Author: Basmajian Ani

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY ANC MEETS WITH CONGRESSWOMAN GRACE NAPOLITANO

armradio.am
28.11.2007 10:11

On November 27, 2007 members of the San Gabriel Valley Armenian
National Committee (SGV ANC) and Armenian National Committee – Western
Region (ANC-WR) met with Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (D-CA-38) to
discuss current issues of concern to the community. In attendance were
SGV ANC Chairman Viken Pakradouni, SGV ANC Activists Jack Hadjinian,
Nazareth Sadorian, and Murad Minasian, ANCA-WR Chairman Raffi Hamparian
and ANCA-WR Executive Director Andrew Kzirian.

"The outreach conducted by the Armenian American community’s
leadership is welcome, refreshing and necessary," stated Congresswoman
Napolitano. "It is critical for the community to continue engaging
elected officials to voice both local and national concerns – I greatly
look forward to continue working together with the Armenian National
Committee," she added.

During the meeting, Pakradouni, Hadjinian, Minasian and Sadorian
provided the Congresswoman with updates on local developments and
their full support for the Armenian Genocide resolution (H. Res. 106)
pending in Congress. The Congresswoman stated her clear and unwavering
support of H. Res. 106.

Kzirian presented the Congresswoman and her staff with a bound
collection of over 100 articles covering the Armenian Genocide
resolution in a positive fashion. The ANCA is in the process of
disseminating these articles to all Members of Congress.

"We are big fans of Congresswoman Napolitano," stated SGV ANC Chairman
Viken Pakradouni. "Her leadership on various issues – ranging from her
efforts on water and transportation legislation to recognition of the
Armenian Genocide – serves as an example to her colleagues," he added.

OSCE MG HANDED WRITTEN PROPOSALS TO OSKANIAN AND MAMMADYAROV

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.11.2007 16:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs issued
written proposals regarding the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement,
Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Khazar Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim said that the document include 10 proposals, one of which
had not been coordinated due to its importance. He did not divulge
any further on the proposal.

The paper was handed during the Oskanian-Mammadyarov meeting, also
attended by OSCE Minsk Group U.S.

Co-chair Matthew Bryza, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Affairs and
Nicholas Burns, Trend reports.

CO-CHAIRS PASS TEXT OF MAIN PRINCIPLES OF KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT TO ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTERS

Noyan Tapan
Nov 29, 2007

MADRID, NOVEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian foreign minister Vartan
Oskanian, who is participating in the sitting of the Council of OSCE
Foreign Ministers in Mardrid, had a number of meetings on November
28 and 29.

A dinner-meeting with the Azerbaijani foreign minister E. Mamedyarov
took place on the initiative and with the participation of the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs on November 28. The participants discussed
issues related to the work of the Council of OSCE Foreign Ministers,
as well as the text of the paragraph on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem
in the declaration to be adopted by the Council on November 30. The
sides also conducted negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh peaceful
process-related issues that have not yet been agreed on.

The discussions continued on the following day with the participation
of Sergei Lavrov and Bernard Kouchner, the foreign ministers of
Russia and France – the OSCE Minsk Group’s co-charing countries,
and Nicholas Burns, U.S. Under Secreatry of State. Giving a brief
assessment of the recent negotiation process on settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the latter persons passed the text of the
main principles of the conflict setllement to the foreign ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The text contains the co-chairs’ proposals
on the issues not agreed on by the sides.

The co-chairs are expected to visit the region to familiarize
themselves with the presidents’ proposals on these approaches.

During the meeting of the Armenian foreign minister with the OSCE
Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, issues related to
OSCE reforms and the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem were
discussed. The interlocutors also addressed the format of the OSCE
observer mission’s participation in the upcoming presidential elections
in Armenia.

At the meeting with the foreign minister of Iceland Ingibjorg Solrum
Gilsadottir, Vartan Oskanian attached importance to promotion of
bilateral relations, especially in international organizations. He
presented the latest developments of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
settlement process.

Issues related to the current sitting of the Council of OSCE foreign
ministers and to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem were discussed during
the meeting with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, foreign minister of
Spain Miguel Angel Moratinos.

NT was informed by the RA MFA Press and Information Department that
meetings of the Armenian foreign minister with the foreign minister
of Kazakhstan M.

Tazhin and the US Under Secretary N. Burns are scheduled for late
November 29.

It is envisaged that V. Oskanian will make a speech at the sitting
of the Council of the OSCE foreign ministers.

DEFENSE MINISTER IS THE VERY PERSON TO MAKE SUCH MILITARIST STATEMENTS, AZERBAIJANI FM SAYS

arminfo
2007-11-29 17:44:00

ArmInfo. Defense Minister is the very person to make such militarist
statements, especially when he is studying the situation with bordering
territories. Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamedyarov said in
response to the question of ArmInfo special correspondent regarding
the recent militarists statements by Azerbaijani Defense Minister
Safar Abiyev.

