denial of the 1915-1923 genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
[...]
Adding his voice to the outcry on August 2 was Bob Dole, a former U.S. Senate majority leader and Republican presidential candidate known for his staunch advocacy of Armenian issues. In a strongly-worded letter to Kocharian posted on Groong.com, he demanded that Turkyilmaz be released “at once,” saying that the Criminal Code article used against him is “unique in the community of free nations.”

Dole warned that failure to release Turkyilmaz would further tarnish Yerevan’s already negative image in the West. “Your detention of Yektan for seven weeks on any grounds would draw attention to failings in Armenia's democratic evolution,” he said. “To detain him on grounds as dubious as these calls into question Armenia's commitment to democracy in the first place.”

“Your treatment of Yektan makes Armenia look bad -- with good reason,” he added. “Armenia has many friends in the United States, but we cannot and will not defend the indefensible.”

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Second-Largest Recipients of U.S. Aid, Armenians Fight To Get Ahead

August 9, 2005 Edition
New York Sun
BY MICHAEL MAINVILLE - Special to the SunAugust 9, 2005

YEREVAN, Armenia - A close ally of Russia, with a grossly corrupt economy and a ruler accused of increasing authoritarianism, Armenia hardly seems a prime candidate for massive doses of American aid money.

Yet this tiny South Caucasus republic receives more American aid per capita than any other country except Israel - a total of more than $1.6 billion since 1992. When the White House tried to cut sizably American assistance to Armenia earlier this summer, Congress blocked the move, bumping up the administration's allocation from $55 million to $75 million for 2006.

Armenians can thank one of the most effective and well-organized ethnic lobbies on Capitol Hill for the windfall. With wealthy backing and strong grassroots support, America's million-strong Armenian population, concentrated in the Northeast and California, has for years successfully lobbied for increased aid.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Cyprus follows US bribery allegations

09/08/2005
Financial Mirror

The government of Cyprus is following closely developments regarding assertions in the US magazine ''Vanity Fair'', that US MPs have been bribed to promote Turkish interests in political issues regarding Cyprus, Armenia and Greco - Turkish relations.

''The government is following the developments and holds explanatory contacts to ascertain if the magazine's claims are true'' Cyprus Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said today.

Asked if the government's contacts have brought any results, he said ''nothing concrete yet''.

He added that the issue ''concerns first of all the US'' and expressed conviction that it will be investigated

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Appoint of principle

090805
Local Government International Bureau

The government of Armenia has announced that it will not introduce direct mayoral elections in the capital Yerevan, a key opposition demand, as part of its proposed constitutional reforms. The mayor is currently appointed by the President.
[...]
Under the latest draft, the elected municipal council, rather than the President, will appoint the capital’s mayor, who will in turn appoint the mayors of the city’s ten administrative districts.
[...]
The government’s proposals have been welcomed by the Council of Europe, which said they would contribute significantly to the country’s democratisation and advance its European integration.
[...]
Despite this, Armenia’s largest opposition group, the Justice Alliance, remains unhappy with the latest draft. In addition to direct elections for Yerevan’s mayor, it wants further limitations on President Kocharian’s authority to appoint judges.

To come into law, the constitutional amendments have to be approved by a referendum of Armenia’s 2.4 million eligible voters.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Young performers shine at Blossom

Posted on Tue, Aug. 09, 2005
The Beacon Journal
By Elaine Guregian
Beacon Journal music critic

Young talent was the centerpiece Sunday night at Blossom. There was the promise of the performers of the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra. And then there was the preternatural maturity of an amazing guest violinist, Sergey Khachatryan, surely one of the most natural and eloquent players of the young generation.

Khachatryan was born in Armenia in 1985. For this occasion he brought with him a work by that country's most revered classical composer, Aram Khachaturian. Khachatryan has recorded Khachaturian's Violin Concerto as well as Sibelius' Violin Concerto, which he played so movingly at Severance Hall in March 2003. As with the Sibelius, he immersed himself in the music, re-creating it from a position of deep understanding.

Khachatryan brought out the mystery of the Eastern-tinged melodies in the concerto, and he knocked off the fast lines with a faultless technique. He played as if nothing mattered but the music, yet he never overdid it. In short, he played like a master, not a kid, and the effect was remarkable. Led by Jahja Ling, the Cleveland Orchestra sounded tightly connected to the soloist.

{To listen to some of Sergey Khachatryan's music go to http://kew.canvas.be/html/deelnemers_16.html}
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Baku: Kars-Akhalkalaki railway to be built by 2007

Monday, August 8, 2005, #146 (0920)
The Messenger - Georgia's English Language Daily
By M. Alkhazashvili

The Kars-Akhalkalaki railway project connecting Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan via rails has been a long lasting topic for discussion, but only recently became an issue of serious proposals.

Now the Azerbaijan Ministry of Transport has stated that Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway will be opened in a year and a half and will cost USD 400 million, the paper Rezonansi reports.
[...]
[...] connecting Turkey's railway with the South Caucasus railway system will be profitable not only for Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, but also for the countries that could use the line for transit. And despite the profitability of the line, the construction of the small length of track (98 km, 68 in Turkey and 30 in Georgia) has been delayed for many years.

The main reason for this is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the fact that an operating line once existed between Turkey and Armenia. A group of U.S. congressmen are arguing that ignoring this line would be a major setback for the treatment of Armenia and for the peace process.

