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06/22/2006
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1) Istanbul Patriarch Bartholomew Meets Karekin, Urges Solidarity
2) Canadian Company to Search for Oil and Gas in Armenia
3) Murderer of Armenian Citizen Found Guilty in Russia
4) Kocharian to Attend CSTO Meeting in Minsk
1) Istanbul Patriarch Bartholomew Meets Karekin, Urges Solidarity
(AP)–Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I urged the world’s Orthodox
churches to
minimize differences and seek solidarity as he met with the head of Armenian
Apostolic Church on Wednesday.
Deep divisions are prevalent throughout the Orthodox Church. Although
Bartholomew controls several Greek Orthodox churches around the world,
including the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and is considered the
spiritual leader of some 250 million Orthodox worldwide, relations with two of
the largest churches, in Russia and Greece, remain tense. The Armenian
Apostolic Church also operates independently and is not under his
jurisdiction.
The two spiritual leaders met under heavy security and after a brief
religious
ceremony in Istanbul, the formerly Greek Byzantine city of Constantinople that
is the seat of Bartholomew’s Orthodox Patriarchate. Karekin II, Catholicos of
All Armenians, was accompanied by clerics wearing long black robes and black
hats. His hat bore a jeweled cross and he held a staff with a golden handle.
"We must always keep in mind that we aim only for the glory of God,"
Bartholomew said in a speech to Karekin II in which he touched on the ancient
split between the two churches. "He himself taught us this: ‘May they all be
one.’ It is a sacred goal." Bartholomew praised what he called the ongoing
"unofficial theological meetings" between the two churches, saying the
dialogue
between them began in the fifth century.
Armenian Christians pride themselves on being descendants of the first people
to adopt Christianity as their official national religion. The Armenian
national church was established in AD 301. That predates the Roman Empire’s
edict of AD 313 tolerating Christianity, which was previously illegal, and was
94 years before it became the official religion of Rome and the Orthodox lands
of the East.
Karekin arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday for a weeklong visit to the Armenian
community here and to hold talks with Bartholomew. He is expected to visit
several Armenian churches in Istanbul, as well as Armenian graveyards and
other
religious sites including the Hagia Sophia. Both Armenians and Greeks had huge
roles in the history of the city, though their numbers have dwindled to just a
few thousand combined.
Police tightened security to protect the visiting cleric from Turkish
nationalists who protested his arrival on Tuesday night, prompting the police
to accompany Karekin out of the airport through a separate entrance. Karekin
has angered Turks by openly discussing the Armenian genocide.
2) Canadian Company to Search for Oil and Gas in Armenia
YEREVAN (PanArmenian)A Canadian energy company, Transeuroenegery Corporation,
will launch an exploratory mission to search for oil and gas fields in the
Armenian regions of Armavir, Krasny, and Shoghaghbyur.
"I am sure there are oil and gas deposits in Armenia," said the head of the
corporation’s Armenian Office Mike Smith. "Why shouldn’t Armenia have oil and
gas, if all their neighbors have them? In the past, in my opinion, Armenia was
not lucky and prospecting works were not a success. However I am sure Armenia
has oil and gas deposits," he remarked.
According to Smith, researchers searched for oil in Armenia in the 1970’s,
but
they were not pursuing commercial goals. "We are ready to introduce the
necessary technical equipment and get responses to the questions of interest,"
Smith said.
The Canadian corporation has just signed an agreement with an exploration
company, which is ready to transport more modern equipment to Armenia.
"This equipment will allow exploring at depth of 2500 meters, while causing
minimal damage and getting the maximal outcome," Mike Smith said.
He said the project will begin in September, while the first results will be
ready in February 2007.
3) Murderer of Armenian Citizen Found Guilty in Russia
YEREVAN (PanArmenian/RFE/RL)A court in the Russian town of Kostroma found
Alexander Belov, Alexander Serov, and Andrey Potapov guilty for planning and
committing the murder of an Armenian citizen, Ivan Khaltyan.
Although the prosecutor demanded a life sentence for Potapov, the murderer
was
sentenced to 21 years in prison. His accomplices received 18 and 8 years in
prison for their involvement.
The month-long interrogation process also resulted in weapons charges against
the accused. They have 10 days to appeal the verdict.
This case is only the latest in a string of ethnic violence in Russia. At
least six ethnic Armenians were beaten, stabbed or shot to death this year in
xenophobic extremism targeting dark-skinned immigrants from the Caucasus,
Central Asia, and Africa.
The Russian authorities’ failure to solve the vast majority of those crimes
has is increasingly raising eyebrows in Armenia, leading to pressure from the
Armenian Government on Moscow to stop the violence.
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Prime Minister Andranik Markarian
raised the issue with a visiting senior Kremlin official last week.
The two men told President Vladimir Putin’s representative to southern
Russia,
Dmitry Kozak, that they expect tougher action against Russian neo-Nazi groups
responsible for the increasingly serious violence.
Kocharian said the Russian law-enforcement bodies, widely accused of
inactivity and even connivance in the deadly attacks, should act in a more
"quick, steadfast, and understandable" manner.
Markarian urged Moscow to take "serious steps to identify and bring the
guilty
to justice as well as to avert more such incidents."
According to Markarian’s press service, while condemning the racist murders,
Kozak said that "they are not specifically directed against Armenians" and
that
"the Russian authorities are doing everything to solve and rule out such
crimes."
4) Kocharian to Attend CSTO Meeting in Minsk
YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Armenian President Robert Kocharian will visit Friday
the
capital of BelarusMinskto attend a recurrent meeting of the Council of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), made up of the heads of its
member countries.
The Council meeting will be preceded by meetings of CSTO Foreign Ministers,
Ministers of Defense, and Secretaries of Security Councils.
The meeting of the CSTO Council will focus on sweeping reforms of the
regional
security organization and will set priorities for future activities.
The heads of CSTO member states–Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, and Tajikistan–will also focus on current developments in neighboring
regions, including Afghanistan and Iran.
The meeting is also expected to discuss a draft document on CSTO reform and
further improvement of its activities.
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