Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

Your generosity touches hearts.
by Jenny Legg (author email [email protected])

UK Newsquest Regional Press – This is Hampshire
December 22, 2004

BASINGSTOKE — HUNDREDS of needy children in eastern Europe are
celebrating an extra special Christmas – thanks to the kindness of
readers of The Basingstoke Extra.

Last month, the Gazette Newspapers offices were filled with more
than 600 brightly-decorated shoeboxes, stuffed full of presents,
from generous readers.

The boxes were donated for The Basingstoke Extra-backed Operation
Christmas Child appeal, run by charity Samaritan’s Purse.

The shoeboxes, which contained simple items such as sweets, toys
and crayons, have now been delivered to children in Serbia, Croatia
and Armenia.

A final delivery to Russia is set to take place this week as part
of the international appeal to provide more than one million of the
world’s poorest children with a Christmas present this year.

Roger Fenton, the regional manager for Samaritan’s Purse, said:
“I have distributed the presents in previous years, and the typical
reaction from a child is one of complete wonder.

“Many of them don’t usually get a gift in any form, so to have
a stranger give them a present with no strings attached is really
moving for them.

“It’s like a message of love from a different place, and they don’t
have to do anything to receive it.”

He added: “People are really generous. You can never thank them enough.

“They don’t appreciate what a huge difference it makes when they pay
a few pounds to give things like a toothbrush or hat.”

Mr Fenton said volunteers at the charity’s regional warehouse in
Eastleigh had handled about 55,000 boxes this year, and that nationally
the charity had broken the million mark.

“It looks like there are more than last year. The indications are
that there was a much greater response,” said Mr Fenton.

“I think that’s because we have become more well known, and people
find this a nice way to give. When you give a present, it’s more
personal. People like to give in that way, rather than just donating
money.”

Since 1990, Operation Christmas Child has delivered shoeboxes to
more than 23 million children in eastern Europe, in countries such
as Bosnia, Romania and Serbia.

KOCHARIAN DISCUSSES PACE OF SOCIAL SECURITY REFORMS

ArmenPress
Dec 21 2004

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS: Armenian president Kocharian held
a working meeting today with prime minister, labor and social issues
minister, central bank governor and other government officials to
discuss the pace of reforms in the social security system.

Kocharian’s press office said the president drew the attention of
the present to the fact that though some parts of the social security
reform were discussed and several ministries have taken appropriate
steps there is not yet a comprehensive relevant program.

“We have not a single document that would outline what we are going
to do and what we are going to demand from the ministries, while
reforming the system requires a well-coordinated and persistent work,’
Kocharian was quoted as saying.

The president described reforming this sector as “being the most
difficult and protracted,” adding that the fragmented studies could be
used for developing a comprehensive program to start its implementation
next year.

Kocharian instructed to set up a task force that has to involve
skilled and seasoned experts from all ministries and other government
departments to work out a general concept on reforms within a month.

Utah children go head-to-head with chess champion
by Tyler Peterson Deseret Morning News

Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
December 19, 2004 Sunday

Local schoolchildren and Utah Chess Association members had the chance
to match wits with the current world open chess champion this weekend
at the McGillis School in Salt Lake City.

The Mountain West Chess Association paid for grand master Varuzhan
Akobian’s visit from his home in Los Angeles to teach strategies and
play a whole lot of chess — at times without looking at the board —
and against as many as 30 people at once. The event concludes today.

“It’s like having your favorite movie star come to town and stay at
your house,” said Grant Hodson, chess association president.

“That guy is awesome,” said Jeffrey Phillips, one of the association’s
top-ranked players.

Akobian moved with his family from his homeland of Armenia to Mongolia
in 1988 when he was only 5. Since 40 below zero temperatures in
Mongolia made it hard to play outside, Akobian’s father taught him
to play chess.

“Immediately I fell in love with the game,” Akobian said.

At age 9 he played in his first rated tournament, the Armenian Junior’s
Chess Championship, and won third place in his age group. A year
later he played in his first international competition and continued
to place high in other tournaments during the 1990s. In 2002, he won
first place in the 30th World Open. Akobian’s goal is to eventually
become world champion.

In the meantime, he plays chess for about four hours every day,
works out at the gym and spends time helping others improve their game.

Ryan Gould, an 11-year-old from Tooele, was one of many who sat across
from Akobian for a five-minute match on Saturday.

“I was only down a pawn in the endgame, but I still lost. It was
really hard,” he said.

Gould said it was cool to have the “once in a lifetime” chance to
go up against someone ranked as high as Akobian, which is the kind
of reaction organizer Kevin Heath hoped to get by bringing the grand
master to town.

