Author: Badalian Vardan

SINGLE DAY RITE IN AKDAMAR ARMENIAN CHURCH POSTPONED DUE TO REFERENDUM

Anadolu Agency (AA)
May 17, 2010 Monday
VAN

The single day rite at the Akdamar Armenian Church in the Akdamar
island on the Lake Van was postponed due to the referendum on the
constitutional amendment law.

A press release of the Van Governor’s Office said they mutually agreed
with Archbishop Aram Atesyan of the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey
to postpone the single-day rite from September 12 to the 19th of the
same month.

Turkish authorities announced earlier that the historic Armenian Church
on the Akdamar island would be opened to religious worship for a single
day, as a symbolic gesture to the Armenian community around the world,
as part of Turkey’s efforts to normalize relations with Armenia.

However, the Higher Board of Elections recently announced that the
referendum on the constitutional amendment law would be held the
same day, which forced authorities to postpone the single-day rite
in Akdamar church to September 19 in order to allow Turkish citizens
of Amenian origin to vote in the referendum.

Turkey’s decision to open the Akdamar Church for a single-day rite,
was met with enthusiasm by Armenian communities across the world.

The 1,100-year-old Akdamar Church was opened in 2007 at a ceremony
that hosted officials from Armenia and Turkey after it was restored
by the Turkish government. The restoration costed some 1.7 million USD.

The Akdamar Church was constructed by architect bishop Manuel between
915 and 921 A.D. under the supervision of King Gagik I. Among the
important pieces of Armenian architecture, the church draws attraction
with its stone workmanship and the relieves on its walls.

Earlier this March, Turkish government gave permission for a single-day
religious that would take place once every year at the church upon a
proposal by the Van Governor’s Office and approval by Turkish Minister
of Culture and Tourism Ertugrul Gunay.

The rite at the Akdamar Church will take place each year in the second
week of September.

Turkish officials believe it will boost religious tourism in the
region.

YOUNG SCIENTISTS IN ARMENIA TO GET AFFORDABLE HOUSING

ArmInfo
2010-05-17 12:48:00

ArmInfo. Construction of a new housing complex for young scientists,
cultural workers and writers will be launched in Yerevan on August 1.

Arsen Karamyan, Deputy Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs of Armenia
told media on Monday that the construction will take 2 years and 2
months. He said that the complex will consist of 300 flats. Young
scientists will get an opportunity to buy the flats on preferential
terms of the mortgage lending: 25% prepayment, 25 years maturity,
and 8.5% annual interest. Considering that 1sq/m of the flats costs
180,000 drams, the monthly payment will total 63,000 drams. The
persons who resumed their scientific activity after army will also
enjoy preferential terms of mortgage: the government will pay 20% of
the flat’s cost. Despite low salary of scientists (40,000-50,000 drams
in average), Mkhitaryan is sure that the program will be in demand.

"We have already received nearly 100 applications from the National
Academy of Science of Armenia," he said.

KARABAKH PROCESS SHOULD NOT RESULT IN WAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 17, 2010 – 17:35 AMT 12:35 GMT

Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said that Armenia should resolve
the Karabakh conflict with diplomatic accurateness.

"In my opinion, Armenia is on the right track for the Karabakh conflict
resolution. This issue should be addressed very accurately from the
diplomatic point of view and well-thought, so that the process does
not result in a war and none of the parties suffers," Mr.

Fischer said during the May 17 joint press conference with his Armenian
counterpart Tigran Sargsyan.

At the same time, the Czech Prime Minister noted that the conflict
should be resolved within the OSCE Minsk Group framework. "However,
Armenia should be very balanced in the process," he said.

EX-KARABAKH LEADER CONFIRMS TRIP TO IRAN
Emil Danielyan

rticle/2044898.html
17.05.2010

Armenia — Samvel Babayan, former commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh
army, holds a news conference in Yerevan, 30 March 2010.

Samvel Babayan, a former military leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, on
Monday confirmed a recent visit to Iran but insisted that it is not
a sign of his renewed active involvement in Armenian politics.

A series of recent reports in Armenian newspapers critical of the
government said that former President Robert Kocharian is using Babayan
in his alleged efforts to return to power. They claimed that the
Yerevan-based retired general would get the post of defense minister
in a new government envisaged by Kocharian. Babayan was alleged to have
visited Tehran recently to drum up Iranian support for that scenario.

