LOUSSAPATZ - The Dawn 1008-2013-11-16‏32-ՐԴ ՏԱՐԻ, ԹԻՒ 1008 ՇԱԲԱԹ, 16 ՆՈՅԵՄԲԵՐ 2013

OVER THE CENTURIES, LEGENDS ACCUMULATED AROUND THE HISTORICAL FIGURE OF THE BISHOP OF TONGEREN TWO EARLY BIOGRAPHIES PLACE SERVATIUS' BIRTH IN ARMENIA AND MAKE HIM A COUSIN OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, AND THUS A DISTANT RELATIVE OF JESUS

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CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM INSTITUTE SIGN MOU

WINNIPEG -- Mr. Stuart Murray, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), and Dr. Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute (AGMI) of the National Academy of Sciences, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today that will facilitate collabora- tion for the promotion of human rights through joint projects and education.

The CMHR and the AGMI will exchange knowledge and expertise, educational materials, and exhibitions with respect to human rights, share research and advice, cooperate to advance the academic study of human rights and reconciliation, the Armenian Genocide and its effects, and processes seeking justice and reconciliation, and work together to educate people on issues of human rights, in both national and global contexts.

“Respect and protection for human rights is hard to build, but easy to destroy. Every society that embraces human rights has to be continually vigilant to promote and protect those human rights,” Mr. Murray said. “We are very pleased to be joining hands with the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute to promote education, awareness and dialogue about human rights.”

The official signing of the MOU between the CMHR and AGMI has been facilitated by the assistance of the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute of Canada) – a Canadian organization which advances scholarship and public awareness relating to issues of universal human rights, genocide, and diaspora-homeland relations. Representatives of the IIGHRS officially witnessed the signing and will serve an ongoing role as liaison and facilitators.

“The Armenian Genocide is an important human rights story,” said Dr. Demoyan. “The concept of crimes against humanity was developed in response to this horrific series of violations against the Armenian people. The intent of the Ottoman Turkish government to annihilate its Armenian citizens is not only a crime against humanity, but also genocide. The denial of the genocide by the inheritors of the perpetrator state and others is itself a violation of the human rights of the survivors and their descendants. This partnership will help bring the story of the Armeni- an Genocide to a wider audience, to the benefit of generations to come.”

During and after the First World War, the leaders of the Ottoman Empire (the forerunner of the modern-day Republic of Turkey) made a brutal attempt to destroy the empire’s entire Armenian population, targeting them on ethnic and religious grounds, along with other Christian subjects-the Assyrians and Greeks. The Genocide began in 1915 with the execution of Armenian leaders. Then authorities rounded up Armenian men, women and children. The victims were massacred or forced on death marches through the desert. Many died of starvation. The perpetra- tors tried to hide these mass killings from the world.

The first international reaction to the Genocide resulted in a joint statement by France, Russia and Great Brit- ain, in May 1915, where the Ottoman Empire atrocities directed against the Armenian people was defined as “new crimes against humanity and civilization.” In 2004, the Canadian House of Commons passed a resolution to recog- nize this genocide.

“By raising awareness of the Armenian Genocide, we hope to remind people of the importance of breaking the silence on human rights violations. We look forward to working with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on this goal,” said AGMI Director Demoyan.

MORTAR BLAST KILLS TWO ARMENIAN SCHOOLCHILDREN, THREE OTHERS IN DAMASCUS

DAMASCUS — Four students and a bus driver were killed when a mortar hit the vehicle they were in, in the central Bab Sharqi district of the Syrian capital Damascus. Six others inside the bus, including four more students, were wounded in the attack.

The explosion occurred near the Armenian St. Sargis church and “Surb Targmanchats” (Holy Translators) Armenian National School. The blast occurred when the school children were leaving the school.

One of the young victims was identified as 6-year-old Hovhannes Atokamian a first grader in the school and the other 8-year old Vanessa Mikho Bedros.

Syrian SANA agency also informs that a mortar shell fell on a school in the district of Kassa, in the result of which eleven pupils were injured; the building of the school had material damages.

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His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, has severely criticized the attack calling it an act of terrorism. His Holiness described this vicious crime against an education establishment “unac- ceptable” and emphasized that Christian communities are often targeted during the Syria conflict.

The Catholicos offered condolences to the families and friends of the victims, underlining that the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin will maintain its support to the Syrian Armenians.

On November 17 a requiem service will be offered at the Mother Cathedral for the peace of the souls of the victims and for the establishment of peace in Syria.

RUSSIA'S FORMER AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA: IN CASE OF JOINING THE CUSTOMS UNION, ARMENIA WILL HAVE EXTRA $100 MILLION TO GDP EVERY YEAR

Arminfo.am -- In case of joining the Customs Union, Armenia will have extra $100 million to GDP every yearVyacheslav Kovalenko, former Russian Ambassador to Armenia, said during today's televised bridge Moscow- Yerevan. He said that big investments are also expected in the transport net of Armenia, development of industry, especially the chemical one. Moreover, cooperation will be improved within the frames of the Customs Union, he added.

Kovalenko said that the third forum at the inter-regional level will be held in Armenia till December of the current year, which will discuss the problems on activation of the trade and economic cooperation between the re- gions of Armenia and Russia. "Here we have a great potential, and we simply need making efforts in this direction", - Kovalenko said.

He also added that Armenia goes on gaining significant share of the foreign currency receipts thanks to the la- bor migration to Russia, and these receipts may be compared even with the budget of the country. As for Europe, it cannot offer an exchange to the Russian labor market in the near future, he said.

Kovalenko thinks that all the talks about the "Russian boot" and the empire ambitions of Moscow are un- founded. "Armenia's decision to join the Customs Union is its own strategic choice. Armenia will take from the Customs Union everything it needs for the stable development", - Kovalenko concluded.

IRAN, ARMENIA TO NEGOTIATE ON TRANSFER OF ELECTRICITY TO EUROPE

Armradio.am -- Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan has announced Yerevan’s readiness for completion of underway projects with Iran and signing contracts for new ones, but has said that the two sides need to negotiate further on transit of Iranian electricity to Eu- rope.

“The final decision on transferring Iran’s electricity to Europe has not been made yet and the matter in this respect is in need of further bilateral talks,” Movsisyan told the Tasnim News Agency Saturday.

He said that Armenia is very eager to make use of Iranian techni- cians’ expertise and the Iranian technology in completion of power

generation and transmission facilities of his country. The visiting Armenian energy minister had a three hour meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Energy Minister

Hamid Chitchian, last Tuesday on expansion of bilateral cooperation in water and electricity fields. Chitchian told reporters after the meeting that given Europe’s rising demand for electricity, Iran is after export-

ing electricity to Europe through either Armenia, Azerbaijan, or Georgia. Movsisyan, too, had said on Tuesday that he was in Tehran for talks on increasing gas imports from Iran. The Armenian minister had told the Tasnim News Agency that increasing gas imports from Iran and develop-

ment of bilateral relations in the energy sector would be the main areas of talks with the Iranian oil minister. The Armenian energy minister and his Iranian counterpart in their Tuesday morning meeting exchanged ideas

on power generation and connection of regional countries’ electricity networks.

