Author: Boshkezenian Garik

HISTORY OF WAR IS WRITTEN BY DISHWASHERS
Lragir.am
27 July 06
Several commanders of squads in Karabakh war wrote a letter to the
president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, demanding to improve the hard
social state of the liberation soldiers. The liberation soldiers
offer a list of social demands, starting with the status.
“The most important of these demands is the adoption of a status of
participants of Artsakh liberation war. You see, there are participants
of the Patriotic War, veterans of foreign legion, in Ethiopia, where
a civil war took place, there are two groups of veterans. How about
us? Are we Tahiti? They do not recognize the independence of Karabakh,
let alone they recognize that there was a war. They are afraid of
losing their money,” stated the commander of the squad Artsakh Mikael
Apresyan July 27 at the Pastark Club.
“Hence, we have something interesting. Everybody says we won the war,
but there are no people, in other words, there is not a category of
people who participated in the war. It is very strange, the nation
fought, but there are no warriors,” adds Arkady Karapetyan, one of
the pioneers of the Karabakh movement and commander during the war,
who is presently the head of Yerkrapah Union in Artsakh.
The veterans of war say most of the real fighters are now jobless,
homeless, can hardly make both ends meet, whereas heroes, who emerged
out of nowhere, live in villas, ride in expensive cars, get different
awards for military service.
“Now that they distribute awards, they mainly distribute them to
people who did not participate [in the war]. It makes us furious.
Hence people who were in Russia, in Moscow, anywhere else in those
years, are now making decisions and it is not clear who they are
and what they do,” says Arkady Karapetyan, one of the pioneers of
the Karabakh movement, who assures that he knows who did what during
the war. Karapetyan points the books, which allegedly tell about the
movement and war in Karabakh but in fact tell nothing about those
years of the movement, in which the present government had no role.
Mikhael Apresyan, the commander of the squad Artsakh gives an example
of such a book.
“You should read it, it is entitled “Liberation”, by a certain Martin
Baghdasaryan, who deserves a punishment. Imagine these people were
awarded posthumously, whereas these people are driving about here in
jeeps,” says Mikhael Apresyan.
“This Martin, for instance, who wrote the book, used to wash dishes
in a squad in the village of Hatsik,” says Arkady Karapetyan. He says
it is also a service, which cannot be ignored. Karapetyan says they do
not want to be alone to get the laurels. “However, Martin who used to
be a dishwasher, he does not know how it was in the trenches, and who
was in the trenches. This is the problem,” says Arkady Karapetyan. The
veterans of war, who extended their demands to the president, set a
timing of ten days. These ten days have passed but there is no answer
yet. However, the veterans do not answer either what they will be doing
next. More exactly, they answer but they say they won’t do anything.
“We are still working out this process, it is early to tell you
something,” says Mikael Apresyan. “We are gathering signatures among
our guys, among the population, who will join us. Then we’ll see.
Maybe after the holidays they will start thinking anew. It will be
clear in late August,” says Arkady Karapetyan with a smile.
The veterans do not think there is someone in the ruling elite, who
will solve the social problems of thousands of liberation soldiers.
“This disorder, I do not know how to call it, will not solve. One
hundred million, will they give one hundred million to pay benefits
to these guys?” says Mikael Apresyan.
“You see, we do not believe Tsar Batushka, we do not believe that
someone will solve the problems. Why? He’s a weak guy, we haven’t
lived normally after independence to get rid of this weakness, and
now they are imposing this slavery on our youth. This man comes to
power, they take him to Paris, America, this poor guy sees, is afraid,
and he cannot understand what he can do to recover the country he
heads from this state. In other words, if we, the people, do not get
a firm footing on this land, not an official will solve this problem
normally,” states Arkady Karapetyan.

