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

March 11, 2004

BYZANTINE EXHIBITION OPENS AT
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM WITH
ARTIFACTS FROM CILICIAN SEE
The much awaited exhibit Byzantium: Power and Faith, (1261-1557), will
open to the public on March 23 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
City. It will remain on view through July 4, 2004. The exhibit includes some
Armenian artifacts from that era-which is the Cilician period-that have been
loaned to the museum by the Catholicate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon.
Included in the exhibit are two manuscripts, one of which is the famous
Gospel of Partserpert, and the reliquary of the right hand of St. Nicholas.
Archbishop Oshagan will attend a special preview opening and dinner on
Monday evening, March 15, in the presence of His All-Holiness Bartholomew,
Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch.
This exhibit, which is the museum’s third major exhibition on Byzantium,
brings together some 350 masterpieces from churches, monasteries and museums
around the world to demonstrate the great flowering of art and culture
within the Byzantine Empire and among its East Christian rivals during the
Empire’s last centuries. Included are icons, textiles, metalwork, and
manuscripts made primarily for the Orthodox Church and other East Christian
peoples as well as paintings, manuscripts, and metalwork of the Latin West
and the Islamic world.

THIRD LENTEN LECTURE
CONTINUES TO EXPLORE THE FAMILY
The third Lenten Lecture, delivered by V. Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian,
pastor of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, last night continued to explore the
general theme of the Family.
Rev. Fr. Muron focused on the family as a school of religious formation.
Using biblical references from both the Old and New Testaments, Hayr Sourp
described the characteristics of a family and especially the Christian
family. He described how religious education can be transmitted within a
positive environment in a family. He also spoke about the difficult teen-age
years with the many negative influences in society.
A question and answer period followed the lecture. A time of fellowship
was enjoyed by all of the attendees as discussions continued over a
satisfying Lenten meal prepared by the Prelacy Ladies Guild.
The Lenten Lectures are sponsored by the Armenian Religious Education
Council and the Prelacy Ladies Guild.

FOURTH LENTEN LECTURE WILL BE PRESENTED BY
REV. FR. KHATCHADOUR BOGHOSSIAN
Rev. Fr. Khatchadour Boghossian, pastor of Sts. Vartanantz Church,
Ridgefield, New Jersey, will present the fourth lecture of the Lenten
Lecture series next Wednesday, March 17. Der Khatchadour will speak about
the Family as a Small Church.
The lectures take place at St. Illuminators Cathedral, 221 E. 27th
Street, New York City. Lenten service begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary,
followed by the lecture and fellowship in Pashalian Hall. All are welcome.

SEMINAR IN GRANITE CITY
SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 13
A seminar devoted to Badarak: Supreme Expression of our Communal
Spirituality will take place Saturday, March 13, at St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church, Granite City, Illinois. Deacon Shant Kazanjian, Director
of the Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC), will lead the daylong
seminar.

PRELACY BIBLE STUDIES GROUP
WILL DISCUSS THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
The Bible Studies group that meets at the Prelacy every 1st and 3rd
Mondays of the month will discuss the Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the
Christ, on March 22, 7:15 to 8:45 p.m. Deacon Shant Kazanjian leads the
discussions. The group plans to see the movie this Monday, March 15, in New
York City. For more information contact Deacon Shant, 212-689-7810.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT:
SUNDAY OF THE STEWARD
We have come to the fourth Sunday of Lent, which is the Sunday of the
Steward (Tntesi Kiraki). The reading on this day is from the Gospel of St.
Luke, chapter 16, verses 1 to 8, which relates the parable of The
Unrighteous Steward. This parable is about a shrewd rich and his steward.
The steward was one who looked out for his own personal benefit and through
his cunning arrangements made deals with those who were in debt to his
master. Jesus used this parable not to condone the behavior of the steward
but rather as an illustration of qualities that have a necessary place in
the life of true disciples. Since we are stewards of this world, we are
accountable to our Lord for the talents we have and that which has been
entrusted to us.
The Prelacy bookstore has several books on Armenian Church Feasts and on
the Lenten season leading to the Great Week. Visit the Prelacy web site,
for these and other books, or contact the
bookstore at 212-689-7810.