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IRAN AND ARMENIA STRESS EXPANSION OF BILATERAL TIES

TEHRAN -- Iran and Armenia have underlined their determination to further strengthen bilateral relations, particularly in the economic and cultural areas as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met with visiting Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Thursday, Iranian PressTV reports.

During the talks, President Rouhani praised friendly ties between Iran and Armenia, emphasizing the need for further enhancement of cultural and economic relations between the two neighboring nations, according to the source.

The Iranian chief executive also pointed to Tehran’s joint economic projects with Yerevan and expressed hope that these projects will bear fruit as soon as possible.

Movsisyan, for his part, hailed the close ties between the two countries, stressing that the Armenian govern- ment and nation are keen to increase relations with the Islamic Republic.

The Armenian minister further reassured that his country will make efforts to remove obstacles in the way of the joint projects between Tehran and Yerevan.

He also relayed a written message from Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to President Rouhani.

On November 5, Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian and his Armenian counterpart signed three agree- ments for the implementation of joint hydropower projects during their meeting in Tehran.

Chitchian said the new agreements were related to bartering electricity for natural gas, construction of a new hydroelectric power plant on the border river, Aras, and further electricity exchanges between the two countries.

ARMENIA RANKED 4TH IN GLOBAL MILITARIZATION INDEX 2013

The Global Militarization Index (GMI) 2013 shows that the Middle East continues to be the most highly mili- tarized region in the world. Experts of BICC (Bonn International Center for Conversion) point out that Asia, too, is demonstrating a particularly strong trend towards regional rearmament.

With Israel, Syria, Jordan and Kuwait, four countries in the Middle East are in the Top 10 of the GMI. This re- flects the high level of militarization in this region, which is so rich in conflicts.

Yet, certain European countries such as Russia and Cyprus also continue to assert their positions in the TOP 10. Cyprus’s regular place in the top set is due primarily to the conflict between the island’s Greek and Turkish population groups, which has continued unresolved for decades. Whereas Azerbaijan has already ranked high in previous years, Armenia is a new entrant this year. (Since 2013, the data for Armenia also includes reservists, which is why the country now ranks considerably higher than in previous years.) The rapid build-up of military ca- pacities in the Caucasus is accompanied by heated diplomatic rhetoric and the risk of rekindling the long-term mili- tary conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Global Militarization Index (GMI) depicts the relative weight and importance of the military apparatus of one state in relation to its society as a whole. For this, the GMI records a number of indicators to represent the de- gree of militarization of a country:

The GMI is based on data from the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Institute for Strategic studies (IISS) and BICC. It shows the degrees of militarization of 153 state since 1990.

“SARKIS DKHROUNI” STUDENT AND YOUTH UNION CALLS FOR RELEASE OF VARDAN PETROSYAN FROM PRE-TRIAL DETENTION

YEREVAN — The S.D. Hunchakian “Sarkis Dkhrouni” Student and Youth Union issued a statement appeal- ing to the judicial authorities of Armenia to reconsider their decision placing famous Armenian actor Vardan Petrosyan into pre-trial detention.

It is an indisputable fact that there has been a great tragedy with Vardan Petrosyan's involvement in the car ac- cident, which resulted in the death of two teenagers, an unforgivable and irreversible situation under any circum-

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stance. However, in our opinion, it is immoral to keep an injured and ailing Vardan Petrosyan in prison, especially while getting full medical treatment outside of prison will not obstruct the investigation. In addition, the actor him- self has stated he has no intention of leaving Armenia.

We urge an amendment to the decision placing Petrosyan in custody, enabling the great artist to wait for a ver- dict or at the very least, his freedom be deliberated at end of the investigation. At the same time, we consider this case to remain beyond any political consideration and exploitation to stay impartial in the legal and moral domain.

ARMENIA SHOULD RENOUNCE TURKISH PROTOCOLS

LONG BEFORE GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

Expecting a public relations nightmare during the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Turkish officials are anx-

ious to prevent further damage to their country’s already tarnished reputation.

Even though they have no intention to open the border with Armenia, Turkey’s leaders are pretending to do so

by constantly issuing fake conciliatory statements. By falsely claiming that Turkey is in the process of patching up

its differences with Armenia, Ankara’s hidden agenda is to discourage additional countries from recognizing the

Armenian Genocide.

However, given Azerbaijan’s paranoid reaction to any talk of Turkey opening its border with Armenia, Turk-

ish officials are forced to retreat by warning that the Armenia-Turkey border would remain closed, unless ‘pro-

gress’ is made on the Karabagh (Artsakh) issue.

Such contradictory Turkish statements have been issued countless times, ever since Armenia and Turkey

signed Protocols in 2009 to open their mutual border and establish diplomatic relations. As recently as last week,

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a closed session of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee

that preparations are underway to open the border with Armenia. When confronted by an opposition parliamentari-

an about Turkey’s true intentions, Davutoglu quickly reversed himself, stating that Armenia must first withdraw

from Karabagh before the border could be opened.

The Foreign Minister made similar remarks a month ago while visiting Switzerland, when he announced that

Turkey was looking for “creative ideas” to improve its relations with Armenia. Davutoglu’s creative or rather clev-

er ploy is to avoid looking like an obstructionist, while making excuses for his country’s refusal to ratify the Proto-

cols.

Back in 2009, the Turkish government appeared eager to ratify the Protocols which included various extrane-

ous matters, including the formation of a committee of historians to study archival documents on the Armenian

Genocide. When Azerbaijan vehemently objected to Turkish plans to open the border with Armenia, Turkey an-

nounced that it could no longer ratify the Protocols, even though it was clearly in its national interest to do so. Thus,

despite its claims of being a major regional power, Turkey caved in to Azerbaijan’s veto. During his remarks in the

Turkish Parliament on November 6, Davutoglu sheepishly reiterated that his country would open its border with

Armenia only after obtaining Azerbaijan’s permission.

Clearly embarrassed by this leak to the press, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman denied that Davutoglu

had made such a statement. This is not a credible denial as Turkish officials have made similar statements many

times before. One plausible explanation for reviving the prospect of opening the border and railway link to Armenia

could be Turkey’s intent to pressure the newly-elected President of Georgia who refuses to support the long-

planned Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway which was expected to circumvent Armenia.

To put an end to continuous Turkish exploitation of the Protocols, Pres. Serzh Sargsyan should carry out his

promise of three years ago, when he warned that unless Turkey ‘shortly’ ratifies the Protocols, he would reconsider

his position on this issue, implying that Armenia would withdraw from this agreement. Since the Protocols are still

not ratified four years after they were signed, Pres. Sargsyan should declare them null and void.

Understandably, Armenian officials are reluctant to take such a drastic step, as they are concerned that the ma-

jor powers would blame them for the Protocols’ failure. Armenia would prefer that the Turkish side be the first to

withdraw from the Protocols, and thereby bear the blame for their collapse. Turkish officials could be playing the

same blame game, by waiting for Armenia to be the first to withdraw.

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In my view, Armenia can no longer afford to wait. With the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide less than 18

months away, Armenia’s President should do what he promised three years ago and withdraw his government’s

signature from the ill-fated Protocols. Armenia could not be blamed for this action, as Turkish officials have repeat-

edly announced that they have no intention of ratifying the Protocols.

