Author: Vardapetian Ophelia

Armenia, Russia in joint “planned” exercises

Mediamax news agency
24 Aug 04

YEREVAN

Four-day joint Armenian-Russian exercises started at the Marshal
Bagramyan training centre today.

The spokesman for the Armenian Defence Ministry, Seyran Shakhsuvaryan,
told Mediamax that the exercises are of planned character. Their aim
is to work out the sides’ interoperability while carrying out
defensive actions.

Reinforced motor-rifle regiment is taking part in the exercises from
the Armenian part, and servicemen of the Russian Defence Ministry’s
112th military base stationed in Armenia from the Russian
part. Fighting, attack aviation and artillery will take part in the
exercises along with the motorized forces.

The exercises are being carried out under the command of Armenian
Deputy Defence Minister, Lt-Gen Mikael Grigoryan.

RIA Novosti, Russia
Aug 24 2004

ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN MILITARY EXERCISES BEGIN

YEREVAN, August 24 (RIA Novosti’s Gamlet Matevosyan) – Joint
Armenian-Russian military exercises have started at the Marshal
Bagramyan training ground near Armavir on Tuesday.

The Armenian enhanced motorized rifle regiment and servicemen from
the 102nd Russian military base stationed in Gyumri (Armenia) are
taking part in the exercises, Colonel Seiran Shakhsuvaryan, the press
secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry, told RIA Novosti.

Different branches of the armed forces including fighting and assault
aircraft and artillery will be involved in the exercises, which will
last until August 27.

The purpose of the exercises is to practice defensive interaction.

The 102nd Russian military base of the North Caucasian military
district in Gyumri (deployed in 1995) is on combat alert as part of
the CIS air defense system. There are 5,000 people stationed at the
base, which is equipped with a C-300 surface-to-air missile system
and MiG-29 fighters.

Xinhua, China
Aug 23 2004

Foreign leaders commemorate centenary of Deng Xiaoping’s birth

BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhuanet) — Top leaders of Armenia,
Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Moldova have paid homage to late Chinese
leader Deng Xiaoping on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

In separate telegraphs sent to Chinese President Hu Jintao,
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, Turkman President Saparmurat
Niyazov, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov and Moldovan President
Vladimir Voronin said what Deng had done significantly contributedto
China’s rise in the international arena.

The leaders highly valued Deng’s “one country, two systems”
policy and China’s reform and opening up drive which kicked off
China’s battle for modernization.

China’s rise provided a model for other countries and its
experience was rated as a treasure for the entire world, they said.

The leaders also expected more achievements to be made by Chinese
people who are striving to put Deng Xiaoping’s theory intofurther
practice.

Tageblatt, Luxembourg
23 août 2004

Recherches tous azimuts pour retrouver trois journalistes européens
en Irak

Des recherches tous azimuts se poursuivaient dimanche en Irak pour
tenter de retrouver deux journalistes français et un italien dont les
médias craignent qu’ils n’aient été enlevés.
Christian Chesnot (pigiste pour Radio France) et Georges Malbrunot
(envoyé spécial du Figaro) devaient quitter ensemble Bagdad tôt
vendredi matin pour se rendre à Najaf (centre) et depuis, leurs
employeurs ont perdu tout contact avec eux.

De son côté, le reporter italien Enzo Baldonide, de l’hebdomadaire
Diario, a été porté disparu en Irak jeudi et peut-être enlevé selon
sa rédaction.

»On écarte de moins en moins l’hypothèse d’un enlèvement, sauf qu’il
n’y a toujours pas de revendication ni de demande de rançon», a
déclaré de son côté à l’AFP le rédacteur en chef adjoint du service
étranger du Figaro, Jean-Louis Validire.

Le directeur de France Info, dont Radio France est la maison mère,
Michel Polacco, a affirmé avoir »sollicité les autorités françaises
pour qu’elles interviennent aussi bien auprès des autorités
américaines, britanniques et irakiennes, qu’auprès du CICR (Comité
international de la Croix Rouge)».

