Author: Tashjian Arbi

SUMMER MISSIONS PROGRAMS MAKE WAVES WORLDWIDE
By Katelyn Foster

Baylor University The Lariat Online, Texas
Oct 24 2006

Mission trips to Kenya, Armenia and Honduras next summer will continue
the progress made by Baylor students in recent years.

Each trip includes teams of students divided into the students’
academic concentrations. Discipline-specific teams are able to use
their classroom knowledge and expertise to focus in on particular
problems affecting the country.

"The purpose of going is to take Baylor students within their
disciplines," Christy Correll-Hughes, graduate assistant for University
Ministries missions, said. "It gives them a chance to use the skills
they’ve learned to discover a sense of calling."

Kenya

"Kenya is a very good gateway to Africa," Ryan Richardson, associate
director for worship and media, said.

Richardson has been the leader of the general ministries team for the
past two years. He said Kenya is a "good first experience in Africa"
because it is westernized enough to be safe, but students can still
experience the culture shock in the slums.

Most teams stay in the Nairobi area and work in the Kibera slum. He
said Kibera impacts students and "looks like what you see on TV."

According to the African Medical and Research Foundation, Kibera
is the second-largest slum in the world and is home to nearly 1
million people.

In the last two years, the engineering team built bridges across
bodies of water. Kenyans travel 20 miles around water to get to a
market, but bridges cut the trip down to one mile.

The general ministry team worked in a slum with a school with about
200 students ages 4 to 18. The school had two functional rooms and
was in very poor condition.

"I mean mud walls and a metal top," Richardson said. "It had no
seating, no curriculum and only four teachers."

The team taught high school students to set goals while other Baylor
students worked with children by singing songs, jumping rope and
playing games.

A team from George W. Truett Theological Seminary worked with Living
Water, an organization that builds wells in Third World countries.

The team also partnered with the Olympic Vocational Center in Kibera.

The team played soccer with Kenyans at a school but also helped train
them in beauty school. Richardson said the goal was to help them
"envision a successful life."

The progress made two years ago allowed for 10 students to stay on
an extended trip this past summer. Different disciplines comprised
the extended team and stayed an extra two weeks.

The group did in-home visits with victims of HIV and AIDS and worked
with Beacon of Hope, an organization that shares Christ with women
living with or affected by AIDS/HIV in poor communities.

In the future, Richardson said, he hopes to branch out of Kenya.

"Ten years from now I hope we’re going to six or seven African
countries," he said.

He sees the possibility of 2,000 students going on mission trips
every year.

"Kenya needs you, but you really need Kenya," he said.

Armenia

This summer will mark the second mission trip Baylor has taken
to Armenia.

Kelli McMahan, outdoor adventure coordinator and a leader of an outdoor
advancement team in Armenia, said the purpose of the Project Armenia
mission trip is "to develop small and large business ideas related
to tourism." This helps create jobs for the locals, she said.

"The people there don’t really have a mind set for developing business
ideas and how to be competitive," McMahan said.

Armenia is a country of natural beauty with historic monasteries
and has potential to attract tourism potential from Iran, the United
States and Western Europe, she said.

"The potential to really impact the economy in this country is huge,"
Correll-Hughes said.

Project Armenia partners with Gospel Armenia Mission based out of
California, Armenia Forest NGO, and Gospel Armenia Outreach.

This year, the environmental studies team will be working with the
water quality and creating a map of trails to walk from one monastery
to another. The team will also create a hut system along these trails,
McMahan said.

The outdoor adventure team will make routes within the mountains for
easier passages.

The team plans to work with Armenian college students and teach
them to be white-water river guides. They will also work to build
Styrofoam houses.

"I think Armenia is developed enough that they’re ready for the ideas
we have," McMahan said.

She said Armenia is filled with "bright young people that love their
country and want to make it better."

Honduras

Deaf people in Honduras are shunned and not allowed to go to school,
said Lori Wrzesinski, a senior lecturer and director of the American
Sign Language Program.