In a written statement, Babayan’s office in Yerevan dismissed these
claims. "We want to once again point out that if Samvel Babayan
decides to engage in active politics, he will do that publicly,
without linking that with others’ relationships and plans," it said.

"As for becoming defense minister, Babayan has never aspired and does
not aspire to any [government] position."

The statement also denounced "the spate of gossips" sparked by his
trip to Iran. "Samvel Babayan did visit the Islamic Republic of
Iran recently, but that visit had a private, rather than political,
nature," it said. The office did not specify whether he met any
Iranian government officials there.

Kocharian similarly paid what he called a private visit to Iran
in January, sparking fresh media speculation about his impending
political comeback. It was only stoked by his subsequent criticism
of the Armenian government’s economic policies and other public
pronouncements.

While in Tehran, Kocharian met with Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Visiting Yerevan
later in January, Mottaki referred to those meetings as a reunion
of old friends who share "good memories" of the past and "discuss
prospects for the future."

Both Babayan and Kocharian as well as President Serzh Sarkisian are
natives of Nagorno-Karabakh who led the Armenian-populated region
during much of its 1991-1994 secessionist war with Azerbaijan.

Kocharian is believed to have had a particularly close rapport with
the once powerful general.

Babayan, 45, commanded Karabakh Armenian forces from 1993-1999 and was
at one point the territory’s most powerful man. He was arrested in
2000 and subsequently sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegedly
masterminding a botched attempt on the life of Arkady Ghukasian,
then president of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

The former Karabakh strongman relocated to Yerevan immediately after
being set free in 2004. He set up there his own political party called
Dashink (Alliance) that claimed to be in opposition to the Kocharian
administration but avoided closely cooperating with Armenia’s main
opposition forces.

Babayan has kept a low profile on the Armenian political stage since
Dashink’s poor showing in the May 2007 parliamentary elections won
by Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK).

CZECH REPUBLIC FOR SOLVING THE NK ISSUE WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF OSCE MINSK GROUP

ARMENPRESS
MAY 17, 2010
YEREVAN

Czech Republic supports the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue
within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, Czech Prime Minister
Jan Fischer said at today’s joint press conference with RA Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

‘I state for sure that the Nagorno Karabakh issue is to be settled
within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group,’ Czech Prime Minister
Jan Fischer said. He added that Armenia acts in a right way.

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan says it is important that the
position of the Czech Republic on the settlement of NK issue is
quite balanced.

CHESS: 2010 US CHAMPIONSHIP GETS UNDERWAY

Panorama.am
14/05/2010

2010 US Championship, featuring the Armenian chess players GM Varuzhan
Hakobian, GM Melikset Khachiyan, IM Levon Altounian, got underway in
Saint Louis May 14.

24 chess players are taking part in the tournament. 20 Grandmasters,
including Nakamura, Kamksy, Onishchuk, Shulman, Ehlvest, Christiansen
are playing in Saint Louis, Armenian Chess Federation informs.

ANALYSIS: AZERI PRESIDENT MAKES CLAIMS ON "HISTORICALLY AZERI" YEREVAN ALONG WITH NAGORNO KARABAKH
Aris Ghazinyan

ArmeniaNow reporter
14.05.10

Aliyev claims that the Armenian state was established on historically
Azeri lands.

Analysis: Azeri President makes claims on "historically Azeri"
Yerevan along with Nagorno Karabakh

>From During the
second Russian-Persian war, Yerevan was captured [4][11][12] by
Russian troops under general Ivan Paskevich on 1 October 1827. It
was formally ceded by the Persians in 1828, following the Treaty
of Turkmenchay. Tsarist Russia sponsored Armenian resettlement from
Persia and Turkey; by the turn of the twentieth century, Yerevan’s…

Since early this year Azeri authorities have started shifting their
focus in Armenian-Azeri relations from Karabakh to the historic past
of Armenia’s capital Yerevan.

No doubt, the issue of Nagorno Karabakh continues holding top positions
in the dispute, however, one can’t help noticing the increasing
tendency of talks in Baku now claiming that the Armenian capital
"belongs to Azerbaijan".

In February, the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan political party presented
a book titled "Irevan khanate" which "proved" that Yerevan belongs
to Azerbaijan.