Not surprisingly, Davutoglu also declared last week that Turkish efforts to counter Armenian plans for the

100th anniversary of the genocide are moving forward ‘at full speed.’ In order not to allow Turkey to undermine

worldwide Armenian commemorations for the Genocide Centennial, Armenia’s leaders must renounce the Proto-

cols long before April 24, 2015.

Furthermore, given the Turkish government’s century-old intransigence to acknowledge its culpability for the Genocide and refusal to make appropriate amends, Armenian officials should announce that they plan to seek jus- tice, at long last, by applying to local, regional and international courts.

TURKISH MFA DENIES POSSIBILITY TO OPEN BORDER WITH ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net -- The Turkish Foreign Ministry denied media reports suggesting that Ankara is trying to obtain Azeri consent for opening the border with Armenia.

According to Trend News, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Gumrukcu refuted the reports.

As Turkish embassy in Azerbaijan noted, the Armenian-Turkish talks are held parallel to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement negotiations, with Ankara repeatedly stating the above.

"Turkey closely follows the OSCE Minsk Group’s activities and is ready to take any steps for rapid resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," the embassy stressed.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu hinted at a possibility of opening the Armenian-Turkish border during a meeting of the parliamentary committee on foreign relations.

According to Akşam newspaper, Nationalist Movement Party member Sinan Ogan asked the minister whether the works carried out near the Armenian-Turkish border in Igdir province, as well as railway repair might imply opening of the border.

Davutoglu confirmed the possibility of opening the border before 2015 and said he will visit Baku in the near future to discuss the issue with the Azerbaijani leadership.

At the same time, he again linked opening of the border with the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, saying: “If Ar- menia withdraws troops from Karabakh, we will open the border and restore railway communication.”

OFFICIALS DISCUSS INCREASING NATURAL GAS IMPORT FROM IRAN TO ARMENIA

NEWS.am -- Armenia and Iran are considering the possibility of increasing, in the winter months, the volume of natural gas which Armenia receives from Iran.

Among others, the aforementioned matter likewise was discussed at the talk held in Tehran between Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan and Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zangeneh.

The interlocutors also examined the course of the program on exchanging electricity and gas between both countries, and the avenues for expanding cooperation programs.

In Tehran, Movsisyan also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and conveyed him a message from Ar- menian President Serzh Sargsyan.

At the ensuing talk they discussed the bases for expanding bilateral cooperation.

President Rouhani hailed the friendly ties between Iran and Armenia, and also expressed hope that the joint economic projects will be brought to fruition as soon as possible.

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NEW STAMP DEDICATED TO GYUMRI

Noyan Tapan -- A new stamp was cancelled and put into circulation on November 11th in Gyumri city, at the Dramatic Theater after Vardan Achemyan. The issue is dedicated to the declaration of Gyumri as the cultural capital of the CIS in 2013.

The stamp and the coupons attached represent the old Gyumri and the logotype of “Gyumri, cultural capital of the CIS”. The solemn can- cellation ceremony was honored by the presence of the Artistic Director and Conductor of National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia Mr. Vla- dimir Spivakov, the Minister of Culture of the RA Mrs. Hasmik Poghosyan, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communication of the RA Mr. Andranik Aleksanyan, the Head of Shirak Regional Board Mr.

Felix Tsolakyan, the Mayor of Gyumri Mr. Samvel Balasanyan, the Acting CEO of HayPost CJSC Mr. Haik Avagyan, the Executive Director of Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Coop- eration in CIS Mr. Armen Smbatyan.

Gyumri was declared the cultural capital of the CIS for 2013 at the meeting of the Board of Heads of the CIS member states, held in Ashgabat on December 5th 2012. Alongside with Gyumri, the cultural capitals of the CIS in 2013 are also Mogilev, Belarus, and Gabala, Azerbaijan.

ARMENIA AND KARABAKH PRESIDENTS WATCH MILITARY MANEUVERS IN ARTSAKH

STEPANAKERT/NEWS.am -- Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), or Artsakh, President Bako Sahakyan and President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on Tuesday followed the military maneuvers which the NKR De- fense Army conducted in the northern part of Artsakh.

In the evening the leaders of the two Armenian states arrived in NKR capital city Stepanakert and at- tended the consultation meeting of the Defense Army supreme command staff, and devoted to the maneuvers, informs the Central Information Department of the Of- fice of the NKR President.

President Sahakyan highlighted the ongoing im- provement of the Defense Army’s fighting efficiency considering it among the most effective components of

ensuring Artsakh’s security, and peace and stability in the region. Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Armenian defense ministers and several other officials also were on hand at

these events.

BAKU SEEKS TO INVOLVE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN NEW KARABAKH WAR?

Karine Ter-Sahakian / PanARMENIAN.Net -- Despite almost every country’s trying to interfere with the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, Muslim Brotherhood’s joining their ranks, however, came as a surprise.

Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood leader Tareq Al-Suwaidan was quoted by Azeri media as saying, “international community must pressure Armenia into abandoning its expansionist policy. Should peace talks prove ineffective, Azerbaijan has every right to liberate the occupied territories by using every means possible.”

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Al-Suwaidan, however, noted to be expressing Muslim Brotherhood’s, rather than Kuwaiti stance. He further went on to speak out against terror and express support for Palestinian people.

Azeri agitation and propaganda department seems to be faring increasingly worse, repeating the same absurdi- ties day after day. The representative of Muslim Brotherhood group, the activities of which were banned in Egypt, clearly has a vague idea of the South Caucasus' geographic location. But then – he was asked to make a statement, and he did. Next he'll be asked to fight against the Armenian army, and he will: killing the "unfaithful" seems like a perfect job for Islamic terrorists. That's what already had happened in the Karabakh war – Chechen militants led by Islamist Shamil Basayev and his father fought on Azeri side. Everyone is well aware how that ended.

To give a full scope of the events of the day, one should cite Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov's remark, which, like the previous one shows no originality or freshness of thought.

"Azerbaijan welcomes the international community's support in fulfillment of the UN Security Council resolu- tions on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement," the official said at a democratic forum in Indonesia.

Interestingly enough, Mammadyarov mentioned the resolutions at meetings with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian. Other solutions were also offered, with the issue for the last 25 years remaining a purely Azer- baijani one. The people of Karabakh have already made their choice and any infringement on their country's sover- eignty will be viewed as aggression.

ARMENIAN HERITAGE, CULTURE AND HISTORY BEING DISTORTED IN AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIAN FM TELLS UNESCO

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia participated in 37th session of UNESCO General Conference which is dedicated to summarizing the work of the Organization during the last two years and discussing the main directions of the upcoming activities.

In his statement Minister Nalbandian particularly mentioned that Armenia attaches great importance to the goal of UNESCO in encouraging intercultural dialogue, understanding and tolerance. Minister Nalbandian stated: “Since last May Armenia has assumed the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe making fight against xenophobia, hate-speech and intol- erance its key priorities.

In an era when the protection and promotion of human rights are consid- ered to be the underpinning concept for the civilized world, intolerance to- wards the values of civilization belonging to others, damaging or destroying cultural or religious heritage intentionally, consistently, repeatedly, must be condemned with the same resolve and determination as violence against people.”

