Author: Badalian Vardan

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

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THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA WAS INVITED TO THE CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM CONFERENCE
IN AMMAN (JORDAN)

H.E. Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian, Primate of Tehran, represented the
Catholicosate of Cilicia at the Conference organized by HRH Prince El Hassan
bin Talal, Founder and Director of the Interreligious and Intercultural
Research and Dialogue Foundation.

More than 75 Christian and Muslim experts from the Arab countries in the
region were invited to discuss the future of Christianity in the Middle
East.

In his opening speech, Prince Hassan stated that the exodus of Christians
from the region is detrimental both for Christians and Muslims, and urged
Muslim leaders to reconsider their policies regarding local Christians.
Archbishop Sarkissian spoke of the Armenians in Iran, past and present.

The Archbishop met with Prince Hassan and conveyed the greetings of His
Holiness Aram I. Prince Hassan returned the greetings and expressed his
admiration for Catholicos Aram’s efforts to promote interreligious harmony.

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
March 20, 2012
Contact: Press Department
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 393-3434

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE

SENATOR MENENDEZ SPEARHEADS EFFORT ALONG WITH SENATOR KIRK

Washington, DC – Yesterday, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) along with
Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) officially introduced a new Armenian Genocide
Resolution (S.Res. 399) in the United States Senate, reported the Armenian
Assembly of America (Assembly).

Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), and
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined as original cosponsors. In addition,
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Chair of the Democratic Policy Committee,
has also agreed to cosponsor the bill.

“It is time for the United States to join the nineteen nations including
Belgium, Canada, France, Italy and the European Union that have formally
recognized the actions carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923
as genocide,” Senator Menendez said. “The Armenian Genocide is a historical
fact and was one of the incidents upon which the Genocide Convention was
predicated. Only by accurately acknowledging the crimes of the past can we
ever hope to move forward in a legitimate manner and prevent such human
rights crimes from happening in the future.”

“The Armenian Genocide is well-documented and formally recognized by 11
NATO allies and the European Union. This resolution accurately
characterizes the events of 1915-1923 as a genocide, honors the memory of
the victims, and strengthens America’s moral leadership on human rights and
the prevention of mass atrocities around the world,” said a spokesman for
Senator Kirk.

As reported last week, the new Senate resolution is similar to the House
version, and adds a key finding from the 1951 U.S. filing before the
International Court of Justice concerning the Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Specifically, the document
highlighted the fact that “the Roman persecution of the Christians, the
Turkish massacre of Armenians, the extermination of millions of Jews and
Poles by the Nazis are outstanding examples of the crime of genocide.”

“We commend Senator Menendez and Senator Kirk for introducing this
important human rights legislation,” stated the Assembly’s Executive
Director Bryan Ardouny. “We also recognize and appreciate the support of
those Senators who joined as original cosponsors. We will continue our
advocacy efforts to ensure additional cosponsors, and urge its timely
adoption,” added Ardouny.

The first step for the bill is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
where Senator Menendez serves as a Subcommittee Chairman. The Committee is
chaired by Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who has a long record in support of
U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and
awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR#: 2012-009

PRESS RELEASE
United Nations Development Programme / Armenia
14 Petros Adamyan St., Yerevan 0010
Contact: Mr. Hovhannes Sarajyan, Communications Associate
Tel: +37410 566 073
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site:

Partnership for Social Housing

Yerevan, 22 March 2012 – Today, an international conference on
“Partnership for Social Housing” took place at Ani Plaza Hotel, at the
joint initiative of the National Social Housing Association (ASBA) and
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia.

The conference was attended by Arthur Baghdasaryan, the Secretary of
the RA National Security Council and the Chairman of the Board of ASBA
foundation, Dafina Gercheva, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident
Representative in Armenia, and Angele Samura, Deputy Head of Mission,
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Leading specialists from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Montenegro,
Bulgaria and Romania also attended the conference. Armenia was
represented by partner ministries, local authorities, as well as
representatives of non-governmental organizations.

