Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

IRAN TO RANK THIRD IN GAS PRODUCTION WORLDWIDE
Mehr news agency
4 Apr 06
Tehran, 4 April: Implementation of the existing gas projects and
completion of the South Pars development plans in particular may allow
Iran to be the third major natural gas producer in the next four years.
Based on the current statistics, the world’s annual gas consumption
stands at 2,618.5 billion cubic meters which is equivalent to 50
million barrels of oil per day, the Persian service of ISNA reported
on Tuesday.
Russia and the United States allocate 43.3 per cent of global
production to themselves while Canada, the Great Britain, Algeria
and Indonesia are the other major producers in that order. Iran sits
seventh in the ranking with 70 billion cubic meters per annum.
Given the dispersion of natural gas resources in Latin America
and Asia, Iran is a reliable source of supply being near the
energy-starving India and China. Nevertheless, the country has signed
no long-term gas export contract since 1996, Turkey being the sole one.
But, the promising fact remains that Iran could increase its production
capacity to 255.5 billion cubic meters in four years and maintain a
gradual growth to 360 billion per annum over the next 30 years.
The current gas export projects under way to the UAE and Armenia are
to be operational by yearend and several important talks have so far
been held with Pakistan, India and the EU to this end.

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
April 4, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
KNOLLENBERG QUESTIONS SECRETARY RICE OVER ARMENIA-AZERI MILITARY AID
DISPARITY
Rep. Jackson Expresses Concern Over Decrease in Economic Assistance
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly commended Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues Co-Chair Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) today for
questioning Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the disparity in
military funding to Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Administration’s
Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 budget.
During a hearing before the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee on
Appropriations, Knollenberg questioned Rice over the Administration’s
proposal to provide Azerbaijan with an approximately 20 percent increase
in military funding over neighboring Armenia.
In her response, Rice said that the issue of need and requirement is
handled on an individual basis and that the U.S. is working with both
governments. Rice also noted that the U.S. and Armenia recently signed a
five-year $235 million Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Compact which
will help Armenia reduce rural poverty. Rice also added that the U.S.
maintains good relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Knollenberg countered that the U.S. is a leading mediator in the Nagorno
Karabakh peace conflict, pointing out that a disparity in military
funding can damage U.S. credibility in the region.
Rice, answered in part, that slight differences in military assistance
can be tolerated between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Administration’s 2007 funding proposal for Foreign Military
Financing (FMF) calls for $4.5 million for Azerbaijan and only $3.5
million for Armenia. The proposed budget also recommends $885,000 for
Azerbaijan versus $790,000 for Armenia in International Military
Education and Training (IMET) assistance.
Congressman Jesse Jackson (D-IL) expressed concern over the decrease in
U.S. economic assistance to several countries including Armenia. Jackson
noted that the Administration requested $50 million in assistance to
Armenia in FY 2007 while Congress provided Yerevan with just under $75
million in FY 2006.
“We appreciate Congressman Knollenberg’s leadership on this critical
issue,” said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. “Given the
ongoing bellicose statements emanating from Azerbaijan, the Assembly
will continue to fight to ensure that parity is reinstated.”
“We also commend Congressman Jackson for raising concerns about the
decrease to Armenia and will continue to work with our friends in
Congress to increase this request, especially in light of the ongoing
blockades by Turkey and Azerbaijan,” Ardouny continued.
The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issue. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
###
NR#2006-030

HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY
Mira Yardemian
Public Relations Director
Rue Mexique – Kantari
P.O. Box 11-1748
Riad El-Solh 1107 2090
Beirut – Lebanon
Beirut, 26/03/2006
Armenian Paintings
From the Beginning till the Present
During her very short visit to Beirut, the Cultural Hour at Haigazian
University, in cooperation with the Hamazkaine Cultural Association,
succeeded to organize an informative gathering with researcher and art
critic Mayda Saris of Istanbul, Turkey, on her new release `Armenian
Paintings: From the Beginning till the Present’.
Saris acknowledged the interest in her book of the Armenians in the
Diaspora in general, and the Lebanese Armenian public in particular,
thanking her publisher Agos, and promising the audience with more releases
related to contemporary Armenian paintings and artists.
The Dean of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Arda Ekmekji, through the aid of a power
point presentation, briefly covered the book, concentrating on the most
important paintings and artists.
Saris’ work is considered a groundbreaking book, since it’s the first of
its kind in the entire corpus of the Armenian art publications that
explores the Armenian art from Antiquity to modern times.
In the book, Saris gives the reader a comprehensive but brief overview
about the origin of the Armenian people, their folklore, faith, lifestyle,
culture and art which have been the source of inspiration for Armenian
artists, architects, in short the men and women of the art.
By reading the book, one can conclude that obviously the works of the
Armenian painters are not only a part of the Armenian culture, but also a
part of the culture of countries they lived in. Moreover, they are a part
of the world culture where they create their works addressing the feelings
of modern humanity as well as many traditional themes.
Saris considers the Armenian artists not duly recognized in their native
countries. According to her, `there was a big void to be filled=85that should
have been the moral obligation of the Armenians of Turkey’.
Well, `Armenian Paintings: From the Beginning till the Present’, did fill
that void and fulfilled part of that moral obligation.
At the end of the presentation, the audience proceeded to the Mugar
building where Mayda Saris signed her books.

