Author: Karabekian Emil

February 13, 2009
Press Release
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

BIENNIAL GHEVONTIANTS CLERGY CONFERENCE OF THE THREE NORTH AMERICAN
PRELACIES

Tuesday, February 17th, is the Feast of Sts. Ghevontiank which is
traditionally also a celebration of clergy. On this occasion, every two
years clergy members from the three North American Prelacies assemble for a
joint conference. This year’s conference is being hosted by the Eastern
Prelacy and is scheduled to take place from February 16 to 18 at St. Gregory
the Illuminator Church in Philadelphia. The conference will be presided
over by H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western United
States, H.E. Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Eastern United
States, and H.E. Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of Canada.
The Prelate and Prelacy clergy members will depart for Philadelphia
on Sunday, February 15th, and will return on Wednesday, February 18th.
Items on the agenda of the conference include the planning of events
to commemorate the "Year of the Youth" proclaimed by H.H. Catholicos Aram I,
reports on the General Assembly, the 50th anniversary celebrations of the
North American Prelacy, inter-church relations, the visit of His Holiness to
the Vatican, as well as a series of lectures. Divine Liturgy, prayer
services, and spiritual reflections are also scheduled.
On Thursday, February 19th, the Prelate will preside over services
in celebration of the Feast of Sts. Ghevontiank and Sts. Vartanank. Morning
services will be offered at St. Mary’s Church in Glendale at 11:00 a.m. with
the participation of the clergy order. Very Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian will
deliver the sermon. In the evening, Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at
Holy Martyrs Church in Encino with the participation of the clergy order,
starting at 6:30 p.m.

MORNING SERVICES AND DIVINE LITURGY
ON THE FEAST OF STS. VARTANANK

On Thursday, February 19th, the Feast of Sts. Vartanank will be
commemorated with morning services and Divine Liturgy presided over by the
Prelate.
Morning services will be offered at St. Mary’s Church in Glendale at
11:00 a.m. with the participation of the clergy order. Very Rev. Fr. Muron
Aznikian will deliver the sermon.
In the evening, Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at Holy Martyrs
Church in Encino with the participation of the clergy order, starting at
6:30 p.m. Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian will celebrate Divine Liturgy and
deliver the sermon.

CELEBRATING THE EVE OF GREAT LENT – PAREGENTAN

Sunday, February 22nd, is the Eve of Great Lent, also known as
Paregentan. The annual Paregentan celebration will take place under the
auspices of the Prelate at 1:30 p.m. at the "Armenak Der Bedrossian" Hall of
St. Mary’s Church. The event is organized by the Sunday Schools’
Directorate and PTO.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children under the age of 12.
For more information contact the Prelacy office or your local Sunday
School representative.

PRELATE VISITS THE ARMENIAN CONSULATE TO MEET WITH THE NEW CONSUL GENERAL

On Friday, February 13th, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian,
Prelate, visited the Consulate General of Armenian where he met with the
newly appointed Consul General the Honorable Grigor Hovhannisyan and
consular staff. The Prelate and new Consul General previously met when His
Excellency visited the Prelacy a week prior on February 6th. The Prelate
was accompanied by Rev. Fr. Razmig Khatchadourian and Catholicosate Central
Executive member Mr. Khajag Dikijian.
The visit offered the opportunity for the Prelate and Consul General
to discuss issues concerning Armenia as well as the endeavors the Consul
General has planned for the future.
The Prelate once again wished success to Mr. Hovhannisyan in his new
position and informed him that the Prelacy is planning a reception in his
honor in the near future with the participation of Prelacy representatives.

