Author: Chaltikian Arsine

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

THE WOMEN’S SPIRITUAL SEMINAR DRAWS TO AN END

This year’s Armenian women’s weekly spiritual and prayer sessions
organized by the Christian Education Department of the Catholicosate of
Cilicia concluded on May 29. On this occasion, the women sang hymns and
expressed their gratitude for the opportunity given to them throughout the
year.

"We always are the students of our centuries-old Holy Church. That is why
we have come to receive our spiritual nourishment from the Mother Church of
the Catholicosate of Cilicia," they said.

After the last session held in the cathedral, the director of the
Christian Education Department, Rev. Fr. Torkom Donoyan said: "Although we
temporarily part from each other today, the spiritual education we received
from Antelias will keep our hearts attached to God, our Church and to one
another."

Around 200 women participated in the spiritual sessions held in Antelias
every Tuesday morning in this year.

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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
jurisdiction and the Christian Education activities in both the
Catholicosate and the dioceses, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

REPORTER SAYS AUTHORITIES SHOULD PROVIDE GUIDELINES ON KARABAKH CONFLICT REPORT WRITING

Panorama.am
19:04 04/06/2007

"Azeri media outlets do not always write the true story. It is simple
misinformation and our reporters often fall into that trap," Armen
Baghdasaryan, reporter of 168 Hour and Fourth Power newspapers, who
was press spokesman of the Armenian foreign minister in 1996-1997,
told a discussion on Karabakh conflict settlement.

Both Baghdasaryan and Armen Dulyan, reporter of RFE/RL, believe
Armenian reporters receive little information from official
sources. Baghdasaryan believes the authorities should provide
guidelines on what to write on Karabakh conflict. "It would not be
censorship and would not be obligatory," the reporter said.

YOUNG SINGER FROM KARABAKH WAS INVITED TO SYRIA AND FRANCE

The Demo
KarabakhOpen
05-06-2007 12:21:09

The Bass festival of music has been held recently across 7 cities
of Syria.

54 countries participated in the festival, including Armenia. The
Armenner band and Tigran Karapetyan, an 18-year-old student of the
Conservatoire of Yerevan, our compatriot who is known in Karabakh and
is winner of a number of international contests and is the soloist of
the Armenner, were invited by Isabel Production to represent Armenia
to the Bass.

The representatives of 10 countries got prizes. The Armenner and
Tigran Karapetyan in the solo nomination took the first prizes
and got gold medals for folk songs. Tigran Karapetyan says the
Armenian singers enjoyed a warm welcome all through the festival,
not only by the audience but also the connoisseurs of good music. They
performed "Horovel", songs by Komitas and Sayat-Nova, as well as folk
songs. Tigran Karapetyan said the Armenian performers got offers
to perform in Syria and France. They were invited to Theodosia to
participate in the Crimean Wave contest.

ARMENIAN FM DENIES STATEMENTS THAT THERE EXIST RATHER COMPLICATED RELATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.05.2007 18:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
categorically disagrees with opinions published in American press
as if there exist rather complicated relations between Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh. "Our relations are very smooth and normal, without
any special contradictions. We have always carried out common works
and NKR authorities, and especially the president are always informed
about any developments in the negotiation process over the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement," the RA FM said.

Just the other day Christian Science Monitor published an article,
which says that "relations between Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, to
put it mildly, are complicated. In fact, Armenia manoeuvres between
independent Karabakh and Karabakh as part of Armenia".

AUTOCADE WITH PROPERTY OF RUSSIAN BASE OF AKHALKALAKI ARRIVED IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.05.2007 18:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An autocade with property of Russian military base
of Akhalkalaki (Georgia) arrived at the 102nd Russian military base
in Gyumri (Armenia), assistant commander of land forces, colonel Igor
Koshenkov said Wednesday. He said that according to the agreement,
the 62nd Russian base will exist in Akhalkalaki till end of 2007

A military consist with the property of the 102nd base (located in
Batumi) will make for Russia Thursday, col. Koshenkov said.

14 military consists and one autocade will depart Georgia for Russia
and Armenia till the yearend, RIA Novosti reports.