ALMOST NO MONEY WILL BE SPENT THIS YEAR
A1+
[07:09 pm] 31 March, 2006
Armenia will manage to carry out work costing 4-6 million by the
program “Millennium Challenges” if it finishes the preparation
phase till autumn. The SU Fund has allotted 235 million 650 thousand
USD to Armenia to reconstruct the village roads and to improve the
irrigation system.
The Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatryan returned to
Armenia after signing an agreement with the head of the MC Fund John
Danilovich in the USA. He rendered a press conference today about
the details of the business trip.
The Government is ready to carry out all the works financed by the MC
Fund on the highest level as the financing can be ceased if the heads
of the Fund are discontent with anything. The most important part
of the information given by the Minister is that after signing the
agreement the US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice invited the Armenian
Minister Vardan Oskanyan and Vardan Khachatryan to her office and had a
private conversation with them about issues concerning Armenia and the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict for 10-15 minutes. The Minister of
Finance and Economy did not inform any details about the conversation.
According to the report given by Vardan Khachatryan, 945 km of village
road will be reconstructed for which 167 million 100 thousand USD will
be spent. The Government has decided to spend 145 million USD for
the programs “Village Development”, “Irrigation”, and “Construction
of New Water Reservoirs”.
The rest of the sum – 23.5 million, will probably be spent on
consultations, the salaries of the workers of the “Millennium
Challenges” state non-commercial organization and on financing of NGOs.
Vardan Khachatryan also said that the head of the MC Fund John
Danilovich will come to Armenia in two weeks.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
March 31, 2006
___________________
ACYOA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EXPLORES CONNECTIONS OF IDENTITY
By Jake Goshert
The three questions are connected in deep and serious ways. Who is He —
what is the nature of God? Who are we — as Armenians living in the
Diaspora? Who am I — what makes me special?
The Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (ACYOA) tackled these
questions during its 7th annual Young Adult Leadership Conference, which ran
from March 10 to 12, 2006, at the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Stony Point,
NY. This year 55 young people from 25 parishes gathered with clergy and
Diocesan staff to explore how these three questions shape an individual’s
sense of identity and faith.
“Christian youth ministry is not a new or modern concern; in fact, its seeds
were planted in the gospel accounts of the life of Christ. The questions,
“How should I live my life?” or “To which path should I dedicate my talent
and energy?” are important to human beings at every stage of life; but they
are most powerfully felt during one’s passage through young adulthood,” said
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern). During his visit to the conference the Primate also
presented each participant with copies of “The Encyclopedia of Armenian
Christianity” and “The Wonderful Alphabet.”
“In a way, the theme of this conference sums up this matrix of questions
confronting every young life: “Who is He? Who are we? Who am I?” Most of
us confront these questions in the reverse order: each of us begins by
asking, Who am I? And that leads to the question, What is the group I am a
part of, or Who are we? And if one has a genuine openness of heart, I
believe that one will eventually be led to the question, Who is He? Who is
the One who created me, sacrificed for me, comforts and guides me, gives
meaning and purpose to my existence?,” the Primate added.
The annual gathering is part spiritual retreat, part fellowship hour, and
part leadership training. Past participants have gone on to serve not only
on ACYOA’s Central Council but on their local community’s parish council as
well.
“The leadership conference continues to empower the youth in terms of
becoming better Christians as well as becoming stronger leaders in their
communities,” said Maggie Merdjanian, a participant from the St. Sahag and
St. Mesrob Church of Wynnewood, PA.
WHO IS HE?
Diocesan Council member Fr. Yeprem Kelegian, pastor of the St. Mesrob Church
of Racine, WI, facilitated a bible study on the topic of “Who is He?”
During the session participants broke off into four groups and were asked to
answer questions on different Bible passages regarding the person of Christ.
Later Fr. Simeon Odabashian, pastor of the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church of
