Tweet
California Courier Online, August 11, 2005
1 - Commentary
Turkish Official Talks of Bribing
House Speaker to Kill Genocide Bill
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The Califorrnia Courier
2 - Armenian Included in L.A. Multicultural
'Emergency Preparedness' Campaign
3- Educator Makes Local 'Armenian Connection'
4 - Garikian Scholarship
Fund Changes
Requirements
5 - Richard H. Tashjian's Paintings
Go on Exhibit in New Mexico
6 - Haigazian Graduate Wins
Lebanon Chess Championship:
7 - Armenians Invited to Join in 170th Anniversary
Celebrations of Armenian Church in Singapore
************************************************** ***********************
1 - Commentary
Turkish Official Talks of Bribing
House Speaker to Kill Genocide Bill
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Vanity Fair is reporting in its September 2005 issue that a Turkish
diplomat spoke about arranging for $500,000 in illegal payments to House
Speaker Dennis Hastert in order to kill a congressional resolution on the
Armenian Genocide, in the fall of 2000.
Joel Robertz, an F.B.I. special agent in Chicago, had asked Sibel Edmonds,
one of F.B.I's Turkish interpreters, to review more than 40 recorded
conversations of "a senior official" at the Turkish Consulate in Chicago,
as well as members of the American-Turkish Council and the Assembly of
Turkish American Associations in Washington, D.C., according to Vanity
Fair.
The subject of the wiretapped conversations sounded like attempts to bribe
several members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans. "Some of the
calls reportedly contained what sounded like references to large scale drug
shipments and other crimes," the magazine said.
In the wiretaps, the Turkish callers frequently used the nickname "Denny
boy," to refer to the Republican Congressman from Illinois, Speaker of the
House Dennis Hastert. The Turks monitored by the F.B.I. said they had
"arranged for tens of thousands of dollars to be paid to Hastert's campaign
funds in small checks. Under Federal Election Commission rules, donations
of less than $200 are not required to be itemized in public filings.
Hastert himself was never heard in these conversations," Vanity Fair's
David Rose wrote.
The magazine's examination of Speaker Hastert's federal filings for the
years 1996-2002 showed his campaign committee to have received close to
$500,000 in un-itemized payments - the second highest amount in such
contributions for all Congressmen. Vanity Fair stated that there was no
evidence that such payments were in fact made by these Turkish subjects.
"Nevertheless, a senior official at the Turkish Consulate [in Chicago] is
said to have claimed in one recording that the price for Hastert to
withdraw the resolution would have been at least $500,000."
David Rose reported that Edmonds told congressional investigators: "The
recordings contained repeated references to Hastert's flip-flop, in the
fall of 2000, over an issue which remains of intense concern to the Turkish
government - the continuing campaign to have Congress designate the
killings of Armenians in Turkey between 1915 and 1923 a genocide. For many
years attempts had been made to get the House to pass a genocide
resolution, but they never got anywhere until August 2000, when Hastert, as
Speaker, announced that he would give it his backing and see that it
received a full House vote. He had a clear political reason, as analysts
noted at the time:
a California Republican incumbent, locked in a tight congressional race,
was looking to win over his district's large Armenian community. Thanks to
Hastert, the resolution, vehemently opposed by the Turks, passed the
International Relations Committee by a large majority. Then, on October 19,
minutes before the full House vote, Hastert withdrew it. At the time, he
explained his decision by saying that he had received a letter from
President Clinton arguing that the genocide resolution, if passed, would
harm U.S. interests."
In another wiretapped conversation, "a Turkish official spoke directly to a
U.S. State Department staffer." Vanity Fair reported. He "suggested that
the State Department staffer would send a representative at an appointed
time to the American-Turkish Council office, at 1111 14th Street NW, where
he would be given $7,000 in cash."
A congressional source told the magazine that Edmonds testified that "she'd
heard mention of exchanges of information, dead-drops - that kind of
thing.... It was mostly money in exchange for secrets.... Another call
allegedly discussed a payment to a Pentagon official who seemed to be
involved in weapons-procurement negotiations. Yet another implied that
Turkish groups had been installing doctoral students at U.S. research
institutions in order to acquire information about black market nuclear
weapons. In fact, much of what Edmonds reportedly heard seemed to concern
not state espionage but criminal activity. There was talk, she told
investigators, of laundering the profits of large-scale drug deals and of
selling classified military technologies to the highest bidder."
