Author: Tambiyan Samvel

WISH OF MUNICIPALITY HEAD TO CO-OPERATE WITH ARMENIA CAN NOT AFFECT FOREIGN POLICY OF TURKEY – HEAD OF IGDIR MUNICIPALITY
Author: E.Javadova

TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 30 2006

The wish of the municipality head to co-operate with Armenia can not
affect the foreign policy of Turkey, the Head of the Igdir Municipality
(Turkey), Nurettin Aras who is on the visit to Azerbaijan briefed
the media on November 30,Trendreports.

He stressed that the Turkish Government condemns Kars for its effort
to co-operate with Armenia in various spheres. "Armenia still maintains
Nagorno-Karabakh under occupation and wants our lands, and we consider
that it is impossible to release their hands. We also consider the wish
of the municipality head to co-operate with Armenia as impossible,"
Aras said.

He expressed his regret for the erection of a monument in Kars,
which is the symbol of fraternity with Armenia.

ONE WORD POPE DARES NOT SPEAK
Sandro Contenta

Toronto Star, Canada
Nov 30 2006

Armenians won’t mention what most consider genocide, but Turks tend
to dismiss as legend

ISTANBUL, turkey-At the Armenian Patriarchate in this city’s old town,
His Beatitude Mesrob II is surrounded by icons and relics that speak
to his flock’s long history in Turkey.

But on the most tragic part of that history – the mass slaughter
of Armenians in 1915 – the Patriarch expresses a personal ignorance
typical of his followers.

Mesrob knows that five of his grandfather’s brothers were deported
to the Syrian dessert, where hundreds of thousands were massacred,
but has no idea what became of them.

His parents never spoke of their fate, despite hints that one or
two may have survived and their offspring might be living in the
United States.

"They never talked about it because I think they didn’t want us to be
at odds with our Muslim neighbours," he said in an interview. "That’s
the usual case in Turkey. We don’t tell our children about historic
events so they won’t face any problems."

For Armenians in Turkey, it’s best not to mention what most of them
consider genocide, but many Turks dismiss as a legend.

Simply mentioning the massacre often guarantees a trial on charges of
"insulting Turkishness" – a legal catch-all the justice ministry uses
to stifle challenges to state orthodoxy.

So sensitive is the topic here that Pope Benedict’s meeting with
Mesrob today will be closely watched for any allusion to the Armenian
tragedy. Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II, recognized the killing
of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide in a 2000 document.

Any mention of the word would likely cause a political storm and
destroy the charm offensive Benedict XVI has conducted since arriving
Tuesday for his four-day trip. If he strays into this political
minefield, most observers believe he’ll follow Mesrob’s example and
duck the word genocide.

Asked if he acknowledges genocide occurred, Mesrob paused awkwardly
for a moment before replying, "Ahh, I acknowledge that people were
killed, many people lost their lives."

Mesrob, whose church belongs to the family of Oriental Orthodox
churches, calls it an act of "ethnic cleansing" carried out as the
Ottoman Empire was collapsing. Some historians estimate 1.5 million
Armenians, most of them Christians, were systematically slaughtered.

An estimated 100,000 Armenians live in Turkey, one third of them
guest workers.

Murat Belge, a leading Turkish scholar who last year organized a
conference on the treatment of Armenians in 1915, said Mesrob did
well to avoid the word.

"If he had said there was an Armenian genocide, it’s very likely that
he would be assassinated by some fascists, the Patriarchate would
be burned and Armenians leading their daily lives would be shot by
unknown people," Belge said in an interview.

"And all this would be attributed by the media to the injured
nationalist feelings of the Turkish people, and the Patriarch would
be blamed for starting it all," he added.

Belge heads the publishing house that produces the novels of Orhan
Pamuk, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist charged last year for telling
a Swiss newspaper, "A million Armenians were killed and nobody but
me dares to talk about it."

