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4 The Armenian Reporter | December 19, 2009CommunityAt National Council of Churches Assembly in Minneapolis,Archbishop Aykazian reflects on his term as presidentMINNEAPOLIS – The NationalCouncil of Churches’ annual generalassembly met November 11-13 inMinneapolis, Minn., under the jointpresidency of Archbishop VickenAykazian, ncc President andLegate of the Diocese, and BishopJohncy Itty (who chairs the boardof directors of the ncc’s outreacharm, Church World Service).The meeting marked the last timethe country’s largest ecumenicalorganization would gather underArchbishop Aykazian’s presidency.Elected to a standard two-yearterm of office in 2007, he is the firstArmenian clergyman (and the firstof the Oriental Orthodox familyof churches) to be elected to headthe ncc. Archbishop Aykazian alsoserves on the central committeeof the World Council of Churches,and is an active figure in the nationaland international ecumenicalarenas.The 2009 ncc assembly tookits theme from one of the PaulineEpistles (“Rejoice always; pray withoutceasing; give thanks in all circumstances,”I Thess 5:16-18), butalso called upon member churchesand world governments to advancetoward more universal justice andpeace.The Rev. Michael Kinnamon,the ncc’s general secretary, and theRev. John McCullough, executivedirector of Church World Service,made forceful presentations oncombating poverty, and on addressingreform of the U.S. healthcaresystem.The General Assembly also issueda statement on the massacreat Fort Hood, Texas-which hadoccurred days prior to the gathering-whichcalled for “all Christiansand religious communities of goodwill to reach out to one anotherthrough personal dialogue, localawareness-building, national advocacyadvancements, and othermeans of fostering relationships oftrust and mutuality.”Other statements coming out ofthe assembly revolved around nucleardisarmament and gun control.The ncc affirmed its role in advocatingawareness of historic andcurrent genocides, and in seekingprogress for a Middle-East peaceprocess which acknowledges therights and historic presence of theregion’s beleaguered Christian minorities.Archbishop Aykazian hasbeen a vocal proponent for the lattercauses during his tenure as nccpresident.A whole new levelThe Armenian Church has beenvery active in the ecumenicalmovement for decades. The churchentered the arena under the pontificateof Catholicos of All ArmeniansVasken I, and ecumenicalengagement has been nourishedand advanced under his successorsCatholicos Karekin I and CatholicosKarekin II.In America, the Eastern Dioceseof the Armenian Church has hada long and influential relationshipwith the ncc, and the WesternDiocese likewise. Armenian representativesat the 2009 ncc assemblyincluded the Very Rev. Fr.Aren Jebejian (of Chicago, Ill.)and Yeretzgin Arpi Kouzouian (ofCambridge, Mass.) from the ArmenianChurch of America’s EasternDiocese, and the Rev. Fr. VartanKasparian (of Yettem, Calif.) fromits Western Diocese.Building on this long history, the2007 election of Archbishop Aykazianto the ncc presidency broughtthe Armenian Church’s interactionand influence “to a whole new level,”in the words of Fr. Jebejian. “Hewas an excellent president to thencc, because of his national andinternational connections.”Regarding his term as president,Archbishop Aykazian does notlook upon it as a personal achievement.“The ncc elected the participationof the Armenian Church inecumenical life here in the U.S. andaround the world. It was a sign ofappreciation for the work that ourchurch has done so far.”He stressed the importance ofbringing churches together andgetting involved in the social livesof people: helping the hungry, thepoverty-stricken, those affectedby HIV. “The ncc is the voice ofthe voiceless,” said ArchbishopAykazian. “As the most prestigiousChristian organization, its role isto find unity among the churchesand then to use that unity to makethe world a better place.”Archbishop Aykazian will finishhis two-year term as president onDecember 31, 2009. But when hesteps down he will remain a memberof the ncc’s executive committee.The installation of thenew president, Rev. Peg Chemberlin,currently the executivedirector of the Minnesota Councilof Churches, took place on November13, as part of the generalassembly.