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Kavkasia-Press news agency, Tbilisi, in Georgian
11 Mar 04

Georgia introduces two-language ballot papers for ethnic minorities

Tbilisi, 11 March: Voters living in the Kvemo Kartli and
Samtskhe-Javakheti Regions [largely populated, respectively, by
ethnic Azeris and Armenians] will be provided with two-language
ballot papers [in the 28 March parliamentary election], Georgia’s
Central Electoral Commission [CEC] Chairman Zurab Chiaberashvili said
at the commission’s meeting today.

Chiaberashvili said that the ballot papers will be published in the
Georgian and Azeri languages in the Kvemo Kartli Region and in the
Georgian and Armenian languages in the Samtskhe-Javakheti Region.

The CEC plans to publish 3m ballot papers for the entire country.

Also today, the CEC approved a sample ballot paper which lists
political parties and blocs participating in the elections. Names of
four of the [19] registered parties and blocs will now be listed in a
slightly revised form, as follows:

[No. 1] Socialist Party of Georgia – as “Socialist Party”;

[No. 5] Saakashvili – National Movement – as “National
Movement-Democrats”;

[No. 11] Motherland bloc – as “Motherland”; and

[No. 18] Freedom political movement – as “Freedom political movement
– Konstantine Z. Gamsakhurdia”.

These parties had themselves petitioned the CEC to change their
names.

Hurriyyat, Baku, in Azeri
11 Mar 04, p 4

Azeri, Armenian “mafia bosses” in fear of Georgia’s corruption
crackdown – paper

Serious processes are under way in the South Caucasus. The region has
attracted the world’s attention. After his election [Georgian]
President Mikheil Saakashvili started economic and political reforms
that have global significance.

[Passage omitted: More on Georgian politics]

The fight against corruption in Georgia is a highly risky undertaking
since Saakashvili takes on not only local corrupt officials, but also
giant international corrupt networks which earn dirty money and use
Georgia for transit. The directives to protect the borders have
caused fear among certain mafia-related structures in Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Armenia. Saakashvili said that by controlling the
railway he would rid the country of corruption. Suffice it to recall
the arrest of the former Georgian railways chief, Akaki Chkhaidze.

[Passage omitted: More on Georgian politics]

During his visit to Azerbaijan, Saakashvili sent a message to
[Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev by saying that “together we can
work miracles”. Our newspaper reported that Georgia handed over to
the Azerbaijani authorities a list of Azerbaijani officials with
criminal links to their venal Georgian counterparts. There are even
reports that some officials will be summoned by court when Chkhaidze
is tried by the Georgian law-enforcement bodies.

[Passage omitted: Details]

The Georgian government closed down corridors on its territory
between the Azerbaijani and Armenian borders, which caused fear among
mafia bosses in Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to unofficial
statistics, Armenia and Azerbaijan are involved in shady dealings to
the sum of 35m dollars. This mainly amounts to export of Azerbaijan’s
oil and food to Armenia. The closure of borders means that
higher-ranking state officials will lose their dirty profits.
Moreover, this will create an economic crisis in Armenia. That the
Azerbaijani bodies have failed to take any serious measures to stop
the trade confirms that the state bodies protect the mafia.

In the wake of Saakashvili’s visit to the USA, the fight against
corruption and closure of borders has become more intense. This leads
to the conclusion that the USA uses Saakashvili as a stick to punish
the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders for their servitude to Russia.
During the upcoming visit to Armenia, Saakashvili will discuss with
[Armenian President Robert] Kocharyan the fight against corruption
and urge Kocharyan to join efforts. Otherwise, Georgia will refuse to
restore the railway to Armenia.

Should Aliyev and Kocharyan fail to take serious measures against
corruption, the processes in Georgia may trigger a US export of
“velvet revolution” to Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Bilik Dunyasi news agency, Baku, in Russian
11 Mar 04

Over 1m dollars amassed in Azeri help-the-army fund

BAKU

The amount of funds amassed so far in the help-the-army fund of the
Azerbaijani armed forces totals 6.72bn manats [1.37m dollars]. A total
of 14,000 dollars have been transferred into the fund in foreign
currency, the press service of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has
told Bilik Dunyasi news agency.