“I wanted to stimulate the chess atmosphere” in Utah, he said.

Heath has two more chess celebrities lined up to visit. Gregory
Kaidanov, the highest-rated player in the United States, comes to
the McGillis School Jan. 8-10. The highest-rated woman player will
hopefully visit later next year, he said.

For more information visit E-mail:
[email protected]

PRESS OFFICE
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. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

December 17, 2004
___________________

CHURCH CELEBRATES HISTORY OF SUCCESS

Like so many parishes, the story of the Holy Resurrection Church of
South Milwaukee, WI, reflects the larger story of Armenian Americans.

As more and more Armenian immigrants found their way to America, some
wandered away from the concentration of Armenians on the East Coast. In
1910, five Armenians traveled to South Milwaukee to work in its
factories. Finding the community welcoming, they beckoned their
Armenian brothers and sisters to join them.

In just two short years, the Armenian community in South Milwaukee
jumped to more than 100 individuals. By 1924, community leaders decided
the expanding community needed its own spiritual home. Until that time,
the Armenians had celebrated badarak with visiting pastors at St. Mark’s
Episcopal Church.

The community soon bought its first sanctuary, the former St. Luke
Church. It was the first Armenian church in Wisconsin.

In 1960, fire destroyed the church. But the community did not sit idly
by. As generations had done before, they found the faith to rebuild.
On April 15, 1962, Archbishop Sion Manoogian, then-Primate of the
Eastern Diocese, traveled to Wisconsin to consecrate the new Holy
Resurrection Church.

“Our predecessors set the foundation of this parish and skillfully
piloted this community through trying times,” wrote Fr. Vahram Hazarian,
the current visiting pastor of the Holy Resurrection Church, in a
message celebrating the parish’s anniversary. “Every generation has its
own challenges. Generations come and go, but nations persist. The
Armenian Church has been the tabernacle of our timeless values. A
church is not merely comprised of four walls and a roof. You — the
parishioners — are the church.”

The people of the church turned out in large numbers on October 24,
2004, when Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, the current Primate of the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), traveled to South
Milwaukee to celebrate the church’s 80th anniversary with the
parishioners.

“The founders of this church and the generations that have followed have
always shown a great sense of dedication and devotion. That has always
been a cornerstone of the Holy Resurrection Church,” said the Primate,
who celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the parish and attended a banquet
where hundreds from the three parishes in Wisconsin joined to mark the
anniversary. “God has given the great Armenian community of South
Milwaukee a truly passionate spirit. So far from our motherland, they
have come together and built a truly Armenian community of faith.”

That sense of community and connection is still alive in South
Milwaukee. And it is the reason the community endures after so many
years and so many challenges.”

“A parish excels on the laborious shoulders of her children,” Fr.
Hazarian explained.

— 12/17/04

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

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Parishioners from the Holy Resurrection Church of
South Milwaukee, WI, turn out for a celebration of the parish’s 80th
anniversary.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): During a celebration of the parish’s 80th
anniversary, the Holy Resurrection Church of South Milwaukee, WI, honor
some of the stewards who have played a role in making the parish a
spiritual home for the area’s Armenian community.

PHOTO CAPTION (3): Diocesan Council member Oscar Tatosian speaks about
his memories of the Holy Resurrection Church of South Milwaukee, WI,
during the parish’s 80th anniversary celebration on October 24, 2004.

# # #

“STOP DESTRUCTION OF YEREVAN” – DISCUSSION CONCERNING PROBLEMS OF PROTECTION
OF HISTORICAL-CULTURAL HERITAGE OF YEREVAN

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17. ARMINFO. “Stop the destruction of Yerevan” –
under this motto a discussion was held concerning the problems of the
protection of historical-cultural heritage of the capital of Armenia.

As Doctor of architecture Marieta Gasparian mentioned, year by year
Yerevan loses its historic look and it will soon there will not be a
building which presents a historical value of a some era of life of the
Armenian capital. Wide-scale constructions result in destruction of
the buildings of historical-cultural importance for Armenia. According
to her, the department for protection of historical-cultural monuments
of the Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs of Armenia has already
formed the list which includes 16 buildings of the main avenue of
Yerevan, in particular, from the streets of Pavstos Byuzand, Arami,
Pushkin and Teryan, liable to dismantle and transfer to another
territory.

