Author: Chakrian Hovsep

WORKS OF PARTICIPANTS OF FINAL STAGE "FINE ARTS AND CINEMATOGRAPHY" NOMINATION OF RA PRESIDENT’S YOUTH PRIZE ARE PRESENTED AT CENTER OF INNOVATORY EXPERIMENTAL ART

Noyan Tapan
Apr 06 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 6, NOYAN TAPAN. Works of participants of the final stage
of the "Fine Arts and Cinematography" nomination of the RA President’s
annual youth prize are presented at the exhibition opened on April
5 at the Center of Innovatory Experimental Art (CIEA). Within the
framework of this program being implemented under the patronage of
Robert Poghosian and Sons fund, prizes are given in the spheres of
"Literature," "Classic Music" as well.

According to the information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the "Hayastan"
(Armenia) All-Armenian Fund, a certificate, an order and monetary
prize equivalent to 2500 U.S. dollars are given in the "Fine Arts and
Cinematography" nomination. 28 from 46 works beforehand presented in
this nomination entered the final stage. Among them 5 are feature
films, 2 are clothing collections and 21 are pictorial canvases
and photos.

According to the same source, the competition committee has already
decided the winners whose names will be made public only after being
affirmed by the RA President.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW PM

Xinhua News Agency , China
April 4, 2007 Wednesday 1:30 PM EST

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan on Wednesday appointed Defense
Minister Serzh Sarkissian as the country’s new prime minister, the
Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Former Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, also leader of the Republican
Party, died of heart attack in March 25. He held the office since
May, 2000.

Sarkissian is now the acting leader of the Republican Party.

AZD RELEASES DVD ON ARMENIA AND NAGORNO KARABAKH

Panorama.am
17:23 03/04/2007

Azd agency released an interactive DVD on Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh. The product tells about sites of these countries. It also
includes 755 photos and 91 descriptions of cultural and historical
monuments of Karabakh and Armenia. One can easily find a town or a
church using alphabetical list and an interactive map.

"The DVD is a wonderful gift to visitors of Armenia and for those
who want to take pleasant memories with them," Azd agency says.

More information may be found at

FIXED PAYMENTS INCREASE BY 19.6%, SIMPLIFIED TAX BY 24.1% IN JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2007 ON SAME MONTHS OF LAST YEAR

Noyan Tapan
Apr 04 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 4, NOYAN TAPAN. In January-February 2007, fixed
payments made 2.6 bln drams, exceeding by 19.6% or 423.2 mln drams the
respective index of 2006. According to the RA Ministry of Finance and
Economy, this growth was mainly conditioned by a growth in payments
for organization of lotteries, prize games, transport activity,
trade points and gas filling stations.

In the indicated period, the RA state budgetary revenues from
simplified tax made 1.5 ln drams, growing by 24.1% or 288.3 mln drams
on the same period of last year.

In January-February 2007, state budgetary revenues from other taxes
amounted to 3.1 ln drams. Particularly, nature use and environmental
protection payments made 2.3 bln drams. road payments – 240.5 mln
drams. These taxes grew twofold or by over 1.5 bln drams on the same
period of 2006, mainly conditioned by a growth in nature use payments.

State budgetary revenues from state duty made 2.6 bln drams, which
ensured fulfilment of the first quarter’s plan by 73.4%. The amount
of state duty collection grew by 23.4% or 485.4 mln drams on the same
months of 2006, mainly conditioned by an increase of duties charged
for licensing of some types of activities, provision of juridical
documents to natural persons and duties for departure of natural
persons by air transport.

Panorama.am

17:26 31/03/2007

AHARON ADIBEKYAN NOT TRUSTFUL, PARTY LEADER SAYS

`Did not Aharon Adibekyan make forecasts that Karen Demirchyan has no
rating in 1998? I will not comment on absurd things,’ Grigor
Harutunyan, deputy chairman of Armenian People’s Party (HJK), told
Panorama.am speaking about Aharon Adibekyan’s studies.

The findings suggest that Armenian Republican Party (HHK), Prosperous
Armenia (PA), Orinats Yerkir and National Unity will enter the next
parliament whereas HJK `has problems.’

