Month: September 2013

Serzh Sargsyan visits Chinese embassy on national holiday of China

14:08 28/09/2013 » POLITICS

President Serzh Sargsyan visited the embassy of China in Yerevan on
occasion of the national holiday of China. On behalf of the people of
Armenia and his own behalf, the President congratulated ambassador
Tian Changchun, the embassy staff and the friendly people of China on
the 64th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

Serzh Sargsyan asked the ambassador to convey his warm wishes and
congratulations to Chinese President Xi Jinping and wished success to
friendly China in its steady progress and development in various
areas.

President Serzh Sargsyan and ambassador Tian Changchun concurred that
the high-level Armenian-Chinese relations constitute a solid base for
strengthening the interstate relations and developing the mutually
beneficial cooperation, the presidential press service reports.

Source: Panorama.am

Bishops Synod considers canonization of the Armenian Genocide victims

18:29 27.09.2013

>From September 24 through 27, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin,
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians; and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia, presided over the opening of the Bishop’s Synod of the
Armenian Church. Present at the meeting were 62 Archbishops and
Bishops from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Great House of
Cilicia.

On 24 September, following the Morning services in the Mother
Cathedral, the Bishops Synod of the Armenian Church opened in the
Gevorkian Seminary Events Center Auditorium.

Mr. Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Republic of Armenia, greeted the
Bishops during the opening ceremony of the meeting. His Holiness
Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; and His
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, delivered
their messages to the Synod members. His Eminence Archbishop Aram
Ateshyan, Patriarchal Vicar of Constantinople, also gave opening
remarks during the Bishops Synod.
At the conclusion of the opening service, the following chancellery of
the Synod was established: His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamyan
and His Eminence Archbishop Oshakan Choloyan were appointed to serve
as co-chairman; and His Eminence Archbishop Narek Alemezyan and His
Eminence Archbishop Arshak Kachatryan were appointed to serve as
secretaries. Following the assignment of administrative duties, the
Synod agenda items were approved.

On September 24, the Synod discussed the re-establishment of the
tradition of canonization in the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church, and
specifically focused on the issue of canonization of the victims of
the Armenian Genocide. Co-Chairmen of the Sainthood Committee, His
Eminence Archbishop Sepuh Sargsyan, and His Eminence Archbishop Yeznik
Petrosyan, presented reports on the results of the works and study
concerning this issue.

Following lengthy discussion by the Synod on the reports concerning
the canonization of the Armenian Genocide victims, the Synod made the
following decisions:

The collective canonization of the victims of the Armenian Genocide
was adopted in principle, and the Sainthood Committee was assigned the
task of continuing to study the individual and collective canonization
of the victims, for presentation and approval at the next meeting. The
Sainthood Committee was also assigned the task of reviewing the canon
and ritual of canonization, for presentation and approval at the next
meeting.

On September 25 and 26, the Synod members discussed the works of the
Liturgical Committee on the sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation of
the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. The reports were presented by
Co-Chairman His Eminence Archbishop Arshak Kachatryan; and committee
members His Grace Bishop Mikael Ajapahyan and His Grace Bishop Vahan
Hovhannisyan. At the conclusion of intensive discussions, the Synod
accepted the uniform text for the Services of Baptism and Chrismation.

In the next session, the report on canonical issues the sacrament of
the Holy Baptism and the moral-instructive guidelines of Holy Baptism
were the topic of discussion. The Liturgical Committee was assigned to
further continue their work on those issues. Also discussed was the
language of Armenian Church services and other issues, and it was
noted that additional study was required.

The sessions of September 27 were devoted to the modern challenges
facing the Armenian Church. His Eminence Archbishop Oshakan Choloyan
and His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan presented reports on the
matter. Discussing the challenges on the liturgical, and religious
instruction life of the Church and its educational and social mission,
as well as the problems of the preservation of the Armenian identity,
the Synod members noted those to be of predominant priority and
decided to include them in the agenda of the upcoming Synod meetings.

Reviewing the results of the Bishops Synod, they also expressed
concern for the social, economic, national, and regional and various
other challenges and problems present in the church and civil life of
our nation. As a solution to those challenges and problems, as their
service to the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Bishops decided to
establish a foundation for supporting the disadvantaged children of
Armenia, Cilicia and Armenians in Syria, with the blessings of the
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, and Catholicos of the Great
House of Cilicia Aram I.

Initially two million USD was provided for launching the foundation
and a special committee was created for organizing the mission of the
foundation.

At the conclusion of the Synod, the Bishops happily reflected on the
productive outcome of the meeting and also expressed their
appreciation to His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians; and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of
the Great House of Cilicia, for the opportunity of uniting under the
roof of the Mother See in brotherly love. The Synod members remarked
on the importance of regularly convening the Bishops Synod for
addressing the various challenges that the Armenian Apostolic Church
presently face, and the problems concerning the Armenian people. This
will also help in adjusting the viewpoints and approaches of the
Armenian Church on those matters.

