Author: Chaltikian Arsine

ARMENIA AND CHAD ESTABLISHED DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.12.2006 13:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ December 26 in the Armenian Embassy in Russia
the Ambassadors of Armenia Armen Smbatian and of the Republic of
Chad Jibrin Abdul to the Russian Federation signed the Protocol on
establishing diplomatic relations, reports the RA MFA press office.

During a conversation that followed the ceremony the sides noted the
importance of further development of relations between Armenia and
Chad, specifically in political, economic and humanitarian fields.

122 TITLES OF BOOKS TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2007 BY STATE ORDER

Noyan Tapan
Dec 28 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The Book Publishing Agency of the
RA Ministry of Culture and Youth Issues envisages in 2007 to publish
122 titles of books for what 135.4 mln drams will be allocated by the
state budget. As Hasmik Poghosian, the RA Minister of Culture and Youth
Issues mentioned at the December 26 press conference, the most part
of books, 40 titles of books, must be published by the state order
from the department of the fiction, and the number of the children’s
literature will reduce compared with 2006: 38 titles of children’s
books will be published instead of 62 titles of children’s books.

Mrs.Poghosian expressed her anxiety in this sense as the issue of the
younger generation’s aesthetic education is today one of the primary
tasks of the Ministry. The Minister mentioned that the Book Publishing
Agency published 137 titles of books in 2006 by the state order. The
agency participated in two international big exhibitions in Frankfurt
am Main and in Moscow. The Armenian publishers have great succeses
in the two exhibitions: "The Armenian printing returned its one-time
publishing traditions during the recent years and fixed new successes
in the qualitative sense," the Minister of Culture said.

EXHIBITION OF ICONS OF ALL CHRISTIAN CHURCHES PRESENTED IN COUNTRY OPENED ON INITIATIVE OF ARMENIAN CHURCH IN ESTONIA

Noyan Tapan
Dec 26 2006

TALLINN, DECEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. A rare exhibition of Christian
icons and saint art opened at the Knights’ House of Tallinn. About
300 models were, in general, exhibited. According to the information
of the "Yerkramas" (country) newspaper of Armenians of Russia,
representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church proposed the idea
of exibiting the fine arts of all the Christian churches presented
in Estonia, the Churches’ Council of Estonia discussed the idea and
supported it. In words of Armen Andranikian, the priest’s assistant,
during the ten years of work of the Armenian Apostolic Church in
Estonia, it established excellent ties with representatives of other
Christian churches.

"Priceless models are kept in each of the churches, and our idea was
to gather them in one exhibition," A.Andranikian noticed.

TIGRAN TOROSIAN: 2006 PARLIAMENTARY YEAR WAS SUCCESSFUL

Noyan Tapan
Dec 25 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN. "The parliamentary year of 2006
was successful, as the point is not only that about 250 laws were
adopted during this year, but also that many important laws were
adopted especially in connection with reflecting the constitutional
amendments in our country’s laws," RA NA Speaker Tigran Torosian
reported this on December 25, summing up the results of the passing
year. In his words, as a result of work done "too important radical
changes took place in connection with human rights and democracy in
Armenia." NA Speaker, in particular, attached importance to adoption
of the new law "On Constitutional Court," amendments to the law "On
Ombudsman" that enabled wider circles to apply to the Constitutional
Court with issues connected with protection of human rights and basic
freedoms. "I think this is an exclusive step for our country and we
have seen its results already this year: our citizens, Ombudsperson and
parliamentary opposition managed to achieve reconsideration of a number
of provisions the Constitutional Court recognized as not corresponding
to our Constitution," T.Torosian said. At the same time he noted that,
certainly, they have some things to do in the future, as the main
provisions of constitutional amendments regarding political system
will come into force only after the 2007 parliamentary elections.