`Aharon Adibekyan does not arouse trust with his absolutely ludicrous
statements. Generally, it is counter-indicative for him to engage in
that work,’ Harutunyan said speaking about the sociologist’s
engagements.

Source: Panorama.am

ARMENIAN REPORTER
PO Box 129
Paramus, New Jersey 07652
Tel: 1-201-226-1995
Fax: 1-201-226-1660
Web:
Email: [email protected]

March 31, 2007 — From the community section
The articles that appear below are special to the Armenian Reporter.
For photographs, visit

1. Joseph Ariyan wins Democratic nomination for N.J. State Senate

2. Western Diocese fetes Richard Hovannisian
* Celebrates six volumes on historic Armenian cities and provinces

*************************************** ************************************

1. Joseph Ariyan wins Democratic nomination for N.J. State Senate

HACKENSACK, N.J. – On March 22, Armenian-American attorney Joseph
Ariyan handily won the District 39 Democratic Convention, to become
the party’s candidate in the upcoming State Senate race. Ariyan won by
a margin of 80 to 20 percent, and will now go forth to face incumbent
Republican Gerald Cardinale in the 2007 general election.

The 41-year-old Ariyan has been active in Bergen County Democratic
politics, and is currently the county’s Public Advocate for Land Use.
He has already begun raising money for his challenge to the
72-year-old Cardinale, who was first elected to the State Assembly in
1979 and moved up to the Senate in 1981, and who was re-elected to an
eighth term in 2003 with 62 percent of the vote.

New Jersey voters will go to the polls to decide between the two on
November 6, 2007.

Ariyan, who lives in Saddle River, N.J., with his wife Susan and
infant son, said, "It’s an honor to be elected by the party to run for
State Senate."

On the subject of Armenian-American political concerns, he said,
"Legislators have been slow to act on issues key issues of interest to
Armenian-Americans. Now, New Jersey’s Armenian-Americans … can have
one of their own to champion their core political issues."

Ariyan stressed that he would make it a priority to have New Jersey
officially recognize the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman
Turks.

"Anyone of Armenian descent knows about the terror of the 1915
Genocide," said Ariyan. "As we all are taught from a young age, we
have an obligation to teach others about our history to ensure that it
is not forgotten. This will also help to prevent future atrocities
from occurring."

"As a community, we have an obligation to our ancestors to ensure
that our state and country recognizes factual history. As state
senator, I will tirelessly fight to ensure recognition of the Armenian
Genocide both at the state and national levels."

Ariyan’s political platform also will include key cost-saving
methods to reduce local governments’ reliance on property taxes and a
proposal for more technological training in grades K through 8. "My
wife and I recently had a baby son and he has forced us to see the
world differently," said Ariyan. "We need to stabilize property taxes
while still providing the best education for our children. We cannot
let the best and brightest of our young people leave the state in
search of a better future."

Ariyan’s supporters include Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., from New
Jersey’s 6th Congressional District, who was the guest of honor at a
kickoff event held at the home of David and Ani Kasparian (covered in
the Reporter’s Feb. 3 edition). At that time, Congressman Pallone
urged Armenians nationwide to support Joe Ariyan.

The Hackensack-based campaign is actively seeking people to help in
Ariyan’s race to win the state senate seat. Those interested in
joining can contact Joe Ariyan personally, at (201) 358-0020.

*************************************** ************************************

2. Western Diocese fetes Richard Hovannisian

Celebrates six volumes on historic Armenian cities and provinces

LOS ANGELES – The scholarly accomplishments of Richard Hovannisian are
impressive beyond doubt. As professor of Armenian and Near Eastern
History and holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Chair in
Modern Armenian History at UCLA he symbolizes the importance of the
study of Armenian history like no other.

While in the course of his career he has written more than fifty
scholarly articles and contributed to twenty seven books, his latest
published endeavor is perhaps an achievement in itself.

On February 16, the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church hosted an
evening to celebrate the publication of the first six volumes of
"Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces" edited by Prof. Hovannisian
from the UCLA international conference series.