Asked if he agrees to the militarist statements being a participant
in the peace process, E. Mamedyarov said: ‘I think that as long as
the territories are occupied and the conflict and the problem of the
local population of Nagorny Karabakh are unsettled, there will be
negative background.

Naturally, there are people who say that if we fail to settle the
conflict by peaceful methods we must do it by force since the problem
originated because of the military actions. As physicists say any
action leads to counteraction. But for the war, the military statements
might be inexpedient. There is a cause and effect relationship here
since there was war and people were expelled. That is why, military
statements are made’, the foriegn minister of Azerbaijan said.

THE ISSUE OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH’S SELF-DETERMINATION WAS AND REMAINS THE MAIN ISSUE DISCUSSED BETWEEN THE PARTIES

arminfo
2007-11-29 17:46:00

ArmInfo. The issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s self- determination was and
remains the main issue discussed between the parties of the conflict,
Press Secretary of RA FM Vladimir Karapetyan said during his talk with
ArmInfo correspondent, while commenting on Elmar Mammadyarov’s words,
who told journalists today that "the problem about the NKR’s status
is not discussed as such".

"The problem about Karabakh’s status was, naturally, included in
the document", V. Karapetyan said. To recall, when commenting on the
document about compromises submitted by the OSCE MG co-chairs today,
Elmar Mammadyarov said that the point is that

TOURISM IN NKR HAS PROSPECTS
Naira Hayrumyan

KarabakhOpen
30-11-2007 18:00:15

Interview of Karabakh-Open.com with the director of Tourism Development
Agency Sergey Shahverdyan

Mr. Shahverdyan, we have learned that the Tourism Development Agency is
likely to hold a conference of tourism specialists of NKR which will
sum up the tourist season in 2007 and discuss the ways of developing
tourism in NKR. Recently the NKR prime minister has said the government
did not have a distinct policy on tourism. There were also opinions
that income from tourism is insignificant in the state budget and
the GDP. What is you evaluation of the potential of this sphere?

In 2006 exports totaled 3 million dollars (Armenia excluding). At the
same time, the export of services (tourism) brought 1 million 250
thousand dollars to the country. In the same year, the government
spent about one million drams, and the Tourism Development Agency
spent about 5 million drams on efforts for development of tourism. The
money spent by the government on support and development of tourism
totaled less than 0.5 percent of the money invested in the country’s
economy by tourists.

In the meantime, the country continued to develop dynamically in 2007.

Additional 130 hotel accommodations were set up. The hotels of
Karabakh can accommodate 422 tourists at once, which is up by 20
percent compared with 2006. The number of tourists to Karabakh has
grown by 10 percent compared with 2006.

The dynamics of development of tourism in 2007 makes worry. For
instance, in 2000-2004 the number of visitors grew by 30 percent
annually, whereas since 2005 the rate of growth has gone down. In
2007 the number of tourists went up by only 10 percent compared with
the past year. The dropping rate of growth of the number of tourists
is evidence to the need for pro-active efforts to attract tourists
and create a favorable image for the country.

One of the main factors for the development of tourism is hotels. What
is the state of hotels in Karabakh?

The hotels in the country are developing dynamically and meet
the demands of tourism. As I already said, in 2007 about 130 new
accommodations were set up, another 150 are expected in 2008. However,
despite the growth of the number of tourists visiting NKR, the
functioning of hotels is only 10 percent.

The low load of tourist hotels makes owners of hotels raise the prices
for services, which is one of the factors hampering the development of
tourism in Karabakh. Besides, low profit does not enable improvement
of service which is not good for the image of the country.

If this tendency persists, hotel business which is now developing
fast may become less attractive for investments. These tendencies
are evidence that the government should make proactive efforts to
develop tourism.

Armenia and Karabakh are said to be "expensive" countries for
tourists. Do you agree to this? What is the role of tourism in the
economic development of the country?

According to the USAID report, every tourist who visited Armenia and
Karabakh in 2007 spent 100 dollars per day on accommodation, food,
transport and other services, souvenirs, etc. During the travel season
in 2007 not less than 1 million 375 thousand dollars was invested in
the economy.

Considering the multiplier effect, this 1 million 375 thousand means
for the economy of Karabakh as much as 2 million dollars.

Besides, tourism is a branch of economy which creates jobs without
special investments. According to the World Tourism Organization,
every 100 tourists visiting a country create at least one job.

In your opinion, what are the main goals that the government should
attain to develop tourism?

Much has been done toward this over the past few years. Legislation
has been created, government policies on tourism are worked out. The
government has declared tourism as one of the priorities of the
country’s development.

In this context, the primary goal of the government is to set the
country to be able to receive guests. This is a multilayer process
which takes immense efforts and coordinated action on behalf of
the government, local government, communities and people working in
tourism. It is necessary to take into account the interests of tourism
in decision making. It is necessary to set up a government agency,
as foreseen by the law, which will have a broad range of powers. If
we solve this problem effectively, soon tourism may become the main
source of income for the country and its citizens.

