Author: Chmshkian Vicken

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:

August 8, 2006
___________________

PRIMATE, DIOCESAN COUNCIL MEMBERS MEET WITH YOUTH GROUP LEADERS

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), along with members of the Diocesan Council, met with
the Central Council of the Armenian Church Youth Organization of America
(ACYOA) at the Diocesan Center on July 29, 2006.

This was the first time the ACYOA Central Council, which was elected this
spring, met at the Diocesan Center in New York City. The leaders discussed
recent successes and began planning for the coming season of programming.

"It is obvious that this council is already a productive and committed
council, considering the accomplishments we have attained before our first
meeting," said ACYOA Chair Greg Andonian of the St. Gregory of Narek Church
of Cleveland, OH. "The apparent strength and clarity of the future of this
organization is secure in the outstanding leadership of the members of this
council. It is very exciting to hear the positive feedback from chapters
and increased ACYOA membership throughout the Diocese."

The projects that ACYOA leaders are focusing on this season including new
regional retreats, collaborative efforts with the Diocesan Council and St.
Nersess Seminary, a redesign of the group’s website (), and
several efforts to expand membership and chapters.

During the meeting, the leaders heard from Sarine Zenian, who was one of the
assistant leaders of the Armenia Service Program (ASP) trip, during which 25
young people helped build homes in Armenia with Habitat for Humanity. The
Central Council members discussed various possibilities for the 2007 service
program.

They also discussed the Pan North American Retreat scheduled for September
22 to 24 in California. This is the second such retreat; last year’s was
hosted by our Diocese. After hearing about the effort to unite the youth of
the three North American dioceses, one of the Diocesan Council members
attending the joint meeting, Papken Megerian, donated $2,400 to cover
airfare for ACYOA Central Council members to attend the gathering in
California.

Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian, director of youth and vocation at the St. Nersess
Seminary, discussed the Primate’s challenge to the ACYOA Central Council
made during the ACYOA General Assembly in Providence, RI, this May. During
that assembly, the Primate challenged the Central Council to recruit 10
seminarians in the next three years. The group talked about various ways to
meet this challenge.

"We need to encourage our youth to follow their calling when God pulls them
to the seminary," the Primate said. "Too often, possible students do not
receive the proper support and then do not enter seminary. That is why I
challenged the ACYOA Central Council to take an active role in encouraging
themselves and their peers to study at the seminary. We need seminarians,
not just to educate future priests but to shape lay ministry workers to
guide our Armenian Christian education programs, to work with our youth and
seniors in our parishes, and to direct our summer camps."

It was announced that the Archbishop’s Tournament will be hosted by St.
James Church of Watertown, MA, on October 2 to 4.

CHURCH AND HOME

The ACYOA this year will focus its programming on the Diocesan theme of
"Church and Home: One in Spirit." Retreats, seminars, conferences, and the
Annual Young Adult Leadership Conference in March will be focused on the
theme.

Also young adults from throughout the Diocese will be recruited to serve as
parish liaisons with the Diocese to assist in implementing, supporting,
promoting "Church and Home" initiatives.

To help expand the organization, each ACYOA Central Council member was
appointed to a region of the country to which they will act as liaisons —
maintaining communication, assisting with chapter development, and promoting
ACYOA events.

Sarine Zenian will serve as a liasiaon to the NY Metro/Mid-Atlantic area,
Alex Derderian will serve the New England parishes, Johnny El Chemmas and
Stan Sheridan will cover Midwest chapters, and Ani Tovar and Talin Hitik
will serve as liaisons to the South.

The Central Council members are: Chair Gregory Andonian of the St. Gregory
of Narek Church of Cleveland, OH; Vice Chair Ani Tovar of the St. Sarkis
Church of Dallas, TX; Secretary Sarine Zenian of the St. Mary Church of
Washington, DC; Treasurer John El Chemmas of the St. John Church of
Southfield, MI; Programming Coordinator Talin Hitik from the St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church of Chicago, IL; Public Relations Coordinator Alex
Derderian of the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church of Wynnewood, PA; and
Chapter Relations Coordinator Stan Sheridan of the St. Mesrob Church of
Racine, WI.

Joining the ACYOA leaders at the meeting were the Primate; Diocesan Council
members Fr. Mardiros Chevian and Papken Megerian; Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian
from the St. Nersess Seminary; ACYOA Executive Secretary Nancy Basmajian;
and Maria Derderian, last year’s ACYOA Central Council chair.

— 8/8/06

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern
Diocese, as well as Diocesan Council member Papken Megerian join members of
the ACYOA Central Council at the Diocesan Center on July 29, 2006.

OREGON CONGRESSMAN EARL BLUMENAUER JOINS ARMENIAN CAUCUS

ArmeniaDiaspora, Armenia
Aug. 7, 2006

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly welcomed the official
announcement today that Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) has joined
the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, bringing the total to
133. The news follows an August 10 district meeting with the Armenian
Assembly held August 10 in Portland, Oregon.

