Author: Tashjian Arbi

Economic Analysis: Gazprom relations with Georgia strained
By M. Alkhazashvili

The Messenger, Georgia
July 21 2005

The agreement reached between the Tbilisi government and Gazprom
subsidiary Gazexport on Wednesday should lead to an easing of tension
that culminated in Gazexport’s Tuesday threat to switch off the
country’s gas supply.

Gazexport threatened to halve its gas supply to the Georgian capital
on Wednesday and then switch off the supply and terminate its contract
with Tbilgazi in sixty days if an agreement on Tbilgazi’s debts was
not reached.

An agreement has now been reached, with Tbilisi City Hall stepping
in to bail out the beleaguered Tbilisi gas distribution company and
pay GEL 5 million to Gazexport.

A number of issues remain to be discussed, however, including
Tbilgazi’s unpaid debts from 2003-2004, which total USD 5.77 million
and Gazprom’s planned increase in gas supply tariff from 2006.

The Russian government has decided to raise gas prices for former
Soviet countries seen as “anti-Russian” and officials such as Vice
Speaker of the Russian Duma Lyubov Sliska have made no effort to
hide that this is a political decision rather than an economic one,
and comes in response to countries leading Western-oriented foreign
policies.

There is no doubt that strained relations between Russia and Georgia
are affecting economic issues such as gas prices, and this can be seen
too in another issue that has created strain between Russia and Georgia
– that of the aborted sale of Georgia’s trunk gas pipeline to Gazprom.

The Georgian government announced at the beginning of the year that
it was planning to privatize the pipeline, which runs north-south
across the county, and Gazprom immediately expressed interest in
its purchase. Russia exports a good deal of gas to Armenia, and the
pipeline would facilitate these exports.

The plan to privatize the pipeline was met with criticism from many
Georgians concerned that the pipeline could be used by Russia –
Gazprom is almost 100 percent state-owned – as a lever of political
influence. Senior American officials were also concerned that the
pipeline could become a competitor to the U.S. financed South Caucasus
gas pipeline.

With this is mind, the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation has
recently agreed to allot money for the rehabilitation of the pipeline –
the Georgian government had previously stated that the pipeline would
have to be privatized to find the necessary funds to pay for these
repairs unless an alternatives source of funding could be found.

The decision not to finance the pipeline, along with Tbilgazi’s debts
and Gazprom’s plans to increase the tariffs on Russian gas supplies-
from USD60 per thousand cubic meters to a reported USD90 – mean that
there are a number of issues creating strain between Georgia and the
Russian energy giant.

It is with this in mind that the government is currently looking to
build a gas storage facility in either Rustavi or Ninotsminda, and
is waiting with great anticipation completion of the South Caucasus
gas pipeline. In Azerbaijan Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli came to
an agreement with the Azerbaijani PM that Georgia will import 300
million cubic meters of natural gas this year.

NEWLY APPOINTED CROATIAN AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA HANDS CREDENTIALS TO ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

ARKA News Agency
July 19 2005

YEREVAN, July 19. /ARKA/. Newly appointed Croatian Ambassador to
Armenia Mr. Neven Madey (residence in Athens) handed credentials
to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan on Tuesday. According to
Presidential Press Service, Kocharyan congratulate Madey on his
appointment and wished success in his diplomatic mission. The sides
noted that Armenia and Croatia have plenty in common in their histories
and problems. The Armenian President attached great importance to
activation of bilateral relations and said a lot of work has to be
done to make trade and economic ties between the countries closer. In
this connection, Kocharyan stressed the importance of forming proper
legal base for that. M.V. -0–

Lraper Church Bulletin 19/07/2005

Contact: Deacon Vagharshag Seropyan
Armenian Patriarchate
TR-34130 Kumkapi, Istanbul
T: +90 (212) 517-0970, 517-0971
F: +90 (212) 516-4833, 458-1365
[email protected]

CELEBRATION OF THE FRENCH NATIONAL DAY

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On the evening of Thursday, 14 July 2005, His Beatitude Mesrob II,
Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul and All Turkey, joined a reception in
the garden of the Palais de France. He was accompanied by the Revd.
Fr. Drtad Uzunyan, his staff-bearer.

His Beatitude congratulated the Consul General, Jean-Cristophe
Peaucelle and his wife, on the occasion of the French National Day
and conveyed to them the good wishes of the Armenians of Turkey.

