Month: April 2007

HOLY RESURRECTION HOLIDAY MARKED AT CALCUTTA ARMENIAN COMMUNITY

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 10 2007

CALCUTTA, APRIL 10, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Saint Liturgy
was celebrated on April 8 at the Calcutta Surb (Saint) Nazareth
Armenian church on the occasion of Christ’s Resurrection Holiday. The
liturgy was celebrated by Archimandrite Oshakan Gyulgyulian, the Indian
Armenian spiritual pastor and manager of the Armenian Philanthropic
Academy. The archimandrite warmly congratulated everybody on the
occasion of the Holy Resurrection Holiday, wishing that the light
and hope of Christ’s resurrection always accompany them.

According to the information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the Armenian
Philanthropic Academy of Calcutta, Ashot Kocharian, the RA Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of India who paid
two-day visit to Calcutta with his wife, members of the Calcutta Church
Council, Indian Armenians, students of the Philanthropic Academy,
representatives of the Consulate of the Russian Federation to India
and others were present at the ceremony.

HOLY EASTER LITURGIES CELEBRATED IN THREE CHURCHES OF VANADZOR

Noyan Tapan
Apr 10 2007

VANADZOR, APRIL 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The Easter Liturgy was celebrated
at the Vanadzor Surb (Saint) Grigor Narekatsi, Surb Astvatsatsin (The
Blessed Virgin) and Surb Sargis churches on the occasion of Christ’s
Resurrection Holiday on April 8. Bishop Sepuh Chuljian, the Gugarats
diocese primate celebrated the liturgy at the Vanadzor Cathedral. Lori
Governor A. Kocharian, Vanadzor Mayor S. Darbinian, Vanadzor State
Pedagogical Institute Rector G. Khachatrian, representatives of marz
and city authorities were present at the liturgy.

According to the information from the Press Service of the Gugarats
diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the priests also visited
the Vanadzor elderly people’s house and the Vanadzor orphanage on the
occasion of the Easter Holiday. After blessing the houses, members
of the Church-Loving Youth Union of the diocese gave Easter eggs to
children and old people, marking the symbol of the day.

HEAD of OSCE PA ELECTION OBSERVATION TEAM TO VISIT RA

A1+
[03:57 pm] 10 April, 2007

COPENHAGEN, 10 April 2007 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President
Tone Tingsgaard will visit Yerevan on 12-13 April as a part of
the Assembly’s observation of the 12 May parliamentary elections in
Armenia. Mrs. Tingsgaard, a Member of Parliament from Sweden, has been
appointed to lead the international delegation of parliamentarians
from the OSCE PA.

The pre-election visit will enable the OSCE PA team to gather
information regarding the ongoing campaign. In Yerevan, Mrs. Tingsgaard
will meet with representatives of political parties, the Central
Election Commission, the National Assembly, the long-term observer
mission deployed by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights, and other observer groups.

Mrs. Tingsgaard, who has extensive experience monitoring elections in
the OSCE area, will return to Armenia in May to lead the delegation
of OSCE parliamentarians that will be deployed across the country.

Since 1993, the OSCE PA has deployed more than 2300 parliamentarians
to observe elections across the OSCE region.

SERGE SARGSIAN ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO AGBU ACTIVITY IN BOTH DIASPORA AND FATHERLAND

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 10 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 10, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA Prime Minister
Serge Sargsian received on April 9 Perch Sedrakian, the Chairman of
Armenian General Benevolent Union and Ashot Ghazarian, the Director of
the Union Armenia Representation. They congratulated Serge Sargsian
on the occasion of the appointment and wished successes, emphasizing
that the Armenian General Benevolent Union will assist the native
Government within the framework of its possibilities from now as well
as it has done by now, having its continuous contribution in the affair
of strengthening the Fatherland and securing our people’s well being.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Government’s Information and
Public Relations Department, the Prime Minister thanked the AGBU
Chairman for the congratulation and readiness to assist, attaching
too much importance to the union activity in both Diaspora and
Fatherland. Serge Sargsian emphasized the interested work of the
Armenian General Benevolent Union especially in the sphere of
education.

The role of the union in the affair of keeping Armenian traditions in
Diaspora, uniting potential of Diasporan communities and aiming to
strengthening of the Fatherland was bilaterally attached importance
at the meeting.

Armenian General Benevolent Union Chairman Perch Sedrakian presented
the RA Prime Minister future programs of the union, spoke about the
events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian General
Benevolent Union held with success in Armenia.

Serge Sargsian mentioned that programs of the Armenian General
Benevolent Union are in keeping with programs of the RA Government what
makes the mutual cooperation more effective and expressed readiness
on behalf of the RA Government to continue close cooperation.