Deputy chairman of the party Ali Ahmedov stressed during the
presentation that "the book contains valid proofs of Azerbaijani
president Ilham Aliyev’s statement that the capital of Armenia
Yerevan is an Azeri land; it is also a response to his appeal not to
forget about temporarily lost Azeri lands" (as reported by Azeri news
agency Day.az).

Following this, in April, other Azeri news agencies published Aliyev’s
statement.

"Armenians have a state, however, that state was established on
historically Azeri lands. It is common knowledge. Immediately after
proclaiming its independence in 1918 the Democratic Republic of
Azerbaijan made a decision to give Irevan to Armenia as their capital,"
Open.Az cites the president.

Statements such as this cannot be accidental. Azerbaijan’s purpose of
doing so is to demonstrate to the international community the futility
of any effort aimed at granting independence to Nagorno Karabakh.

"The artificial shift of stresses is aimed at demonstrating to the
world that Baku can somehow tolerate Armenia’s existence even if on
Azeri lands, with a historically Azeri city as its capital, however it
has no intentions of reconciling to Nagorno Karabakh’s independence,"
says political analyst Garegin Gabriyelyan. "That’s the reason why
it keeps showing readiness to reclaim Karabakh at any cost."

The unexpected replication of such statements by Azeri ambassadors
testifies the approbation of a new approach to the Karabakh issue. On
May 9 Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Russia, composer Polad Bulbuloglu
made bellicose statements.

And on May 13, Mikail Rahimov, chairman of the Supreme Majlis of the
United People’s Front Party of Azerbaijan, stated that "the world
community has to pressure Armenia to force that aggressor-state to
return the occupied lands to Azerbaijan. And if that doesn’t happen
in the nearest future, the Karabakh issue will be solved by means of
a war".

No less than thirty times within this year only has the Azeri president
officially stated about the possibility of resuming hostilities and
a few times about "Irivan and Zangezur belonging to Azerbaijan".

These tactical alterations related to the settlement of the Karabakh
issue taken up by Azerbaijan did not pass unnoticed by the Armenian
side, which, in its turn, made a number of principally new statements.

For the first time in the past 16 years NKR representative have
stated that the war Baku so frequently speaks about is, actually,
in Armenia’s interests.

NKR Defense Minister, Lieutenant General Movses Hakobyan stated that
"resumption of the war is not in Azerbaijan’s interests and is,
on the contrary, favorable for us, because we can easily carry out
the task we have set. I think, in that case we will once and for all
solve the Karabakh-Azerbaijan conflict. "

Never before has that thought been officially voiced, and it is quite
possible, that new statements from the Armenian side will follow soon.

It seems we will hear some other new statements in the nearest future
as well.

ARMENIAN SPORTSMEN ACHIEVE 2 BRONZE MEDALS ON FIRST DAY OF SAMBO CHAMPIONSHIP

ARMENPRESS
MAY 14, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 14, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian sportsmen achieved 2
bronze medals on the first day of the tournament of European Sambo
Championship among adults. One of these sambo practitioners was
Ruzanna Sargsyan (48kg weight category), student of Yerevan Olympic
sports school for sambo and judo and the only sambo practitioner
of Armenia taking part in Women’s Tournaments. The other Armenian
sambo practitioner was Tigran Kirakosyan (52kg weight category),
student of the Army’s central sports club. Tigran Kirakosyan has
already achieved the gold medal of the European Sambo Championship
among youth and juniors.

An official from RA Sambo Federation told Armenpress that Vahan
Vardanyan (57kg weight category), Artavazd Minasyan (68kg) and
Mushegh Hovsepyan (82kg weight category) will perform May 15, and
Vachik Vardanyan (68kg), Artak Tsatinyan (90kg weight category)
will fight combat sambo May 16.

The European Sambo Championship among adults is currently being held
in Minsk, capital of Belarus. The congress of the European Sambo
Federation was held in Minsk the day before. During the congress the
sambo federations of Austria and Croatia announced their membership
to the European Sambo Family.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Karine Abalyan
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

May 14, 2010
_____________________________________________ ___

PRIMATE VISITS ST. MARY CHURCH OF HOLLYWOOD, FL
Parishioners Seta and John Baldadian honored with "St. Nersess Shnorhali"
medal

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), visited St. Mary Church of Hollywood, Fla., on Sunday,
May 9, where he celebrated the Divine Liturgy and bestowed a Pontifical
Encyclical and "St. Nersess Shnorhali" medal on Mr. and Mrs. John and Seta
Baldadian.