Charges of "insulting Turkishness" were later dropped on a
technicality. Months later, novelist Elif Shafak was charged because
a fictional character accuses Turks of committing the genocide.

Those, too, were eventually dropped.

Turkey’s denial has hurt the Muslim country’s bid to join the 25-nation
European Union. Last month, French President Jacques Chirac said
recognizing the genocide should be a condition for membership.

The French parliament also incensed the Turkish government by passing
a bill making it a crime to deny the genocide.

Egemen Bagis, foreign policy adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, noted Erdogan made a groundbreaking gesture last
month by offering to set up an independent inquiry with historians
on both sides of the Armenian issue. But it was rejected by Armenia
as little more than a ploy.

ver?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&col= 968350060724&c=Article&cid=1164840611284&a mp;call_pageid=968332188854

KOCHARIAN, ALIYEV AND PUTIN WILL PROBABLY AGREE ON NEW MEETING OF SAME FORMAT

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.11.2006 17:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The meeting of Armenian and Azeri leaders over
Nagorno Karabakh is of most interest among bilateral summits in
Minsk, to say nothing of the possible Russia-Georgia meeting. The
Kocharian-Aliyev meeting will be held "under the auspices" of Vladimir
Putin. As the Commersant writes, "Public in Yerevan does not conceal
that Kocharian goes to Minsk for the sake of that meeting." "Public in
Baku say that the meeting may have results, "if Putin puts pressure
on Kocharian." If it is the case, according to Azeri experts, Aliyev
may agree with expected Moscow’s demand of Baku not to assist Georgia
in gas and electricity supplies," the article author believes.

However, in the opinion of the edition, the Azeri President is no
less concerned over Russian Government latest decision to reduce the
number of foreigners in retail trade, which threatens to hundreds
of thousand Azeri traders. "All these problems will probably not be
solved in Minsk today and the three Presidents will most likely agree
over a new meeting of the same format in Moscow," the newspaper writes.

PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

November 28, 2006
___________________

DIOCESE JOINS MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY IN ORGANIZING ARMENIAN ALPHABET EVENT

The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) recently joined
Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ, to celebrate the beauty and
lasting power of the Armenian alphabet.

As part of the 1,600th anniversary of the creation of the alphabet by St.
Mesrob Mashdots, the Diocese and university joined together in organizing
"Armenian Alphabet in Word and Image: A 1,600th Anniversary Exhibition,"
featuring unique artifacts highlighting the importance of the alphabet in
the life of the Armenian people. It ran from November 6 to 9, 2006.

"Our alphabet is uniquely tied to all aspects of our heritage," said
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese. "Working with
our new friends at Monmouth University, we created a compelling exhibit that
highlighted the fact that our alphabet has been the keystone to the
continuance of our unique Armenian Christian heritage."

The exhibit included artifacts from the Diocesan collection dating from the
17th century, along with items loaned by Congressman Frank Pallone of New
Jersey. The items helped explain the origins of the alphabet, the inventor
of the alphabet, its importance in religious practices, and historical
examples of various styles and forms of script.

The exhibit came about by chance. The brother of Gilda Buchakjian-Kupelian,
Diocesan coordinator of Armenian studies, mentioned to an official at
Monmouth that his sister worked in education. He introduced the two, and
the week-long exhibit was the result, thanks to a dedicated committee of
Diocesan staff, Monmouth University leaders, and parishioners from the St.
Stepanos Church of Elberon, NJ.

"I am exhilarated about the whole exhibit," Buchakjian-Kupelian said. "The
fact that we have come out of our enclave to present one of the living
vestiges of our heritage to the general public makes this exhibit special."

Along with the public exhibition of artifacts, the week included a keynote
address by historian Aram Arkun on November 8, 2006. More than 100 people
joined the Primate at the lecture in the university’s Wilson Hall, including
Monmouth University President Paul Gaffney, Armenia’s Ambassador to the
United Nations Armen Martirosyan, and Kevork and Sirvart Hovnanian.

