Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

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

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

A HIGH RANKING DELEGATION FROM THE FRENCH PROTESTANT CHURCHES
VISITS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

His Holiness Aram I received on, October 16, a high-ranking delegation
of five people representing the Protestant Churches of France. Bishop
Nareg Alemezian, Ecumenical Officer, also attended the meeting, which
was held in the Antelias headquarters of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

Various issues related to ecumenical relation, local and regional
developments and the activities of the World Council of Churches
(WCC) came up during the meeting. Given His Holiness Aram I’s active
involvement in ecumenical affairs, the delegation also discussed with
him the mutual relations between European and Middle Eastern Churches,
as well as the agendas of a number of western ecumenical organizations.

Turkey’s potential membership to the European Union was also raised
during the meeting. His Holiness was keen to point out the negative
consequences of Turkey’s accession to the EU especially in terms of
changing the union’s character.

His Holiness Aram I once again applauded the brave position of the
French Parliament in acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, interpreting
this as proof of France’s principled stand in defending human rights.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
history and mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer
to the web page of the Catholicosate, The
Cilician Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is
located in Antelias, Lebanon.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA NEEDS 1,700 FAMILY DOCTORS

Armenpress
Oct 18 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS: Around 1000 Armenian family doctors
and as many hospital nurses are expected to have been trained by 2009
as part of a program designed to upgrade Armenia’s health system.

This program is supported by a World Bank credit.

Some 600 family doctors and 300 nurses have been trained
already. Samvel Hovhanesian, dean of family doctors department of
the National Health Institute, said the training of family doctors
and nurses will go on after the completion of the World Bank credit
program. He said in line with international standards Armenia needs
a total of 1,700 family doctors.

He said the institution of family doctors has been introduced already
in the majority of Yerevan clinics.

In 2008 it will embrace the whole of Armenia, he said.
From: Baghdasarian

BAKU: TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN "SHOULD JOINTLY STRUGGLE AGAINST FRENCH PARLIAMENT DECISION"

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.10.2006 13:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azeri MP Anar Mamedkhanov considers that Turkey
and Azerbaijan should join endeavors to press for cancellation of
the French parliament’s decision calling for criminalization of
the Armenian Genocide denial. "Turkey should act as vanguard and
undertake the resolution of the current situation. As compared to us,
Turkey has a rich experience. A state with 70-million population,
a NATO member and an aspirant to the EU can achieve a greater result
in the struggle with the Armenian lobby," he said, reported Day.az.
From: Baghdasarian

ROBINSON LEAVES TOO

A1+
[07:20 pm] 18 October, 2006

Robert Kocharyan had a farewell meeting with Roger Robinson, the head
of the Yerevan office of the World Bank. Mr. Robinson is finishing
his mission in Armenia.

Robert Kocharyan said that the past years of cooperation with the
World Bank were very efficient in the development of the economy
of Armenia. He mentioned the reforms of state structures, the
development of infrastructures, and the programs aiming at the
reduction of poverty.

Roger Robinson said that he is glad to see the changes in Armenia
and to realize that the World Bank has its contribution in it.

Kocharyan wished Robinson success in his future work voicing hope
that it will be as effective as it was in Armenia.
From: Baghdasarian

NO IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF FRENCH ARMENIAN BILL
By Ali Ihsan Aydin

Zaman Online, Turkey
Wednesday, October 11, 2006

A bill that would penalize those refusing the so-called Armenian
genocide in France will be discussed Thursday in the French Parliament.

The bill, a major project of the Armenian Diaspora, is expected
to easily pass the parliamentary vote due to France’s approaching
presidential elections.

The majority of deputies from the ruling UMP (Union for a Popular
Movement) who do not support the bill will abstain from voting to
prevent a possible backlash from Armenian voters.

A likely scenario is that the 30-40 deputies who backed the bill in
2001 will join the voting session.

Before Thursday’s critical assembly, the consensus in Paris is that
most of the French MPs want the bill to pass to appease the Armenians,
but they do not approve its implementation.

The draft bill submitted by the main opposition Socialist Party (PS)
calls for up to five years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros for
anyone who denies the purported Armenian genocide.

Not content with the French law in 2001 that stated France openly
"recognized the 1915 Armenian genocide," Armenians have been pressuring
French politicians since then for a new law to penalize those rebuffing
the so-called genocide.

Deputies from both ruling and opposition parties in close ties with
Armenians had prepared four bills in recent years.

However, these bills stalled at the parliamentary bureau.

In May 2006, the Socialists used their right for the first time to
determine the agenda, allocated to political parties in proportion
to the number of deputies, and submitted the bill prepared by Deputy
Didier Migaud to the parliament.

The bill did not pass as Parliamentary Speaker Jean-Louis Debre, who
opposes "politicians writing down history" interrupted the session
twice, dropping the bill from the parliamentary agenda.

French historians, speaking out against passing a bill on a historical
issue and issuing a notice, made some attempts in parliament to
prevent the bill from passing.

The Socialists, however, following pressure from the Armenians,
used their right to determine a special agenda for a second time and
brought the draft to the parliament again.

Blocked in May, the bill is predicted to pass quite easily this time.

The Socialists want to send a political message to the nearly 400,000
Armenians in France at the threshold of elections.

Most of the ruling UMP deputies not supporting the bill will not join
in tomorrow’s vote.

The UMP Parliamentary Group Chairmanship did not issue a group decision
regarding the bill, leaving the deputies free to vote as they see fit.

A majority vote in the general assembly is required for the bill
to pass.

There were nearly 30 deputies at the general assembly during the
genocide recognition vote 2001.

The UMP has 364 seats and the PS 150 seats in the 577-seat French
Assembly.

The bill may still be rejected by the senate or vetoed by French
President Jacques Chirac

If the bill is passed in the parliament Thursday, it must also be
passed in the senate for full approval.

Pointing out that the bill may wait its turn at the senate dependant
on the order of agenda set by the government, parliamentary officials
recall the opposing attitude of the government and say the bill may
remain pending for a long time.

The bill must be passed in the senate in the same form as in the
assembly, and in the event that minor amendments are made in the text
it will be resent to the assembly, a process that risks being lengthy.

If bill is passed in the senate, it must be signed by the president
for its implementation.

Chirac may send the draft back to the parliament for a second
examination.

Though there are various views on the bill’s conformity with
the constitution, no party would likely refer the bill to the
Constitutional Council.
From: Baghdasarian

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY

A1+
[01:46 pm] 17 October, 2006

The Council of Europe’s strategy for combating poverty is aimed at
strengthening social cohesion in Europe, and preventing and combating
social exclusion.

The Council of Europe has a number of legal instruments chief among
them the European Convention on Human Rights which establishes
rights and fundamental freedoms, and the European Social Charter
which establishes social rights, including the right to protection
against poverty and the right to housing.

Each year, the Council of Europe takes part in the celebration of
the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and organises a
ceremony in front of a replica of the Commemorative Stone, symbolising
the refusal of extreme poverty, which was laid in 1993 on the Palais
de l’Europe forecourt. The day officially recognised by the United
Nations in 1992. The day was first celebrated in 1987 by thousands
of participants at the Human Rights Plaza in Paris, France. On 17
October 1987, 100,000 defenders of human rights gathered together on
the Trocadero Plaza in Paris to honour victims of hunger, violence,
and ignorance, to express their refusal of extreme poverty.
From: Baghdasarian

STATUE COMMEMORATING ARMENIAN DEATHS STOLEN

Indianapolis Star, IN
Oct 16 2006

Chaville, France — A statue commemorating the World War I-era massacre
of Armenians in Turkey was stolen, an official said Saturday, two days
after French lawmakers approved a bill that would make it a crime to
deny that the killings amounted to genocide.

The bronze monument, installed in front of the train station in the
Paris suburb of Chaville in 2002, disappeared between Friday night
and Saturday morning, said authorities for the Haut-de-Seine region.

The police have not ruled out the possibility that the statue, which
weighs several hundred pounds, was stolen to be sold as scrap metal,
said Stephane Topalian, who serves on the board of the local chapter
of the Armenian church.
From: Baghdasarian

HOVHANNISIAN SAYS SARKOZY’S OPINION REPRESENTS THAT OF FRENCH SOCIETY

Yerkir/am
October 13, 2006

The Turkish blackmailing is quite efficient for European countries,
even for such a strong country as France, said National Assembly Vice
speaker and ARF Bureau member Vahan Hovhannisian on Tuesday when
asked by the Yerkir reporter to comment on Turkish reaction to the
known bill.

Turkey is seeking to carry out the same policies it used in the 19th
century and the beginning of the 20th – to emphasize that it (Turkey)
is more important for Europe than Armenians are, Hovhannisian went
on saying.

"In a sense they are right, as Turkey is a large market, it controls
roads and leverage," Hovhannisian continued. "Some even say Turkey
is a secular Muslim state and could be an example for changing
fundamentalist Muslim regimes, but Turkey represents more threat to
Europe than Armenia, Georgia, Croatia or Bulgaria.

He also said that if Turkey becomes a full-fledged player on the
European scene, will completely distort the basics the European Union
stands on, and this is why some European countries, including the
Netherlands and France, voted against a European constitution that
would ease Turkey’s entry into the EU.

Sarkozy’s preconditions, thus, are symbolic, Hovhannisian said,
and taking into account Sarkozy’s influence over the French society,
it indicates that his opinion represents that of the French society.
From: Baghdasarian

The Gazette (Montreal)
October 13, 2006 Friday
Final Edition

Minister here next week

CanWest News Service

Armenia’s foreign minister will pay a politically charged visit to
Ottawa next week, six months after the Harper government formally
recognized the Armenian genocide and angered its NATO ally Turkey in
the process.

Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian will make the first official visit
by an Armenian politician since Canada acknowledged the genocide of
1915 in which 1.5 million people were killed.

The action angered Turkey, which warned it could have economic
implications. A leading Turkish newspaper has speculated Canadian
companies might be barred from bidding on contracts related to a
nuclear power plant.

Canada has about $760 million invested in Turkey.

Babikian said his visit was aimed at cementing future relations
between the two countries, including enhancing economic co-operation.

There are currently 75 joint ventures between the two countries, he
said.
From: Baghdasarian

DASHNAK LEADER CONDEMNS OPPOSITIONIST’S BEATING
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
Oct 10 2006

A leader of the governing Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun), Vahan Hovannisian, on Tuesday added his voice
to condemnations of the weekend beating of a prominent opposition
politician, saying that it was politically motivated.

Suren Abrahamian, a senior member of the opposition Hanrapetutyun
(Republic) who served as interior minister in 1999, was reportedly
attacked near his house in Yerevan by a group of unknown men.

Hovannisian, who is also a deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament,
condemned the violence as a "terrible and ugly phenomenon." "This
attack on Suren Abrahamian had to do with political activities,"
he told journalists. "This is not only unacceptable but condemnable,
and this must be eliminated from our political life."

Hanrapetutyun leaders have implicitly alleged that the attack may have
been the work of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, who was recently
branded a "criminal element" by Abrahamian. The latter says that the
attackers demanded that he apologize to their unspecified boss.

Markarian dismissed such suspicions on Monday amid lingering opposition
allegations that his Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) is increasingly
relying on controversial government-connected businessmen regarded as
"criminal elements" by the opposition.

Dashnaktsutyun refers to them as "apolitical forces." Bodyguards
of those businessmen have been widely blamed for similar attacks on
other oppositionists as well as journalists critical of the government.

According to Hovannisian, Abrahamian’s beating underscored the need
for a special law that would strictly regulate private security
services. He complained that the government is reluctant to back a
relevant bill drafted by Dashnaktsutyun.
From: Baghdasarian