The ministry spokesman, Ramiz Malikov, said that these donations
would not be spent on Azerbaijani officer Sr Lt Ramil Safarov who is
being charged with killing an Armenian officer in Budapest.

“The Azerbaijani president and commander-in-chief, Ilham Aliyev,
keeps the fund’s spending under his personal control,” Col Malikov
said.

Kavkasia-Press news agency, Tbilisi, in Georgian
11 Mar 04

Georgian president to visit Armenia

TBILISI

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will start a two-day official
visit to Yerevan on Friday [12 March]. Saakashvili was invited by
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan.

The Armenian president’s press service has reported that the foreign
affairs, fuel and energy, and infrastructure and development ministers,
as well as the president’s representative in the Samtskhe-Javakheti
region [where ethnic Armenians live] and parliament members will be
among the Georgian delegation.

A confidential meeting between the presidents of the two countries
will be held on Friday. Later, Georgian-Armenian talks will be held
in a wider format. During the course of the meeting, the president
will meet Chairman of the National Assembly Artur Bagdasaryan and
Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan.

[Passage omitted]

Azadliq, Baku in Azeri
11 Mar 04, p 1

Armenian raid causes reshuffle of Azeri top brass – paper

Text of an unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq on 11
March headlined “The generals failed to defend” and subheaded “Was it
possible to prevent the Armenian raid on the village of Alxanli? Two
generals of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have been sacked”

There have been no official reports as to why two high-ranking
officials of the Defence Ministry have been dismissed, but Azadliq
newspaper has managed to obtain some information on that.

It was reported yesterday [10 March] that [Azerbaijani President]
Ilham Aliyev relieved of their posts National Hero Lt-Gen Talib
Mammadov, the chief of a key department at the Azerbaijani Defence
Ministry, and Maj-Gen Qabil Mammadov, the commander of a unit of the
armed forces. We found out that Talib Mammadov was the head of the
counterintelligence unit, and Qabil Mammadov was in charge of the
army corps.

We learnt from reliable sources that these people were accused of
being irresponsible and dismissed in the wake of the Armenian raid on
Fuzuli District [part of which is controlled by the Armenian forces].
Azadliq was the only paper to carry a report about that raid quoting
reliable sources. The report said that the Azerbaijani armed forces
sustained losses during the raid and the Defence Ministry dispatched
additional forces to the place. We learnt yesterday that the
Armenians raided Alxanli village in Fuzuli District. We contacted
villagers who confirmed the report.

The source said that Talib Mammadov was dismissed over his failure to
report the attack in time, and Qabil Mammadov for taking inadequate
measures to defend the place.

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan, in Russian
11 Mar 04

Armenian organizations condemn anti-Azeri rhetoric by senior
officials

YEREVAN

The leaders of four Armenian public organizations have issued a
statement effectively accusing the ruling coalition of spreading
“racist and chauvinist ideas which are alien to our society”.

The statement forwarded to Mediamax said that when commenting on the
killing of an Armenian officer by an Azerbaijani colleague in
Budapest, the chairman of the standing parliamentary commission for
foreign relations, Armen Rustamyan, and the head of the parliamentary
faction of the Armenian Republican Party, Galust Saakyan, “used
unacceptable generalisations with regard to the Azerbaijani people as
a whole”.

“The statements by such high-ranking politicians who represent the
ruling political coalition are particularly unacceptable because they
can be construed as the official position of our state, bring about
additional obstacles to resolving the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and
to improving relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the statement
said.

“The whipping up of anti-Armenian tension in Azerbaijan and its
consequences certainly deserve a strong condemnation, but this cannot
serve as justification for the spread of racist and chauvinist ideas
which are alien to our society. Difficult as the Budapest tragedy
situation might be, we are calling for political restraint. We hope
that our country will continue to be guided by common sense and
democratic values,” the statement said.