ARMENIANS TO CROSS RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER LATE TODAY
Panorama.am
16:20 27/07/06
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanyan expressed his
hope that soon the Armenian nationals will be able to cross Ergnety
checkpoint which has been idle for some time but hopefully will help
Armenians to get to their motherland since Verin Lars check point is
closed. Gharibjanyan informed reporters that Zurab Noghaideli, Georgian
prime minister, has arrived in Tbilisi early today. He has a memorandum
from the Armenian government waiting on his table. The memorandum
asks the Georgian authorities to permit the Armenian nationals to
cross the border. Gharibjanyan assured that the checkpoint near
Ergneti residential area is dysfunctional but he hoped that Georgian
authorities would use the idle checkpoint to enable Armenians to
come to Armenia through Georgia. Gharibjanyan said Georgian foreign
ministry has already approved the memorandum from the Armenian
government. The deputy minister assured that the problem is between
Russian and Georgian authorities. He advised Armenian nationals to
use Novorosisk-Poty port while coming from Russia. /Panorama.am/

SALE OF 90% OF ARMENTEL SHARES IS LIKELY TO COMPLETE IN LATE AUGUST
AZG Armenian Daily #139, 26/07/2006
Economy
It is expected that the sale of 90% of ArmenTel shares will be
completed in late August. OTE headquarter informed about this,
today. According to the source, the board of OTE company didn’t make
any official statements about the terms of the sale. “But there are
all grounds to suppose that the sales results will be known already
in end August,” it stated. The Russian mass media informed that 90%
of ArmenTel shares will be sold to the Russian “AFK Sistema” and VTEL
Holdings / Knightsbridge Associates the international consortium.
By Ara Martirosian

Caspian Energy Exports & the Black Sea Corridor
Friday, July 28, 2006
Location:
The Grand Ballroom
Willard Hotel
14th & Pennsylvania
Agenda:
09:00 a.m. – 09:15 a.m. Coffee and Registration
09:15 a.m. – 09:20 a.m. Opening Remarks
Glen E. Howard
President, Jamestown
Foundation
09:20 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Introduction
Ambassador Steven Mann
Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for South & Central Asian Affairs
U.S. State Department
9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Keynote Address
Traian Basescu
President of Romania
“Romania: An Energy Gateway to Western Europe”
10:15 a.m. – 10:35 a.m. Questions and Answers
CASPIAN ENERGY & THE BLACK SEA CORRIDOR
10:35 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Matt Bryza
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia
U.S. State Department
Richard Ennis
Managing Director, Head of Natural Resources, ING Capital LLC
“Romania’s Role in Black Sea Oil Transport”
Edward C. Chow
International Energy Consultant
“Conditions & Opportunities for Caspian Energy Exports to Europe”
Vladimir Socor
Senior Fellow, Jamestown Foundation
Overview and Conclusions: “The Changing Geopolitics of Eurasian Energy”
12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. Questions and Answers
Closing Remarks
RSVP by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 27, 2006
[email protected]

Grand Master of Armenia Lilit Lazarian plays a draw with ex-World Champion Maya Chiburdanidze
ArmRadio.am
25.07.2006 13:10
Today Grand Master of Armenia Lilit Lazarian played a draw with
ex-World Champion Maya Chiburdanidze of Georgia in the first round
of the “Ural Cup – 2006” international chess tournament held in
Krasnoturinsk, Russia.12 leading woman chess players are participating
in the tournament, including ex-World Champion Antonetta Stefanova
of Bulgaria, Chzyu Chen of Qatar and Viktoria Chmilite of Lithuania.

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:
THE DIOCESES OF THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA SUPPORT LEBANON
In light of the war situation in Lebanon, His Holiness Aram I issued a
pontifical circular to all the dioceses of the Catholicosate of Cilicia,
asking them to support Lebanon through the Lebanese embassies in their
respective countries and the local leaders of Lebanese Christian and Muslim
communities.
All the dioceses expressed support for Lebanon, calling for an immediate and
full ceasefire and participating in the humanitarian aid efforts through the
Lebanese embassies in their countries, where special committees have been
formed for the provision of medicine, food, clothes and other essential
material to Lebanon.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the dioceses of
the 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.

GREY CADRINAL COMES OUT OF SHADE
Yerevan, July 21. ArmInfo. “RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsian
belongs to rare people that are political factors themselves and his
membership to the Republican Party greatly increases its authority,”
Armen Ashotian, member of RPA, stated at today’s press conference.
He added that Sargsian’s political authority is well known even out
of Armenia’s borders. At the same time, he expressed bewilderment
about the insinuations of some political figures about Sargsian’s
membership to RPA. Ashotian stated that never ending statements
on political crisis made by some of the political parties’ leaders
testify to their intention to spread their inner political crisis
on the whole political field of Armenia. The ideological platform
of RPA is based on the values of a national-conservative party in
the classical European sense of this definition. The ruling party is
going to cooperate with the local big entrepreneurs, paying special
attention to the defence of the national interests. RPA is going to
work with the classical slogan of the World War II: “Everything for
Front, Everything for the Victory!” Ashotian believes that in the
parliamentary elections in 2007 RPA will receive 35-40% of the votes.
Ashotian said nothing about the prospects of his opponents,
particularly about the newly founded “Prospering Armenia” party,
stating that this party hasn’t been established as a political
structure yet.

