Author: Harutyunian Christine

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church
Contact: Dn. Hagop Arslanian, Assistant to the Primate
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont
Montreal, H2V 3H2 CANADA
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 514-276-9479 ext. 3
Fax: 514-276-9960
*****

Religious equality and freedom of consciousness in the Republic of Georgia

Dear friends,

The Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada has learned of the
collapse of the Armenian Church of St. Gevork of Mughni in Tbilisi,
Republic of Georgia. Saint Gevork Church dating to 1356, collapsed as
a direct result of a lack of maintenance by the government of Georgia.

During Soviet times, churches became the property of the state and the
St. Gevork, Armenian Church was used as a museum during which time its
physical condition was left to deteriorate. Following the dissolution
of the Soviet Union and with the coming independence of the Republic
of Georgia, the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
together with other religious minorities, has not received legal
status. Consequently all Armenian churches in Georgia currently carry
on under the jurisdiction of the Georgian Orthodox Church, without
legal rights to safeguard their properties.

In 2002, the government of the Republic of Georgia signed a
Constitutional Agreement with Georgian Orthodox Church. The Georgian
Orthodox Church received the highest legal status with full legal
rights to operate effectively as a religious institution. However, the
traditional religious minorities: other Christian groups, Muslims and
Jews were left without any legal protection to maintain their status
and exercise their legal rights. Many experts view these circumstances
as a source and basis for religious discrimination.

The indifference exhibited by the Georgian authorities towards the
religious minorities, in general, and in particular, the Armenian
Orthodox, does not correspond in any way with the adherence to the
universal human values and respect for the rights of minorities; as
established by the repeated statements of the Georgian authorities, on
the issue of the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage
of minorities.

As such, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada condemns the
indifference of Georgian authorities and calls upon them to
immediately grant legal status to religious minorities and return the
Armenian churches in Georgia to the Armenian Diocese of Georgia, to
ensure the normal functioning of national-ecclesiastical life of the
Georgian-Armenian community and to secure the preservation of Armenian
holy sites.

The Government Relations Office of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
has initiated an online petition to raise awareness about minority
rights and the issue of religious inequality in the Republic of
Georgia.

We encourage our faithful throughout Canada to express their
discontent and make their requests to the Canadian Government and
UNESCO. Please send your letters to ask our government and UNESCO to
take immediate action with respect to this new development, by writing
to:

The Honorable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
at, [email protected]

Mr. A. Bachand, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Canada to
UNESCO at, [email protected] .

If you wish to add your voice to this petition, please see the
following sample letter which may be used as a resource. You may also
choose to copy and paste the sample letter below and email to both
links.

——–

Dear Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Dear Mr. Ambassador,
I, the undersigned ________________ would like to bring to your
attention the condition of minorities in the Republic of
Georgia. Religious minorities: Christians (other than Georgian
Orthodox), Muslims, and Jews, are experiencing difficulties in
obtaining the civil registration of their religions and therefore are
unable to maintain their institutions. Last week, as a consequence of
the irresponsible attitude of Georgian authorities the 700 year old
Armenian Church of St. Gevork of Mughni, located in Tbilisi, and which
is under the control of Georgian government collapsed due to a
negligent lack of maintenance. This is particularly disturbing to
Armenians who have deep historical ties to Georgia.

Canada is an international champion in protecting and spearheading the
values of fundamental human rights and protection of minority
groups. I strongly urge you to express Canada’s concern about the
disregard for the rights of religious minorities in Georgia and call
upon Georgian government to address this issue, based on principles of
international law.

Yours truly,

CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION REGISTERED TWO MORE MPS

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.12.2009 19:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In its Tuesday session, Armenia’s Central Election
Commission registered Koryun Nahapetyan (non-partisan) and Mkhitar
Harutyunyan (Prosperous Armenia) as members of National Assembly,
in accordance with relevant local electoral committee’s decision

LEVERAGING TURKEY-ARMENIA PROTOCOLS, ERDOGAN PRESSES ADVANTAGE DURING DC VISIT

Asbarez
Dec 8th, 2009

Escalates Genocide Denial, Pushes Preconditions, Reinforces Pressure
on Nagorno Karabagh

Asserts: "My ancestors have never committed genocide!"

WASHINGTON-Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, having secured
at least temporarily, the silence of yet another Administration on the
Armenian Genocide, has used his U.S. visit to further press Turkey’s
advantage-dramatically escalating his genocide denial rhetoric,
reinforcing Turkey’s "Protocols" preconditions for lifting its blockade
of Armenia, and attempting to use Ankara’s new found leverage in the
Nagorno Karabakh peace process to deliver a pro-Azerbaijani settlement
of this conflict, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).

"Today, more than seven months into the silence of yet another U.S.

Administration on the Armenian Genocide, it’s painfully clear that
Erdogan has not, as President Obama had hoped, moved toward a full,
frank and just acknowledgement of the facts – but rather sprinted in
exactly the opposite direction, dramatically ramping up his denial
rhetoric and pressing more aggressively against U.S. recognition of
this crime," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "As
we’ve said from day one, for Erdogan and his government, the Protocols
are not about peace. They represent simply another tactic by Turkey
to extend U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denials from one April 24th to
the next," added Hamparian.

