Month: April 2007

AS OF 13:30, APRIL 25, OBSERVERS OF 32 NGOS AND 5 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ACCREDITED AT CEC

Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. As of 13:30, April 25, 32 local public
and 5 international organizations were accredited at the Central
Electoral Commission to hold monitoring at the coming parliamentary
elections. The latters are the Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR), the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and
the Council of Europe, the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Council
and the CIS Executive Comittee.

To recap, the deadline for accreditation of observers is May 2.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

6 SCHOOLS IN ARTIK TO BE FURNISHED WITH FINANCING OF MAYOR’S OFFICE OF FRENCH CITY OF VAULX EN VELIN

Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2007

ARTIK, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Hayastan All Armenian Fund furnished 12
classrooms in 6 schools in Artik as part of the project called "Let’s
give them a classroom" ("Donons-leur un classe"), which was initiated
by the Fund’s French affiliate in 2004. Furnishing activities of the
Artik city have been supported by the Vaulx en Velin municipality
in France.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the Public Relations Department of the
fund, the list of the most necessary furnishing items was agreed upon
with heads of schools and the municipality in advance. The management
and students were very pleased to have the furniture arrive in schools
sooner than expected.

The Hayastan Fund follows the principle of completing all it starts;
according to a prior agreement with the Vaulx en Velin municipality,
the latter will go ahead with the full furnishing of the 6 schools.

Vaulx en Velin (France) and Artik (Armenia) are sister cities; their
cooperation is well established and continuous.

MONUMENT TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS AND ARMENIAN FIGHTERS PERISHED IN THE NAME OF FRANCE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2007

MEUDON LA FORET, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Herve
Marseille, the Mayor of the French city of Meudon La Foret and
Ambassador of Armenia Eduard Nalbandian solemny opened on April 21
in the central square of the city the monument dedicated to memory
of the Armenian Genocide victims and Armenian fighters perished in
the name of France.

National Assembly deputy, former minister Patrick Devedjian, other
parliament members, delegates of the General Council of Hauts-de-Seine,
representatives of rural authorities of the neighboring cities,
heads of French Armenian organizations, representatives of French
Armenian spiritual authorities and hundreds of citizens of Meudon La
Foret were present at the solemn ceremony.

Martial flags were lowered under the anthems of Armenia and France,
wreaths were laid to the monument.

"It is not accidental that it is written on the monument: in memory of
the 1915 genocide martyrs and Armenian fighters perished in the name
of France,- Ambassador Eduard Nalbandian said in the opening speech. –
It is very symbolic as they were sons of just the ones escaped the
genocide who completely devoted themselves to France, giving their life
in the name of France in the World War II, as a token of gratitude.

The Liturgy in memory of the Armenian martyrs was celebrated at the
Notre-Dame de Paris on April 22. Archbishop Michel Coloni of Dijon
sermonized during the liturgy celebrated at the main temple of France
with Armenian rituals.

The rampart of vigilance against denial was placed on April 21 and
22 in the square of Notre-Dame de Paris, on the initiative of the
Armenian Youth Organizations on Struggle against Denial. Dozens of
stands told thousands of visitors about the genocides starting from
the first genocide of the 20th century to another genocide of the
21st century, the Darfur one, as well as about the next victim of
Turk nationalists, public figure and journalist Hrant Dink.

ARF BUREAU MEETS WITH US DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADER

Yerkir
25.04.2007 17:02

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Howard Dean, the National Democratic Commmittee
chairman, recevied a delegation of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation Buereau at the Democratic headquarters in Washington on
April 24, ARF press service reported.

The ARF Bureau delegation comprised ARF Bureau members Vahan
Hovhannisian, Karo Armenian and Vigen Hovsepian.

During the meeting that lasted over an hour, issues related
to cooperation between the Democratic party and the ARF were
discussed. The Artsakh conflict settlement, the Armenian-Turkish
relations and the Armenian Genocide as well as the parliamenatary
election in Armenia were also discussed.

The parties agreed to continue inter-party relations and implement
a number of joint projects.

WORLD-FAMOUS ACTRESS JEANNE MOREAU TO VISIT ARMENIA WITHIN FRAMEWORK OF GOLDEN APRICOT FILM FESTIVAL

Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Golden Apricot (Voske Tsiran) film
festival’s this year’s greatest surprise will be the visit of Jeanne
Moreau to Armenia. As festival’s Director General, film director
Haroutiun Khachatrian informed NT correspondent, the actress will
be given festival’s Grand Prix for her great contribution in the
world cinema.

H. Khachatrian also said that a new program, festival of French films,
will be implemented for the first time this year within the framework
of the film festival. "For the first time there will be a new festival
within the festival, thanks to which the Armenian spectator will
have a possibility to get acquainted with the modern French cinema,"
he emphasized.

In the film director’s words, the French film festival will be held
within the framework of Golden Apricot every year, during which 7-10
new French films will be shown. Applications of 16 films have been
already received for that program.

IT’S ME INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL STARTS IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. It’s Me (Yes Em) international youth
film festival started on April 25 at Cinema House with the showing
of Tiran Karapetian’s "Jugha" documentary film. The festival is
organized for already the fourth time on the initiative of the Union
of Cinematographers of Armenia. 105 films out of 220 films presented
in advance selected by the contest commission will be shown in the
days of the festival.

Chairman of festival, film director R. Gevorgiants greeted the
participants and said that majority of film directors who applied
for taking part in the festival are young creators. Most of them will
take part in the festival for the first time. "This fesival is held
just for them, for these creators to be able to present their works
and pave the way for themselves," R. Gevorgiants emphasized.

