Author: Tigranian Ani

SUPPORT GROWS FOR CONGRESSIONAL LETTER CALLING ON PRES. BUSH TO
PROPERLY COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

WASHINGTON, MARCH 28, NOYAN TAPAN. Bipartisan efforts to urge
President Bush to keep his 2000 campaign pledge to properly
characterize the Armenian Genocide as “genocide” continued to grow
last week, with over 90 U.S. Representatives having cosigned a
Congressional letter to the White House, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA). Initiated by Congressional
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI), the letter calls on President Bush to join House members “in
reaffirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide” in his
annual April 24th commemorative statement. “By properly recognizing
the terrible atrocities committed against the Armenian people as
‘genocide’ in your statement, you will honor the many Americans who
helped launch the unprecedented U.S. diplomatic, political and
humanitarian campaign to end the carnage and protect the survivors.”
Members of Congress joining Representatives Pallone and Knollenberg as
co-signers of the letter, as of Friday, March 25th, include: Neil
Abercrombie (D-HI), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Tom Allen (D-ME), Robert
Andrews (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Charles Bass (R-NH), Melissa
Bean (D-IL), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Howard Berman (D-CA), Michael
Bilirakis (R-FL), Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Tim Bishop (D-NY), Earl
Blumenauer (D-OR), Mary Bono (R-CA), Jeb Bradley (R-NH), Ken Calvert
(R-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Benjamin Cardin
(D-MD), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), John Conyers (D-MI), Jim Costa (D-CA),
Jerry Costello (D-IL), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Susan Davis (D-CA),
William Delahunt (D-MA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), David Dreier (R-CA),
Eliot Engel (D-NY), Bob Filner (D-CA), Mark Foley (R-FL), Barney Frank
(D-MA), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Raul
Grijalva (D-AZ), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Steny Hoyer
(D-MD), Steve Israel (D-NY), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), Marcy
Kaptur (D-OH), Sue Kelly (R-NY), Dale Kildee (D-MI), Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), James Langevin (D-RI), John Larson
(D-CT), Sander Levin (D-MI), John Lewis (D-GA), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ),
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY),
Edward Markey (D-MA), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Thaddeus McCotter
(R-MI), Jim McDermott (D-WA), James McGovern (D-MA), Michael McNulty
(D-NY), Martin Meehan (D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Candice Miller
(R-MI), George Miller (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes
Norton (D-DC), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Collin
Peterson (D-MN), George Radanovich (R-CA), Steven Rothman (D-NJ),
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Edward Royce (R-CA), Linda Sanchez
(D-CA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), H. James Saxton (R-NJ), Adam Schiff
(D-CA), Joe Schwarz (R-MI), E. Clay Shaw (R-FL), Christopher Shays
(R-CT), Brad Sherman (D-CA), John Shimkus (R-IL), Christopher Smith
(R-NJ), Mark Souder (R-IN), John Sweeney (R-NY), Edolphus Towns (D-
NY), Mark Udall (D-CO), Christopher Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Visclosky
(D-IN), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Diane Watson (D-CA), Henry Waxman
(D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Joe Wilson (R-SC), and Lynn Woolsey
(D-CA). Over the past weeks, in statements on the House floor, a
number of House Members have already spoken out about the importance
clear and unambiguous U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide,
including Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone and Reps. Michael
Bilirakis, Barney Frank, Patrick Kennedy, James Langevin, and George
Radanovich.

Thousands gather for Easter Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem

AP Worldstream
Mar 27, 2005

Thousands of Christians from around the world gathered at Jerusalem
holy sites to celebrate Easter Sunday, marking the day with prayer
and hymns.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, the top Roman Catholic
official in the Holy Land, celebrated Mass at the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher, built over the skull-shaped rocky mount believed to be
the place where Jesus was crucified.

More than 20 Armenian priests cloaked in black gowns and head dress
followed Sabbah into of the candle-lit church singing the Lord’s
Prayer. The Catholic priest emerged from the Sepulcher with a flame
and lit worshippers’ candles that gradually illuminated the painted
dome ceiling erected in the Crusader era.