Un membre de la rédaction de Diario, Gianni Barbaceto, a déclaré à
l’AFP que son hebdomadaire allait désormais »ouvrir des canaux
officiels» pour tenter de retrouver le journaliste italien.

Le ministère français des Affaires étrangères a déclaré dimanche que
»les recherches (des deux Français) se poursuivent dans toutes les
directions».

En cas »d’enlèvement, (il faut) qu’on positionne bien ces
journalistes, qu’on rappelle qu’ils sont français et qu’ils ne sont
pas seuls, qu’il y a derrière eux des entreprises de presse et la
France», a affirmé M. Polacco.

»Le Quai d’Orsay pense qu’il y a une possibilité qu’ils soient dans
les hôpitaux», a relevé Jean-Louis Validire. »Ils sont (aussi) en
train de se mettre sur la piste du +fixeur+ (assistant) de Georges
qui est un Arménien chrétien qui aurait pu être avec eux. J’essaye de
voir quel type de voiture ils pouvaient avoir».

»La dernière fois qu’on a eu Christian Chesnot au téléphone c’était
vendredi à 07H00», a souligné de son côté Catherine Laurence,
rédactrice en chef à France Info. »Il nous a dit: +Je pars à Najaf,
j’en ai pour quatre heures+».

Peu après, le Figaro a tenté de joindre Georges Malbrunot, mais il
n’a plus répondu. »Je l’ai eu jeudi soir au téléphone, quand il a
envoyé son article. On devait se reparler vendredi matin», a précisé
M. Validire. »J’ai dû téléphoner vendredi à 09H15: à cette heure-là,
ils pouvaient très bien avoir eu des ennuis sur la route de Najaf».

M. Polacco a relevé que Christian Chesnot »avait l’intention
d’essayer d’obtenir une interview (du chef radical chiite Moqtada)
Sadr». A-t-il approché des miliciens ? »C’est une possibilité», a
répondu le directeur de France Info.

A Najaf, où de violents affrontements armés se déroulaient dimanche,
personne n’a vu les journalistes. »On n’a pas vu de trace de Chesnot
ni de Malbrunot dans les deux petits hôtels de Najaf où se retrouvent
les journalistes», a affirmé M. Polacco.

»Il n’est pas du tout sûr qu’ils soient arrivés à Najaf», a-t-il
ajouté, en faisant valoir que »de nombreux confrères sont allés à
Najaf et en sont revenus et aucun ne les a vus». »Ont-ils eu un
problème à la sortie de Bagdad ou sur la route entre Bagdad et Najaf
?», s’est-il interrogé.

Le bureau de Moqtada Sadr à Bagdad a affirmé samedi être en contact
avec les ravisseurs d’un autre journaliste, l’Américain Micah Garen,
enlevé le 14 août dans le sud de l’Irak, assurant que ce dernier
pourrait être relché dans deux jours.

L’organisation de défense des journalises Reporters sans frontières
(RSF) s’est déclaré dimanche inquiète du sort de ces quatre
journalistes occidentaux et »alarmée par la multiplication des
enlèvements de journalistes» en Irak.

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian

CROSSROADS E-NEWSLETTER August 19, 2004

PARTICIPANTS PRAISE PAN-DIASPORA
CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION
The international conference on education, organized by the Catholicosate of
Cilicia, received praise from the participants. The conference took place in
Bikfaya, Lebanon, August 5 to 7.

All of the participants considered the conference to be a good opportunity
to look at the question of education in a broader perspective and an
important forum for sharing experiences. Many hoped that there would be a
continuous process and urged the Catholicosate to take a leading role in
reorganizing education in the Diaspora.

