Author: Hunanian Jack

PanARMENIAN.Net

Oskanian Discussed Karabakh Settlement in Stepanakert

29.04.2006 01:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met in
Stepanakert with NKR National Assembly Speaker Ashot Ghulian to
discuss the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. The Armenian FM
briefed to the Speaker on the current stage of the settlement process
and the possible prospects of the problem resolution in the context of
international and regional reality as well as on the policy of the
Armenian leadership on the negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk
Group framework.

The Armenian FM underscored that Karabakh’s self-determination is the
key issue of the current stage of the negotiations. For his part Ashot
Ghulian informed Vartan Oskanian of the parliamentary hearings on the
Karabakh conflict settlement and handed to the Minister the statement
adopted upon completion of the hearings for their further conveyance
to appropriate structures, reported the NKR NA press service.

NKR President signed a decree on spring call up

ArmRadio.am
28.04.2006 15:05

April 27 NKR President Arkadi Ghukasyan signed a decree on 2006 spring
call up and demobilization.

INSULTING ANY PROPHET, ANY RELIGION WRONG: CLERIC
By Ashwin Honawar

Peninsula On-line, Qatar
April 27 2006

Photo: Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian

DOHA: Christians have also been victims of blasphemous caricatures
long before their Muslim brethren: A leading Iranian daily published
caricatures insulting Jesus Christ and the 12 Apostles about a
year and half before cartoons blaspheming Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)
appeared in a Danish daily, Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian, Primate of
the Armenian Prelacy of Tehran, said here yesterday.

In an interview with The Peninsula yesterday, Archbishop Sarkissian who
heads the 150,000-strong Armenian Christian community of Iran, said,
a Tehran-based Farsi-language daily, Hamshami, had published about a
year-and-half before the Danish daily, a caricature of Jesus Christ
and the 12 apostles. The caricature showed Jesus and the apostles at
the Last Supper, feasting on pizzas and Pepsi. It showed Jesus Christ
passing a hamburger sandwich to one of the apostles,” he said.

The Christian community in Iran, he said was deeply saddened by this
blasphemous act but the reaction was peaceful. “We did not take it
as seriously. I personally told the government that what was done
by that daily was wrong. I pointed out, how can there be amity among
Iranian citizens of different faith if their prophets were blasphemed
by the media. I declined to participate in a dialogue of religions
and refused an interview on the state-run TV to vent the feelings of
the community,” he disclosed. “In so many Islamic countries, Jesus
Christ has been blasphemed. Why Christians do not demonstrate? In the
Christian world, there is no media censorship while there are a few
Muslim countries that do not have press censorship,” he added. When
told that Islam strictly forbids any form of imagery, Archbishop
Sarkissian pointed out, Muslims also indulge in photography.

He said, there was an urgent need to educate the media against
insulting holy icons of all faiths since they only tend to create
animosity among the public while dealing serious setbacks to the
dialogue of religions, which was crucial. The media should be made
fully aware of the consequences that result from such blaspheming of
any community’s holy figures and prophets. Sarkissian, at the Doha
4th Conference for Religious Dialogue yesterday gave a presentation
on the problems faced by religious leaders in approaching the media
to respect prophets held sacred by believers of different religions.

The outcry and violent reaction in some countries caused by the
publication of cartoons by a section of the Danish press, he said,
were the fallout of exaggeration of the issue by the media in the
Muslim world.

Despite such incidences, the archbishop said, the Armenian Christian
community lives in amity with people of other faiths in Iran, a
majority of whom are Muslims, about 20,000 Jew and another 20,000,
followers of the Zoroastrian faith, among others. ” Before the Islamic
revolution in Iran, there were no religious restrictions.

After the revolution too, there are no restrictions and the right to
religious freedom was added to the constitution,” he said.

Asked about Iran’s nuclear controversy, the religious head, said, all
Iranian citizens were worried about the propaganda that the programme
was to build weapons, being churned by some segments of the Western
press. ” We usually do not include political and other issues in our
sermons at the mass but due to the seriousness of the issue, we did
speak about it a couple of times,” he added. The negative propaganda,
he noted, affects all Iranians, regardless of their faith.

ews.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+Ne ws&month=April2006&file=Local_News20060427 83059.xml

NEGATIVE BALANCE OF ARMENIAN FOREIGN TRADE AMOUNTS TO ABOUT $ 800 MILLION

AZG Armenian Daily
28/04/2006

According to the results of the CIS countries foreign trade activities
for 2005, the positive balance of Russia’s foreign trade totaled
to $120 billion 131 million. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan also have
positive foreign trade balance that amount to $10 billion 496 million
and $146,6 million respectively. The rest of the CIS member states
fixed negative balance, remaining rather an importing than exporting
countries. According to the indicator of the foreign trade negative
balance, Armenia is on the fourth place after Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan
and Belarus. Then come Moldova ($1 billion 200,6 million), Georgia
($1 billion 624 million) and Ukraine ($1 billion 854 million).