Baylor will take its third trip to Honduras this summer to help the
deaf community.

Baylor students work with deaf children while teachers from
Tegucigalpa, Olancho, La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula are trained at
Manos Felices, a school located in Tegucigalpa. The teams work with
New Life Deaf Ministries, a ministry in Honduras dedicated to helping
the deaf and spreading the gospel.

This year will be the third and final stage of the teacher-training
program at the school for students in pre-school to second grade. A
new grade has been added every year.

Wrzesinski said the best part is hearing what the parents of the deaf
children have to say.

She told the story of a dad who thought it was the end for his son
because he was born deaf.

He now works as a bus driver for the school to pay for his son’s
tuition.

He’s learning sign language and doesn’t miss a class, she said.

The work in Honduras is far from over.

"The vision is to have land, build a school, have a small store and
a restaurant, and to have work available," Wrzesinski said.

She said the mission group will be taking books in hope of building
a library this year.

THE SOCIETY SHOULD ACTIVELY MONITOR THE ELECTIONS PROCESS

Yerkir, Armenia
Oct 20 2006

Q: What should be done to ensure fair elections in Armenia? What can
ARF do in this direction?

A: Necessary environment on the legislative, executive, political and
public levels should be ensured to have fair elections. These levels
are all interconnected. In order to have fair elections we first
of all need clearcut legal mechanisms. The law should minimize the
possibility for election fraud and set strict punishment for any such
incidents. It was due to ARF’s efforts that an amendment was made to
the Electoral Code to increase the number of proportional seats. ARF
proposed to have 100% proportional elections; however, a consensus
was reached to have a proportional/majoritarian ratio of 70/30.

This is a positive change taking into consideration that election
fraud usually occurs in majoritarian precincts. National Assembly
deputies elected under the majoritarian vote form the quantity rather
than quality in the National Assembly. Once the number of deputies
elected on party lists is increased the elections and their results
will become political.

Political parties should be the ones to implement the political
processes and not individuals who strive for the deputy’s mandate
for some personal interests.

Legislative regulation is necessary but not adequate for ensuring
fair elections. Good laws can be applied in very bad ways by different
authorities, the society or the same political forces.

The majority of political parties participating in the elections
initially support free, fair and transparent elections and pledge
to take joint efforts against election fraud. However, the political
forces are not honest and make these public statements for populist
reasons.

ARF supports such reform of the Electoral Code that would on the one
hand eliminate the possibility for election fraud while on the other
hand contributing to the oversight of enforcement of the law.

The punishments stipulated in the Electoral code for election fraud
should be made stricter first of all for any instances of attempts to
influence the election processes on the part of public officials. The
authorities are formed by the people’s vote, and people should be
interested in ensuring that their vote is note rigged.

The society should actively monitor the elections processes and
cooperate with forces that are also interested in having fair
elections. It is ARF’s and other parties’ mission to instill in the
society the political culture of elections.

OVER TWENTY DEPUTIES DISCUSS THE AMENDMENTS TO THE ELECTORAL CODE

A1+
[05:55 pm] 24 October, 2006

"The discussion of the amendments to the Electoral Code (EC) in the
National Assembly is but a mere imitation," announced Viktor Dallakyan.

In his opinion, the discussion is aimed at deciding whether to
fabricate the elections with parcels or without them. "This is all
done under Serge Sargsyan’s order, so that after the 2007 parliamentary
elections Mr. Sargsyan can become the prime minister of the country,"
says the deputy.

Mr. Dallakyan maintains that the vital issues were left out of the
draft law to the EC. For instance, there is a ban on setting up
NA committees.

Reminder; the Opposition has appealed to the Constitutional Court to
find out whether the involvement of judges in the committees goes
in line with the provisions of the RA Constitution. That’s why the
question is under consideration in the NA.

Deputy Hranoush Hakobyan suggested not waiting for the CC’s decision
and offered to replace the word judge with "judicial clerk." Hranoush
Hakobyan doesn’t think that elections are fabricated in all the
constituencies. She herself was elected by just and fair election. She
urged the deputies to encourage people to participate in the 2007
election instead of making pessimistic announcements.

PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: 374.10.523531
Email: [email protected]
web:

Minister Oskanian Addresses International Conference by UN University for
Peace in Toronto

Speech by
H.E. Vartan Oskanian
Minister of Foreign Affairs
At the University for Peace Conference on
Capacity Building for Peace and Development: Roles of Diaspora
October 19, 2006
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

In this conference of experts, I feel right at home. I am, by default, an
expert on Diaspora. I was born in Syria, the heart of the Armenian
Diaspora, came to the homeland for the first time as a Diasporan student
— and today, I am foreign minister of that homeland which has more of
its nationals living in Diaspora, than at home.

I appreciate the fact that this panel is to tackle the challenges and
opportunities of Transnational Identities. We are in fact transnational
as a consequence of today’s homeland-diaspora relationships. It is not
just those living in diaspora who have this multiple identity, but it is
also those in the homeland whose identity alters, ever so slightly even,
because of the diaspora and its perceptions, expressions of who we are. I
believe the opportunities that this new, multilayered, identity produces
are greater than the challenges.

Diaspora is an old concept that has just come home, that has found itself.
In these days of easy, quick and inexpensive air travel, easy, quick and
inexpensive telephone calls, easy, quick and inexpensive internet access,
being in Diaspora no longer means permanent disconnection, distance,
inaccessibilility and alienation from the memories and experiences of
childhood, from a homeland and a home. Today Diaspora means an extension
of the homeland – not a permanent dislocation, not a destructive
dispersion, but life at a distance, that can even be beneficial.

On the one hand, the Armenian Diaspora experience is the archetypal
example of diasporas. The very first studies of diaspora were quick to
mention Armenians, Jews, and soon after the Africans, as the
quintessential examples.

On the other hand, ours is not the traditional duality. Our history, our
reality, and therefore, the diaspora-homeland relationship is more complex
than that.

Let me explain. The Armenian Diaspora, historically, began as those who
permanently left the traditional Armenian homeland. That’s how the
Armenian community of Lvov, Ukraine, and in Transylvania, were established
in the 12th century. That’s why there are thousands of Armenian graves
throughout south and east Asia from Macao to Bangladesh. That is how it
came to pass that that an Armenian translated the Bible into Chinese. That
is why Martin the Armenian was living in the Plymouth Colony of
Massachusetts in the 1600s. There were also those who left unwillingly,
due to political circumstances. The Shah of Iran, in the 16th century,
moved tens of thousands of Armenian craftsmen, forcibly, to northern Iran.
They lived there for hundreds of years, and left behind incredible
historical, cultural, religious monuments.

Until the early 20th century, the Diaspora was the appendage, while most
Armenians lived on the historic homeland, under some combination of
Russian, Ottoman or Persian domination. It was the Genocide of 1915 that
resulted in a mass exodus from the traditional homelands. The size of the
Armenian Diaspora today is due largely to that wave of settlement. They
were pushed out of their homes, and if they didn’t die along the
deportation route, then they made it to the countries of the Syrian
desert. From there, they emigrated to Canada, to the US, and elsewhere.
Today, the independent Republic of Armenia is based on the sliver of land
that was under Russian, not Ottoman domination, and that managed to
declare independence in 1918, consolidate as a political unit that then
was absorbed into the Soviet Union as one of the 15 republics, and then
emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union as an independent republic.
The size of the Diaspora has grown during the last 20 years as a result of
migration from the Soviet Armenian Republic, and until very recently, the
independent Armenian Republic. Today’s transnationals are this segment of
diasporans – born into the USSR, resident in a third country, while
feeling emotionally tied to the new, independent republic.

Thus, Armenians of the Diaspora have three sources of identity: 1. The
host countries in which they live today; 2. the homeland I represent
regardless of whether that was their place of origin or not, and 3. the
country of origin – the place that offered refuge between the homeland and
the host countries of today.