The international conference series began nearly a decade ago to
explore the many aspects of Armenian influence in the historic
homeland. Historians and scholars from around the country and the
world presented papers exploring the historical, political, cultural,
religious, social and economic influences of Armenians in their
historic homelands.

The first six volumes of the series include Van/Vaspurakan,
Baghesh/Bitlis and Taron/Mush, Tsopk/Kharpert, Karin/Erzerum,
Sebastia/Sivas and Lesser Armenian and Tigranakert/Diarbekir and
Edessa/Urfa (Mazda Publishers). Each volume contains the proceedings
of the conferences offering important scholarly writings from some of
the most leading authorities on the subject of Armenian history.

The result of these efforts are extraordinary volumes of work which
"will be a permanent mark in our cultural life, and will certainly
serve as the best and most valuable archival documents for historical
research" Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.

Each volume offers a glimpse into the many facets of Armenian life
in these historic cities. The essays survey the geography,
demographics, art, architecture, religion and economy of once great
cities and provinces now ruined and nearly vanished.

The international conference series on the "Historic Armenian Cities
and Provinces" also includes Cilicia, Kars and Ani as well as the
Armenian Communities of Constantinople, the Black Sea-Pontus Region,
Smyrna/Ismir, Caesarea/Kesaria, New Julfa, Iran and Jerusalem.

************************************** *************************************

Please send your news to [email protected] and your letters to
[email protected]
(c) 2007 CS Media Enterprises LLC. All Rights Reserved

REFUTATION OF THE ARMENIAN RESOLUTION ARTICLE BY ARTICLE-2
By Prof. Dr. Kemal CÝcek*

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 28 2007

(Article 4) The post-World War I Turkish Government indicted the top
leaders involved in the "organization and execution" of the Armenian
Genocide and in the "massacre and destruction of the Armenians."

Last year, Turkish-Americans staged demonstrations in front of the
United Nations to protest the French bill that banned denying the
so-called Armenian genocide.

The third article of the resolution asserts that the Ottoman Empire
tried those responsible for massacres and thereby implicitly accepted
criminal responsibility during the court-martials. Justin McCarthy,
a leading American expert on the Ottoman history, describes those
courts as "kangaroo courts" and recalls that they were established by
a corrupt administration which was eager for retribution. The British
High Commissioner S.A.G. Calthorphe wrote to London on Aug. 1, 1919,
that the "trials were proving to be a farce and injurious to our own
prestige and to that of the Turkish government" (FO 371/4174/118377).

According to Dr. Ferudun Ata, the author of a book titled "Deportation
Courts in Occupied Ýstanbul," the Ottoman government of the time had
established the court-martials to better its conditions in the Paris
Peace Conference and also to take revenge against the regime of the
"Young Turks."

The interrogations in the courts-martial were not duly conducted,
many witnesses were faked and only testified against the defendants.

For example, a certain Artolos, a shoemaker, who testified against
Maj. Tevfik during the trials in Yozgat, was brought to Ýstanbul and
was paid to speak against the defendant. According to Dr. Ata, he
later appeared before the court in another trial as a Muslim convert.

Dr. Ata’s book reveals many false witnesses like this. Those who spoke
in favor of the suspects were not brought to court. The chairmen of
the courts never charged those false witnesses, although they were
sometimes revealed in court. Dr. Ata also found that some false
witnesses, before bearing testimony at the court, had been trained
and instructed in the "Armenian-Greek Branch" established at the
offices of the British High Commissioner. What is most important
to note about the decisions of these courts is that the Court of
Appeal declared the verdicts null and void. Unfortunately, among
such cases was the verdict of Nusret Bey, who had been executed upon
his death sentence. Such facts about the nature of the post war
courts-martial become more meaningful when we read that the then
US high commissioner, Lewis Heck, reported on April 4, 1919 that
"many here regard executions as necessary concessions to Entente
rather than as punishment justly meted out to criminals," and that
"it is popularly believed that many of them are made from motives of
personal vengeance or at the instigation of the Entente authorities,
especially the British." (NARA 867.00/868; M 353, roll 7, fr. 448).