ALI ERTEM: ONE DAY TURKEY SHOULD RECONCILE ITSELF TO THE FACT AND RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2006

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. It is already several
years that journalist Ali Ertem, a citizen of Turkey living in Germany,
Chairman of the “Union against Genocide” organization, comes to Armenia
on April 24 to pay the tribute of his respect to the memory of 1.5
mln victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Only some years ago the
Turkish intellectual collected 11 thousand signatures from Turks of
Germany and submitted them both to the German parliament and to the
parliaments of different European countries, and doing so, rendered
assistance to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide on his and his
co-thinkers’ part. According to Ali Ertem, the top priority task of
the organization headed by him is the recognition and condemnation
of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and Turkish society. According to
him, first they submitted these signatures to the Turkish parliament,
but the leaders of his country checked and returned them giving no
answer up to this day.

“Hostility cannot last forever. One day Turkey should reconcile itself
to the fact and should recognize the Armenian Genocide. I am convinced
that the peoples living in Turkey will also condemn and admit this
fact,” the Turkish journalist emphasized. In Ali Ertem’s opinion,
in this respect the international organizations have much to do:
they should be mediators in the dialogue between the Turkish and
Armenian peoples in the issue of liquidation of the consequences of
the Genocide.

ARMENIANS PAUSE TO REMEMBER GENOCIDE
By: Steven S. Couse, The Record 04/25/2006

Troy Record, NY
April 25 2006

TROY – Armenians and Americans of Armenian heritage gathered once again
on Monday to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

They plan events every year on April 24 to press Turkey to acknowledge
its part in the 1915-1923 massacre, and to press the U.S. government
to formally recognize it.

“Our voices are heard all over the world,” said Aram Barkamian of
the Armenian National Committee of Albany. “Don’t give up the fight.”

He welcomed local officials and Armenian clergy to the Collar City,
where the second Armenian church parish in the U.S. was established
100 years ago.

“We’re growing in numbers each year,” said Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian,
who is “100 percent Armenian.”

He pointed to the Armenian flag flying outside of City Hall. “To
see that from my office is very exciting,” he said. It will fly over
Monument Square for one month.

“It’s a deep wound that we try to overcome,” he said of the genocide,
and then displayed a proclaimation declaring April 24, 2006, Armenian
Martyrs Day in Troy. “We will never forget.”

The first Armenian church parish established in the U.S. was in
Worcester, Mass., and the second, St. Peter Armenian Apostolic Church,
moved from Fifth Avenue in Troy to Watervliet in the early 1970s
after land was donated to the church.

Watervliet Mayor Robert Carlson also proclaimed the day Armenian
Martyrs Day in his city.

Carlson said the federal government was close to recognizing the
genocide just before the war in Iraq started, but pulled back for
fear of offending U.S. ally Turkey.

“The pressure has to continue,” he said. “I hope before the 100th
anniversary, there will be recognition.”

“He’s going to continue the fight,” said Rep. John Sweeney, who is
50 percent Armenian. “It’s something he feels very passionate about.”

Letters of support from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Gov. George
Pataki, Albany Mayor Gerry Jennings and Schenectady Mayor Brian
Stratton were read aloud.

Pataki again proclaimed April 24, 2006, Armenian Martyrs Day in New
York, as he has done for the past 10 years. Albany and Schenectady
did likewise.

Earlier in the day, Armenian historian Aram Arkun from New York City
addressed lawmakers in the Assembly well of the Legislative Office
Building in Albany.

Arkun later addressed students at Siena College, and after the events
outside City Hall in Troy, moved in to the City Council chambers to
address the Armenian Students Association of Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute.

Armenian commemorations in the Capital District were started
at Monument Square in Troy in 1987 by the Homenetmen of Albany,
established a year earlier.