Greeting the participants of the international conference and
emphasizing the importance of project, the Chairman of the board of
the ASBA foundation, Secretary of RA National Security Council Arthur
Baghdasaryan said, “Finding a solution to the housing problem is of
high importance from the point of view of Armenia’s sustainable
development and national security strategy. It is impossible to
address the issues of demography, migration, territorial development
without solving the housing problem. Today’s international conference
is the proof of the fact that our state pays serious attention to the
development of social housing, which will contribute to the solution
of the problem of housing of vulnerable families and the development
of middle class. I am convinced that in a very short period of time,
with the help of our international partners, we will be able to
develop sustainable social housing in our country. This will
contribute to the establishment of a favorable legal framework for
long-term investments in this area, as well as provide targeted
assistance to vulnerable families.”

UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative Dafina Gercheva,
highly appreciating the fact of holding an international conference,
said, “It is less than a year that UNDP and ASBA signed a Memorandum
of Understanding on joint actions aimed at development of social
housing in Armenia. Today, we can register that the cooperation is
productive and the organization of this conference proves it. UNDP
supports initiatives that promote Armenia’s sustainable
development. Development of social housing is one of the most
important issues for the country, and the welfare of Armenian people,
the country’s economic and social progress, the future of young
families and the social security of elderly people depend on finding
viable solutions to this problem. I anticipate that the productive
discussions during the conference will serve as a basis for the
national strategy of development of social housing in Armenia.”

The participants of the conference discussed the process of social
housing development in Armenia observing it in the framework of
international experience.

The international, in particular the Netherlands experience, shows
that the efficiency of the project depends on the productive
cooperation between the state and local government bodies, the private
sector and civil society. In the opinion of local and international
experts, social housing can solve many problems facing our society,
which include negative demographic changes, migration, population
aging and poverty.

The social housing development project in Armenia is implemented with
the financial support of “Matra” social reforms project of the
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

***

National Social Housing Association is a non-profit organization,
which aims to provide low and middle-income families in Armenia with
affordable and quality housing and its services. The Trustee Council
of the NSHA includes Armenian and Dutch experts.

***

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build
nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of
growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground
in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and
local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.
UNDP in Armenia has been established in March 1993 and supports the
government to reach national development priorities and the Millennium
Development Goals by 2015.

ORINATS YERKIR SPOKESPERSON SUBMITS RESIGNATION

Panorama.am
23/03/2012

After six years in office, Orinats Yerkir Party spokesperson Susanna
Abrahamyan has today submitted resignation.

The fact that she is only 36th on party’s candidate list is the reason
behind her move, Abrahamyan told a Panorama.am reporter.

“I do not rule out that I will also quit the party,” said she.

HERITAGE LEADER CALLS ON OPPOSITION FORCES TO UNITE

Tert.am
23.03.12

Heritage party’s leader, Raffi Hovhannisyan, has called upon
the opposition forces to unite their efforts ahead of the May 6
parliamentary polls.

“Time has now arrived for all those who consider themselves
oppositionists to gather together around one table. It is necessary to
choose a comprehensive methodology that would ensure the presence of
one candidate in each constituency. It is necessary to demonstrate
consistency to attain a result through a comprehensive and tough
debate,” he said at a news conference on Friday.

Hovhannisyan, who going to run for parliament as a single-mandate
candidate, has turned out to have nominated himself in the same
majority constituency as Nikol Pashinyan, the editor-in-chief of the
opposition newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak. But he told reporters he was
unaware of the fact when submitting his papers.

“When I nominated myself, I didn’t know there was another opposition
candidate,” he said.

The Heritage leader denied the reports that the party had been
following instructions.

“Instructions are being very widely discussed, but they too, comply
with certain instructions. My instruction, if anyone has doubts,
is dictated by my conscience, my belief and love. That’s all,” he said.