As a result, they have proposed a bill titled South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2005 [...].

The stated goal of the bill (H.R. 3361) is "To prohibit United States assistance to develop or promote any rail connections or railway-related connections that traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey, and that specifically exclude cities in Armenia."

Despite the censure by the American legislators, officials in Baku, Tbilisi and Ankara appear unfazed. [...].
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

New Era for Glendale Armenians

August 8, 2005
latimes.com
By Amanda Covarrubias, Times Staff Writer

[...]
Glendale has been a haven for Armenians for generations, a point of entry for immigrants from Armenia, as well as people of Armenian descent from Turkey, Lebanon, Iran and the former Soviet Union. They now make up 40% of the San Fernando Valley city's 210,000 residents.

But it was not until this year that the city's Armenian community marked a major political milestone: winning a majority on the City Council.
[...]
Despite its size, the population is highly diverse. Wealthy second- and third-generation Armenian Americans live in tony neighborhoods in the hills above the city, while recent immigrants struggle in lower-income neighborhoods.

Bridging this divide is a task with which social service organizations and the Armenian Church struggle. Sometimes the new immigrants complain that their high expectations about life in America are difficult to achieve, especially with limited English skills.
[...]
Once a bastion of white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant political power, the city is now home to about 85,000 Armenians, one of the largest populations outside Armenia itself.

In addition to Central Avenue's bustling shopping district, Glendale is home to at least half a dozen Armenian-language newspapers, and local cable TV outlets are filled with Armenian-produced talk shows and public affairs programming.
[...]
In many respects, the Armenian American councilmen represent the diaspora. Bob Yousefian was born in Iran, moved to Lebanon as a teenager and later followed his family to the United States; Rafi Manoukian was born in Beirut and immigrated to the United States in 1975; and Najarian, whose parents emigrated from Armenia, is a Cleveland native whose family moved to Glendale in 1980.

The leaders consider former Gov. George Deukmejian and former Mayor Larry Zarian, the first Armenian American on the City Council, to be their role models. Zarian, who served on the council from 1983 to 1993, was invited to Armenia for an official state visit after becoming the first Armenian American mayor of a relatively large U.S. city.
[...]
Members of the new council majority are quick to say they do not consider themselves a voting bloc. They note that they ran for office on a broad range of mainstream issues, such as improving public safety, providing more affordable housing and overseeing the redevelopment of Brand Boulevard.

But that voters elected them, they believe, signals Armenians in Glendale want a voice in the city's stewardship.
[...]
Voters in April also elected their first Armenian American city clerk, who ran on a platform of improving services to immigrants and increasing their participation in civic life.
[...]
Berdj Karapetian, a businessman who has lived and worked in Glendale on and off since 1982, said a big challenge for the new officials would be to serve all parts of Glendale, both rich and poor.
[...]


Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Senate washes its hands of "genocide" question

swissinfo
August 6, 2005 6:54 PM

Briner {president of the Senate foreign affairs committee} said the committee had decided that the death or deportation of 800,000-1.8 million Armenians between 1915 and 1919 would not be the subject of a plenary session.
[...]
Briner said the committee believed that it was more for the parties involved, namely Turkey and Armenia, to reach an agreement.
[...]
Briner said a mixed commission of historians had to "work through the terrible events" – just as Switzerland had reappraised its history during the Second World War.
[...]
[...] in March, the Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gül talked about establishing a commission of historians from both sides and opening all files and archives.
[...]
In May a group of Turkish historians had to cancel a conference debating the genocide after the Turkish justice minister accused them of "stabbing Turkey in the back".
[...]
At the end of July the Swiss ambassador in Ankara had to deflect a barrage of diplomatic flak concerning the Swiss investigation of a Turkish politician who had proffered revisionist views about the Armenian genocide in 1915.

Then on August 5 the Turkish authorities postponed indefinitely a visit to Turkey in September by Swiss Economics Minister Joseph Deiss, citing agenda problems of his Turkish counterpart.
[...]
"That’s a typical diplomatic excuse if you can’t think of a better one," said Briner diplomatically.

"The important thing is that we now show some guts," he said. "I get the impression that the Turkish government wants to placate its people with this sabre-rattling."

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

State lawmakers wield foreign policy power

Article Launched: 08/07/2005 12:00:00 AM
DailyNews.com
By Lisa Friedman, Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- From the Iraq War to tensions in the Mideast to the extradition of criminals hiding in Mexico, California's influence on U.S. foreign policy is intensifying.

About 25 percent of the U.S. House committee overseeing international affairs hails from the Golden State, leading some aides to jokingly refer to the panel's "California cabal" even as Congress' foreign policy demands increasingly reflect the state's diversity and global economic ties.
[...]
"California members are very active in international relations because the state is an economic powerhouse," said Matthew Reynolds, acting assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, a liaison between Congress and the State Department.
[...]
[...] the panel will vote next month on whether the killing of Armenians in Turkey during the Ottoman Empire should be declared "genocide." That's a direct result of Schiff, whose district is home to many of California's estimated 400,000 Armenians.

Armen Carapetian, spokesman for the Armenian National Committee of America's western region in Glendale, said that for Armenians, having a lawmaker on the International Relations Committee is as important as having one on a bread-and-butter panel like Appropriations.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.