Author: Ekmekjian Janet

SWEDISH FM: NKR CONFLICT SHOULD BE SETTLED WITHIN OSCE MG FORMAT

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
21.07.2009 20:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ President Serzh Sargsyan has today received EU
troika headed by Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Blidt.

Welcoming the guests, President stressed the importance of diplomats’
visit for South Caucasian region, particularly – Armenia. It’s quite
logical that Sweden is so close to Eastern Partnership project,
President said, expressing hopes that the country’s chairmanship
would enable states to deepen ties not only with EU but also with
member states.

Parties thoroughly discussed issues concerning regional cooperation,
particularly, Karabakh conflict. Swedish diplomat also attached
importance to conflict settlement with OSCE MG format and expressed
willingness to support Co-Chairs efforts.

President said that he had discussed the problem with his Azeri
colleague 3 days before and informed the guests that after Moscow
discussions and publication of Madrid Principles Azerbaijan
interpreted the agenda and essence of the talks from a different
angle. The principal issue in talks is Karabakh status which will be
determined through people’s free will and take legally binding effect,
Mr. Sargsyan stressed.

Parties also touched upon important issues concerning Armenia-EU
relations, particularly, possibility of signing associate agreement,
prospects for economic cooperation, free trade, as well as democratic
reforms implemented in Armenia. They also discussed possibilities for
simplifying visa regime with EU member states, RA President’s press
service reports.

ARFD’S DEMAND FOR EDWARD NALBANDIAN’S RESIGNATION STILL IN FORCE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
18.07.2009 15:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ARFD’s demand on Edward Nalbandian’s resignation
is still in force, Head of Hay Dat Bureau Kiro Manoyan told a news
conference in Yerevan. "We believe that replacement of RA FM will
signal changes in Foreign Policy for RA President," Manoyan emphasized.

According to him, the reason for demanding RA Foreign Minister’s
resignation is not Madrid principles only. "Demand for resignation
draws on the situation Armenia found itself in: a situation
when Armenia is dictated to by Turkey in NKR conflict settlement
issue. All of this belongs to the domain of diplomacy, for which RA
FM is responsible, Head of Hay Dat Bureau emphasized.

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

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE MIDDLE EAST COUNCIL OF CHURCHES MEETS
UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

On Wednesday 15 July 2009, the Executive Committee met at the Adna Catholic
Conference Centre in Lebanon. In his welcome and introduction Catholicos
Aram I emphasized the importance of the meeting in view of the restructuring
process of the Council begun two years ago. He said that the process should
aim at strengthening Christian witness in the Middle East through the active
participation of the local churches.

The focus of the agenda was the report of the sub-committee on restructuring
of the Executive Committee. However, the Executive Committee also discussed
the recent incidents in Iraq against Christians and issued a statement
expressing their concern.

Alongside the meeting, His Holiness Aram I also held consultations on
ecumenical issues with Orthodox representatives from Egypt and Syria.

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View the photo here:
tos/Photos391.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

ARF DASHNAKTIUTYUN TO APPLY TO EMBASSIES OF THE USA, FRANCE AND RUSSIA IN ARMENIA TO EXPRESS DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT OF ARMENIANS OF THE WHOLE WORLD BECAUSE OF THE STATEMENT OF THE OSCE MG CO-CHAIR STATES

ArmInfo
2009-07-16 14:26:00

ArmInfo. ARF Dashnaktiutyun party will apply to embassies of the
USA, France and Russia in Armenia to express deep disappointment of
Armenians of the whole world because of the statement of the OSCE
MG co-chair states at the G8 summit, representative of the ARFD
board, deputy of the parliament Armen Rustamyan said at today’s
press-conference in Urbat club.

‘We are expressing our disappointment because of the unfounded
and unjustified pressing of the presidents of the USA, Russia and
France regarding Armenia. The purpose of the pressing is to force
Armenia make dangerous and unilateral compromises in the matter of
the Karabakh conflict settlement’, – Rustamyan said and added that
the compromises endanger security of the peoples of Armenia and the
NKR and open an opportunity for the new Azerbaijani aggression. ‘As
a direct party to the conflict the NKR should become a fully-fledged
participant in the entire peaceful process.

There will be no just and stable peace without the above mentioned
participation’, – he said. Moreover, he added that the so-called
‘Madrid principles’ are not in line with the history and nature of
the conflict.

‘They do not take into account the will of the people of Karabakh
which was expressed two times – over the referendums in 1991 and
2006’, – Rustamyan said and added that a resolution was adopted at the
All-Armenian Forum in Stepanakert, which expresses displeasure with
the present process of the Karabakh conflict settlement as well as
with the principles made public by the presidents of the USA, Russia
and France, which are the direct danger to livability of Armenia and
the NKR. For this reason these principles should not be implemented
by the Armenian authorities, he said.