Armenian President not to attend CIS summit
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 21, 2006
[ 21 Jul. 2006 16:25 ]
The heads of states from the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) are arriving at the Russian capital of Moscow to attend the
CIS informal summit tomorrow (APA).
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin invited the CIS heads of state to
discuss the ongoing processes in the world as well as issues regarding
improvement of the CIS. The heads of states will also follow the
horse races for Russian President’s award, which are held in Moscow
for three years.
The summit’s agenda is free, no documents are expected to be
adopted. President Putin will also introduce his counterparts the
results of the G8 summit held in St Petersburg from July 15 to 17.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev today has left for Moscow to attend
the summit. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili will not participate
in the summit, said Georgi Arveladze, head of President’s Office. The
reason for the postponing was not made public. But it is believed
Saakashvili refused the visit as he won’t be able to meet with his
Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Georgian and Russian Presidents
were expected to meet in private to discuss Georgian parliament’s
recent decision on withdrawal of the Russian peacekeepers from the
conflict zones in Georgia.
Armenian President Robert Kocharian will not attend the
CIS summit either. The reason for that was shown his health
problems. Turkmenistan’s president Saparmurad Niyazov was announced
previously that he will not attend the summit.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko will not participate in the
summit due to the political situation in his country. His press
secretary Irina Gerashenko told journalists that Yushchenko has written
to the host of the summit Vladimir Putin about that. The Ukrainian
President also wrote in the letter that Ukraine sees Russia as a key
strategic partner. He also asked President Putin to specify the date
of his visit to Ukraine./APA/