Lastly we should remember that England also arrested 144 outstanding
politicians of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) for crimes
against Armenians and took them to Malta for trial, but later released
all of the detainees without charge.

(Article 5) In a series of courts-martial, officials of the Young
Turks regime were tried and convicted, as charged, for organizing
and executing massacres against the Armenian people.

Besides the findings of Dr. Feridun Ata, historians like Justin
McCarthy and Gunter Lewy stated that post war courts-martial were a
travesty of justice, the findings of these courts were unreliable,
interrogations were not legal, the right of defense for the arrested
was denied and the presiding officer, when questioning the defendants,
often acted more like a prosecutor than like an impartial judge. As
Lewy stated, "The legal procedures of Ottoman military courts,
including those operating in 1919-20, suffered from serious
shortcomings when compared to Western standards of due process of
law." The court did not listen to any testimony during judgment and
the decisions were made by relying solely on false witnesses without
considering the answers of the defense.

(Article 6) The chief organizers of the Armenian Genocide, Minister
of War Enver, Minister of the Interior Talaat and Minister of the
Navy Jemal were all condemned to death for their crimes; however,
the verdicts of the courts were not enforced.

The courts-martial operating in the occupied Istanbul tried Enver,
Talat and Cemal and convicted them to capital punishment in absentia.

Yet, they were not found guilty of "organizing and performing massacres
against Armenians," as stated in the resolution, but they were found
guilty of political crimes for dragging the country into a terrible
war. The fact that the verdicts of the courts were not enforced has
nothing to do with ignorance or being indifferent to the suffering of
Armenians, but that the guilty parties had fled the country after the
war. Anyhow, the untold verity about these people is that they were
assassinated by a secret Armenian organization called "Nemesis" in the
countries where they sought refuge. Sadly, the Nemesis organization
also killed some statesmen like Sait Halim Pasha, Bahaeddin Takir and
Cemal Azmi without judgment although the courts found them innocent.

(Article 7) The Armenian Genocide and these domestic judicial failures
are documented with overwhelming evidence in the national archives of
Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, the United States,
the Vatican and many other countries, and this vast body of evidence
attests to the same facts, the same events, and the same consequences.

This is also untrue. I have personally dug out the documents preserved
at the US National Archives and Research Foundation and found no
concrete evidence in the documents that can be qualified for use in
court. The documents in the archive contain reports by the consul
and the testimony of the missionaries who were biased toward the
Muslims and the Turks and reported information that they had not
witnessed, but rather heard through secondary sources. It can safely
be claimed that an overwhelming amount of these documents and reports
are based on hearsay. There are also large amount of documents, or
rather statements, from the Patriarchate and Taþnaksutyun political
propaganda offices. As a matter of fact, documents and reports from
the United States consuls had been examined by the officials "for
any mention of forty-five Malta detainees accused of outrages against
Armenians and other Christians" and found no information that could
"be employed in a court of law." Thus, one cannot help thinking that
this might be the reason why the proposal of the Turkish government
to set up an international committee of historians have so far been
refused by the Republic of Armenia.

TO BE CONTINUED

*Head of Black Sea Technical University, Faculty of Arts & Sciences;
Turkish Historical Association, Armenian Desk

–Boundary_(ID_7WiOPTnHNtdptOAH8VeoTA)–

THE ARMENIAN CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS ON LAKE VAN REOPENED BUT ONLY AS A MUSEUM
by Mavi Zambak

AsiaNews.it, Italy
March 28 2007

Built in the X century it lies in one of the country’s most
beautiful areas, the very site of the Armenian genocide occurred. The
journalist Hrant Dink, killed a months ago, had asked for the churches
restoration and reopening. For years the ancient frescos had been
used for target practice; the sacred building blackened by barbecue
smoke for picnics. Armenian religious authorities protest.

Patriarch Mesrob II refuses to participate in the ceremony.

Ankara (AsiaNews) – Tomorrow March 29 the Turkish government will
reopen – as a museum – the ancient Armenian Church of the Holy Cross
on Akdamar island in the middle of lake Van, on eastern Turkey’s
border with Armenia. The date had been moved over 4 times.