D. ATBASHYAN SAYS IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE REAL CAUSES OF THE CRASH OF TU-154 ONLY AFTER DECODING THE FLIGHT RECORDERS

ARMENPRESS
July 16, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 16, ARMENPRESS: It will be possible to speak about the
real causes of the crash of "TU 154" airplane in Iran only after
decoding the flight recorders. Though the found flight recorders
are damaged, the experience shows that their decoding is possible,
Chairman of the National Aviation Association, USSR Honorary pilot
Dmitry Atbashyan told Armenpress.

According to him, making a comparison with other "TU-154"airplanes
accidents, the most probable version is that the airplane emerged in
the "thermal balloon". "It is an air segment, where the temperature is
much higher than it is supposed to be on such a height. The airplane
loses an abrupt speed in such a territory and the airplane just falls
down", – D. Atbashyan explained.

The engine damage has been considered as a possible variant
since yesterday, which reflects on the controllability of the
airplane. He said that as the plane was flying to Armenia, according
to international standards, Armenian professionals may also take part
in studies, investigation of causes.

For the investigation it is of great importance where the plane fell;
according to the international law the state where it fell carries
out investigations irrespective of the fact whom the plane belongs to.

The work of precipitation service is necessary to be properly examined;
maybe it was obvious that dangerous precipitation phenomena were
expected, but did not warn the crew about that or maybe those services
did not managed to reveal such phenomena at all. The investigating
commissions will carry out works with the services providing the
flights.

The crashed airplane has been exploited for 15 years, but it is not
a great age for a suchlike plane; it has calendar opportunities for
30 years, but its exploitation of 45, even 60 years is also possible.

"TU-154" airplanes can function for 60 years", – D. Atbashyan said.

The "Caspian Airlines" company belongs to Russia, too, and the
Russian side is obliged to provide the normal operational state of
the airplanes. "It is difficult to believe that Russian specialists
would allow the flight of a plane which does notoperate.

TURKISH DENIAL CAMPAIGN CONTINUES IN CALIFORNIA

armradio.am
15.07.2009 10:33

Last month, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) reported
that Turkey’s ongoing global campaign to suppress the truth about
the Armenian Genocide was dealt a major blow in a U.S. District
Court. Chief Judge Mark Wolf issued a ruling in favor of the
Massachusetts Department of Education (Department), which allows the
Department to continue teaching the facts of the Armenian Genocide,
and other crimes against humanity, in public schools across the
Commonwealth, as constitutionally protected government speech.

Shortly after this landmark decision, as part of an ongoing campaign
to derail human rights education, the Assembly of Turkish American
Associations (ATAA) indicated, through a June 23 letter to the
editor of the Boston Globe from its attorney Harry Silverglate,
that it intended to appeal Chief Judge Wolf’s decision in the case
of Griswold v Driscoll. The appeal was officially filed on July 13,
in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.

"The Armenian Assembly appreciates the court’s ruling in the matter
and will work to ensure that it is sustained on appeal. This decision
clearly demonstrates to Turkey and its revisionist allies that
history cannot be rewritten to further Ankara’s state-sponsored
denial campaign," said Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair
Hovnanian. Carolyn Mugar, the Board’s President, added, "Given
the overwhelming historical and legal evidence documenting the
incontestable fact of the Armenian Genocide, this ruling is a victory
for all those concerned about genocide education and prevention."

When this suit was initiated four years ago, the Assembly immediately
responded by hiring one of the nation’s preeminent First Amendment
expert, Duke University Professor Irwin Chemerinsky, and co-counsel
Arnold Rosenfeld of the firm K&L Gates LLP. Throughout this process,
the Assembly, along with others, challenged the ATAA at every turn
by filing a series of pleadings including an amicus curiae (friend
of the court) brief. The brief was intended to assist the Court in
bringing the case to a conclusion in favor of the Commonwealth.

Assembly’s Board Vice-Chair and Counselor Robert A. Kaloosdian
chaired the committee that responded to the lawsuit: "Through the
federal court’s ruling, the Griswold case rejected ATAA’s attempt
to require the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Education to
insert ‘contra-genocide’ citations into its curriculum guide. Judge
Wolf wrote in his decision that ‘plaintiffs do not have a right to
receive contra-genocide information in the classroom.’ In addition
he wrote that ‘the curriculum guide required defendants to include
materials concerning the ‘Armenian Genocide.’"

"This ruling sends a message not only to the ATAA, but also to others
who may seek to distort history," said Krikorian. "This was certainly
a direct blow to ATAA’s plan to get a favorable ruling here and then
repeat the tactic in every school district across the country. The
court’s decision cuts them off, destroys that plan and protects the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Department of Education from being
subject to manipulation from a genocide denialist organization, which
is carrying out its campaign of dishonesty from coast to coast,"
added Krikorian.

ATAA Threatens to Oppose Human Rights Education and Passage of
California Genocide Awareness Act

At the California Senate Education Committee public hearing, the
ATAA and Armenian Genocide denier Bruce Fein testified against the
passage of the Genocide Awareness Act. He also questioned whether the
mistreatment of the Armenians, and the parallel cases in Cambodia and
Darfur were genocide, despite the fact that the California legislature
has repeatedly recognized and annually commemorated the Armenian
Genocide since 1968.