"John and Seta Baldadian are faithful servants of the Armenian Church, who
have been dedicated members of the Armenian community of south Florida for
three decades," the Primate said. "It is wonderful to see their commitment
recognized by His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos
of All Armenians, on this joyous occasion."

The presentation of the award was made at the conclusion of the service. The
Rev. Fr. Vartan Joulfayan, pastor at St. Mary Church, read the encyclical;
Archbishop Barsamian then presented the "St. Nersess Shnorhali" medal to the
Baldadians.

A Mother’s Day luncheon followed in the church hall, featuring musical
performances and recitations by Sunday School students and other young
members of the parish. The community also presented a video highlighting the
dedication of the Baldadians to the Armenian Church and the St. Mary parish.

Some 150 people gathered for the day’s celebration. The event was chaired by
Naomi Davitian. Committee members include Diana Bokhchalian, Zovinar Anac,
Anny Yaghdjian, Maria Esmerian, and Carmen Masraff.

"It went very well," said Fr. Joulfayan. "I’m very happy that the Baldadians
were given this honor because they deserve it."

John and Seta Baldadian have been active members of St. Mary Church since
its consecration 12 years ago. Seta Baldadian is a member of the parish
choir, has served on the Women’s Guild, and helped organize numerous church
anniversary events. Both Seta and John have served on the Parish Council.

The couple became involved in the Armenian community of south Florida in the
late 1970s, when they belonged to St. John the Baptist Armenian Church of
Miami, Fla.

Following the sale of the Miami property and the decision to relocate the
church, the couple worked to realize the building of St. Mary Church, which
was consecrated in Hollywood, Fla., in 1998.

Seta Baldadian served on the building committee of St. Mary Church; John
Baldadian is one of 16 godfathers of the present house of worship.

At the luncheon last Sunday, Fr. Joulfayan said the Baldadians expressed
their gratitude for the high honor, and thanked everyone in the parish for
their support. Congratulatory letters also arrived from other parts of the
country, including a letter from AGBU President Berge Setrakian.

"They are highly respected and loved by everyone, not only in south Florida
but throughout the U.S.," Fr. Joulfayan said.

###

Photos attached.

Photo 1: The Rev. Fr. Vartan Joulfayan, pastor at St. Mary Church of
Hollywood, Fla., reads the Pontifical Encyclical presented to parishioners
John and Seta Baldadian.

Photo 2: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Diocesan Primate, presents the "St.
Nersess Shnorhali" medal to John and Seta Baldadian.

PACE HEAD PRESSES FOR POLITICAL REFORMS IN ARMENIA
Irina Hovannisian, Karine Kalantarian

/article/2041469.html
13.05.2010

Armenia — Mevlut Cavusoglu, president of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly, at a news conference in Yerevan, 13 May 2010.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, the president of the Council of Europe’s
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), urged the Armenian authorities to hold
democratic elections and press ahead with other political reforms at
the end of a high-profile visit to Yerevan on Thursday.

The Turkish politician also dismissed Armenian concerns about his
efforts to have the Strasbourg-based body again discuss and pass
judgment on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Cavusoglu met with President Serzh Sarkisian, leaders of Armenia’s
leading political forces as well as local civil society representatives
during the two-day trip. He said political reforms promised by the
Armenian authorities and sought by the PACE were the main focus of
the talks.

Speaking at a concluding news conference in Yerevan, Cavusoglu singled
out the need to end Armenia’s culture of electoral fraud "It is very
important that the next elections that will be held in Armenia in 2012
meet the highest European standards," he said. "This will show your
citizens and us that Armenia has turned a dark page of its recent past
and is determined to move forward in its democratic transformation."

Cavusoglu said this as well as a reform of Armenia’s judicial and
law-enforcement systems would address the political fallout from the
2008 post-election strife in Yerevan and prevent a repeat of such
dramatic events.

Such reforms have also been recommended by the PACE’s Monitoring
Committee and an Armenian parliamentary body that investigated the 2008
deadly unrest. David Harutiunian, a senior pro-government lawmaker
heading the Armenian delegation at the PACE, presented a tentative
plan of relevant government measures to the committee in March.