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
07/20/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1. Lebanese Consulate in LA Calls for Community Assistance 2. Bryza Will Visit Karabakh During Tour 3. CIS Summit Begins Today 4. Turkish Lawyer Puts Patriotism Before Free Speech, EU 1. Lebanese Consulate in LA Calls for Community Assistance LOS ANGELES--The Lebanese Consul General in Los Angeles Charbel Wehbe issued an appeal to all Los Angeles residents of Lebanese descent to assist the government as Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue. The announcement addresses the damages caused by the nine-day old attack on the country, which has been categorized as a "disaster zone" by the Lebanese Prime Minister. The announcement asks the public to donate money, food, clothing and medicine, as well as safety and other equipment. The Consulate appeal urges the community to donate powdered milk, canned goods, baby food, diapers, rice, sugar, blankets, generators and other goods. For financial donations, the consulate asks that the contributions be made to the following address: US dollars Federal Reserve Bank of New York Bic Code FRNYUS33 Routing Number: 021084694 Favor: Banque du Liban Account number 02 700 362123 Lebanese lira Banque du Liban Account number 02 700 362123 The Consular announcement urges the community to immediately heed this urgent call and through contributions ensure that the people of Lebanon receive the basic needs during this crisis. In a related matter, Western Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian spoke with Consul General Wehbe Tuesday, expressing his sympathy and that of the entire Armenian community for the casualties the country has suffered, wishing for unity and solidarity to prevail in Lebanon and among the Lebanese people. The Consul General spoke of the situation in Lebanon, and on behalf of the government requested that the Armenian community offer any humanitarian assistance within their means to the civilian victims. The Consulate is planning to designate a special committee to coordinate the humanitarian efforts. On Sunday July 23, a special prayer will be said in all Prelacy churches for the lives lost in the fighting. The Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church urges all community members to attend and pray for the peace. In Lebanon, efforts of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Central Committee of Lebanon to assist with displaced and affected Lebanese continued in Armenian-populated neighborhoods, as institutions and organizations have all put forth their resources to aid the victims of the attacks. An ARF delegation, accompanied by parliament member Hagop Pakradouni Wednesday visited refugee centers in Bourdj Hammoud to gain first-hand knowledge of the situation. Pakradouni praised the resilience of the people of southern Lebanon and pledged the Armenian community's continued efforts to provide necessary relief and humanitarian assistance to the victims of the attacks. 2. Bryza Will Visit Karabakh During Tour YEREVAN (Lrakir)--The US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza, who is scheduled to visit Armenia on July 29, will also go to Stepanakert, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic press service announced Thursday. The press service reported that Bryza will meet with Karabakh President Arkady Ghoukassian. Bryza's visit to Stepanakert marks a turning point in the OSCE Minsk Group peace process, since during past several years, visiting co-chairmen have side-stepped visiting Karabakh. "One should not place big hopes OSCE Minsk Group's US Co-chair Matthew Bryza's visit to the region," Russia's charge d'affaires in Azerbaijan Peter Burdikin said. He said Bryza's visit to the region may be useful only from the standpoint of assessing the situation by the new appointee. "It would not be unlikely that a new meeting between the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers be organized upon completion of the visit," he said. 3. CIS Summit Begins Today YEREVAN (Yerkir)A two-day summit of CIS leaders was scheduled to convene in Moscow Friday. The agenda of the summit includes two principal issues--the assessment of global developments and the CIS reformation. "Being the CIS chairman the Russian President invited his counterparts to arrive in Moscow for an informal summit without a precisely outlined agenda and discuss the ways of CIS reformation," said assistant to the Russian leader Sergey Prikhodko. Presidents of Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are expected to attend the summit. Armenia's presidential spokesman Viktor Soghmonyan told reporters Thursday that a meeting between presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan was not scheduled during the CIS summit. 4. Turkish Lawyer Puts Patriotism Before Free Speech, EU ISTANBUL (Reuters)--A lawyer instrumental in trials of writers who challenge Turkey's limits on freedom of speech vowed on Wednesday to advance a nationalist campaign which has put Ankara at odds with the European Union. Bitter EU critic Kemal Kerincsiz has come to prominence this year through his involvement in bringing charges against internationally renowned novelist Orhan Pamuk and other writers for comments on the Armenian issue and insulting "Turkishness". The EU, which Turkey wants to join, is pushing Ankara to improve freedom of expression as a condition for membership, but nationalist lawyers and the judiciary are undermining the drive. This week he filed a complaint to prosecutors about comments made by Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink, prompting a fresh probe of the writer just a week after a previous conviction. "You cannot view what writers like Hrant Dink and Orhan Pamuk have said as freedom of expression. They are provoking the situation under the Armenian Diaspora's influence," Kerincsiz told Reuters in his office in an Istanbul apartment block. "We will not allow insults and abuse of Turkishness in the name of freedom of expression. We will continue to defend Turkishness and the rights of Turks from Central Asia to Western Thrace (in eastern Greece)," he said. Kerincsiz heads the Grand Lawyers' Association which claims 800 members in Istanbul and devotes itself to nationalist causes. As he spoke, his colleagues prepared placards for a pro-Turkish Cypriot demonstration they were staging in Istanbul. The latest target of his campaign was an interview which Dink gave to Reuters on July 14 in which he said Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman forces during World War One. "Dink has sealed his own fate with this comment. He has convicted himself. It is now impossible from him to escape his suspended sentence and a new conviction," said Kerincsiz. The European Parliament has called on Turkey to recognize the Armenian massacres as a genocide before it joins the bloc. The High Court of Appeals last week confirmed a six-month suspended jail sentence for Dink under a controversial article of Turkey's penal code which outlaws insults to "Turkishness". The EU has urged Turkey to scrap Article 301, which carries a jail sentence of up to three years, arguing it restricts freedom of expression. The government says the revised penal code, introduced last year, needs more time to be tested. "Nobody will have the strength to abolish 301, neither the political powers or the European Union," Kerincsiz. "If you get rid of it your are recognizing the Armenian genocide allegations." Cases against Pamuk and four columnists collapsed on a legal technicality, but only after drawing a sharp rebuke from the EU, which Turkey aims to join, and from human rights groups. Ankara began EU membership talks last October but is not expected to join the wealthy bloc for many years. Kerincsiz wants Turkey to halt those talks immediately, annul its customs union with the bloc and review its NATO and US relations. "The European Union means slavery and a prisoner's chains for Turkey," he said. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

Varuzhan Sukiasyan appointed chief trainer of “Ararat” football club
ArmRadio.am
19.07.2006 14:46
Varuzhan Sukiasyan has been appointed chief trainer of “Ararat,” one
of the leading football clubs of Armenia. Before Varuzhan Sukiasyan
trained the national football team of Armenia, as well as a number
of other clubs.