"LOOKING FOR PALLADIN" TO BE SCREENED IN YEREVAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
13.07.2009 17:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Within the frames of "Golden Apricot" international
film festival, Yerevan will host the presentation of "Looking for
Palladin" (director: Andjey Krakovsky). The film tells about a young
Hollywood agent sent to Guatemala to find two-time Oscar winner actor
Jack Palladin who had been living in US for over 20 years.

A very warm film featuring neither sex nor violence, it became a
kind of bridge between different nations, cultures and age groups. "
‘Looking for Palladin’ reveals the prejudices of contemporary American
youth," Krakivsky told a press conference.

It was the first foreign film shot in Guatemala after "Tarzan and
the Green Goddess" (1938), director said.

Shot quite recently, "Looking for Palladin" has been already declared
as the best film during Latin American film festivals in Orlando and
Kunis as well as during Wine Country Festival in Napa.

Turan news agency, Azerbaijan
July 11 2009

US diplomat comments on media freedom, use of radar station, gas
project in Baku

Baku, 11 July: US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg held talks
with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku yesterday. In a
conversation with a group of journalists at the US embassy on Saturday
[11 July] morning, Steinberg said that Azerbaijan was an important
partner of the USA and an important country in the region which had
good ties with both the West and the Islamic world. The USA attaches
importance to cooperation with Azerbaijan in the energy sphere and
rates highly its support in Afghanistan, Steinberg said.

"I think Azerbaijan is a good example of how a country’s national
wealth is used for the welfare of its people," the deputy secretary of
state said, asked whether democracy was possible in an eastern country
rich with oil.

How can the USA support new media in Azerbaijan in view of the arrest
of bloggers Adnan Hacizada and Emin Milli and was this issue discussed
at his meeting with Ilham Aliyev, and what is being done to resume the
broadcasts of Radio Liberty on local [FM] frequencies? To these
questions, Steinberg said that the State Department was closely
following the developments and that he had been informed by the
embassy in Baku of the latest events. Close contacts are being
maintained with the Azerbaijani authorities in order to resolve the
problem in the most acceptable way, the diplomat said.

"We consider you (Radio Liberty – editor) to be an important source of
information, especially in the light of the latest events in Iran. We
also attach importance to new media as an important part of a free and
democratic society. We discussed the role and place of the media in
the country’s life, as well as other issues at the meeting with Ilham
Aliyev," Steinberg said.

The diplomat said that the Karabakh settlement was an important part
of his mission and that significant progress had been achieved in the
negotiations of late. "We hope that a further success would be
achieved at the forthcoming negotiations of the two [Armenian and
Azerbaijani] presidents in Moscow [17-18 July], and I will continue
the discussion of this topic in Yerevan where we are going now,"
Steinberg said.

Asked by Turan news agency whether the possibility of the joint use of
the Qabala radar station was discussed in Baku, Steinberg said that
this issue had been discussed at the negotiations between the US and
Russian presidents in Moscow [on 6-8 July]. The USA is considering
this possibility and this topic has been discussed with the
Azerbaijani leadership. Currently the issue of the use of the Qabala
radar station is being considered as part of an overall missile
defence strategy and its parameters, the diplomat said.

The USA supports the Nabucco project and regards as normal Azerbaijani
gas export to Russia.

"We are against excluding Russia from the gas supply scheme and we
support multivector routes of gas export," Steinberg said, commenting
on Washington’s position on Nabucco. As to the USA’s possible
involvement in the project, this issue remains open and experts are
studying the possibility of funding by the USA and other forms of US
involvement in Nabucco, he added.

In his trip, Steinberg is being accompanied by Assistant Secretary of
State Philip Gordon.

RIA Oreanda, Russia
Economic News
July 9, 2009 Thursday

Unibank Armenia Launched New Program for Car Crediting

Yerevan. OREANDA-NEWS . July 9, 2009. Unibank launched a new program
for car crediting U-Auto, within the framework of which loans up to
USD 70 thousands are issued for purchasing car in the primary
market. The loan is provided for the term of 4 years, the annual
interest rate in USD starting from 20%, minimum prepayment 20%.

The program provides for the right of the customer to fully or
partially repay the debt ahead of time without collection of
commission fees. As of May 31, 2009, Unibank portfolio of car credits
made USD 24.6mln.

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

SUMMER BIBLE STUDY WORKSHOPS FOR YOUTH BEGIN IN ANTELIAS

For the second year the Christian Education Department of the Catholicosate
organized with the Armenian University Church Students’ Association (ACUSA),
summer sessions for spiritual reflection and spirituality in the Armenian
Orthodox Church.

The first session was held on Friday 4 July 2009, in Antelias. More than
fifty young women and men registered for the sessions. The theme of the
first workshop was "the parables of Jesus and their implications today",
with a particular emphasis on Youth and spiritual life. The workshops will
be held in Antelias every Friday evening during the summer holidays.

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