A doctoral candidate in Armenian history at the University of California in
Los Angeles, Arkun is a specialist in Armenian history. He is also editor
of the literary quarterly Ararat and secretary of the board of directors of
the Armenian Center at Columbia University. His main area of study is on
the Armenians of northern Cilicia after World War I.

He spoke of how the Armenian alphabet played an important role in the
development and maintenance of the Armenian identity for over 16 centuries.
"Perhaps no other people are as attached to their alphabet as the
Armenians," Arkun said. "What other background displays its alphabet in the
home, like a work of art, the way Armenians do?"

The link between Monmouth University and the Armenian community arose
through Dr. Tavit Najarian, a university trustee who has worked to establish
an Armenian institute at the institution. Congressman Pallone recently
requested $500,000 in federal funding for the project.

"This is a wonderful start of a journey between Monmouth University and the
Armenian community," said Dr. Saliba Salasar, the associate vice president
for academic program initiatives at Monmouth University whose introduction
to Gilda Buchakjian-Kupelian initiated planning for the exhibit. "What
better way than to celebrate the Armenian alphabet."

— 11/28/06

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate, joined by Dr.
Tavit Najarian, a trustee of Monmouth University, left, the university’s
president, Paul Gaffney, and Armenia’s ambassador to the United Nations,
Armen Martirosyan, during a lecture at the school on November 8, 2006, which
was part of the exhibit organized by the school and the Diocese to celebrate
the Armenian alphabet.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): From left, Gilda Buchakjian-Kupelian, Diocesan
coordinator of Armenian studies, and Dr. Saliba Salasar, associate vice
president of Monmouth University, whose introduction spurred the recent
exhibit on the Armenian alphabet at the school are joined by Susan
Doctorian, counselor to the university’s president.

EX-PREMIER, EX-FOREIGN MINISTER DO NOT RULE OUT ELECTORAL BLOC
By Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Nov 23 2006

Two prominent oppositionists who served as Armenia’s premier and
foreign minister in the early 1990s do not rule out that they may
team up ahead of the next parliamentary elections.

In an RFE/RL interview on Thursday leader of the opposition
National-Democratic Union (AZhM) Vazgen Manukian denied that his
cooperation with Zharangutyun (Heritage) party leader Raffi Hovannisian
is a ‘pro-western bloc established at dictates from abroad’.

Manukian, however, did not rule out that the initiative of the civil
forum will ultimately mount to an electoral alliance with Armenia’s
ex-foreign minister.

"Only a power change does not solve the problem. It is a necessary
but not sufficient condition for the public to become masters of
this country," Manukian, who served as the country’s prime minister
in 1990-1991, told RFE/RL on Thursday.

The civil forum will meet on Saturday, with its initiators saying that
"the doors will be open for anyone to attend."

However, neither Manukian, nor Hovannisian gave concrete names of
people or forces that will attend the forum.

"I think that almost all of our compatriots want our country to be
free, fair, and citizens want to feel not alienated from political
processes, they want to rediscover their belonging to the Republic
of Armenia," Hovannisian told RFE/RL.

Manukian said that he and Hovannisian share common views on some
fundamental issues, such as democracy, freedom, national issues,
including the Karabakh problem.

"We want to establish a structure that would have its own life
irrespective of whether Vazgen Manukian and Raffi Hovannisian are in
this structure or not," he said.

Manukian denied that this would be a pro-western alliance.

"Knowing me for so long, can you describe be as pro-western
politician?" the AZhM leader said, adding that he can speak both
against the West and Russia whenever the interests of Armenia require
that. "I don’t need to prove it once more that I am what I am,"
Manukian stressed.

"If we participate in elections and seek to establish a bloc I
think naturally that we will see it based on cooperation with Raffi
Hovannisian plus other political figures. But now this question is
not under discussion," Manukian said.

