Author: Tamamian Anna

CHRISTIAN-MOSLEM CO-EXISTENCE CONSTITUES VITAL DIMENSION OF HISTORY OF
MIDDLE EAST, DECLARED CATHOLICOS ARAM I

ANTELIAS, LEBANON, December 8 (Noyan Tapan). “One cannot understand
fully and accurately the history of the Middle East, with its
upheavals and tensions, challenges and achievements, without the
Christian-Moslem co-existence which remains a vital dimension of the
history of this region,” His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Great
House of Cilicia stated. “In fact, Christianity and Islam have made a
significant contribution to the history of the Middle East,
particularly in the areas of culture, science, civilization and
politics. The centuries old Christian Moslem co-existence has
developed mutual understanding and trust among the peoples of the
region. That is why I often remind our Western friends that
Christian-Moslem dialogue in the Middle East is not an intellectual
notion, but an existential reality and an integral part of the daily
life of the people. And, in view of the growing concern for
Christian-Moslem dialogue, I often remind our friends in the West that
Christian-Moslem dialogue in our part of the world is deeply rooted in
our common history. For centuries not only Christians and Moslems have
talked to each other, but they have lived together, worked together,
dreamed and struggled together and have sustained their life by common
moral and human values”, His Holiness said.

Referring to the latest bombings of the Armenian and Chaldean Churches
in Iraq, His Holiness Aram I said: “I cannot understand and accept
these bombings of churches in Iraq. How such a thing happens between
followers of two religions who have lived together for centuries as
one community and as good neighbors. I cannot understand such an
attitude towards Christians who have been inseparable part of the
Middle Eastern society and have played a major role in all aspects of
the society life. I consider these bombings serious attempts aimed at
endangering the Christian-Moslem co-existence, undermining the
importance of common values and aspirations which have sustained the
life of the Middle Eastern societies, and questioning the importance
of human rights and religious liberties. Such attempts also
underestimate the unity of the Arab world and the credibility of the
Arab cause. Therefore, I urge and appeal to the leaderships of
Christian and Moslem communities in Iraq to come together and to
re-affirm the Christian-Moslem co-existence as well as their national
unity,” concluded his remarks His Holiness Aram I.

Armenia to table 1915 genocide at CIS assembly

Mediamax news agency
7 Dec 04

Yerevan, 7 December: Armenian parliamentarians intend to table
the issue of recognition of the genocide of Armenians in 1915 [in
Ottoman Turkey] at the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in 2005,
the vice-speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Vaan Ovanesyan,
said in Yerevan today.

He recalled that the 90th anniversary of the genocide will be marked
next year and “these discussions are important no matter what their
result is”.

Nevertheless, Ovanesyan admitted that there are many opponents of
this initiative at the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and there is
no guarantee for a successful result for the Armenian side.

Armenian retailer raises price of diesel as Azeri rail delays begin to bite

Arminfo
1 Dec 04

Yerevan, 1 December: One of the major oil traders in Armenia, the
Flash company, has increased prices for diesel at its filling stations
to 270 drams per litre [approximately 54 US cents]. The prices of
diesel at its wholesale depots have also been reviewed upwards and
set within the limits of 265-270 drams per litre, the Flash company
told Arminfo. This month the company has increased the cost of diesel
by 30-40 drams, and since the start of the year by 85 drams.

Flash’s deputy director, Musheg Elchyan, said that the latest increase
in diesel was linked to the hold-up of tanker wagons carrying fuel
on the border and also the world increase in oil prices. He said that
Flash expected to receive 3,500 tonnes of diesel from the consignment
already delayed in Azerbaijan by more than 40 days. He said that in
the next two days 1,600 t of fuel would be received by ship across the
Black Sea from Ukraine and half of this fuel was earmarked for Flash,
which was expecting another 800-900 t in the first 10 days of December.

Overall, from January this year until today inclusive, Flash has
reviewed prices several times, mainly reacting to movements in the
world oil price. Over this period the company has increased retail
prices for petrol by 20-40 drams and wholesale by 37-39 drams. This
month the cost of petrol has changed slightly but has remained at the
previous level: retail prices for Premium-95 petrol were 340 drams per
litre and for Super-98 360 drams per litre, while wholesale prices for
Regulyar-91 were 295-300 drams per litre and for Premium-95 310-315
drams per litre. As for the retail price of Regulyar-91 petrol,
the company reduced it by 10 drams from 30 November and set it at
310 drams per litre.

[One dollar is worth approximately 498 drams.]

Realtors Put Rio on the Map
By Denis Maternovsky, Staff Writer

Moscow Times
Dec 7 2004

For MT

With dozens of new shopping centers built over the past few years or
in the pipeline, it is difficult for new projects to stand out from
the crowd. But developers of the Rio mall in southwestern Moscow are
giving it their best shot.