The main focus of Vanity Fair's expose is the controversial firing of Sibel
Edmonds for complaining to her bosses at the F.B.I. that she believed one
of her Turkish co-workers was leaking confidential information to the
Turkish officials who were being investigated by the F.B.I. The Bush
Administration has banned Edmonds from talking to anyone about her case and
has prevented her from filing a lawsuit for her mysterious dismissal.
Besides the bombshell about the Turkish plot to bribe Hastert in order to
prevent the passage of a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian
Genocide, one wonders why the F.B.I. would wiretap for several years the
Turkish Consulate in Chicago, and even more intriguing, the offices of the
American-Turkish Council and the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations.
What did the F.B.I. suspect about these Turkish-American non-profit groups
that merited such intrusive surveillance?
Even more incredible is the allegation that officials working at the
Pentagon and State Dept. were receiving cash payments from Turkish sources.
Is there a Turkish network that has bought its way and infiltrated the
highest levels of the U.S. government?
The fact that Edmonds is prevented from talking about her work and filing a
lawsuit could be due to the U.S. government's intent to file charges
against these Turkish entities and its desire not to have the case
jeopardized by Edmonds' actions. It could also be that Washington is trying
to cover-up the suspected illegal activities of these Turkish groups in
order to protect their co-conspirators at the top echelons of the Bush
Administration.
The ACLU has appealed Edmonds' case to the Supreme Court. We hope that the
highest court of the land would hear her case, thereby revealing to the
American public what the U.S. government has discovered about the
activities of the suspected Turkish diplomats and Turkish American
organizations.
************************************************** ************************
2 - Armenian Included in L.A. Multicultural
'Emergency Preparedness' Campaign
LOS ANGELES - Armenian is among 12 languages used by the Los Angeles County
Health Department for a multicultural, multilingual outreach effort to
assist county residents prepare themselves and their families for
emergencies.
Multilingual radio, television and print advertisements will air throughout
the county through September.
Krikorian Marketing Group (KMG) has been contracted to outreach for the
Armenian, Arabic, Farsi and Russian speaking communities. KMG has produced
television spot commercials and print adverting in each of the targeted
populations.
KMG President Greg Krikorian saidm "We compliment the Los County Health
Department for recognizing the importance of disseminating of this valuable
information and to the multilingual community in their native languages.
Our individual efforts will help us as a community."
"The importance of preparing for an emergency cannot be emphasized enough,"
said Jonathan E. Fielding, M.D., M.P.H., Director of Public Health and
County Health Officer. "Our recent L.A. Health Survey shows that less than
16% of county residents have a family emergency plan. Our goal is to
increase public awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies
and encourage individuals to take action by preparing now."
Attendees included various representatives of the ethnic community. The
Armenian community was well presented by organization leaders and media.
"As I was listening to the presentation, I was excited with so many ideas.
I believe that is important to educate and inform our Armenian community.
As the president of Armenian American Nurses Association (AANA) I would
like to propose in collaboration with Krikorian Marketing Group which
involves awareness and education of the Armenian communities," noted AANA
President Mary Konyalian, RM, MA, MFT.
For additional emergency planning tips and information on the "Just Be
Ready: Prepare Together!" campaign, call the multilingual hotline,
866-999-LABT (5228).
************************************************** ***************
3 - Educator Makes Local 'Armenian Connection'
By Andrew Wang
L.A. Times
LOS ANGELES - When Steve Maradian got the call that the American University
of Armenia was seeking a new vice president, he knew it would be a job
unlike any other in his more than 20 years in higher education.
The university had opened the same day that Armenia gained independence
from the Soviet Union in 1991, three years after a devastating earthquake
killed 25,000 Armenians. When Maradian was hired in late 2002, he found a
country still rebuilding and still dealing with the old socialist
mentality.
"In the Soviet culture, you just didn't do anything," he said. "If you did
something, you might put yourself out of a job."
Even so, he had leaped at the chance to go for the first time to the land
of his grandparents' birth to help the school grow in the mold of American
universities.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Maradian, who has spoken
Armenian since childhood. "I mean, when do you get to go to your motherland
and make a difference?"
Now the longtime higher-education administrator will shift his attention
from Armenia to a campus in east Hollywood's Little Armenia: Los Angeles
City College.
Last month, Maradian, 54, was named president of the college, one of nine
in the Los Angeles Community College District. That the college on Vermont
Avenue sits in a sizable Armenian enclave is not lost on him.