NOAH’S ARK TO BE INAUGURATED ON MOUNT ARARAT TODAY

ArmRadio.am
31.05.2007 10:29

The "Noah’s Ark," built on Mount Ararat to attract world leaders’
attention to global warming, will be inaugurated for public visits.

As a part of the project prepared by Greenpeace, a ship similar to
Noah’s Ark has been constructed on the mountain – thought to be the
location where Noah ‘s Ark finally touched dry land.

The wooden ship will make ten meters long, four meters wide and four
meters in height.

"We are in front of a second universal flood. But it is not yet
too late. If all the nations of the World make a turn in favor of
environment one will be able to avoid the catastrophe," indicated
Andree Böhling, Greenpeace expert in energy." "The politicians
must assume their responsibilities and cannot continue to look at a
world threatened to be submerged by the tides, the storms and floods,
while hundreds of thousands people lose their houses, which plants
and animals disappear by the diseases and dryness," he said.

–Boundary_(ID_peswk9ulIV7nXW7F9A0ccA)–

ISSUES OF ARMENIA’S ENERGY SYSTEM DISCUSSED AT PRESIDENT’S OFFICE

ArmRadio.am
30.05.2007 16:22

President Robert Kocharyan received the President of RA Presidential
Council on Atomic Energy Security Adolph Birkhoffer (Germany).

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the energy system
of Armenia.

In particular, opinions were exchanged on the activities after the
previous sitting of the Presidential Council on Atomic Energy Security,
further exploitation of Armenian Nuclear Power Plants, construction
of a new NPP.

FESTIVITY DEDICATED TO SAYAT-NOVA ROSE HOLIDAY HELD IN SURB GEVORG CHURCH OF TBILISI

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 30 2007

TBILISI, MAY 30, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A festivity dedicated
to Sayat-Nova Rose Holiday took place in Tbilisi’s Surb Gevorg
Armenian Apostolic Church on May 27. The Armenian delgation was
composed of S. Margarian, advisor to the RA prime minister, Gagik
Manasian, director of Yerevan State Philharmonia, Zh. Avetisian,
People’s artist of Armenia, R. Avetisian and G. Davtian, members
of the Union of Writers of Armenia, "Nazani" Folk Song Ensemble of
Armenia and "Duduks" quintet. NT was informed about it from the RA
MFA Press and Information Department.

Speeches of welcome and congratulation were made by the head of
the Armenian diocese of Georgia Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanian, a
representative of the Armenian embassy in Georgia, the advisor to
the RA prime minister S. Margarian, the pro-rector of the Georgian
theological seminary Sergo Vardosanidze, the chairman of the Union of
Armenians of Georgia H. Muradian, Georgia’s ombudsman Sozar Subari,
the chairman of the Union of Writers of Georgia Maghlava Gonashvili,
other officials and public figures. They appreciated Sayat-Nova’s
contribution to friendship among peoples and unification around
universal values and pointed out the importance of such events for
further development of frienship among peoples and establishment of
peace in the region.

The official part of the festivity was followed by the artistic one,
during which various Armenian and Georgian ensembles, actors of
Tbilisi’s P. Adamian State Armenian Dramatic Theatre and Georgian
Armenian singers performed works of Sayat-Nova.

ARTICLE 19 CALLS ON LEGISLATORS TO REVIEW LAW TO ENSURE AUTONOMY OF BROADCASTING COMMISSION

International Freedom of Expression eXpress (IFEX), Canada
May 29 2007

Country/Topic: Armenia
Date: 29 May 2007
Source: ARTICLE 19
Person(s):
Target(s):
Type(s) of violation(s):
Urgency: Bulletin
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 26 May 2007 ARTICLE 19 press
statement:

ARTICLE 19 STATEMENT on New Provisions for the Appointment of Members
of the National Commission on Television and Radio

ARTICLE 19 welcomes the amendments to the Law of the Republic of
Armenia on the Rules of Procedure of the National Commission on
Television and Radio, adopted on 26 February 2007, and signed by
the President on 20 March 2007. They demonstrate the government’s
political will to improve existing legislation. The new definition
of the National Commission on Television and Radio (Commission) as an
"independent regulatory body, which ensures the freedom, independence
and diversity of the broadcasting media" is especially welcomed.

