Author: Tumanian Talar

PRIMATE, CHURCH LEADERS VISIT ARMENIA

Solange De Santis
Staff Writer

Anglican Journal
Sept 27 2005

Looking for support and greater dialogue with Canadian churches,
the Canadian diocese of the Armenian Orthodox Church invited a group
of church leaders, including the Anglican primate, Archbishop Andrew
Hutchison, to visit Armenia in late August.

Throughout 70 years of Soviet rule, the Armenian Orthodox Church was
repressed and it is now “trying to rebuild,” said Archbishop Hutchison
in an interview, noting that the trip was completely sponsored by
the Armenian church.

“The church survived and a core of the faithful survived. It is a
Christian country surrounded by Muslim countries. The borders to
Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed and the border with Georgia is not
as free-flowing as it might be,” said Archbishop Hutchison.

In Canada, he pointed out, the Anglican church has aided Armenian
churches by providing space for new Armenian congregations and
Archbishop George Carey visited Armenia when he was Archbishop of
Canterbury.

The delegation also included Archbishop Brendan O’Brien, president
of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops; Archbishop Sotirios,
Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Canada; and Richard Schneider, president
of the Canadian Council of Churches.

The hosts were Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, primate of the Armenian
church in Canada, and his assistant, Deacon Hagop Arslanian.

While in Armenia from August 24-31, the group met with His Holiness
Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, at the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, a cathedral complex near the capital
of Yerevan that is the center of authority for the worldwide church.

Last year, the Canadian parliament acknowledged the genocide of 1915,
during which 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Turkish forces,
and “that means a great deal to them,” said Archbishop Hutchison,
who participated in a wreath-laying at a memorial for genocide victims.

The visit coincided with the 90th anniversary of the genocide and the
1600th anniversary of the invention of the Armenian alphabet, he noted.

The group also met with political leaders and visited major historic
and religious sites.

The primate discussed with the Armenian church two possible projects
for the Anglican Church of Canada: a bursary to support a theological
student studying in Canada and advice from Canada’s well-developed
military chaplaincy to support a new chaplaincy in Armenia.

FIGURE SKATING: CHAIT, SAKHNOVSKY, SEROV SHINE AT SKATE ISRAEL
By Lionel Gaffen

Jerusalem Post
September 26, 2005

In front of a wildly cheering, highly partisan crowd at Skate Israel,
Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky captivated the audience and Roman
Serov vaulted into first place to earn gold medals Sunday at the
Canada Center in Metulla.

The International Skating Union sanctioned event is the only
international figure skating tourney in Israel.

Chait and Sakhnovsky, the sixth ranked pair in the world, performed
for the first time this year in competition. Their intricate movements
in the Free Dance to Ravel’s Bolero earned them a score of 99.69 –
which combined with their scores from the Compulsory Dance and Original
Dance gave them a total of 209.50.

The Israeli stars impressed everyone in attendance, including the
judges.

Chief referee Christopher Buchanan of Great Britain told The Jerusalem
Post that he was “very happy to see the level of the skating that
I’ve seen here this week… There has been a great improvement in
[Chait and Sakhnovsky’s] style, – they appear to have benefited from
the change in their training as they have a very interesting program
that was very well skated.”

The duo is now coached by Evgeny Platov, the only two-time Olympic gold
medalist in Ice Dancing, and Alexander Zhulin, a former world champ.

Gary Hoppe, another one of the judges, called their Free Dance
performance “wonderful.”

“Their choreography and interpretation were very good, and they had
very nice lifts,” Hoppe said.

Russians Oxana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, ranked eighth in the world,
took silver in their first appearance on Israeli ice with a 179.57
score. Armenia’s Anastasia Grebinkina and Vazgen Azroyan scored
172.06 for the bronze, followed by Israeli siblings, Alexandra and
Roman Zaretsky (155.06) and Hungarians Zsuzsanna Nagy and Gyorgy Elek
(130.23).

In the Ladies dancing, Israel’s Tamar Katz was shut out of a medal,
as she finished fourth with a total score of 96.38.

Viktoria Pavuk of Hungary was easily the best of the Ladies on the
ice and demonstrated a graceful presence in winning the gold medal
with a 152.41 total. Sara Falotico of Belgium (113.31) was second
and Russia’s Elena Zhitkova (101.51) third.

Roman Serov came from behind with a vibrant and nearly flawless Free
Skate performance to the music of “World of Technology” sandwiching
in Robert Miles’s “Children” to bypass his competition and vaulting
into a well deserved first place with a 169.51 score.

“It was very hard to begin my full training program this summer,
because the rink always seemed to be packed, so most of my training
was confined to the early morning hours,” Serov said. “So far, I’ve
been working without a coach, but my coach, Viktor Kudriavtsev,
will come from Russia before the Grand Prix events.”

Platov thinks that Serov can do better. “Serov certainly has the
potential, and needs a coach that will push him even harder.”

Hot on his skates was Alexander Magerovski of Russia, who moved up to
second after the Short Program with a 168.57 total, while countryman
Alexander Shubin dropped from first place after the Short Program to
third with a 168.50 combined score.

The 2005 Skate Israel came to a close with a beautifully displayed
Gala event.

Both Dance couples and Serov have been invited to two Grand Prix
events this year, the level that ranks only below the European and
World Championships.

All of them will be at the Cup of China on November 3-6, with Chait
and Sakhnovsky then taking part in the Cup of Russia on November
24-27. The Zaretskys and Serov will compete in the NHK Trophy in
Japan in early December.

Southeast European Times, MD
Sept 25 2005

Conference on Armenian Massacres Held With Support from Turkish
Leaders
25/09/2005

ANKARA, Turkey — Following two failed attempts earlier this year,
the first-ever public debate about the early 20th century mass
killings of Armenians was held in Turkey Saturday (24 September),
with the backing of senior Turkish leaders who cited the
participants’ right to freedom of expression. The conference,
attended mostly by academics, took place at the Bilgi University in
Istanbul under tight security as nationalists demonstrated outside,
calling the event “traitorous”.

Last week, a court had banned the event, prompting Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan to say that the ruling was timed to undermine
the country’s efforts to join the EU. “I want to live in a Turkey
where freedoms are enjoyed in their broadest sense,” Erdogan said
Saturday. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul also defended the event,
saying the ban showed that Turks “are so good at shooting themselves
in the foot”. The EU condemned the court’s move as a “provocation”
and warned the conference would be considered a test of freedom of
expression in Turkey, an EU hopeful.

As many as 1.5 million Armenians are thought to have been killed
between 1915 and 1923, in what Armenia and several governments around
the world have termed a genocide. Turkey, however, denies the charge,
arguing that the death toll is inflated and that Turks as well as
Armenians perished in civil unrest and intercommunal fighting as the
Ottoman Empire collapsed.

A1+

| 18:16:13 | 23-09-2005 | Social |

ABSOLUTE INDEPENDENCE IS BETTER

On September 23 14 years ago the RA Supreme Council declared Armenia an
independent democratic country excluded from the Soviet Union, based on the
results of the pan-national voting two days ago.

`We were simply a colony in the USSR, and that’s what we still are now. We
are not independent and we will never be, until Van and Kars are ours, until
we have large territory. Until then the word `independence’ is an empty
one’, 68-year-old Rouben Torosyan complains after 14 years.

45-year-old Gohar Simonyan is of the same opinion, `It was different back in
the day. We were dependent on the Soviet Union only, and now we depend on
the whole world. What’s the difference? I’m discontent with our way of life.
Unemployment is terrible, people have no work, and they cannot live’.

Irrespective of the social difficulties, the RA citizens cannot but admit
that `independence is a good thing’. `We are happy to be independent, as
dependence is not good. I participated in the meetings for independence, and
my hopes are justified. I’m very pleased’, said Christine Haroutyunyan. And
although there is no work, Hovhannes Hounanyan is full of hope, `It is all
not so bad. There are positive tendencies that the jobs will be re-created.
What is important is that Armenia is an independent republic’.

AZG Armenian Daily #170, 23/09/2005

Culture

WE COULD HEAR CALL OF ARARAT IN MONTEVIDEO

A press release from Uruguay informed that “Ararat” concert held at “El
Calbon” theater was great success both with Armenian and non-Armenian
spectators. Reporter Karo Hekimian said that the dancers performed masterly,
sparing no efforts to fully reflect the essence and the force of the
Armenian culture. “Shiraz” dancing ensemble, the musicians, the singers and
the artists kindle a flame of the Armenian spirit that warmed the hearts of
the spectators,” Karo Hekimian stated. The arrangement was dedicated to the
90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The artists recited the poems by
Paruyr Sevak and other Armenian poets. The concert testified to the fact
that our culture, our music, songs and poetry should always be in
Montevideo, Melbourne, Moscow and Montreal.

By Gohar Gevorgian

INDICATION OF GARABAGH AS ARMENIAN TERRITORY ‘MERE MISTAKE’

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 22 2005

The indication of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan and Upper Garabagh regions
as Armenian territories on the website of the US embassy in Armenia
is simply a mistake, US ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish has said.

“Speaking about Nakhchivan’s affiliation to Armenia is ridiculous.

This was a consequence of a mere mistake. The United States recognizes
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and is working
hard to support dialogue aimed at settling the Garabagh conflict.” The
ambassador underscored the efforts being taken by Washington within
the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the conflict resolution.

The Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Taghizada regarded
the distortion of facts as unacceptable, calling for a thorough
scrutiny. Foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who is visiting the
United States, will be informed of the incident immediately upon his
return to the country, he said.

Congressional Record: September 20, 2005 (Senate)]
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

IN RECOGNITION OF REVEREND DR. VAHAN H. TOOTIKIAN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I would like to call my colleagues’
attention to a distinguished religious leader in Michigan, Reverend Dr.
Vahan H. Tootikian. Dr. Tootikian will be honored at a special
testimonial banquet on Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Troy, MI. The
tribute will mark his retirement from active parish ministry and will
recognize his 30 years as pastor of the Armenian Congregational Church of
Greater Detroit and his 46 years
of Christian ministry. Since accepting his call to the ministry in
1959, Dr. Tootikian has used his talents and unique skills to encourage
and enlighten people around the world. He has earned the respect and
admiration of the Armenian and the greater religious community in
Michigan, throughout North America, and around the world for his
pastoral leadership and his commitment and devotion to service.
Born in Kessab, Syria in 1935, Dr. Tootikian received his primary
education at the Armenian Evangelical schools in Syria and his
secondary education in Beirut, Lebanon. He simultaneously earned a
bachelor of art degree with honors and a bachelor of theology degree
with honors from the American University of Beirut and the Near East
School of Theology, respectively. He then served as pastor of Armenian
Evangelical Churches in Syria and Egypt before coming to the United
States in 1965 to pursue religious studies at Hartford Seminary,
Harvard Divinity School, and Andover Newton Theological Seminary. While
serving as minister of the Armenian Memorial Church in Watertown, MA,
Dr. Tootikian earned a master of sacred theological degree in 1970, and
a doctor of ministry degree cum laude in 1973.
In 1975, Dr. Tootikian was welcomed into the pastorate of the
Armenian Congregational Church of Greater Detroit. Under his spiritual
guidance, the Church has flourished and undergone expansion, which has
included a new Christian Education Building, the founding of an
Armenian library, and the organizing of the Armenian Heritage Committee
to preserve and perpetuate the Armenian Christian Heritage.
Over the years, Dr. Tootikian has also provided leadership to
numerous organizations, including the Armenian Evangelical Union of
America, Armenian Missionary Association of America, and the Armenian
Evangelical World Council–AEWC. During his tenure with AEWC, the
1700th Anniversary of Armenian Christendom was celebrated by all
Armenian Evangelical Unions in Yerevan, Armenia, and the first Armenian
Evangelical Pastors’ Conference was held in May 2003 in Evian, France.
As a scholar and lecturer, Dr. Tootikian has provided instruction at
the University of Michigan and at the Lawrence Technological
University. Dr. Tootikian has authored 27 books, with 6 of them
currently in use as college textbooks. In addition, he has been a
frequent contributor to many magazines and papers, and currently writes
bilingual articles for 12 Armenian papers and periodicals. His efforts
in support of various educational, philanthropic, religious and
cultural organizations have been recognized through many awards and the
establishment of endowment funds in his honor.
I know my colleagues join me in congratulating Dr. Tootikian on his
service to the community, and on his many achievements in the pastoral
ministry. I am pleased to offer my best wishes to him on his
retirement, and for many more years of good health, happiness, and
contribution to the spiritual well being of many people around the
world.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 21 2005

ARMENIA HAS TWO MAJOR SCENARIOS OF DEVELOPMENT OF IT SECTOR

YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. Armenia has two major scenarios of the
development of IT sphere, Director of Munich Representative Office of
McKinsey&Company Andre Andonian said at the All-Armenian Forum
“Armenia 2020”. According to him, the first scenario implies
preservation of the status quo, “when we will do all we did
previously”. According to Andoyan, in this case Armenia will lose its
opportunities. The other is the scenario of high growth, when IT
sector in Armenia’s GDP, which currently makes 1.4%, increases four
times. “This will create over 6,000 jobs in Armenia by 2020 and will
provide over USD 500mln earnings”, Andoyan said. He pointed out that
for successful implementation of this scenario the RA Government
should modernize the educational system, should itself use
information technologies and provide condition for the sector to be
developed.
He said that it is important to create the system of electronic
government, attract to the IT sector the great actors of the world in
this sector, as well as creation of the special agency to conduct
marketing of this sphere. A.A. -0–

BARITONE BRYN TERFEL AND SOPRANO ANGELA GHEORGHIU TRIUMPH AS MET OPERA OPENS SEASON
By Mike Silverman; Associated Press Writer

Associated Press Worldstream
September 20, 2005 Tuesday 1:51 AM Eastern Time

Figaro prepared for his marriage, Tosca stabbed the villain in the
heart, and a shorn Samson regained his strength just long enough to
bring the temple crashing down on the Philistines.

Oh, and along the way the Metropolitan Opera kicked off its 2005-06
season Monday, and Placido Domingo extended his own record by
performing in his 21st opening night. (Enrico Caruso managed only 17.)

The gala audience, which paid up to $1,000 ([euro]824) a ticket, had
to wait quite a while to hear Domingo. In a program that consisted
of three acts from three different operas, his appearance in Act III
of Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila” marked the finale.

Before he appeared, the company performed Act I of Mozart’s “Le Nozze
di Figaro” (“The Marriage of Figaro”) and Act II of Puccini’s “Tosca.”

Both the first two starred the Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel, whose
enormous, effortless voice and charismatic stage presence were as
irresistible as ever.

As a Figaro brimming with good humor and self-confidence, he was
partnered by the delightful Susanna of Isabel Bayrakdarian, a rising
young Armenian-Canadian soprano. Luxury casting brought mezzo Susan
Graham to the trousers role of Cherubino, and she invested her aria
with plush tone and impeccable timing.

But the dramatic high point of the evening unquestionably came after
the first intermission, when Terfel returned as the sadistic Baron
Scarpia in the middle act of Puccini’s musical melodrama. Gone was the
affable, open-hearted sound of Figaro; in its place, the chilling,
cavernous tones of a man in love with his own power and willing to
use it without scruple.

His goal was the seduction of Tosca, a beautiful singer portrayed
here by Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu. Her performance, if
anything, surpassed Terfel’s in intensity, and together their extended
confrontation made for theater as gripping as you’re likely to see
on the Met stage.

Gheorghiu’s voice is several sizes smaller than her co-star’s, but she
makes every decibel count, from her cries of despair as she listens
to her lover being tortured offstage, to her famous “Vissi d’arte,”
in which she protests that she has dedicated her life to art. She
sang the aria faster and less showily than it is often done, and it
was devastating in its simple pathos. And she was totally persuasive
in her desperate courage as she grabbed a knife from a table and
plunged it into Scarpia’s heart as he tried to embrace her.

After that, “Samson et Dalila” was something of an anticlimax. For
one thing, the best music is in Dalila’s arias in the first two acts.

About all Act III has to offer is an orgy scene in which the Met
dancers get to writhe about energetically and a final bit of stage
gimmickry when the central pillar of the temple topples under Samson’s
exertions.

