Author: Tamamian Anna

Armenian paper lists large and medium-sized political parties

Ayots Ashkar, Yerevan
3 Aug 05

Excerpt from report by Armenian newspaper Ayots Ashkar on 3 August

All political parties in Armenia have to submit their registration
papers to the appropriate State Register department no later than 8
August. We would like to remind you that to be registered, a party
must have at least 2,000 members and it should be represented in
every district of Armenia and every district branch should have at
least 100 members.

As the chief of the State Register Agency department Edik Margaryan
explained yesterday [2 August] that “at present only 20 out of 68
parties registered in Armenia have not yet submitted the required
documents”. There are over 400,000 party members [in the country].

The Law Governed Country Party has 42,759 members, National Unity
Party – 41,525, Armenian People’s Party – 28,244, Republican Party
of Armenia – 25,309, New Times Party – 21,000, Communist Party Of
Armenia – 18,594, National Self-Determination Party – 9,724, Ramkavar
– Azatakan Party of Armenia – 9,227, Armenian Pan-National Movement –
6,730, Anrapetutyun party – 5,600, Mighty Motherland – 4,525, Armenian
Liberal-Democratic Union – 5,514, United Labour Party – 4,650.

Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktiutyun and
National-Democratic Union were the most modest in this list of the
big parties, they only informed that the number of their members is
more than 2,000 and they have 100 party members in every district of
Armenia, that is to say, they meet their legal requirements.

Next come the medium-sized parties. The Grant Bagratyan’s Liberty
Party has 2m438 members, Armen Darbinyan’s Worthy Future party –
2,470, Constitutional Law Union – 3,541, Armenian Democratic Party –
2,764, Ovenes Ovanesyan’s Liberal-Progressive Party – 4,819, Armenian
Union of the Aryans – 2,354, Armenian United Communist Party – 3,289,
Democratic Motherland Party headed by Petros Makeyan – 4,647. Tigran
Karapetyan who is heading the People’s Party said that the number
of his party members meets the norms. [Passage omitted: The parties
that have not yet submitted their documents are mentioned. Then small
parties list is presented.]

As Margaryan said, the State Register Agency does not have means to
check the submitted information. This is not foreseen by the law:
“We do not have a right question the accuracy of the submitted
information and we did not check it. But the means of such checking
is not envisaged by the law,” Markaryan said.

Well-rounded performer

Fairfield Advance (Australia)
August 3, 2005 Wednesday

THOUGH he is no Australian Idol, Sam Berberian is a born performer.

The Bossley Park resident sings in a local church group, teaches
Armenian dancing and is helping his son learn the guitar.

Nevertheless, his eight-year-old son, Daniel, believes it is his
performance as a well-rounded father which makes Mr Berberian worthy
of being nominated for Fairfield Advance’s Father of the Year Award.
The awards recognise the city’s top dads.

Mr Berberian volunteers his time each week to teach a group of local
children Armenian dancing. He learnt the dance as a young boy and
wanted to pass the tradition on to the next generation.

“I enjoyed it when I was doing it, so I thought I’d give something
back to the kids,” he said.

He is also involved in his local church, being one of the founding
members of an Anglican service held in Bossley Park.

Mr Berberian’s daughter, Talita, was recently in hospital with a high
fever. In his nomination letter to the Advance Daniel said his father
did not leave her room for two days until the five-year-old recovered.

In fact, the children barely leave Mr Berberian’s side when he is
not at work.

“We do everything together, be it grocery shopping or homework,
and my wife is very involved,” he said.

Daniel also thinks his dad is the best barbecue cook in the world.

* John Luu is a work experience person from the University of
Technology, Sydney

SwissInfo, Schweizer
Mittwoch 27 juli 2005

Türkei bestellt Schweizer Botschafter ein

ISTANBUL – Die Türkei hat den Schweizer Botschafter ins
Aussenministerium in Ankara einbestellt. Sie protestierte bei ihm
scharf gegen die Schweizer Ermittlungen gegen zwei prominente Türken
wegen Genozid-Leugnung.

Wie das Aussenministerium in Ankara mitteilte, brachte Staatssekretär
Nabi Sensoy in dem Gespräch mit dem Schweizer Botschafter Walter
Gyger “die Verstimmung der türkischen Regierung und Öffentlichkeit in
scharfer Form zum Ausdruck”.