As Architect, Academician Varazdat Haroutunian mentioned, the principle
of privatization of the buildings, without pre-condition to keep the
outward appearance of the building, cannot remain unpunished. The
parliament must include this issue in the agenda when adoption of a
relevant law aimed at protection of the city attractive for tourists
from the point of view of its rich historical-cultural heritage.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone 212.319.6383 x.118
Fax 212.319.6507
Email [email protected]
Website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, December 16, 2004

ARARAT MAGAZINE HELD EXCITING LITERARY EVENING WITH ANAHID AWARD
WINNERS ERIC BOGOSIAN, DIANA DER-HOVANESSIAN, GREGORY DJANIKIAN

NEW YORK, NY- Three Armenian-American authors read from their writings
and shared thoughts on their work to a New York area audience at a
special ARARAT magazine event held at AGBU headquarters on November 4.

The three authors, New York writer/performer Eric Bogosian, Boston poet
and translator Diana Der-Hovanessian, and Philadelphia poet Gregory
Djanikian, were all winners of the Anahid Literary Award, and it was
clear this evening that the award had helped reinforce their ties to
Armenian literature and culture in multiple ways. ARARAT commemorated
the fifteenth anniversary of these awards by a special anniversary
issue this year, including samples of the writings of the winners,
and through this event. The first editor of ARARAT, Jack Antreassian,
was instrumental in the establishment of the prize, and the members of
the selection committee affiliated with the Armenian Center at Columbia
have largely been ARARAT board members, including its recently deceased
longtime chairman and ARARAT editor, Leo Hamalian.

The program, with Aram Arkun of ARARAT serving as master of ceremonies,
began with Diana Der-Hovanessian reciting some of her work, new and
old, interspersed with interesting comments on what inspired these
poems. Her trips to Armenia and meetings with Armenian writers were
vividly described. Among other things, the audience learned of her
frustration with the distortions of Armenian culture and history
in a prominent museum exhibit which galvanized her to push for
the establishment of an Armenian museum, which eventually became
the Armenian Library and Museum of America located in Watertown,
Massachusetts. Diana Der-Hovannesian’s own poems deal with personal
as well as Armenian themes. She is one of the premier translators
of Armenian poets into English. She has awards from the NEA, PSA,
PEN-Columbia Translation Center, National Writers Union, American
Scholar, Prairie Schooner and Paterson Poetry Center. Aside from
teaching and workshops at various American universities, she has
taught twice as a Fulbright professor in Yerevan. Her own poems have
been published in Armenian translation, and she is now working on
a new anthology of 19th and 20th century Armenian poetry.

The program took a radically different turn with Eric Bogosian, a
creator of monologues and solo shows as well as a playwright, novelist,
and actor. After some comments about his connections with Armenians, he
surprised the audience with a reading from a new novel in progress-Lost
Beauty. Bogosian, announcing his admiration for the writer Philip Roth,
noted that he felt a little like Roth himself, known for playing
a role as a character in his own novels. Bogosian’s protagonist,
incidentally, is having an affair while questioning various aspects
of his life. Before beginning the reading Bogosian apologized for the
raw language, and wondered whether he was not the Henry Miller of the
Armenians. Bogosian found that he can express more through the form
of a novel. In addition, he will also be performing as Satan in a
new play entitled “The Trial of Judas Iscariot,” scheduled to open
next spring at the Public Theater. Bogosian’s solos have received
three Obie awards and a Drama Desk
Award, while his works have had extended runs Off-Broadway, and have
been performed around the world. He has appeared in over two-dozen
films, including his own adaptation of his play Talk Radio and Atom
Egoyan’s “Ararat”. In 2004, Bogosian was named a Guggenheim fellow.

The final speaker, Gregory Djanikian, presented a series of his
poems, published and unpublished. Some dealt with life in America,
but most dealt with the Armenian Genocide and its repercussions. They
will have a place in his forthcoming fifth volume of poetry, which
represents a renewed dialogue with his Armenian past and an attempt
to grapple with the continuing existence of terrifying violence
in this world. Djanikian, born in Egypt, grew up in New York and
Pennsylvania. He began writing seriously while an undergraduate in
college. His literary awards include a National Endowment for the Arts
Fellowship, the Eunice Tietjens Prize, the Friends of Literature Prize
and two honors from “Poetry” magazine. In addition to his writing,
he is Director of the Creative Writing Program at the University
of Pennsylvania.

ARARAT magazine (), the magazine that for decades
has been a forum for quality writing in the English language on
topics of Armenian culture, politics, and literature, especially from
Armenian-American talent, is sponsored by the AGBU. Copies of the
special 96-page Anahid Award issue or other back issues are available
at $7 each, while annual subscriptions are $24. To subscribe or
order back issues, please contact Hripsime by calling, 212-319-6383,
emailing, [email protected], or by mailing your request along with a
check to ARARAT/AGBU, 55 E. 59th Street, NY, NY 10022-1112.