Georgia to buy Russian gas for first weeks of 2007 – premier

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Dec 22 2006

TBILISI, December 22 (Itar-Tass) — Georgia will have to buy Russian
gas at $235 per 1,000 cubic meters in the first weeks of 2007 because
of technical problems at Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field, Prime
Minister Zurab Nogaideli said on Friday.

"Technical problems of a well delayed by several weeks the deliveries
through the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline, which were planned for
December 22," he said.

"However, Azerbaijani gas is Georgia’s strategic choice," Nogaideli
said. "As soon as the technical problems are resolved, we will start
receiving gas mostly from Azerbaijan."

"Russian gas purchases at a price suggested by Gazprom is a reluctant
but temporary measure," he added.

Gazprom has signed three contracts on the delivery of 1.1 billion
cubic meters of gas to Georgia in 2007 at a price of $235 per 1,000
cubic meters, company deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said.

He said gas payments will be monetary as Georgia is not prepared to
pay with assets so far.

The contracts were signed with three leading gas consumers in
Georgia: the Klari Energy Corporation that generates electricity, the
Kastrasgaz Tbilisi Company that supplies gas to the capital city, and
the Georgian International Energy Corporation that makes cement.

No gas contracts have been signed with Georgian chemical plants, and
there are no agreements to transit gas to Armenia either. This is our
concern, Medvedev said.

CHOIR OF ARMENIAN PHILANTHROPIC ACADEMY IS BEST CHOIR OF YEAR IN CALCUTTA

Noyan Tapan
Dec 20 2006

CALCUTTA, DECEMBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. As a result of
the competition taken place on December 16 among choirs of about 10
Christian schools in Calcutta, the Armenian Philanthropic Academy
was recognized the best choir of the year and was awarded the
honourary first prize. The competition of spiritual songs dedicated
to the Chirstmas was held at the Saint Mary Catholic school. As
Noyan Tapan was informed by the Calcutta Philanthropic Academy, the
competition-ceremony started with the joint Lord’s Prayer after which
the spiritual head of the Saint Mary Catholic school welcame those
present, touching upon the meaning of the mystery of the Lord’s Holy
Christmas so important for Christians.

ARMENIAN GROUP: EUROPE CAN USE US AGAINST TURKEY’S EU BID

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Dec 19 2006

A group of Armenians are calling on Europe to use the nation as
an instrument against Turkey’s European Union membership bid, a
pan-Armenian website reported on Monday.

According to the site, Hay Dat (the Armenian Cause Committee of
America) head Kiro Manoyan said in a statement that Europe used Greece
and Greek Cyprus as an instrument against Turkey’s EU bid in the past
and added, "We must understand that we can become an instrument in
the EU’s hands against Turkey. Armenia’s turn will come, and we must
be ready for it."

Stressing that Turkey should implement reforms for its negotiations on
EU membership, Manoyan also urged Ankara to acknowledge the Armenian
genocide claims of 1915. "The demand to acknowledge the Armenian
‘genocide’ comes from the Armenian diaspora, not from official
Yerevan," he added.

EXTREMIST ARMENIANS: EU COULD USE ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ AGAINST TURKEY

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Dec 19 2006

In addition to the Greek Cypriots, now the Armenians are making
pressure on the European Union to use Turkey’s EU bid to persuade
Turkey for pro-Armenian policies. The extremist nationalist the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Tashnaks) says Turkey should be
made to recognize the so-called genocide before it can become an EU
member. The Tahnaks were the responsible for many terrorist attacks
against the Ottoman and Turkish diplomats and politicians during the
1920s, 70s and 80s.

Kiro Manoyan, the director of the organization, said the EU had used
Greece and Cyprus against Turkey and the time for Armenia would come
as well. Turkish media sees the co-opearion between the EU, Greeks and
Armenians as religious solidarity against the Muslim Turkish people.

According to the PanArmenian agency, Manoyan said the Armenian issue
would eventually become an instrument for the European Union and
urged all Armenians to be ready for such a development.

The genocide issue and the Armenian lobby have a significant impact
on some EU countries. France and Netherlands, two countries seemingly
against Turkey in the EU, have made the matter an internal one.