Hovhannisyan’s intention to stand for election became known yesterday
night after the Central Election Commission (CEC) published the final
list of candidates.

KARABAKH PRESIDENT CONVENES MEETING OF SECURITY COUNCIL

news.am
March 23, 2012 | 15:01

STEPANAKERT.- President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Bako Sahakyan convened
a meeting of the Security Council on Friday. The draft of the NKR
Civil Defense Strategy was discussed during the meeting.

Director of the rescue service Arthur Haroutyunyan delivered a report
on the issue.

President Sahakyan said organization and realization of civil defense
is a pivotal and integral component of the country’s security.

He approved the draft of the Civil Defense Strategy and assigned the
Security Council Secretary to submit the document for confirmation.

FIRST CHANCE TO BUY BRANDY THAT STALIN SERVED CHURCHILL

23 March 2012

Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill at Yalta, where the prime minister
first tasted Stalin later sent him 400 bottles a year

Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Business Editor

Sir Winston Churchill’s favourite Armenian brandy – said to have
played a key role in the shaping of postwar Europe – has gone on sale
in Britain for the first time.

The prime minister developed a taste for the ArArAt brandy when it
was served by Stalin at the Yalta conference in February 1945. After
the Second World War, the Soviet leader arranged for Churchill to be
sent 400 bottles every year.

However, it was not available to the British public because the
Soviet government only allowed a small number of spirit brands, such
as Stolichnaya, to be exported. Most supplies of ArArAt were reserved
for the Communist Party elite.

Now, more than 20 years after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, East
European drinks distributor Vinorium has brought 10,000 bottles to
London, to be sold from Monday in the city’s specialist wine merchants,
such as

Gerry’s of Soho, priced at about £29. Vinorium’s Laszlow Puskas hopes
eventually to sell ArArAt throughout Britain and Ireland if it proves
a success. He said: “Everyone seems very surprised that it is finally
coming to the British market. Liquor shops told us they were getting
regular requests for it, but nobody knew where to get it.”

The company is also bringing other “lost” Eastern European spirit
brands to Britain, including Ruskova vodka.

The brandy, which was also a favourite of Agatha Christie and Frank
Sinatra, has been made in the Ararat Valley since 1887. The brand is
now owned by French drinks giant Pernot Ricard.

PROSPEROUS ARMENIA PROSPECTIVE WINNER – EUROPEAN FRIENDS OF ARMENIA

Tert.am
22.03.12

Today, European Friends of Armenia () publishes
the results of its poll titled “Poll: A Snapshot of Pre-Electoral
Armenia”. The poll was conducted by IPSC and EuFoA, with TNS opinion
providing extensive quality control and supervision.

The fieldwork was conducted between 29 February and 5 March 2012.

One of the questions was: “If the Parliamentary Elections were held
next Sunday, which party would you vote for?” The responses were
as follows:

Prosperous Armenia Party (41%) Republican Party of Armenia (37%) ARF
Dashnaktsutyun (5%) Armenian National Congress (5%) Rule of Law Party
(5%) Heritage Party (4%)

At the beginning of the campaign period, the two largest parties
score results without significant differences (error margin: 2.4%),
but far ahead of any other party. Meanwhile, four smaller parties
are all equally likely to pass the 5% threshold and move into the
National Assembly, or not. “It is stunning that at the beginning of
the campaign period, nobody can say if we will have a parliament made
up of 6, 5, 4, 3, or even just 2 parties! This also means that nobody
can today predict a specific outcome. The only thing we know is that
already today, a very large number of people is already certain to
vote.” comments Dr Michael Kambeck, EuFoA’s Secretary General.