His Holiness Aram I reaffirmed his conviction that Armenian Christian
education must acquire a priority place and be a major focus on the agenda
of the Church, particularly in the Diaspora. The Catholicos considered the
conference to be a significant and concrete step forward in terms of
developing a pan-Armenian policy on education. Such a policy, His Holiness
said, must first critically review the present educational methodologies,
strategies and programs; second, it must take into consideration the impact
of globalization and the actual realities and emerging concerns related to
specific environments; and third, it must aim to make education more
relevant and credible. The globalized world, His Holiness concluded,
constantly and seriously challenges us to take seriously our educational
norms and values by remaining faithful to the Gospel message.

ST. SARKIS PARISHIONERS BEGIN VISIT TO ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH
A large group of parishioners and friends of St. Sarkis Church (Douglaston,
NY), under the leadership of their pastor, V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian,
are now in Armenia through August 30. The group is planning extensive tours
in Armenia as well as a trip to Artstakh.

A unique event is planned for this Saturday in Yerevan. Many of the
individuals on the tour are sponsors of children through the Prelacy Orphan
Sponsorship program. Father Anoushavan has planned a reunion of sorts with
the children and their sponsors at a special dinner party in Yerevan.
Approximately 45 children are expected to attend the gathering. What a great
idea!

ST. GREGORY IN PHILADELPHIA INCLUDES THE YOUNG
IN BLESSING OF GRAPES CELEBRATION
St. Gregory Church in Philadelphia always makes an extra effort to involve
young people in the life of the church. Rev. Fr. Nerses Manoogian has
initiated many wonderful and meaningful ways of bringing youthful
participation to the church services. In one such event, now a tradition in
Philadelphia, on Assumption Day, young girls in the parish are recruited to
take part in the Blessing of Grapes. After the blessing ceremony, the girls,
dressed in traditional Armenian costumes, are given baskets of the blessed
grapes to distribute to the parishioners. This year the distributors of the
grapes were: Ankine Sarkessian, Aleen Streeter, Hripsime Sarkessian, Noune
Sarkessian, Tzoline Karakelian and Lousig Khararjian.

AREC WILL ORGANIZE SEMINARS FOR PARISHES
The Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC) is prepared to organize
local and regional seminars for our parishes. Deacon Shant Kazanjian,
Executive Director of AREC, has many good suggestions. Deacon Shant is very
knowledgeable and a talented speaker. For detailed information click

SIAMANTO ACADEMY GRADUATION
The Siamanto Academy, under the jurisdiction of the Armenian National
Education Committee (ANEC), is preparing for its 2004-2005 school year. For
a photo and story about the 2004 graduation click

ORTHODOX CHURCH OF ERITREA
INVITES CATHOLICOS ARAM I
The newly appointed Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Eritrea has invited
His Holiness Aram I to pay an official visit to Eritrea. The head of the
sister-church of Eritrea that recently joined the family of Eastern
Churches, praised the inter-church activities of His Holiness. He expressed
his gratitude for the work accomplished by His Holiness in bringing the
Orthodox Church of Eritrea into the World Council of Churches.

ST. ILLUMINATOR SCHOOL REGISTRATION
The St. Illuminator Armenian School in Woodside, NY, will begin its 28th
year on Wednesday, September 8. Registration is now taking place for new
students for grades Nursery through 6th grade. The school provides quality
education in all English elementary school requirements as well as in the
Armenian language, history and culture. For information contact the school
at 718-478-4073.

MEMORIAL DAY
In the Armenian Church the day after a major feast is Memorial Day.
Traditionally on Memorial Day, after the celebration of the Divine Liturgy,
the faithful went to the cemetery to honor and remember their loved ones.
Priests blessed the graves with chants and incense. Relatives and friends
lit candles symbolizing that the memory of their loved ones remains bright.

The five major feasts in the Armenian Church, also called Tabernacle Feasts,
are: Theophany, Easter, Transfiguration, Assumption, and Exaltation of the
Cross.

This past Monday, August 16, the day after Assumption was a Memorial Day.