When it opens its doors in March 2005, Rio, which has a total area
of 92,000 square meters and a location on Sevastopolsky Prospekt,
will be one of the largest malls in relative proximity to the city
center, as the majority of large retail developments have to date
been along the MKAD, or Moscow Ring Road.

In addition to housing a 12,000-square-meter discounter Nash
Hypermarket — the first such project by the Sedmoi Kontinent
supermarket chain — Rio will have a six-screen movie theater, over
150 shops, five restaurants, and a large food court.

The shopping center is being developed by the Tashir Group — a
regional enterprise that has no previous experience in Moscow. In
addition to working on the redevelopment of the GUM in Yerevan,
Armenia, the company opened a 10,000-square-meter shopping center
in Tula in October, and will shortly open two 30,000-square-meter
centers in Kaluga and Yaroslavl, according to Vitaly Yefimkin, Rio’s
project manager.

Tashir is also planning to begin work on a 27-story,
34,000-square-meter office center in southwestern Moscow next March,
he added.

Yefimkin declined to disclose the total investment in the Rio project,
but experts polled by The Moscow Times estimated it to be roughly
$80 million.

Apart from being one of the first large-scale retail projects carried
out by a regional developer in Moscow and having the first Nash
Hypermarket store, it is also Rio’s location that sets it apart,
said Maxim Gasiev, retail director at Colliers International.

Colliers International designed the shopping center’s concept and is
acting as its exclusive leasing agent.

“This is one of the first big shopping centers [to be built] along the
third transport ring, which so far has been characterized by lack of
retail locations. But as the Moskva-City project is moving forward,
we’ll see more and more developments there,” Gasiev said.

Anna Savenko, retail consultant at Noble Gibbons in association
with CB Richard Ellis, said it was too early to say whether Sedmoi
Kontinent’s involvement will benefit the project.

“Sedmoi Kontinent has a reputation as an ‘expensive’ supermarket chain,
and to what extent its new [cheaper] concept will be accepted by the
consumer is open to debate,” she said.

Southwestern Moscow has seen explosive development in recent years,
with shopping centers such as Cheryomushki, Kaluzhsky, Cherry and
Panorama all opening over the past year, Savenko said. Furthermore,
Ramenka has announced plans to build a 20,000-square-meter Ramstore
— located across the road from Rio — sometime in 2005, which may
create problems for the mall, she added.

But Gasiev said that with its markedly smaller size and unfavorable
location on the “morning side” of the street — as opposed to Rio’s
site along the road coming out of the center — Ramstore was not
likely to be major competition for the development.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 2 2004

783 Azerbaijanis in Armenian captivity

Minister for National Security Eldar Mahmudov, also chairman of the
State Commission on Prisoners, Hostages and Missing Persons, met with
Mary Vernz, head of the Baku office of the International Committee of
the Red Cross, and Jean Pour Carbon, the office’s coordinator on
defense affairs, on Wednesday.
Mahmudov said that 1,357 Azerbaijani nationals were released from
Armenian captivity from 1998 till 2004. However, according to some
documents and witness testimonies, Armenia still holds 783
Azerbaijanis in captivity.
Mahmudov emphasized that 4,852 people have become missing as a result
of Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan and stressed that the
Azerbaijani President keeps in focus the future of the Azerbaijani
citizens held in the Armenian captivity.*

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN MPs INTEND TO HOLD CONSULTATIONS ON RELATIONS
WITH NATO

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1. ARMINFO. Armenian and Russian MPs are going to
hold consultations to overcome possible misunderstanding over
Armenia’s and Russia’s relations with NATO. Such a decision was made
by the Armenian-Russian interparliamentary cooperation commission.

Russian sources report that in the protocoal of their last meeting the
commissioners say that Armenian-Russian political and military
cooperation is on high level and meets the national interests of both
sides. They say that the Armenian-Russian military alliance is a key
element of regional security and should be developed in future. The
commissioners say that the military-industrial integration of Armenian
and Russian companies should be encouraged for the development of
economic cooperation in the military-technological sphere. The
commissioners have decided to enhance the cooperation of Armenian and
Russian MPs at international organizations with preliminary
consultations on topical issues to be discussed there.

The speaker of Russia’s Council of Federations Sergey Mironov says
that Armenian-Russian interparliamentary relations are on high
level. But the Armenian and Russian MPs should more actively cooperate
at CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and in the framework of Caucasian
Four. Special attention should be given to joint struggle with
terrorism and the Karabakh conflict settlement.

The next meeting of the commission is to be held in Yerevan in May
2005. The key topic is the operation of the companies given by Armenia
to Russia under the Assets Against Debt program.