REVIEWS: CLASSICAL – Andromeda Liberata Barbican London

The Independent – United Kingdom
Dec 16, 2004

Roderic Dunnett

FANS OF Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and The Four Seasons are waking up to the
fact that he was as prolific a composer of operas as Handel. In this,
they’re not far behind the performers: European ensembles – perhaps
judiciously – have been equally slow to reacquaint themselves with
the Venetian’s operas.

Still, 18th-century scholars – HC Robbins Landon and Jonathan
Keates among them – have always realised the potential riches to be
unearthed, as have the Italians since the composer Gian Francesco
Malipiero restored Vivaldi and other Italian Baroque masters in
the 1920s. But recently the sizzling Savaria Baroque Ensemble from
Hungary only produced a lacklustre revival of Vivaldi’s Il Tigrane
(Armenian shenanigans from Nero’s time) at St James’s in Piccadilly.

Andrea Marcon’s Venice Baroque Orchestra, which brought Vivaldi’s
Andromeda Liberata (whose authorship is partly disputed) to the
Barbican, is as deft if not as refined a group but here managed a much
better orchestral showing. There was much to admire in the searing
strings, the desirable lute playing and some fine oboes and horns. The
punters clearly adored it, and thronged to pay pounds 22 for the CD.

You’d think it was Handel. It wasn’t. Ultimately, Venice Baroque’s
over- forceful display proved scarcely better than the (that day)
subfusc Hungarians. Why? Because Marcon thundered through most of it
like a bull in a china shop. Would Vivaldi really have wanted Czech
soprano Katerina Beranova to roar the words “A mother in anguish,
I sighed”? Or as wonderful a Yugoslav mezzo as Marijana Mijanovic
to deliver “Ruscelletti limpidetti” – “Murmuring streamlets” – like
Niagara Falls in spate?

Any fault must lie with the Swiss-trained conductor, whose delivery
lacks the finesse he brings to scholarship and ensemble-coordinating:
Croatian countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic overcame Perseus’s initial
Romanesque stolidity to shine in “Sovvente il sole”; Beranova thundered
admirably in her own genuinely fiery arias; and Enrico Onofri brought
his apt Italian tenor to Daliso’s cheerful “Cupid’s dart” ditty.

The evening’s only revelation was the recently unchained Andromeda,
the Leipzig-trained Simone Kermes. Here at last was the loveliness,
the sensitivity, the rage and some gorgeous high notes in “Un occhio
amabile”, “Mi piace e mi diletta” and “Che e fenice”, which highlights
the opera’s links to Venice.

Lastly, the lavatories. The Barbican started the rot, and now the
new Covent Garden and – worse still – the new ENO offer only warm
water in their washrooms. “It has something to do with the way they’re
plumbed,” ventured Sir John Tusa, the Barbican’s general director, when
taxed with the question over the bar. Talk about a tepid truism. One
expects greater consideration for ticket-buying punters from our
finest artistic institutions. Replumb, please, all three.

Police in Slovakia break up gang of immigrant smugglers

The Associated Press
12/16/04 07:27 EST

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) – Railway police in Slovakia broke up a
gang of people smugglers who helped illegal migrants get into Austria,
officials said Thursday.

The 15-member gang was made up of Russians, Azerbaijanis, an Afghan,
an Armenian and Slovaks. One of the Slovaks was the head of a refugee
camp who illegally issued leave tickets to refugees.

The gang charged the migrants between US$200(euro150) and
US$600(euro448), said the head of Slovakia’s railway police, Tibor
Gaplovsky. Police estimate that the group earned some two million
koruna (US$69,300s, euro51,700).

The gang used trains or taxis to transport the refugees or just
walked them over to neighboring Austria. Police have been monitoring
the gang since 2003, and they estimated that the gang has helped at
least 115 migrants to get to Austria. Dozens of others were detained
in Slovakia.

An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 illegal migrants pass through
Slovakia on their way to the West every year, and nearly a third
are intercepted by police.

President wraps up visit to Great Britain

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 16 2004

President Ilham Aliyev wrapped up his official visit to Great Britain
on Tuesday.

On the last day of the visit Aliyev met with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair. Prospects for bilateral relations, regional and
international cooperation and Azerbaijan’s integration into Europe
were discussed.

The parties gave a high assessment to the current level of ties and
discussed ways of settling the Upper Garabagh conflict.