“As president of the ncc, it was ablessing to be able extend friendshipto people in the Middle Eastand Far East, and to meet withreligious leaders in those parts ofthe world,” reflected ArchbishopAykazian. “My role will not changemuch once I step down.”He believes that the challengesnow faced by Christians in theU.S. relate primarily to interfaithdialogue, and to creating an environmentwithin which peace candevelop and flourish, here in theU.S. and around the world. “We canonly create more opportunities fordialogue. The ncc supports interfaithdialogue, and will continuealong this path.”Since its founding in 1950, theNational Council of the Churchesof Christ in the usa has been aleading voice for ecumenical cooperationamong Christians in theDateline Democracy: news and views from TurkeyErdogan’s defense of al-Bashir raiseseyebrows in TurkeyLeft: The VeryRev. Fr. ArenJebejian (ofChicago, Ill.)and YeretzginArpi Kouzouian(of Cambridge,Mass.) at thencc annualgeneral assemblyin Minneapolis,Minn.Below:ArchbishopVicken Aykazian,ncc Presidentand Legate ofthe EasternDiocese, andthe Rev. MichaelKinnamon, thencc’s generalsecretary.United States. The ncc’s memberfaith groups include various Protestant,Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical,historic African-American,and “Living Peace” churches. Email harasser must pay $5,300 forracist threats against Armeniannewspaper, Istanbul court rulesby Lou Ann MatossianSudan’sPresident Omaral-Bashir, right,and Turkey’sPrime MinisterRecep TayyipErdogan shakehands beforetheir meeting, inAnkara, Turkey,Jan. 21, 2008. APPhoto: BurhanOzbilici.MINNEAPOLIS – “Sometimessome of Erdogan’s remarks driveme crazy,” commented OrhanKemal Cengiz in Today’s Zaman,Dec. 12, in a reference to Turkey’sPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.“He said he was in Darfurand he could not see any tracesof genocide,” Mr. Cengiz added.“What was Erdogan expecting tohappen? That President OmarHassan al-Bashir would take himto some place and show him howthey butcher people there?”“As if this were not enough,” thecolumnist continued, “he saidMuslims do not commit massacres.What is al-Qaeda doing? What happensin Iraq every day? What happenedin the past in this country?”“His last remarks about the Armenianmassacres were equallyunlucky ones,” Mr. Cengiz concluded.“He said that his ancestorsdid not commit genocide. Heshould tell us then what happenedin Turkey in 1915.by Lou Ann MatossianMINNEAPOLIS – Sparking hopesfor the Turkish judiciary system,the Sisli (Istanbul) Second MagistrateCriminal Court has convicteda fourth individual of harassingthe Istanbul Armenian weeklyAgos, reported the bia News Centeron Dec. 15.Kenan Celepoglu of Samsunwas fined 8,000 TL ($5,286) for“insult via an oral or written message”on the grounds of anonymousemails he had sent to Agos.The messages allegedly containedinsults, threats, and racist statements.“It is a positive and hopeful signfor the Turkish judiciary systemthat this kind of racism and hostileactions are punished withoutreducing the sentence,” said Agosattorney Fethiye Çetin. “In ouropinion, these examples have anintimidating effect [on offenders]and are encouraging for otherjudges.”In earlier convictions datingback to October 2007, Sisli criminalcourts sentenced MuhammetKaray to three years andthree months imprisonment forthreatening Agos employees andArmenians via email. Zafer Filizand Ridvan Dogan, who had sentthreats to Agos after the assassinationof Hrant Dink, received suspendedprison terms of three andtwo years, respectively. Mr. Dogan,19, who showed remorse and wasdeemed unlikely to reoffend, wasplaced on two years’ probation.
