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04/13/2006
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1) Call to Action by ARF Eastern Region
2) Azeri Officer Sentenced to Life in Prison for Brutal Killing of Armenian
3) Aliyev Denies Azerbaijan’s Destruction of Armenian Cemetery in Nakhichevan
4) HRW’s Turkey Representative to Be Deported
5) Primate Hovnan Derderian’s Easter Message

1) Call to Action

A group calling itself “Young Turks” is organizing an anti-Armenian
demonstration April 22 on Times Square in New York under the slogan “Halt
Armenian Lies.” This demonstration is one more channel through which the
anti-Armenian policies of Turkish authorities are being expressed.
In their quest for European Union membership, Turkish authorities are
softening their positions and are allowing conferences in Turkey to discuss
the
history of Armenians, are stopping legal proceedings against Turkish
intellectuals who acknowledge the Armenian genocide, and are expressing
willingness to start bilateral talks. On the other hand, however, under the
leadership of extremist organizations, the Turkish diaspora is embarking on an
anti-Armenian crusade. The work of the Grey Wolves extremist organization is
apparent in the anti-Armenian rally in Lyon, followed by the gathering in
Berlin and now the demonstration in New York.
This Turkish initiative is a new challenge facing the Armenian nation. The
Turkish authorities are embarking on this effort in order to influence public
opinion and political authorities of various countries by using extremist
elements of the Turkish communities living in these countries.
This Turkish initiative cannot be allowed to continue and to grow. It is
imperative that we act against it. You are all invited to a demonstration on
April 22 to protest Turkish denial in all its forms, and to protest against
local authorities which officially permit public expression of such denial.
Let us all stand together, confront, and put an end to any and all
anti-Armenian and denialist Turkish policies.

–ARF Central Committee Eastern Region USA

2) Azeri Officer Sentenced to Life in Prison for Brutal Killing of Armenian

BUDAPEST (AFP)–An Azeri military officer who hacked to death an Armenian
lieutenant while attending a NATO-sponsored training course in Budapest was
convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday.
Judge Andras Vaskuti of the Budapest district court ruled that Ramil Safarov,
now 29 and an Azeri army lieutenant, killed Armenian Lieutenant Gurgen
Markarian, 26, in a “premeditated, malicious, and an unusually cruel” way by
nearly decapitating him with ax in February 2004 while the victim slept in a
dormitory used by participants in a NATO Partnership for Peace English
language
course.
Safarov was also found guilty of planning the murder of another Armenian,
which he did not carry out. He will be eligible for parole in 30 years,
according to the ruling.
“Compassion and remorse were completely missing from (Safarov’s) testimony,”
Judge Vaskuti said upon announcing the verdict. “During the whole case we
waited for him to be at least a bit sorry for the Armenian soldier he killed
brutally and for (Markarian’s) family.”
Safarov’s lawyer, Gyorgy Magyar, said they would immediately appeal the
verdict, adding that it was yet unclear whether his client would serve his
sentence in Hungary or be extradited to Azerbaijan.
A lawyer representing Markarian’s family said she was satisfied with the
court’s decision. “We’re happy that the court honestly evaluated all the
materials of this case and the brutal intentions… of the murderer,” said
Nazeli Vartanian. “This is a good decision for the Hungarian court and for
(Armenian) society.”
Making his final statement to the court earlier Thursday, Safarov said the
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia was at the root of his act, and that
the Armenian officer had repeatedly provoked and ridiculed him. He said he was
unable to suppress his feelings and his wartime memories due to Markarian’s
behavior.
“My conscience was clouded as a result of the insults and humiliating and
provoking behavior, and I lost all control,” Safarov told the court. “It would
not be correct to consider it as merely a premeditated act caused by the
awakening of revenge and hate upon seeing the Armenians.” Safarov denied
trying
to kill a second Armenian officer.

3) Aliyev Denies Azerbaijan’s Destruction of Armenian Cemetery in Nakhichevan

BAKU (Armenpress)–Azeri President Ilham Aliyev denied accusations connected
with the destruction of the Armenian cemetery in Old Julfa, Nakhichevan. The
cemetery, which included cross stones from as far back as the 7th century, was
completely destroyed by Azeri Armed Forces in late 2005.
“It is an absolute lie, libel, instigation. All the historic monuments in
Azerbaijan are protected by the state,” Associated Press cited Ilham Aliyev as
saying.
For his part the Azeri president accused the Armenian side of destroying
mosques and Muslim cemeteries in Karabagh.

4) HRW’s Turkey Representative to Be Deported

ANKARA (Zaman)–Jonathan Sugden, Turkey’s representative for the Human Rights
Watch (HRW) organization, was apprehended by the Karliova Gendarmerie in the
eastern Turkish region of Bingol while conducting observations and research.
The Human Rights Joint Platform informed the press that Sugden has been
traveling to Turkey for 20 years on his tourist visa because of his monitoring
responsibilities, and asked for his release.
Sugden lived in the country, and follows the agenda closely as he is
fluent in
Turkish. He arrived in Karliova to monitor and report the Turkish gendarmeries
and local forces combat of terrorist activities in Bingol, Diyarbakir, and
Tunceli.
Sugden was sent to the Bingol Police Office and awaited deportation after the
Turkish Interior Ministry was informed about the case.
HRW’s Europe and Central Asia director Holly Cartner said, “The desire to
cover up human rights abuses is evidently still very strong, despite recent
moves towards more accountability in Turkey’s bid for membership in the
European Union.”