As the Minister noted the destruction by Azerbaijanis in Nakhijevan of thousands of delicately carved cross stones by the Armenian masters, dating from the 9th to the 16th centuries, is a vivid manifestation of such crime. “Several thousands of these giant medieval sculptures were bulldozed under the Azerbaijani government’s watchful eyes and this area was turned into a military ground in a government sanctioned operation. The 16th International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) General Assembly resolution regretfully stated with regard to this vandalism: “this heritage that once enjoyed its worthy place among the treasures of the world’s heritage can no longer be transmitted today to future generations.

Our numerous calls for sending international fact-finding missions to Nakhijevan, as well as attempts by a number of international organizations and countries have been either ignored or rejected by the Azerbaijani side.”- Minister Nalbandian stressed. “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education state that “Education shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups”. Taking into consideration UNESCO’s unique role in the sphere of education, we call upon the Organization to create within its educational programs some sort of an overview mechanism that will examine and evaluate the textbooks of the member-states, especially history and social sciences textbooks, with a special emphasis on exclusion of racism or xenophobia.

The Armenian heritage, culture and history, after lasting continuously for more than thirty centuries are nowa- days being distorted and altered in Azerbaijan. In this country the rewriting of its history is continued by means of

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misappropriation or annihilation of the traces of other cultures on their territory, or even more, by privatizing the cultural heritage of the neighboring nations. A country that appeared on the political map of the world less than a hundred years ago has territorial and cultural claims towards a country and a people the several millenniums’ histo- ry of which is recorded from the ancient times,”- the Foreign Minister stated.

IRAN RESPONDS TO AZERBAIJAN BY CLOSING JOLFA AND BILESAVAR BORDERS

NEWS.am -- Iran strongly denounced the decision of Azerbaijani side to close its joint Poldasht International Border, and Iranian border guards closed Jolfa and Bilesavar borders in return, IRNA agency reported.

The decision came in response to useless efforts of the Ira- nian officials to reverse the abnormal and undiplomatic move.

An informed source told IRNA on Friday that following a suspicious shooting event in Poldasht border region, which the Azeri sides baselessly accuses Iran of being responsible for it, the Azerbaijani Border Guards on Wednesday, November 6th illegally and undiplomatically shut down Poldasht border, creat- ing problems for Iranian passengers and passage of their lug-

gage. Iran tried to solve the issue by means of talks, but the Azerbaijani side insisted on keeping its border closed.

SELLING WEAPONS TO AZERBAIJAN DOES NOT PUT RUSSIA-ARMENIA RELATIONS IN DOUBT – FORMER AMBASSADOR

NEWS.am -- Russia has repeatedly stated about its readiness to defend Armenia, as a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member.

Former Russian Federation Ambassador to Armenia Vyacheslav Kovalenko, who is Regional Program Direc- tor at the Institute for Caspian Cooperation, said the aforementioned at Friday’s Yerevan-Moscow live televi- sion link discussion.

Commenting on Russia’s selling of weapons to Azerbaijan, Kovalenko noted:

“If Russia will not sell weapons to Azerbaijan, Israel and other countries will do it. [But] this is not the matter that can cast the allied relations between Russia and Ar- menia into doubt.

“By maintaining partnership relations with Azerbai- jan and allied relations with Armenia, Russia contributes so that that there will not be great bloodshed in the re- gion.

“Although a serious conflict has taken place between Armenia and Azerbaijan because of [Nagorno- ]Karabakh, the war has stopped, [and] the region lives in peace.”

In the former Russian ambassador’s words, by maintaining relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia and being a mediator in the negotiation process, Russia contributes to the maintenance of peace.

“By taking the side of a party [to the conflict], Russia would worsen the climate, and conditions may be creat- ed for the resumption of the armed conflict,” Vyacheslav Kovalenko concluded.

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IRAN WORRIES ABOUT FATE OF BORDER WITH ARTSAKH Hakob Badalyan / lragir.am

The minister of energy Armen Movsisyan passed Serzh Sargsyan’s message to the president of Iran Hassan Rowhani, Radio Liberty announced referring to the Iranian Press TV. On the eve the director of the Iranian electric- ity network announced that the countrywide outage in Armenia was not caused by isolation from the Iranian net- work but emergency in the Armenian network while Armen Movsisyan had announced that the outage was caused by being isolated from the Iranian system. According to some other sources, the outage was caused by an emergen- cy in the thermal power plant of Hrazdan. Most probably, in Iran Armen Movsisyan was asked if he is not ashamed of lying. At least, the ministry of energy has not refuted the announcement of the Iranian official that the problem was in Armenia. It is not ruled out that Serzh Sargsyan’s message to the president of Iran apologized to the Iranian side for blaming the Iranian system for the accident on the Armenian side. However, the main topic of the message was most probably different. Energy was the occasion for sending the letter but the main issues were different. First, it is the issue of Artsakh as the Armenian side regularly informs Iran about any development relating to it. Iran is directly interested in this issue. Furthermore, Iran is obviously interested in preserving the status quo as Ar- menian, not Azerbaijan, Russian or Western armed forces should be based there. Recent developments relating to Artsakh are worrying. Whether the Armenian side remembers Gulistan or not, the Russians have accepted these reminders unofficially, and officially they have turned Artsakh the key issue in the process of Armenia’s member- ship to the Customs Union though the Customs Union is a tool in the issue of Artsakh, not vice versa. Despite these plans, the West made efforts to counteract activation of negotiations and the prospect of surprises through Sargsyan- Aliyev meeting which does not need any surprise in Karabakh because negotiations with Iran are under- way, and there is high probability to reach an agreement. Foreign media informed about the unexpected visit of the U.S. Secretary Kerry to Geneva where negotiations on the nuclear issue is underway and he may meet with the Ira- nian foreign minister. Generally, the U.S.-Iranian relations are taking interesting turns after a pause of 40 years, namely the telephone talk between Iran and the United States, flights between Tehran and Washington are launched, nuclear negotiations are growing constructive. In this situation Iran and the West would not want any surprises and escalation of the Artsakh issue. On the contrary, since improvement of relations between the West and Iran contradicts Russia’s strategic interest since it obviously plays down Russia’s role in the Caucasus and the Near East while Russia would opt for some escalation in Artsakh to paralyze the least extent of normalization of relations between the West and Iran. The Armenian side has a key role. Armenia may either be helpful to the Russian efforts or at least not impede the Iran-West relations. The second is in line with the interests of Armenia for several rea- sons. First, preserve the status quo and not allow appearance of Russian peacekeepers there, which would end up in dividing Artsakh among Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Besides, the improvement of relations between Iran and the West would open up big economic opportunities in the Armenian-Iranian direction. Recently the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have visited the region and most probably they have arranged a Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting after a pause of two years. It is interesting what Serzh Sargsyan has conveyed to Hassan Rowhani that there will be a usual meeting and there is no need to worry or expect surprises or Sargsyan apologized to Rowhani not only for the min- istry of energy but also for his upcoming meeting with Aliyev during which Armenia may give a “customsunionish” consent. By the way, this topic itself is a separate issue for the Armenian-Iranian relation, con- sidering the issue of customs Union. As soon as Armenia becomes a member of the Customs Union, issues relating to new customs procedures will come up as to what customs duties should be charged, how the joint Iranian- Armenian economic programs will be implemented. It is not accidental that Rowhani expressed hope during the meeting with Armen Movsisyan that the joint Armenian-Iranian programs will be accelerated. The Iranian side has concerns which are related to not only developments relating to Artsakh but also Armenia’s commitment to the Customs Union.