The statement was signed by the president of the Civil Society
Institute, Artak Kirakosyan, the president of the Yerevan Press Club,
Boris Navasardyan, the president of the Armenian Helsinki Committee,
Avetik Ishkhanyan, and the president of the Caucasus centre of peace
initiatives, Georgiy Vanyan.

Azg, Yerevan, in Armenian
10 Mar 04 p 5

Armenian paper condemns British envoy for denying genocide

The British ambassador’s recent remarks on the 1915 Armenian genocide
are false and offensive, says an article reprinted by the Armenian
newspaper Azg from California Courier. The paper interviewed
Ambassador Thorda Abbott-Watt who said that “the British government
had condemned the massacres as an atrocity at the time, and still
did, but the evidence was not sufficiently unequivocal that what took
place could be categorized as genocide under the 1948 United Nations
Convention on Genocide”. At the same time, the paper criticized the
Armenian government for not reacting to the ambassador’s statement.
It urged Armenian organizations to condemn the British government’s
position and stage demonstrations outside the embassy. The following
is a text of Harut Sassounian report by Armenian newspaper Azg on 10
March headlined “One should not keep silent in this case”.
Subheadings have been inserted editorially:

On 20 January, during an interview to the Regnum agency in connection
with the first anniversary of her diplomatic posting in Armenia, the
British ambassador to Armenia made a false and offensive statement on
the Armenian genocide. Ambassador Thorda Abbott-Watt was reported by
Azg newspaper as saying: “Great Britain accepts that the events of
1915 were mass killings (of the Armenian population), the responsible
for which are the Turks. I see no problem calling it brutality. It
shouldn’t have taken place even in the course of war. But, I do not
think that recognizing the events as genocide would be of much use.”

British envoy’s comment

Before writing this column, I sent an e-mail to the British
ambassador to confirm that she was accurately quoted. She responded
by saying: “On the events of 1915, I said words to the effect quoted,
but the translation has come out slightly clumsily. What I said was
that I understood the strength of feeling in Armenia about what
happened and that I knew that this was an issue which still touched
people very deeply nearly ninety years on. The British government had
condemned the massacres as an atrocity at the time, and still did.
But the evidence was not sufficiently unequivocal that what took
place could be categorized as genocide under the 1948 United Nations
Convention on Genocide and that while the debate continued among
historians and lawyers, we believed that there was a role for us in
encouraging countries in the region to look to the future and to work
actively for better relations and a lessening of tension.”

In my response to her, I pointed out that I had no quarrel with her
personally, since as ambassador, she was merely expressing the
position of her government. Nevertheless, I inquired if she could
explain why the British government would take the highly offensive
and incorrect position that the Armenian genocide did not fit the UN
definition of genocide. I told her that I was quite familiar with the
UN definition, as I had spent 10 years lobbying at the UN for the
acceptance of the Armenian genocide. In 1985, the UN Subcommission on
the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities finally
recognized the Armenian genocide as a genocide, and included it as
such in its report on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide. I found it absurd that the British government would
question the compatibility of the Armenian genocide with the UN
definition, since the UN itself had taken the position that the
Armenian Genocide perfectly fit its definition of genocide! It is
quite upsetting that any ambassador sitting in Yerevan would have the
audacity to dispute that what happened to the Armenians in 1915 was
genocide!

No Armenian reaction so far

It is even more upsetting that in the past six weeks, not a single
Armenian government official, nor the representative of any political
organization, indeed not a single Armenian has bothered to respond to
the ambassador’s insulting words on the Armenian genocide! By now,
there should have been dozens of statements issued by various
Armenian entities, both in Armenia and the diaspora, condemning both
the British ambassador and her government. There should have been
daily demonstrations in front of the British embassy in Yerevan. The
Armenian Foreign Ministry should have delivered a diplomatic note of
protest to the ambassador and put her on notice that the Armenian
government would not tolerate such offensive statements. In a recent
interview she gave to a journalist in Armenia, Ambassador Abott-Watt
said: “I like a good khorovads [kebab]. By the time I leave Armenia,
I hope I’ll be able to make good khorovads.” If the Armenians would
react strongly to her deeply injurious statement on the genocide,
before she returns to London, she may also learn that distorting the
facts of the Armenian genocide is highly offensive to Armenians and a
sin against all victims of crimes against humanity. By their silence,
Armenians are simply encouraging the British and others to continue
questioning the facts of the Armenian genocide.

