Seta's Armenian Blog: 12th December 2008

Rant Number 331 11 December 2008

‘Piffling, pathetic and patronising.’ The priest’s comment on remarks by the bishop of Reading, as reported in The Daily Mail. Episcopal utterances are usually too dull and boring to bother about but Press-TV invited me as special guest on the Off the Cuff programme tonight. Valiant presenter Henry Bonsu bounded about the audience asking whether or not a credit crunch Christmas was a blessing in disguise. The bishop’s miracle recipe to tackle the crisis is that you send fewer Xmas cards to people you ‘do not really like’ Instead, you should just put up your feet and relax. Oh, yes, he also opines you should give fewer presents but hand out jars of marmalade or pickled onions instead. That sort of thing. Verily, very much like an Anglican prelate. Because utterly feeble and feckless and asinine.

Let’s get real. First, I said I actually like writing and receiving cards. Someone thinks of me! And I do think of them. Nice. Unlike the grumpy bishop, I do not find that a chore. As to presents, come on, we all love them, don’t we? (Just today I got a box of delicious sweets from my friend Dr Ruth in Germany. Vielen Dank, lieber Ruth!)

Second, I observed that expecting meaningful leadership from C of E bishops is like trusting Gordon Brown to fix the current economic and financial crisis. I mean, the PM is the man largely responsible for the mess we are in. Did he not run the British economy for ten years? It would be like appointing a burglar chief of police. Similarly, Anglican panjandrums must take responsibility for the spiritual waste they have helped to create in this country. Many people in the audience spoke as if Jesus Christ meant to them as little as Zarathustra or Bodhidharma. And yet you have a national church, ‘by law established’. Whose supreme governor and ‘defender of the faith’ is the monarch. With 26 bishops or ‘lords spiritual’ sitting by right in the House of Lords. There are thousands of parishes and vicars up and down the country. Nonetheless ignorance about the faith – the ancestral religion of the English people – is frightening. No one knows what Christianity teaches, because churchmen no longer have the courage to tell. How can you blame someone for going astray, when he has never been told about the straight and narrow? I recall what a Muslim friend, a City gent, told me: ‘My colleagues seem to know of only one way of enjoying themselves’, and he listed some disagreeable things. ‘When I asked them why they did that’, he added, ‘I realised no one had ever told them of an alternative, better way of being.’ Precisely. The Church should have. Loud and clear. Tragically, she has not. Hence, her bosses stand condemned in the Lord’s eyes.

Third, the priest reminded the viewers what Christmas means. God with us. Christ with us. That calls for celebration, if anything does. Joy and merry-making are part of the holy season, along with some austerity in Advent. December 25^th was chosen of old as the birthday of Jesus to overcome certain crass pagan festivals, like the Roman saturnalia. The Puritans forbade the observance of Christmas, partly out of a long-faced religiosity but also because they held that for a true believer every day should be a holy day. Still, if any feast calls for rejoicing, Christmas is one. A rejoicing, mind, in thanksgiving for the Holy Babe of Bethlehem. The Prince of Peace. The Saviour of the World. Yep, Thanksgiving lies at the heart of it all.

Once in the Underground a man was lugging a huge case up the stairs. He had great difficulty and struggled much with that. The friend I was with, a robust young man, stepped in and, straining himself, helped the man to lift up the burden all the way up the stairs. Once at the top the man turned his back on my friend and walked away without saying a single word of thanks. My poor friend said nothing but it left a bitter taste in my mouth. It was ugly. What manner of boor would not have the grace of saying ‘thanks’ to one who helped? Well, it is the same with God. Human beings should at the very least say ‘thank you’ to God.

So the Church should teach and preach not to make people miserable by abstinence – the credit crunch will see to that – but to lead people to put that crucial thanksgiving back into Christmas. A thanksgiving that, by the way, is also what ‘Eucharist’, Holy Communion, means. Something Christ himself enjoined his follower to do, ‘in memory of me’.