"The Armenian connection is important," he said, speaking energetically in
an accent that reveals his Massachusetts roots. "It's important to me to
keep that cultural connection - the language, the food, the religion."
But Maradian is quick to point out that he will be the president for all
students, not just those who share his ethnic heritage.
The campus enrolls a diverse student body, including many from immigrant
families. Only about 47% of the students list English as their family's
primary language. Eleven percent speak Armenian at home, 22% Spanish and
the others a variety of languages, including Korean, Chinese, Russian,
Japanese and Tagalog.
Maradian said he planned to apply to his new job the lessons learned during
tenures as president of colleges and institutes in Texas, Georgia,
Louisiana and Ohio, as well as his three-year stint in Armenia.
"When a student comes out and succeeds, the community is the beneficiary,"
Maradian said. The president, he said, needs to work with the community "so
they know what we're doing and so they know where the needs are, so we can
continue to get support to say, 'This is what we're doing, and this is why
it's important.' "
Sylvia Scott-Hayes, president of the L.A. college district's board of
trustees, said Maradian was the most qualified of the candidates
interviewed.
That Maradian is an Armenian American coming to head a college in a
neighborhood with a strong Armenian presence is an unexpected bonus,
Scott-Hayes added. "He brings a different perspective, and we were excited
about that," she said. "It kind of takes our diversity to a different
level."
Maradian comes to a district in the throes of a $2.2-billion reconstruction
effort, in which 455 existing buildings are to be renovated and 44 new
buildings constructed over the next 10 years.
As many community college students are, Maradian said, he and his siblings
were the first generation of his family to go to college. Also, he's a
community-college parent: One of his sons attended one in Georgia.
As for what drives him to work in community colleges, he said the answer
was simple: He loves being an educator.
"I just felt that it was a calling," Maradian said. "There's nothing more
satisfying than seeing a student succeed."
************************************************** ************
4 - Garikian Scholarship
Fund Changes
Requirements
LOS ANGELES - After reviewing the By-Laws of the Garikian University
Scholarship Fund at its latest meeting, the Executive Board of the Garikian
University Scholarship Fund changed he requirements of the 2004-2005
Scholarship.
According all applicants, past and new, should note the following changes
in qualification for the Garikian Fund: All applicants should attend one of
the accredited universities of the State of California; and should have
successfully completed their first academic year at the university;
Applicants also should pursue their higher education in one of the
following four (4) majors or subjects specified by the revised By-Laws of
the Garikian Scholarship Fund: Armenian Studies - Armenian Literature;
Political Science; Journalism; Education-Teaching and Counseling.
University students are urged to apply for application forms from the
Western Prelacy and return them completed no later than August 31, 2005 to:
Garikian University Scholarship Fund, c/o Western Prelacy, 6252 Honolulu
Avenue, La Crescenta, CA 91214.
************************************************** ************************
5 - Richard H. Tashjian's Paintings
Go on Exhibit in New Mexico
TAOS, NM - Paintings by Richard H. Tashjian, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, will
be included in an exhibition of New Mexico artists by the Wilder
Nightingale Fine Art in Taos, from Aug. 6 through Aug. 27.
Tashjian's inspiration portraying New Mexico's nature and rock formations
with their warm, rich colors, has been his trademark. He often ventures off
the beaten path to capture a new perspective of the American Southwest.
Since his relocation from Boston, with his wife, it has been a fruitful
period of painting the Southwest he has grown to love, Tashjian said. Many
artists have come there to paint and he feel honored to be part of this
"wonderful experience."
Tashjian's palette is clean and crisp like the New Mexico air.
The Wilder Nightingale Fine Art Gallery is located at 119 Kit Carson Road,
Taos.
Gallery hours are Mon-Sat, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. For
more information, call (505) 758-3255.
************************************************** *************************
6 - Haigazian Graduate Wins
Lebanon Chess Championship:
BEIRUT - Soon after her graduation from Haigazian University, with a B.S.
degree in Computer Sciences, Kenarig Mouradian won the Lebanon's Chess
Championship, on July 27.
Mouradian is the first woman to win this championship after playing 13
games with more than 111 participants (male and female).
In an interview to the local media, Mouradian considered that winning this
traditionally men's championship was a cherished dream that was finally
realized.
Mouradian, from the class of 2005, is the first woman to sit on the chess
throne in Lebanon and the Arab World.