The Albany chapter of the Armenian National Committee, based in
Washington, D.C., was started in 1995 and took over the events
that year.

The monument was selected to host events because it closely resembles
a monument in Armenia.

On Monday, the Very Rev. Father Dajad Tsaturyan was in Troy to offer
a requiem. He is from the Holy Etchmiadzin, or “Vatican” in Armenia.

He came to America last May for a year to work at St. Peter in
Watervliet.

Joining him at the ceremony Monday were Deacon John Khachadourian
and Rev. Bedros Shetilin of Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church
on Spring Avenue in Troy and Rev. Stepanos Doudoukjian of St. Peter
Armenian Church in Watervliet.

IRANIAN ARMENIANS COMMEMORATED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.04.2006 01:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On April 23 evening a mourning liturgy in
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide victims was chanted by head of
the Iranian Diocese of the AAC Sepukh Sargsian in Surb Sargis Church in
Tehran. Then a rally was held in the yard of the Armenian Church. April
24 an event dedicated to the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
was held in the “Ararat” sports center. The Armenian genocide issue
was also widely covered by Iranian media, reported Alik newspaper.

A SMALL OASIS IN THE DESERT

Yerkir
April 21, 2006

An unprecedented exhibition was launched in Kuwait on March 21. It
stirred this country’s cultural life.

The exhibition was organized by the Armenian Gevorgian Gallery
represented by Sergey Gevorgian, the Armenian Center of Young Artists
and its head Khachik Abrahamian, vice-president of the Armenian
Cultural Fund Jacques Hakobian and the Kashatagh Fund for Assistance
to Families with Many Children chaired by Gurgen Melikian.

The exhibition was hosted by the Department for National Culture
of Kuwait.

Works of 18 young Armenian painters were exhibited including Khachik
Abrahamian, Gagik Barseghian, Albert Hakobian, Gagik Ghazanchian,
Hrant Mirzoyan, Lilit Soghomonian and many others.

“It is difficult to organize an exhibition of such large scope,
especially in a foreign country,” vice-president of the Armenian
Cultural Fund Jacques Hakobian says. “However, Gevorgian Gallery
and other organizations supporting this initiative did their best to
organize the exhibition at the highest level so that it would properly
present our country.”

Hundreds of people were visiting the Abdullah Al Salem Center of the
Kuwait Department for National Culture for ten days. Four Arab-language
and five English-language newspapers in Kuwait published articles on
the exhibition highly praising the work of the young Armenian artists.

The Armenian spiritual leader in the Arab countries Koryun Archbishop
Papian said that just like Kuwait is a small oasis in the Arab
desert this exhibition is also a small oasis in Kuwait. The Armenian
organizers of the exhibition extend their gratitude to the director
of the Kuwait Department for National Culture Halem Al Refaye and
the director of Abdullah Al Salem Center Mashaul Al Shalaffa.

“We made some arrangements with them,” chairman of the Armenian Young
Artists’ Center Khachik Abrahamian says. They wanted to organize a
similar exhibition in Yerevan where the works of Arab artists will
be presented. I think arts and culture are good bridges for friendly
relations between our nations.

About 4000 Armenians live in Kuwait and there is only one Armenian
school with 350 students. The Armenian artists visited the school
and met the Armenian children. The artists painted two paintings on
the spot and presented them to the school.

Abrahamian informed that the Armenian artists will present their
works in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other cities wit the support
of Gevorgian Gallery.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Baku Says Information on Azerbaijan’s Intention to Resume Hostilities
Groundless

22.04.2006 00:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `The militaristic statements to return the seized
land by force have become very frequent recently. Is it a coincidence?
For all appearance it’s not. In the opinion of representatives of
international structures and specifically the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-chairs, the year of 2006 can become the most suitable for a
peaceful settlement. There is an expression `Lie repeated many times
becomes the truth at last’. Perhaps hurhaber.com Turkish website tried
to make the expression true,’ Zerkalo Baku-based newspaper writes.

According to acting head of the Azerbaijani press office Ilgar
Verdiyev, this information does not correspond to reality and peaceful
talks are going on. As for Azerbaijani MFA’s position, head of the
department of information policy Tahir Taghizade remarked he does not
think it’s necessary to comment on the nonsense spread by the Turkish
website. `Azerbaijan abides by the peaceful settlement,’ Taghizade
said.