The Easter services underlined one of Christianity’s doctrinal
differences: Roman Catholics believe Jesus Christ was buried in the
Holy Sepulcher, while many Protestant denominations believe he was
buried in the nearby Garden Tomb. Karen Abel, 39, a secretary from
Eclectic, Ala., was among the Protestants gathered at sunrise to mark
the day at the site of the Garden Tomb.

The recent calm in Israeli-Palestinian fighting has attracted many
more foreign pilgrims to Jerusalem this year for the Holy Week
than in recent years. But the numbers were still a far cry from the
several thousand who used to come before the outbreak of violence in
September 2000.

Abel said she had not been hesitant to make her first trip to the
Holy Land.

“Christ died here for our sins,” she said. “I feel mighty protected
by that.”

Bix Baker, 53, and his wife Becky, 51, came from Minnesota to spend
the Easter holiday with their daughter, who does consulting work for
city officials in Ramallah.

Sitting inside Christianity’s holiest church with his wife and
daughter, the high school science teacher said his students told him
he was crazy to travel to Israel.

“We weren’t afraid to come,” Baker said. “Things seem to be different
now, but we would have come anyway because this is where our daughter
lives.”

Catholics arriving in missionary groups from Spain and France said
they had included the ailing Pope in their prayers Sunday.

As part of ongoing efforts to ease travel restraints on the Palestinian
population, the army announced Sunday that up to 8,200 Palestinians
from the West Bank and 250 from Gaza would be granted daily permits
into either Jerusalem or Nazareth _ on a day-to-day basis _ during
the Easter celebration.

However, with this year’s celebrations coinciding with the Jewish
Festival of Purim, the Israeli military imposed general travel
restrictions on Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza from Wednesday
through Sunday, steering many Christians away from requesting
permission to travel to Jerusalem.

In Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, hundreds of worshippers prayed
and lit candles. A few Palestinians inside the church called for
the resignation of Patriarch Irineos I, the highest Greek Orthodox
cleric in the Holy Land, to protest alleged property deals the Greek
Orthodox church has made with Jewish groups trying to expand their
hold on Palestinian neighborhoods in the disputed city.

ANKARA TO RAISE JEWISH LOBBY AGAINST ARMENIAN LOBBY TO
PREVENT AT USA CONGRESS ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
IN OTTOMAN TURKEY

YEREVAN, MARCH 25. ARMINFO. Within the nearest month Turkish Government
should respond to the USA request about enlargement of activities of
American military bases dislocated in Injilik, Turkey.

“Hurriet” Turkish daily informs that country’s officials should give
the final response till April 24. In case of positive response to the
US request Ankara expect from Washington to take measures to prevent
possible adoption by the US Congress the resolution on Armenian
Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. In his turn, Ankara intends to raise
the Jewish lobby against the Armenian lobby. According to Hurriet,
on this purpose, a scheduled May visit of Turkish Prime-Minister
Rejep Taib Erdogan to Israel and Pakistan in planned on April. -r-

Agence France Presse
24 mars 2005 jeudi 8:00 PM GMT

Poutine à Erevan pour s’assurer de la fidélité de son allié dans le
Caucase (ECLAIRAGE ACTUALISE)

EREVAN 24 mars 2005

Le président russe Vladimir Poutine est arrivé jeudi soir à Erevan
pour une visite de travail visant notamment à s’assurer de la
fidélité de son meilleur allié dans le Caucase, alors que la Géorgie
voisine et d’autres pays de l’ex-URSS se tournent vers l’Occident.

M. Poutine et son épouse Lioudmila ont été accueillis à l’aéroport
par son homologue Robert Kotcharian et sa femme. Les deux couples
devaient dîner ensemble, avant d’aborder l’essentiel du programme de
visite le lendemain.

“Les positions de la Russie dans la Caucase se sont affaiblies vu le
tournant pro-occidental pris par la Géorgie. Poutine tentera de
sauver l’Arménie de l’influence américaine et d’obtenir d’Erevan un
voeu de fidélité”, souligne l’analyste Viktor Kremeniouk de
l’Institut USA-Canada à Moscou.