In addition to escalating his Armenian Genocide denial demands, Erdogan
also made clear that his government would not respect either of the
two U.S. priorities for Turkey-Armenia normalization: no preconditions
and a reasonable timeframe.

He continued to press for both the two Turkish preconditions
hardwired into the protocols, namely a historical "commission" and the
confirmation of borders, as well as a third unwritten precondition that
the Nagorno-Karabakh issue be settled to Azerbaijan’s satisfaction. At
the same time, he firmly established that Turkey does not feel any
obligation to move forward in a timely manner.

Erdogan’s comments came during a press conference held at the Willard
Hotel, followed by a presentation at the Johns Hopkins University
School of Advanced and International Studies (SAIS) and an evening
speech at SETA-DC, touted as the only Turkish think tank in Washington,
DC. He will continue presentations on Tuesday at the German Marshall
Fund and later do a PBS television interview with Charlie Rose.

During his think tank appearances, Prime Minister Erdogan pontificated
– often in a lecturing and self-righteous tone – on a broad range of
topics, from foreign policy to climate change and world poverty. The
formats of these presentations, which featured highly controlled
third-party participation, lent themselves to this type of one-way
communication. The only exceptions were the few questions, submitted
in writing, dealing with the Armenian Genocide and freedom of speech
in Turkey. Both of these topics sparked angry and unscripted responses
from Erdogan.

Asked during his Johns Hopkins presentation by ANCA Communications
Director Elizabeth Chouldjian about his thoughts on repeated statements
by President Obama that his views had not changed on the "events on
1915," Erdogan descended into a strident diatribe of denial of the
Armenian Genocide, dismissing decades of scholarship documenting the
systematic destruction of Turkey’s Armenian population from 1915-1923.

"My ancestors have never committed genocide," asserted Erdogan. "This
is, in my opinion, not possible… Those people who speak of genocide,
I don’t know what documentation they base it on."

Asked about recent Congressional rebuke of media repression in Turkey,
Prime Minister Erdogan denied that there are restrictions on the
press in Turkey, stating, "The press in Turkey is perhaps freer than
the press in the U.S. – much more so, in my opinion."

At SETA-DC, in response to a question on the ratification timeline
of the Turkey-Armenia protocols, Prime Minister Erdogan stated
that: "There are certain connections, which need to be taken into
consideration, the first one of which being the relations between
Azerbaijan and Armenia."

"There is at the moment this concern in the Parliament and that’s why
we called the MINSK group – the United States, Russian Federation and
France especially – to move forward in this area," Erdogan said. "If
they can work on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem between Azerbaijan and
Armenia, which has been ongoing for the last 20 years and if progress
can be made towards a solution to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh,
then not only will problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia be resolved
but also there will be a positive contribution to the process between
Turkey and Armenia, whereby the parliaments will reflect upon their
work, the good will and progress in the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh,
and this what we would like to see happen."

FROM AZNAVOUR TO TANKIAN TO ARMENIAN NAVY BAND: ARMENIAN MUSIC AWARDS SHOW PROMISES TO BE A SMASHING HIT

Tert.am
12:36 ~U 09.12.09

On December 13, among the numerous well-known Armenians at the Armenian
Music Awards~Y will be world-renowned chansonier Charles Aznavour,
who will also be an honoured guest. This year, the Armenian Music
Awards~Y has partnered with M/Club Music Video Awards for a glamourous
evening at the Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles.

Planned for the evening is a lifetime achievement award for Charles
Aznavour, along with a performance by his daughter, Seta Aznavour.

System of a Down’s Serj Tankian’s father will also perform, and is
said to be bringing with him a special guest. The special guest,
perhaps Tankian himself, wants to keep his appearance a mystery until
the night of the show.

Also appearing on stage in the Nokia Theatre that seats more than
7,000 guests are Nune Yesayan, Shushan Petrosyan, Andre, Hayko,
Silva Hakobyan, Reincarnation, Arto Tuncboyaciyan from the Armenian
Navy Band, and even Armenchik and Harut Pamboukjian.

Among the exclusive guests of the evening will be Russian superstar
Irina Allegrova, who will give a special performance.

Best Album Cover & Design, R&B/Rap, Best Female Vocalist and
Contemporary Folk are among the 27 awards to be given out that night.

AZERBAIJAN EXPECTING U.S. TO TAKE MEASURES TO SETTLE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Tert.am
14:57 ~U 07.12.09

Turkey and the U.S. are tying up lots of loose ends, and they are
developing joint strategic cooperative projects in different parts
of the world, said Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov,
while speaking to journalists.

According to Azimov, Turkey has been playing an important role in
the region since 1991, reports Azerbaijani news agency News.az.

"Turkey is trying to use new resources to continue its policy. But
Azerbaijan’s position has strengthened due to the happenings within
the recent 18-20 years. Azerbaijan is developing as a leading country
in the region and Turkey’s close partner. We want Washington to take
into account the achievements gained as a result of the partnership
with Turkey and hope that the Turkish Prime Minister will exactly
inform Washington about it. We consider that Recep Tayyip Erdogan will
take into account both Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s national interests
in the United States," he said.