************************************************** ************************
7 - Armenians Invited to Join in 170th Anniversary
Celebrations of Armenian Church in Singapore
SYDNEY, Australia - Wherever Armenians settle, an Armenian Church is first
to sprout. So it was for the Armenian Community of Singapore in the early
19th century when it built the very first Christian sanctuary in Singapore
in 1835, the Armenian Apostolic Church of St Gregory the Illuminator
located at 60 Hill Street, Singapore.
With fewer than 830 Armenians ever having lived in Singapore and Malaysia,
it is said that Armenians impacted the social, civic and economic life of
the early British trading settlements in both countries. Author Nadia H.
Wright explores the significant contribution of Armenians in her book
entitled "Respected Citizens: the History of Armenians in Singapore and
Malaysia" and traces the existence of four Singaporean icons to Armenians:
the Church of St Gregory, the Raffles Hotel, the Straits Times newspaper
and the "Vanda Miss Joaquim" orchid ~ popularly known as the Singapore
orchid that is the national flower of Singapore.
To mark the 170th anniversary of Singapore's Armenian Apostolic Church, the
Trustees of the Church and Armenians living in
Asia have planned a weekend of celebration from November 11-13, and extend
an invitation to Armenians around the globe to partake in this very special
event.
With the fatherly blessing of Catholicos Karekin II, the celebrations will
be presided by Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia
and New Zealand, Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, who is also Pontifical Legate
of India and the Far East.
A special website has been created to serve as a guide to the celebrations
in Singapore with information on the history of the Church, program of
planned events, recommended accommodation and tours/excursions of Singapore
and the surrounding region. The website address is www.armeniansinasia.org
and it is highly recommended the site be frequently visited for updates
and latest information on the celebratory events.
************************************************** ************************
************************************************** ************************
The California Courier On-Line is a service provided by the California
Courier. Subscriptions or changes of address should not be transmitted
through this service. Information in that regard should be telephoned
to (818) 409-0949; faxed to: (818) 409-9207, or e-mailed to:
[email protected]. Letters to the editor concerning issues
addressed in the Courier may be e-mailed, provided it is signed by
the author. Phone and/or E-mail address is also required to verify
authorship.
1 - Commentary
Turkish Official Talks of Bribing
House Speaker to Kill Genocide Bill
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The Califorrnia Courier
2 - Armenian Included in L.A. Multicultural
'Emergency Preparedness' Campaign
3- Educator Makes Local 'Armenian Connection'
4 - Garikian Scholarship
Fund Changes
Requirements
5 - Richard H. Tashjian's Paintings
Go on Exhibit in New Mexico
6 - Haigazian Graduate Wins
Lebanon Chess Championship:
7 - Armenians Invited to Join in 170th Anniversary
Celebrations of Armenian Church in Singapore
************************************************** ***********************
1 - Commentary
Turkish Official Talks of Bribing
House Speaker to Kill Genocide Bill
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Vanity Fair is reporting in its September 2005 issue that a Turkish
diplomat spoke about arranging for $500,000 in illegal payments to House
Speaker Dennis Hastert in order to kill a congressional resolution on the
Armenian Genocide, in the fall of 2000.
Joel Robertz, an F.B.I. special agent in Chicago, had asked Sibel Edmonds,
one of F.B.I's Turkish interpreters, to review more than 40 recorded
conversations of "a senior official" at the Turkish Consulate in Chicago,
as well as members of the American-Turkish Council and the Assembly of
Turkish American Associations in Washington, D.C., according to Vanity
Fair.
The subject of the wiretapped conversations sounded like attempts to bribe
several members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans. "Some of the
calls reportedly contained what sounded like references to large scale drug
shipments and other crimes," the magazine said.
In the wiretaps, the Turkish callers frequently used the nickname "Denny
boy," to refer to the Republican Congressman from Illinois, Speaker of the
House Dennis Hastert. The Turks monitored by the F.B.I. said they had
"arranged for tens of thousands of dollars to be paid to Hastert's campaign
funds in small checks. Under Federal Election Commission rules, donations
of less than $200 are not required to be itemized in public filings.
Hastert himself was never heard in these conversations," Vanity Fair's
David Rose wrote.
The magazine's examination of Speaker Hastert's federal filings for the
years 1996-2002 showed his campaign committee to have received close to
$500,000 in un-itemized payments - the second highest amount in such
contributions for all Congressmen. Vanity Fair stated that there was no
evidence that such payments were in fact made by these Turkish subjects.