Der Botschafter sei von der Auffassung der türkischen Regierung
unterrichtet worden, dass die Vorermittlungen der Justiz in
Winterthur gegen den türkischen Historiker Yusuf Halacoglu und den
Politiker Dogu Perinçek gegen internationales Recht verstossen,
teilte das Aussenministerium mit.

In Abwesenheit eines internationalen Gerichtsurteil zu der
Armenierfrage sei die Schweizer Justiz dazu nicht berechtigt. Die
türkische Regierung erwarte, dass diese Vorermittlungen sofort
eingestellt würden, erklärte das Aussenministerium.

Alles andere werde als eklatanter Verstoss gegen die Meinungsfreiheit
bewertet. Eine solche Behandlung türkischer Staatsbürger würde “den
Beziehungen zwischen den beiden Ländern unausweichlich schweren
Schaden” zufügen, wurde dem Schweizer Botschafter nach Angaben des
Ministeriums erklärt.

Carine Carey vom Eidg. Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten
(EDA) widersprach auf Anfrage den türkischen Angaben, wonach der
Schweizer Botschafter “bestellt” worden sei. Das Gespräch habe auf
Anfrage Gygers stattgefunden. Dies habe beiden Seiten Gelegenheit
gegeben, ihre Positionen darzulegen.

Am Donnerstag kommt es auf Wunsch des türkischen Botschafters in der
Schweiz in Bern zu einem weiteren Treffen Schweiz-Türkei. Der
Botschafter wird beim EDA vom Chef der Politischen Abteilung I,
Jean-Jacques de Dardel, empfangen werden, wie EDA-Sprecherin Carey
weiter ausführte.

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

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I AND THE PATRIARCH OF THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
INAUGURATE THE NEW ETHIOPIAN CHURCH

The spiritual leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Abouna
Paoulos, arrived in Lebanon on July 23 with a large delegation. The
Patriarch was welcomed in the airport by His Holiness Aram I, Bishop Kegham
Khatcherian, the Primate of the Diocese of Lebanon, the Ambassador of
Ethiopia to Lebanon, and representatives from the Ethiopian community of
Lebanon.

The Catholicos and the Patriarch moved straight from the airport to the Ain
Aar region in Metn, where the new Ethiopian church is being constructed. The
two spiritual leaders inaugurated the construction of the church.

Bishop Saliba, the primate of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Beirut, the
representatives of Bishop Aoude, the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in
Beirut, representatives from the Ethiopian community, architects Vahe
Kalindjian and Miss Kalindjian and philanthropists also attended the
inauguration.

The inaugural service was carried out in Armenian, Ethiopian, and Greek, and
the two spiritual leaders placed the first stone of the church. Patriarch
Paoulos expressed his gratitude to His Holiness Aram I, who, upon his
request, had accepted to be the caretaker of the more than 20 thousand
Ethiopians living in Lebanon.

“Due to certain circumstances, a large number of the children of our nation
today live in this country and enjoy the love and care of Armenians thanks
to our spiritual brother His Holiness Aram I,” said the Patriarch.

His Holiness emphasized the brotherhood between the two churches and
considered the construction of the Ethiopian Church a new phase in their
historical cooperation.

“This church is a new expression of the close cooperation between our two
churches. It will gather the sons of Ethiopia living in this country in the
House of God,” said His Holiness Aram I.

The two spiritual leaders then went to the St. Asdvadzadzine Monastery in
Bikfaya, where Patriarch Paoulos will stay during his visit to Lebanon.

The Catholicosate of Cilicia has conducted all the negotiations for buying
the church’s land and has handled the necessary legal work.

##

View pictures here:

*****

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.

ACBA BANK AND EBRD TO SIGN AGREEMENT

Azg/arm
27 July 05

ACBA Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD) signed an agreement of $3 million co-financing and credit. This
money will be spent on projects of major creditors alone. This is an
unprecedented project as it’s the first time that the EBRD not only
provides credit resources but also realizes 50 percent of projects’
financing, relying on ACBA Bank’s researches.

The credit is provided for 7 years.

At present, ACBA already has two credit agreements with the EBRD,
amounting $3 million each.

Armenian premier denies links with Tbilisi grenade suspect

Interfax news agency, Moscow
24 Jul 05

TBILISI

Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan has flatly denied any links
between Vladimir Arutyunyan, who is suspected of attempting on US
President George Bush’s life in Tbilisi on 10 May, and Armenia and the
Armenians.