That is just one characteristic that makes our situation a bit unusual.
The second is that our numbers are the opposite of the traditional balance
– we have 5 million and more Armenians living outside Armenia, and 3
million in the homeland. Thus, the Diaspora is both larger, and older,
than the homeland. The Diaspora is also not monolithic – There are 2
million Armenians in Russia, more than one million in North America. The
experiences, capacities and expectations of these groups are very
different. Yet, they are the same.

The impact of all this on the Armenia-Diaspora relationship is
multilayered. Let me try to describe some of those layers, including
economic ones, and then finally talk about the reality and the potential
for homeland-diaspora relations in the context of political stability and
peace.

First, we have multiple identities, not just dual identities. Our
homeland, the host country, and our country of origin all have a place in
our hearts. The networks, the experiences, the know-how, that come with
intimate knowledge and deep contacts in three places is invaluable. From
the perspective of the homeland, this means that we benefit from even
greater contacts, ties and links. On the other hand, our foreign
relations, our bilateral relations are sometimes complicated by the
diverse and wide-ranging circumstances in those communities. This
complication arises partly from the reality that we may be an old nation,
but a very new nation-state. Our assumptions and actions are based on our
experiences as a nation. The nation-state is, for us, a new phenomenon,
with new, unknown, rules.

Second, a Diaspora as old as ours is highly structured. For centuries, our
communities have been forced to regulate their social and cultural life,
and as a result, churches, organizations, political parties even have a
long tradition of community self-governance, especially considering that
this was a Diaspora whose homeland was not a sovereign state for most of
its history. Therefore, having such structures and institutions with which
the homeland can interact allows for more productive and predictable
relations. At the same time, because the Diaspora is highly structured,
new mechanisms for new kinds of interaction are difficult to create.

Third, you are a member of the Diaspora only when you say you are. In
order to say you are, you must identify with the homeland which defines
it. One wants to identify with that which is strong, beautiful, proud. Our
Diaspora is no longer suffering or starving. Neither should Armenia be. A
developing country, an emerging democracy – these are concepts difficult
to understand. Armenia is no. 82 on the UN’s Human Development Index –
high by regional standards, but not high compared to most of the host
countries. Canada is ranked fifth, for example. Diasporas want homelands
in their image. The challenge is to channel that yearning in a way that
brings the aspiration closer to reality, rather than leading to
unfulfilled dreams and frustrations. It’s the thin line between taking
what you have for granted and having grandiose expectations. Diasporas
cannot, should not, take for granted that which is happening in the home
country. Those difficult processes of political and economic institutional
development are not always transparent processes. And impatiently
comparing them to the stable institutions in their host countries can/will
doubtless produce dissatisfaction.

Finally, the size of the Diaspora leads to high expectations all around —
on the part of the Diaspora itself, the homeland and the international
community. With such a large number of Armenians living abroad, and with
most of them comfortable, professional and settled, it is easy to hope for
investments in large numbers, generally massive and significant Diaspora
involvement and engagement, and resettlement perhaps.

The Diaspora’s charitable and philanthropic giving predates Armenia’s
independence. Refugees, survivors, living in the Middle East received help
and assistance from the Western Diaspora throughout the 20th century. The
Soviet Republic was the recipient of aid and know-how, especially in the
cultural sphere. Then later, after the earthquake of 1988, professionals,
young people, everyone pitched in to help. So, with independence, it was
expected that this kind of engagement would continue in even more
significant ways.

And it is true that there are large amounts of humanitarian assistance –
from individuals and organizations – pouring in. I know that scholars like
Khachig Tololyan and others are constantly trying to put numbers on this
kind of assistance. I don’t have them. But that kind of generosity and
largesse is visible throughout the country. Renovated schools, improved
infrastructure, educational and training programs, health care assistance
– all made possible by donations from the Diaspora. The Diaspora’s
humanitarian engagement is more visible, has quick impact and is easier to
accomplish. The donor feels good, quickly, and is not overwhelmed or bound
by long term obligations.