Before beginning his speech, which he gave in both French and Turkish,
Consul General Peaucelle invited everyone to stand for a moment of
silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist
attacks in London on 7 July. Following his speech, the national
anthems of France and Turkey were played.

The reception in honour of the French National Day was attended by
some 3000 invited guests. Among those present were Prof. Dr. Avedis
Hacinliyan and his wife, Doc. Dr. Arus Yumul, Lawyer Luiz Bakar, and
Krikor Dosemeciyan – all members of the Patriarchal Advisory Council;
Raffi Portakal, adviser on fine arts; and other invited guests from
the Armenian community.

Dansk Boldspil-Union, Denmark
July 18 2005

Finalists fixed on U19 crown

There will be a new name on the UEFA European Under-19 Championship
trophy at the end of the finals, which kick off in Northern Ireland
tonight.

By Andrew Haslam in Belfast

The finals of the 2004/05 UEFA European Under-19 Championship kick
off in Northern Ireland this evening, with eight sides hoping to lift
the trophy for the first time.

Group lineups
Hosts Northern Ireland are joined in Group A by Greece, Germany and
Serbia and Montenegro, while Group B consists of first-time
qualifiers Armenia, England, France and Norway. None of the eight
have emerged victorious in this event since it changed from a U18 to
a U19 competition ahead of the 2001/02 season, with Germany coming
the closest by reaching the inaugural final in Norway, only to lose
to Spain.

Final failures
That marked the third time Germany had reached the final since
starting to compete as a unified state in autumn 1990, with Portugal
and the Republic of Ireland inflicting defeats in 1994 and 1998
respectively, although West and East Germany did lift the U18 trophy
in 1981 and 1986 respectively. France, meanwhile, had an enviable
record at U18 level, claiming the continental crown in 1983, 1996,
1997 and 2000, but have failed to qualify for the finals again since
the last of those triumphs.

Long wait
England are the only other side in Northern Ireland to have tasted
success at U18 level, emerging victorious on home soil 12 years ago.
They too have struggled in the latter stages since the tournament was
reclassified and missed out on the finals altogether last year;
indeed, of the eight qualifiers in Switzerland in 2003/04, only
Germany are also present in Northern Ireland. Norway reached these
finals in 2002 as hosts and 2003, but lost out to Belgium in the
Elite round in last season’s edition.

Lengthy absences
Serbia and Montenegro have not qualified for this event since
finishing fourth in the final U18 event in 2001, when the country was
known as Yugoslavia, while Greece have consistently fallen in
qualifying, having not appeared in the final tournament since the
1999 event in Sweden – although they did finish fourth on that
occasion.

Tournament debuts
These finals take on special significance for the hosts and Armenia,
both of whom are appearing at this stage for the first time. The two
sides also have extra reason to celebrate; Northern Ireland are
serving as the host nation of a final tournament for the very first
time, while no Armenian side at any level has previously reached the
finals of a major international competition.

Opening fixtures
All eight sides, therefore, having their own reasons for wanting to
make an impact over the next 12 days. England and France get the
tournament under way as they meet at The Oval in Belfast at 17.00
local time, with the other Group B match, between Norway and Armenia,
taking place at Mourneview Park, Lurgan, two hours later. Serbia and
Montenegro and Germany contest the first fixture in Group A at The
Showgrounds in Newry, also kicking off at 19.00, before back in
Belfast the hosts take on Greece at Windsor Park.

Latter stages
The four teams in each section play each other once, with the top two
sides progressing to the last four. The semi-finals take place on 26
July in Lurgan and at The Showgrounds in Ballymena, with the two
winners meeting at Windsor Park in the final three days later.

PRESS OFFICE
Armenian Holy Apostolic Church Canadian Diocese
Contact; Deacon Hagop Arslanian, Assistant to the Primate
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont Quebec H2V 3H2
Tel; 514-276-9479, Fax; 514-276-9960
Email; [email protected]
Website;

A Canadian Armenian Appointed Citizenship Judge

OTTAWA, July 5, 2005 – The Honourable Joe Volpe, Minister of Citizenship and
Immigration, today announced the appointment of a citizenship judge.

Sarkis Assadourian is a well-known and well-respected community leader in the
Greater Toronto Area. A former member of Parliament, he is also the former
Executive Director of the Armenian Community Centre in North York. As a member
of Parliament, Mr. Assadourian was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister
of Citizenship and Immigration and the Chairman of the Standing Committee on
Citizenship and Immigration. He was appointed a citizenship judge in Toronto.

