Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)
Sept 30 2005
OSCE Office and Armenian Foreign Ministry promote culture of
tolerance in Armenia
/noticias.info/ The OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia organized a thematic
concert in the Armenian National Opera House to promote tolerance in
society.
The event, entitled ‘Through culture to tolerance’, underlined the
importance of tolerance education and an open society, both are
cornerstones of democratic development.
Armenia, which is home to a small number of very old minority
communities, attaches great importance to the open character of its
society.
“Tolerance is harmony in diversity, the foundation of democratic
societies,” said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE
Office in Yerevan, at the opening of the concert. “Tolerance is an
active attitude prompted by recognition of the universal human rights
and fundamental freedoms of others. It is not only a moral duty, but
also a political and legal requirement.”
Armenian Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanian, stated, “In Armenia, none
of us – Armenians, Russians, Yezidis, Greeks, Ukrainians, Jews,
Iranians, Arabs – are outsiders. We are all citizens of Armenia,
living together, working together, creating together.”
The music of the well-known Armenian composer, Willi Weiner, whose
works are based on the cultural traditions of several nations, was
performed by a number of leading Armenian soloists and the
Sympho-Jazz Orchestra of the Armenian Public TV and Radio.
A special brochure listing OSCE commitments on tolerance in a number
of documents, such as the Helsinki Final Act 1975, the Copenhagen
Document 1990, the Cordoba Declaration 2005, and the Paris Charter
for a New Europe 1990, was published and distributed to the guests at
the event.
Contacts Gohar Avagyan OSCE Office in Yerevan 89 Teryan St. 375009
Yerevan Armenia Tel: +374 10 54 10 62 +374 10 54 58 45 Fax: +374 10
54 10 61