Providence, RI, offered the young audience a brief refresher on the basics
of the faith of the Armenian Church highlighting the church’s beliefs and
teachings.
“What an extraordinary experience to come together with these incredibly
inspired young Armenian Christians and have open discussions both on a
personal level and as a group,” said first-time participant Jack Klachian of
the St. Sarkis Church of Dallas, TX. “I have never been with an Armenian
community with this many people my age. And the content of the session
exceeded my expectations.”
WHO ARE WE?
Dr. Roberta Ervine, a member of the faculty of St. Nersess Armenian
Seminary, led an interactive session which helped the participants explore
their sense of identity.
Using baby pictures, she highlighted the fact that who we were in the past
is not who we are today, that people change and evolve. She also spoke
about how individuals define who they are and accentuate different aspects
depending on what type of people they are interacting with at any given
time. Another exercise had different groups reading the same script in
different ways, showing how accentuating one word or idea can change
understanding.
“The leadership conference is an amazing venue to address important issues
within the Armenian Church,” said participant Shant Babikian of the Church
of the Holy Martyrs of Bayside, NY.
WHO AM I?
There was no one speaker providing a concrete answer to the question “Who am
I?” Instead, answers came from the young participants themselves, each of
whom was asked to create a collage using magazine cut outs and other
materials to express who they were.
Daron Bolat and Saro Kalayjian, both from Washington, DC, pulled all three
questions together in an exploration of the underlying topic of the weekend:
“Who am I Called to Be?” This session was followed by a lively question and
answer period with Fr. Daniel Findikyan, dean of the St. Nersess Seminary.
Participants asked a wide variety of questions, form the idea of gay
marriage to premarital sexual relations to if priests get screened at the
airport.
On Sunday morning, Fr. Findikyan celebrated the Divine Liturgy. With
special permission from the Primate, necessary because it is Lent,
participants were able to receive Holy Communion.
Fr. Findikyan, who also served as the chaplain for the weekend, began his
sermon by saying, “Here we are, here He is, and here I am. While we are not
in an actual Armenian Church, gathered here today, we are the Armenian
Church, we’re at the heart of it. We are the best the Armenian Church has
to offer.”
He reflected that while the conference challenged participants to look
inside themselves and take stock of who they were, it also reinforced the
fact that, like the Prodigal Son, if they stray, they will always be
welcomed back to “your church, your people, your home. We will embrace you
upon your return.”
“This weekend was just a reminder that I’m well on my spiritual journey of
learning who we are, who He is and we I am,” said Haigouhi Vartanian, a
participant from the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob church of Providence, RI.
BUILDING THE FUTURE
The final session of the weekend was led by ACYOA Central Council
Programming Coordinator Greg Andonian, who led a discussion on the past,
present, and future of the organization. The ACYOA is celebrating its 60th
anniversary this year.
“After 60 years of service to the Armenian Church, perhaps it is time to
redefine ourselves as an organization and move ahead,” he said, as
participants shared ideas.
The retreat was organized by the ACYOA Central Council: Maria Derderian,
chair; Karen Khatchadourian, vice-chair; Sarine Zenian, secretary; Ani
Tovar, chapter relations coordinator; Greg Andonian, programming
coordinator; Rita Avedissian, treasurer; and John El Chemmas, public
relations coordinator. Also attending and helping to organize were Diocesan
staff members, ACYOA Executive Secretary Nancy Basmajian, Youth Outreach
Coordinator Jennifer Morris, and Daron Bolat, an intern with the Department
of Youth and Education.
— 3/31/06
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Participants in the ACYOA National Leadership Conference
gather to discuss questions of identity, faith, and self-reflection.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Sevan Sultanian from the Sts. Anna and Joachim Church of
Palos Heights, IL, takes part in an exercise designed to explore internal
perceptions during the ACYOA National Leadership Conference March 10 to 12,
2006.
PHOTO CAPTION (3): Fr. Daniel Findikyan, who served as chaplain of the
ACYOA National Leadership Conference, with young participants who served on
the altar during services.
# # #