L’Arménie, en conflit avec ses voisins (l’Azerbaïdjan à propos de
l’enclave de Nagorny Karabakh, territoire azerbaïdjanais peuplé
majoritairement d’Arméniens, et la Turquie avec laquelle elle n’a pas
de relations diplomatiques à cause du génocide arménien de 1915),
reste l’alliée la plus fidèle de Moscou dans la région, et abrite une
importante base militaire russe.

“Tout gouvernement arménien fera des concessions politiques et
militaires à la Russie tant que ces deux problèmes ne seront pas
levés”, souligne l’analyste arménien Alexandre Iskandarian.

La tendance pourrait changer, selon M. Kremeniouk et l’Arménie sous
l’influence d’une importante diaspora qui vit aux Etats-Unis et en
Europe pourrait se tourner vers l’Occident comme la Géorgie,
l’Ukraine ou la Moldavie.

Le problème du Nagorny Karabakh ainsi que la construction d’un
gazoduc entre l’Arménie et l’Iran, vu d’un mauvais oeil par Moscou,
devraient également être abordés au cours de cette visite.

“Poutine pourrait donner des garanties à Erevan que la Russie
soutiendra la position de l’Arménie” pour laquelle l’indépendence du
Karabakh n’est pas négociable, souligne M. Kremeniouk.

Le Karabakh a proclamé son indépendance en 1991, avec le soutien
d’Erevan qui l’a défendu durant une guerre de trois ans, faisant près
de 30.000 morts et un million de réfugiés.

Un cessez-le-feu a été signé en 1994, mais un traité de paix est
toujours en cours de négociation.

La Russie co-préside avec la France et les Etats-Unis le groupe de
Minsk chargé par l’Organisation pour la sécurité et la coopération en
Europe (OSCE) de trouver une solution négociée à ce conflit.

Le gazoduc que l’Arménie et l’Iran ont commencé à construire en fin
de l’année dernière en dépit de l’opposition de Moscou et de
Washington “inquiète la Russie qui craint de perdre son monopole sur
le marché gazier arménien”, souligne M. Iskandarian.

Ce gazoduc pourrait à l’avenir être utilisé pour faire transiter le
gaz iranien vers la Géorgie et l’Ukraine, deux ex-républiques
soviétiques désormais pro-occidentales et qui dépendent de livraisons
de gaz russes.

Vendredi le président russe s’entretiendra avec M. Kotcharian et le
catholicos arménien Karékine II. Il participera également à la
cérémonie d’ouverture de l’Année de la Russie en Arménie alors que
Mme Poutine inaugurera pour sa part avec la première dame arménienne
un centre du livre russe dans cette république caucasienne qui
abandonne progressivement la langue de Pouchkine depuis la fin de
l’URSS en 1991.

–Boundary_(ID_o+rFHHKqbG1K0HYgN9F9hg)–

PanArmenian News
March 24 2005

CILICIA ARMENIAN SAILER TO CONTINUE VOYAGE MAY 9

24.03.2005 06:53

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Leaving the Venetian port, Cilicia Armenian sailing
ship will continue its voyage May 9, 2005, Arminfo news agency
reported. As Cilicia captain and Ayas Club Chairman Karen Balayan
noted at today~Rs press conference, the stay of Cilicia in European
and Near Eastern seaports was marked with arousing interest towards
the history of Armenia, revival of the social life of the Armenian
Diaspora. Armenian sailors, having only the experience of sailing the
Lake Sevan, mastered the Black and Mediterranean, Marmara and Aegean
Seas. An exhibition devoted to the 20-th anniversary of Ayas Club.
This April Cilicia voyage will be presented in a documentary. In 2006
after the third stage of the expedition, the route of which is not
determined yet, the sailer will be delivered to Armenia. After that
the opening of the Sea Museum and the issue of Navigation Pages of
Armenia book are planned. Karen Balayan specially thanked Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian for the diplomatic support to the
expedition.

