Author: Hunanian Jack

The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
June 19, 2005 Sunday
Final Edition

The many sightings of Noah’s Ark

In the context of a new Noah’s Ark expedition to eastern Turkey,
Baptist Press News offers some sightings from Ron Stewart’s book,
Noah’s Ark:

A Scientific Look, Past And Future.

Among Stewart’s list of 100:

475 BCE — A Chaldean priest reports seeing the Ark’s remains at the
bottom of a mountain glacier.

30 BCE — Egyptian historian Hieronimus says the Ark’s remains can be
seen on Mt. Ararat.

50 CE — Nicholas of Damascus and Flavius Josephus both report the
Ark’s remains are preserved in their time.

560 — St. Isadore reports seeing the wood of the Ark on Mt. Ararat.

620 — After conquering Armenia, Byzantine Emperor Heraclius
reportedly climbs Ararat and sees the Ark.

1269 — Explorer Marco Polo reports seeing the Ark after a three-day
climb in “the snowy reaches” — at the bottom of the summit, not its
peak.

1647 — Explorer Adam Olerius reports seeing its petrified remains.

1829 — Frederick Parrot reports Ark relics in a church at Ararat’s
base, later destroyed in an 1840 earthquake.

1832-1850 — Expeditions from Russia, Turkey and England fail to find
it.

1856 — Two British scientists climb Ararat to disprove the Ark, but
report a “chest-like” shape of petrified wood at 15,000 feet on
Ararat’s northeast side.

1887 — Indian explorer John Nouri locates the Ark and recommends
recovering it for the 1900 World’s Fair.

1917 — Ark photos and measurements are taken by a Russian
expedition, but lost when the czar topples.

1945 — A Turkish pilot claims to have photographed the Ark.

1949 — Aerial photos show a formation resembling a ship with
dimensions fitting the Bible story.

1990 — Laser enhancement of satellite photo reportedly shows a
boxlike shape, broken in half.

Agence France Presse
17 juin 2005 vendredi 4:56 PM GMT

Tensions germano-turques après une résolution sur les “massacres” en
Arménie

BERLIN 17 juin 2005

L’adoption jeudi par la chambre des députés allemands d’une
résolution sur les massacres commis par la Turquie entre 1915 et 1917
contre le peuple arménien a suscité vendredi des tensions entre
Ankara et Berlin, l’Allemagne jugeant la déception de la Turquie
“incompréhensible”.

A Ankara, le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan s’en est
ouvertement pris vendredi au chancelier allemand Gerhard Schröder
pour n’avoir pas usé de son influence afin de bloquer l’adoption du
texte.

“Il est politiquement faux et qui plus est, il n’est pas beau, que le
parlement allemand ait sacrifié la question sans débat au lobbying
arménien”, a ajouté M. Erdogan.

De son côté, le gouvernement allemand a estimé vendredi que le texte
était “équilibré”. Interrogé par le quotidien Der Tagesspiegel à
paraître samedi, le porte-parole adjoint du gouvernement Thomas Steg
a jugé “incompréhensible la déception à propos de cette résolution”,
précisant que le chancelier Gerhard Schröder avait toujours pris soin
“de dire clairement sa propre position à ce sujet”.

Précisément les Allemands savent que la reconnaissance des erreurs
passées et la volonté de réconciliation étaient essentielles “pour
donner un avenir pacifique aux relations entre les peuples”, a
précisé M. Steg.

Jeudi, le ministre des Affaires étrangères turc Abdullah Gül avait
déjà critiqué cette résolution qu’il a jugée “blessante” à l’égard de
la Turquie et des Turcs vivant en Allemagne, soit près de 2,5
millions de personnes. Et le numéro deux de l’ambassade d’Allemagne
en Turquie avait été convoqué au ministère des Affaires étrangères.

Le texte qui ne mentionne pas explicitement le terme de “génocide”, a
été adopté par l’ensemble des fractions parlementaires et demande au
gouvernement allemand de “s’engager pour faire respecter la liberté
d’opinion en Turquie, en particulier en ce qui concerne les massacres
commis à l’égard des Arméniens”.