A bill making it a crime to reject the Armenian claims passed in the
French parliament on Oct. 12. The bill awaits approval from the Senate
and President Jacques Chirac, through probably will not pass.

On Oct. 22, three Turkish-Dutch electoral candidates in Holland were
removed from their party lists for not accepting the Armenian claims.

The Armenian constitution name some of Turkey’s eastern provinces
‘Western Armenia’. The constitution does not recognise Turkey’s
national borders. Armenia also does not recognise Azerbaijan’s national
borders. 20 per cent of the Azeri territories have been under the
Armenian occupation. Turkey closed its territorial borders when
Armenia attacked Azeri territories.

4-MEMBER GANG CONVICTED OF STEALING GOLD JEWELLERY
Staff Reporter
Justice Mamon Hamour

Gulf Times, Qatar
Dec 18 2006

A UKRAINIAN man and three Armenians – two women and a man – were
convicted yesterday of stealing gold items from a jewellery shop in
Doha on September 19. They received one year’s "suspended imprisonment"
and subsequent deportation.

The court ordered that the recovered jewellery be returned to the
shopowner.

Judge Mamon Hamour said that the convicts’ jail term was suspended
as there was a risk of them "influencing" their jailmates "which will
only make things worse".

The court ruled that the accused failed to prove that all the jewellery
items recovered from the gang, weighing 2.5kilos, were purchased from
Bahrain and Kuwait.

The ruling against the four, however, will not be implemented soon,
as they are also facing charges of stealing gold from other shops.

The accused came to Doha in batches on tourist visas beginning
September 11. Qatar was their third stop in the Gulf after Bahrain
and Kuwait.

Police said that 40gm of gold missing from one of the Doha shops was
found in their possession.

The Iranian shopkeeper claimed that the accused stole items worth
QR3,850 during their third visit to his shop.

He told the court that three of them came twice to his shop three
days before the theft, asking for prices and striking a conversation
to win his trust as serious customers.

"On September 19, the four accused came to my shop around 6.30pm and
my father was with me in the shop.

"During their third visit, I gave the first suspect (36) a jewellery
item which he put around the neck of the woman – the second accused
(28).

"When the third accused, a 26-year-old man, noticed that my father
was watching them, he tried to distract him by seeking information
about another item."

The shopkeeper said the fourth woman, 55, tried to distract him
as well.

He said he "saw" the first suspect throwing gold chains into the
breast pocket of the second suspect, but he was not sure because he
was busy with the "customers".

"After the four left our shop, we feared that some items were
missing from the shop and when the police called us the next day,
our suspicions were confirmed," he told the judge. The second
accused claimed that her confessions before the police were taken
under duress. Three of her accomplices also gave identical statements
before the court.

The judge reminded her that she had not confessed in the first place.

The first accused said he was a famous singer in Ukraine and he was
financially sound. He told the judge that he was staying in a luxury
hotel in Doha at the time of the alleged crime.

Ironically, he told the judge that he could not afford a lawyer and
asked the court to appoint one for him.

The Iranian shopkeeper said the accused failed to steal the items
during their first and second visits to his shop as he did not part
with the items they were asking about.

STEPAN GHAZARIAN HEADS FIRST COURSE OF GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING IN MOTHER LAND

Noyan Tapan
Dec 18 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The technical trainers’ courses of
Greco-Roman wrestling starting in Yerevan on December 16, under the
patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), within the
framework of the "Olympic Solidarity" program, on the initiative of
the National Olympic Committee of Armenia (NOCA). Stepan Ghazarian,
the Deputy Chairman of the European Wrestling Federation, trainer
of international highest category, RA Physical Education and Sports
honourary figure and trainer, heads the course. He has conducted and
headed similar courses in different countries of the world continuously
for 27 years. He for the first time teaches compatriot specialists
in the mother land. The courses will be conducted till December 27.