Fourth, all right, the C of E bosses may be stupid and faithless but it is not all their fault. Maybe not all Professor Dawkins’ doing either but…it is down to secularism, the way we live now, I suppose. If only we could go back to the catacombs! When the Church was persecuted, it flourished. The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the victories to come. But of course ‘the world’ today is too astute to engage in direct persecution. Instead, Christ is ignored. His name is hardly ever mentioned in public life. The media only do so with a sneer. Young people are corrupted, while God is imprisoned in our grey, joyless little conventicles, called churches. (Sorry, here I go again, having a go at the Church. Can’t help it.) Bob Dylan – do you remember his ‘born again’ phase? He then produced a stirring song called ‘Saved’. It led some hippies to check out the parish church. When they came out they said they could not understand ‘what Bob Dylan sees in it.’ Quite.

Fifth, forgive my vanity but it ended a bit inconsequentially, in a big applause. The presenter asked about the scarf I was wearing. ‘It is Palestinian’, I answered. ‘I wear it in solidarity with them. Because Palestine deserves justice.’ So many in the audience cheered. That was good and it pleased me. I felt the paradox, though. The Baby Jesus for me has dual nationality. He is a Jew but also a Palestinian. Huh! A good omen, I think. Because if anyone can solve the Israel/Palestine conundrum, He can.

Revd Frank Julian Gelli

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FIRST STEPS TAKEN TO ORGANISE THE
ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF PAPHOS

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Simon Aynedjian - Gibrahayer - Nicosia 8 December - With the initiative of the Armenian MP in the Cyprus Parliament Vartkes Mahdessian, the Armenian community of Cyprus challenged fate on December 7, 2008 by answering to the anniversary of the earthquake that hit Armenia two decades ago, by taking a symbolic and courageous step in organising the Armenian community of Paphos.
With the brotherly support of Bishop Yeoryios of Paphos, who opened the doors of the Greek Orthodox Church of Paphos to the growing community of Paphos, more than 100 Armenians in Paphos joined the organisers to prayers and a memorial to the souls of the thousands of earthquake victims of Armenia.
The Holy Liturgy was delivered by Der Momik Habeshian, which was followed by a gathering of the Armenian community of Paphos took place at Saint George Hotel with leaders of our community, MP Vartkes Mahdessian and Chairmen of the Temagan and Varchagan Bodies, Sebouh Tavitian and Dr. Antranik Ashdjian.
The discussion with the Paphos community highlighted the importance of an Armenian Day-School, the need for more frequent religious ceremonies, opportunities for the Paphos community to come together socially and the need to be integrated in both the Armenian and Cypriot societies.

EARTHQUAKE TREMORS STILL
BEING FELT IN ARMENIA NOW

GYUMRI (Combined sources)- Armenia marked on Sunday the 20th anniversary of a catastrophic earthquake that killed about 25,000 people and devastated much of its two northern regions that have still not been completely rebuilt.
President Serzh Sargsyan reiterated his administration's pledge to finish the protracted reconstruction by 2013 as he led official commemoration ceremonies in Gyumri, the country's second largest city, hit hard by the disaster.
This and other ceremonies were attended by former government officials and construction and rescue workers from the across the former Soviet Union who had helped the small South Caucasus republic cope with its devastating consequences.
Armenians also received messages of sympathy from the presidents of Russia and the United States on the occasion.

“We still live in a shack, and there are no jobs here,” one elderly woman told RFE/RL as she stood outside the Gyumri cathedral along with several dozen other local residents hoping to hand letters to Sargsyan. “They [government officials] visit nice streets here and think that Gyumri is 100 percent rebuilt,” she complained. “Let them go into the nearby neighbourhoods, talk to people.”
“We feel neglected, humiliated,” said another woman. “My son works in Russia and doesn't want to return home. Why? Because he hates our shack.”
“Within a few years we will manage to overcome all consequences of the disaster,” Sargsyan said in his speech. “When I say completely I mean that there will be no families left homeless as a result of the earthquake and the improving life will return to normal.” “We have promised this and we will deliver.”
Parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian reaffirmed this pledge as he led commemoration ceremonies in Lori's capital Vanadzor attended by Georgia's last Communist-era leader, Jumber Patiashvili, and builders and rescuers from Russia and Ukraine who had worked in the earthquake zone in 1988-1990.
Armenia's government announced plans last month to spend 252 million dollars (199 million euros) for reconstruction efforts starting next year, aimed at finally rehousing all those who lost their homes in the quake by 2013.

