Author: Tambiyan Samvel

THE ARMENIA FUND COMPLETES RECONSTRUCTION OF MRGASHEN KINDERGARTEN

Largir, Armenia
Nov 29 2007

On November 21 Mrgashen kindergarten in Kotayk marz reopened after
its reconstruction. The 53.5 million AMD worth project was sponsored
by Anaide and Varoujan Tcheugurian through The Armenia Fund French
local committee. The modern furniture including beds, tables, chairs
and wardrobes (worth more than 8 million AMD allocated by The Armenia
Fund local committee of France) make the kindergarten a very pleasant
place for children to play and learn in.

The kindergarten had not undergone any repair since 1964. Within
The Armenia Fund project the roof, floor, sanitary units, doors and
windows were renovated, heating system, gas and water pipelines were
installed, and a boiler-house was constructed.

The kindergarten initially designed for 100 children had only 30
attending it. Now when conditions have considerably improved, the
facility will also accommodate children from the neighboring village
of Artamed. Currently, Mrgashen’s population is around 2500 most of
which are refugees from Azerbaijan.

T. KARAPETIAN ADVISES "ALTERNATIVE" CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENCY TO BE ENGAGED IN WRITING MEMOIRS

Noyan Tapan
Nov 30, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. "We must not continue living this
way," this is the slogan of Tigran Karapetian, the Chairman of the
People’s Party, who is a candidate for presidency. He gave assurance
at the November 30 meeting with journalists that the country should
be taken out of the transitional stage. "We have been at this stage
for more than ten years and this has already become a character,"
he stated.

According to T. Karapetian, he has nominated his candidature as an
alternative to the other candidates for presidency, RA Prime Minister
Serge Sargsian and first RA President Levon Ter-Petrosian. He said
that the more those two forces of the political sphere blow each other
the more his rating will rise. Touching upon the other candidates
for presidency considering themselves "alternative," T. Karapetian
said that he was an alternative candidate ten years ago and has not
changed his principles so far. "It is impossible to become alternative
from a saviour or vice versa," he noted adding that all of them had
taken posts and today confess that they had mistakes. "If you have
made mistakes, go and write memoirs. Will you correct your mistakes,
have you become a different person?" T. Karapetian complained.

According to PP Chairman’s observation, "money will have an important
role" during the forthcoming presidential elections, as part of the
people expects that, and the authorities and the opposition will use
that factor without fail. T. Karapetian said that according to his
information, some figures (not from the power wing) offer 200 dollars
for one vote in the upcoming elections.

T. Karapetian predicts that "there will be harsh moments" in the
preelection period without fail. He expressed apprehension that
"the people will be deceived this time as well," and the nation,
the republic will gain nothing as a result of the elections. In
T. Karapetian’s opinion, the authorities will do their best to end
the elections with one tour.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 30 2007

Council of OSCE Foreign Ministers calls Armenia and Azerbaijan to
approve concept of Karabakh settlement and elaborate all-embracing
peaceful agreemen

YEREVAN, November 30. /ARKA/. The Council of the OSCE Foreign
Ministers called Armenia and Azerbaijan to approve the concept of
Karabakh settlement and start the elaboration of all-embracing
peaceful agreement, runs the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers’
statement on Karabakh issue adopted at the session in Madrid.

`We point out with satisfaction that Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to
continue the negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict in the coming electoral year,’ ran the statement of Russia’s
Foreign Ministry’s Information and press department.

The statement said that the Council supports the mediating efforts of
the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and together with the
conflicting sides the elaboration of the basic principles of the
peaceful settlement of the conflict.

`We decisively call both sides for overcoming the last disagreements
thus approving the common concept of the settlement and starting the
elaboration of the all-embracing peaceful agreement,’ runs the
statement.

Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988, when Nagorno-Karabakh populated
by Armenians declared secession from Azerbaijan.

On December 10, 1991, just a few days before the collapse of the
Soviet Union, a referendum was conducted in Nagorno-Karabakh with the
presence of international observers. At this referendum, 99.89% of
population voted for independence.

Responding to that, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale war against
Nagorno-Karabakh. The military offensives were stopped after a
cease-fire agreement was signed in May 12, 1994. The agreement is
observed now as well, and talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan are
under way.