Cavusoglu told journalists that he heard "some very encouraging
responses from Mr. Harutiunian" in Yerevan. "His committee will submit
a report to the [Armenian] National Assembly and this will be a good
opportunity for your parliament to strengthen its vital function of
parliamentary control," he said.

"We are now expecting that the authorities will provide to the
[Parliamentary] Assembly with a detailed list of all the reforms
… as well as specific deadlines," he added.

The PACE head went on to criticize the Armenian authorities for their
refusal to free all opposition members arrested following the February
2008 presidential election. He said he specifically raised with them
the case of Nikol Pashinian, an opposition leader and newspaper editor
who was sentenced to seven years in prison earlier this year.

Armenia — Armenian President Serzh Sarkissian meets PACE President
Mevlut Cavusoglu, Yerevan, 12May2010

Cavusoglu also deplored the authorities’ failure to prosecute anyone in
connection with the deaths of ten people in the post-election vicious
clashes between security forces and supporters of opposition leader
Levon Ter-Petrosian. "It is unacceptable that nobody has been held
responsible in relation to the ten deaths that occurred during the
March 2008 events," he said. "Public confidence will not be restored
until individual justice is done."

Cavusoglu held what he described as a "very emotional meeting" with
close relatives of most of the unrest victims earlier on Thursday.

Some of the participants told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that they
expressed their anger with what they see as a Council of Europe
reluctance to bring the Sarkisian administration to task over the
unrest deaths.

The Council of Europe and its legislative arm in particular were also
strongly criticized by top representatives of Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian
National Congress (HAK) who met the PACE president on Wednesday.

Speaking to RFE/RL after the meeting, one of them, Levon Zurabian,
accused the PACE of turning a blind eye to its own resolutions that
demanded a reversal of the Armenian government’s 2008 crackdown on
the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition.

Both the HAK and other major Armenian political forces also expressed
serious concern about Cavusoglu’s intention to revive and lead the work
of a PACE subcommittee tasked with facilitating a peaceful resolution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They claim that the ad hoc body can
not be impartial because his country, Turkey, continues to lend strong
and unconditional support to Azerbaijan in the conflict. They cite
pro-Azerbaijani statements made by Cavusoglu before he was elected
PACE president in January.

The issue apparently sparked tense exchanges between Cavusoglu and
representatives of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), a junior partner
in Sarkisian’s governing coalition, and the opposition Zharangutyun
(Heritage) party. Naira Zohrabian, a senior BHK lawmaker, called his
Karabakh-related intentions "unacceptable."

"I said that since he represents Turkey’s ruling Justice
and Development Party, which has been extremely biased on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during all these years, we are not confident,
with all due respect for Mr. Cavusoglu, that [the subcommittee]
will not be biased," Zohrabian told RFE/RL. She said the Turkish
parliamentarian was "very offended" by her arguments.

Stepan Safarian, a Zharangutyun leader, said he and his party
colleagues conveyed the same message to Cavusoglu. The latter responded
by accusing them of "national discrimination," Safarian told RFE/RL.

The HAK representatives also voiced strong opposition to any PACE
involvement in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks mediated by the
United States, Russia and France under the OSCE aegis. "We consider the
existing format the most optimal one, and any alternative discussion
would only distract the conflicting parties from negotiations and
enable them to engage in propaganda," said Zurabian.

Whether President Sarkisian and his Republican Party of Armenia
(HHK) agree with this view was not immediately clear. An official
press release on Sarkisian’s Wednesday meeting with Cavusoglu made
no mention of Karabakh.

Speaking at the news conference, Cavusoglu insisted that the decision
to resume discussions on the conflict was made by the PACE leaders
months before he was elected to run the assembly. He also argued that
the subcommittee in question was formed in 2005 in accordance with
a PACE resolution on Karabakh.

"All the member countries of the Assembly have to abide by the Assembly
resolutions," Cavusoglu said. "But we are also pragmatic.

Especially when there are different opinions on an issue." He added
that he will take the Armenian concerns into account even if he does
not agree with them.

Cavusoglu was also unrepentant about his decision not to visit the
Armenian genocide memorial in Yerevan, which led another major party,
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), to cancel
a planned meeting with him. "I respect your opinions, but everybody
has to respect my decision," he said.