PRELATE WELCOMES MAESTRO HOVHANNES TCHEKIDJIAN

On the afternoon of Friday, February 13th, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Prelate, welcomed to the Prelacy renowned Maestro Hovhannes
Tchekidjian, who is in Los Angeles planning future concerts. Maestro
Chekijian was accompanied by representatives from the Friends of Armenian
Arts headed by Mr. Victor Mardirossian. Very Rev. Fathers Muron Aznikian
and Barthev Gulumian were also present.
The Prelate acquainted the Maestro and guests with the general
mission and endeavors of the Prelacy. In addition, he highly commended the
Maestro for his invaluable contribution to Armenian music.
The guests reported that Maestro Tchekidjian and the Armenian State
Choir are in Los Angeles upon the invitation of the Friends of Armenian Arts
organization for a concert in honor of the Maestro’s 80th birthday. The
Prelate extended his well wishes on this occasion and expressed his support
for the event. The Prelate has previously presented Maestro Tchekidjian with
a letter of blessing and commendation for his role in popularizing and
propagating Armenian choir music at a concert held in September of last
year.
The meeting concluded with the exchange of mementos.

VISIT OF "JAN TAVRIZ" COMMITTEE

Later in the day, the Prelate welcomed representatives from the "Jan
Tavriz" Committee who had come to the Prelacy to report on their recent and
upcoming endeavors, and to extend an invitation to the Prelate for their
upcoming event in March.
The Prelate commended the committee members for their efforts in
preserving our centuries-old Armenian culture and specifically the unique
traditions of Iranian-Armenians, and for fostering those traditions in our
youth.

PRELATE WELCOMES IRANIAN MP GEVORG VARTANIAN

On the afternoon of Thursday, February 12th, H.E. Archbishop
Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, welcomed to the Prelacy Iranian Parliament
member Gevorg Vartanian, who was accompanied by A.R.F. Central Committee
member Mr. Harout Manoukian and his wife Bianca. Religious Council members
Rev. Fathers Vazken Atmajian and Gomidas Torossian, as well as the Chairman
of the Friends of New Julfa Committee Mr. Vahak Abcarians were also present.
Given it was Mr. Vartanian’s first visit to the Prelacy, the Prelate
acquainted him with the endeavors of the Prelacy which has served the
community for over thirty-five years under the jurisdiction of the Holy See
of Cilicia. He briefed Mr. Vartanian on future projects and plans, and
extended an invitation for him to attend services and participate in the
traditional bonfire on the eve of the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord,
which will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church. The Prelate also reported
that clergy members from the three North American Prelacies would be
gathering in Philadelphia next week for the biennial joint Ghevontiants
conference. In conclusion, the Prelate spoke highly of the ongoing
relations and collaboration with the Iranian-Armenian community.
Mr. Vartanian relayed information about his endeavors and of the
state of the Armenian community in Iran. He asserted that the Armenian
community remains strong and closely tied with Armenia, and that the
Armenian population is well regarded in the country.
The Prelate and guest also exchanged information on commonalities
between the Prelacies of the Western United States and Tehran and on
collaborative efforts.
The meeting concluded with the Prelate conveying his best wishes to
Mr. Vartanian in his service to the Armenians of Iran and presented him with
a memento. Mr. Vartanian in turn presented the Prelate with a memento.
PRELATE CELEBRATES DIVINE LITURGY ON THE FEAST OF ST. SARKIS AND THE NAME
DAY OF ST. SARKIS CHURCH

In accordance with the Armenian Church calendar, Saturday, February
7th, was the feast day commemorating St. Sarkis, his son Mardiros, and their
fourteen soldiers who were martyred for their faith.
On this occasion, which is also the name day of St. Sarkis Church in
Pasadena, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, celebrated Divine
Liturgy, delivered the sermon, and presided over the blessing of madagh at
St. Sarkis Church. Assisting at the altar were Very Rev. Fr. Barthev
Gulumian and parish pastor Rev. Fr. Khoren Babochian.
The blessing of madagh and requiem for the souls of departed
servants followed, after which the Prelate was led in a procession to the
entrance of the church accompanied by the singing of the Pontifical and
Cilician anthems.
In the afternoon the Prelate presided over the name day reception at
the hall of the Marash Compatriotic Union. During the reception remarks
were delivered by the Pastor, Board of Trustees Chairman, and the Ladies
Auxiliary Chairlady. The reception concluded with the Prelate’s remarks and
blessings during which he once again commended the church servants for their
efforts and dedication to the parish.