Tomorrow Turkish authorities will be present at the ceremony, including
prime minister Erdogan, but the Armenian spiritual authorities will
not be present. In fact the Ankara authorities have denied the use
of the building as a Church and has also refused to place a cross at
the summit of the dome, as the original Church once had.

Frescos destroyed and blackened

Lying in a splendid salt water volcanic lake, this suggestive church is
reached by a short 15 minute baost trip. It is one of the most precious
examples of Armenian tenth century art in existence, an architectural
creation of rare beauty (view the photo album at following address:
).

In the past the Turkish journal Milliyet, had denounced the alarming
story that the bas relief which decorate the facade of the Holy Cross
and depict scenes from the New and Old testament, were being used as
target practice. In order to prove the damage caused they published
photos illustrating the extent of the bullets destruction. Moreover,
on hearing of a hidden treasure present on the island, local residents
became "hunters" in search of the presumed riches, committing untold
acts of vandalism in the process.

As if that was not enough, the island, a popular destination for
holiday picnic makers, was literally invaded by barbeques some even
installed within the church itself, with the tragic consequence that
the frescos on the church interior were blackened beyond recognition.

In 2004 the newspaper Zaman also raised the alarm about the degraded
state of Holy Cross Church, despite the fact that it is a tourist
location of renowned popularity among visitors from all over the world,
above all the Armenian Diaspora. In fact it is widely known that
this area – among the most beautiful landscapes in Turkey – is sadly
infamous for having been one of the sites of the Armenian genocide of
1915. Today for many Armenians, wherever they may be, Akdamar remains
a place dear to their hearts, so much so that many try to visit it
before they die. The sight of elderly Armenians falling to their knees
in prayer as they set foot on the sacred island is not a rare one.

A year and a half ago, the Turkish authorities decided to restore
this artistic patrimony, a plan to preserve the historic identity
of the church was laid out and after 15 months of intense work the
restoration- which cost over 2 million euros and was carried out by
the Turkish architect of note Zakerya Mildanoglu -has finished.

But not without controversy.

Il restauro e il genocidio armeno

Armenian Turkish journalist Hrant Dink – killed in Istanbul on
January 19th – wrote an article for the Turkish paper Birgun which was
republished by Milliyet the very day of his assassination: "Ten years
ago I first appealed to the Van authorities. "Instead of inventing
a monster in the lake to attract tourists why don’t you take care of
the work of art which lies right under your nose. What need is there
to waste your time on stupidities? Van is a veritable treasure from
an Artistic point of view. Why do you not act seriously and sit down
to ask yourselves: What if we restore the region? – And even if then
Armenians did arrive, let them come to visit the birth place of their
forefathers, what harm could they possibly do? " And I even added:
"If you need help we are ready. Turkey’s Armenians and those of the
Diaspora are ready to volunteer their services, we are at your orders,
let this be known! Come let us restore not only the Church but also
our disenchanted souls". Finally after a long wait restoration on
Akdamar are completed (…) we are deeply indebted to Cahit Zeydanli
for his meticulous work, he consulted experts from Armenia and also
with architect Zakarya Mildanoglu, and Armenian from Turkey. They did
their best and they have created something splendid. The did great
things, but alas then politicians and bureaucrats became involved and
the inauguration could not take place. Once the opening was put of
from November 4th 2006 for reasons of inclement weather to April the
24th, as explained by Culture Minister Atilla Koc. Reactions were not
short in coming. The Armenian Patriarch Mutafyan made known that in
the case the inauguration actually happened on April 24th no Armenian
should attend. Last week the question even arose in Parliament. CHP
(Peoples Republican Party) deputy Erdal Karademir asked if the date of
April 24th, the anniversary of the Armenian genocide, was a reflection
of the politics of AKP (Justice and Development Party).

For its’ part the nationalist press presented the event as "the
inauguration of the Van vendetta". They succeeded in transforming
something positive into an error, a farce, a disaster. The government
still has not taken up a clear position regarding the Armenian
question. It is not concerned with resolving the issue, but in scoring
points in a political battle, in basis of their opponents moves. They
lack all credibility. The invite Armenian historians to the discussion
table but then show no scruples in putting people on trial who have a
different view point to the official line on the question. The restore
the Armenian Church to attract tourists to the western Anatolia region,
at the same time showing no sahme in scoring political points from it".