The Armenian Reporter | December 19, 2009 5CommunityOne hectic evening in New York with District Attorney MorgenthauNEW YORK – On the evening ofWednesday, December 2, RobertM. Morgenthau, District Attorneyof the County of New York fornearly 35 years and a living legendamong prosecutors, needed to bein three places at the same time.He was late for a dinner beingthrown by the Institute for JewishHumanities, which was honoringhim for a lifetime of achevement ofpublic service. At the same time, hewas scheduled to act as master ofceremonies for a lecture by PeterBalakian introducing his latestbook about the Armenian Genocide.But meanwhile, a controversyhad erupted with City Hall, andfor the moment, duty required Mr.Morgenthau to answer the questionsof a pack of reporters whohad descended upon his office.Finally, the hour grew late, andMr. Morgenthau apologized to thenewspeople, explaining that he hadto be on his way. But just before heleft, he turned to the reporters andsaid, “Any of you guys interested inthe Armenian Genocide?”To anyone who knows RobertMorgenthau, the question shouldnot have come as a surprise. Mr.Morgenthau is fiercely and unapologeticallyloyal to the Armeniancommunity on a host of humanitarianconcerns, but never more passionatelyso than when the causeis the one most closely associatedwith his grandfather, AmbassadorHenry Morgenthau, Sr.: the ArmenianGenocide.As demonstrated in an exhibitabout the Morgenthau family currentlyon display at the Museum ofJewish Heritage in New York City,it was Ambassador Morgenthau’switness of the Genocide of theArmenians which, more than anyPeter Kougassian, r., with Robert Morgenthau. Photo: HarryL. Koundakjianother experience, galvanized himin his commitment to public serviceand ethical principle.And when, despite truly heroic efforts,Ambassador Morgenthau wasunable to save so many Armeniansfrom annihilation, he channeledhis despair into vast projects, suchas the Near East Relief Committee,as well as into countless individualacts of compassion and sacrifice, tohelp the dispersed Armenians. As aresult, nearly every Armenian familythat survived has a story to tellabout how Ambassador Morgenthautouched their lives.Accompanying District AttorneyMorgenthau throughout that hecticevening, as he accepted his awardand introduced the Genocide lecture,was his longest-serving Armenian-AmericanAssistant DistrictAttorney, Peter Kougasian.Peter has served under Mr. Morgenthauever since his graduationfrom Yale Law School in 1979. Mr.Morgenthau likes to note thatwhen his hiring panel interviewedPeter for the job back in the 1970s,they recommended rejecting himbecause he was “too intellectual.”Mr. Morgenthau overrode theirrecomendation. “I took one lookinto Peter’s eyes,” Mr. Morgenthaujokes, “and I realized: Peter is nointellectual!”Peter has held the positions ofDirector of Legal Staff Training, SeniorTrial Counsel, and currently isa Bureau Chief in the Office of theAt the exhibit, The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York,images from the Armenian Genocide are included in the section dedicated to Amb.Henry Morgenthau,Sr. Harry L. Koundakjian.Special Narcotics Prosecutor. He isa Vice President and Board Memberof the Armenian Missionary Associationof America, and a memberof the Armenian Evangelical Churchof New York. He has also served as aVice President of the New York CityBar Association and chaired thatAssociation’s Executive Committee.“The best and the brightest fromall over America come to work forRobert Morgenthau,” Peter says.And it’s not hard to substantiatethat claim: one of Peter’s Yaleclassmates who joined him in theDistrict Attorney’s Office in 1979was United States Supreme CourtJustice Sonia Sotomayor.“Justice Sotomayor and I werecollege classmates and law schoolclassmates. We studied for the bartogether, and started in the DistrictAttorney’s Office, in the sametrial bureau, on the same day in1979. Even back then, to anyonewho knew her work well, it wouldhave come as no surprise that shewould one day be chosen for theSupreme Court. She is an astonishinglawyer.”“Most lawyers have many jobs inthe course of their career; in a realsense, I have had only one,” Petersays. “There’s an easy explanationfor that: when you work for RobertMorgenthau, you begin every daywith a deep sense of gratitude: Itis the greatest of blessings to haveshared so much with so great aman.”Armenian-American health professionals hold diabetes forumby Florence AvakianNEW MILFORD, N.J. – Preventionand early detection of diabetesfor children and adults were themain focuses of an important medicalforum with twelve Armenianspecialists, on Sunday afternoon,November 22, at the HovnanianArmenian School.