For his part, independent political scientist Eldar Namazov remarked
that the information is either an obvious stupidity or serious
provocation. According to the political scientist a paradox situation
occurs, presently hostilities can be profitable for Armenia, but it’s
Azerbaijan, who makes military statements. He also noted that the
U.S. is not interested in the resumption of hostilities, since in this
case the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline will be receded into the
background.

In the words of political scientist Rasim Musabekov, the website is
not at all known and the information furnished by it doesn’t need any
comments.

To remind, Media-forum Azeri online newspaper with a reference to
hurhaber.com that allegedly received the information from a diplomatic
source, said that within 1 or 2 day Azerbaijan will start war for
Karabakh.

From: [email protected]
Subject: Authorities and Public of Slavyansk-On-Kuban Against Turkey in EU

AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC OF SLAVYANSK-ON-KUBAN AGAINST TURKEY ENTERING
EUROPEAN UNION

KRASNODAR, APRIL 21, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The “round table”
of the public-political organization of the city of
Slavyansk-on-Kuban, dedicated to the 91st anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide in the Ottaman Turkey, took place on April 19 in the Slavonic
State Pedagogical Institute. Sergey Shishkaryov, a Deputy of the State
Duma of the Russian Federation (“Yedinaya Rossia” (United Russia)
faction) made the welcome speech to the participants of the “round
table.” According to the “Yerkramas” (country) newspaper of the
Armenians of Russia, during the “round table” in which representatives
of the administration and public-political organizations of
Slavyansk-on-Kuban and the Slavonic region, the following questions
were discussed: the Armenian Genocide as a crime against the humanity
and mankind; international recognition of the fact of the Armenian
Genocide and legal responsibility of Turkey; official recognition of
Turkey itself and its condemnation of that crime; ideology of
Panturkism as a real threat for Europe and the world; ways of just
liquidation of consequences of the Armenian Genocide; solution of the
Hay Dat (Armenian cause) based on the international law. The film “I
Accuse” prepared by the “Yerkir-Media” (Armenia) TV company was shown
to the participants of the event. Tatyana Kovalyova, the deputy head
of Slavyansk-on-Kuban addressed to the participants of the “round
table” on behalf of the city administration. On the initiative of the
city authorities, “Memory Hour” will be held on April 24 in schools of
Slavyansk-on-Kuban. It will be dedicated to the tragic date and the
film “I Accuse” and a reporting about holding the “round table” will
be broadcast by the local television. A resolution was held according
to results of the “round table”, in which it is particularly said:
“Participants of the April 19, 2006, “round table” of the public of
the city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban of the region of Krasnodar, based on
irrefutable historic facts, proving massacres of Armenians in the
territory of Western Armenia in 1915-1922…, mentioning that the
physical annihilation of the Armenian people in its historic
Fatherland was implemented with the goals of fulfilling Panturkist
ideas about creation of the Great Turan in the territory of Middle
Asia to Balkans, involving Povolzhye, Urals, Crimea, Southern and
Northern Caucasus, condemn organizers of annihilations of Armenians in
1915-1922, express their symphathy to the Armenian people and consider
April 24 as the Day of Memory of the Armenian Genocide victims.

Participants of the “round table” of the public of Slavyansk-on-Kuban
of the region of Krasnodar consider impossible Turkey’s entering the
European family of peoples, until the crime conducted by the
authorities of Turkey in 1915 against the native Armenian
inhabitation, will not be recognized and condemned by the heads of
present Turkey, and call on the authorities of the European states to
call on the authorities of Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide.”
Vladimir Goncharov, the administration head of the Slavonic region,
the Secretary of the Political Council of the “Yedinaya Rossia” party
of the Slavonic region, Ataman of Cossacks’ army of the Slavonic
region; Tatyana Kovalyova, the Slavyansk-on-Kuban deputy head of
municipal education; Yuri Bobirenko, the Chairman of the War and Labor
Veterans’ Council of the Slavonic region; Anaida Meltonian, the
Chairwoman of the “Meridian” international friendship club; Tigran
Tavadian, the editor-in-chief of the “Yerkramas” newspaper of
Armenians of Russia; Vyacheslav Nikoev, the Chairman of the Armenian
Culture Association of the Slavonic region; Mikhail Kuzub, the Deputy
Chairman of the Scientific Information-Cultural Center “Hamshen”,
Eduard Pogosov, a Honourary Member of the “Luys” Armenian Culture
Association of the city of Novorosiysk, others signed the resolution.