After hypothesising over April 11th, now it has been decioded: tomorrow
there will be the opening ceremony with the presence of prime minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Minister for Culture and Tourism Attila Koc,
the Minister for Armenian Culture Hasmik Poghosyan has also been
invited. But the problems persist.

It is well known that the Border between Turkey and Armenia is closed,
thus after various attempts to have a conduit opened, or a special
airfield made available for the special occasion, so the Armenian
authorities could make their way to Van directly from the Armenian
capital, following Turkey’s repeated no, the group of Architects,
historians and journalists today set out on an arduous 15 hour
journey overland through Georgia, when Van lies a few hundred miles
from Erivan.

A museum without a cross or religious ceremonies

The Armenian Patriarch Karekin Katolikos II has joined Turkish Armenian
Patriarch Mesrob II in refusing to attend. Why? This historic Church
has been transformed into a museum, a request for a cross to be
put in place at the summit of the dome has been refused, there will
be no bells and the opening ceremony will be equal to that of any
secular museum.

"Seeing as it is not considered a Church, seeing as no religious
celebration will mark this reopening, my presence there is really
insignificant", affirmed Patriarch Mesrob II, adding: "I pleaded with
the President and Prime Minister to see that a cross be placed on
the dome, I invited them to establish an annual Armenian festival in
the area, but I have yet to receive an answer. Therefore my presence
there on March 29th really has little sense".

And the delicate relationship between the Patriarch and the Turkish
authorities do not end here.

Days ago Mesrob II travelled under heavy police escort following death
threats to Iskenderun, in ancient Alessandretta, a maritime city on
Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, to celebrate the 225 anniversary of
the local Armenian Church. Well, there in that very city which is
also home to the Catholic Vicariate to Anatolia, the mayor decided to
erect a monument to the Turks killed by French and Armenians during
the French occupation of 1918-38.

The Patriarch, could only comment on this gesture as a further
provocation by nationalists to divide the population : "Instead
of building a bridge of dialogue between peoples, in this way they
heighten tensions, this can only be the work of nationalists", he
sadly commented to journalists.

Even regarding Hrant Dink’s assassination, nothing clear has so far
emerged: "If we still cannot find the true perpetrators of this
crime, it means that they are well protected and from on high",
is the Patriarchs embittered response.

PRECIPITATIONS, MAINLY SNOW, FORECAST UNTIL MARCH 30 IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Mar 28 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 28, NOYAN TAPAN. Precipitations, mainly snow, are
forecast until March 30 in the territory of Armenia, especially in
the eastern regions.

No precipitations are forecast on March 31 and precipitations are
again forecast on April 1-2.

As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed by Gagik Surenian, chief
specialist of Haypethydromet Department’s Meteorological Forecasts
Unit, the temperature will not change in the country until March 30
and from March 31 to April 1 it will rise by 4-9 degrees.

>>From March 29 to April 2, maximum temperature in country’s valleys
will be +19 and minimum temperature +3, in mountainous regions +9
and -10, respectively.

RA DELEGATION DEPARTED FOR VAN TO PARTICIPATE IN AKHTAMAR CHURCH INAUGURATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.03.2007 13:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The official Armenian delegation departed for
Van to take part in the inauguration of the Church of St. Cross on
Akhtamar island. As a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter came to know from the RA
Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs, the delegation is led by Deputy
Acting Minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjian. The delegation includes
Mrktich Muradyan, Director of the Institute of Architecture at the RA
Academy of Sciences, Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Institute of
Oriental Studies at the RA Academy of Sciences and Artem Grigoryan,
the Head of the Department for Protection of Historical Monuments at
the RA government.

The inauguration is due on March 29. Representatives of the Echmiadzin
and Cilician Catholicosates of the Armenian Apostolic Church refused
to take part in the event, since St. Cross will function as a museum
but not as a church.