Citizenship judges are appointed by order-in-council and are responsible for
making decisions with regard to applications, presiding over citizenship
ceremonies and administering the oath of citizenship to new citizens.

* * *

ACYOC Delegates Meeting and Sports Weekend 2005 (by Angineh Gharapetian)

The 2005 ACYOC Sports Weekend took place in Vancouver British Columbia this
Canada Day weekend. The local chapter was host to 20 participants that arrived
for the activities from the Laval and Toronto ACYOC chapters. Similar numbers
joined the guests from the local ACYOC chapter.

The Sports Weekend began officially with the annual General Assembly on
Friday, 1 July. The pastor of St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church, Archpriest
Father Keghart Garabedian started the ACYOC Delegates meeting with opening prayer.
Executive delegates from present participating chapters attended. At the end
of the meeting Serpazan Hayr gave the youth his blessings and missions for
accomplishments in the coming year. These are 1- Annual Youth Pilgrimage toSaint
Catharines St. Gregory the Illuminator Church. 2- Pan American You Gathering
in Albany Ararat Conference Centre in September. 3- Youth Convention Retreat
in October. Furthermore, the city of Mississauga, Ontario was chosen to be the
location to host the 2006 Sports Weekend.

The general assembly was followed by a welcome dinner at English Bay where
all participants had a chance to meet and greet one another.

On Saturday, the official sports day tournaments took place at the West End
Community Centre. Fierce but friendly competition yielded the following
victories: Hockey – Laval, Indoor soccer – Laval, Basketball – Toronto, Table Tennis
– Laval, Chess – Laval, Volleyball – Vancouver. Since the Laval chapter won
the majority of tournaments, they proudly take home the Babayan Cup this year.

Saturday night was spent celebrating the accomplishment of the teams with
dinner and dancing at the Setrak Kalpakian Hall. Trophies and other awards were
handed out at this time. This year, the Archbishop Vasgen Keshishian award was
presented to Diana Grigoryan for her endless efforts and contributions to the
Armenian Community.

Sunday, the final day of this year’s Sports Weekend, was began by the
delegates attending Divine Liturgy at St.Vartan Apostolic Church. Sourp Badarak was
followed by lunch and closing remarks. The participants were individually
thanked, and handed the promotional items.

It was an honor and pleasure for Vancouver to host this year’s Sports
Weekend. Special gratitude goes out to all participants who traveled acrossthe
country to make this weekend possible and successful.

* * *

Bishop Galstanian and the CYMA 2005 participants leave to Armenia

On July 9, 2005 by the will and guidance of Almighty God, our Primate His
Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian and 26 participants of CYMA 2005 will depart
for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and will be renovating a ruined church
in the village of Atarbekian, in the vicinity of Etchmiadzin. CYMA 2005
chairperson is Talar Chichmanian.

In Motherland Armenian they will also have the joy to meet and pray with the
pilgrims of the Holy Trinity Church in Toronto and the pupils of St. Sahag &
St. Mesrob Saturday School, led by Rev. Archpriest Zareh Zargarian.

The high point of their spiritual journey will be on July 17, when six
acolytes from Holy Trinity Church of Toronto will be raised to the rank of deacon on
the Main Altar of Holy Etchmiadzin and receive the blessings of His Holiness
Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians.

We ask you to remember them in your prayers while they are on spiritual
journey until their safe return. Please offer special prayers for the six young
men, who will be called upon by the grace of the Holy Spirit on the Main Altar of
the Holy Etchmiadzin to serve our church on a higher scale.

May God fill our hearts with the unending grace of spiritual joy.

* * *

Camp Ararat 2005 – What a response!

The Camp Ararat organizing committee is delighted to report that this year’s
camp will truly be representative of our Canadian Diocese! Almost 100 campers
and CITS (counsellors-in-training) have registered from the Toronto,
Montreal, Laval, Ottawa, St. Catharines, Mississauga and Hamilton parishes. We are
also excited to welcome some campers who will be travelling from Vancouver to
have an “experience to remember”!

In addition to the wonderful camper response, the committee has also worked
to recruit over 20 staff members who have graciously agreed to join the Camp
Ararat team: program directors, counsellors, canoe instructors, religious
education instructors, and lifeguards – not to mention our in-house chef and our
caring nurse!

This year Camp Ararat will be held August 8-13 at Echo Lake, just northwest
of Kingston, Ontario. The organizing committee wishes to thank campers and
parents for their trust in and commitment to Camp Ararat. We are fully booked
for the summer of 2005 – see you all on Monday, August 8th!

* * *

CYMA 2005 Lottery (by Talar Chichmanian – CYMA 2005 Chairperson)

On Sunday, July 3rd, the CYMA 2005 lottery draw took place in the Vatché
Hovsepian Hall of the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Cathedral in Montreal.
Many parishioners who have long supported the project stayed to see the
results of the lottery draw and cheered everyone on as names were picked out of the
‘hat’!!

The CYMA 2005 Executive committee would like to thank everyone who made a
contribution towards the success of this year’s project, both financially and
with their hard work and time. We’d also like to thank and congratulate all
friends and supporters who went out of their way to help raise funds! You did a
phenomenal job and we’d like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts fora
job well done!

We’d also like to express our most sincere gratitude to our generous sponsors
for having helped make this lottery a possibility through the great prizes
they donated as well as for their financial support. Thank you to GIANT Bikes,
Vite Vitres Jacques, Dataworld, HEAD Tennis Rackets, The North Face, Tria
Inc., Mr. & Mrs. Chahan and Elizabeth Pacradouni & Me Kevork Kevorkian.

We’re proud to announce the lucky winners of the lottery draw:

1st prize Arno Kunterian – GIANT mountain bike
2nd prize Rehan Hudaverdi – Weekend at Mont-Tremblant
(from Vite Vitres Jacques)
3rd prize Georgina Sarkissian – NORTH FACE Tent & Backpack
4th prize Dr. John Manoukian – Palm Pilot
(from DATAWORLD)
5th prize Dorine Dervishian – HEAD Tennis Racket

All funds raised will go towards the renovation project of a Church in
Atarbekyan as well as towards a camp project for approximately 100 seven year olds
in the region of Aradashen.

On behalf of Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Hayr Ararat Kaltakjian and myself,
Talar Chichmanian, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish all participants a
wonderful and safe trip. May God be with you on your journey back Home.

* * *

The Diocese sponsors a student to go to Armenia

Upon the initiative of His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian the Diocese of
the Armenian Apostolic Church in Canada has established a fund to award the
best student in Armenian language course with a trip to Motherland Armenia.

During the year end graduation ceremony at AGBU Armen Quebec Alex Manougian
school Serpazan Galstanian announced the decision. Eevery year, the studentwho
gets the highest grade in Armenian language course at the school will
accompany the participants of the Diocesan mission to Armenia.

* * * * * * * * * *

OSCE mediators in Azerbaijan with “specific proposals” on Karabakh – TV

Lider TV, Baku
11 Jul 05

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen are visiting Baku. Their meeting with
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov ended a little while
ago. The co-chairmen are also expected to meet President Ilham Aliyev
and the head of the Azerbaijani community of Karabakh, Nizami
Bahmanov.

The US co-chairman, Steven Mann, has said that they have arrived in
the region with specific proposals on the Karabakh settlement.

The co-chairmen will be received by President Aliyev in Baku and will
later leave for Yerevan and Xankandi [Stepanakert].

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 11 2005

ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPERS DO NOT LEAVE FOR IRAQ

YEREVAN, July 11. /ARKA/. The shift of the 12th Armenian peacekeepers
battalion of RA Ministry of Defense didn’t leave for Iraq. According
to RA Ministry of Defense, the subdivision consisting of 45 people
had to leave for Iraq on July 10. However, the military airplane for
the transportation of the peacekeepers didn’t arrive in Yerevan.
According to RA Ministry of Defense, the reasons are being specified.

To note, replacement of the Armenian peacekeepers in Iraq was planned
on July 10.
On Dec 24, 2004 RA NA ratified a memorandum, providing for sending
Armenian contingent to Iraq as a part of the Polish division.
On January 18, 2005 the Armenian contingent of peacekeepers
consisting of 46 people left for Iraq from Yerevan. The Armenian
contingent included: a commander, officer of communications at the
headquarter of Polish division, Commander of the division êîìàíäèð, 3
doctors (cardiologist, therapeutist and psychiatrist), 10 combat
engineers and 30 drivers. A.H. –0–

Armenian paper unhappy with Georgia’s role of bridge with West

Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
8 Jul 05

Text of unattributed report by Armenian newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak on
8 July headlined “You must have your own toothbrush”

Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan’s visit to Lithuania showed
that now Armenia can better feel the results of the Georgian
“revolution of roses”. Our prime minister was officially informed in
Lithuania that instead of bothering the West, Armenia can appeal
directly to its neighbour Georgia and solve many problems.

Although the prime minister is against this, Armenia does not have
enough levers to influence ways of contacting the West. If the West
has decided to view Georgia as Armenia’s supervisor, it will be very
difficult and even impossible for us to change such a decision.

This only shows that there are much more important values in the world
than stability propagandized by the Armenian authorities. To be more
precise, stability is an important value if it is based on laws. There
are many stable states in the world, for instance, North Korea, Cuba,
Iraq, but such stability is of no value because it does not serve the
prosperity and liberty of people.

On the one hand, the West’s decision to contact Armenia via Georgia is
encouraging Georgia, and on the other, it is a sort of punishment for
Armenia and its authorities. To put it differently, our authorities
are not mature enough to have free access to the external world.

Nevertheless, this is not the worst scenario for Armenia. It will be
much worse if the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan in
autumn bring about radical reforms in that country. In view of this,
Armenia will end up playing the role of an absolute outsider in the
region, which will cause problems not only in foreign policy, but also
in economic relations.

All this is due to the fact that the international image of our
republic, which is run by an oligarchy, resembles the image of our
local oligarchy. Yes, they are strong, they have potential to
influence the international situation, they are richer and have
greater financial possibilities, but they are not really respected,
and people maintain contact with them just to get something out of
them and make them more tolerant.

At some point, this attitude can be assessed as tolerance, but
actually this attitude is not a final one as it keeps the necessity of
reforms on the agenda. At present, we are allowed to solve problems
with the top leadership of Georgia, but if no changes take place in
Armenia, it is possible that this format will change. For instance,
Georgia’s interior minister may become our next supervisor, then
Tbilisi’s mayor, etc.

The West should not be blamed for this. If somebody openly runs away
from us, we have to look at ourselves in the mirror. Maybe in that
case, we shall understand that we should at least take a shower, have
a shave and brush our teeth in order to communicate with others and
not only in the political sense.

Zaman, Turkey
July 9 2005

‘Armenian Genocide’ Returns to German Textbooks
By aa
Published: Saturday July 09, 2005
zaman.com

The “Armenian Genocide” has been included in textbooks in the German
province of Brandenbourg’s curriculum once again.

A Der Tagesspiegel newspaper report said Armenian allegations,
formerly removed from the curriculum as a consequence of Turkey’s
diplomatic initiatives, had been reprinted in supplementary textbooks
by the Brandenbourg Education Ministry.

The report cited Brandenbourg as the only province that included the
allegations in the supplementary consisting of 103 pages and prepared
by the Institute for School and Media (LISUM) in cooperation with the
Institute of Diaspora and Genocide Studies in Ruhr University
recently. According to the article, the said textbook included not
only the Armenian allegations but also deemed the events’ as the
first biggest systematic genocide of the 20th century. Der
Tagesspiegel further said the book also dealt with the official view
of the Turkish Embassy in Berlin in that Turks and Armenians both
became victims and committers at the same time.

AZERIS OUTRUN LENNMARKER WITH REPORT ON NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT

YEREVAN, JULY 8. ARMINFO. The “Golden Opportunity” report on the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement by Special Representative on the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict Goran Lennmarker was not debated or adopted
at the annual session of the PACE Parliamentary Assembly, a source at
PACE PA has told ARMINFO.

The source says that the supplementary resolution proposed by Azeri
representative Sattar Safarov was not addressed by the Assembly. The
Standing Committee of Heads of Delegations decided not to send it to
any committee for further consideration. Neither was the supplementary
resolution proposed by Lennmarker considered by the Assembly: under
its Rules of Procedure, the Assembly cannot consider two supplementary
items on the same issue, and as Safarov’s resolution was submitted
first, Lennmarker’s was not debated.

To remind, Lennmarker’s reports says: Nagorno-Karabakh itself wants to
be an independent state. However, the wider Caucasus area has numerous
small populations. The breaking up of the area into very small
independent states is seen as dangerous and thus not an
alternative. This is why the international community is not prepared
to grant independence to the various regions in the area, including
Nagorno-Karabakh. A possible option, however, remains an arrangement
in which Nagorno- Karabakh affiliates with Armenia. This could take
many different forms. Armenia desires security for Nagorno-Karabakh,
and this would form the highest degree of security.