Imagine what would have happened if some ambassador would have been
foolish enough to give a press conference in the middle of Tel Aviv,
saying that the Holocaust was simply “an atrocity” or “a brutality”
and did not fit the UN definition of genocide! That ambassador would
have been kicked out of Israel within 24 hours. Armenians not only
should raise their voices in protest against the British ambassador,
more importantly, they should urge Armenian government officials and
political organizations not to remain silent in the face of such
denials!

Ottawa Citizen
March 11, 2004 Thursday Final Edition

Fiddling and fencing with Thirteen Strings

by Steven Mazey

How often do you get to see a prodigiously talented violin soloist
and a fencing demonstration in period costume, all in one evening?

That’s what audiences will be treated to tomorrow night when
violinist Jessica Linnebach joins chamber orchestra Thirteen Strings
and conductor Jean-Francois Rivest for pieces by Tartini and Armenian
composer Alexander Arutiunian.

The orchestra will also perform 17th-century composer Heinrich
Biber’s Battalia, which was inspired by a swordfight. That’s where
the fencing comes in. Rivest will give a free pre-concert talk about
the piece at 7 p.m., with demonstrations by members of the University
of Ottawa Excalibur Fencing Club, in costume.

Linnebach, a native of Edmonton, performed as a soloist with the
National Arts Centre Orchestra when she was 17, on the tour of Israel
and Europe in 2000. Tomorrow, she will perform Arutiunian’s Concerto
for Violin and String Orchestra and Tartini’s Sonata in G minor for
Violin and Strings, “Devil’s Trill.”

It’s Linnebach’s first performance of the Arutunian piece, which she
describes as “very melodious and rich.”

She first performed the Tartini when she was 11, and says “it is very
exciting and dramatic, and it really is like a Devil’s Trill. The
most difficult aspect of the piece is endurance and being able to
keep the energy all the way through. I’m excited to have the
opportunity to play it again.”

Linnebach was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music in
Philadelphia at the age of 10, and is one of the youngest bachelor of
music graduates in the 75-year history of the school. Last September,
the Canada Council for the Arts’ Instrument Bank awarded her a
three-year loan of a Bell Giovanni Tononi violin from about 1700.

“I have fallen in love with it. It has a rich and full sound and it
has been an absolute joy for me to play,” says Linnebach, who has
been performing as a member of the NACO this season.

The concert starts at 8 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Church, Kent Street at
Wellington. Tickets, at $25 general, $20 seniors, and $5 for
students, will be at the door.

Thirteen Strings will also perform Sunday as part of the Concerts
Cumberland series, joined by two talented Ottawa students.

Violinist Yolanda Bruno, 14, and pianist Nina He, 16, won the fourth
annual Capital Concerto Competition, organized by Concerts Cumberland
to give students the chance to work with a professional orchestra.

At Orleans United Church, 1111 Orleans Blvd., Bruno will perform an
excerpt from a Locatelli concerto and Nina He will perform an excerpt
from Bach’s Concerto in F minor. The students receive prizes of $500
and $300 from sponsor RBC Investments.

The concert includes music by Haydn and a repeat of the Biber piece.
The talk and the fencing demonstration start at 7:10 p.m., followed
by the concert at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, $20 for adults, $16 for seniors,
$5 for students, will be at the door.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 11, 2004

Russia, Armenia prolong agreement on resettling citizens

By Natalya Slavina

MOSCOW

The Russian government has approved on Thursday a proposal of
prolonging the period of validity of the agreement between Russia and
Armenia on regulating the process of citizens’ voluntary
resettlement, journalists learnt at the Department of Government
Information.

This five-year agreement was signed on August 29, 199.

The agreement defines the procedure of resettling citizens of the two
countries and protects their property rights.

The government has decided to prolong the given agreement for the
next five years.