Second Kapan-Meghri highway will be handed over for exploitation at the end
of 2006
ArmRadio.am
31.03.2006 16:18
The second Kapan-Meghri highway of interstate importance will be
handed over for exploitation by the end of 2006. The construction of
the road had started in 2005, 10.9 billion drams were allocated from
state budget for this purpose in 2005 and 2006.
Head of the Information Department of RA Ministry of Transport and
Communication Tamara Ghalechyan informed that Verishen-Tsav sector
of the highway will be built up from the start, existing segments of
the road will be fundamentally renovated.
The highway will have a length of 96.4 kilometers, the highest point
will be 2160 km as compared to the 2483 km of the existing road.
By the way Armenia has two roads of communication with Iran, while
three highways link Armenia with Georgia.

RA PRESIDENT AND FSDCC DIRECTOR OF RUSSIA DISCUSS ISSUES OF STRUGGLE AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUG CIRCULATION
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 30 2006
YEREVAN, March 30. /ARKA/. Issues of toughening control in the
sphere of struggle against illegal drug circulation on territories
of CSTO-member countries were discussed duirng the meeting of the RA
President Robert Kocharyan with the Director of the Federal Service
of Drug Circulation Control (FSDCC) of the RF Viktor Cherkesov on
March 29.
According to the Press Service of the RA President, Kocharyan and
Cherkesov discussed issues of taking complex measures in this sphere.
During the meeting they emphasized that cooperation within the bounds
of the Coordinating Council of heads of responsible authorities of
the CSTO-member countries against illegal drug circulation will enable
to secure much more effectiveness than when struggle separately.
Session of the CSTO member- countries’ plenipotentiary authorities
struggling against illegal drug circulation was held in Yerevan on
March 29.
At the moment the Coordinating Council of this structure is headed
by the Director of the FSDCC of Russia Viktor Cherkesov. Armenia,
Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzia, Tajikistan and Russia are
CSTO-member countries.

A LOOK INTO HELL
By Shmuel Rosner
Ha’aretz, Israel
March 30 2006
WASHINGTON – A few years ago, Samantha Power was awarded the
prestigious Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction for her book,
“A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide.”
The book is a depressing and worrying one, which reviews the response
of the U.S. establishment to incidents of genocide – from the Turks’
slaughter of the Armenians at the start of the previous century
through the massacre in Kosovo. It has been frequently argued,
Power writes, that U.S. failure to take action against such events
stems from a lack of real-time information. “In fact,” however,
Power writes, “U.S. policymakers knew a great deal about the crimes
being perpetrated… But time and again, decent men and women chose
to look away.”
But such is not the case with Rabbi David Saperstein, director of
the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in the United States,
who, along with members of his movement, rabbis and numerous Jewish
communities in North America, has chosen to look things straight in
the eye. It is a story with which the Israeli public is not familiar.
But for the past several months, it has been at the center of the
American-Jewish agenda. A few days ago, some 150 rabbis from all
streams of Judaism met in New York for a protest to stop the massacre
in Darfur. Thousands will travel to Washington at the end of April
to participate in a protest rally under the same slogan.
Inhabitants of the Darfur region in western Sudan are being cruelly
slaughtered by government-sponsored forces in the country as part of
a lengthy and bloody conflict in a neglected land. The perpetrators
are Muslims; the victims are Christians. The numbers speak of several
hundreds of thousands. Efforts by the international community to
calm the situation have failed to yield any real results. American
organizations are trying to push the administration into taking more
determined action, and the Jewish community is doing its bit. “For
obvious reasons, it is a lesson learned from the Holocaust,”
Saperstein says.
“The horrors we have witnessed and continue to see in Darfur are well
known to us,” said Rabbi Joel Meyers, executive vice-president of the
Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative Movement) at the New York protest.
He said it was so difficult once again to see the nations of the world
“saying the right words but doing little to stop the destruction.”
Synagogues in the United States and Canada have posted large protest
banners in an expression of the Jewish lobby in all its glory –
concerned not only with Israel and the Jewish nation. Tikkun olam
(repairing the world) is the phrase on many lips. And it is worthy
of mention, particularly at a time in which the Jewish public is the
brunt of an ugly attack by those who wish it ill.
Politics are also a part of it, of course. Intervention on the part
of Darfur is a noble deed, to which numerous communities are a party
– African-American communities that demonstrate ongoing interest in
African affairs, Evangelical Christian communities that are concerned
about the fate of Christians whose faith is tantamount to a death
sentence. Among these communities and the Jewish community there is
close cooperation, even if they don’t always agree on other issues.
And religious movements aren’t the only ones coming together in this
regard; so are various streams of political thought that are at odds
with each other when it comes to numerous other issues. Elements at
both ends of the political spectrum – far-left liberals and far-right
neo-Conservatives – are urging action, while the “realists” and
“separatists” do not wish to add a superfluous battlefield to the
already-heavy burden on the shoulders of the superpower.
Power’s book includes a special, extensive and fascinating chapter
on the work of Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew who emigrated to the
United States and dedicated his life to the struggle against crimes of
genocide and to pushing the international community into formulating
legislation against such actions. He was the one to invent the word
“genocide” – a combination of the Greek, geno, meaning “race” or
“tribe,” and cide, an abbreviation of a Latin term meaning “killing.”
A speech made by then-British prime minister Winston Churchill during
World War II, in which he spoke about “a crime without a name,”
convinced Lemkin of the need for such a word, and much was his pride
when it stuck. In late 1948, Lemkin chalked up his biggest success:
The UN General Assembly adopted the Genocide Convention, the first
international human rights treaty, which he drafted. Lemkin saw it
as “an epitaph on [my] mother’s grave.” Lemkin’s mother, along with
another 49 members of his family, were murdered by the Nazis.