TEACHERS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND NATURAL SCIENCES SUBJECTS TO PASS RETRAINING THIS YEAR

Noyan Tapan
Apr 10 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Teachers of natural sciences and social
sciences subjects will pass retraining within the framework of program
of professional perfection of teachers starting 2007 in Armenia.

As Norayr Ghukasian, Director of RA National Institute of Education,
reported at the April 10 press conference, retraining courses of
specialists on these specialities will start in June-July this
year. Teachers of Armenian Language, Literature, Mathematics,
Informatics and former masters of primary schools have already passed
retraining at 52 school-centers created in various regions of Armenia
and in Yerevan at the first stage of the program.

In N. Ghukasian’s words, during retraining courses of form masters it
is also planned to organize meetings with authors of new textbooks,
the goal of which is to acquaint form masters in advance with use of
new curricula and textbooks.

"New textbooks on various subjects, subject criteria and curricula are
first tested at the very retraining courses, which enables teachers
to get acquainted with new books and new methods of teaching, on the
basis of which the main and alternative textbooks on the same subject
are selected," the Director of the Institute said.

RA GOVERNMENT TO CONTINUE POLICY OF KEEPING CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS ON STRONG BASES

Noyan Tapan
Apr 10 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 10, NOYAN TAPAN. His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos of
All Armenians visited RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsian on April 9. His
Holiness Patriarch started the meeting with the Patriarchal blessing
and congratulations of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, expressing
a hope that in the RA Government head’s high and responsible work,
Serge Sargsian will make with great devotion his experience and
abilities serve in favour of our people and state.

The Catholicos of All Armenians wished the Prime Minister good
health and successes on the way of solution of problems put before
the government.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Government’s Information and
Public Relations Department, congratulating for the Patriarchal best
wishes, Prime Minister Serge Sargsian assured that the RA Government
will from now on as well continue the policy fostered by it on keeping
the church-state relations on strong bases and making them serve in
favour of our state and people.

The sides touched upon during the meeting a number of issues relating
to the church-state relations and cooperation.

VANADZOR MAYOR HAS IMMUNITY

A1+
[03:06 pm] 10 April, 2007

Lori marz Court of First Instance examined the election application
deemed null and void in the election station # 30. Last week
the committee refused to register the mayor of Vanadzor. The
committee justified his decision based on the RA law about "Local
Referendum". Due to one of its clauses, the distrust towards the
Community leader is exceptional and it belongs to the aldermen.

The initiative group demanded the court to annul the decision and
register the mayor. Arthur Saqunts insisted on their appeal and
announced that the impeachment of the community leader could not be
considered exceptional, as far as the regional governor had the same
right based on RA Constitution.

Representative of Vanadzor Municipality and committee member
of election station # 30 Ararat Karapetyan found the application
unsubstantiated and subject to rejection just because it was a matter
of exceptional competence.

‘The mayor impeachment is possible if he does not carry out his
responsibilities properly. This is again something that both the
aldermen and regional government should be engaged.’

Ararat Karapetyan did not see any legal bases for it.

There will be people to be against Samvel Darbinyan’s impeachment. He
recollected the elections of self-government institutions in 2005,
when Samvel Darbinyan gathered approximately 24000 votes for, and 19000
votes against. On this account Ararat Karapetyan believes that some
day 5 people might form a group and protest against it. Signatures
will be gathered and presented to the aldermen.

‘ Even if the aldermen refute the very group cannot reapply; the number
of such groups can be more and more. ‘Ararat Karapetyan explains.

He thinks this will greatly damage the competences the self-gevernment
institutions, as well as the community budget.

Lori Marz Court of First Instance will bring its verdict on April
13. Hence only afterwards the matter will clear up.

ATTACKS ON TWO CANDIDATES AT THE SAME TIME

Panorama.am
20:15 09/04/2007

Two attacks took place on Sunday by amazing chance on car of the
candidate for deputies Hakob Hakobyan and the election office of the
Sousanna Haroutyunyan.

Several fires were shot on the car of Hakob Hakobyan after the
midnight. And unknown people have burned down the election office
of Sousanna Haroutyunyan, and she has learned about it only in the
morning.

"The whole state works only in favor of Seyran Saroyan. All this has
been made for the purpose to frighten us, in order were abandoned the
election struggle. My competitors are men, and it is shameful that
similar encroachments are made. He does his best to remain alone. And
people say we are building a democratic country", Ms. Haroutyunyan
was speaking with emotion.