“Un arrangement doit être trouvé entre Turcs et Arméniens par la
réconciliation et le pardon pour la responsabilité historique”
turque, ajoute la résolution, approuvée par les groupes
parlementaires social-démocrate (SPD), conservateurs (CDU-CSU), Vert
et libéral (FDP).

Les parlementaires allemands demandent aussi à Berlin d’oeuvrer à ce
que “la Turquie normalise immédiatement ses relations bilatérales
avec l’Arménie”.

La Turquie a reconnu l’Arménie à son indépendance en 1991 mais sans
établir de relations diplomatiques en raison du profond différend sur
les massacres considérés comme un génocide par de nombreux pays.

Les massacres et déportations d’Arméniens perpétrés sous l’Empire
ottoman, de 1915 à 1917, ont fait 1,5 million de morts selon les
Arméniens, entre 250.000 et 500.000 selon Ankara qui rejette
catégoriquement la thèse du génocide.

Le “génocide” arménien a été reconnu en 1985 par la sous-commission
des droits de l’Homme de l’ONU, puis en 1987 par le Parlement
européen, et également par plusieurs pays européens, dont la France,
où vit la plus grosse communauté arménienne d’Europe, avec 350.000
personnes.

–Boundary_(ID_DKdQjMwJJMjCAsA15OZ0iA)–

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone 212.319.6383, x137
Fax 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, June 17, 2005

AGBU SOFIA RECEIVES NEW ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO BULGARIA

Sofia, Bulgaria – On May 18, 2005, the AGBU Sofia Chapter, including
the AGBU Young Professionals of Sofia and the AGBU Sofia Youth Group,
welcomed the new Armenian Ambassador to Bulgaria, Sergei Manasarian,
and wife Irina, at its headquarters.

Topics of discussion included the relationship between the youth of
Bulgaria and Armenia, and opportunities for cultural exchange between
the two countries. Manasarian expressed his readiness to partner with
AGBU Sofia on an ongoing basis and maintain the already favorable
relations between the Chapter and the Armenian Embassy in Sofia.

AGBU Sofia is dedicated to preserving and promoting the Armenian
heritage and culture through humanitarian, educational and
cultural programs. For more information on AGBU Sofia, please email
[email protected].

For more information on AGBU and its worldwide chapters, please
visit

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY DENOUNCES BUNDESTAG FOR PASSING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

Pan Armenian News
17.06.2005 03:20

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish Foreign Ministry has roundly denounced
the German Bundestag passing the Armenian Genocide Resolution,
reported the Yerkir newspaper referring to the Zaman Turkish
edition. The Turkish Foreign Ministry statement released thereupon
says Turks regret over the move made by the Bundestag and it will
have a negative impact on bilateral relations of Turkey with such an
allied country as Germany.

IRAN’S EDUCATION MINISTER DISCUSSES BILATERAL TIES WITH TOP ARMENIAN OFFICIALS

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS: Chief of Armenian president’s staff,
Artashes Tumanian convened today in Yerevan with the visiting education
minister of Iran, Morteza Haji. Tumanian is also a cochairman of
Iranian-Armenian intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation.

The press service of Armenian president said the two men discussed a
wide scope of bilateral relations and emphasized the need to expand
these relations. They, particularly, spoke about expanding scientific
and educational cooperation parallel to boosting economic ties.

Tumanian was quoted as saying that the wider Armenian-Iranian ties the
stronger intergovernmental ties will become. Morteza Haji was quoted
as saying that regardless of who is elected Iranian next president
the ties between the two friendly nations and bilateral cooperation
plans will not change. The Iranian minister was also received today
by prime minister Andranik Margarian, who conveyed his condolences
on the occasion of a wave of bombings in Iran that claimed several
lives. Margarian said he believes that these developments would not
effect the June 17 polls.