FIRST DIVINE LITURGY OF THE NEW YEAR CELEBRATED AT THE PRELACY CHAPEL ON THE
FEAST OF ST. SARKIS

The first Divine Liturgy of the New Year at the Prelacy "St. Dertad
and St. Ashkhen" Chapel was celebrated on the evening of Saturday, February
7th, which coincided with the Feast of St. Sarkis commemorating the life and
martyrdom of St. Sarkis, his son Mardiros, and their fourteen soldiers.
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, presided over the
Liturgy which was celebrated by pastor of St. Mary’s Church Rev. Fr. Gomidas
Torossian. In his sermon Rev. Fr. Gomidas spoke of the important milestones
in the lives of St. Sarkis and his companions, their defense and propagation
of the Christian faith, and their eventual martyrdom for their faith.
At the conclusion of Divine Liturgy, youth group members gathered at
the Chapel where the Prelate offered special prayers for the youth
beseeching the Lord to bless them and grace them with His strength, wisdom,
and protection so that they may live righteously and be steered away from
wrongdoings.
The service concluded with the Prelate’s benediction and the singing
of the Cilician anthem, after which parishioners gathered at the "Dikran and
Zarouhie Der Ghazarian" Hall for a reception.

PRELATE WELCOMES A.R.S. REGIONAL EXECUTIVE AND CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS

On the afternoon of Friday, February 6th, representatives from the
Armenian Relief Society Regional Executive and Centennial Committee visited
the Prelacy to meet with H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate.
The delegation was headed by A.R.S. Central Executive Chair Mrs. Vicky
Marashlian.
The representatives had come to the Prelacy to brief the Prelate on
a number of activities they have planned, as well as to convey information
on the forthcoming 100th anniversary celebration which will take place with
the support and collaboration of the Prelacy and community organizations.
The Prelacy commended the efforts and devotion of the members and
reaffirmed the support of the Prelacy in their endeavors.

TBILISI CENTERS OUT ARMENIANS FOR THE DEFEAT OF AUGUST 2008
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.02.2009 GMT+04:00

Armenia’s constant fear to strain relations with Georgia finally
led into a state in which Tbilisi treats the Armenian monuments and
her citizens of Armenian origin the way she likes, being absolutely
certain that Yerevan will not interfere.

Losing the war against South Ossetia and driving the country into a
political crisis, the President of Georgia made up his mind to regain
his lost positions, which he naturally does in an old and tested method
– by oppressing the Armenian population in Georgia. In a wider sense,
there is nothing new going on in Georgia; Armenians have always been
an unwelcome nation in this country and the Georgians follow the
example of Turkey and Azerbaijan in this matter.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Even the conduct is identical: first they speak of
Â"appropriation of others’ historyÂ", then come to false accusations
of spying, and, as a consequence, deportation. Though, it should be
admitted that Saakashvili is not potent enough to execute his plans
even with the support of Â"brotherlyÂ" Azerbaijan. And if we also take
into account Turkey’s present evasion from any abrupt step towards
Armenia, it can be concluded that all the attempts of Saakashvili
to play the Armenian card in his favour are destined to collapse. In
contrast to Ilham Aliyev, the Georgian President has already displayed
all his inability and adventurism in governing a country.

After the scandal over the Church of Norashen, the Georgian authorities
decided to switch to Javakhk, where Armenians are still an ethnic
majority. With the intention to alter the demographic situation in
the region, there started arrests in Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe of
Armenian activists accused of spying in favour of Russia. Nothing new
– in the same way the Young Turks were trying to justify the Armenian
Genocide. Yet, the story repeats itself in two dimensions: once in the
form of a tragedy, the other time in the form of farce. In Georgia,
as usual, we have to deal with farce, which, by the way, is planned
and performed too poorly.