REMEMBERING STS. JOACHIM AND ANNA
This coming Tuesday, August 24, the Armenian Church commemorates Sts.
Joachim and Anna, the parents of Mary, the Mother of God.

Joachim and Anna were childless into advanced age. In response to their
supplications they were blessed with the birth of a daughter they named
Mary, their only child. The birth of Mary is celebrated in the Armenian
Church on September 8.

THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN
The colder-than-usual and wetter-than-usual August weather here on the east
coast has slowed down the production of beautiful, delicious, red,
ripe-on-the vine tomatoes. We have an abundance of green tomatoes, but hope
is eternal.

On the other hand, the herb garden and flowers are doing quite nicely. All
of this reminded us that many plants and flowers have religious
significance. Monasteries cultivated gardens and plants for their aromatic,
aesthetic and medicinal qualities.

Daffodils are also called Lent Lilies signifying the approaching of Spring,
Easter and the Resurrection.

Lilies of the Valley are also known as Mary’s Tears or Our Lady’s Tears
because of the shape of the pearly tear-shaped white flowers. And of course
one of the best known verses in the Gospel of Matthew is: Consider the
lilies of the field; how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and
yet I say unto you, that even Solomon is all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these. (Matthew 6:28).

The name of the prevalent Marigold comes from Mary’s Gold. The yellow
flowers symbolize the golden rays of Christianity.

And of course the most coveted of all flowers, the Rose, the symbol of
chasteness and fertility, is dedicated to Mary. Think of the beautiful rose
windows of great cathedrals.

Herbs are also prominent in the Bible. Frankincense and Myrrh are an
important part of the Christmas Story. Many spices prominent in Armenian
cuisine are mentioned in the Bible including Coriander, Mint, Cumin, Anise,
Dill and more.

There is not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known…
(from an English hymn)

Visit our website at

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT DISCUSSES ISSUE OF CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF SMALL
HYDRO POWER PLANTS IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, AUGUST 18. ARMINFO. The issue of construction and operation
of small hydro power plants in Armenia was discussed during the
sitting convened by Minister of territorial management and
coordination of infrastructures of Armenia Hovik Abrahamian.

ARMINFO was informed in the press office of the government, the
participants of the sitting informed that in 2003-2004 the right for
using water was given to 43 hydro power plants. 14 HPPs of them are
being constructed now, and 29 – are operating. It was instructed to
elaborate a program of construction and operation of small hydro power
plants.

GEORGIA AND TURKEY AGREE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY KARS-AKHALKALAKI

TBILISI, AUGUST 12. ARMINFO. Georgia and Turkey agreed for
construction of railway Kars (Turkey) – Akhalkalaki (Georgia). This
agreement was reached within the framework of the visit of the
delegation of Turkish businessmen, headed by Prime Minister of Turkey
Recep Erdogan, to Tbilisi.

RBC was informed in the State office of Georgia, the implementation of
this project will cost $600 mln for the Turkish side.

We shall remind that the possibility of lifting the blockade of the
railway Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi was earlier discussed. The possibility of
launching this section of the railway was discussed during the meeting
of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey in Istanbul on June 27,
during the NATO summit.

Washington Post
Aug 10 2004

Reinventing U.S. Foreign Aid At Millennium Challenge Corp.

By Glenn Kessler

Paul V. Applegarth’s office has the look of a hot Internet start-up,
complete with bare white walls and holes left when pictures hung by
the previous tenant were ripped down. Though Applegarth is the chief
executive of a new enterprise, Millennium Challenge Corp., his tiny
hovel is at the end of two rows of cubicles with no reception area in
an Arlington office building.

The staff, seven people at the beginning of the year, has expanded to
42 in six months and is due to grow to 200 in a year. Applegarth, a
onetime Wall Street executive, is sitting on $1 billion in cash and
soon hopes to get as much as $2.5 billion more. And — literally —
the world is beating a path to his door.

Millennium Challenge Corp. is a hot prospect — but in the world of
foreign aid. It represents an audacious attempt by the Bush
administration to rewrite the rules of foreign development
assistance, focusing less on foreign policy considerations and more
on whether countries create the conditions to use the money wisely.

The federal agency will hand over huge sums of money to a select
group of countries, who are evaluated and ranked according to series
of benchmarks graded by outside parties. Only 16 countries — out of
a potential pool of 75 of the world’s poorest nations — qualified
for the first round of funding, based on the quality of the
government, public investment in people and economic freedoms. When
the program is fully funded, each eligible country could receive as
much as $300 million in additional aid per year beyond its current
foreign assistance.

The developing world is familiar turf for Applegarth, 58. As a young
Army officer in the Vietnam War, he worked in remote parts of the
southern Mekong Delta, as part of an advisory team living in local
hamlets and training medics, helping to establish schools and
providing security.

His travel bug was whetted by a trip to Guatemala and British
Honduras (now called Belize) while in college. “I was intrigued by
the thought of working internationally and living internationally,”
he said. “It got the juices going.”

Applegarth, a graduate of Yale University and Harvard law and
business schools, spent nearly a decade at the World Bank before
moving to Wall Street in the mid-1980s. He worked at Bank of America,
American Express and Lehman Brothers (then part of American Express)
— and was lent out in 1992 to United Way of America to help it
recover from a financial scandal — before becoming managing director
of an asset management firm that focused on emerging markets. He was
responsible for operations in the Philippines and Indonesia and then
headed the Hong Kong office of Emerging Markets Partnership.

He also was the chief operating officer of a fund sponsored by the
British government that combined public- and private-sector moneys to
build projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Just before being confirmed by
the Senate as the first head of Millennium, Applegarth was chief
executive of Value Enhancement International, a consulting firm.

Federal Election Commission records show that Applegarth, a
Republican, contributed $500 in 1997 to Democratic Rep. Charles E.
Schumer’s successful campaign to oust Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R-N.Y.).
Schumer was a law school classmate and introduced Applegarth at his
confirmation hearing. Applegarth also contributed $1,000 to former
senator Bill Bradley’s campaign for the Democratic presidential
nomination in 2000, the records show. In June, he gave $2,000 to the
Republican National Committee.

Millennium is based on an idea that had been kicking around foreign
aid circles but which the Bush administration — suspicious of the
bureaucracy exemplified by the U.S. Agency for International
Development — has actively promoted. Millennium has a high-powered
board — Secretary of State Colin L. Powell is chairman, and Treasury
Secretary John W. Snow is vice chairman — and is designed to be
independent of State and USAID, with as little bureaucracy as
possible.

“There is a sense that USAID has done a lot of good things over time
but some things have not gone well,” Applegarth said. “The press of
shorter-term needs — HIV/AIDS, famine, humanitarian assistance —
has squeezed out the focus on longer-term needs. There is a sense
that you needed a separate entity that could only do one thing —
focusing on ending the cycle of dependency, reducing poverty — and
doing it through sustainable growth.”

Applegarth has outsourced most of the administrative functions —
such as financial accounting, security clearance and information
technology — to contractors. “We are not creating an empire here, we
are not creating bureaucracy,” he said. “We are much more modeled on
a personal services firm.”

Some have expressed concern that the Millennium program will drain
funding from USAID and other foreign aid initiatives and, because it
is a separate entity, complicate the coordination of foreign aid.

Mary McClymont, chief executive of InterAction, an alliance of
U.S.-based international aid organizations, praised Applegarth for a
willingness to listen to nongovernmental organizations and take their
views into account. But, she said, “at the end of the day the jury is
still out” on whether Millennium funding will reach the goals set by
Bush and whether it will squeeze out other development assistance.

When Bush announced the program, he said it would quickly grow to $5
billion a year. Congress appropriated $1 billion for the first year,
and though Bush requested $2.5 billion for the fiscal year starting
Oct. 1, the House halved the amount because of budget constraints.
The Senate has not yet acted on the request.