Meanwhile we remain concerned at the actual level of independence of
the Commission. The stipulation that the Commission will be composed
of eight members (compared with the current nine members), half of
them to be appointed by the National Assembly and the other half by
the President, is a central issue in the amendments. Previously all
nine members of the Commission were appointed by the President.

Currently there is also no mechanism for public consultation for the
nomination of members. The new amendments do not address the issue
of nomination. Moreover, there are no provisions stating that the
members should reflect Armenia’s social and political diversity,
or that the appointment process should be open and transparent.

Although the amendments improve the law, they are still not
satisfactory and fail to guarantee the autonomy and independence
of the Commission. This concern is especially pressing when the
Parliamentary majority and the President have the same political
affiliation, as is the case in Armenia.

Broadcasting is by far the most important source of information and
entertainment in Armenia. The difficulty of distributing newspapers,
especially to the remote regions of the country, makes the broadcast
media effectively the only source of information for the majority
of the population. As a result of this central role and its growing
profitability, broadcasting media has crucial political and economic
power. Thus, the independence and the diversity of broadcast media
are decisive for the freedom of expression in the country.

Therefore, it is of paramount importance that the Commission
responsible for the distribution of broadcast licences enjoys full
and unconditional independence from government control and any form of
political and/or commercial interference. The process for appointing
members should be open and democratic and should not be dominated by
any particular political party or commercial interest.

Such a process should include public consultation with civil society
in relation to the nomination of members in order to ensure adequate
representation of the political and social diversity of the country.

In order to achieve this, we recommend that nominations be elicited
from the public through advertisements in leading media outlets,
and the Commission’s selection hearings be held in public, so as to
allow input and comments from any interested party. The appointment
of half the members by the president, and the lack of procedure for
nomination of members, clearly do not meet the international standards
listed above.

We therefore call on the National Assembly of Armenia to further
review the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Rules of Procedure
of the National Commission on Television and Radio so as to ensure
the following:

– The president should not have the power to appoint half of the
members of the Commission. Instead, all members should be appointed
by an all-party body, such as the Parliament, or directly by civil
society groups.

– Appointment of members to the Commission should be based on public
interest considerations. To promote this, public nominations should
be allowed and advertisements announcing the process should be placed
in leading media outlets.

– The Law should require the Commission’s selection hearings to
take place in public and in a manner that allows for input from any
interested party.

– The Law should stipulate that the members of the Commission as a
whole should reflect the diverse makeup of Armenian society.

/83712/

CITIZENS OF RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND ARMENIA BLACKLISTED IN ESTONIA

Regnum, Russia
May 29 2007

The Estonian government denied access to the country to more than
2,000 people. The ban will be lifelong for 398 from the 2,013 mentioned
people. Most blacklisted citizens are from Russia they are followed by
non-citizens and citizens of Ukraine and Armenia, reports SL Õhtuleht
(Estonia).

"The ban for entering the country is active for persons, who under some
reasons are unwelcomed or pose danger to the state. Illegal stay in
Estonia can be also a reason for being banned from the country," the
department for citizenship and migration says. According to Estonian
Justice Minister Rein Lang, on May 9 scaled riots had been planned
in Estonia in order to oust the government. The misniter suspects
that the plot of the riot was in Russia far long before the Bronze
Soldier Monument was demolished from the Tonismagi Square.

On May 23, a Nashi Movement activist, who was conducting a
single-person picketing in central Tallinn, was deported from
Estonia. Andrei Kalugin, who arrived in Estonia by a tourist visa,
was detained after he had stood for half an hour on the place of the
dismantled monument to the Soldier-Liberator.

Earlier, on May 1, activists of the movement heading to Estonia
in tourist groups were detained by Estonian frontier guards on the
Russian-Estonian border. Seven Nashi activists, including girls, were
not allowed to Estonia by tourist visas. The document denying access
to the country said they were posing threat to the national security
and they were banned from entering Estonia for next five years.

Besides, the Estonian authorities have deported eleven persons in
April, three of them were Russian citizens.

–Boundary_(ID_4mAgmK57S16GkEzZxnuTig)- –