Most recently came the news on selling famous Armenian writer Hovhannes
Toumanian’s residence in Tbilisi. Theoretically, such a move had
been expected for rather long: first, Armenians were deprived of the
House-Museum of Sergey Parajanov, and now – of Â"VernatunÂ". But the
saddest point in all this story is that for the most part of such
events the Armenian Government has its share of fault. Armenia’s
constant fear to strain relations with Georgia finally led into a
state in which Tbilisi treats the Armenian monuments and her citizens
of Armenian origin the way she likes, being absolutely certain that
Official Yerevan will not interfere. Instead of appealing to the
public, though even that is not done, the Armenian authorities had
better care for alternative ways of gas supply into Armenia, at least
through Iran.

But Armenia’s reaction stays within the frames of public discussions
and individual statements. It is rather strange that we should not
yet have heard the clear viewpoint of the RA Diaspora Ministry,
which logically must be engaged in protection of our fellow
citizens. However, this department too contents itself with mere
statements.

Meanwhile, according to ex-coordinator of and current
representative of the political wing of the Alliance "KHETAN" Aram
Arghutyan, the Georgian authorities are presently inciting Armenians
to relevant actions, probably not realizing the severe consequences
it might have. "Latest events obviously revealed that Abkhazia and
South Ossetia did not teach Tbilisi a lesson; probably, three is a
charm, and another conflict is necessary to finally show Georgia
its place in history. Still back in the 19th century Catholicos
of All Armenians Mkrtich I Vanetsi (Khrimyan Hayrik) presented to
people the study on "paper and iron scoops" and explained which
of them is more promising and effective. Armenians employed this
lesson successfully in Karabakh by bringing the armed riot to
independence. Today Georgia has lost connection with reality and it
attempts to leave the pit of devastating defeat and humiliation,
splashing out the stored poison to "unprotected" Armenians in the
region of Samtskhe-Javakhk-Tsalka. Tbilisi selected the way of state
terror, directed against her own citizens, not realizing, that in
that case the opposite side has the right of relevant response too,"
Arghutyan believes.

He also noted that Tbilisi brought very symbolic and framed-up charges
against the arrested Armenian figures – espionage and arrangement
of armed groups. "And this is only the prelude, while the epilogue
will approximately be of the following type: more Armenians will
be detained, "forfeited" storages of weapon and ammunition will be
shown on the Georgian television and it will be announced to the whole
world that the local Armenians spied in favor of Russia, the "eternal
friend" of Georgia, and attempted to destabilize the situation. That
is, Georgian authorities have undertaken an attempt to in that way
deafen the struggle of local Armenians directed to the protection of
their rights, by interpreting it as an order of a third side. Among a
number of questions concerning "big business" with Armenia, Georgia
marked out another important problem for herself. Recently a series
of organizations, groups and individuals have livened up in Yerevan,
who offer their support for the favorable solution of "Armenian
question" in Georgia. The hand of Tbilisi is not long enough to reach
out to Yerevan so that it could silence this sector; therefore it is
necessary for Georgia to make Armenian authorities arrange it. Earlier
in a number of cases Tbilisi successfully used this method, solving
its problems by the hands of the authorities of Armenia," said Aram
Arghutyan. In essence, there is nothing else to add…
–Boundary_(ID_4AwkvpJzd3K+XRFHFfUNBQ)–

AVET TERTERYAN’S EARTHQUAKE OPERA FIRST NIGHT DUE IN YEREVAN FEB. 11

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.02.2009 19:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Avet Terteryan’s Earthquake opera first night is due
in Yerevan National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet on February 11

The opera is dedicated to the devastating Spitak earthquake which
claimed lives of 25 thousand people.

The premiere is dated to the 80th birthday of the composer. Avet
Terteryan, people’s artist of the Armenian SSR and professor of
Yerevan State Conservatoire died in Yekatirenburg, Russia, in 1994.