Al le Bundestagsfraktionen in Armenien-Debatte einig

von Ansgar Graw

Berlin – In einer gemeinsamen Entschließung wollen alle Fraktionen des
Bundestages der turkischen Massaker des Jahres 1915 an den Armeniern
gedenken. SPD, CDU/CSU, Grune und FDP fordern in einem der WELT
vorliegenden Antrag, der morgen ohne Debatte verabschiedet werden soll,
die Bundesregierung auf, “dabei mitzuhelfen, daß zwischen Turken und
Armeniern ein Ausgleich durch Aufarbeitung, Versohnen und Verzeihen
historischer Schuld erreicht wird”. In der fraktionsubergreifenden
Resolution macht sich der Bundestag die Einstufung der Gewalttaten,
die mindestens eine Million Todesopfer gefordert haben, als
“Volkermord” nicht ausdrucklich zu eigen. Der Begriff kommt aber in
der Antragsbegrundung vor, in der es heißt: “Zahlreiche unabhängige
Historiker, Parlamente und internationale Organisationen bezeichnen
die Vertreibung und Vernichtung der Armenier als Volkermord.”

Das gemeinsame Papier entstand auf der Grundlage eines
CDU/CSU-Antrages, der im April im Bundestag diskutiert und
von Sprechern aller Fraktionen im Grundsatz positiv kommentiert
worden war. Obwohl in diesem ursprunglichen Antrag auf den Begriff
“Volkermord” verzichtet worden war, hatte der turkische Botschafter
in Deutschland vor einer “Vergiftung” der deutsch-turkischen
Beziehungen gewarnt. In dem aktuellen Text heißt es: “Der deutsche
Bundestag verneigt sich im Gedenken an die Opfer von Gewalt, Mord
und Vertreibung, unter denen das armenische Volk vor und während
des Ersten Weltkrieges zu leiden hatte. Er beklagt die Taten der
jungturkischen Regierung des Osmanischen Reiches, die zur fast
vollständigen Vernichtung der Armenier in Anatolien gefuhrt haben. Er
bedauert auch die unruhmliche Rolle des Deutschen Reiches”, das
“trotz der vielfältigen Informationen … nicht einmal versucht hat,
die Greuel zu stoppen”. Kritisiert wird, daß auch heute in der Turkei
“eine umfassende Diskussion uber die damaligen Ereignisse immer noch
nicht moglich” sei. So sei eine fur Mai geplante Armenier-Konferenz
turkischer Wissenschaftler in Istanbul vom turkischen Justizminister
unterbunden worden.

Die Armenier-Verfolgung im Osmanischen Reich hatte am 24. April 1915
mit der Verhaftung der armenischen Elite in Istanbul begonnen.

Artikel erschienen am Mi, 15. Juni 2005

–Boundary_(ID_tUUtI2c7ea/E+1qVR59GZA)–

BODY OF 18-YEAR AZGANUSH HAROUTIUNYAN FOUND IN A HOLE WITH RAINWATER
IN SHIRAK REGION

YEREVAN, JUNE 13. ARMINFO. A body of a 18-year resident of the village
of Agin, Shirak region, Azganush Haroutiunyan was found in a hole with
rainwater in the same region. A criminal case has been initiated on
the case, the press-service of the Emergency Situations Department
informs ARMINFO.

Budding diva lives up to buzz
BY ROB HUBBARD

Pioneer Press, MN
June 13 2005

So which do you find more rewarding in an artistic experience, breadth
or depth? Would you rather explore the work of one artist in hopes of
gaining greater understanding? Or do you find a buffet more satisfying,
with a variety of styles and approaches to choose from?

The opening weekend of the Schubert Club’s St. Paul Summer Song
Festival presented such a choice. After tenor Michael Schade offered
his insights into the presenter’s namesake with a concert-length
Schubert song cycle on Friday, young soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian
took the SPCO Center stage Saturday and explored the oeuvres of
nine composers, mixing and matching seemingly disparate works in a
triumphant recital that showed why there’s such a buzz about this
budding diva.

Originally from Armenia, the 30-year-old Bayrakdarian has been a
Canadian citizen since her teen years. As she made her mark with
regional opera companies north of the border, it became clear that
she had a talent too big for the world’s second-largest nation to
hold. Soon she won Placido Domingo’s “Operalia” competition and a
Metropolitan Opera award, and has landed on that company’s stage in
a number of prominent roles.