"Nevertheless, a senior official at the Turkish Consulate [in Chicago] is
said to have claimed in one recording that the price for Hastert to
withdraw the resolution would have been at least $500,000."
David Rose reported that Edmonds told congressional investigators: "The
recordings contained repeated references to Hastert's flip-flop, in the
fall of 2000, over an issue which remains of intense concern to the Turkish
government - the continuing campaign to have Congress designate the
killings of Armenians in Turkey between 1915 and 1923 a genocide. For many
years attempts had been made to get the House to pass a genocide
resolution, but they never got anywhere until August 2000, when Hastert, as
Speaker, announced that he would give it his backing and see that it
received a full House vote. He had a clear political reason, as analysts
noted at the time:
a California Republican incumbent, locked in a tight congressional race,
was looking to win over his district's large Armenian community. Thanks to
Hastert, the resolution, vehemently opposed by the Turks, passed the
International Relations Committee by a large majority. Then, on October 19,
minutes before the full House vote, Hastert withdrew it. At the time, he
explained his decision by saying that he had received a letter from
President Clinton arguing that the genocide resolution, if passed, would
harm U.S. interests."
In another wiretapped conversation, "a Turkish official spoke directly to a
U.S. State Department staffer." Vanity Fair reported. He "suggested that
the State Department staffer would send a representative at an appointed
time to the American-Turkish Council office, at 1111 14th Street NW, where
he would be given $7,000 in cash."
A congressional source told the magazine that Edmonds testified that "she'd
heard mention of exchanges of information, dead-drops - that kind of
thing.... It was mostly money in exchange for secrets.... Another call
allegedly discussed a payment to a Pentagon official who seemed to be
involved in weapons-procurement negotiations. Yet another implied that
Turkish groups had been installing doctoral students at U.S. research
institutions in order to acquire information about black market nuclear
weapons. In fact, much of what Edmonds reportedly heard seemed to concern
not state espionage but criminal activity. There was talk, she told
investigators, of laundering the profits of large-scale drug deals and of
selling classified military technologies to the highest bidder."
The main focus of Vanity Fair's expose is the controversial firing of Sibel
Edmonds for complaining to her bosses at the F.B.I. that she believed one
of her Turkish co-workers was leaking confidential information to the
Turkish officials who were being investigated by the F.B.I. The Bush
Administration has banned Edmonds from talking to anyone about her case and
has prevented her from filing a lawsuit for her mysterious dismissal.
Besides the bombshell about the Turkish plot to bribe Hastert in order to
prevent the passage of a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian
Genocide, one wonders why the F.B.I. would wiretap for several years the
Turkish Consulate in Chicago, and even more intriguing, the offices of the
American-Turkish Council and the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations.
What did the F.B.I. suspect about these Turkish-American non-profit groups
that merited such intrusive surveillance?
Even more incredible is the allegation that officials working at the
Pentagon and State Dept. were receiving cash payments from Turkish sources.
Is there a Turkish network that has bought its way and infiltrated the
highest levels of the U.S. government?
The fact that Edmonds is prevented from talking about her work and filing a
lawsuit could be due to the U.S. government's intent to file charges
against these Turkish entities and its desire not to have the case
jeopardized by Edmonds' actions. It could also be that Washington is trying
to cover-up the suspected illegal activities of these Turkish groups in
order to protect their co-conspirators at the top echelons of the Bush
Administration.
The ACLU has appealed Edmonds' case to the Supreme Court. We hope that the
highest court of the land would hear her case, thereby revealing to the
American public what the U.S. government has discovered about the
activities of the suspected Turkish diplomats and Turkish American
organizations.
************************************************** ************************
2 - Armenian Included in L.A. Multicultural
'Emergency Preparedness' Campaign
LOS ANGELES - Armenian is among 12 languages used by the Los Angeles County
Health Department for a multicultural, multilingual outreach effort to
assist county residents prepare themselves and their families for
emergencies.
Multilingual radio, television and print advertisements will air throughout
the county through September.
Krikorian Marketing Group (KMG) has been contracted to outreach for the
Armenian, Arabic, Farsi and Russian speaking communities. KMG has produced
television spot commercials and print adverting in each of the targeted
populations.