“Medical care is the right of everyindividual”, stated ArmenianAmerican Health Professional(aahpo) President Dr. Larry Najarian,in welcoming the attendees.“The aahpo’s mission is to improvehealthcare awareness, increase diseaseprevention and early detection,and provide medical supportand education to Armenians in thetri-state area as well as those in ourhomeland,” said Dr. Najarian.Dennis McNeary, the highestelected official in Bergen County,NJ, listed the many grants that havebeen initiated for the county’s onemillion residents. These include thesenior drug program; an expandedMeals on Wheels, as well as nursinghome and human services departmentprograms; and a 21 percentincrease in health care in BergenCounty in the last two years.He also related that the countyboasts several social programs suchas an environmental center; sixmunicipal golf courses; a nine-milebiking and walking trail; a zoo; anda ski center. Among the county’s 12monuments is one dedicated to thevictims of the 1915 Genocide.In skillfully moderating the 12-doctor panel, Dr. Ohan Karatoprak,in family practice and geriatrics,began by stating that diabetesis a disease in which the body doesnot produce or properly use insulin.A panel ofphysiciansorganized byaahpo discussesdiabetes. Theevent took placeat the HovnanianSchool.A staggering 23.6 million childrenand adults in the United Stateshave diabetes, and almost a quarterof a million people die from thedisease every year.Participating in the forum werepediatric endocrinologist Dr. LevonAgdere, endocrinologist Dr. AraApelian, pediatrician Dr. GarbisBaydar, psychiatrist Dr. HaikazGrigorian, nutritionist Dr. KnarigKhachadourian, dentist Dr. ArthurKubikian, ophthalmologistDr. Larry Najarian, pharmacist Dr.Khoren Nalbandian, ophthalmologistDr. Kirk Tchorbadjian, andpedorphist Mario Yazidjian.Genetic andenvironmental factorsIllustrating their talk with powerpoint and diagram presentations,the doctors pointed out that TypeI diabetes in children (up to age20) from genetic causes is heaviestin the United States and theScandinavian countries. Symptomsinclude extreme thirst, frequenturination, weight loss, highblood sugar. Treatments involvethe reduction of blood sugar, injections,and exercise. Complicationsof the disease can be severeincluding poor circulation, badteeth, gums, skin, liver, heart,kidneys, leaky eye vessels, andeven coma and death.Type 2 diabetes which occurs inadults, the doctors continued, isevidenced by an extended abdomen,and obesity which affects theheart, blood pressure, gallbladder,and can lead to stroke, heart attacks,cancers, and sleep apnea. Fatcells produce hormones which leadto these problems, and inflammationis the precursor of all diseases,it was stressed.It is crucial that waist size bekept normal, 37 inches or lessfor men, and 32 inches or less forwomen, and weight be increasedby muscle, not fat. Where fat is depositedis crucial. The worst areasare the abdomen, around the heart,liver and intestines. The specialistsemphasized that longevity comeswith excess muscle. Towns in Italy,Greece and Japan were known asthe world’s longevity centers.Delineating a preferred diet, theypointed out that it should include40–45 percentage carbohydrates(fruits, vegetables, whole grains);30–35 percent protein (legumes,beans, nuts, seeds, lentils, chickpeas,etc.); 20–25 percent fat (oliveoil, omega 3 fish oil, canola oil).In concluding the informativeprogram, Dr. Najarian paid specialtribute to Dr. Arthur Kubikian forhis unique impetus and vision, aswell as to the Armenian PresbyterianChurch, the Friends of theArmenian Home – Bertha Vaniskhian,the Hovnanian School pto– Taleen Gergerian and KarenNargizian (pto Chair), St. LeonsArmenian Church – MargheritaOscherician, and the St. VartanantzArmenian Church. Need extra space at home?Sell your stuff with the Armenian Reporterclassifieds@reporter.am612-436-2037
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