Author: Chatinian Lara

RUSSIAN INTERIOR TROOPS, ARMENIAN POLICE TO HOLD JOINT EXERCISES
by Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 29, 2006 Thursday
The Russian Interior Ministry special units and Armenian police will
hold anti-terrorist exercises at the Tsakhkadzor mountain resort on
Thursday. The troops will drill operations that are to be carried
out when terrorists seize a building.
Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev will monitor the
exercise. He has arrived in Yerevan to participate in a meeting of the
United Board of the Russian Interior Ministry and the Armenian police.
“These exercises are, above all, aimed against international terrorism
and extremist groups,” the Russian interior minister explained.

STATEMENT WAS TOUGH
By Tamar Minasian
AZG Armenian Daily
30/06/2006
The statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs was tough and
unexpected; Grigor Harutyunian, member of the National Unity Party,
told journalists at “Pastark” club yesterday. “Negotiations are
proceeding in the wrong direction, their format is wrong,” Harutyunian
assures. In his opinion, Armenian president Robert Kocharian transposes
Karabakh-Azerbaijan relations to the sphere of Armenia-Azerbaijan
relations.
He is sure that the president will soon resign but not forced by the
authorities or the opposition but because “resignation will be a way
out from this situation when a document is being imposed.”
Armenia, Harutyunian argues, is taking one-sided concessions, which
is the result of illegitimate leadership. As to the inner political
situation, he welcomes the activities of the Republican Party and
promises that the opposition will be more active in autumn.

IRAN’S MUSICAL PROPAGANDA
By Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop.
ABC Online, Australia
June 28 2006
And you thought Soviet propaganda was good…
Iran’s fiery President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has ordered one
of Armenia’s top composers to create an ode to his country’s
internationally feared nuclear ambitions.
Though Ahmadinejad has called on composers to honour “national pride”,
apparently nuclear energy/weapons (depending on who you believe)
are quite the artistic inspiration in Iran.
The country’s Government says the issue has already inspired several
musical works “because nuclear energy is our inalienable right”.
Tehran’s symphony orchestra will perform the commissioned symphony
next week.

MOSCOW IS WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE CITY
By Petros Keshishian
AZG Armenian Daily
29/06/2006
Moscow occupied the first place in the list of the most expensive
cities of the world elaborated by Mercer Human Resources Consulting. In
2005, Tokyo occupied the first place, while Moscow was on the second
place. This year the second place in the list belongs to the Seoul,
which is the most expensive city in Asia.
The cheapest city in the world is Asuncion, capital of Paraguay.
The Times wrote that in fact, there are two Moscows, the first one
for the oligarchs and the rich foreigners, while the second one is
for the rest of the common Moscow residents.
The research was made in 144 cities of the world. The experts took
into account the prices for over 200 goods and services.

ARMENIAN WRITERS PRAY EVERY DAY FOR THEIR BOOKS TO BE SOLD
Panorama.am
14:34 27/06/06
“Our society is oligarchic and materialistic and the role of writers is
more like a free-will suicide,” poet Davit HOVHANNES told a discussion
at Hayeli club today. Nobody needs what the writers produce, he said.
The other guest of the debate – publicist Perj ZEITUNTSIAN also is
sorry that there is no demand for creative art. He says sometimes the
writer takes the books to bookshops on his own and has only a small
part of 500 copies sold. “This is a moral degradation.
If nobody waits for what you write – it is awful,” he said. In
his words, Armenian writers have only to pray that their books be
sol.

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
26 June 2006

UK lawmaker tackles government over stand on Ottoman massacres

London (ENI). A member of the British parliament, Stephen Pound
from the ruling Labour Party, has called on the British
government to declare that the mass deaths of Armenians,
Assyrians and Greeks in the former Ottoman Empire between 1915
and 1923 were genocide. Pound said in the House of Commons, the
lower parliamentary chamber: “I hope it is not contentious to say
that 3.5 million of the historic Christian population of
Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks then living in the Ottoman Empire
had been murdered – starved to death or slaughtered – or exiled
by 1923.” [383 words, ENI-06-0508]

ENI News Highlights contain summaries of ENI articles published
today.
This summary may be copied or re-posted provided the information
printed below is retained.

Individual paragraphs may be reproduced provided ENI is
acknowledged as the source.