"As the congressional representative of many Armenians in Portland,
I’m proud to be the latest member of the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues, an ever-growing group of those of us in Congress
who want to give these issues the attention they deserve," said
Congressman Blumenauer.

"I look forward to working with my colleagues and the members of
the Armenian community in my home town and around the world on
issues of importance to Armenians," he continued. Assembly Western
Office Director Lena Kaimian, who led this week’s meeting, said: "We
welcome Congressmen Blumenauer’s membership to the Armenian Caucus. He
brings experience, enthusiasm and commitment to the Caucus and we
look forward to working with him and his congressional colleagues on
issues pertinent to the community."

"Assembly supporters worked closely with our Los Angeles staff
to encourage the Congressman’s membership to the Caucus," Kaimian
continued. "I would especially like to thank activists Greg Geokjian
and Les Margosian for participating in this meeting and advocating
on behalf of our issues."

Congressman Blumenauer, who has represented Oregon’s Third
Congressional District since 1996, is a well-known supporter of
Armenian-American issues. As such, he has urged President George W.
Bush to appropriately acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, voted to
maintain Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act and supported the
Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act.

The Congressman also serves on the International Relations Committee
and is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
He joins fellow Oregon lawmaker, Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (D-OR)
in representing Armenian-American interests on the Caucus.

TOTAL OF INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS DECREASES BY 15.2% TO AMD 3.9BLN IN
ARMENIA FOR 1ST QUARTER 2006

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Aug 3, 2006

YEREVAN, August 3. /ARKA/. The total of insurance payments made by
insurance companies for the 1st quarter 2006 totaled AMD 3.9bln in
Armenia. The National Statistical Service reported that amount of
this indicator compared with the beginning of 2006 decreased by 15.2%
or AMD 697mln.

At the same time, the amount of insurance payments made by insurance
companies in the 1st quarter 2006 decreased by AMD 77mln and totaled
AMD 444.6mln.

According to the statistics, the amount of insurance risks under the
contracts in force by March 31, 2006, totaled AMD 1,184.8bln, 31.6%
or AMD 549.3 decrease compared with the beginning of the year. At the
same time, the number of active insurance contracts increased by 5991
and totaled 29,449.

As of March 31, 2006, 26 insurance companies were incorporated in
Armenia against 23 at the beginning of the year. ($1 – AMD 415.54).

ARMENIAN PAPER EXPANDS ON HIDDEN ASPECTS OF US MEDIATOR’S REGIONAL TOUR

Iravunk, Yerevan
1 Aug 06

The USA has certain levers of influence on Armenia and Azerbaijan
and their leaders may achieve some sort of result in their talks
over Nagornyy Karabakh this year, an Armenian daily has said in
a commentary on the regional tour by the US mediator in the peace
talks. Some statements by Matthew Bryza, newly-appointed US co-chairman
of the OSCE Minsk Group, prove that the USA may use the Karabakh card
against the authorities in the two countries which have "the problem
of power", the paper said. The following is an excerpt from report by
Ovanes Galadzyan in Armenian newspaper Iravunk on 1 August headlined
"`Hairdressing activity’ of Bush’s `barber’ in the South Caucasus";
subheadings have been inserted editorially:

Many people remember [late Armenian Prime Minister] Vazgen Sarkisyan’s
expression: "Armenia is not an orphan’s head for somebody to shave as
he wants." By will of destiny today not only Armenia but developments
in the whole South Caucasus depend on the US official who was earlier
labelled by Armenian propaganda machine as "[US President George]
Bush’s barber", i.e. US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew
Bryza.

Bryza’s optimism

The South Caucasus visit of this diplomat was short but productive.

He managed to visit Yerevan as well as Stepanakert , Tbilisi and
Baku. The Karabakh conflict was an official agenda of this tour. But
it is clear that US global interests in the region, including those
connected with Iran, could not but was touched on during the visit,
as one should not rule out that the Israeli-Lebanese conflict might
expand and involve Iran. Along with this or maybe despite this,
one should not rule out dramatic developments in Georgia and around it.

But let us speak about our "barber". For instance, after meeting
[Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan, Matthew Bryza said: "I see
that there is political will for settlement of the conflict, and
philosophy on the basis of our suggestions is acceptable." [Armenian
Defence Minister] Serzh Sarkisyan’s and [Armenian Foreign Minister]
Vardan Oskanyan’s consent to the option offered by the co-chairmen have
become the basis for the US co-chairman’s "optimism". Given that the
pro-Western wing of the opposition and first of all representatives of
the former authorities have said that there is no other alternative for
settlement, it becomes clear that the USA may hope for no opposition
plans to take masses to the streets.