CYPRIOT LEADERS PESSIMISTIC

Monday 8 December - Omphalos Tis Gis newsletter - The direct talks between the two communities are not going as well as expected, President Christofias said on Friday night.
Addressing a bi-communal event, Christofias said Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat’s position for the existence of two nations in Cyprus does not only contradict historical reality, but also the treaties that founded the Cyprus Republic as a unified bi-communal state.
Christofias also hinted that Talat was starting to remind him of former Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, who was openly in favour of a partition between the two communities.
“The common philosophy of AKEL and the Turkish Republican Party, up until recently, was that in Cyprus there is one nation, which consists of two communities: the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots,” said Christofias. “Now, I am saddened to see that this position, regarding the supposed existence of two nations in Cyprus, was supported by Mr Denktash in his policy for the creation of to separate states in Cyprus,” he added.
Continuously highlighting the existence of two nations, said Christofias, was doing little to assist efforts for a resolution to the Cyprus problem. “Unfortunately, such positions sometimes appear on the table of negotiations,” he explained.
He referred to the pessimism that can be deduced through polls between the people of the two communities, assuring, however, that “efforts will not be abandoned”.
On his part, in a recent interview with the Turkish Cypriot news agency, Talat was equally pessimistic. He added that it was nearly impossible to reach a solution to the Cyprus problem before the end of 2009. “Maybe even 2009 will pass without a solution. The negotiating process is moving at very slow rhythms".
“From the moment that the Greek Cypriot side did not accept the Annan Plan as a basis for discussion, we have almost started from zero,” he said. “The international forces must certainly take action and look at the issues, which the two sides can’t find solutions to,” he added.
He said Christofias entered the negotiations as a different person, “He is not as I expected him to be,” he said, adding that this was a huge disappointment to him, especially when Christofias attacked Turkey.
Referring to his position that there are two nations in Cyprus, Talat concluded, “Of course there are two nations, with different languages, religions, joys and woes. When one is happy, the other is sad. Only if there is an earthquake or airplane tragedy will they have the same reaction.”
He didn’t, however, exclude the possibility that the future could see the creation of one nation with two different languages.

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News in brief by Sevag Devletian

Two directors from Turkey and Armenia are set to shoot a documentary in a bid to contribute to the rapprochement efforts between the countries after Turkish President's historic visit to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, the Anatolian Agency reports. Turkish director Eray Mert and his Armenian colleague Gevorg Nazaryan have been working on the project since October and they are scheduled to start in December shooting the joint documentary which tells the story of a Turkish boy and an Armenian girl who fall in love after meeting on the Internet.
Armenia's private sector and government should combine efforts to soften the negative impact of the global crisis on the country, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said opening the parliament's recent session. "The government is capable of supporting the private sector," the premier said, adding the ministries should be well aware of the economic situation to be able to tackle possible recession.
A group of Turkish intellectuals have apologised for the "great disaster that Ottoman Armenians suffered in 1915" but have fallen short of calling on the state to do the same, Today's Zaman reports. Professors Baskan Oran and Ahmet Insel, journalists Ali Bayramoglu and Cengiz Aktar personally apologised for the 1915 events. Meanwhile, Turkish nationalists demand that the people `supporting Armenian claims should be arrested.'
Within the framework of his visit to Helsinki, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, had a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan. During the meeting the parties continued the negotiations on the normalisation of the Armenian-Turkish relations. Ministers Nalbandian and Babacan agreed to continue the meetings.

