Month: March 2007

RENOVATION OF HOLY CROSS CHURCH DOES NOT REFLECT ANKARA’S REAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS ARMENIANS

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.03.2007 16:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Congresswoman Diane Watson, a leading member of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today warned her colleagues not
to be misled by the Turkish government’s token efforts to use the
renovation of a single Armenian Church to obscure its longstanding
policy of destroying Armenian cultural heritage and denying the
Armenian Genocide. Executive Director of the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) Aram Hamparian thanked Congresswoman
Watson, noting that it is clearly not an act of tolerance for Turkish
leaders to turn an ancient and sacred church, with profound religious
meaning for Armenians worldwide, into a secular museum, upon which
a cross is forbidden and within which prayer is prohibited. In her
letter to congressmen Watson says, "Turkish government is holding an
event to tout the rehabilitation of an Armenian Church. Unfortunately,
this event obscures the reality that hundreds of Christian Armenian
Churches in Turkey, some dating as far back as the 4th century, have
been neglected and even egregiously abused". "Armenia, which was the
first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 A.D.,
has a remarkably rich history of ancient churches and Christian
artifacts. Sadly, the Turkish government – which still, against all
evidence, denies the Armenian Genocide – continues to actively pursue
the eradication of Armenian ancient monuments. It is a desperate
and malicious campaign, which began in 1915, to erase the Armenian
people’s physical and cultural existence in their historic homeland,
"Diane Watson says in her letter.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CSTO PA AGAINST INSTALLMENT OF U.S. ANTI-MISSILE RADAR IN EUROPE

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.03.2007 16:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is against installment of
U.S. anti-missile radar in Europe. "This decision contradicts to the
security provisions in the European region," Chairman of the Assembly
Boris Gryzlov stated to journalists in Saint Petersburg in the result
of PA’s first plenary session.

"The fact that the issue was included in the agenda of the session
confirms that all delegates are concerned over this situation
and consider necessary to adopt a corresponding statement," he
explained. "We see a certain concern not only among population of
those countries but also among people of Europe," Gryzlov stressed.

Boris Gryzlov said the commission of the Parliamentarian Assembly
is ordered to examine the issue and prepare a draft statement till
the second session of CSTO PA, which will be held October 2007,
ITAR-TASS reports.

A NUMBER OF U.S. CORPORATIONS UNAWARE THEY "PARTICIPATE" IN THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.03.2007 17:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ American corporations Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson’s
and Cargill’s refuted the information that they participate in the
campaign against the Armenian Genocide recognition. The Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) addressed letters to about
100 organizations to find out if they were involved in the campaign
against the Armenian Genocide Resolution. As a response a number of
corporations stated, they are not assisting Turkish initiative but
also are unaware that their names had been used for such a campaign,
"Yerkir" newspaper reports. In January Turkish media reported that a
number of American corporations undersigned the letter, which calls
on the U.S. government not to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

INAUGURATION OF HOLY CROSS CHURCH ON AKHTAMAR IS "CULTURAL GENOCIDE"

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.03.2007 18:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "This is the day of the opening of a "church-museum",
which the Minister of Cultural Affairs turned into a mess. Whatever
the intention was, it looks like a "cultural genocide". The Ministry
has renamed the 1000-year-old Armenian capital "Ani", and also removed
the cross and the bells from the Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar which
it renamed as "Akdamar" (which means ‘white vein" in Turkish.) This
obsession with renaming, the cultural and religious intolerance shown
towards the cross and the church bell might well be perceived in the
world as a "cultural genocide"; nobody should be surprised if that
turns out to be the case," analyst Cengiz Candar writes in Turkish
Daily News. According to the analyst it is an absurd not putting a
cross and a bell onto the renovated church.

"Who will believe that you are secular, or that you "respect all
faiths", or that you represent "the alliance of civilizations against
the clash of civilizations. What you do is "cultural genocide".

The analyst of Turkish Daily News reminds the last editorial of
Hrant Dink, where he wrote, "The opening of the restored Holy Cross
Armenian Church of Akhtamar Island has turned into a comedy. The
Turkish government restores an Armenian church in the Southeast, but
only thinks, "How can I use this for political gains in the world, how
can I sell it?" They shot Hrant on the day this article was published,
the newspaper reminds.

ARMENIANS AND ITALIANS HAVE MUCH IN COMMON, WHICH WILL HELP TO STRENGTHEN BILATERAL TIES

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.03.2007 18:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Italy’s newly appointed Ambassador to Armenia
Massimo Lavezzo Cassinelli presented his credentials to Armenian
President Robert Kocharian.

"Armenian-Italian cultural and economic relations significantly
activated in the time of Italy’s former ambassador to Armenia and
it would be good if the new ambassador continues to work in that
direction," Robert Kocharian said. In his part Ambassador Cassinelli
noted that Armenians and Italians have much in common. "It assured
me that strengthening of bilateral ties will not be difficult. I
am going to concentrate on cooperation and development in small and
medium scale business," the Ambassador stressed.