Individual remittances, too, continue to be significant for Armenia’s
economy. Funds sent regularly to families by individual Diasporans are
often the difference between survival and destitution for many in the
homeland. The numbers are very high – nearly half a billion dollars a year
– but they are from individuals to individuals. They are indispensable for
immediate relief. But not long-term sustainability.

It’s economic investment that fuels long-term sustainability. Diaspora
engagement in IT, tourism, diamond and jewelry production all have
Diasporans at the other end of the network. The significance of this kind
of networking is obvious.

The challenge for homelands is how to increase such high-impact
participation. Helping the homeland in the humanitarian sphere is
comparatively easy. The challenge is to find ways to use diaspora networks
and know-how to bring in lasting cooperation, making it as satisfying as
the easy, quick donation.

Now let me talk about homeland-diaspora relations in the context of
political stability and peace. The Armenia example may be a bit extreme
in that our foreign relations challenges are many. We live in a difficult
neighborhood, and we are faced with problems that Armenia alone cannot
solve. Our neighbors must want solutions as well. Therefore, Armenia’s and
Diaspora’s maneuvering space is unusually limited. On the other hand,
exactly because we live in a difficult neighborhood, where Russia, the US,
Europe and other countries have very clear interests and agendas, the
Diaspora factor has been critical.

If I can somewhat oversimplify and quickly summarize our foreign relations
challenges in three key policy areas, the mostly complementary, sometimes
differing views and needs of homeland and diaspora become clear.

1. On the Resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Armenians in
Diaspora and Armenia see the opportunity to right a historic wrong.
2. On Genocide recognition, Armenians in Diaspora and in Armenia see the
opportunity to right a historic wrong.
3. On relations with Turkey, again, in Diaspora and in Armenia, Armenians
see the opportunity to right a historic wrong.

We agree with them. But as authorities responsible for people’s security
and prosperity, we also know that all three of these painful, complex
challenges have to be resolved with the future in mind, not the past.

On the Nagorno Karabakh situation, we want a lasting resolution. That must
be based on a respect of the Nagorno Karabakh population’s right to
self-determination, to choose their own future. It must be based on
compromise by all parties. It must be based with an eye to Europe where
borders take on less importance as formerly acrimonious neighbors have
found ways to live side-by-side in peace.

On genocide recognition, for Armenians in Armenia and Armenians in the
Diaspora, there is no difference, although Turkey sometimes likes to
project that there is. All Armenians are convinced that Armenians and
Turks need genocide recognition by Turkey, in order to find closure for
this still painful, still open wound. Armenians are able to distinguish
between the perpetrators and today’s government of Turkey. Armenia, and
the Diaspora are willing and ready to enter into dialog with Turkey and
Turkish society at all levels, without pre-conditions. We need and want,
above all else, normal relations with our neighbor. For this to happen,
Turkey will have to come to terms with its past.

The Diaspora has an important role to play in this process. They are
largely the victims and the descendants of the victims. Yet Armenians are
the ones extending their hands for dialog.

Unfortunately, Turkey has made give-and-take between our peoples and our
states, impossible. In addition to the restrictions on speech, our borders
remain closed. They are the only closed borders in Europe. Nor are there
diplomatic relations between our countries. In other words, there are no
opportunities for new experiences, new memories, new interactions to build
up alongside the old. Instead, there is a lingering security concern about
a neighbor that has not repudiated state violence.

These are the complex foreign relations issues that the Diaspora has the
opportunity to explain. Diaspora involvement, albeit at a distance, in the
resolution of these conflicts and in the search for lasting understanding
is necessary and useful. It is a way for all of us to make the past work
for the future.

Thank you.

GEORGIA: Will mob halt Assyrian Catholic centre?

