Month: May 2008

LAVROV: RUSSIA WORKS FOR SARGSYAN-ALIYEV MEETING

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.05.2008 17:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia works for organization of a meeting between
Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents for negotiations on Nagorno
Karabakh, Russia’s Foreign Minister said.

Russia is concerned about the situation in Nagorno Karabakh, Sergei
Lavrov told the State Duma.

"The possibility of a presidential meting is under discussion. We are
convinced that a solution acceptable for both Armenia and Azerbaijan
can be found," he said, ITAR-TASS reports.

COUPLE AWARDED MEDAL OF EXCELLENCE
by Peter Corbett

The Arizona Republic
08/05/20/20080520sr-asuhonors0521-ON.html
May 20 2008
AZ

A Valley couple who founded the Armenian Church and Cultural Center in
Scottsdale was honored earlier this month by Arizona State University.

ASU President Michael Crow presented Gregory and Emma Melikian with
the University Medal of Excellence for their leadership and civic
engagement.

The Melikians have supported ASU for more than three decades,
including an endowment of the Melikian Center and its Critical
Languages Institute.

They have also invested in historic preservation of more than a dozen
properties in Scottsdale, Tucson and Phoenix, including the San Carlos
Hotel, downtown landmark since 1928.

The Melikians were presented their medals at the ASU graduation
ceremonies May 8.

The University Medal of Excellence honors innovative leaders who have
advanced awareness and action on issues that affect the well-being
and positive development of their communities.

ARMENIAN CO TO SUPPLY 200,000 TNS OF CEMENT FOR 2014 OLYMPICS IN SOCHI

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
May 20, 2008 Tuesday 12:19 PM EET

Armenian company Mika-Cement has signed an agreement to supply 200,000
tonnes of cement for the construction of Olympic facilities in Sochi
prior to the 2014 Winter Olympics, the company’s General Director
Naira Martirosyan said Tuesday, ITAR-TASS reported.

The value of the deal and the timeline of supplies were not provided.

Mika-Cement could supply other construction materials to Sochi,
Martirosyan added.

Mika-Cement currently produces 400,000 tonnes of cement per year and
plans to double its annual production capacity with the launch of a
second production line.

ARIEL COHEN: TURKEY IS U.S. VITAL ALLY IN REGION WROUGHT WITH DANGER

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.05.2008 16:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Later this year, the Turkish Constitutional Court
will hear a petition aiming to ban from politics the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AKP) and many of its most prominent members,
including Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, its president,
Abdullah Gul, and several dozen more AKP politicians. Since its
establishment in 1962, the Court has heard no fewer than four other
petitions to prohibit political parties. It has granted all of them.

"The trigger for the latest petition, filed by Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya,
the Turkish state prosecutor, was the AKP’s push to allow the wearing
of the hijab (head cover) in Turkish universities. The hijab row has
caused deep concern among the secular, mostly nationalist elite and
state bureaucracy, who believe that the AKP is instigating a creeping
"Islamization" of the Turkish Republic. Most Turks do not want to
live under sharia law and do not want their country to become another
Iran. The extremist wing of the AKP, along with 7 to 8 percent of
the Turkish population, probably does," said Ariel Cohen, a senior
research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

"However, banning the party would provoke a massive controversy. First,
there is the issue of popular legitimacy. The AKP won 47 percent
of the vote in the last parliamentary elections, giving it a broad
popular mandate. It may be easy to ban a small, radical party, but it
is very difficult to ban a ruling party with a second-term cabinet,
a popular prime minister, and a newly elected president.

"Second, a judiciary crackdown will undoubtedly prompt AKP supporters
to howl about the "persecution of Muslims," creating a powerful
mobilizing factor for the next elections.

"Third, there is the issue of southeast Turkey. In this region, the
AKP is splitting the vote with the Kurdish DTP party, which has ties to
the PKK terrorist group. Banning the AKP would help the DTP to perform
well in the 2008 municipal elections, scheduled for this coming fall.