Le Figaro, France
01 décembre 2004

Turquie
Le Parlement européen refuse le «partenariat»

Bruxelles : de notre correspondante Alexandrine Bouilhet
[01 décembre 2004]

La commission des affaires étrangères du Parlement européen a refusé,
hier, d’envisager l’option d’une «troisième voie» pour la Turquie
dans le cadre de ses négociations avec l’Union européenne. Appelés à
voter sur un texte décisif, qui sera adopté en plénière le 15
décembre puis soumis aux chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement à Bruxelles,
les eurodéputés ont rejeté les amendements préconisant un
«partenariat privilégié» et non une adhésion pure et simple.

Ce vote des députés, pourtant dominés par la droite allemande, est un
camouflet pour les élus français. En France, l’idée d’un «partenariat
privilégié» est défendue par Nicolas Sarkozy, Valéry Giscard
d’Estaing et François Bayrou. Elle a été relayée en commission des
affaires étrangères à Bruxelles par Jacques Toubon (UMP), Marielle de
Sarnez (UDF), Alain Lamassoure (UMP) et Nicole Fontaine (UMP). La
pression est telle qu’elle a contraint Jacques Chirac à évoquer, à
son tour, une possible «troisième voie» pour la Turquie en Europe.

Le Parlement européen n’a pas autant d’états d’me. Malgré le dépôt
de 500 amendements, visant pour la majorité à durcir la position de
négociation de l’Union, les eurodéputés ont suivi l’avis de la
commission. Ils recommandent aux chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement des
Vingt-Cinq «d’ouvrir les négocia tions» d’adhésion avec la Turquie
«sans délais inutiles». Seule concession aux sceptiques de la
candidature turque : les négociations qui doivent débuter en 2005,
disent-ils, ne doivent pas mener «automatique ment» à l’adhésion.
«L’objectif des négociations avec la Turquie est l’adhésion à
l’Union, insistent les députés dans leur résolution, mais la
réalisation de cette ambition dépendra des efforts menés de part et
d’autre ; l’adhésion n’est donc pas une conséquence automatique du
début des négociations.»

Le Parlement européen suit la recommandation de la Commission Prodi.
Les députés ont refusé d’évoquer le génocide arménien, appelant
simplement les autorités turques et arméniennes à se réconcilier, en
dépassant «l’expérience tragique du passé». Là encore, les élus
français, de droite comme de gauche, réclamant la reconnaissance par
la Turquie du génocide arménien, ont été mis en minorité. Les
eurodéputés ont préféré insister sur le respect des droits de
l’homme, qu’ils placent au centre des premières années de
négociations. Ils mettent l’accent sur la «tolérance zéro» à l’égard
de la torture, le droit des femmes, «trop souvent soumises à des
violences conjugales», mais aussi des Kurdes et des minorités
religieuses, qu’elles soient «chrétiennes» ou musulmanes «non
sunnites».

Sur Chypre, le Parlement est en phase avec les capitales européennes
décidées à hausser le ton. Avant d’ouvrir les négociations, ils
exigent d’Ankara la reconnaissance officielle de la République de
Chypre, et le retrait des troupes turques de la partie nord de l’île.

A1 Plus | 13:48:53 | 01-12-2004 | Official |

PRESIDENT CONGRATULATING

Robert Kocharyan has today received Ishkhan Zaqaryan, Chairman of State
Committee for Physical Training and Sport and Gagik Tsarukyan,
newly-elected Chair of National Olympic Committee of Armenia.

Kocharyan congratulated Gagik Tsarukyan on his election for the post.

Issues regarding activity of National Olympic Committee and coming plans
were discussed at the meeting.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone 212.319.6383 x.118
Fax 212.319.6507
Email [email protected]
Website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

AGBU ALEX & MARIE MANOOGIAN SCHOOL CELEBRATES 35th ANNIVERSARY OF
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND LEADERSHIP

Commitment to Education Spans More Than Three Decades

Southfield, Michigan – Marking its 35th Anniversary, AGBU Alex & Marie
Manoogian School in Southfield, Michigan, is the nation’s leading
American school that balances both the Armenian and American cultures
in their curriculum, student body and school environment.

Established as a private school in 1969, the Manoogian school was
founded to provide a solid education in a nurturing and dynamic
environment. Now in 2004, as a charter school, the institution
continues with the same commitment to those educational principles but
with an emphasis on diversity that serves the larger community.

As a testament to its 35 years of teaching excellence, the school has
more than tripled its enrollment and now boasts 370 students grades
K-12. The official anniversary commemoration took place on October 8,
2004 at the Saint John’s Armenian Church Cultural Hall and was
attended by 400 alumni, faculty members, and parents came together to
celebrate this landmark in the school’s history.

Dr. Nadya Sarafian, who has been Principal of the AGBU Alex & Marie
Manoogian school for two decades, commented on the recent anniversary.