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <;

Forum 18, Norway
Oct 19 2006

Assyrian Catholics in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi fear more mob
attacks, after a religious and cultural centre was attacked by a mob,
Forum 18 News Service has learnt. "The Orthodox Church and
fundamentalists don’t want a Catholic presence," Fr Benny Yadgar told
Forum 18. "If we start to use the centre for worship these fanatics
could attack our people with knives and wooden posts. Our people have
a right to be protected." Fr Yadgar insists that the problems do not
come from the authorities, but a current signature campaign could
lead to pressure on the authorities. Police have refused to comment
to Forum 18 on the attacks. The Georgian Orthodox Church and the
Parliamentary Human Rights Committee – unlike human rights activists,
religious minorities and the Human Rights Ombudsperson – have refused
to defend the Assyrian Catholics. "I called on Patriarch Ilya to
defend our church, but he says it is not his business," Fr Yadgar
stated.

One month after a hostile mob invaded and damaged a new religious and
cultural centre Tbilisi’s Assyrian Catholics are building in the
Georgian capital, the community lives in fear of attack. "The
Orthodox Church and fundamentalists don’t want a Catholic presence in
Georgia," the community’s priest Fr Benny Yadgar told Forum 18 News
Service from Tbilisi [T’bilisi] on 18 October. "I fear that if we
start to use the centre for worship these fanatics could attack our
people with knives and wooden posts. Our people have a right to be
protected."

Giorgi Khutsishvili, head of the Tbilisi-based International Center
of Conflict Negotiations, said the "disturbing" attack was instigated
by fundamentalist Orthodox determined to prevent a Catholic church
being built. "This is a clear issue: the Assyrian community has the
right to build its centre," he told Forum 18 on 18 October. "So what
if it is going to be used for worship?" His centre has hosted a
meeting of the multi-faith Religions Council to discuss the issue.

Fr Yadgar insists that the problems do not come from the authorities.

"The government says: ‘Go ahead, don’t worry!’" he told Forum 18. He
added that the police had offered to send officers to protect the
building, as long as the Assyrians paid for it, an offer the
community had turned down. "We don’t want the police to have to stand
at the doors of our place of worship." But he fears that a signature
campaign now underway in the local district could lead to further
pressure on the authorities. "They go around saying they need 200,000
signatures to block us."

Fr Yadgar said the office of the Human Rights Ombudsperson has been
sympathetic and has scheduled a 27 October meeting to discuss their
concerns to which he and the Catholic bishop, Giuseppe Pasotto, have
been invited.

Forum 18 was unable to reach Georgi Siradze, police chief for
Vake-Saburtalo district where the Assyrian Catholic centre is based,
to find out how the rights of the community will be protected.

Reached on 19 October, the duty officer said the police were not
allowed to give information to journalists and refused to give
Siradze’s number.

Fr Yadgar said the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate has failed to speak
out against the threats. "I called on Patriarch Ilya to defend our
church, but he says it is not his business."

Despite the fact that the attack was widely reported in the media and
was the subject of a debate on Rustavi-2 television, Zurab
Tskhovrebadze, spokesperson for the Orthodox Patriarchate, told Forum
18 on 19 October he had never heard anything about any problems over
the Assyrian Catholic centre. "If it was true, of course it would be
unacceptable for us Orthodox to use force, whether for political or
religious ends."

The Orthodox Patriarchate retains a powerful hold over society and
the government and has successfully prevented almost all minority
faiths from openly building new places of worship in recent years
(see forthcoming F18News article). Some Georgian Orthodox priests
have a record of inciting mob violence against religious minorities
(see eg. F18News 25 May 2005
=569). Intolerance of
religious minorities is widespread within Georgian society, despite
some legal improvements (see F18News 24 May 2005
=568).

Georgia’s politicians have shown little interest in the Assyrian
Catholics’ concerns. "This was not an attack – it was merely
misinterpretation of the feelings of people," Lali Papiashvili,
deputy head of the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, told Forum
18 from Tbilisi on 19 October. "People were falsely informed by some
kinds of activists that the building may cause religious problems for
the local population." She denied that anyone would object to the
building of a non-Orthodox place of worship. "I don’t have any
information that the Assyrian population is afraid."