Letters to the Editor

I am sure our friends all over the world will be delighted to hear about the planned restoration of our church in Nicosia which has been under Turkish control for over four decades. It brings back personal memories of the years spent in Cyprus. Suffice it to say that St.Asdvadzadzin was the church where we were married in l959.....
I also remember the day after the occupation when we were given permission by the Turks to visit the church accompanied by United Nations' officers. I will never forget the day. We were taken around escorted by Turkish irregulars who were not friendly to say the least. It was a sad day which I will never forget.
Vartkes Sinanian

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A.R.F. DASHNAKTSOUTIUN WARNS OF TURKISH PLOYS

by Allen Yekikan - The ARF Dashnaktsoutiun has urged the Armenian Government to be cautious in its rapprochement with Turkey, saying that Ankara is using it to influence the Karabakh peace process and scuttle international recognition of the Armenian genocide.
The issue was high on the agenda of a three-day plenary meeting of the Dashnaktsoutiun's Bureau where Armenia's foreign and domestic challenges were examined.
The meeting, which finished its work in Beirut Monday, also discussed immediate and long-term strategies for coordinating its international affiliates in bolstering Armenia's statehood.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Bureau said international recognition of the genocide is a top priority for Armenia's foreign policy, warning that President Serzh Sargsyan's diplomatic overtures to Turkey are being manipulated “for halting the genocide recognition process and making relations between the two states conditional on Armenia's relations with a third country, Azerbaijan.”

COMMUNITY HEARS OF COURT RULINGS IN FAVOUR OF AGBU AND AGAINST MEI ALUMNI AND ARCH. MUTAFIAN

Armenian National Committee of Cyprus Press release - Nicosia 29 November 2008 - The Armenian National Committee of Cyprus organised a "round table" discussion on the closure of the Melkonian school on the 19th November 2008. In her opening speech ANCY member Vartoug Hagopian talked about the importance of Armenian schools and institutions and the negative impact their closure may have on the struggles of the Armenian nation and the Armenian cause.
During his introductory speech, ANCY Chairman Hagop Manougian, read out a questionnaire that was sent out earlier this year to the Melkonian Advisory Committee querying on the reasons of the closure of the school and its prior financial status and the Melkonian Advisory Committee brief answer to the questionnaire, which informed that both suits against the AGBU in Los Angeles and Cyprus by the Melkonian alumni and Archbishop Mesrob Mutafian, respectively, had been ruled in favour of the AGBU.
In his speech, Melkonian Alumni Vice-Chairman Masis Der Partogh clarified that the legal proceedings in Cyprus against the AGBU did not proceed "due to technical reasons", without clarifying what those reasons where. An interesting debate took place amongst the ones present on many issues such as how and whether to continue the struggle to reopen the school.
Only a few young generation Melkonian graduates were present at the event. The Melkonian Advisory Committee representatives as well as Benon Sevan, AGBU Central Board member, although invited, refused to attend the evening. Present were Henchagian and ARF Dashnaktsoutiun Cyprus political party representatives as well as Armenian MP Vartkes Mahdessian, who reiterated his support to those in the community who were against the closure of the school.
In all, it turned out that, due to non-transparent procedures by both the Cyprus Melkonian Alumni and the AGBU, more questions were raised than answered, which justified the necessity of organising such an event.

LAND MINE EXPLOSION INJURES SEVEN ON GREEN LINE

Financial Mirror - Seven Iraqis were injured in an explosion, possibly from a land mine, in Cyprus on Friday while trying to cross into EU territory through a ceasefire line dividing the island, police said.
The group, including three minors, were taken to hospital in the south of the island where they underwent treatment. One man suffered serious injuries and a four-year-old child was hit by fragments from the blast, police said.
They were abandoned at a hospital by suspected traffickers and police could not specify where the blast occurred, she said.
Authorities said the group had told police they had arrived in occupied northern Cyprus on Dec. 4 and were led to the line by people who told them they would be received on the other side.
"They had attempted to cross the line and while walking there was an explosion, possibly from a land mine," a police spokeswoman said.
The 180 km (116 mile) ceasefire line has split Greek and Turkish Cypriots since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island's north in response to a brief Greek inspired coup.
Land mines remain in several areas along the line, although the United Nations has undertaken extensive clearing work in recent years with funding from the European Union.
Cyprus, on the edge of the volatile Middle East, gets thousands of illegal migrants passing through each year. Its southern side is effectively in the European Union -- a potential springboard for illegal migrants into the rest of the bloc, while the north is a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state.
Cyprus's political division makes supervision of its ceasefire line difficult, since the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government does not recognise internal borders.