Robert Kocharian assured Cassinelli that the Armenian side is ready
to assist him in all his beginnings, the RA presidential Press
Office reports.

IRAQI ARMENIANS DO NOT APPRECIATE PRESENCE OF ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPERS IN COUNTRY

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.03.2007 18:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Iraqi Armenians have never had problems with
the authorities, head of Central Armenian National Administration
of Iraq Paruyr Hakopian stated at his meeting with "Noravank"
scientific-educational fund in Yerevan March 30. He said, it is not
important who was ruling in Iraq, Armenians never had problems with
the ruling regime.

Alongside Hakopian stressed that representatives of the Armenian
community have not actively been involved in policy. According to
Hakopian representatives of Armenian community were involved in this
or that party, even represented in the parliament, however they did
not introduce problems of the Armenian community and served interests
of the party, since the legislation of the country states it.

The head of Armenian community in Iraq informed that Armenians have
never involved in the struggle between Shias and Sunnis. "And Armenians
as Iraqi citizens expressed extremely negative to American invasion.

>From the beginning of the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime up to March
1, 2007 28 Armenians have died. In this regard the community does not
appreciate the presence of Armenian peacekeepers in the country and
tries not to contact with them," the head of the Armenian community
of Iraq stressed, IA Regnum reports.

THE FUND TO MAKE IN-DEPTH RESEARCH OF MENTALLY DISABLED PEOPLE

ARMENPRESS
Mar 30 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS: Last year the Armenian Mental Health
Foundation launched a program designed specifically for protection
of the mentally disabled people, whom its chairman Karen Karapetian
described as ‘the most vulnerable part of Armenians."

The program would have been impossible without a grant from the
European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). It was
started in 2006 December and is set to be over in 2009 to result in a
set of proposals for sweeping reform of the Armenian custodian system.

Karapetian said they will first form a team of experts who will make
an in-depth exploration of this group of people, the performance of
local custodian bodies and will examine also relating court verdicts.

Then the group will make a comparison of Armenian legislation with
relevant Council of Europe decisions and directives and then it will
publicize a report on custodian system of Armenia and way to reform
it to meet international standards.

Besides, the fund will provide a set of legal assistance to these
people and training courses for local authorities dealing with mentally
disabled people.

ARMENIAN TAXMEN COLLECT 20 BILLION DRAMS IN FEBRUARY

ARMENPRESS
Mar 30 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS: Armenian taxmen collected 19.9 billion
Drams in February in taxes and duties, up from 16.6 billion collected
in January.

The press office of the state taxation service said 730 million Drams
were collected as excise taxes, profit taxes amounted to 4.9 billion
Drams while income taxes rose to 3.2 billion Drams.

The taxmen collected also 1.4 billion Drams in state dues, 644 million
Drams as simplified tax, 1.9 billion as fixed tax and payments. They
also collected 6.6 billion Drams in mandatory social payments.

RURAL POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAM DISCUSSED

ARMENPRESS
Mar 30 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS: Foreign minister Vartan Oskanian was
the key speaker today at a discussion on Rural Poverty Eradication
Program, which was organized by the UNDP in cooperation with the
American University of Armenia (AUA).

Oskanian said the strategic objective of this program is to eradicate
rural poverty in Armenia by offering technical and strategic support
to Armenia’s border villages, engaging the residents of the rural
communities in determining their own development path, thus enabling
their sustainability and viability, and strengthening Armenia’s
geo-strategic and economic security.

He said the purpose is to improve a community’s social and economic
well-being, by upgrading infrastructure, offering technical assistance
to agriculture-based activities, and identifying alternatives to
agriculture.

Oskanian said this program depends on the successful interaction
of a variety of entities and factors – the population of each rural
community and their local institutions, the Government of Armenia,
the various international aid agencies already providing invaluable
assistance to Armenia’s rural communities and marzes, and the financial
support and know-how of the Armenian Diaspora.

Oskanian recalled that this program had been first at the Third
Armenia-Diaspora Conference and received its overall support.

The program has been assigned to All-Armenian Hayastan Fund which
will steer its implementation.

Oskanian said some changes are taking place inside the structure for
development of program implementation mechanisms. The program involves
50 rural communities located 3-4 km from each other.

UNDP Resident Coordinator Consuelo Vidal said this program is in tune
with UN Millennium Development Goals.

WHO WILL REPLACE ANDRANIK MARGARYAN; RESPONDENTS’ FORECAST

A1+
[04:39 pm] 30 March, 2007

Nothing will change in the Republic of Armenia after the decease of
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan, assume 45% respondents of A1+’s
polling. To remind, the website suggested its permanent readers
answering the question; "How will the Prime Minister’s untimely
decease affect Armenia?"

The remaining votes were distributed in the following way;

RA Government will appear in a deadlock – 2%

It will have its side-effect on economy – 1%

RA political scene will aggravate – 18%

There will be political re-groupings on the eve of elections – 32%

To note, 569 people participated in the polling.

This week A1+ suggests answering this question, "Which candidate
would you like to see the RA Prime Minister?"