The fact that this time Bryza did not met representatives of the
opposition may be explained not only by short timetable of the visit
but also by the fact that at present (but this does not mean that in
future as well) Americans are not eager to establish "orange democracy"
in Armenia and maybe will try to trust on the Armenian authorities once
again. On the whole, Bryza hung his ordinary sword of Damocles over
the head of the Armenian authorities stressing that the Armenian-US
relations will develop as much as the process of democratization
develops in Armenia.

Bryza’s hints to authorities

But the most important of Bryza’s statements is the one made in
an interview with Radio Liberty. Asked about the possibility of
the Karabakh conflict settlement this year, and whether it may be
delayed till 2009 in case of failure, he replied: "Of course, it may
be possibly settled and it would be beneficial for the authorities of
the two countries to meet elections with the settled conflict. But
the elections are not an obstacle for the negotiations process as
well. Simply it is easier to settle the issue when political processes
do not become tense."

That is to say, in saying this "Bush’s barber" tells Kocharyan and
[Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev not to hope that even if they
manage to postpone the conflict settlement till the end of the
year, nevertheless election campaigns will not save them from the
need to continue the talks, and in that case the USA may start its
"hairdressing activity" in Armenia and Azerbaijan and turn them into
an "orphan’s head". Both in Armenia and Azerbaijan the authorities
have the problem of power, for the sake of which many things may be
sacrificed. In our case "Armenia’s involvement in the Millennium
Challenge programme is the best way for the USA to be sure that
Armenia is developing in a democratic way", and our administration
will hardly refuse from 238m dollars allocated under that programme.

Bryza’s contacts with Karabakh

But we should note that there are certain delicate elements in this
time "hairdressing activity" of Bryza which are evidence of some
softening of the pro-Azerbaijani stance. Thus, he directly pointed
at the fact that Lacin as well as Kalbacar [districts of Azerbaijan]
had been included in the suggestions. As for the referendum on the
status, the Karabakh people themselves should resolve the problem.

"But the point is who should be considered the Karabakh people. There
are also those who lived here in 1988 and want to take part in the
referendum too. All these problems should be considered as part
of the agreement package," Bryza said hinting at the Azerbaijani
minority ousted from Karabakh. Moreover, it is notable that the top
US official visited Stepanakert and travelled there from Yerevan but
not from Baku. [Passage omitted: statements of Karabakh officials
after Bryza’s visit]

We should mention that Matthew Bryza’s contacts with the NKR [Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic] authorities are not new. Being appointed as US
co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, he visited the NKR representative
office in the USA ignoring the fact that the Azerbaijani side would
not like that. [Passage omitted: history of Karabakh talks]

Moreover, by establishing close relations with the NKR authorities,
Bryza is gaining levers to affect domestic political situation
in Armenia via Stepanakert, and this will make the [Armenian]
administration aspiring to remain in power more vulnerable during the
pre-election period. [Passage omitted: internal political processes
in Armenia]

Anyway, this time Bryza implemented very serious "hairdressing
activity" in our region, in particular, making both wings of the
Armenian authorities understand that they may have parliamentary and
presidential election campaigns accompanied by the Karabakh talks
which may undermine any power scenario and make those elections guided
by Washington.

UNION OF ARMENIAN BANKS AND RA CENTRAL BANK ANNOUNCE ABOUT JOINT
EFFORTS DIRECTED TO REDUCTION OF SHADOW ECONOMY AND ACTIVATION OF
BANKS IN MARKET OF CREDITTING ARMENIAN ECONOMY

Yerevan, July 31. ArmInfo. Today, in the course of the joint meeting
of the Union of the Armenian Banks and RA Central Bank, it decided
to carry out joint arrangements directed to reduction of the shadow
economy and activation of the banks in the crediting market. Chairman
of RA Central Bank Tigran Sargsian and Stepan Gishian, chairman of
Board of the Union of the Armenian Banks, stated about this in their
speeches. They stated that the level of shadow economy is quite high
in Armenia and this hinders the fair competition.

Sargsian stated that the banking system of Armenia functions out of
the shadow and its published indicators fully reflect the reality. He
added that due to its adequacy and liquidity, the banking system
of Armenia is a rather high level. The ROA and ROE profitability
level of our banking system is even higher than that of the European
countries. Sargsian said that in the coming few years the high level
of profitability will secure stability and high tempos of development
for the banking system of Armenia.

In his turn, S. Gishian pointed out the main strategic lines for the
development of the Union of the Armenian Banks for 2006. This deepening
of cooperation between UBA and RA Central Bank, RA Government and RA
Parliament, with the European Banking Federation, application of new
daft laws for will contribute to the improvement of the legislative
climate and development of the banking system of Armenia.