Gagik Tsarukyan is the most popular party leader in Armenia, while
Serzh Sargsyan still has a strong lead when asking for Presidential
preferences. People across the country show dissatisfaction or
distrust in political institutions, and the “perceived” situation in
the country today is rather negative. However, the picture becomes more
positive when the respondents were asked about the real situation of
their own families, and when they evaluate the change of the general
situation in Armenia over the last 5 years.

EuFoA provides this poll as non-Armenian and therefore non-partisan
NGO. To ensure the highest level of independence and quality, this
poll has been entirely supervised by the renowned international
polling company TNS opinion. “We have assessed the methodology and
supervised all steps of this poll. I am happy to say that this poll
absolutely meets international standards and we were very satisfied
with the level of quality” says Dr Steve Schwarzer, Methodology and
Statistics Manager at TNS opinion, Brussels.

The poll involves 1,600 people in Armenia’s capital and regions.

PLAYING WITH OLIGARCHY
JAMES HAKOBYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 10:44:09 – 22/03/2012

A few days ago when the executive body of the Republican confirmed
the draft election list and the nominees of precincts, Member of
Parliament Ruben Hairapetyan, member of the Republican board, was not
among them. Hairapetyan had earlier announced in a press conference
that Serzh Sargsyan told him not to run in the elections.

Hairapetyan announced that the president had told him to deal with
football seriously [Hairapetyan is the president of the Armenian
Football Federation] to ensure our participation in World Cup 2014
in Brazil.

In the evening of March 21 Ruben Hairapetyan’s nomination became
known. Interestingly, when he announced that he would not run in
the elections because he will be busy dealing with football, he also
said that only his friend Samvel Alexanyan can tell him into running
for parliament.

Afterwards Alexanyan announced that he will persuade his friend
Hairapetyan because he does not want to be in parliament without him.

Apparently, he did, and Hairapetyan is now running for parliament.

How about the president’s task? Is Samvel Alexanyan’s word more
important for Ruben Hairapetyan than Serzh Sargsyan’s task? Or has the
task been cancelled? If Ruben Hairapetyan is running for parliament,
does it mean that he will not focus on the national team’s performance
or does he think that the national team will do well in the qualifiers
than Serzh Sargsyan can imagine?

At least, Hairapetyan’s case is really very interesting. After all,
it was a surprise that the government running almost all the oligarchs
and local strongmen for parliament in precincts under the majority
system make an exception for Hairapetyan, placing his name on the
party ticket.

However, one wonders whether the government is taking Hairapetyan to
parliament or Hairapetyan is the government and conveys to the public
that he will do whatever he wants, and he will change his decision
in any way. Or maybe Serzh Sargsyan wants to convey to the public,
and perhaps first of all to the criminal and oligarchic system that he
keeps the situation under control and can easily handle the oligarchs.

However, the fact is that the entire criminal oligarchy is headed
for parliament, on party lists or in precincts, which prompts that
Serzh Sargsyan is playing with the public and international partners.

BRIBE IS PART OF “ELECTION” RITUAL – ARMENIAN OPPOSITION MEMBER

news.am
March 22, 2012 | 12:49

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s current system is formed by those in the
proportional election lists; they are the protectors of these systems,
opposition member-and former member of the Karabakh Committee-Ashot
Manucharyan said, during a press conference on Thursday, reflecting on
the political parties’ electoral lists for the upcoming parliamentary
elections. He also stressed that the outside world will play a very
big role in these elections.

In Manucharyan’s words, the sad thing is that the people agree
with this game; they deem unjust not the fact that the oligarch is
plundering, but rather why they are not oligarchs instead.

Commenting on the bribe being distributed in the lead-up to
the elections, Ashot Manucharyan noted that bribe is part of the
“election” ritual.

And speaking about the ways out, he stated that the newly-engaged
civil initiatives are the embryos of the new social order.

Ashot Manucharyan is convinced that the pseudo wise men are Armenia’s
first traitors; and the “rich man’s” entry to the tools of power
is the most extreme crime, and, consequently, execution by shooting
needs to be restored for that man.