“Without a doubt, the biggest milestone over the last 35 years was
going from a private school to a charter school in 1995. As you know,
the Manoogian School currently offers non-tuition classes for students
in grades K-12. Becoming a charter school helped remove the pressure
for families who desperately wanted their kids to have a top-notch
education, but struggled with the tuition costs that accompany private
schools.”

Dr. Sarafian added that the Manoogian School remains unique because of
its academic excellence. The school has been recognized for two
consecutive years with the prestigious Golden Apple Award, based on
the students’ performance on the Michigan Educational Assessment
Program (MEAP) test.

The last two years marked significant accomplishments for the
Manoogian School as a series of private donations allowed it to
renovate for future needs. Last summer, through the generosity of
Mrs. Louise Manoogian Simone and Mr. Richard Manoogian, the school
underwent a complete renovation, which included a state-of-the-art
media center, enabling students easy access to both print and
electronic information, a new pre-school unit, including a new
playground for younger students. This year, the Walton Family
Foundation awarded the Manoogian School a $153,000 grant based on
academic excellence. The money will be used toward upgrading the
science and computer labs.

Established in 1969, and chartered by Central Michigan University
since 1995, the AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School
() follows the Michigan State of Board of Education
guidelines for all schools in addition to emphasizing the study of
Armenian language, history and culture. The result is a unique
educational program combining the Armenian and American cultures, and
fosters a strong individual identity through a well-balanced
curriculum of language arts, mathematics, science, social studies,
computer science, art, music and physical education. For more
information on AGBU and its schools, visit

Armenian lawyer vows to prevent Azeri officer from serving time at home

Arminfo
30 Nov 04

YEREVAN

The Armenian side will make every effort to make sure that Azerbaijani
officer Ramil Safarov is not sent to Azerbaijan to serve his prison
term after the Budapest court passes a sentence on him, lawyer Nazeli
Vardanyan, who represents the interests of Armenian officer Gurgen
Markaryan killed in Budapest, told a press conference today.

She said that there is no confidence that Ramil Safarov will serve his
prison term in Azerbaijan. Commenting on Azerbaijani media reports
that the Hungarian ombudsman has spoken about the possibility of
sending Ramil Safarov home after a sentence is handed down on him,
Nazeli Vardanyan pointed out that she did not have such information,
and this might be another disinformation trick by the Azerbaijani
media.

Talking about the first session of the Budapest court on 23 November,
the lawyer pointed out that it was said during the session that Ramil
Safarov witnessed the Xocali conflict [1992] between Armenians and
Azerbaijanis in childhood and was full of a feeling of revenge. He
dreamt of becoming a soldier and taking revenge on the Armenians since
his childhood.

At the same time, Nazeli Vardanyan pointed out that the events in
Xocali took place in 1992 whereas Safarov went to study in Baku in
1991. Thus, he cannot have witnessed those events. Apart from that,
the lawyer added, a forensic examination showed that despite his
higher education, the intellectual development of Ramil Safarov, who
is absolutely healthy both psychologically and physically, has stopped
at the secondary school level.

Safarov is being charged under Part 2 of Article 166 of the Hungarian
Criminal Code which envisages 10-15 years’ imprisonment to life
imprisonment. Nazeli Vardanyan pointed out that Safarov’s defence is
trying to requalify the charge under Part 1 of the same article, which
envisages five to 15 years’ imprisonment.

She also pointed out that the Azerbaijani officer’s defence asked to
postpone the second session of the court till 8 February and invite
new witnesses, including a psychologist and the second Azerbaijani
officer who studied in Budapest together with Ramil Safarov.

Nazeli Vardanyan said that in parallel with the trial on the murder of
the Armenian officer, another trial is taking place in Hungary in
connection with Ramil Safarov insulting employees of a military
school.

A representative of the Armenian Defence Ministry, Gayk Demoyan,
pointed out that after the murder, Azerbaijani society ranked Ramil
Safarov as a national hero, creating mendacious propaganda about the
motives of the crime. According to their assurances, the Armenian
officers had allegedly cleaned their shoes with the Azerbaijani flag
and watched video films about “Armenian atrocities in Xocali”.

However, the witnesses testified that there had been no conflicts or
clashes between the Armenian and Azerbaijani officers. He said that
Ramil Safarov’s defence had repeatedly asked the court to demonstrate
the video film about “the brutality of the Armenians” and tried to
hand the judge a parcel that was not attached to the case and would
not influence the court ruling. “We knew in advance which steps the
Azerbaijanis might take and were ready for that,” he added. Gayk
Demoyan noted that the Hungarian media had a great interest in the
trial. Representatives of the press were given booklets and
publications, specially prepared by the Armenian side, which present
real facts and events that caused the incident.

We should remind you that on 19 February this year, Ramil Safarov
hacked Gurgen Markaryan to death while he was asleep. Both officers
were attending NATO-sponsored English language courses in Budapest.