Scripps Howard News Service
March 23 2005

Muslim keeps the keys at the holiest site in Christendom
By MATTHEW KALMAN
Scripps Howard News Service
March 23, 2005

JERUSALEM – Every day at 4 a.m., Wajeeh Nuseibeh walks through the
walled Old City of Jerusalem to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the
holiest shrine in Christendom. Most Christians believe it is the site
of the crucifixion, tomb and resurrection of Jesus.

Nuseibeh takes an ancient 12-inch iron key, climbs a small ladder and
opens the huge wooden doors.

Every evening at nightfall, after three raps of an iron door knocker
spaced out over half an hour, Nuseibeh closes up for the night and
places the key in safekeeping.

He inherited the job from his father and grandfather, part of a chain
stretching back more than 1,300 years.

But surprisingly for the doorkeeper of the site of the Crucifixion,
Nuseibeh, 55, like his ancestors, is a Muslim.

“It goes from father to son, from one generation to the next,” said
Nuseibeh, a small, dapper man in a suit and tie, with a dark
mustache. “I was 15 when I first opened the church. I thought it was
fun. As I grew up I realized it is a big responsibility.”

The Holy Sepulchre is a vast warren of chapels, tunnels and caves
with pieces of church architecture dating back to the fourth century
and spanning a broad range of traditions from the Westernized
cathedral of the Catholics to the Eastern brass and icons of the
Orthodox churches.

It houses the final stations on the Via Dolorosa – the journey of
Jesus to his crucifixion – and attracts hundreds of thousands of
pilgrims and sightseers every year.

The church is jealously managed by five competing and often warring
Christian denominations. Sometimes the tensions over the right to
clean or pray in an area of the church spills over into violence.

Nuseibeh’s family has helped keep the peace between them since Caliph
Omar Ibn Kattab first conquered Jerusalem for the Muslims in 638. The
only gap was 88 years of crusader rule in the 12th century. According
to the family history, when Salah A-Din recaptured Jerusalem in 1191,
he promised Richard the Lion Heart he would invite the Nuseibeh
family members to resume their role as custodians. Since that time,
Judeh family members, also Muslims, have been given the key for
safekeeping overnight. The two families have shared the position ever
since.

Once a year, the three biggest denominations – Greek Orthodox, Roman
Catholic and Armenian – publicly renew their request to Nuseibeh to
be the “custodian and door-keeper” as written on his business card
and multimedia Web site.

About 100 years ago, the key was stolen. Now they keep a spare inside
the church. Nuseibeh receives $15 every month for his labor, but the
ancient honor is worth more to him than the token payment. When
tensions boil over between the churches, Nuseibeh is the one who
calms the waters.

“Like all brothers, they sometimes have problems. We help them settle
their disputes. We are the neutral people in the church. We are the
United Nations. We help preserve peace in this holy place,” he said.

Nuseibeh said he still becomes anxious before big ceremonies, or when
important visitors arrive.

“I realize there are thousands of people waiting to go into the
church and they are waiting for me to open it, and I start to imagine
what will happen if the lock will be broken or the key is damaged and
I can’t open the door,” he said.

But it has never happened in the 20 years since he took over from his
father. He hopes that one day his son Obadah, now 21, will step into
his footsteps, but it’s not certain.

“He is at college, studying to be a sports trainer,” said Nuseibeh.
“Maybe he will not follow me, and then my brother or my cousin will
take over.”

Easter celebrations at the Holy Sepulchre will place the diminutive
Muslim center-stage as thousands flock to the church for services,
processions and the ancient ceremony of the Holy Fire, in which
Nuseibeh plays a central role.

The ceremony is held each year on Easter Saturday and symbolizes the
resurrection of Christ. Thousands of worshippers pack into the church
around the marble-clad tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. The oil lamps
inside the empty tomb are extinguished and a huge stone rolled across
the entrance, which is then sealed shut by Greek Orthodox priests.

“If there are no oil lamps lit, the tomb will be sealed with wax. I
am the witness. I put my stamp, the name of the family, in the wax on
the tomb,” Nuseibeh said.