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4TH SITTING OF THE ARMENIAN-BULGARIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION TO START IN YEREVAN
ArmRadio.am
26.06.2006 10:22
The fourth sitting of the Armenian-Bulgarian intergovernmental
commission for trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation
will start today in Yerevan. The process and ways of development of the
cooperation between Armenia and Bulgaria in the spheres of transport,
communication, trade, agriculture, social security, youth and sports.
The Commission is co-chaired by RA Minister of Transport and
Communication Andranik Manukyan and the Minister of State Governance
and Administrative Reforms of Bulgaria Nicolas Vasilev.

Putin arrives in Minsk for two summits
ITAR-TASS, Russia
June 23 2006
MINSK, June 23 (Itar-Tass) – Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived
by plane in Minsk on Friday for two summits – one of the Eurasian
Economic Community and the other of the Collective Security Treaty
Organisation.
The EurAsEC forum will discuss first of all customs union formation,
and the CSTO summit is expected to result in signing of an agreement
on collective quick-deployment forces. The two forums will discuss
consolidation of cooperation between the EurAsEC and the CSTO,
a Kremlin source told Itar-Tass.
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are members
of both organisations. Armenia is the sixth member of the Collective
Security Treaty Organisation. Uzbekistan joined the Eurasian Economic
Community last January. Moldova, Ukraine and Armenia have the status
of observers in the EurAsEC.

103 BILLS APPROVED AND 36 INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS RATIFIED DURING
SPRING SESSION OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
June 23 2006
YEREVAN, June 22. /ARKA/. 103 bills were approved and 36 international
agreements were ratified during the spring session of the Armenian
parliament closed on June 14, Armenian Vice-Speaker Tigran Torosyan
told reporters. According to him, more 13 bills were adopted during
a special session.
“These figures prove that the parliament worked properly, and there
were not problems while solving different problems,” he said.
“However, the most important thing in the work of the parliament is
not the number of adopted laws, but their importance in our life,”
he added.
Among the bills approved he singled out the law “On Constitutional
Court” that provides mechanisms allowing citizens to appeal to the
Constitutional court literally in a few days.
“Adoption of the law “On Declaration of Natural Persons’ Incomes” and
also the amendments to the Criminal Code that alleviate punishments
for inconsiderable economic damage, and conversely, toughens sanctions
for tangible damages,” Torosyan said.
According to him, important also are the laws, related to
constitutional amendments. “We have managed to approve 8-9 bills in
this direction, and this inspire a hope that the government, proceeding
with the works in keeping with the schedule, will go through timely
discussion of these bills in the parliament,” Torosyan said. R.O. -0–

ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS VISIT TO ISTANBUL ACCOMPANIED BY SCANDAL
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.06.2006 13:20 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 20 Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II left
for Istanbul on a ministerial visit on the invitation of Armenian
Patriarch of Constantinople, Archbishop Mesrop Mutafian and Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew I. The Turkish Public TV ignored Catholicos’
visit. Turkish NTV, central newspapers: the Milliyet, Sabah responded
to the arrival – even the news was in the headlines.
According to reports, due to arrival of Garegin II special security
measures were taken at Ataturk airport in Istanbul, journalists’
entry to the airport territory was banned. Archbishop Mesrop Mutafian
met Catholicos and they left not passing through VIP, as provided
before. Next to the airport entrance a group of 50 people organized a
protest action. Lraber, official bulletin of Constantinople Patriarchy,
notes that those protesting threw eggs on cars of two Patriarchs, who
were meeting Garegin II. Catholicos of All Armenians was received in
the Patriarchy building, which is guarded around the clock by Turkish
security forces.
“We are worried and this refers not to Catholicos but nationalism
and chauvinist moods,” Archbishop Mesrop Mutafian said. The same day,
Lraber reports, the Patriarch of Constantinople addressed a written
request to Istanbul governor take strong security measures.
Besides Armenian web-site, Lraber has also those in Turkish and
English. However, it is notable that aforementioned short reports on
Catholicos’ visit were published only on the Turkish page, while two
other versions said nothing of the visit of Garegin II.
Armenians of Istanbul know Turkish, however those of the Diaspora and
Armenia do not – they need information in English and Armenian. By
posting information on the Turkish-language page only Lraber has
deprived Armenians in the Diaspora and Armenia of opportunity to get
information on the visit of Garegin II so as to limit the response
to the visit of the Catholicos, reports the Azg newspaper.