LENMARKER TO MEET THE PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA

armradio.am
10.02.2009 11:04

President Serzh Sargsyan will receive the delegation headed by OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly President’s Special Representative for Nagorno
Karabakh Goran Lenmarker.

Lenmarker will leave Armenia for Georgia. He said in an interview
with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly website that he hopes to learn
more about how the Georgians view the pressing issues on refugees
and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and about their perspective
on finding a dialogue with Russia. He said it is important that the
OSCE continue to play a role in South Ossetia because there is a
great need for impartial mediators and observers such as from the OSCE.

"In South Ossetia, there is now a situation where you have had de facto
ethnic cleansing," Mr. Lennmarker said in the interview. "Refugees
and IDPs, who live outside of South Ossetia, have their homes there
and wish to go back. If they are to go back to a situation where
their houses have been burned down, they need impartial observers —
people they feel can protect them, so they don’t go back to the same
situation they just fled from."

DARCHINYAN TARGETS TOP SPOT

SkySports
,1 9528,12183_4910163,00.html
Feb 10 2009

Undisputed super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan is set to step up a
division in his bid to become the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter.

The Australian-based Armenian boxer defeated Mexico’s Jorge Arce with
an 11th-round technical knockout at the weekend to retain his IBF,
WBA and WBC super flyweight titles.

That victory took his record to 32 wins – with 26 by way of knockout –
one draw and one loss and he now believes he could fight in as many
as five divisions.

"I want to be champion in three weight divisions, four, five, I don’t
want to go to bantamweight and stop," Darchinyan said on his return
to Sydney.

"I’ve got to be in the top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world,
but I don’t want to be just top 10, I want to be closer to No. 1."

A small cut near his right eye means the 33-year-old cannot fight
for at least 60 days, but his manager Elias Nassar is understood to
be going after a bantamweight world title fight next against either
Japan’s WBC champion Hozumi Hasagawa or Ghana’s IBF title holder
Joseph Agbeko.

ISSUE OF ARMS SUPPLY TO ARMENIA TO BE RAISED AT NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY IF RUSSIA’S EVIDENCE DOES NOT SATISFY AZERBAIJAN: VICE-SPEAKER OF AZERBAIJAN PARLIAMENT

Trend News Agency
Feb 10 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 10/ Trend News E. Rustamov/ The issue on
Russia’s delivery of armaments to Armenia will be raised at the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly if Russia’s evidence does not satisfy the
Azerbaijani side, Vice-Speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament Ziyafet
Askerov briefed the media on Feb. 10.

"If we are not satisfied with Russia’s reply to this issue, we will
raise it at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly," Askerov said.

Some media outlets reported of Russia’s delivery of arms and military
equipment to Armenia from Russian military base 102 in Gumri in early
January. Their approximate cost totals $800 million.

Russia’s ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasili Istratov was invited to
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry to clarify the situation. Later, Russian
Federation’s Ministry of Defence and Foreign Ministry denied media’s
information regarding supplies of Russian arms to Yerevan. However,
Baku is not satisfied with Moscow’s reply. During the telephone
conversation between Foreign Ministers of both countries, they decided
to continue consultations on the issue.

Information on Russia’s delivery of armament to Armenia is a negative
fact, Askerov said.

After the issue was raised at Azerbaijan Parliament, a decision was
made for Azerbaijani delegation to visit Russia to discuss the issue
within Friendship Group, he said.

"We are concerned because Russia is a mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict settlement. Russia took responsibility not to supply the
conflicting sides with arms unless the conflict is settled, Askerov
said. Russia violated the obligation by supplying arms."

Russia delivered arms to Armenia, totaling $1 billion during governing
of Boris Yeltsin in 1996. So, the present information on Russia’s
delivery of armaments to Armenia worth $800 million looks real.