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OBAMA SEES ‘HISTORIC’ CHANCE FOR KARABAKH PEACE

Armenialiberty.org -- Armenia and Azerbaijan now have a “historic” chance to resolve the long-running con- flict over Nagorno-Karabakh, according to U.S. President Barack Obama.

“We stand ready to work with you to seize the historic opportunity to find a peaceful, negotiated resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and we welcome the decision you and President [Serzh] Sarkisian have made to meet later this month,” Obama said in a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The letter was dedicated to the start of Aliyev’s third term in office. Aliyev’s press office publicized it on Thursday, two days after the U.S., Russian and French mediators announced the forthcoming Armenian- Azerbaijani summit.

The precise date and venue of the meeting are not yet known. Both Aliyev and Sarkisian are expected to take part in the European Union’s November 28-29 summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Obama urged the two leaders to meet and try to revive the Karabakh peace process in separate and virtually identical letters sent in September. “With the outlines of the compromise already well established, now is the time for a renewed effort to bring peace to the region,” he wrote.

The mediators on Tuesday urged the conflicting parties to “exercise restraint on the ground as well as in their public statements.” “Military action, particularly at this moment, can only be seen as an attempt to damage the peace process,” they warned in a joint statement that followed their latest talks with Aliyev and Sarkisian.

INDEPENDENCE OF THE NAGORNO- KARABAKH REPUBLIC DISCUSSED IN THE WCC 10TH ASSEMBLY

Numerous suggestions were discussed and adopted during the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, South Korea. On 6 November, the issue of the rights of the people of Nagorno Karabakh Republic to live fee and independent was raised by the delegation of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin during the discussion on Stateless people. The delegation called on the WCC to condemn the double standards on the issue.

Also on 06 November during the afternoon business session, election of the Central Committee members was held. Two delegates of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin: Archbishop Vicken Aykazian and Ms. Paula Der Matoian were re-elected to serve on the central committee for an 8 year term. Archbishop Vicken was immediately elected to serve on and lead the Nominations committee as the Moderator.

On 08 November, at 10:55 a.m., over 300 delegates from the 345 churches passed by consensus, a Special Mi- nute on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, as a result of the official requests by His Holiness KAREKIN II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenian; and His Holiness ARAM I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, as well as a result of the ongoing work of the representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church serving on the Central and Executive Committees.

The Minute on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, directs the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches to:

Organize in 2015, around the commemorative 100th anniversary date of 24 April 2015, an international con- ference in Geneva for the WCCmemberChurches, different international organizations, lawyers, human right de- fenders;

Organize an ecumenical prayer service commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide at the Cathedral of Geneva during the international Conference;

Invite all churches to pray for the memory of the Armenian martyrs around the dates of the international con- ference, and also for recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

This “Minute” on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, restated the 1983 declaration by the WCC that the work to recognize the Armenian Genocide must continue, and is an important achievement in the process of the recognition.

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BBC: HISTORY BOOKS IN AZERBAIJAN ARE WRITTEN WITH NATIONALISTIC APPROACH

Panorama.am -- Modern history textbooks taught at Azerbaijani schools are written with nationalistic approach, told Nabatali Gulamoglu, Azerbaijani expert in the field of education, in an interview with the British Broadcasting Cor- poration (BBC).

Writing a single history textbook in Russia gives rise to a lot of arguments: they argue whether they need such a text- book, and how to write it when the society is split as regards to its own past. The Russian Service of BBC has touched up- on the issues of how textbooks are being written in Azerbai- jan.

"Generally, many countries try to write their own histo- ry, emphasizing the role of the war heroes. Therefore, there is fairly little criticism in our textbooks, if any at all. There should be issued alternative textbooks in order to some- how oppose this situation, for those who read them, could compare different viewpoints and knew what happened in reality," said the expert in education sphere Nabatali Gulamoglu.

The article quotes an extract from the Azerbaijani history textbook of a fifth grade, "The Khojaly tragedy": "A lot of tragic and sad events have happened in history, but Khojaly is the biggest and saddest one of them. It is not only the most terrible tragedy that Azerbaijan faced, but is the worst one that faced the humanity."

Here is another quote concerning the events that happened in January 1990, "Black January ": "The leaders of the Soviet empire, wanted to stop the disintegration of the USSR and to scare those people who demanded freedom. It was decided to organize a massacre in Baku, in the epicenter of the liberation movement. A lot of troops moved to Baku. '"

"Those who form our textbooks are subjected to populistic sentiments; they present the fictional and illogical things as a fact. The political position strongly influences it. The authors of these textbooks believe that thus they serve the people, but they do not realize the true meaning of these words. They are not independent," the expert, who is a member of a group involved in the monitoring of textbooks published in Azerbaijan, noted.

According Gulamoglu certain authors and publishers in Azerbaijan have a monopoly on writing history books.

At the same time they are trying to write carefully about the Soviet times in Azerbaijan, because they think that otherwise it could harm their relations with Russia: "The way that the Soviet period was presented in text- books, never reflects the real story of those times. No need to exaggerate or to try to describe the bygone era in a romantic style. This may last 5-10 years, but when the grown-generation discovers the truth, we will be ashamed."

On January 13-19, in 1990 pogroms took place in Baku, during which according to official figures of Azerbai- jan 56 Armenians were killed, while according to witnesses - about a thousand people. The rest of the Armenian population of Baku, which was estimated over 200,000, was expelled from the Azerbaijani capital. Azerbaijani mil- itants attempted to resist; 28 Soviet soldiers were killed, more than 90 were wounded. According to official figures of Azerbaijan as a result of the introduction of troops 132 "civilians" of Baku were killed and 744 were wounded. However, some experts argue that among the killed "civilians" there were both Azerbaijani militants and Armeni- ans murdered a few days earlier by Azerbaijani nationalists.

On February 26, 1992, during the war in Karabakh, around 200 to 300 people (according to Human Right Watch, and 600 according to the version propagated by Azerbaijan) were killed in unknown circumstances near the city of Aghdam. They have been deliberately withheld by the Azerbaijani authorities in the midst of the military actions. Population of the village of Khojalu, which was one of the firing points shooting at the blockaded Stepanakert (among five others) was kept in the village for months by force and was not evacuated by the authori- ties of Azerbaijan deliberately, in order to use them as human shields later.

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TURKISH INTELLIGENCE ORDERED HRANT DINK’S MURDER, SAYS LAWYER

YEREVAN (Armenpress) -- Fethiye Çetin, the lawyer of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was murdered by Turkish nationalists, has exposed new details regarding this case in her new book titled I Am Ashamed: Trials on Hrant Dink’s Murder Trial. As Armenpress reports, citing Turkish Haberler.com, Fethiye Çetin states in her book that the National Intelligence Service of Turkey gave the order of Hrant Dink’s assassination via a secret code in Cyrillic alphabet.