“Vladimir Arutyunyan, who is currently in custody, is a Georgian
citizen and is not connected with Armenia or the Armenians. Some media
are drawing absolutely incomprehensible and inappropriate parallels,”
Andranik Markaryan told journalists in the Ninotsminda Region of
Georgia on 24 July during his two-day official visit to Georgia.

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, who was accompanying his
Armenian colleague, told journalists that Arutyunyan’s case “is very
clear and the investigation will be completed soon”.

PanArmenian News Network
July 23 2005

SECOND VOLUME OF BOOK ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PUBLISHED IN ISTANBUL

23.07.2005 04:58

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The second volume of a book called the Armenian
Genocide in the Turkish Sources by Armenian historian Vahagn Tatryan
is published in Istanbul. The Pelke printing house publication is in
Turkish. The first volume of the book – the Role of Institutions in
the Armenian Genocide – was published by Pelke last year. The second
volume comprises the results of a research of Turkish sources held by
V. Tatryan, reported Haratch newspaper being issued in Paris.

Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Freitag, 22. Juli 2005

Young woman in Carouge murdered by a friend.

Junge Frau in Carouge von Freund umgebracht

(ap) Eine 27-jährige Frau aus Armenien ist in Carouge von ihrem
Freund getötet worden. Der verhaftete 30-jährige Spanier sei
geständig, teilte die Genfer Kantonspolizei am Freitag mit. Die
Leiche der Frau war am vergangenen Sonntag in ihrer Wohnung entdeckt
worden. Sie lag nackt in der Badewanne und war an den Händen
gefesselt. Sie war bereits seit über einer Woche tot.

Am vergangenen Donnerstag verhaftete die Polizei ihren in Genf
wohnhaften Freund. Motiv und Hergang des Verbrechens seien noch nicht
geklärt, hiess es. Antworten erhoffen sich die Behörden von der
Einvernahme des Täters und der Autopsie der Leiche.

IS FREEDOM OF RELIGION TO BE RESTRICTED?