LECTURE, OPEN HOUSE AT NAASR

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Nov 22 2006

Dr. David Gaunt, professor of history at S?t?University College,
Stockholm, Sweden, will give a lecture entitled "Massacres and
Resistance: The Genocide of the Armenians and Assyrians Based on
New Evidence from the Archives" on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. at
the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)
Center , 395 Concord Ave., Belmont.

This lecture, Gaunt’s first in the Boston area, will be co-sponsored
by NAASR and the United Assyrian Association of New England. The
lecture will begin promptly at 8 p.m.

Preceding and following Gaunt’s lecture, NAASR will hold its annual
holiday open house, featuring a special sale in NAASR’s bookstore,
refreshments, music, gift-wrapping, and slide presentation of
highlights from NAASR’s recent 50th Anniversary Celebration. The
bookstore will open at 6 p.m. and remain open until 11 p.m.

The lecture will be based on findings from Gaunt’s recently-published
book, "Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations
in Eastern Anatolia during World War I," which will be on sale and
available for signing by the author.

Gaunt will detail how the persecution of Armenian and Assyrian
Christian minorities was organized on the national and local levels
in places where Armenian and Assyrian populations overlap. His work
is based on unique access to hundreds of documents in the archives
of Istanbul and Ankara, as well as documents of Iranian, Russian,
Arabic, Armenian, Assyrian, French and German origin. Most of these
documents have never been published before. The new documents fill
in some of the blank spaces in the history of genocide.

Admission to the event is free (donations appreciated). For more
information call 617-489-1610, or e-mail [email protected].

ARMENIAN WRESTLERS IN FRANCE

A1+
[01:20 pm] 22 November, 2006

Tomorrow a wrestling competition will start in Nice, France, dedicated
to the memory of World and Olympic champion Henry Dulagan. Armenian
sportsmen will also participate in it. Graeco-Roman wrestlers Vahan
Juharyan, Khosrov Meliqyan (60 kg), Arman Atikyan (66 kg), Arsen
Julfalakyan (74 kg), Tigran Sahakyan (84 kg) and Vahram Galstyan
(96 kg) have left for France.

As for free-stylers, Armenia will be represented by Arthur Araqelyan
(60 kg), Souren Markosyan (66 kg), Garsevan Vardanyan (74 kg),
Haroutyunyan Yenoqyan (84 kg) and Edgar Yenoqyan (96 kg).

VARTABEDIAN: A LIFETIME OF CHICO MEMORIES
By Mary Nugent – Staff Writer

Enterprise-Record, CA
Nov 18 2006

A resident at a Chico retirement facility, Vart Vartabedian took
little time Nov. 14 to talk…"1"

Vartkes "Vart" Vartabedian clearly remembers something that happened
when he was 9 years old and selling newspapers on Third Street,
between Main and Broadway in Chico.

"This guy bought a paper and he gave me a $5 gold piece. I didn’t
have change, so I ran around the corner to my father’s business for
change. And that was that.

"Then years later when my father passed away, we found that $5 gold
piece in a safe deposit box. I had forgotten all about it. He saved
it for me; I had it made into a pendant for my wife."

At 96, Vart Vartabedian has a lot of memories. Sometimes they’re
poignant, or funny — but his memories are lucid and detailed.

Vartabedian was born in 1910 in Chicago, Ill., to Armenian parents
who arrived in the U.S. through Ellis Island. Big city Chicago was
a rough transition after the small villages in Armenia.

"Lock, stock and barrel, with two kids and everything they owned,
they took a train west," Vartabedian recalled. They had seen Butte
County on a map, and settled in Chico.

"My father had a little shop in Chicago — he was a hatter,"
Vartabedian said, describing the profession of cleaning and remodeling
men’s hats in a big city where hats got grimy.

Hats didn’t get so dirty in rural Chico,and over time, his father
revamped his business to include cleaning gloves and umbrellas.

"People walked everywhere, and you had to have an umbrella,"
Vartabedian said.