5) Primate Hovnan Derderian’s Easter Message

“Christ is Risen from the Dead”
“He is not Here, But is Risen!” (Luke 24:4)
“And you are the Witnesses of these Things” (Luke 24:48)

The good news of the Miraculous Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ once again reaches us all as a beacon of light, as a call to the entire
world towards faith and a new spiritual life; “And you are the witnesses of
these things.” Truly the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ not only
reawakens
within our spirituality the consciousness to relive the mystery of the Divine
Resurrection, but even more so, to become the witnesses of the life of Christ
and especially His Resurrection. The Resurrection of Christ is the ultimate
reality that adorns our human spirit, because as Paul the Apostle says, “If
Christ has not risen, your faith is futile” (I Corinthians 15:15).
“He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:4)
“And you are the witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48).
For the Armenian Christian, the Feast of the Resurrection is the feast of a
“greater life.” Through our sacred religious rites the fundamental truth that
the Resurrection of Christ is the new dawn of our spiritual life is further
rooted within us, since “through his Resurrection he transcended sin, and all
that having to do with this death.” Thus, the Feast of the Resurrection of
Christ becomes true on the day, when not only our creed is re-rooted, but
above
all when we become the witnesses of His Resurrection. This is precisely where
emphasis is placed upon the church. The church, as the congregation of the
Believers of Christ, as part of its presence and identity, has an
obligation to
speak of and peach the Resurrection of Christ; to unceasingly deliver the
message of Christ’s gospels, and to make certain that the life of the
Christian
individual and the community is a testimony of the Resurrection of Christ. We
will become the witnesses of Christ’s Resurrection only when we partake in his
sacrifices. In other words, when we know how to fill our lives with sacrifice,
turning our path of life towards Christ.
The miraculous Resurrection of Christ is the feast of the renewed church. The
Resurrection of Christ is the dawn of a new life within every Christian. We
are
the ones who will construct the new church, with our own hands, so that we may
give the testimony of Christ’s Resurrection. Our individual life has the
thirst
for renewal, as is our communal life within the church, our life of service,
both national and to the church. But, above all, our lives within the family,
to raise our children entrusted to us by God, is nothing but the example of
the
life of Christ.
The miraculous Resurrection of Christ conveys to all of us the message to
transfigure our spiritual lives through the strength of prayer and to embark
upon the God-pleasing mission to cultivate our spirit. The God-pleasing
mission
to cultivate our spirit begins in our individual life followed by a unity of
the faithful through love. The more the individual is strengthened in his life
by prayer, the more passionately he testifies about the Resurrection of
Christ.
The more the Christian community loves, the more that community becomes not
only a strong testimony of the Resurrection of Christ, but above all a strong
presence for all those who have strayed from the path of light and suffer in
darkness. Our salvation and strength is in our spiritual life. The church is
obliged to constantly renew herself, thus becoming a presence that maintains
pace with contemporary times. It is our message that the children of the
church
remain firm in their Christian faith because our nation has been reborn in
that
faith by turning Christianity into the splendor of her spirit. For that same
faith our nation has accepted the greatest divine gift, the Armenian alphabet,
and through it has eternalized the Holy Bible with Armenian words. The
children
of our church, with this communion, have continued to live their God-given
lives.
We have reached the point in history when even greater challenges have risen
before us and now we have the obligation to overcome. We will continue to
uphold, even at the cost of our lives, the legacy of our forefathers, who have
been sanctified through their martyrdom. The legacy of our Christian faith and
doctrine, the Motherland and Holy Etchmiadzin, our language, our national
heritage, culture, history, and most importantly our right for the recognition
of the Genocide. The Armenian Church will be demolished when we are not
able to
pass these messages on to our youth.
The Christian faith cannot be anchored on the testimony of the
Resurrection of
Christ if it is not rooted in our Motherland, Holy Etchmiadzin, as well as the
sacred Armenian legacies, culture and history. These facets present themselves
as a cornerstone of the Christian faith. In other words, they are God-given
graces which strengthen our faith. They are graces in the sense of challenges,
as to what extent we are able to live our Christian faith through our actions
in order that we may become partakers in the crucifixion of Christ and to gain
the right to testify about the Resurrection of Christ. The mystery of the
Resurrection of Christ truly becomes a testimony when the Resurrection of
Christ is expressed through our lives.
Dear faithful, live the Feast of the Resurrection because its mystery is the
mystery of the true life. This leads us to live life striving for perfection,
as Christ himself says, “Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” The
Feast of Resurrection is a day of pilgrimage. It is the doorway to eternal
life. It is the feast of our renewed life. It is the breath of peace and the
spring which plant harmonious brotherhood among nations. It is the Feast of
Holy Etchmiadzin and, finally, the day of the victory of the Christian faith.
“Christ is risen from the dead.”
“He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:4)
“And you are the witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:48)

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate
Easter 2006

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