ARMENIA: INFO ABOUT ANDRE’S PROMO; HIS OFFICIAL WEBSITE HIJACKED
[update]
oikotimes.org, Greece
March 29 2006
Fotis Konstantopoulos reporting from Athens (Greece)
source: ARMTV – photo: oikotimes resources
It has been a while since the official website of Andre (the 2006
representative of Armenia) has been down. The reason as ARMTV
officially says, is that some Azeri and Turks hackers tried to
manipulate the website of Andre. It is true that there is a minority
on the web that are extremely opposed to the entrance of Armenia in
Eurovision. Once again some people try to mix politcs with music.
This is why it would be very interesting to see how they will view
and rate the Armenian entry. Some say that Turkey would never vote
for Armenia, some though dissagree and say that Turkey will vote the
song if it is appealing enough to the public. After all Turkey has
voted its rival Cyprus with high points the past years.
Meantime, Andre prepares his promo tour for Eurovision 2006. The
promo tour will cover the following countries as the Armenian
national broadcaster announced so far: Russia, Moldova, Ukraine,
France and Greece (just informed by ARMTV) while there are plans to
visit two more countries. It is still unknown if Greece will be one
of them. The schedule of Andre is extremely hard because at the same
time he is preparing his third solo album in the meantime.

ACCORDING TO BRITISH MUSICIANS’ OBSERVATIONS, JAZZ IS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
Mar 29 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 29, NOYAN TAPAN. “I am very glad to be in Armenia. I am
also glad to work with such talented and developed Armenian youths,”
Garry Crosby, bassist of the “Jazz Warriors” band, founder of the
“Soldiers of the Future” educational-cultural organization, declared at
the March 29 press conference in Yerevan. According to Garry Crosby,
the three-day jazz courses held with the Armenian young musicians
will be concluded by two joint interesting concert programs on March
30 and 31. Garry Crosby mentioned that in the 80s of the previous
century pop music prevailed in England and there was a tendency that
the other musical genres, including the Afro-American jazz, can be
ousted from the sphere. It was just at that time that the “Soldiers
of the Future” organization was founded in defence of jazz music. Its
goal is to preserve and develop this music everywhere, at the same
time to reveal new names in this sphere and to support them. Besides,
according to him, the organization cooperates with jazz communities
of different countries and simultaneously establishes contacts among
them both in the educational and creative respect. This cooperation
is the first one in the south-eastern region and they hope that it
will extend its circles. Well-known British musicians Garry Crosby
and Abram Wilson are in Armenia for the first time and have never
associated with Armenian jazzmen before, they don’t know the history
of Armenian jazz, either.
“Over these days we got acquainted with numerous bands and their
performers and are convinced that jazz is developing rapidly in
Armenia. We especially liked the synthesis of ethnic music and jazz
performed by Armenian musicians,” the British musicians mentioned. The
musicians of the “Art Voices” jazz band mentioned that these courses
are very cognitive not only from point of view of their contents but
also from point of view of stage skills and culture.