The next Bishops Synod is scheduled to be convened in autumn of 2014.
The Catholicos of All Armenians and the Catholicos of the Great House
of Cilicia closed the Synod with their blessings, offering
appreciation and prayers.

Armenian parliamentarians conduct closed meetings with Russian, US, EU diplomats

14:23 – 28.09.13

Members of the Armenian National Assembly’s Standing Committees on
Foreign Relations, and European Integration have recently held
closed-door meetings with US Ambassador John Heffern, Head of the EU
Mission to Armenia, Ambassador Trajan Hristea, and Russian Ambassador
Ivan Volynkin.

In comments to Tert.am, Tevan Poghosyan, an MP of the opposition
Heritage party who is represented in the Foreign Relations Committee,
addressed the objectives and principal trends of the meetings. `The
organization of meetings in any format is, in general, commendable.
There are open and closed hearings and parliamentary speeches;
different parliaments have their mechanisms, and because Armenia is
now in a process of very active debates on policy vectors, [hesitating
between]European integration, the Customs Union and the possible
continuation of the [EU] Association Agreement … there are various
developments in the region, so September had an active start,’ he
said.

Poghosyan added that the committee also conducts meetings with
representatives of the Ministry of Defense.

Asked whether the meetings with the Russian and US ambassadors have
focused on Armenia’s Customs Union membership issue and the so-called
continuation of the Association Agreement process, the opposition MP
refrained from any comments, noting that the discussions were
closed-door.

Speaking to Tert.am, Head of the European Integration Committee Naira
Zohrabyan (Prosperous Armenia faction) commented on the meeting with
Ambassador Hristea.

`It was a very effective meeting, and I got the answers to many
questions that weren’t clear to me before,’ she said.

Asked whether the EU will sign any agreement with Armenia or insist
nonetheless that the word `association’ be retained, Zohrabaan
answered, `What has been negotiated over the course of four years is
not possible to sign; so we cannot exclude the DCFTA [Deep and
Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement] from the constituent documents and
sign only the Association [Agreement]. But the EU is ready to work on
the new document, and a spokesperson for [Enlargement Commissioner]
Stefan Fule has said that too. So there is a willingness on the part
of EU to work on the document.’

Armenian News – Tert.am

Zhoghovurd: Wife of ex-representative to CIS IPA commits suicide

Saturday,
September 28, 2013

`Zhoghovurd’ says that the wife of Feliks Ghushchian, former
representative of the Armenian parliament to the Inter-Parliamentary
Assembly (IPA) of the CIS and former Deputy Secretary General of CIS
IPA, committed suicide last evening. According to the paper, Narine
Arakelian jumped out of a window of their apartment. The cause of
suicide is unknown.

TODAY, 12:28

Aysor.am

Does U.S. Believe In Success More After September 3?

Clinton said and left and who will stop Putin?

Russian President Putin is trying to restore the USSR but we will not
allow taking us back in time. The U.S. ex-secretary Hillary Clinton
said so during the meeting of the OSCE foreign ministers in Dublin in
December. It was a blunt statement which many explained by Clinton’s
retirement.

However, it is hard to think whether the ex-first lady, ex-candidate
for president and the state secretary for four years did not realize
that retirement from the post of foreign minister of a country like
the United States cannot be an `alibi’ for the author of the statement
and the country that she represents.

This statement was made by the United States, not Clinton, therefore
the United States is responsible. Hence, the question is how the
United States is going to prevent return to the past, how it will
thwart Putin’s attempts to restore the USSR.

Armenia needs to know this urgently because not only is it at the
border of the former USSR, in a region of high geopolitical
importance, but has also engaged in the Russian efforts to restore the
USSR, whether voluntarily or by force.

How is the United States going to prevent Armenia’s return to the
past? It should be noted that this is the problem of Armenia, the
government and citizens of Armenia. Since power in Armenia does not
belong to the citizens, and the government has placed itself under
Putin’s ambitions with the connivance of most political parties, only
the citizens of Armenia are to resolve the problem of the ruling
system and prevent return to the Soviet past.

However, the United States has made a statement and thereby assumed
responsibility. If the citizens of Armenia had sufficient power and
resource, the steps that the United States could take would hardly
interest us. However, since the citizens have been left alone
vis-à-vis the government and the so-called political system so the
steps of the United States can be an additional opportunity for the
citizens to address the problems.

In this regard, after the Customs Union the United States displayed an
attitude that differs from the attitude of the United States. The
United States did not make tough statements expressing its
frustration. Moreover, it expressed its readiness to continue its
policy of supporting internal reforms.

In addition, over the past few days the United States has been active
in Armenia, discussing issues of modernization in different sectors of
economy and governance.