"My parents raised four children on 2.5 acres on East Eighth Street.

We had a nice garden, cows and chickens."

He remembers his mother and Annie Bidwell had the same doctor. "The
doctor knew my mother made yogurt and he told Mrs. Bidwell about it.

She came in a horse and buggy with her Indian driver. I saw her get
out of the rig, and my mother gave her a container of yogurt."

He also recalls when Annie Bidwell died in 1918. "My school
participated in the funeral. I remember walking with a bunch of
flowers. I was pretty young."

And there was yet another incident he remembers. "I was 6 or 7 and on
my way home. I’d go through the (Bidwell) park, at the Fourth Street
entrance. The park was very overgrown then, very wild. I broke off
a piece of a grape vine, struck a match and was going to smoke it
— and I felt a hand on my shoulder — it was the hand of a big,
heavy-set woman who lived on the corner. She asked me if I wanted
her to tell my mother … I put that grape vine out quickly."

He graduated from Chico High School in 1928 and after working for a
time with his father, Vartabedian went into the wholesale cleaning
business with the late Henry Usherwood. They worked together in
partnership for 25 years, then Vartabedian bought him out.

"The cleaners was at 231 Main Street, what is now the Garden Walk. I
ran it for 50 years and retired in 1980."

Vartabedian and his wife, Jean, have been married for 62 years. They
met during a dance at the hotel at Richardson Springs. He was in the
Air Force and she married another man, also in the Air Force.

"He was a flyer and he was killed during World War II," he recalled,
and said Jean had a little girl. Vartabedian married her, raised her
daughter, and together they had three more children.

"There are so many good memories," he said. "I remember something
humorous, one Thanksgiving. We had a big table with a lot of family
sitting around it. I was at the end of the table and my wife set the
turkey on it. The table tipped, and the turkey landed on my lap. The
whole thing. It was pretty funny."

He remembers the streetcar than ran through downtown Chico, and the
dances at Portuguese Hall, Memorial Hall, and down by the Sacramento
River.

Vartabedian lives at a retirement community, and his wife has gone
to a nursing home. "We used to like to travel in our RV. We really
enjoyed ourselves," he said.

They have eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and a
few associated as step-grandchildren, he said.

Vartabedian says there is nothing complicated about why he is living
such a long, healthy life. "Good genes. That’s it."

722

PRESS RELEASE
~U"Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund
~UGovernmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
~UContact: Anush Babayan
~UTel: 3741 52 09 40
~UFax: 3741 52 37 95
~UE-mail: [email protected]
~UWeb:

16.11.06

The Phonathon-2006 of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
started

Today started the annual phonathon of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund,
already the fourth in succession.

Till November 17, the specialists of the Fund will call nearly
1300 small, medium and large enterprises of Armenia urging them to
contribute to the large project of "Renaissance of Artsakh" launched
by Himnadram. The funds raised during this marathon will be directed
to implementation of the second stage of the project including the
development of Hadrut Region of the NKR. We would like to remind that
the means gathered in Telethon -2005 have been used for reconstruction
and development of the Martakert Region.

On the threshold of the Telethon, the Fund already receives
donations from many individuals, as well as health care, educational
institutions, banks, and other organizations. Donations are coming
from all the marzes of the republic.

The fundraising process is quite active in schools, though this year
we hadn’t applied to them for participation. By their own initiative
the schools raise funds for the project "Renaissance of Artsakh".

We express our deep gratitude to the schools of villages Fioletovo,
Lorut, Neghots, and others who have sent their donations before the
marathon thus showing their support to the pupils and teachers of
the schools to be repaired and constructed in the Hadrut Region.

Tomorrow, the Phonathon will begin in France from where the operators
will phone to several European countries.

The very event of the Telethon will be live broadcast all over the
world on November 23 from Los-Angeles.