"The Turkish state prosecutor would have a stronger case against the
AKP if clear evidence of a conspiracy existed, such as documents
outlining a coup plan, tape recordings of a plot to overthrow the
secular republic, or blatantly subversive links to foreign regimes or
terrorist organizations. Instead, the AKP has an amorphous agenda:
parts of its platform smack of Islamization, but the Court lacks a
clear evidentiary base to banish it from politics.

"The international repercussions of this case are enormous. The
vast majority of elite Turks want their country to join the European
Union. The AKP has done much to promote Turkey’s accession, despite
resistance from many European quarters. The EU and European governments
have clearly indicated that if the Court bans the AKP, it will set
back Turkish EU membership for years, if not indefinitely.

"At the same time, preserving the republic and repulsing threats both
external and internal is the top priority for Turkey’s state guardians:
lawyers, judges, military officers, and security commanders.

They will ignore foreign protests if they feel their country is
in peril.

"In deciding the AKP case, the Constitutional Court should use a
laser scalpel, not a sledgehammer. It could place a sanction on the
AKP and block its efforts at Islamization, yet not ban the party and
not destroy the democratic foundations of the Turkish state. The
Court could bar a handful of the most notorious AKP politicians,
but not the popular Erdogan and Gul. It could deny the AKP state
funds for implementation of its Islamization agenda. It could warn
the cabinet not to ignore the country’s secular spirit and legacy.

"Turkey is a vital ally of the United States in a region wrought with
danger. Washington is well advised to stay out of Turkey’s existential
crisis and let the Court settle it the best way it can. Americans
should respect Turkey’s maturity and independence. But Washington
should also emphasize its desire to maintain robust bilateral
relations," Mr Cohen said, The American reports.

ARMENIA AND TURKEY INTERESTS DON’T COINCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.05.2008 18:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia MP, member of the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia, Armen Ashotuan thinks that the true and announced interests
of Turkey and Armenia do not coincide.

"If the interests, which are just declared, can be compared, so
the true interests clash only," Ashotyan told "Global Challenges
and Threats: Are Joint Efforts between Armenia and Turkey
Possible?" international conference in Yerevan.

"If Armenia needs Turkey as a steadily developing neighbor,
Turkey needs Armenia at the instigation of world powers and major
international organizations," the MP said.

"Armenia’s global and regional interests focus international
recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, open communication and
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Turkey is aspired to join the
EU and maintain Turkish unity," he noted.

"Turkish unity supposes that Turkey doesn’t accept any possibility of
relations with Armenia unless the Karabakh problem is resolved. Fearing
for its territorial inviolability, it keeps on denying the Armenian
Genocide, which is frequently used as a stumble block for Turkey’s
accession to the EU," Ashotyan said, Novosti Armenia reports.

ARF DASHNAKTSUTIUN CYPRUS GOMIDEH ANNOUNCES MAY 28 GRAND FIESTA

Gibrahayer
May 19, 2008

WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF SINGER KARNIG SARKISSIAN & SAHAG SAHAGIAN &
ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VAHAN HOVHANESSIAN

Gibrahayer 19 May – Nicosia – The ARF Dashnaktsoutiun Cyprus Gomideh
has announced a May 28 Grand Fiesta on the occasion of the rebirth
of the Armenian nation by marking the 90th anniversary of Armenian
independence with the participation of Armenian presidential candidate
Vahan Hovhannessian and singers Karnig Sarkissian and his band as
well as Sahag Sahagian (composer of Kedashen).

The celebrations will begin at PASYDY on Sunday 8 June at 6:30pm and
will continue with a Banquet at The Holiday Inn at 8:30 pm with the
participation of the popular singers from Armenia.

The raffle of The Armenian National Committee of Cyprus – giving out
three major prizes will take place during the Banquet.

The two events on the same day, are being organised by the ARF
Dashnaktsoutiun Cyprus Gomideh and sister organisations AYMA/HMEM,
Hamazkayin "Oshagan" Cyprus Chapter and The Armenian Relief Society
(HOM) "Sosse" Cyprus Chapter.