The question is what has happened in Armenia for the U.S. attitude to
the success of this initiative. Does the United States believe in
success after September 3 more or less strongly? Does the United
States think about change of balance of partnership and reduction of
the government’s share in it?

There are no answers to these question, and these questions will
hardly have a direct answer. They are from the circle of diplomatic
and political subtleties, and there are mostly hints.

Sometimes, however, these hints are quite transparent, like the U.S.
Ambassador John Heffern’s statement that there is nothing in the
Customs Union that would impede internal reforms in Armenia. In other
words, the United States announces that the Customs Union in Armenia
cannot be a hindrance to the United States. This could be a model
behavior for Europe which has been telling us since September 3 how
disturbing the Customs Union is.

If Europe did not have a plan B on Armenia, it is evidence to Europe’s problems.

By the way, the chair of the EP Committee of Foreign Affairs Elmar
Brok told Radio Liberty they did not lose Armenia but Armenia lost the
European prospect.

Brok is right, Europe has not lost Armenia, Europe is losing itself,
and this is a problem. The problem is equally unimportant whether the
USSR is restored exactly or with some differences. Europe’s role is
that of a strategic dam.

Hakob Badalyan
14:23 28/09/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Monument to slain Armenian Officer Gurgen Margayan unveiled in Yerevan

15:16 28.09.2013

The monument to slain Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan was unveiled
in Yerevan today. Gurgen’s mother and member of the UK House of Lords,
Baroness Caroline Cox opened the statue.

Attending the event were government officials, public figures,
representatives of international organizations, Gurgen Margaryan’s
friends, citizens from different countries.

Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan was killed by Azerbaijani Officer
Ramil Safarov on February 19, 2004 in Budapest as the two were
attending three-month English language courses of NATO’s `Partnership
for Peace’ program.

Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, was transferred
back to his home country on August 31, 2012 under an extradition
agreement.

Although Azerbaijan formally pledged that the life sentence handed
down to him in Hungary would be directly continued when he was
returned to his homeland, the Azerbaijani president granted him
clemency.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced the same day that Armenia
suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary.

It would be very good if aircrafts were allowed to fly to Stepanakert
airport – Baroness Cox

September 28, 2013 | 14:14

YEREVAN. – Baroness Caroline Cox said it would be very good if the
aircrafts were allowed to fly freely to the Stepanakert airport.

Talking to reporters in Yerevan, Baroness Cox commented on the opening
of Stepanakert airport.

`This will bring in humanitarian resources, to bring out people who
perhaps need medical treatment in Armenia,’ she said.

Opening of the Stepanakert airport remains a number one issue in
Azerbaijan. The official Baku periodically voices threats to shoot
down the aircrafts.

Baroness Cox about Azerbaijan’s `black list’: We regard it as a big joke

September 28, 2013 | 13:54

YEREVAN. – Baroness Caroline Cox said by initiating a `black list’,
Azerbaijan tries to intimidate and threaten people who intend to go to
Nagorno-Karabakh.

`I think this is because Azerbaijan is afraid that people will know
the truth,’ Baroness Cox told correspondents of Armenian News-NEWS.am,
tert.am and haynews.am.

`But second, those of us whose names are on the so-called `black list’
treat it like a role of honor. We are proud to be next to other very
good names on that list. We also regard it as a big joke,’ she said.

Azerbaijani MFA issued the list of those individuals that are declared
persona non grata in Azerbaijan for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh `without
permission.’

The Azerbaijani `black list’ comprises 335 names, including famous
Italian singer and actor Al Bano, and world-renowned Spanish operatic
soprano Montserrat Caballé.

From: Baghdasarian

There is great potential for cooperation between Armenia and EU `
Slovak Deputy PM

September 28, 2013 | 11:42

YEREVAN. ` There is a great potential for cooperation between Armenia
and the European Union (EU), and the relations need to be developed
based on this potential.

Miroslav LajÄ?ák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
of Slovakia, stated the abovementioned Friday during his talk with
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, and within the framework
of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly, in New York City.

LajÄ?ák noted the aforesaid in the context of Armenia’s decision to
become a member in the Customs Union.

The interlocutors reflected on the avenues for the development of
bilateral relations between Armenia and Slovakia, informs the Armenian
MFA press service.

Nalbandian and LajÄ?ák also discussed the ongoing cooperation along the
lines of the EU Eastern Partnership initiative, and the preparations
for the Eastern Partnership summit to be convened in Vilnius,
Lithuania, in November.

Armenian FM and State Department official discuss Karabakh conflict

September 28, 2013 | 11:58

On the margins of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly,
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Friday met with Wendy
Sherman, U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs.

The sides had an in-depth discussion of the moves taken to move
forward the Karabakh peace process. The officials touched upon further
development of bilateral relations in different areas as well as
regional challenges.

On the same day, Minister Nalbandian met with the delegation of the
American Jewish Committee to discuss regional situation and
developments in the Middle East.