... Britain, whose sole interests seemed to lie under the Caspian Sea off Azerbaijan. But, as one British diplomat in London put it, bilateral trade volume is one of the most important factors of British foreign ...
Armenian International Magazine Volume 10, Number 10, October 1999, p. 11
[Editorial by Hratch Tchilingirian]
Electing A Holy Father Will the new Catholicos heal, build and lead the Church into the next century?
At the end of October over 450 delegates from around the world, elected by their respective communities, will convene the National Ecclesiastical Assembly (NEA), the Armenian Church’s highest body of authority, to elect a new Catholicos of All Armenians.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) July 1999, Volume 10, Number 7, pp 53-54
Instilling the Armenian Spirit Armenian Education in a Transient Community
By Hratch Tchilingirian
The tiny Armenian community in the United Arab Emirates, numbering less than 2000, has a collective history of about 20 years. Unlike most established Diaspora communities around the world, the most prevalent characteristics of this community is its transient nature.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) July 1999, Volume 10, Number 7, pp 37 & 39
Crisis Without Borders The Media in the Middle East
By Hratch Tchilingirian
In the old days, when things looked bleak in the Diasporan communities of the West, everyone looked to the Middle East for hope. There, Armenians spoke, read, wrote Armenian. There, the future of the language and the culture was guaranteed.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) July 1999, Volume 10, Number 7, pp 29-33
The End of a Journey Karekin I, Catholicos of All Armenians, 1995-1999; Catholicos of Cilicia, 1977-1995
By Hratch Tchilingirian
In April 1995, Karekin I was elected the 131st Catholicos of All Armenians in Ejmiatsin by the National Ecclesiastical Assembly, arguably, the most pan-Armenian body representing almost nine million Armenians in the republic and 32 countries in the Diaspora. Unlike other elections in the last five hundred years, this one was the first in a free and independent Republic of Armenia. And for the first time in history, the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, in Lebanon, was elected Catholicos of All Armenians in Ejmiatsin.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) June 1999, Volume 10, Number 6, pp 46-48
Master of Grand Theater Gerard Avedissian in the Cultural Landscape of Lebanon
By Hratch Tchilingirian
Playwright, actor, director and producer Gerard Avedissian, 55, is one of the most sought-after artists in the Middle East. A regular guest on the Lebanese television talk show circuit and the cultural scene, Avedissian is the master of the grand theater. “People expect something big and something well done,” he says, when they see his name associated with a theatrical production. In 1997, when he wrote, directed and co-produced “Ghadat Al-Camilla”—a musical play inspired by Alexandre Dumas Jr’s The Lady of the Camellias—some 55,000 people saw the production in one season.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) April 1999, Vol. 10, No. 4, p 58-59
AN ARAB HISTORIAN AND HIS CAUSE Saleh Zahredeen Takes on the Armenian Genocide
By Hratch Tchilingirian
"The truth shall be told even while hanging on the gallows," confidently affirms Saleh Zahreedin, 48, Lebanese Druze historian and author of a dozen books and pamphlets in Arabic on the Armenians and the Genocide.
... countries remains a major foreign affairs challenge because the problem of recognition is even more contentious an issue in the negotiations process, with Azerbaijan still refusing that most fundamental ...
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) December 1998, Vol. 9, No. 12, p. 11
[Editorial by Hratch Tchilingirian
CLASH OF VALUES The West's patronizing, sometimes arrogant attitude has contributed to the frustration of groups who are tired of "transitions"
The World Council of Churches (WCC) which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month (see page 62), has come under strong criticism-particularly since the collapse of the Soviet Union-by high ranking leaders of the Orthodox churches that follow the Byzantine tradition. Among them, Russian Patriarch Alexei II has warned that the continued participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in WCC will depend on the organization's "total reconstruction." The Russian Orthodox Church is the biggest in the WCC's 332 mainly Protestant (and leading Orthodox) member churches. The Georgian Orthodox Church has already withdrawn its membership and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is expected to withdraw this month.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) June 1998 (pp. 10-13)
100 YEARS IN AMERICA The Armenian Apostolic Church is celebrating the centennial of the establishment of the North American Diocese.
By Hratch Tchilingirian
With nearly 150 parishes and mission communities, 135 clergyman and several hundred full-time staff and an estimated cumulative budget of $12 million, the Armenian Church is the oldest, the largest, and arguably one of the most organized Armenian institution in North America.
... Azerbaijan or, for that matter, the rest of the world, excepting Armenia. But there is a problem. On this land, claimed by Azerbaijan, the people are Iranian.”
Two particular reporters were fascinated ...
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) April-May 1998, pp. 32-36
ARAM I ON FAITH AND THE HOMELAND
By Hratch Tchilingirian
The Head of the Great House of Cilicia speaks about his commitment to education, fellowship, service and outreach, in the hope that they will lead his flock back to greater spirituality and a cohesive commitment to Armenia. Does the absence of church unity stand in the way?
... official trip outside Armenia was to Moscow, where together with the religious head of the Azerbaijanis, he participated in talks on the spiritual welfare of the people in the war-torn region.
However, ...
It's like any other university. There is an administration building, some classrooms, offices, faculty and students. It also has some things other universities don't have. A memorial wall, for example, of neatly arranged rows of framed photographs. Just like everywhere else in Karabakh, the memorials to the dead are in plain view, and the State University of Mountainous Karabakh is no exception. Walking into the university building, one is struck by the pictures of more than 100 once-enrolled students who will never graduate.
... by May 1918, the Federation had failed; Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia proclaimed independence and became new republics. However, as national administrative boudaries were not clear, the newly-established ...
... in Europe (OSCE) for a resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The Minsk Group proposed a 'phased' solution, which calls for the Karabakh Armenians' immediate withdrawal from those Azerbaijani ...
... Karabagh serves as an example that when social and political restructuring is resisted or ignored over a long period of time by a dominant group (Azerbaijan), alternative measures are sought ...
... capacities for peace
Hratch Tchilingirian
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are characterized by a number of deficiencies in terms of their democratic transitions. Yet it would be a mistake to attribute ...