What happens next looks like a miracle. The Orthodox patriarch begins
to pray, and a bluish Holy Fire begins to emanate from within the
tomb, lighting the lamps and sometimes flying around the church, over
the heads of the assembled worshippers, lighting the candles of
believers.

Nuseibeh, who has been the official witness at this ceremony for more
than 20 years, said he was deeply touched by the Christian rituals
and felt a close affinity with the church, but he does not pray
there.

“I know every stone. It is like my home,” he said. “But I go to pray
at the Omar Mosque next door.”

SBS Australia
Updated: Wed, Mar 23, 2005 09:51:19 AM AEST

The World Game

LATEST NEWS

Van Basten questions Bayern
PA

Dutch national team coach Marco van Basten has admitted he was surprised to
see Roy Makaay in action for Bayern Munich at the weekend after leaving him
out of his latest squad.

Van Basten was under the impression that Makaay (pictured) would be
unavailable for international duty in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers
against Romania and Armenia after speaking to Bayern’s medical team last
week, and therefore called up young Ajax striker Ryan Babel instead.

However, although Van Basten claimed he was told by Bayern that they were
“rather sceptical” about Makaay’s hamstring problem, ‘der Phantom’ started
against Hansa Rostock on Saturday and managed 67 minutes before being
replaced.

“Normally a fit Makaay is always part of our selection,” said Van Basten,
who was also frustrated with the case of Chelsea winger Arjen Robben.

“We also had no clarity about Robben and we did not want to have two
recovering players in the group. But Makaay showed that he was able to play
on Saturday at Bayern Munich. Robben is also totally fit.”

Van Basten’s other concerns on the first day of training in Noordwijk were
PSV pair Phillip Cocu and Mark van Bommel, who sat out with slight injuries.

Cocu is expected to be fit despite a painful hamstring, while Van Basten is
confident that Van Bommel (knee) will be able to play a major role after his
hat-trick against Ajax on Sunday.

“As far as can tell now they can participate on Saturday,” said the Oranje
coach.

“The chance that he (Van Bommel) may start is very big.”

Charlottesville Daily Progress, VA
Thurs., Mar. 17, 2005

All about finding a niche

By Kate Andrews / Daily Progress staff writer

March 17, 2005

Standing in front of a sizzling professional oven, P.J. Forbes shed her
sweater.

She had eight hours of material to get through in 45 minutes Wednesday
afternoon, and things were going to get hot in this kitchen.

`I am compulsive, I am neurotic, I am a workaholic,’ Forbes announced to an
audience seated on wooden chairs. `This is an exceedingly competitive field.
Everybody thinks they can write a cookbook.’

Some of the junior leaguers and others in the crowd were a little taken
aback, given the innocent-sounding topic of `Community Cookbooks.’

Just as the prospective cookbook writers learned, you’ve got to find your
niche – a lesson learned by the Virginia Festival of the Book’s organizers.
The 11th annual festival started Wednesday and continues through Sunday.

In one afternoon, a participant could hear heart-rending poems about a
parent’s death, wild tales about Beethoven and Schumann and truths about the
cut-throat world of cookbookery.

Charlotte Matthews, a Piedmont Virginia Community College professor and
poet, read a `love poem to the men who mow the county graveyards’ at a
Gravity Lounge gathering of authors published in the `Tough Times
Companion.’

The mowers get paid per graveyard, which could encourage slipshod, hurried
work, but the men take pride, said Matthews, who noticed them at a church in
Free Union.

As Matthews read poems and listened to others, she minded her 6-year-old
daughter Emma, who slipped backstage for a moment to play with a drum stand.
As a baby in her tick-tock swing, Emma was `my first audience,’ Matthews
said.

She recalled one thing a student had said to her: `Reading my poetry gives
me a another chance to feel real.’

At Mona Lisa Pasta, audience members were a little slow to arrive, but a
couple dozen soon settled in to listen to Forbes, who oversaw the creation
of two cookbooks for the Junior League of Norfolk/Virginia Beach.

There are three all-important factors in writing a cookbook, she said: Is it
readable? Does it teach you something new? And do the recipes work?