Papiashvili’s colleague, Elene Tevdoradze, who chairs the
Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, was equally unconcerned. "I
haven’t been to the Assyrian centre, but I’ve received no
complaints," she told Forum 18 from Tbilisi on 18 October.

Human rights activists and other religious minorities, however, have
defended the embattled Assyrian Catholic community. "The city
authorities were wrong to take into account Orthodox objections to
the Assyrian centre," Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili, head of Georgia’s
Baptist Church, told Forum 18 on 4 October. Support for the Assyrians
has also come from the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Lutherans,
Fr Yadgar told Forum 18.

Fr Yadgar said the new centre was invaded by a mob of about 60 people
on 18 September, three or four days after anonymous, undated leaflets
started to circulate in the district, stirring people up against the
Catholics and urging them to come to the centre. "The letter alleged
that Catholics are aggressive proselytisers who killed our monks in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It also alleged they marry
cats and dogs and give the Eucharist to animals."

Fr Yadgar was away at the time of the mob invasion, but Giuni Gulua
was one of two community members who tried to explain to television
journalists and to the mob why the community was building the centre.

"Part of the mob obviously had no clue as to why they were there, but
the other part was very aggressively hostile, saying we had no right
to build a Catholic church," she told Forum 18 on 19 October. "We
explained that we had all the legal documents we needed to build the
church, but many of them weren’t prepared to listen to us. We then
left to avoid any possibility of violent confrontation." She said
some of the mob then went down to the cellar and damaged the interior
walls.

Fr Yadgar said the cultural centre deliberately combines classrooms
and meeting rooms with a sanctuary for worship. "Without
Christianity, we Assyrians have no culture, so it is natural the two
go together," he told Forum 18. "But in any case, we are not
recognised in law as a religious organisation and do not have the
right to build a church." After initial difficulties (see F18News 14
November 2003 ) , he
eventually managed to get all the approvals they needed from the city
authorities. Construction work began in 2004, he added, but finding
the necessary money has delayed building. "Because of the situation
in Iraq we have had no support from there."

Although all the external work is now complete, Fr Yadgar said
completing the interior could take another year, especially in the
wake of the damage and any potential attack. (END)

For the comments of Georgian religious leaders and human rights
activists on how the legacy of religious violence should be overcome,
see

For more background see Forum 18’s Georgia religious freedom survey
at

A printer-friendly map of Georgia is available at
las/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=georgi

RA FOREIGN MINISTER BELIEVES THAT HIS OCCUPYING THAT POST FOR TEN
YEARS IS ENOUGH

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Armenia Vartan Oskanian believes that his occupying that post for
ten years is enough.

"I can say with confidence that the Foreign Minister must be changed
in ten years, and a new person must be," the Minister said in the
interview to the "Haykakan Zhamanak" (Armenian Time) daily. The
10th year of V.Oskanian’s officiating will be on the day of the 2007
parliamentary elections. Mentioning that it would not be right to be
a minister for longer than 10 years, V.Oskanian assured that he has
no striving for remaining on that post. Responding the question of
"Haykakan Zhamanak" if it means that it is the time for V.Oskanian’s
becoming the president, the Minister said: "No, I did not see anything
like that, I have not decided yet what may next deeds will be, but
to remain as a minister for the next five years as well, I thing that
it will not be right."

In V.Oskanian’s words, he has not made a decision yet about his next
deeds after the parliamentary elections. "I did not decide as today
the political field is very changeable, it is necessary to wait, to
see what developments will take place, I’ll decide my role in those
new developments," the Minister said, adding: "I clarified one thing
for me that I want see a normal state, I want live with my family,
children in a normal state. I’ll work for it, I’ll struggle for it
but what displays that struggle will have, what appearance will get,
the time will show it." In V.Oskanian’s words, there is a number
of problems in Armenia today about which "one must speak opener"
and the solution of which is important. He, particularly, mentioned
three of them: one must cure the political field, must liquidate the
authorities-society bar, that is, "lack of mutual trust," and the
third, growth of effeciency of the government’s activity must be.