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A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009 AND A MERRY CHRISTMAS
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Sport News by Sevag Devletian

CYPRUS FOOTBALL:

AGBU's Ararat FC defeated arch rivals Parnassos 6-3, in a unique exhibition of top quality Futsal at the Melkonian Stadium and climbed at the top of the table for the 1st Division of the Cyprus Futsal League.

In the 2nd Division of the Amateur Football League of Cyprus AYMA/HMEM were defeated 1-3 by Trapeza Pireos.

In the 1st Division of the Amateur Football League Lipenza turned a 0-3 half time deficit to a 5-3 victory against AOSIL.

Nor Serount's Homenmen were defeated 15-3 by ETHA for a game in the 3rd Division of the Cyprus Futsal Championships.

The Armenian Minister of Defence Seyran Ohanian on December 4 received the current boxing champion of the world Vic (Vakhtang) Darchinian. At the end of the meeting S. Ohanian presented V. Darchinian with a symbolic sword. Then the minister handed the boxer an "Andranik Ozanian" medal of the RA ministry of defence for winning the title of the absolute champion of the world, upholding the sport honour of Armenia at international competitions, and contributing to the development of boxing in Armenia.
The international Organization "Peace Sport" has given the annual Peace and Sport Image of the Year Award to a photograph of a handshake of Armenian and Turkish Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Abdullah Gul.
During the European Judo Association's 60th jubilee congress it was decided to hold the European Youth Championship in Yerevan in September 2009.
Armenia plans to have divers participate in the 2012 Olympics to take place in London. During the past couple of years, Armenian divers have participated in teen and youth international competitions.
Former Davis Cup star Haig Ashdjian of Larnaca won the Cyprus National Championships by defeating Nikos Tikkis 6-1, 6-0. Ashdjian concluded 2008 by winning all the over 45 championships in Cyprus. Furthermore, he also won three international over 55 events that of Aldiana, Larnaca and Acropolis ITF in Athens.

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Every Saturday at 6:00 pm at AYMA - Weekly meetings of Azadamard Junior Badanegan (8-13 year olds). An educational and fun environment for the younger generation of our community. Games, trips, parties and lots of fun in a family environment. For more information contact Kevork Keoshgerian on 99817806.

Every Saturday at 7:00 pm at AYMA - Weekly meetings of Azadamard Senior Badanegan (13-17 year olds). For more information contact Kevork Keoshgerian on 99817806.

Every Sunday at 7:30 pm at AYMA - Weekly meetings of AYF Koyamard Branch (17-30 year olds).

Every Wednesday at 7:00 pm - Community gathering at The Armenian Club of Larnaca, followed by dinner.

You can now purchase the AYF Cyprus 30-year anniversary
Photo Album on DVD for 10 euros
Please contact Kevork Keoshgerian on 99817806 or Jirayr Sarkissian 99445018

10-20 December - Austrian Food Festival at The Cyprus Hilton - Contact Sylvia dot Petersen at austrian dot com for more details.
Saturday 20 December - Nor Serount Ball at Habibi Restaurant (formerly Enastro) - Featuring French Armenian singer Vaghinag Tavitian accompanied by organist Garen Sarkissian. To sign up call Lena Poshoghlian on 99028868 and Koko Der Bedrossian.
Sunday, December 21 at 5:00pm - Spiritual message from the Armenian
radio program of CYBC. Title:" The Suffering Church". Speaker: Hrayr Jebejian
Sunday, December 21 at 6:00pm - Christmas Concert at Sourp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Church in Nicosia with the Chamber Choir "Polyfonia", directed by Maro Skordi and The Guitar Ensemble "OKTO", directed by Demetris Regginos. Entrance Free
Thursday December 25 at 9:00 pm - Annual AYMA Ball at The Cyprus Hilton.