Among other things, Fethiye Çetin emphasized that a man called Ramazan, who introduced himself as a work- er of the Chief Department of the National Security Service of the Eastern Anatolia region, called Çetin in March 2010 and said that he had important documents regarding Hrant Dink’s murder.

She got in touch with Ramazan via Skype, who showed her secret documents with the emblem of the National Intelligence Service on it. The unknown person told her that secret cryptograms are used in all the documents. Dink’s lawyer explains how they managed to read Dink’s name via Cyrillic alphabet in the aforesaid documents.

INSTALLATION OF MEMORIAL IN DIYARBAKIR IS STEP FORWARD IN ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’S RECOGNITION – TURKOLOGIST

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- The installation in Diyarbakir of the memorial, which is devoted to the Armenians and other nationalities that were massacred, is not enough for us, but it is a step forward on the road to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey.

Turkologist Andranik Ispiryan stated the abovementioned during a press conference on Friday.

In the turkologist’s words, Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir had in- formed about the idea for creating a “Joint Memorial of Conscience” in the city, two years ago.

Ispiryan noted that the memorial was installed in Diyarbakir on September 12 of this year, but the word “gen- ocide” is not on the monument.

The turkologist commented on this fact by stating that Baydemir and Mayor Abdullah Demirbas of Diyarbakir Province’s Sur city—where the memorial is installed—did not add the word “genocide” to avoid possible judicial prosecution and roadblocks against the installation of the memorial.

“Since the word ‘genocide’ is not on the memorial, it does not satisfy us. But this step by the Diyarbakir au- thorities is a step forward on the road to the recognition of the Genocide in Turkey.

“The Assyrian community likewise has responded to the installation of this memorial stressing that another memorial is needed, [but] on which the word ‘Genocide’ would be written,” Andranik Ispiryan noted.

TURKS KEEP COMMITTING SACRILEGE

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS -- The Turks turned the cave-sanctuary in Igdir used by the Armenian people thou- sands years ago into a mosque. As reports "Armenpress", Turkish "Anadolu" agency stated this.

The Turkish tribes, which appeared in the Armenian Highlands one thousand years ago and converted to Muslim religion, along with de- stroying the Armenian churches and sanctuaries turn a part of them into mosques.

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MARK GERAGOS CALLS U.S. STANCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE HYPOCRITICAL

NEW YORK/Massispost.com -- Armenian-American attorney Mark Geragos voiced about the Turkish strate- gy of the Armenian Genocide denial and the double standards policy of the United States in this issue during CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 program on This week.

The panelist on the program were unanimous to condemned the policy adopted by Iran regarding the Holo- caust of the Jewish people by Nazis. Mark Geragos reminded the interlocutors that the United States conduct simi- lar policy in the Armenian Genocide issue, which was followed by the other genocides of the 20th century. Among other things Mark Geragos underscored: “Turkey is our greatest ally in that region. But Turkey denies the Armeni- an Genocide. As a presidential candidate Barack Obama stated that he will recognize the Armenian Genocide, if he is elected. So in my opinion the political dynamics in this issue is a little bit hypocritical.”

Mark John Geragos (born October 5, 1957) is an Armenian-American criminal defense lawyer as the Principal with the internationally known trial lawyer firm of Geragos & Geragos, Mark Geragos cemented his national repu- tation as a trial lawyer a dozen years ago with back-to-back State and Federal Court jury trial acquittals for re- nowned Whitewater figure Susan McDougal, later securing a presidential pardon for Ms. McDougal for a convic- tion sustained prior to his representation of her.

Geragos was one of the lead lawyers in a pair of groundbreaking Federal Class Action Lawsuits against New York Life Insurance and AXA Corporation for insurance policies issued in the early 20th century during the geno- cide of over 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turk Regime, eventually settling these two cases for more than $37.5 million. He is currently suing the Government of Turkey for reparations arising out of the Armenian Geno- cide.

AUTHOR: TURKEY HASN’T CHANGED MUCH SINCE 1915

much since 1915,” T24 quoted Cemal as saying.

PanARMENIAN.Net -- Turkey must apologize for the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire ahead of the 100th anniversary of the massacres in 2015, Hasan Cemal, a Turkish journalist, the grandson of the Genocide perpetrator Cemal Pasha said.

“Armenians have been a native population of Anatolia until 1915. Even now Turkey hasn’t understood or shared their pain from losing their lands and property. The border between Armenia and Turkey must be opened, with diplo- matic ties to be restored without preconditions,” Cemal urged.

He further called on Turkish government to alter their attitude towards Armenians and issue textbooks reflecting the historic truth. “Does Prime Minister Erdogan give it any thought? Well he should, seeing as Turkey hasn’t changed

Hasan Cemal (born 1944) is a Turkish journalist, writer and grandson of Cemal Pasha. He was the editor of Cumhuriyet from 1981 to 1992, and of Sabah from 1992 to 1998. In 2013 he resigned from the Milliyet newspaper after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had criticised his article supporting Milliyets publication of minutes of a parliamentary visit to Öcalan, and Milliyet suspended him and refused to publish his returning column.

He is best known for acknowledging and apologizing for the Armenian Genocide, a crime which was perpe- trated by Pasha. His 2012 book on the subject (written in response to the 2007 assassination of his friend Hrant Dink) is titled 1915: Ermeni Soykırımı (1915: Armenian Genocide).

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LACK OF STUDENTS LEADS TO CLOSURE OF MINORITY SCHOOLS IN TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net - A lack of students in Tur- key's minority schools is leading them to close down, says a report issued by the History Foundation.

According to Cihan news agency, the report, re- leased at a foundation press conference, says that the steady decline in Turkey's minority populations, a rising preference among minority students to study at non- minority schools and enrolment limitations applied by the state have drawn student populations at minority schools down so far that many have had to close. The surviving

Armenian and Jewish schools seem to have reached stable enrolment levels, but low enrolment remains the single biggest problem facing Greek schools. In the 2012-13 academic year, 3,137 students attended Armenian schools, including 67 Armenian citizens; 230 students attended Greek schools (including students of Greek nationality) and 688 students attended Jewish schools.

"The number of students attending these schools may be increased and the schools may be saved from closure if students who are not Turkish citizens or who do not belong to the same minority [group] are allowed to enroll," the report says.

One of the biggest problems the report mentioned is the ambiguous status of Turkey's minority schools, which are officially considered neither private schools nor foreign schools. However, minority schools are still associated by the public with private and foreign schools, and are subjected to the legislation regulating private schools -- including a rule that prevents them from accepting students above a quota allocated by the ministry of education, which causes major financial problems and often makes it difficult for minority schools to sur- vive on their budgets.

Another problem the report mentions is the reciprocity principle and minority schools. Though minority schools are affiliated with foundations managed by Turkish citizens and attended by Turkish citizens, the prin- ciple of reciprocity is imposed on the development of legislation governing these schools and in defining their rights and obligations. For example, if a Greek school in Turkey wants to hire a teacher who is a Greek nation- al, the Turkish government will require Greece to hire a Turkish teacher to teach at a school in Greece.