AIMING TO HEAL WOUNDS OF WAR
By Courtney Perkes

Orange County Register, CA
Nov 14 2006

Surgeon from Iraq is exposed to new techniques in O.C. on a trip
sponsored by relief agency.

ORANGE – With a metal instrument, Dr. Avadis Muradian holds open the
gaping pink flesh of a knee, where a sophisticated artificial joint
will allow a long-distance cyclist to ride his bike again.

The operating room at St. Joseph Hospital is a world away from
Muradian’s hospital in Basra, Iraq, where he treats children maimed
after grenades explode in their hands.

And unlike what he saw during the knee-replacement surgery last week,
Muradian can’t send his patients home with greater mobility because
prosthetic fingers and hands aren’t available.

The 50-year-old surgeon is visiting Orange County and Los Angeles for
three weeks to see the latest in orthopedic medicine, which brings
him hope for what Iraq may someday offer.

Watching other doctors here, he says, will help him at home, where
he treats overwhelming needs with limited supplies.

On this afternoon, the jet-lagged, affable doctor is amazed by
his first 48 hours outside the Middle East. In medical school,
he studied out of American textbooks. But he said nothing rivals
standing shoulder-to-shoulder with American surgeon Dr. Robert Gorab.

"I’m ashamed to ask what is this equipment," Muradian says after
watching four surgeries. "It’s very advanced. He did an operation
today with the aid of a computer."

>>From the operating room, he steps into the doctors lounge, where
his American counterparts are chatting or working on computers. In
the background, Fox News plays footage of the day’s carnage in Iraq.

Muradian prepares a cup of hot tea and sits down to relax. He plans
to visit relatives he’s never met who live in Los Angeles. He wants
to see Hollywood: "If I can see Tom Cruise, Al Pacino and DeNiro,
I’ll be very grateful."

But mostly he’s thinking about ways to bring more healing to his broken
country. He also would like to show Americans an Iraqi face outside
the news of war. As he has met patients, he notes their surprise when
they hear where he’s from.

"We are not bad people," Muradian said. "We really are not people
that like killing. I want to see a peaceful Iraq – no violence, more
development, more reconstruction, more hospitals. I want every people,
every country to respect Iraqis."

Muradian works at Basra General Hospital, built by the British in
the 1920s. Iraqi police guard the entrance. There are separate wards
for men and women. Without an insurance system, the government pays
doctors’ salaries.

In the early days of the war, Muradian performed all kinds of emergency
surgeries, many outside his specialty. He’s always on call, though
he’s never summoned during the middle of the night. Nobody, he says,
goes out at night.

He remembers after the war started, numerous groups offered aid to
his hospital. In the end, none of the offers panned out except for
a fresh coat of paint for the building.

"We saw nothing," Muradian said. "We don’t want paint. We want
equipment. We need instruments for fractures, prosthesis."

He must be creative to make use of his primitive equipment. He has
made some simple tools himself – a contrast to Dr. Gorab, who consults
with medical-device companies to help design new products.

"If you have no glass to drink water, you use your hand." Muradian
said.

Muradian, whose grandparents moved to Iraq from Armenia, said he
sees another side of Iraq, beyond the casualties and violence. As
a Christian, he said, he lives in harmony with Shiite and Sunni
Muslims. As a doctor or tabib, as he’s called in Arabic, he’s treated
with respect.

His trip is paid for by the nonprofit Buena Park-based Global
Operations and Development and a group of surgeons from the Orthopaedic
Education and Research Institute of Southern California.

As part of an ongoing exchange, more Iraqi doctors will visit in
February.

Juliana Ditty, executive vice president of Global Operations, arranged
for Muradian to stay with local families. Her group has sent 18
40-foot containers of medical supplies to Iraqi hospitals.

Gorab said plans are in the works to send over supplies that Muradian
can use.

"There’s all kinds of equipment in hospitals across the country that
never gets used. It’s sitting in basements," said Dr. Vance Gardner
of the education and research institute. "They’re thirsty for it."