"If they want to have an appointed candidate in the electoral district
N19, then let them appoint. Then why they announce elections?",
noted Ms. Sousanna.

HOT LINE OF THE POLICE

Panorama.am
20:47 09/04/2007

Hot line of the police will operate in the RA Police from April 9
top May 12. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. citizens may call to 56-13-46,
53-43-91 telephone numbers and declare about the irregularities
found by them. "It is done to correct the inaccuracies", Deputy
Head of RA Police, Ararat Mahtesyan said during the meeting with
journalists. According to the deputy head of the Police, preliminary
polling lists are hung in all the polling stations of the republic
since April 2. Ararat Mahtesyan calls for the citizens preliminarily
to get acquainted with the lists and in case of revealing inaccuracies
to apply to the passport service or to the community head.

The deputy head of the Police considers more spread types of
inaccuracies the presence of died people in the lists.

Alvina Zakaryan, Head of Passport and Visa Department of RA Police,
says that the process of correction of the polling lists will be
continued, right up to May 12. And finally in the electoral districts
the lists ill be hung up 2 day before the elections. The Passport
and Visa Department head has also heard about the talks that people
take the passports by means of this or that. She has heard that some
people take the passport giving several thousands of drams for it.

Alvina Zakaryan wonders how a man can entrust his passport to another,
even against an election bribe.

U.N. GENOCIDE EXHIBIT POSTPONED OVER TURKISH OBJECTION TO REFERENCE TO ARMENIAN KILLINGS
By Edith M. Lederer

Associated Press
1:58 p.m. April 9, 2007

UNITED NATIONS – A U.N. exhibition on the 1994 Rwanda genocide,
scheduled to open Monday, has been postponed because of Turkish
objections to a reference to the murders of a million Armenians in
Turkey during World War I.

James Smith, chief executive of the British-based Aegis Trust which
works to prevent genocide and helped organize the photo exhibition,
said the U.N. Department of Public Information approved the contents
and it was put up on Thursday.

After a Turkish diplomat complained about the reference to the Armenian
murders, he said, Armenia’s U.N. Ambassador Armen Martirosyan went
to see the new Undersecretary for Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka
and they agreed to remove the words "in Turkey."

Martirosyan said Akasaka even invited him to the exhibition’s opening,
but he was informed late Sunday "the opening would be postponed,
or delayed, or even canceled." He blamed Turkish "censorship" and
the country’s refusal "to come to terms with their own history."

On Monday, the exhibition was still in the visitor’s lobby, but turned
away from public view.

U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq confirmed the Turkish complaint
but said "the basic concern" was that the review process for
U.N. exhibitions, which takes into account "all positions," was
not followed.

"The exhibition has been postponed until the regular review process
is completed," Haq said.

Historians estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying that
the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of
civil war and unrest.

Smith told the Associated Press the exhibition refers to the Armenian
murders in the context of explaining the word "genocide," which was
coined by Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer of Polish-Jewish descent. Lemkin
was inspired by what happened to the Armenians and other mass killings,
and campaigned in the League of Nations – the precursor of the United
Nations – against what he called "barbarity" and "vandalism."

Smith said a small panel on Lemkin in the exhibit "says that during
World War I a million Armenians were murdered in Turkey."

It goes on to explain that Lemkin first used the word genocide in 1943,
and then focuses on the Rwanda genocide, he said.

Haq said "the U.N. hasn’t expressed any position on incidents that
took place long before the United Nations was established" after
World War II.

"In any case, the focus during the anniversary of the Rwanda genocide
should remain on Rwanda itself," he said.

Rwanda’s genocide began hours after a plane carrying President Juvenal
Habyarimana was mysteriously shot down as it approached the capital,
Kigali, on April 6, 1994. The 100-day slaughter, in which more than
500,000 minority Tutsis were killed by Hutu extremists, ended after
rebels ousted the extremist Hutu government that orchestrated the
killings.

Smith said the panel on the origin of genocide could have been done
without referring to the Armenians.

But once the Armenian reference "was there and approved, we felt as a
matter of principle you can’t just go around striking things out. It
is a form of denial, and as an organization that deals with genocide
issues, we couldn’t do that on any genocide, and we can’t do this,"
he said.

"If we can’t get this right, it undermines all the values of the
U.N. It undermines everything the U.N. is meant to stand for in terms
of preventing (genocide)," Smith said.

"You can’t learn the lessons from history if you’re going to sweep all
of that history under the carpet. And what about accountability? What
about ending impunity if you’re going to hide part of the truth? It
makes a mockery of all of this."

Associated Press Writer Lily Hindy contributed to this report.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress