Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 9 2005
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF BAMO HOLDING COMPANY
YEREVAN, September 9. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharyan has held
a meeting with President of the BAMO holding company Murad Muradyan.
Under a contract with the Department for State Property Management,
BAMO has prucahsed the Yerevan Karen Demirchayn Sport-Concert
Complex. During the meeting, the Armenian President expressed
satisfaction with the transaction, and Murad Muradyan assured Robert
Kocharyan that BAMO will strictly observe the contact. The sdies also
pointed out that the implementation of an investment program will
open up new opportunities to Armenia’s sport and cultural spheres.
On August 25, 2005, the RA government made a decision alienating the
Yerevan Karen Demirchyan Sport-Concert Complex to the BAMO holding
company through direct sale for $5.7mln.
The BAMO holding company is one of the largest construction companies
in the CIS and comprises nine companies engaged on construction in
Russia, Armenia, and Germany. A total of 4,500 people are employed by
BAMO. The holding company launched its activities in Armenia in 2001
by constructing a wood-processing enterprise in Martuni, Gegharkuni
region, Armenia.
The Karen Demirchyan complex is the largest sport-concert complex in
Armenia (46,000sq meters). P.T. -0–
From: Baghdasarian

Pan Armenian News
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS IN UKRAINE NOT TO TELL ON RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA
10.09.2005 02:42
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia follows with attention the developments in Ukraine
and attaches much importance to stability in that country, stated Armenian
MFA Press Secretary Hamlet Gasparyan when answering a question on the
possible impact of the governmental crisis in Ukraine on the
Armenian-Ukrainian relations. The MFA of Armenia expressed confidence that
President Yuschenko would be able to form a new Government within a short
period of time and to overcome the temporary hardships. `The
Armenian-Ukrainian relations are based on mutual trust of states and
centuries-old friendship between our peoples. Today our bilateral relations
are at a stage of dynamic development. We are convinced that the domestic
developments in Ukraine will not tell on our relations in any way,’
emphasized Press Secretary of the Armenian MFA, reported IA Regnum.
From: Baghdasarian

Pan Armenian News
ARMENIAN FM MET WITH CILICIA VESSEL CREW
10.09.2005 03:02
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister (FM) Vartan Oskanian yesterday
met with captain of Armenian vessel Cilicia Karen Balayan, writer Zori
Balayan and other crew members, who have returned from the second stage of
the their tour, reported the Armenian MFA Press Service. In the course of
their conversation the sailors told the FM about their voyage. They said
they were satisfied with the cooperation with diplomatic missions of various
countries and local Armenian communities, owing to which a number of
problems were solved during their trip. V. Oskanian appreciated the role of
the extraordinary tour and the courage and resoluteness of the sailing ship
crew. He said that Cilicia has become a symbol of Armenia. He thanked the
sailors for their brave initiative and wished good luck in the final stage
of their voyage.
From: Baghdasarian

SPEAKER OF TURKISH SENDS LETTER TO HIS COUNTERPARTS FROM 16 COUNTRIES, WHO HAVE RECOGNIZED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8. ARMINFO. Speaker of the Turkish parliament
Bulent Arinch sent a letter to his counterparts from 16 countries,
which have recognized Armenian Genocide.
As the Turkish daily Milliyet reports, in his letter sent to the
speakers of the parliaments of Switzerland, Poland, Slovakia, Lebanon,
Canada, Argentina, Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, Italy, Greece,
Uruguay, Swede, Russia and Venezuela, Bulent Arinch mentioned that
“there is nothing to hide in the history of his country and there
is nothing shameful”. “The adoption of the accusations against
Turkey on perpetration of the Armenian genocide, cause deep concern
and disappointment among the MPs of Turkey”, said in the letter.
Bulent Arinch once more supports the position of Turkey saying that
“the historians must estimate the history” and presents as “tragic
events between Turks and Armenians, which took place the years of the
World War I”. According to him, official Ankara has proposed Armenia
to establish a joint group of historians for examination of all the
archive documents of these events and submission of the results to
the international community.
From: Baghdasarian

OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE MEET WITH HEAD OF AZERBAIJANI COMMUNITY OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Sept 6 2005
OSCE delegation headed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has meet on September 5 with the
head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Azerbaijani community Nizami Bahmanov,
reported AzerTAj.
Speaking in detail of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, Nizami Bahmanov said all refugees are concerned with
insolubility of the problem. Though the both Azerbaijani and
Armenian Presidents have recently meet in Kazan, Russia, the Armenian
President’s visit to the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh is will negatively
affect the negotiations process, said Bahmanov. He asked the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office to examine this issue during his visit to Armenia.
Dimitrij Rupel has promised to discuss this issue with the Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan and said the question submitted by the
Azerbaijani side on illegal settling of Armenians in the Azerbaijani
territories is considering and will be prepared report on this issue.
In his words, OSCE will achieve by all means the resettlement of
Armenians from these territories.
Mr. Rupel has also in detail informed on the pre-election preparations
of the community of occupying territories and noted that there are
lists of the Azerbaijani citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh the Armenian
nationality.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES CREW OF CILICIA SAILING VESSEL
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1. ARMINFO. President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan
jhas rdceived today the crew of the sailing vessel Cilicia built
on the model of Middle Age vessels of Cilicia Kingdom. The sailing
vessel has completed te second stage of its sailing by 9 seas.
The presidential press-service informs ARMINFO that the crew handed
over the national flag of Armenia to President Kocharyan and took
another flag from the president to sail under it next year. Sailors
presented Robert Kocharyan the photo of Cilicia with their autographs.
The president talked to the crew around the issues related
the forthcoming third stage of sailing and the problems of the
vessel’s transportation to Armenia. Robert Kocharyan pointed out
the importance of construction of a special berth on Lake Sevan and
promised to assist the sailors in this issue. The sailors told about
the interesting incidents during the sailing and assured him that
due to their accumulated experience they will cope with the remaining
way and bring Cilicia to the native shore.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia Now, Armenia
September 3, 2005
Baltic “yans”: A visit with the Armenians of Latvia
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Editor’s Note: Staff writer Suren Musayelyan recently visited relatives
in Latvia, where he found a small, but vibrant community of Armenians
. . .
“Ani”, “Ararat”, “Artsakh”, “Erebuni”, “Kert”, the names of Armenian
landmarks might be expected on restaurants in the popular Diaspora
regions such as Glendale, Tehran, Montreal . . . But Riga?
(Latvia is situated in Northern Europe and is one of the three Baltic
states along with Estonia and Lithuania that were occupied by the
Soviet Union in 1940. Latvia regained its independence in 1991. It
has a population of about 2,300,000. The largest national minority
is Russians, about 28 percent).
With an Armenian population of about 2,500 in Riga (3,000 in the
entire country), the capital of Latvia is home to about two dozen
Armenian restaurants – approximately 1 for each 100 Latvian-Armenians.
According to one of the elders of the community, Karlos Shekoyan,
this detail only stresses that “the Armenian community, although not
very large, is very diverse.”
The Armenian community is represented by a khachkar in Riga.
The 84-year-old, a well-known tamada (toast-master) among the Latvian
Armenians, who was brought to Riga by his fate in 1949, says that
the members of the community try to rally around the church.
“We all have families: children, grandchildren, but it is the meetings
in the church that are spiritual communication for us, bringing us
closer to our historical homeland,” says Shekoyan.
The religious organization of the Armenian Apostolic Church called
St. Gregory the Illuminator Church appeared in Riga in 1993. And the
construction of the church began in late 1997 (the church is situated
in 6 Kayusalas Street). Construction is not complete yet, but services
are already being held. The church is being built exclusively on the
donations of the parishioners.
Father Markos (lay name – Hrachya Hovhannisyan) also emphasizes the
role of the church in the life of the community thousands of miles
away from their historical homeland.
“The Church is the core of our unity. It is heroism for such a
small community like ours to purchase such a large territory for
the construction of a church,” says Archimandrite Markos, who came
to Riga in November 2002 and was appointed prior of the St. Gregory
the Illuminator Church.
According to Fr. Markos, Armenians in Latvia can be found in
practically all spheres of activities, but there are especially many
Armenians engaged in arts and culture.
According to him, there were Armenians in Latvia before the
sovietization of the republic in 1940, but they were very few and
disorganized. Armenians, who now live in Latvia, mostly came to this
Baltic state during the Soviet times, after 1946.
The first public organization – Latvian-Armenian Cultural Society –
was founded here in 1988.
The Armenian community of Riga was established on the basis of the
Latvian-Armenian Cultural Society in 2001. This community is a member
of the “Commonwealth” union of public organizations of Latvia’s
national minorities and receives financing from the state.
Its chairman Artur Isakhanov has lived in Riga since 1979. He says
that the community faces lots of challenges in trying to preserve
their identity, including differences within the community itself.
But he says what they have actually achieved inspires him with optimism
for the future.
“It is for the first time in 50 years that only our community here
in the Baltic states has managed to purchase land and build a church
there. It happens very rarely in these parts, practically never,”
says Isakhanov. “We have already got permission for the privatization
of the land and soon this land will belong to Holy Etchmiadzin.”
The church in Riga is the first Armenian church to have been built in
the Baltic States (which include churches in neighboring Lithuania
and Estonia, which, however, unlike the one in Riga were not built
like Armenian churches but were converted into them).
Isakhanov says that it is important for them to see the community
centered around the church. The local Armenians also plan to build
a cultural center and a school near the church.
The Armenian community in Latvia tries to keep abreast with their
compatriots in other Diaspora communities across the world. They
now have their own newspaper, “Ararat” (printed in 2,500 copies),
close ties with the Armenian communities of neighboring Estonia
and Lithuania and participate in many international pan-Armenian
conferences and forums.
According to Isakhanov, there is an Armenian lobby in the Latvian
Parliament and among the Armenian lobbyists are even extreme right-wing
deputies, such as Chairwoman of the Seim (the Latvian Parliament),
Ingrida Udre.
In spring, when Armenians across the world commemorated the 90th
anniversary of the Genocide, the Armenian community in Latvia arranged
a whole series of events, including an exhibition on the Genocide at
the Seim of Latvia.
Even though the Armenian lobby failed to push a declaration on the
genocide through the Latvian legislature this spring (only 15 of
the 100 deputies supported it, including 11 rightist (Latvians) and
four leftists (Russians)), they are determined to initiate the same
declaration next year. Isakhanov says they will continue to work in
this direction in the future.
“The president of Latvia recently met with our ambassador and said to
him: ‘Perhaps you shouldn’t remember the past, but should look into
the future,’ to which he replied: ‘Then why don’t you want to forget
your problems with Russia in the past?'” says Isakhanov, calling it
a policy of double standards.
There is a khachkar in the very center of Riga, placed by the
Armenian community in 1989 in memory of the victims of the massacres
of Armenians and the earthquake in Spitak. In 2001, on the occasion
of the 1700th anniversary of Armenia’s conversion to Christianity,
the khachkar was reconstructed and re-consecrated.
Armenians in Latvia, whether they have a citizen’s passport or don’t,
mostly come together at church meetings and other events organized
by the community.
Anahit Sargsyan recently celebrated her 80th birthday with her
compatriots in the church yard. Originally from Tbilisi, Georgia,
Anahit has lived in Latvia since 1953.
“All my friends here are already dead. I have made new friends here
in the community, which is a family for me. I feel very sad when I
miss a single Sunday church service,” she says.
Preservation of language is another challenge, especially for the
younger generation of Armenians in Latvia.
Tigran Bogoyan, 29, was born and raised in Riga. A graduate of
the Department of Economy at the Latvian University, Tigran runs
an accounting firm. He says he often goes to Yerevan where he has
relatives. He speaks Armenian a little.
“I try to speak Armenian with anyone who speaks Armenian. Although
I was born and lived all my life in Latvia, I feel more at home in
Armenia,” says Tigran.
There is a Sunday school in Riga available to Armenians who want to
learn the language. The school was established in 1989, but according
to Isakhanov, this school needs more attention both in terms of
financing and interest towards it among the members of the community.
Headmistress of Riga’s Armenian Sunday School Elza Mirzoyan says that
besides the Armenian language they also Armenian history and culture.
But she says they have fewer children attending the school than they
would like to see.
“The Armenian language is spoken less and less by children. Their
parents speak the language, but the children do not. Unfortunately,
this tendency is observed throughout the Diaspora,” says Mirzoyan.
The Armenian boys and girls attending the school also participate in
various school competitions among Latvia’s national minorities and
their headmistress says that performing under the Armenian tricolor
they feel that their ancient historical homeland is behind them.
“I am sure that our children will grow to become real patriots of
the Armenian nation,” Mirzoyan concludes.
;AID=1046&CID=1239&IID=1040&lng=eng
From: Baghdasarian

OSCE CHAIRMEN REPORT KOCHARIAN-ALIYEV MEETING DETAILS TO OSCE CHAIRMAN
Armenpress
September 2, 2005
BAKU, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS: Yury Merzlyakov, the Russian
cochairman of the OSCE Minsk group, told an Azeri ANS agency that
after Kocharian-Aliyev meeting in Russian Kazan he and two other
cochairmen from USA and France left for Ljubljana to report the
meeting’s details to the OSCE chairman-in-office, Slovenia’s foreign
minister Dmitry Ruupel.
Asked to describe Kocharian-Aliyev meeting Merzlyakov said it was
‘good and useful.” “It was held in a good climate and the discussions
were detailed. The cochairmen have all grounds to feel satisfied and
I believe all other parties are likewise satisfied,” he was quoted
as saying.
Citing the confidentiality of the talks, Merzlyakov refused to say
whether new proposals were discussed by Kocharian and Aliyev. He also
said the cochairmen will work to organize a new meeting of Azeri and
Armenian foreign ministers before the end of 2005 and ‘before that
the two sides will have to ponder over what was negotiated and convey
their opinions to the cochairmen.”
From: Baghdasarian

Yuri Merzlyakov: “There are grounds to be pleased with the Kazan meeting”
Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 2 2005
02 September 2005 [13:51] – Today.Az
The co-chairmen of the Minsk Group informed the OSCE chairman-in-office
Dmitrij Rupel about the details of the meeting on regulation of
the nagorno Karabakh conflict conducted between the presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan in Kazan on
August 27.
APA was informed about it by the Russian co-chairman of the Minsk
group Yuri Merzlyakov. According to his words, the co-chairmen left
for the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana immediately after the meeting
of the presidents for this.
Y.Merzlyakov sharing his opinions in connection with the last
talks between the presidents called the Kazan meeting very good and
efficient: “The meeting was held in a way the co-chairmen expected.
Detailed discussions were held in the meeting conducted under good
conditions. We have reasons to be pleased with the meeting. I think
that anyone was satisfied with this meeting”. The Russian diplomat
noted that he can not answer the question whether there were new
recommendations or not in the meeting and stressed the importance of
preserving confidentiality for the meeting to yield good results.
Y.Merzlyakov giving an explanation about the date of the new meetings
between the ministers of foreign affairs and presidents of Azerbaijan
and Armenia informed that the co-chairmen will try for the meetings
to be held till the end of the year: “The sides must think over the
questions discussed in the meeting and inform the co-chairmen about
their opinions before this”.
As to the next visit of the co-chairmen to the region, Y.Merzlyakov
informed that they think to visit the region till December.
It should be noted that the OSCE chairman-in-office, minister of
foreign affairs of Slovenia Dmitrij Rupel will also visit Baku and
Yerevan for being familiarized with the results of the Kazan meeting.
URL:
From: Baghdasarian

ARGENTINEAN FOREIGN MINISTER UPBEAT ABOUT DEVELOPING TIES WITH ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan news agency
31 Aug 05
Yerevan, 31 August: Argentinean Minister of Foreign Relations
[International Trade and Worship] Rafael Bielsa and Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan assessed the current level of
Armenian-Argentinean relations and summed up the outcome of the
Argentinean minister’s visit at a joint briefing at Yerevan’s Zvartnots
airport before leaving for Argentina today.
The two ministers highly rated relations between Argentina and
Armenia and expressed their confidence that cooperation would
expand successfully. Bielsa described his visit to Armenia as very
productive. He told reporters that the opening of the Argentinean
embassy in Yerevan is planned as part of boosting Armenian-Argentinean
cooperation. Moreover, a candidate for the post of ambassador has
been named.
Bielsa also expressed the hope for the successful completion of
the construction of a new terminal at Zvartnots airport, which, as
is known, is being financed by an Argentinean of Armenian origin,
Eduardo Ernikyan.
From: Baghdasarian