LOSS OF NORASHEN TO RESULT IN LOSS OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF TBILISI

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.05.2008 19:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgian leadership’s encroachment on another
Armenian church, Norashen, once gain proved Tbilisi’s hostility not
only toward the Armenian state but also toward the Armenian nation and
its ethno-cultural and religious monuments, an Armenian expert said.

"These moves record a long history, amid Armenian Apostolic Church’s
absolute inactivity and Armenian Catholicosate’s neglect of the
problems of Armenians in Tbilisi and Samtskhe Javakheti," Hrant
Melik-Shahnazaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"During the 10-year confrontation, the AAC is ceding its positions
within the Armenian society of Georgia, while the GOC is putting
down roots among the Armenians in Tbilisi and Samtskhe Javakheti and,
furthermore, launched expansion over Lori," he said.

Loss of Norashen will inevitably result in loss of the Armenian
community of Tbilisi, what will be followed by final degradation and
de-ethnization of Samtskhe Javakheti. We are hopeful that His Holiness
Garegin II will manifest as true Catholicos and will not leave the
Tbilisian Armenians in this severe struggle. The more so because,
it’s the Catholicos who will be responsible for the loss of Norashen,"
Melik-Shahnazaryan said.

PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS OVER ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS BEING HELD IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 20, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The possibility of Armenia’s and Turkey’s
joint efforts under the circumstance of global challenges and threats
was discussed at the international conference organized on May 20
in Yerevan.

Armenian and Turkish experts, representatives of diplomatic missions
accredited in Armenia and a number of international organizations,
students took part in the conference organized by the Eurasia
Cooperation Fund and the Analytical Center for Globalization and
Regional Cooperation.

The dialogue and cooperation program between Armenia and Turkey,
which has been implemented by the Eurasia Cooperation Fund since
2006, contributes to improval of relations among people, cooperation
between NGOs and business circles, which creates a basis for regional
integration, stability, and countries’ economic development. Steven
Banks, the Head of the Political Department of the U.S. Embassy,
said. In his words, the United States with active diplomatic efforts
tries to contribute to establishment of contacts between Armenia and
Turkey, but these efforts of NGOs can also assist in the issue of
establishment of diplomatic contacts.

Stepan Grigorian, the Director of the Analytical Center for
Globalization and Regional Cooperation, said that public discussions
over Armenian-Turkish relations can be more efficient, as they are
held in an unconstrained atmosphere. According to him, in spite of
many problems, there are also some issues, in connection with which
the two countries’ interests may coincide.

In the political scientist’s opinion, in particular, the Kosovo problem
is among them, the independence of which has been recognized by Turkey,
and Armenia will recognize it sooner or later.

CHANGES MADE IN STAFF OF ARMENIAN DELEGATION IN PACE

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 20, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Vahe Hovhannisian, the representative
of the Bargavach Hayastan (Prosperous Armenia) faction, has been
substituded by Naira Zohrabian, a member of the same faction, in
the staff of the Armenian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe. This information was provided to a Noyan
Tapan correspondent by the faction. The change is conditioned by the
preterm stopping of the deputy competences of Vahe Hovhannisian.

The representative of the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) faction has
also been substituded in the staff of the delegation. Mher Shahgeldian,
who has been appointed Minister, has been substituded by given faction
member Artashes Avoyan.

HRAYR KARAPETIAN FROM ARF DASHNAKTSUTIUN ELECTED NA VICE SPEAKER

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 20, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly elected Hrayr
Karapetian from the ARF Dashnaktsutiun as Vice Speaker of the National
Assembly by secret ballot on May 20. According to Samvel Nikoyan, the
Chairman of the Ad Hoc Counting Committee, 101 out of 131 MPs took
part in the ballot. There were 100 ballot-papers in the ballot-box,
2 out of which were invalidated. 97 MPs voted for Hrayr Karapetian
and one MP voted against.

The newly-elect Vice Speaker of the National Assembly thanked for the
vote of confidence. "It obliges me more to use all of my capacities
in the interest of the NA proceedings, in favour of our homeland,"
Hrayr Karapetian declared from the NA rostrum.