People want short, easy-to-understand lists of ingredients, with serving
instructions, substitutions and photos. Lots of photos.

But pictures get expensive, budding cookbook writer Karen Beaver fretted,
and few people get advances from publishers for their cooking manuals. `It’s
really hard to think of the money it takes to get it published.’

Still, she has hopes for publishing her Armenian cookbook one day, including
recipes from friends’ grandmothers and stories from the land.

>From the pasta store to New Dominion Book Shop, the aroma shifted from
garlic and tomatoes to the powdery scent of aging books.

British cellist Steven Isserlis, enunciating his words carefully, described
Wolfgang von Beethoven’s flat, with scattered furniture, half-eaten food,
coffee spilled inside his piano and `an unemptied chamber pot in plain
view.’

The bear-like composer got irritated in a restaurant one night and threw his
beef soup in the waiter’s face, prompting Isserlis’ title, `Why Beethoven
Threw the Stew: For Musical Youths.’

The gray-haired crowd was older than the writer’s targeted audience, but
most were headed across the Downtown Mall for Isserlis’ concert with the
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival.

There was only a brief period between book signing and tuning up, leaving
the busy Isserlis, in his own words, `panicked.’

But not too panicked to reveal his next book’s title: `Why Handel Waggled
His Wig.’

Contact Kate Andrews at (434) 978-7261 or [email protected].

Armenian president, new Slovak envoy discuss ties

A1+ web site
15 Mar 05

The newly-appointed Slovak ambassador to Armenia, Augustin Chisar,
submitted his credentials to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
today.

The presidential press service has reported that the head of state
congratulated the diplomat on his appointment and noted that Armenia
is grateful to Slovakia for adopting resolutions several months ago
condemning the genocide of Armenians. Kocharyan said that among
Eastern European countries, Armenia has most successful relations with
Slovakia.

For his part, the Slovak ambassador pointed out that he will do his
best to expand relations between the two countries during his mission,
particularly in the economic sphere. He also said that his country
will continue assisting Armenia with integration into Europe.

Armenian parliamentary commission looks into proposed constitutional changes

Arminfo, Yerevan
14 Mar 05

The Armenian parliament’s temporary commission for European
integration has considered political parties’ suggestions on changes
to the constitution pertaining to the president’s rights and
responsibilities, Armenian Arminfo news agency reported on 14 March.

The United Labour Party (ULP) believes that the current Armenian
Constitution does not specify the role of the presidency or ensure a
balance between all branches of power, the party’s representative,
Grigor Kondzheyan, said in his presentation. He said the
constitutional changes proposed by the party are intended to bridge
this and other gaps in the country’s fundamental law.

For instance, the president is the guarantor of balanced and
harmonious work of all three branches of power. He is also the
guarantor of continuity of power, he said.

The party’s document deprives the president of the right to sign the
government’s decisions or to preside over its meetings, instead giving
him the right to introduce legislation. The president can also
dissolve the parliament and appoint new elections.

The president can sack the defence and foreign ministers and appoint
others at the suggestion of the prime minister. At the same time,
parliament can decide on the president’s resignation by two-thirds of
the votes. The president can be impeached for high treason, the ULP
suggests.

The opposition-minded National Democratic Bloc suggests dramatically
renewing the state administration system, Arminfo said. The leader of
the bloc, Arshak Sadoyan, proposes to combine two chambers in the
one-chamber parliament. Thus, 30 deputies elected on the
first-past-the-post system are to set up a commission on issues of
local government and coordinate the work of local governments.

The number of MPs elected on the proportional representation system is
to be 101. If these deputies leave their party factions, they will
automatically lose their mandates.

Sadoyan also suggested increasing the number of regions to 25.

The representative of the Armenian president in the discussions, Armen
Arutyunyan, said the constitutional changes proposed by the ruling
coalition and the ULP were one step ahead of the current Armenian
Constitution. At the same time, he said the coalition’s proposals are
not hugely different from the current constitution.

A referendum on constitutional changes is due to be held in late
spring – early summer 2005.