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
22 July 05

On July 16 a round-table meeting on religious minorities was held at
Masrop Mashtots University in Stepanakert. The meeting was organized
by the Civic Action Centre NGO with the support of Mesrop Mashtots
University. The representatives of all the religious minorities of
Karabakh participated in the round-table meeting except the
Jehovah’s Witnesses who refused to be present at the debate
because their belief prohibits participating in similar meetings.
Besides, there were also representatives of the government, the
Armenian Apostolic Church, the mass media, NGOs. Recently this topic
has been often touched upon in AA. Seven Day Adventists, Evangelists,
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists… We have already got used to
these words. Under the Soviet rule the sects and religious
communities were illegal, whereas now the attitude of the society
towards minorities, including the religious ones, has definitely
changed, although it cannot be characterized as absolutely positive.
Since the beginning of the Movement the Artsakh Diocese was
established in Karabakh by the Armenian Apostolic Church, and people
sought for spiritual freedom, turning their faces to God. At the same
time religious sects began to appear in Karabakh. In 1991 the
Declaration of National Independence of NKR was adopted, and on March
16, 1997 the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations
was passed. Both documents provide for freedom of conscience and
religion of the citizens of our republic. However, the dogmas of
certain religious sects prohibit arms and military service, and it is
not surprising that the aspiration of these religious sects to
operate in Karabakh was perceived as an attempt to divide the society
which had united against the external danger. Therefore many of these
preferred to operate illegally. Starting from this the Committee for
National Defence then made a decision prohibiting the operation of
not registered religious organizations. In the past tens years much
has changed in the world and in our republic. The recognized states
of the region (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan), entering the Council of
Europe, committed to register the abovementioned and other religious
organizations whose belief is different from the Orthodox. In this
context the states commit to tolerance, and particularly introduce
alternative military service for the believers who do not believe in
military service for some reason or another. In his address the
director of the Civic Action Centre Albert Voskanian said, “… it
is not our aim to find out which religious branch is “right” or
“wrong”. The aim of the round-table meeting is to discover the
attitude of our society towards religious minorities. It is not
accidental that we discuss this topic, because one of the directions
in the activity of the Civic Action Centre is promotion of civil
society and democracy, integration in the European community.” The
religious organizations operating in NKR are: the Artsakh Diocese of
the Armenian Apostolic Church; Jehovah’s Witnesses, appeared in
NKR in 1993, counts 200 members; Christian Evangelists, operates
since 1999, counts over 350 members; Evangelist Christian Baptists,
operates since 2000, has about 20 members; Evangelist Church, we
could not find out exact information; Seven Day Adventists, appeared
in Karabakh in 2000, counts about 40 members. As it could be
expected, a heated debate began between the participants. Their main
problem turned out to be their registration as a religious
organization, caused by intolerance towards religious minorities in
Karabakh. In answer to the question whether they feel pressure on
behalf of the authorities or the society was “no”. “The creation of
the institution of alternative military service in NK is one of the
essential issues raised by the Civic Action Centre,” said Mr.
Voskanian, adding that there have already been three cases when
Jehovah’s Witnesses refused to serve in the army and were taken
to court. Areg Avanessian, born 1986, Stepanakert, was sentenced to 4
years of imprisonment (punishment of 4-8 years) under art. 327, sec.
3 of the NKR Criminal Code (Avoidance of Military Service at Martial
Law) in February 2005; Armen Grigorian born 1986, Yerevan, sentenced
to 2 years of imprisonment of minimum security under the art. 362,
sec. 1 of the NKR Criminal Code (Desertion) and art. 364, sec. 1
(Desertion of Duties during the Military Service) in June 2005; NKR
Defence Army serviceman Gagik Mirzoyan, citizen of NKR, in July 2005
was sentenced by HAdrut district court to 2 years of imprisonment
under the art. 364, sec. 1 (Desertion of Duties during the Military
Service) and one year’s probation under art. 70 of the NKR
Criminal Code. During the discussion of this issue diverse opinions
were expressed but the participants agreed to one point: it is early
to consider alternative military service unless the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh is settled. The director of the Civic Action Centre,
however, objected to this, saying, “as we are building a democratic
state, follow the democratic principles, as our country has abolished
capital punishment by its own will, it is high time for the issue of
the alternative military service to be considered.” In support to
this he added, “The government daily spends 739 drams on each
prisoner, on a yearly basis it mounts to an immense sum. Wouldn’t
it be much better if we introduced alternative military service like
Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan did, which means that instead of
serving in the army the conscript, follower of Jehovah’s
Witnesses could work for the national economy without remuneration
and for a longer term than the 2 two years of military service.”
During the meeting the representative of the Armenian Apostolic
Church was asked why in many villages people have not seen a priest
for years on. Father Hakob said because there are very few priests,
and if a person wants to pray God, they can go to the nearby church.
“It is the patient who goes to doctor, and not the doctor to the
patient,” added Father Hakob. It is commendable that there are places
for praying in all the divisions of the NKR Defence Army. Summing up
the round-table meeting, Albert Voskanian said, “I think we achieved
our aim to bring together the representatives of different religious
organizations, listen to their points of view on this or that
question, listen to the opinion of the Armenian Apostolic Church.”

EVIKA BABAYAN.
22-07-2005

SENATE APPROVES $75 MILLION FOR ARMENIA IN 2006

ArmenPress
July 21 2005

WASHINGTON, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS: The U.S. Senate voted 98 to 1 on
July 20 to approve the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Foreign Operations
Appropriations Bill which recommends $75 million in assistance
to Armenia and an additional $3 million in humanitarian aid to
Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) reported.

The Senate action supports without changes the Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh provisions passed last month by the Senate
State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee and the full
Appropriations Committee. The level of funding, equivalent to the
amount Armenia received in 2005, reflects a $20 million increase over
the Administration request to Congress made earlier this year. The
overall funding level to the former Soviet States was also increased
to $565 million, a 17 percent jump over the Administration’s request
for the region.

Wednesday vote also allocated $5 million in Foreign Military
Financing and $750,000 for International Military Education and
Training to Armenia as requested by the Administration. These funds
will improve inter-operability between Armenia’s military and its
Western partners, upgrade Armenia’s communication systems and better
its personnel training. The spending measure also includes $700,000 in
Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Projects (NADR)
funding for Armenia. Armenia’s neighbors, Georgia and Azerbaijan,
are set to receive $70.5 million and $38 million respectively. The
next step in the legislative process is for the House and Senate to
reconcile the differences in a conference committee.