KMG President Greg Krikorian saidm "We compliment the Los County Health
Department for recognizing the importance of disseminating of this valuable
information and to the multilingual community in their native languages.
Our individual efforts will help us as a community."
"The importance of preparing for an emergency cannot be emphasized enough,"
said Jonathan E. Fielding, M.D., M.P.H., Director of Public Health and
County Health Officer. "Our recent L.A. Health Survey shows that less than
16% of county residents have a family emergency plan. Our goal is to
increase public awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies
and encourage individuals to take action by preparing now."
Attendees included various representatives of the ethnic community. The
Armenian community was well presented by organization leaders and media.
"As I was listening to the presentation, I was excited with so many ideas.
I believe that is important to educate and inform our Armenian community.
As the president of Armenian American Nurses Association (AANA) I would
like to propose in collaboration with Krikorian Marketing Group which
involves awareness and education of the Armenian communities," noted AANA
President Mary Konyalian, RM, MA, MFT.
For additional emergency planning tips and information on the "Just Be
Ready: Prepare Together!" campaign, call the multilingual hotline,
866-999-LABT (5228).
************************************************** ***************
3 - Educator Makes Local 'Armenian Connection'
By Andrew Wang
L.A. Times
LOS ANGELES - When Steve Maradian got the call that the American University
of Armenia was seeking a new vice president, he knew it would be a job
unlike any other in his more than 20 years in higher education.
The university had opened the same day that Armenia gained independence
from the Soviet Union in 1991, three years after a devastating earthquake
killed 25,000 Armenians. When Maradian was hired in late 2002, he found a
country still rebuilding and still dealing with the old socialist
mentality.
"In the Soviet culture, you just didn't do anything," he said. "If you did
something, you might put yourself out of a job."
Even so, he had leaped at the chance to go for the first time to the land
of his grandparents' birth to help the school grow in the mold of American
universities.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Maradian, who has spoken
Armenian since childhood. "I mean, when do you get to go to your motherland
and make a difference?"
Now the longtime higher-education administrator will shift his attention
from Armenia to a campus in east Hollywood's Little Armenia: Los Angeles
City College.
Last month, Maradian, 54, was named president of the college, one of nine
in the Los Angeles Community College District. That the college on Vermont
Avenue sits in a sizable Armenian enclave is not lost on him.
"The Armenian connection is important," he said, speaking energetically in
an accent that reveals his Massachusetts roots. "It's important to me to
keep that cultural connection - the language, the food, the religion."
But Maradian is quick to point out that he will be the president for all
students, not just those who share his ethnic heritage.
The campus enrolls a diverse student body, including many from immigrant
families. Only about 47% of the students list English as their family's
primary language. Eleven percent speak Armenian at home, 22% Spanish and
the others a variety of languages, including Korean, Chinese, Russian,
Japanese and Tagalog.
Maradian said he planned to apply to his new job the lessons learned during
tenures as president of colleges and institutes in Texas, Georgia,
Louisiana and Ohio, as well as his three-year stint in Armenia.
"When a student comes out and succeeds, the community is the beneficiary,"
Maradian said. The president, he said, needs to work with the community "so
they know what we're doing and so they know where the needs are, so we can
continue to get support to say, 'This is what we're doing, and this is why
it's important.' "
Sylvia Scott-Hayes, president of the L.A. college district's board of
trustees, said Maradian was the most qualified of the candidates
interviewed.
That Maradian is an Armenian American coming to head a college in a
neighborhood with a strong Armenian presence is an unexpected bonus,
Scott-Hayes added. "He brings a different perspective, and we were excited
about that," she said. "It kind of takes our diversity to a different
level."
Maradian comes to a district in the throes of a $2.2-billion reconstruction
effort, in which 455 existing buildings are to be renovated and 44 new
buildings constructed over the next 10 years.
As many community college students are, Maradian said, he and his siblings
were the first generation of his family to go to college. Also, he's a
community-college parent: One of his sons attended one in Georgia.
As for what drives him to work in community colleges, he said the answer
was simple: He loves being an educator.
"I just felt that it was a calling," Maradian said. "There's nothing more
satisfying than seeing a student succeed."
************************************************** ************
4 - Garikian Scholarship
Fund Changes
Requirements
LOS ANGELES - After reviewing the By-Laws of the Garikian University
Scholarship Fund at its latest meeting, the Executive Board of the Garikian
University Scholarship Fund changed he requirements of the 2004-2005
Scholarship.
According all applicants, past and new, should note the following changes
in qualification for the Garikian Fund: All applicants should attend one of
the accredited universities of the State of California; and should have
successfully completed their first academic year at the university;
Applicants also should pursue their higher education in one of the
following four (4) majors or subjects specified by the revised By-Laws of
the Garikian Scholarship Fund: Armenian Studies - Armenian Literature;
Political Science; Journalism; Education-Teaching and Counseling.
University students are urged to apply for application forms from the
Western Prelacy and return them completed no later than August 31, 2005 to:
Garikian University Scholarship Fund, c/o Western Prelacy, 6252 Honolulu
Avenue, La Crescenta, CA 91214.
************************************************** ************************
5 - Richard H. Tashjian's Paintings
Go on Exhibit in New Mexico
TAOS, NM - Paintings by Richard H. Tashjian, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, will
be included in an exhibition of New Mexico artists by the Wilder
Nightingale Fine Art in Taos, from Aug. 6 through Aug. 27.
Tashjian's inspiration portraying New Mexico's nature and rock formations
with their warm, rich colors, has been his trademark. He often ventures off
the beaten path to capture a new perspective of the American Southwest.
Since his relocation from Boston, with his wife, it has been a fruitful
period of painting the Southwest he has grown to love, Tashjian said. Many
artists have come there to paint and he feel honored to be part of this
"wonderful experience."
Tashjian's palette is clean and crisp like the New Mexico air.
The Wilder Nightingale Fine Art Gallery is located at 119 Kit Carson Road,
Taos.
Gallery hours are Mon-Sat, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. For
more information, call (505) 758-3255.
************************************************** *************************
6 - Haigazian Graduate Wins
Lebanon Chess Championship:
BEIRUT - Soon after her graduation from Haigazian University, with a B.S.
degree in Computer Sciences, Kenarig Mouradian won the Lebanon's Chess
Championship, on July 27.
Mouradian is the first woman to win this championship after playing 13
games with more than 111 participants (male and female).
In an interview to the local media, Mouradian considered that winning this
traditionally men's championship was a cherished dream that was finally
realized.
Mouradian, from the class of 2005, is the first woman to sit on the chess
throne in Lebanon and the Arab World.
************************************************** ************************
7 - Armenians Invited to Join in 170th Anniversary
Celebrations of Armenian Church in Singapore
SYDNEY, Australia - Wherever Armenians settle, an Armenian Church is first
to sprout. So it was for the Armenian Community of Singapore in the early
19th century when it built the very first Christian sanctuary in Singapore
in 1835, the Armenian Apostolic Church of St Gregory the Illuminator
located at 60 Hill Street, Singapore.
With fewer than 830 Armenians ever having lived in Singapore and Malaysia,
it is said that Armenians impacted the social, civic and economic life of
the early British trading settlements in both countries. Author Nadia H.
Wright explores the significant contribution of Armenians in her book
entitled "Respected Citizens: the History of Armenians in Singapore and
Malaysia" and traces the existence of four Singaporean icons to Armenians:
the Church of St Gregory, the Raffles Hotel, the Straits Times newspaper
and the "Vanda Miss Joaquim" orchid ~ popularly known as the Singapore
orchid that is the national flower of Singapore.
To mark the 170th anniversary of Singapore's Armenian Apostolic Church, the
Trustees of the Church and Armenians living in
Asia have planned a weekend of celebration from November 11-13, and extend
an invitation to Armenians around the globe to partake in this very special
event.
With the fatherly blessing of Catholicos Karekin II, the celebrations will
be presided by Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia
and New Zealand, Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, who is also Pontifical Legate
of India and the Far East.
A special website has been created to serve as a guide to the celebrations
in Singapore with information on the history of the Church, program of
planned events, recommended accommodation and tours/excursions of Singapore
and the surrounding region. The website address is www.armeniansinasia.org
and it is highly recommended the site be frequently visited for updates
and latest information on the celebratory events.
************************************************** ************************
************************************************** ************************
The California Courier On-Line is a service provided by the California
Courier. Subscriptions or changes of address should not be transmitted
through this service. Information in that regard should be telephoned
to (818) 409-0949; faxed to: (818) 409-9207, or e-mailed to:
[email protected]. Letters to the editor concerning issues
addressed in the Courier may be e-mailed, provided it is signed by
the author. Phone and/or E-mail address is also required to verify
authorship.