According to the report, this reciprocity principle equates minorities with foreigners, offending them and forcing them to deal with a large number of bureaucratic and political problems. The report suggests dropping the principle of reciprocity when preparing legislation governing minority schools.

Yet another challenge minority schools face is a lack of trained teachers as Turkish universities do not of- fer specialized education in this field. The History Foundation suggests the establishment of special depart- ments for each minority group's schools in Turkish universities.

No public authority or private institution is responsible for preparing the textbooks and education materi- als needed by the minority schools of the Armenian, Greek and Jewish communities, the report says. "Schools should also be provided with support for the translation and printing of textbooks. It is suggested that a special unit with a suitable budget and employing an adequate number of qualified employees be set up to develop textbooks and educational materials for minority schools in Turkey. This unit should be financed by the state.”

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WHITE HOUSE: DISPLAYING THE ORPHAN RUG WOULD BE AN INAPPROPRIATE USE OF U.S. GOVERNMENT PROPERTY

WASHINGTON, DC -- In a new twist to efforts to call attention to the Armenian genocide, a group of lawmakers has accused the Obama administration of blocking a Smith- sonian display of a rug woven by orphans of the mass kill- ings about a century ago, The Los Angeles Times writes.

The lawmakers have written to President Obama urg- ing him to make available the rug, presented in 1925 to President Calvin Coolidge and in storage as part of the White House collection, for exhibition. The bipartisan group includes more than a dozen representatives from California, which has a large Armenian American population.

The roughly 12-foot-by-18-foot Armenian Orphan Rug was to be featured in a Dec. 16 exhibit at the SmithsonianCastle in Washington that sought to call attention to a new book about the rug, which the lawmakers called a “pivotal icon related to the Armenian Genocide.”

A White House spokeswoman said Tuesday that displaying the rug “for only half a day in connection with a private book launch event, as proposed, would have been an inappropriate use of U.S. government property, would have re- quired the White House to undertake the risk of transporting the rug for limited public exposure, and was not viewed as commensurate with the rug’s historical significance.”

WHAT HAPPENED TO TURKEY’S ISLAMIZED ARMENIANS? By Orhan Kemal Cengiz

Back in 2005, a bid to hold Tur- key’s first ever “Armenian conference” had sparked nationwide tensions. Then- Justice Minister Cemil Cicek accused the organizers of “stabbing Turkey in the back,” while Sukru Elekdag, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People’s Party, branded the organizers as “traitors” in a speech in parliament. Yielding to heavy pressure, Istanbul’s Bogazici University backed down from hosting the conference, and the event had to move to the private Bilgi University. The detractors, how- ever, did not stop there. Furious de- monstrators bullied the participants as the conference opened, and the event could barely be completed.

Since then, the atmosphere in Turkey has changed significantly. Commemorations are now being held on April 24 to remember the 1915 Armenian genocide. Scores of books are being published on the issue, which has become also a frequent topic in newspapers and TV programs. Even though the government maintains the official Turkish thesis on the 1915 events, the subject is no longer a taboo in the country.

A conference on Armenians Islamized during the genocide was held Nov. 2-4 in Istanbul, demonstrating that the genocide is now up for a free discussion in Turkey. The venue of the event was the same Bogazici University that had backed down from hosting the first Armenian conference eight years ago. This time, there were neither demonstrators outside the venue nor politicians bashing the organizers. That the event was free of incidents and tension signifies the notable progress Turkey has made in openly discussing the Armenian genocide.

Participants included Turkish, Armenian, American and European academics, intellectuals and descendants of

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genocide victims from Turkey, Armenia and many other countries. The conference, which attracted huge interest, discussed the fate of the Armenians who survived the genocide as Muslims.

“No one called them by their real names again. They had to destroy and efface themselves to save their exist- ence,” Rakel Dink, the widow of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, said in her opening speech at the conference, organized by the Hrant Dink Foundation.

About 200,000 Armenians are estimated to have survived the massacres and deportations by becoming Mus- lims, according to the presentation of academic Ayse Gul Altinay. She estimated that several million people in Tur- key are today the children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and daughters- or sons-in-law of Islamized Armenians.

“For 90 years, those people led an invisible existence outside the family and sometimes even within the fami- ly. They completely lost their Armenian names and their bonds with their families and the Armenian community. And even when they kept those names and bonds, they were unable to do so openly,” Altinay said.

According to the conference paper of historian Taner Akcam, the Islamization of Armenians was not religious- ly motivated as religious fanaticism was alien to the Committee for Union and Progress, the Ottoman party whose members perpetrated the genocide. Akcam described Islamization as an assimilation tool used in the genocide. “As- similation was a truly systematic policy, and forced conversion to Islam was one of its essential elements,” Akcam said.

University of California scholars Arda and Doris Melkonian explained how a large number of Armenian women survived the genocide by marrying Muslim men and were forced to convert. They noted that very few Ar- menian men had the chance to convert to escape death, and that survival through marrying Muslim women was out of the question for men.

The audience was deeply moved by the presentation of academic Nevin Yildiz Tahincioglu, who recounted the story of an Armenian woman named Sara. Her story (as told by Tahincioglu): “Sara was a 15-year-old from an Ar- menian village in the Viransehir district of Sanliurfa province. Eyup Agha — or 'Ayip Agha,' as he was called in the local dialect — was among the notables in the area. It was the time when the Hamidiye Corps were being set up. The aghas were encouraged to plunder Armenian villages and drive the inhabitants out. One day, a group in- cluding Ayip Agha raided Sara’s village. They rounded up the village men and led them away. A month later, Sara was washing laundry in a nearby stream when she spotted a mutilated arm. She recognized the watch on the arm as her uncle’s before a dog grabbed the limb. Sara followed the dog into a cave, which locals still call 'the Armenian cave.' What she discovered there were the corpses of the village men, mutilated by dogs.

“The survivors then decided to leave the village, but they were also rounded up by Ayip Agha. He locked them up in a depotlike place, keeping them without food and water for days. Then, among the captives, he spotted Sara, who was reputed for her beauty, and 'fell in love' with her. Ayip Agha, who already had two wives, announced to Sara he would marry her, but she refused. He threatened to kill Sara’s mother and eventually did so, but Sara re- mained adamant. Ayip Agha then threatened to kill her father and did so. Sara was still refusing to marry him. He said he would kill her brother, too. As the boy clang to her skirt, Sara acquiesced with two conditions: 'First, my brother shall not be killed. Second, you shall not change my name, which was given to me by my father.' Sara’s name was to haunt her throughout her life.

“Even though Ayip Agha accepted Sara’s wishes, her brother died in suspicious circumstances a year later. Ayip Agha then began to torture Sara, the wife who refused to change her name and was rumored to have never accepted Islam, continuing to carry a cross. He would inscribe crosses on Sara’s flesh with the dagger he had used to kill scores of Armenians. He would rape her each time he wanted sex, because Sara refused to go to bed with him. According to witness accounts, Sara’s screams during those rapes would echo in the yard of the house.”

The story went on along those lines. The biggest surprise, however, came at the end when Tahincioglu uttered the following sentence: “The bad men in this story are my family.”