Starting from 1992 negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the
conflict have being held within the OSCE Minsk Group, the Co-Chairs
of which are the USA, Russia and France. -0–

Panorama.am

13:56 01/12/2007

ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT ARMENIA

Armenian foreign minister, Vartan Oskanyan, met with the president of
Switzerland and the head of federative department of foreign
relations, Michele Camly Ray, yesterday during OSCE Ministerial
Council session.

Armenian foreign minister press and information department informs
that the interlocutors discussed Armenian-Swiss bilateral relations
and reflected on regional issues as well as Armenia’s relations with
neighboring countries and Karabakh conflict settlement. The minister
detailed the internal political situation in Armenia before the
presidential elections.

Among other top level meetings, minister Oskanyan met with Romanian
foreign minister Adrian Siorianu. The two discussed the agenda of
bilateral relations and underscored that such relations have potential
to grow. Romanian foreign minister expressed willingness to visit
Armenia. The parties exchanged ideas on Karabakh conflict settlement
and Kosovo.

Source: Panorama.am

ARMENIAN GRAND MASTERS IN 1/8 FINAL OF THE WORLD CUP

armradio.am
03.12.2007 13:44

Armenian Grand Master Levon Aronyan defeated Ernesto Inarkiyev of
Russian in the tie-breaks of the third round of the World Chess Cup
underway in the Russian city of Khanty Mansiysk, thus entering the
4th round – 1/8 final.

Grand Master Vladimir Hakobyan had secured his place in Round 4
earlier, defeating Russian Vladimir Malakhov 1.5:0.5.

In Round 4 Aronian will play with Jakovenko, Vladimir Hakobyan will
compete with Shirov.

ARFD WILL BECOME OPPOSITION IF RESULTS OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ARE FALSIFIED, SPARTAK SEYRANIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 3, 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the evaluation of
Spartak Seyranian, the Spokesperson of the ARFD Supreme Body, two
poles have been formed in Armenia and the political processes in the
future will go on around these two poles. At the same time, at the
December 3 meeting with journalists, he did not exclude that there
can be many poles in the presidential elections, as a result of which
"black and white color perceptions will disappear."

Touching upon the possibility of ARFD’s becoming opposition,
S. Seyranian said they they will enter the opposition field if they
feel that it will create favorable conditions for implementation of
their programs.

"Dashnaktsutiun can also become opposition if the results of the
February 19, 2008 elections are falsified," S. Seyranian emphasized.

It was also mentioned that ARFD is ready for a serious ideological and
program struggle in the elections and will try to lead competition
"in the direction of these ideas." As regards ARFD’s programs,
S. Seyranian said that there will not be a big difference between the
program presented for the parliamentary elections and the current one.

S. Seyranian also said that at present they are discussing the issue
of choosing a motto for ARFD’s candidate for presidency.

TWO CAMPS TUG AT ISSUE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By David Olson, [email protected]

Press-Enterprise, CA
ews_Local_D_armenianside15.295044b.html
Nov 15 2007

Although the Turkish government contends the deaths of more than 1
million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 were not a genocidal attempt
to expunge the Armenian population from their ancestral homeland in
what is now eastern Turkey, many leading scholars say the massacres
clearly fit the definition of genocide.

The International Association of Genocide Scholars unanimously approved
a 2005 letter stating that "the overwhelming opinion of scholars who
study genocide" is that the murders were genocidal.

To deny the Armenian genocide "is like Holocaust denial," said Gregory
Stanton, vice president of the association, president of Genocide Watch
and a professor of human rights at the University of Mary Washington
in Virginia.

Other genocide-studies groups — including the Center for Holocaust
and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota, the Institute
on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem and the Institute for the
Study of Genocide at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York
— also term the massacres genocide.

James Sheehan, a professor of history at Stanford University and former
president of the American Historical Association, said extensive
documentation supports defining the atrocities as genocide, which
involves a deliberate intent to fully or partially destroy an ethnic,
national, racial or religious group.

Sheehan said evidence that Turks tried to obliterate their Armenian
population is visible throughout eastern Turkey, which had been home
to Armenians for 2,500 years.

"I’ve spent some time in eastern Turkey, and it’s quite remarkable
that there’s virtually no trace of the Armenian population that lived
there for centuries," he said.

The Turkish government said the number of Armenian deaths has been
exaggerated.

Armenian groups say 1.5 million died. Stanton said the number was
between 1 million and 1.5 million.

The Turks say fewer than 600,000 Armenians died.

The Turkish government asserts that the deaths occurred as part of
World War I and its aftermath, when many Armenians supported Russia,
which was at war with the Ottoman Empire, the forebear of modern
Turkey. Armenians also killed many Turks, the government contends.