Touching upon the achievements fixed in the banking system of Armenian
in 2005, Gishian said that the GDP grew by 13,9%, the common actives
of the banks by 21,2%, common capital by 46,6%, the volume of credit
investments by 36%, the profitability of the capital by 15,3%.
In 2005, the liquidity of the banking system made 41,8%, the credit
rates decreased by almost 4 times. Gishian stated that RA Central
Bank will coordinate the steps envisaged for 2006.

Five banks of Armenia participated in today’s meeting, particularly,
Areximbank, Armenian Development Bank, "Ararat" Bank, ArmInvestBank
and Unibank.

THIS IS 61st TIME BARONESS COX VISITS ARTSAKH

STEPANAKERT, JULY 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On July 27, the
delegation led by Vice-Speaker of Great Britain’s House of Lords,
Baroness Caroline Cox was received by NKR President Arkady Ghukasian.

NKR President congratulated Mrs Cox on the occasion of her 61st visit
to Artsakh and said that thanks to the traditional visits of "Cox
teams" consisting of representatives of British, American and European
public circles Artaskh has obtained many friends and supporters.

Baroness Cox in her turn informed the President about the program of
retraining of doctors and nurses in Artsakh within the framework of
the Himanitarian Aid: Strengthening of Confidence program headed by
her, as well as about her speech on destruction of khachkars
(cross-stones) in Nor Jugha by Azerbaijanis she made on July 21 this
year at the Great Britain’s House of Lords.

As NT was informed by the Acting Spokesperson for NKR President,
Arkady Ghukasian answered a number of questions of the guests about
current socio-economic sitution in NKR and prospects of its
development.

Turkey deserves our thanks

Montreal Gazette , Canada
July 27, 2006

Published: Thursday, July 27, 2006

Relations between Canada and Turkey have been a little tense since
April, when our government declared that what happened to Armenians
in Turkey 90 years ago was genocide. It’s a view Turks strongly
reject. Further, Turkey is a Muslim country, and Ottawa has given
firm moral support to Israel in the current Lebanese fighting.

On both counts it would have been an easy matter for Turkish
authorities to find themselves too busy to return calls last week
when Canada requested the use of a Turkish port and airport to funnel
Canadians out of Lebanon.

All Canadians should take note and bear in mind that Turkey avoided
this temptation. The port of Mersin and the nearby airport at Adana
were instead opened wide to Canadians coming off chartered cruise
ships.

With the principal staging post at Larnaca, Cyprus, overflowing
with people of many nations, the cooperation of Turkey’s government
simplified the evacuation process for many Canadians.

And beyond the government’s reaction, news reports say individual
Turks and local authorities exerted themselves to help.

The numbers still have not been tallied but it appears that several
thousand Canadians have moved through Mersin and Adana. They, and
all of us, offer sincere thanks to the government and people of Turkey.

s/editorial/story.html?id=dc31551a-b36b-45d1-a742- 342f0a6c3ed3

Diaspora’s Aid to Armenia Should Be Address

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.07.2006 15:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Diaspora’s aid to Armenia should be address,
Rutgers University student Raffi Harutyunian, who is in Armenia on an
AAA student project, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words,
the investments in Armenia should be made in the sectors that need
them. "Diaspora’s psychology should be changed. It’s not a hard job
just to give money. We should know how the funds are spent and why
we assign them. I think Armenia should follow Israel’s example on
the matter," Harutyunian remarked. At the same time he stressed that
some Disaporan Armenians consider that they perform their duty to the
homeland by establishing a hotel or a museum in Armenia. "We should
know exactly what Armenia needs and what fields need investments
and development. But sometimes we face discrepancies. We offer to
improve the whole infrastructure while the Armenian government says
to develop one village and then the other," said Raffi Harutyunian
mastering in political sciences.

To note, 14 students from U.S. universities have arrived in Armenia
to work in the Armenian ministries and NGOs as well as various
international organizations. The purpose of the AAA program launched
in 1999 is familiarization with Armenia and clarification of AAA
priority projects.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS BEING PREPARED TO THE ELECTIONS 2007-2008

Yerevan, July 22. ArmInfo. Although on the latest, 10-th meeting of
the Republican Party the issues of the elections in 2007-2008 were
not directly considered, the party is actively getting prepared to
them, said the leader of the party Andranik Margarian. He did not
prognosticate the party’s success in the parliamentary elections,
but said that the party will try hard to achieve and even to improve
the results of the 2003 elections. Andranik Margarian also found
difficult to point out a certain rival party of the Republican.

DEFENSE MINISTER IS FREE TO CHOOSE

Lragir.am
21 July 06

Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan stated in an interview with Radio
Liberty that the minister of defense Serge Sargsyan is free to
chose what party he wants to be a member. He also said that Serge
Sargsyan has always sympathized with the Republican Party and shared
its ideas. At the same time he mentioned that the membership of the
defense minister to the Republican Party is not unconstitutional.