The festival’s steering committee has instituted 8 prizes: the best
fiction film, the best documentary film, the best student work, the
best cameramen’s work, the best producer’s work, the best musical
clip, the best animation film, the best video-art. All participants
will receive a diploma, a prize and a monetary award.

ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATED IN FRANKFURT

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2007

FRANKFURT, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The central event
of commemoration of the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide took
place with joint efforts of the Armenian Diocese of Germany and the
Board of Germany’s Armenians at the Paulskirsche Hall of Frankfurt
on April 22.

Chairman of the Board of Germany’s Armenians Shavarsh Hovasapian opened
the event. Welcoming those present on behalf of the event organizers,
he noted with satisfaction the interest in recognition of the Armenian
Genocide shown by German state and political circles in recent years
and their steps in this direction. "The history of the Armenian
Genocide has become a history of denial for Turkey. This policy of
denial has caused the death of Hrant Dink," S. Hovasapian said.

Then the Armenian ambassador to Germany Karine Ghazinian, and leader of
the Green party’s parliamentary faction Fritz Kuhn made speeches. Two
years ago F. Kuhn played an important role in adoption of the decision
condemning the extermination of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, which
was passed by the Bundestag. "I was ashamed to discover that German
school textbooks say nothing about the Armenian Genocide," he said,
expressing a hope that German responsible bodies will correct this
mistake in the near future.

German historian Yorn Riuze made a scientific report on the Armenian
Genocide. In particular, he said that the Genocide’s recognition is
necessary not only for Armenians but also for Turks as the current
Turkish generation is a captive of the bitter historical past. "A
murder chases like a shadow those avoiding responsibility. Mass
killings are killings of one’s own humanity and it is impossible to
avoid responsibility by denial or rejection," he noted.

The head of the German diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Archbishop Garegin Bekjian delivered the final speech. The event
ended with prayers for peace of the souls of the numerous victims of
the Armenian Genocide.

USA SEES KARABAKH AS PART OF AZERBAIJAN, HOPES TO GO AHEAD WITH SECURITY TALKS

Azartac news agency, Baku
24 Apr 07

A senior US diplomat has sought to justify amendments to a State
Department report which has caused a rare diplomatic row between Baku
and Washington.

Matthew Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and
Eurasian affairs, said that the amendments to the 2006 Country Report
on Human Rights Practices were necessary to prove the US neutrality
in Karabakh talks.

Bryza said that a statement in the initial version of the report about
the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s Nagornyy Karabakh region and
surrounding territories was a "mistake".

"Given the current stage of talks on Nagornyy Karabakh, this was
our mistake," the US diplomat said in an interview with Azerbaijan’s
state-owned Azartac news agency.

"The amendments say that Armenian forces are occupying territories
[adjacent to Nagornyy Karabakh] but Armenian officials say that
[Armenia] is not occupying Nagornyy Karabakh. As you can see, we
simply wrote what the Armenian side said."

Bryza reiterated his government’s support for Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity.

"If you looked at the official website of the Department of State,
you could see that we recognize Azerbaijan’s territories integrity.

We recognize Xankandi as part of Azerbaijan," Bryza said, referring
to the capital of breakaway region.

Armenians call the town Stepanakert.

Bryza dismissed allegations that the wording of the report was changed
under pressure from the powerful Armenian diaspora.

"I repeat that we had made a mistake, which we amended. I have to say
that we were not influenced by anyone. Some people say that we did
so under pressure from some diaspora groups. This is not correct,"
Azartac quoted the US diplomat as saying.

Bryza expressed the hope that high-level security talks between
Azerbaijani and US officials, which were cancelled by Azerbaijan in
protest at the amendments, would go ahead.

"I want to stress that this is a partnership. The USA does not want
anything from Azerbaijan. What we want is to listen to each other
and look for ways of strengthening our security through cooperation,"
he said.

Bryza stressed that his country was a friend of Azerbaijan.

"I think we have repeatedly demonstrated that we are a reliable friend
of Azerbaijan. We realize that we need each other. Let us trust our
friendship, leave all this behind and go ahead with talks.

You should trust us because we trust Azerbaijan."

CEREMONY IN MEMORY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS HELD IN NEA ZMIRNI

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2007

NEA ZMIRNI, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On the initiative
of the prefecture of Athens and with the sponsorship of the local
Armenian clergymen, a ceremony in memory of the innocent victims of
the Armenian Genocide took place at the Armenian memorial monument
in Nea Zmirni on April 23.

The event was chaired by Harutyun Chinarian, who after presenting a
short historical background noted that today’s Turkey is continuing
to be a captive of its guilty past.

Among Greek guests were former Greek prime minister Ioannis Grivas,
mayor of Nea Zmirni Yorgos Kutyalakis, deputy mayors Vankelis
Khachaturian and Marina Iokovaki, chairman and members of the city
council and many other officials.

In his speech the Nea Zmirni mayor indicated the highly pro-Armenian
feelings of the mayor’s office and informed those present that a
5-member delegation will this week visit Armenia within the framework
of Nea Zmirni-Sisian sister cities process.

After speeches, wreaths were laid at the memorial monument and the
brass band of Nea Zmirni performed the national anthems of Armenia
and Greece.

MIKHAYIL HAROUTIUNIAN APPOINTED RA DEFENCE MINISTER

Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. By the April 23 decree of RA President
Robert Kocharian, Colonel General Mikhayil Haroutiunian was discharged
from the post of the RA Armed Forces Headquarters General Chief –
First Deputy Minister of Defence and got free of the military service,
according to his report.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA President’s Press Office,
according to the decree signed by Robert Kocharian on April 24,
Mikhayil Haroutiunian was appointed the RA Defence Minister.