In the developing world, Millennium is a huge deal. After the program
was announced in 2002, the foreign minister of Cape Verde cornered
Powell during a refueling stop to make a pitch for the African
country’s inclusion in the program. When Cape Verde made the final
cut, Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves said the selection “was the
third most significant achievement for the country behind
independence from Portugal in 1975 and the democratic transition in
1991.”

Once countries are placed in a pool based on such factors as per
capita income (under $1,415), they are then rated on 16 criteria —
corruption, political rights, education expenditures and days it
takes to start a business, among others — that are assembled by
independent groups, such as the World Bank, World Health Organization
and the Heritage Foundation.

The hope is that countries will feel a sense of competition and
improve their performance. Every year, countries selected for
Millennium money will be reassessed. Already, Applegarth said, there
is evidence that the average number of days to start a business —
indicative of regulatory and bureaucratic burdens — has begun to
decrease in some countries.

Countries that are selected are also urged to consult widely with
interest groups in order to determine national needs. On a recent
trip, Applegarth found that Mongolia had set up “open forum” Web
sites for people to send in ideas, while Georgia had a Web site and
was holding town meetings.

Armenian officials at first thought they understood what people
wanted but were surprised to discover different answers after
nationally televised public forums were held, Applegarth said.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said during a recent visit
to Washington that inclusion in the Millennium program had made the
country “more focused” on governance, democracy, rule of law and
human rights.

“We are as much about the message as the money,” Applegarth said. “If
they can get the policy environment right, they will generate growth
and capital.”

PETER BALAKIAN SURE THAT KERRY TO SHOW OTHER ATTITUDE TOWARDS ISSUE OF
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE THAN OTHER US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

PASADENA, August 6 (Noyan Tapan). Peter Balakian, the author of the
much-talked-of book entitled “The Tiger in Fire” which is devoted to
the Armenian Genocide, expressed hope that one should expect other
attitude towards the recognition of the Armenian Genocide of
presidential candidate Senator John Kerry than the attitude
demonstrated by the previous presidential candidates who became the US
Presidents then. According to him, Kerry spent all his life among the
Armenians. P. Balakian mentioned that the state of Massachusetts is
the home for almost 30,000 Armenians. “He is a candidate having
profound knowledge in the historical events concerning the Armenian
Genocide,” the writer said. According to the American “Pasadena
Star-News” publication, the US Presidents traditionally chose “the
golden mean” and avoided using the “genocide” term, as well as they
came up against the resolutions recognizing the Genocide in order not
to alienate Turkey, which is an American ally. But
scientists-historians and activists standing for the recognition of
the Genocide pin their hopes on the candidature of John Kerry, taking
into account the fact that in 1990 he voted for the approval of the
resolution on the recognition of the Genocide submitted by Senator Bob
Doll. Kerry promised to recognize officially the 1915 Armenian
Genocide in Ottoman Turkey in case of his victory in the presidential
elections to be held this November.

NEW LEADERSHIP OF “CROSS OF LEBANESE ARMENIAN AID” RECEIVES BLESSING
OF CATHOLICOS OF GREAT CILICIAN HOUSE

ANTELIAS, August 6 (Noyan Tapan). On August 3, Catholicos of Great
Cilician House Aram I received members of the new board of the “Cross
of Lebanese Armenian Aid”, who came to receive the blessing of the
Patriarch before assuming new office. Catholicos of Great Cilician
House Aram I highly estimated the merits of the organization and the
current boosting activities. He mentioned the mission carried out by
the organization in the days of the civil war in Lebanon at the price
of human and material losses. Then His Holiness spoke favorably of the
current activities of the members of the organization, especially on
the provision of the vulnerable population with food and the
resolution of other problems in the sphere of public health and social
security. According to the press service of the Great Cilician House,
the Supreme Patriarch wished the newly elected board every success in
its further work.