Although best known as an interpreter of Mozart and Handel, the
soprano set them aside Saturday and demonstrated some ear-opening
versatility. Her Rossini reputation precedes her, and an opening
set of four songs showed why, especially on a whirlwind rendition of
“La Danza” that left both performer and audience breathless.

Expertly accompanied by pianist Warren Jones, Bayrakdarian brought
her acting gifts to the fore on four mazurkas by Chopin collaborator
Pauline Viardot-Garcia, deftly capturing an adolescent’s combination of
wide-eyed innocence and feigned worldliness on a pair of works wrapped
around two conflicting looks at love. Each song proved memorable,
thanks to a voice as technically excellent as it is emotionally rich
and an expressive face ideal for both ingénue and character actress.

Not only did Bayrakdarian span the centuries from Rossini to the
world premiere of a moving song by Pierre Schroeder, but she offered
a whirlwind tour of moods from the tenderness of an Armenian lullaby
to the hot-blooded rage of Manuel de Falla. So fully did the soprano
inhabit each song, she made a convincing case that breadth can be
served with a lot of depth.

–Boundary_(ID_7oLhCYVHARjHHxu+kAFYbg)–

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

A1plus

| 14:36:41 | 13-06-2005 | Official |

On June 15-19 in Danblane, Scotland, the enlarged session of the
“Church and Society” Commission of the European Churches Conference
will take place with the invitation of the Scotland Churches.

Since 2004 Hovakim friar Manoukyan represents the Holy Echmiadzin in
the ECC the “Church and Society” Commission. Before that the Armenian
Apostolic Church was represented by Voskan archbishop Galpakyan.

In the coming meeting the works of the Commission done in 2003-2005,
those to be done in 2005-2006, the issues of the vacant places in the
Commission working groups, as well as issues about globalization,
the EU Constitution, the new structure of the ECC and others will
be discussed.

The meeting to take place in Danblane is the third of the newly formed
Commission. The first two took place in Vavre and Brussels, Belgium,
in May and September, 2004, respectively.

Armenians protest outside Turkish Embassy in Washington

10.06.2005 13:43

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Armenian Americans stood vigil in front of the
Turkish Embassy on June 5, calling attention to that governments
ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide, as Turkish and American
government officials and industry leaders attended a kick-off
reception for the American Turkish Council (ATC) annual conference,
reported the Armenian National Committee of Greater Washington
(ANC-GW).

Over 50 Armenian Americans held signs calling for recognition and a
just resolution of the Armenian Genocide as well as the end of Turkeys
twelve-year blockade of Armenia and the implementation of human rights
reforms. ANC-GW representatives passed out flyers to reception
attendees informing them that the ATC has used your good name to deny
genocide a misguided act that embarrasses you, disgraces the Council,
and calls into question the core values of the company you
represent. The flyer called on ATC members to perform a true service
for U.S.-Turkey relations: Urge the ATC and Turkey to stop denying the
Armenian Genocide.

It is morally reprehensible that Turkey continues to coerce
U.S. companies to become complicit in the Armenian Genocide through
their misguided participation in anti-genocide recognition efforts,
stated ANC-Greater Washington representative Arsineh Khachikian. Our
protest vigil today was aimed to urge our U.S. corporate leaders to
disassociate themselves from this destructive campaign and create a
U.S.-Turkey relationship based on truth and justice.

Reaction from the attendees was mixed, with most accepting and reading
the flyers as they entered or left the function. One Turkish attendee
refused the flyer, proudly stating my father had killed many of your
families. Embassy staff and organizers were clearly disturbed with the
protest, which garnered extensive media coverage from Turkish
television and print journalists representing a broad range of news
agencies.

The protest coincided with the opening reception of the American
Turkish Council three day annual conference bringing together top
U.S. and Turkish government and industry leaders, focusing on
expanding U.S. Turkey relations and commercial ties. Speakers at the
conference include Prime Minister Erdogan, Foreign Minister Gul and
other top Turkish Ministers.