MUNICH MIGHT COMMENCE NEW PHILOSOPHY
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.02.2009 GMT+04:00

Instead of the Helsinki Agreement, which no more reflects modern
entities and phenomena, Javier Solana suggested a new model.

Almost immediately after the World Economic Forum in Davos leaders of
the world countries met at the 45th Munich Security Conference. Both
of these meetings gain special significance on account of the world
economic and financial crisis. And if we also add to this the strained
relations between Russia and Europe because of the August war and
the Â"gas conflictÂ", Munich meetings acquire even greater value.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Opening the forum, Federal Minister of Foreign
Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier declared: "The window of history has
opened. The new US President offers new thinking on the whole spectrum
of disarmament and security policy. Russia has a new president too, who
belongs to the generation that is little influenced by the cold war."

Based on the already delivered speeches we can already draw some
conclusions. First, no one in Europe wants to come into conflict with
Russia, and not because of great fear or profound respect towards
her. The reason lies in Russian armaments, which even outdated, pose
a great threat to the whole world. Europe as well as the whole world
want a firm guarantee that Russian troops will not rush Â"to protect
their citizensÂ" as it happened in South Ossetia. That was why EU High
Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana
underlined in his speech that Europe should treat seriously Russia’s
suggestions on forming a new system of European security. Javier
Solana even proposed a new model instead of the Helsinki Agreement,
which no longer reflects modern entities and phenomena.

"The idea of ‘Helsinki 2’ would be difficult to materialize, but we
can suggest ‘Helsinki +’," he noted. "Cooperation between the EU and
Russia has been very positive recently. I hope that will continue and
be expanded to the financial crisis and climate change," Solana said.

In his turn, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stated his
readiness to engage Russia in the discussions on anti-missile defense
system but added that he saw no possibility of a serious discussion
of such an important architecture, with Russia building bases inside
Georgia, a country that doesn’t want those bases. In his words, he
also supported the proposal of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev of
forming wider Euro-Atlantic security structures.

Russia poses no military threat either to the EU or to NATO, declared
French President Nikolas Sarkozy. "I don’t think the Russia of today
is a threat to us and we must recover our confidence towards Moscow,"
stated Sarkozy.

Russian Deputy Prime-Minister Sergey Ivanov noted that Russia would
give up the idea of installing "Iskander" missile systems in the
Kaliningrad region only if the United States would change her mind
about establishing the third position region of anti-missile defense in
Poland and the Czech Republic. "Russia has delayed the installment of
"Iskander" missiles in Kaliningrad until the United States establishes
the third position region in Europe. If the anti-missile defense
systems are not stationed in Poland and the Czech Republic, Russia
will abandon the plans of deploying missiles on the EU’s doorstep in
Kaliningrad," declared the RF Deputy Prime-Minister. Ivanov also urged
the USA to sign another treaty with Russia instead of the Intermediate
Nuclear Force Treaty (INF) and join efforts in combating nuclear
proliferation. He also noted that the US plans on basing anti-missile
defense systems in Europe are aimed at encircling Russia. "The third
position region is not just a combination of a dozen of antiballistic
missiles and radars. It is part of American strategic infrastructure
aimed to control Russia’s nuclear missile potential," declared Ivanov.

In a word, there is a colossal haggling going on, in which
theoretically not everybody can win: someone will have to sacrifice
something. But the new picture of the world is already being outlined:
it is becoming bipolar. The economic crisis played rather an important
role in this shift, but even irrespective of it, history shows that
long supremacy of a country in the end results in a collapse or even
in the complete loss of the leader.

Another central topic of discussion at the Forum will be the US
plans on expanding military presence in Afghanistan. According to
the already announced plan, the US government is determined to send
another 30 thousand soldiers to Afghanistan and counts on the support
of her allies, Germany in particular.

However, more than once representatives of the German government
have announced their reluctance to send additional military units
to Afghanistan. By the way, shortly before the conference Press
Secretary of German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that not in
the least this means end of negotiations.