TURKEY. "SECURITY AND PROTECTION QUESTIONS"

Panorama.am
21:10 30/11/2007

"Turkey. Security and Protection Questions" works collection is
published and those, who want to study and learn more about Turkish
security problems, military system and other issues can get the
book from libraries. Today the book was introduced to the public in
National Academy.

You can also find national security forms and military marks of the
Turkish Republic, security bodies, armed forces, the projects of
the military industry and the developing stage of the armed forces,
special services, as well as military cooperation of Turkey and Israel.

According to Garnik Isagulyan, the head of "Political Research
Institute", can be considered as a report of the institute’s work. The
book is available in two languages: Armenian and Russian, but some
parts can be found in English. Till the end of the year another book
will be published about Turkey, and then they will research other
neighbour countries, too.

"Turkey is a country which has problems, especially security ones,
with the countries in the region and even with its neighbors. So we
hope that this book will be of great importance to our government,
those who make final decisions, to make surveys, to learn the subject,
and to act in the right way," said he.

Seyran Ohanyan, the head of RA Armed Forces, announced that the book
is important for the army, and it would be better to have some ideas,
decisions, and proposals after reading the work.

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

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I CONGRATULATES THE
HENCHAGIAN PARTY ON ITS 120TH ANNIVERSARY

His Holiness Aram I congratulated the 120th anniversary of the Social
Democrat Henchagian party in a special Pontifical letter, which was read
during an event organized in Beirut on December 2.

Following a request from the party’s Central Committee, the Pontiff decided
to mark this anniversary in a special letter. Primate of the Diocese of
Lebanon Bishop Kegham Khatcherian and V. Rev. Norayr Ashekian attended the
event on behalf of His Holiness.

The Primate read the Catholicos’ letter during the event. Referring to the
party’s history in particular, His Holiness said: "A retrospective look to
the life and work of this political organization clearly demonstrates that
through its brave spirit, revolutionary stance, commitment to service and
readiness for self-sacrifice, the party served our nation starting with the
bitter years of repression under the Ottoman Empire to the contemporary
times of what has become the Diaspora and newly independent Armenia in the
last fifteen years."

The Pontiff then viewed the party’s present in relation to the independent
Armenian state, Armenia-Diaspora relations and our national priorities: "The
strengthening of the free and independent homeland, the pursuit of our
nation’s rights, the further organization of the Diaspora and the
enhancement of cooperation between Armenia and the Diaspora were and have
remained the epitome and priorities of the party’s life and work. For the
realization of these pan-national projects, the Henchagian Party, both in
words and action, encouraged inter-partite cooperation and the strengthening
of national unity in Armenia and the communities of the Diaspora.

On this occasion, the Pontiff also encouraged the members of the party to
continue their efforts with renewed commitment.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the 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.

AGBU TO CONTINUE IMPLEMENTING PROGRAMS IN ARTSAKH

Noyan Tapan
Nov 16, 2007

NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Within the framework of the visit
to the U.S., NKR President Bako Sahakian met with the members of
the administrative assembly of the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) on November 15 in New York. Issues connected with the process
of implementation of various programs by AGBU in Artsakh, as well as
prospects of its further activity were discussed during the meeting. In
this connection AGBU representatives expressed readiness to continue
working in Artsakh, in particular, in the spheres of agriculture and
water supply.

B. Sahakian on his part highly evaluated AGBU’s activity in NKR at the
same time emphasizing the importance of the contribution of Artsakh’s
friends Luiz Simon Manukian and Perch Sedrakian. The NKR President
also mentioned that the Artsakh people keeps bright in its heart the
name and work of famous benefactor Alex Manoogian.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the General Information Department
under the NKR President, the same day the delegation led by B. Sahakian
left for Los Angeles.

PARUYR HAYRIKYAN WAS NOT ADMITTED TO MALI BECAUSE OF ABSENCE OF VACCINE AGAINST AMARILLIC TYPHUS

arminfo
2007-11-16 14:06:00

ArmInfo. The "Unity for Self-Determination" party leader Paruyr
Hayrikyan was not allowed to enter Bomako, Mali, to the UN Forum on
the problems of democracy to be held on November 14-28. Armenia takes
part in the Forum in an observer status.

During today’s discussion in "Hayatsk" discussion club, P. Hayrikyan
said that he was invited to the Forum and had already sent the theses
of his speeches, however, the last moment, he and other members of
the Armenian delegation were refused of receiving the entry visa as
vaccination against the amarillic typhus, which is absent in Armenia,
is compulsory for entry in this African country. As a result, Armenia’s
Ambassador to Egypt has left for the UN Forum. "Apparently, our
ambassador to Egypt received this vaccination in time. I only wonder
at the work of our Foreign Ministry. You see, they could informed
of the vaccination necessity beforehand, while the invitations were
received about 3 months before", P. Hayrikyan said.