During his two-day visit President Aliyev attended a conference
entitled “Azerbaijan’s investment opportunities – 2004” and the
signing ceremony of an agreement on financing Azerbaijan’s share in
the Shahdaniz project. He also met with the British Foreign Minister
and presidents of BP and the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development.*

Le Monde, France
mardi 14 décembre 2004

Les eurodéputés s’acheminent vers le “oui” à la Turquie

Consultez nos dossiers, l’analyse approfondie de grands sujets
d’actualité. Abonnez-vous au Monde.fr

Un débat organisé lundi soir a néanmoins séparé le camp des
partisans, espagnols et britanniques, pour qui l’adhésion est “une
question de conscience”, des députés français ou grecs qui craignent,
en cas d’adhésion de la Turquie, une métamorphose de l’Europe en
“organisation mondiale du commerce euro-asiatique”.
Les eurodéputés devraient voter à une nette majorité, mercredi 15
décembre, en faveur de l’ouverture de négociations d’adhésion avec la
Turquie. Mais un débat, organisé lundi soir 13 décembre, a confirmé
des clivages nationaux que l’on retrouve dans la population
européenne.

Le Parlement se prononcera, mercredi, sur le rapport du député
conservateur néerlandais, Camiel Eurlings, et ses quelque 80
amendements, un avis cependant consultatif car la décision finale
appartient aux chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement qui se réuniront jeudi
et vendredi à Bruxelles.

Suivant une ligne semblable à celle arrêtée par la Commission
européenne, le rapport préconise l’ouverture “sans délai inutile” des
négociations avec Ankara, tout en énumérant les conditions restant à
remplir, notamment la reconnaissance de Chypre et “une tolérance
zéro” contre la torture.

Soulignant que les négociations sont “un processus ouvert et qui ne
conduit pas automatiquement à l’adhésion”, le texte n’envisage pas,
dès à présent, d’alternative à l’adhésion, comme le “partenariat
privilégié” réclamé par les droites française et allemande. “Nous
devons envoyer un signal fort à la Turquie : saisissez cette chance.
Mais aussi un autre signal fort : nous suivrons les réformes”, a
commenté M. Eurlings, “très impressionné par les réformes en Turquie
où, davantage d’événements ont eu lieu ces dernières années que dans
les quarante précédentes”.

Si M. Eurlings est suivi au sein du Parti populaire européen par les
députés espagnols, italiens ou britanniques, il est en revanche
critiqué par les Allemands de la CDU ou les Français de l’UMP, une
diversité d’avis à l’image des sensibilités différentes des opinions
publiques dans l’Union européenne.

“CRIME” OU “CONTRIBUTION À LA PAIX”

“L’adhésion de la Turquie est une question de conscience ou
quasiment, donc nous acceptons que tout le monde vote en toute
conscience”, a souligné le leader du Parti populaire européen (PPE),
l’Allemand Hans-Gert Poettering. “Nous allons négocier avec un pays
qui viole massivement les droits humains”, a-t-il cependant dénoncé,
relevant que “s’il n’y a plus de torture systématique en Turquie, il
y a encore de nombreux cas de tortures”.

“Faire entrer la Turquie dans l’UE, c’est accepter le risque que
l’Europe se transforme en une organisation mondiale du commerce
euro-asiatique, sans pouvoir et sans puissance”, a renchéri le
Français Jacques Toubon.

Pour Bernard Lehideux (UDF), qui siège au sein du groupe libéral et
démocrate, “il faudra bien que l’UE se fixe un jour des frontières,
sinon elle va s’étendre comme une tache d’huile, sans objectif
politique”.

De son côté, le ministre des affaires étrangères français, Michel
Barnier, a souhaité que, pendant le processus de négociations, la
Turquie reconnaisse le génocide arménien, mais que cette
reconnaissance ne soit “pas une condition” d’adhésion d’Ankara.

Les courants souverainistes et d’extrême droite se sont, eux,
indignés sur le thème d’un “pays islamiste” et “qui n’est pas dans
l’Europe”. Pour le nationaliste grec Georgios Karatzaferis, ce serait
ainsi “un crime que d’accepter la Turquie dans l’Europe”.

L’addition de ces “non” est cependant nettement minoritaire au sein
de l’assemblée européenne, face au “oui” des socialistes, des Verts
et d’une bonne moitié des conservateurs et des libéraux. “Tous ceux
qui défendent les droits humains en Turquie nous disent que les
perspectives d’adhésion ont modifié ce pays et en font une démocratie
parlementaire”, a défendu le chef du groupe socialiste, l’Allemand
Martin Schulz.

“En s’ouvrant à un pays laïque à majorité musulmane, l’Union
européenne donnerait un signe majeur de contribution à la paix et la
compréhension entre les peuples”, a ajouté le Français Michel Rocard,
jugeant même le rapport du Parlement européen “trop agressif” à
l’égard des conditions posées à Ankara.