Domingo’s singing was perhaps more businesslike than compelling,
though as he nears the traditional retirement age of 65, one has to
be grateful for each performance he gives. He was partnered by mezzo
Denyce Graves as Dalila and baritone Frederick Burchinal as the High
Priest, neither of them having their best night, either.

James Levine conducted the Met orchestra through the oddly varied
program with utmost consideration and support for the singers.

The remainder of the opening week offers some more substantial fare –
Massenet’s “Manon” with Renee Fleming, Puccini’s “La Boheme,” Strauss’
“Ariadne auf Naxos,” and Verdi’s Falstaff, starring Terfel in another
of his signature roles.

COUNCIL IN DIPLOMATIC ROW WITH TURKEY
Murdo Macleod
[email protected]

The Scotsman, UK
Sept 17 2005

IT HAS failed miserably to fix the capital’s roads, has the most
notorious parking wardens in Scotland and has sky-high council
tax rates.

Now Edinburgh City Council has caused a diplomatic incident with
Turkey by proposing a motion on the Armenian genocide, angering a
close Nato ally of Britain and a would-be EU member.

Opposition politicians have accused the council of indulging in
1980s-style student politics.

The Turkish embassy in London has decided to send a diplomat to
Edinburgh in an effort to stop any motion about genocide being passed
because they believe it will damage their bid to be a member of the EU.

The matter has been reported to the Turkish government in Ankara,
and a high-ranking official is expected to arrive in Edinburgh to
discuss the matter next month.

Edinburgh council leader Donald Anderson has already enraged Turkey
by telling its ambassador in a letter: “Having researched this issue,
I am in no doubt that the Armenian community suffered a genocide
at the hands of the Ottoman regime. There are substantial eyewitness
accounts that are well documented and there is, I believe, wide support
for the view that the historical evidence is robust and compelling
for genocide.

“As council leader I have to advise you that I am convinced of the
need to support recognition for what I believe was genocide.”

While the move has been welcomed in the city by members of the Armenian
community, it has puzzled and enraged Turks. The embassy did not give
any official comment, with a source saying that they hoped they could
deal with the issue by talking to the council.

The source said: “We believe that raising this issue is calculated
to damage Turkey’s bid for EU membership and the country’s reputation
in the West.

“We also believe that it is unhelpful to create divides between Muslims
and the West at the very time we are seeking to promote the ideal of
a modern and democratic Islam and coexistence.

“You also wonder what this has to do with a Scottish city council. I
would have thought they might have other things to deal with, like
roads and so forth.”

Ian White, the Tory leader on the council, echoed these sentiments,
saying: “Whatever the view on Turkey and Armenia it is not for
councillors in this city to sort out. I would have thought they should
focus on fixing roads and making sure that our streets are clean. It
is a typical empty political gesture. One would have hoped they had
grown up and put the era of 1980s student politics behind them.”

The Armenian killings occurred between 1915 and 1923. Turkey was
fighting Russia in the First World War and feared that many members
of its Armenian community would defect to the side of the Russians
because of the Orthodox religion the Russians and Armenians shared.

The rulers of the then Ottoman Empire decided to deport them.

In the following years, nearly 1.5 million Armenians reportedly died.

Turkey has claimed the deaths were the result of civil unrest at a
time of war and that Turks and Kurds also lost their lives. Armenians
believe the deaths of their ancestors and the lack of recognition they
received paved the way for the Holocaust. When talking about his plans
for the deaths of the Jews, Adolf Hitler was quoted as having said:
“Who remembers the killing of the Armenians?”

Anderson said: “Accusations of genocide are a very sensitive issue
and we are attempting to deal with it as such. The accusations are
made against the Ottoman regime and are no reflection on the modern
Turkish state or Turkish people. I have met to discuss the issue with a
range of representatives from the Turkish community and agreed to host
a seminar for them to present their view on this period of history.”

Asked why it was felt necessary for the council to have a position on a
historical issue which happened abroad, he said: “Although this isn’t
a particularly fashionable or high-profile issue, the council does
from time to time become involved in issues that are not recognised
as our core business. Apartheid would have lasted a lot longer if
a wide cross section of organisations, including local authorities,
had not campaigned.”

An aide to Anderson said he “strongly supports” Turkish membership
of the EU.