And, of course, there is also the issue of Iranian nuclear program
to be discussed yet. "Germany is hoping for a diplomatic solution to
the conflict over Iran’s nuclear program but we are ready for tougher
sanctions if no progress is made. I expect the new U.S. administration
will make its approach clear to all of us in coming months. We are
ready to walk this path together," stated German Chancellor Angela
Merkel.
–Boundary_(ID_GHa198eNfyo7NizjUas9 Jw)–

BAKU AND ANKARA TO DISCUSS CAUCASUS PLATFORM OF STABILITY

Panorama.am
19:03 09/02/2009

Baku and Ankara continue the discussions on the Turkish initiative to
create "Caucasus Platform of Stability and Cooperation". The Foreign
Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamediarov stressed during the meeting
with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan the significance of the
platform for the region and the need to continue the negotiations,
reports Trend.

Remind, Turkey took the initiative to create the platform of
stability after the Russian-Georgian war in August, 2008. Russia,
Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan are involved into the
initiative. According to the experts the mission of the initiative
is to leave out Iran from the regional developments, which is very
dangerous for Armenia. The authorities of Armenia have given their
preliminary agreement to the participation of the platform.

During the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey,
Ali Babacan noted that the conflict of Nagorno Karabakh should
be regulated and "it should be regulated in the frames of Azeri
territorial integrity."

PRESS RELEASE
from "Armenian Rights Council of Australia"

6 February 2009

PRESS RELEASE

The Armenian Rights Council of Australia, which is the human rights
advocate branch of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Organisation,
welcomes and is supportive of the Armenian government’s efforts,
at the highest levels, to normalise relations between Armenia and
Turkey. The Armenian Rights Council believes that nations who share
borders must resolve their differences in accordance with
international norms and protocols

The normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia should not
be conditional on other issues such as the resolving of the Karabagh
issue or demands by Turkey that the Armenian Government stop pursuing
the international recognition and acknowledgement of the Armenian
Genocide of 1915-1923. The issue of the Armenian Genocide needs to be
resolved through dialogue and negotiations between Turkey, the
Armenian Government in collaboration with representatives of the
Armenian Diaspora.

The Armenian Rights Council supports the acknowledgment of the
Armenian Genocide by the Republic of Turkey and the global
community. We also believe that for true justice to be achieved the
formal recognition by the Republic of Turkey must be accompanied by
non-symbolic measures and initiatives including but not limited to:
the return of the territories making up Western Armenia and granting
Armenia access to the Black sea; compensation for the loss of human
life and property during the period 1915-1923; setting up a joint
commission to restore and preserve Armenian cultural monuments
scattered throughout Turkey.

The Armenian Rights Council believes that reconciliation efforts
between Turkey and Armenia should be conducted at state level and also
between representatives of Diaspora based political parties and
Turkey. Any attempts based on individual initiatives for reconciliation
are naïve and can become counterproductive. While individuals
are free to express their opinions on any specific issue including the
reconciliation efforts between Turks and Armenians, such individuals
need to be mindful that by engaging in such activities, their opinions
could get distorted and used for political purposes to threaten and
compromise the national interests of the Armenian nation.

Armenian Rights Council
Sydney Australia
[email protected]

ARMENIAN ESCAPEE CONVICTED AGAIN IN AZERBAIJAN

Trend News Agency
Feb 6 2009
Azerbaijan

An Armenian prisoner who escaped jail has been convicted for a second
time in Azerbaijan.

Edgar Sarkisyanm escaped from Jail 11. He was sentenced to 2.5 years
imprisonment.

Sarkisyan escaped jail on Nov. 8.

The guards shot at him as he made his escape.

Sarkisyan injured his foot and wounded guard Shahriyar Huseynov when
he was detained. He is charged with escaping jail, resisting arrest
and using force against a civil servant.

Sarkisyan was sentenced to 14 years in jail for raping and beating
his sister.

The court sentenced him to 15 years in jail for his past and present
crimes.