Azimov added, "We believe that during his visit to the US, Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will want Washington to take
serious steps for the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the
main problem of the region."

Armenian military servicemen to go to Afghanistan in early 2010

2009-12-05 15:06:00

ArmInfo. The North Atlantic Council held a sitting at NATO Central
Headquarters in Brussels with participation of foreign ministers of
the countries participating in international forces’ activities on
peace and stability maintenance in Afghanistan.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry press-service told ArmInfo that the
Armenian delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia
Arman Kirakosyan. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as
the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada,
Afghanistan took part in the sitting.

In his speech Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Arman Kirakosyan
dwelled on Armenia’s partner cooperation with NATO, stressing the
interaction in peacekeeping sphere. He pointed out that Armenia took a
decision to send a military contingent to Afghanistan to make its own
contribution to international security and stability. The Armenian
military servicemen will go to Afghanistan in early 2010.

Today, Azerbaijan
Dec 5 2009

Russian ambassador: Normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations should
help solve Nagorno Karabakh problem

05 December 2009 [13:48] – Today.Az

`We are obliged to find the ways of solution to Karabakh problem, we
have no other way out. Normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations
should help resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,’ Russian ambassador
to Turkey Vladimir Ivanovski said in his interview with the Aksam
newspaper.

The ambassador said those who say `It is not right to sign the
protocols, ratify them in the parliament unless Nagorno-Karabakh
problem is solved’ are mistaken. "It is wrong to connect the border
issue and Nagorno-Karabakh problem."

`Normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations does not worry Russia, we
have always supported it. The expansion of the economic relations
among Turkey, Armenia and Russia is very important,’ Ivanovski said.

Russian ambassador also spoke about his country’s relations with Azerbaijan.

`Of course, you say Azerbaijanis are your brothers, but the
Azerbaijanis have very good relations with the Russians. Two million
Azerbaijanis live in Russia and send money to their country. We can
also say the Azerbaijanis are our brothers,’ he said.

The ambassador said the U.S. plans for missile defense shield in
Europe would be discussed at the meeting of Russia-NATO commission, he
added that Russia offered its own radars to establish a joint system.

`Why should we oppose, if such a system is established in Turkey?
There is a radar that we use in Azerbaijan. That system may be
transported here. The main thing is to determine the threats. Whom
does this system oppose to? Will Iran attack Europe?’ he said.

/APA/

URL:

EXPERT: PROCESS ON MADRID PRINCIPLES – THEATRICAL SHOW

ArmInfo
2009-12-03 14:39:00

ArmInfo. Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently
declared they are working on a peculiar peace agreement which will
become possible within the coming months. Nevertheless, it seems to me
that it is impossible to make a peace agreement in the nearest future,
Richard Giragosian, Director of the Armenian Center of National and
International Studies (ACNIS) briefed in Yerevan.

He said the only possible thing is an agreement on the Madrid
principles. He said Baku’s strategy on Karabakh is the same as in 90s,
the period of gross mistakes and permanent threats of unleashing war,
unreasonable diplomacy and maximalist approach to own demands. Such
strategy of Baku is fundamentally wrong and rules out possibility of
peace agreement, the expert said.

R. Giragosian told ArmInfo the Madrid principles define only conditions
of the negotiation process whereas peace treaty requires much more
details. It is not easy to achieve it. "The Madrid principles are
a certain opportunity of achieving or not achieving agreements on
various issues. These principles are general and framework. They
are just a scheme and even after all the points are coordinated it
will not mean that all these principles will be adopted. Therefore,
they are not important. This is rather a theatrical show, certain
imitation of the process," Giragosian said.

CHATTER: WHAT WE’RE HEARING

Global Post
1202/chatter-what-were-hearing-0
Dec 2 2009

Want to know: Armenia has 27 chess grandmasters, that’s more than
China and many more per capita than Russia. This little nation is
a chess superpower. To truly understand why it became such a chess
sensation requires a deeper look into the country’s past, and in
particular one moment, a generation ago, in which this most highbrow
game first began to embody the spirit of a subjugated people. The
U.K.’s Prospect magazine goes in depth.

ARMENIA SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO STRENGTHENING OF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.12.2009 18:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ President Serzh Sargsyan Thursday received Celeste
Wallander. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia,
Ukraine and Eurasia. Highly assessing U.S.-Armenia friendly ties,
President expressed interest in extending bilateral relations.

Formerly Armenia’s Minister of Defense, Mr. Sargsyan also touched
upon Defense Ministry’s great potential for development.

Wallander, for her part, said her visit to Armenia aimed at
scrutinizing the country’s priorities in defense sphere. She also
welcomed Armenia’s participation peace-keeping missions. American
official conveyed to Armenian President her impressions of Armenian
peace-keepers abilities.

Parties also touched upon joint projects and exchanged views over
regional issues, RA President’s press service reports.