US AMBASSADOR TO OSCE REGRETS ON NOT MEETING WITH ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.10.2006 13:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US Permanent Representative to the OSCE Julie
Finley considers invitation of OSCE observers crucial at parliamentary
elections in Armenia in 2007, she told journalists in Yerevan October
19. Finley noted that one of her interlocutors during an informal
meeting in Yerevan said that Armenian authorities nevertheless are
going to invite OSCE observers. "We urge the Armenian Government
to invite both long-term and short term missions. If you want OSCE
observers to follow the elections, you should put pressure upon your
Government, as we cannot monitor without an invitation," she added.

Answering a question how fair and transparent elections are possible
in Armenia, Finley said, "All my interlocutors in Armenia say that
the Armenian party intends to hold democratic elections in 2007 and
I do not have any ground for not believing them yet."

She regretted very much on Armenian President not receiving her and
she supposed that the President’s schedule was too busy. "To all
appearance, he did not meet with me, as he thought I do not possess
charm and I am not interesting as an interlocutor," she said.

"However, this was the only negative aspect of my visit. Maybe, he
could not meet with me, as he supposed that I will teach him what
and how to do," she said.

Meanwhile, US Permanent Representative to the OSCE did not ask for a
meeting with the Armenian President in advance. Besides, in compliance
with the protocol, an Ambassador of a foreign state or an organization
does not rank among officials, who are received by the President,
reports IA Regnum.

NGO CREATING A SPECIAL RESERVE ZONE IN ARMENIA’S SOUTH

Armenpress
Oct 20 2006

KAPAN, OCTOBER 20, ARMENPRESS: An environmental non-governmental
organization in southern Armenian province of Syunik has launched
this past April a new project aimed to create a special reserve zone
that stretches from Kaputan Mountain to Gazanalich small lake.

The organization, called Khustup, has received $174,000 from Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) to carry out the project. Vladik
Martirosian, the chairman of this organization, said this area was
chosen to become a special reserve because of its unique geographical
location. It is about 2000 meters above sea level with many animals,
birds and plants registered in Armenia’s Red Book.

The projected is being assisted bye experts from Zoology and Botanic
research institutes affiliated with the Armenian National Academy
of Sciences. The project is to last 2.5 years and only then the
organization will ask the government to declare this area as reserve.

DELEGATES FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES DEMAND FROM UNESCO TO CARRY OUT INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION IN OLD JUGHA
By Nana Petrosian

AZG Armenian Daily
20/10/2006

The representatives of the parliaments from various countries
have met with the Koichiro Matsuura, UNESCO Secretary General, and
appealed to him with official request to carry our international
investigation in Old Jugha, Nakhijevan, where historical monuments
of Armenian cultures were destroyed. They called for condemning
the destruction of old Armenian cemetery in Nakhijevan by the army
of Azerbaijan. The delegation was formed at the initiative of the
Armenian-Swiss parliamentary group thanks to the mediation of Charles
Aznavour, ambassador of Armenia to UNESCO. The parliamentarians have
submitted relevant documents that include proofs of the guilt of
the Azeri authorities in the crime to the UN Council for Education,
Science and Culture. The delegation has also signed a memorandum in
which they demand to build a Christian monument on the place of the
destroyed Armenian cemetery.

Zaman Online, Turkey
Oct 14 2006

`Adoption of French bill not to Harm Turkey’s EU bid’
By Cihan News Agency
Friday, October 13, 2006
zaman.com

Adoption of a French bill, which will penalize anyone who denies the
so-called Armenian genocide, will not affect Turkey’s European Union
(EU) membership, a senior European Union (EU) official said.

The EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero Waldner told on
Friday in an interview with Finnish public television YLE that the
issue of the Armenian genocide has come up from time to time in
France since there is a strong (Armenian) community in the country.

Waldner assured that what happened in France and how they treat
candidate countries of EU were completely two different things.