The Turkish government has prosecuted Turks — including Nobel
Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk — who deviate from the government’s
official position on the Armenians’ deaths.

Serdar Bozdag, a Turk studying for a computer-science doctorate at UC
Riverside, said it is clear that horrible violence occurred between
Armenians and Turks during World War I.

But, he said, "with all the problems we have today, we should not
focus on the history. We should focus on today."

AZERBAIJANI AND FRENCH PRESIDENTS TO DISCUSS ‘HOT POINTS’ IN EURASIA

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 14 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend S.Agayeva / The forthcoming meeting
of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and France, Ilham Aliyev and Nicola
Sarkozy, is important for exchange of opinions both on bilateral
cooperation and regional issues, Novruz Mammadov, head of the
International Relations Department at the Azerbaijani President’s
Administration, told Trend. He was commenting on the Azerbaijani
President’s upcoming visit to France on 19-20 November.

" Azerbaijan and France have good relations and a dialogue should
be held to continue the cooperation," Mammadov said. On the other
hand, it is also important for Sarkozy to meet with the Azerbaijani
President to get closely familiar with regional issues and know the
Azerbaijani President’s position on ‘hot points’, he stressed.

"Indeed, the meeting will focus on the resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict," he said.

France is a co-chairing country at the OSCE Minsk Group, which is
involved in the resolution of the conflict between the two countries
of the South Caucasus broken out in 1988 due to Armenian territorial
claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have
occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia
signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities
ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and
the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.

Mammadov said that during the upcoming visit it is not planned to sign
any document on bilateral cooperation, because the visit is of working
character. At the beginning of the year the Azerbaijani President was
to France with official visit and signed several bilateral documents,
he said.

MEETING AT "ARMENTEL"

Panorama.am
21:52 14/11/2007

"Those who tried, but did not manage to join "Armenia call" service,
and in the result lose money can call (010) 28-37-10, or go to
"ArmenTel" building and the employee will return the money." Anyway
the employee offered this service today. To our explanation that
our test to join the service was useless and we lost 200 drams, the
girls could not answer. Besides "ArmenTel" company said that they are
not responsible for the service. Later on they refused to answer to
our calls. According to our information the number of people being
unsatisfied by this service is large, so meet you at "ArmenTel".

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: nian.htm

THE PARTICIPATION OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH IN THE GLOBAL CHRISTIAN FORUM
MEETING IN KENYA

The first meeting of the Global Christian Forum was convened on November 6-9
in the Kenyan city of Limuru. 250 representatives from several families of
churches and international religious organizations attended the meeting
under the theme "Our Journey with our savior Jesus Christ."

His Holiness Aram I delegated Bishop Nareg Alemezian (Ecumenical Officer) to
participate in the meeting. Bishop Alemezian also represented the Middle
East Council of Churches (MECC) and read out the Council’s address to the
meeting.

Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian (Primate of the Diocese of England) represented
the Catholicosate of All Armenians.

During the course of daily collective prayers, Bible readings and full and
group sessions, the participants had an opportunity to meet Christians from
other geographic locations and different church traditions. They discussed
the difficulties churches and ecclesiastical organizations face in the field
of the collective Christian legacy.

The prospects for formation of the Global Christian Forum started forming in
the 1990s. His Holiness Aram I as moderator of the World Council of Churches
played a significant role in this process. The meeting in Kenya was the
culmination of regional meetings in Asia, Africa, Europe and South Africa.

***

The annual meetings of the secretaries of the Greek Orthodox, Russian
Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformist, Methodist and other
Protestant Churches was held in Nairobi (Kenya) on November 10-12, 2007.

Bishop Nareg Alemezian (Ecumenical Officer) participated in the meeting as
Moderator of the WCC/Joint Commission between Christian World Communions and
the World Council of Churches and presented the Commission’s report.
Responding to the request of the participants, Bishop Alemezian also
presented a brief introduction on the family of Oriental Churches,
highlighting the historic reconciliation, in July 2007, between the Coptic
and Ethiopian Churches as a result of the efforts of His Holiness Aram I.

Other participants presented reports on their respective families of
churches and discussed the results of the first meeting of the Global
Christian Forum held a few days before in Kenya, the possibilities of
organizing a conference with the participation of several churches and
church councils and a number of urgent issues related to the ecumenical
movement.

##
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.