Tahincioglu put this story together from the accounts of four witnesses as part of an oral history research. She studied her own family’s past. Both Ayip Agha and the narrators were her relatives. Putting her mark on the confer- ence, Tahincioglu concluded, “It’s not the victim who should speak up and say 'I am a victim.' The past can be rec- onciled [only] when the perpetrator speaks up and says, ‘I am the perpetrator.’”

The conference on Islamized Armenians was a meaningful, though small, step for Turks in facing up to their history. It is encouraging to see that various aspects of the Armenian genocide are being discussed as the 100th an- niversary approaches.

Orhan Kemal Cengiz is a human rights lawyer, columnist and former president of the Human Rights Agenda Association, a Turkish NGO that works on human rights issues ranging from the prevention of torture to the rights of the mentally disabled.

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MASSIS WEEKLY CELEBRATES 33-TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLICATION

BURBANK, CA – Hundreds of supporters and dis- tinguished civic and community leaders, friends and guests attended a Gala banquet on November 9 celebrat- ing the 33rd anniversary of Massis Weekly, the organ of the Social Democratic Hunchakian Party of the Western Region of the United States of America.

Among the distinguished guests were; His Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, former Primate of the Western Diocese; Rev. Fr. Krikor Chahinian and Rev. Fr. Antoine Noradounguian of the Armenian Catholic Church; Rev. Archpriest Fr. Dr. Zaven Arzoumanian, of the Western Diocese; Consul Eghia Mansuryan and Gayane Sahakyan, Division Head at the Consulate Gen- eral of Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles; Mr. Antranik Baghdassarian, Armenia Fund President, Social Demo- crat Hunchakian Party Central Committee members along with their wives; Dr. Harry Sarafian, Mr. Vasken Khodanian, and Mr. Khatchik Keshishian; members of the S.D.H.P Western U.S.A Executive Committee, as well as members of various S.D.H.P. branches and various Armenian American organizations. Representing the Arme- nian media; Mr. and Mrs. Hagop Mardirossian, editor of Nor Or Weekly; Mr. Harut Sassounian, publisher of The California Courier; and Mr. Oshin Keshishian, editor of the Armenian Observer.

On behalf of the organizing committee Mrs. Garine Depoyan inaugurated the Gala with welcoming remarks towards the attendees.

Massis Weekly Editor in Chief, Dr. Arshag Kazanjian spoke of the trials and tribulations that the Armenian print media has undergone in the Diaspora, especially in the United States, praising the Armenian media’s mission in not only inform and enlighten, but to also preserve the Armenian identity in today’s Diaspora. Dr. Kazanjian also noted his distress on society's indifference towards readers on a global scale. He also expressed that he is con- cerned with the lack of intellectual assets on the ground among the new generation of the Diasporan Armenian me- dia. In his closing remarks, Dr. Kazanjian thanked his colleagues, as well as all of Massis Weekly’s friends and supporters.

On this occasion, the S.D.H.P Executive Committee along with the Editorial Board of Massis Weekly posthu- mously honored Dr. Haroutyoun Sagherian, founding Editor in Chief and longtime member of Massis Weekly Edi- torial Board for his limitless devotion and prolific social activities. His Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian presented the Certificate of Appreciation to the widow of Dr. Sagherian, who in turn, expressed her admiration and gratitude to the Massis Weekly Editorial Board for their show of reverence and respect towards her late husband.

S.D.H.P. Chairman Gabriel Moloyan and Dr. Arshag Kazanjian also honored Massis Weekly Editorial Board member and Nor Serount “New Generation” Cultural Association Chairman Mr. Harut Der-Tavitian, who this past summer took on an extraordinary excavation and climbed the peak of Mount Ararat, taking with him the June 15th issue of Massis Weekly, which covered the unprecedented commemorative events that took place in Istanbul, Tur- key on June 13 and 15 of this year commemorating the 98th anniversary of the martyrdom of the “Twenty Gal- lows.”

Armenia Fund President Mr. Antranik Baghdassarian, conveyed his continued deep interest and admiration of Massis Weekly. After his congratulatory comments and good wishes, Mr. Baghdassarian took the opportunity to remind everyone to participate in the upcoming Armenia Fund Telethon on November 28 this year, from which proceeds will benefit the construction of the strategically important Vardenis-Martakert Highway connecting the Republic of Armenia to the Republic of Artsakh. Feeling the exhilaration of the Gala, Mr. Baghdassarian donated $5,000 towards the future prosperity of Massis Weekly.

Within this enthusiastic and energetic atmosphere, Mr. and Mrs. Tateos and Nora Koroghlian increased their previous commitment to Massis Weekly to $10,000. In addition to these generous donations, there were also large and small scale donations from the numerous attendees.

The night’s entertainment of contemporary and patriotic folk songs was provided by renowned Armenian vo- calist Harout Hagopian.

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COVER PAGE

Saint Servatius is a 4th century Chris- tian bishop, one of the first to preach the Gospel in Western Europe.

He is considered the founder of Chris- tianity in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Servatius (‘Servaas’ in Dutch and ‘Sirvats’ in Armenian, which means ‘Be- loved one’) is the patron saint of the city of Maastricht (in Holland), and the towns of Schijndel (in Holland) and Grimbergen (in Belgium).

According to legends (two vitae— recently translated into English) Servatius came from Armenia to Western Europe preaching Christianity. His Armenian ori- gins were confirmed during the Council of Mainz, when envoys from the Byzantine emperor arrived at Mainz confirming ac- counts by a certain Alagrecus who had tes-

tified that Servatius was Armenian. He has been credited with many miracles, some of which continued to manifest after his death in 384 AD, con-

tributing to popularity of pilgrimages to his remains. The mortal remains of Servaas are kept in a box, which is on display in the Treasury of Saint Servatius

Church. The Basilica of St. Servatius (Basiliek van St. Servaas), which is located on the famous Vrijthof Square, is a

Romanesque basilica with crypts and treasures. Pilgrims have traveled to Maastricht to visit the tomb of Saint Servatius for centuries. The first stone churches

in Maastricht were built after the arrival of Saint Servatius in the fourth century AD. After his death, Maastricht became a popular destination for pilgrims. A small chapel was built on the spot where he was buried. In the centu- ries that followed, this chapel grew into the St. Servatius Church.

Source: P.C. Boeren, Jocundus, biographe de saint Servais. Nijhoff, The Hague, 1972.

The mortal remains of Servaas are kept in a box, which is on display in the Treasury of Saint Servatius Church.

The Basilica of St. Servatius (Basiliek van St. Servaas), which is located on the famous Vrijthof Square, is a Romanesque basilica with crypts and treasures.

Pilgrims have traveled to Maastricht to visit the tomb of Saint Servatius for centuries. The first stone churches in Maastricht were built after the arrival of Saint Servatius in the fourth century AD. After his death, Maastricht became a popular destination for pilgrims. A small chapel was built on the spot where he was buried. In the centu- ries that followed, this chapel grew into the St. Servatius Church.

Source: P.C. Boeren, Jocundus, biographe de saint Servais. Nijhoff, The Hague, 1972

The extended family of Saint Servatius, including Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist and Saint Anne 16th-century panel, Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servatius

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