Author: David Nargizian

KARABAKH DOES NOT WAIT FOR NATO PEACEMAKERS YET
YEREVAN, JUNE 17. ARMINFO. The issue of arrival of NATO pacemakers in
the zone of Karabakh conflict is not on the agenda of the negotiations
of Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers. According to the 525th
newspaper, Vice Chairman of Azerbaijani Milli Mejlis Ziafet Askerov
made this statement. It should be noted that Armenian and Azerbaijani
foreign ministers will meet in Paris today.
Askerov says there is a big probability that after the two ministers’
meeting, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet. “The
negotiations are known to be held for withdrawal of Armenian armed
forces from the occupied 7 regions of Azerbaijan around Nagorny
Karabakh. Only after these meetings, one can speak of discussions
on other topics,” Askerov says. He says the place and the date of a
regular meeting of the presidents will depend on the negotiations of
the foreign ministers.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1plus
| 16:10:58 | 10-06-2005 | Official |
3+3. CONDUCTORS ARMENIA AND LITHUANIA
Today RA NA President Arthur Baghdasaryan had a private conversation with
the Lithuanian Parliament President Arturas Paulauskas who is in Armenia on
official visit. Besides the private conversation the Lithuanian delegation
also met the deputies of several groupings and fraction in the NA.
It is noteworthy that the Presidents of both Parliaments found the
cooperation of the Baltic and Southern Caucasian countries with the format
3+3 extremely important as it was appreciated as effective in connection
with experience exchange. The Lithuanian Parliament President mentioned that
in Baku he has discussed the issue with the Azeri Parliament President
Murtuz Alesqerov and has recorded the change of the Azeri previous refusal,
which makes the realization of the new format the demand of the time.
Taking the occasion, secretary of the `National Unity’ Alexan Karapetyan
asked Mr. Paulauskas to refer to the announcement spread by the Azeri Mass
Media that Lithuania admits the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Mr.
Paulauskas said that in answer to the question asked by the Azeri
journalists he has said that problems must be used by negotiations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Pan Armenian News
KAZIMIROV: «PRAGUE PROCESS FINE NAME FOR RARE MEETINGS OF TWO FMs»
09.06.2005 04:32
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ «Terms do not alter the essence of the problem. Prague
process is a fine name, just like the Minsk Group which is called that way
in spite it has never been to Minsk, You may call this process the way you
wish. You may call it a «Mozambique process» if you want, stated former
Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimirov, Day.az reported.
`Touching upon the Prague process I can say that several meetings were
really held in Prague, then – in Frankfurt, London. It is already evident
now that the attractive label of the `Prague process’ is invented by the
parties to calm down the domestic audience. Meanwhile, there are merely rare
meetings of two Foreign Ministers with participation of the OSCE MG
Co-Chairs, who are per se commissioned to hold talks between all parties to
conflict as soon as possible,’ the Russian diplomat remarked. In his words,
the Minsk process never brought the negotiating parties to an OSCE
conference on Nagorno Karabakh. It is not clear what the `Prague’ process
will bring to yet. It is not ruled out that another capital will appear,
thus marking the next stage of the endless procession, he noted. «Success
attained during the settlement process is not that of the MG. The
cease-fire, which is maintained during 11 years is the exclusive achievement
of Russia. Just owing to Russia the agreement on the cease-fire was made in
Bishkek in spite of some obstacles some MG partners put on our way,»
Kazimirov summed up.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

JadranSport.org, Serbia and Montenegro
June 3 2005
WC 2006 qualifier Armenia vs. FYR Macedonia: Macedonians optimistic
ahead of clash with Armenians
03.06.2005
by Ivan Stojanoviæ
This Saturday the national team of Former Yugoslav Republic Macedonia
will play against Armenia in capital city of this country Yerevan.
Macedonians wont have much to play for here except for self esteem
and national pride considering their hopes for qualifying for the
World Cup have already vanished.
Serbian coach Slobodan Santrac (Slobodan Santraè) has said that
Macedonia will fight for all three points and that he hopes some new
players which he called up will prove his point, that they deserve
to put on the national jersey.
The Reds supporters hope that their side will sign in a victory with
the same result as in Skopje when Macedonia won 3:0 against Armenia in
their first match of qualifications, but that’s doubtful considering
the Armenians improved a lot since then.
It’s interesting that this match could have even get postponed
because the MAT airplane which took the internationals to Yerovan
was called off by the Turkish flight control, from an unknown reason.
After couple of hours of flying around Turkish territory, the airplane
finally got a permit to fly back to Skopje, but they still succeeded
to somehow arrive to Armenia this Friday.
Macedonian striker Goran Maznov who will most certainly lead the attack
with Goran Pandev has said: “We are in Yerovan to sign in all three
points. I am optimistic and I believe that we wont let our fans down,
and if we lose that will be a great personal disappointment for me.”
Young goalkeeper Filip Madzovski is presumed to make his debut
between the guests posts while experienced defender Goce Sedloski
should coordinate the last line with Aleksandar Vasovski. Santrac
will have some dilemma who to place into midfield but its certain
that Velice Sumulikoski and Aleksandar Mitreski will lead it.
On the other side the national coach of Armenia Henk Visman isn’t so
lucky as his colleague who has no concerns regarding injuries. Visman
will greet Macedonia without five of his standards, Hartjan Vardanyan,
Artur Petrosyan, Artvaz Karmyan, Artur Voskonyan and Andrej Movsisyan
are all ruled out because of injuries. Therefore he was forces to
call up 30 year old Albert Sargsyan from Amkara (Russia) who will by
this end his two year absence from the national team.
The match is scheduled to be played on 17:00 hours local time.
–Boundary_(ID_awfAKgI1V2jPPyaEJQ8eRQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Church is ‘heart of the Armenian community’: St. Gregory celebrates 75th anniversary
by Glenn Kauth, The Standard
The Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario)
May 30, 2005 Monday
Final Edition
The chants were long and sombre, but the prayers and blessings
heralded an important milestone for St. Gregory the Illuminator
Armenian Apostolic Church in St. Catharines.
During the service, the congregation sat quietly as a choir of deacons
and church members sang a series of prayers as part of the church’s
75th anniversary celebrations.
At one point, the choir rose to chant a prayer for all the church
members who have died, during which the primate of the Armenian
Apostolic Church of Canada, Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, went behind a
red velvet curtain covering the church alter.
Following the prayer, the primate reappeared and members of the
congregation approached the alter to take communion from him.
The Carlton Street church has played an important role in the Armenian
Christian faith in Canada. A group of local Armenians established it in
1930 as the first Armenian church in Canada. Many of them had escaped
from areas of present-day Turkey during the Armenian genocide in 1915.
“This church is the heart of the Armenian community,” said Georgina
Sarkisian, a member of St. Gregory for 52 years.
In fact, Armenians from across Canada come to the church every August
for the blessing of the grapes ceremony. The blessing is a pilgrimage
for Armenians, who come with their prayer requests and their cases
of grapes to receive the holy benediction. They then share the grapes
with others.
Over the weekend, the church held a series of events, including an
anniversary gala and the general assembly for the Canadian diocese
of the church. During Sunday’s service, several long-time members
received holy scrolls from His Holiness Karekin II, the supreme
patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Armenia. Most of the
honoured members are dedicated volunteers or generous donors.
Over the years, the church has faced challenges. A decade ago, vandals
broke in and set the church on fire, forcing the congregation to
relocate to St. John Ukrainian Catholic Church on Lakeshore Road.
While the church is bustling, Sarkisian worries about future
generations. “Will this church 75 years from now still be
flourishing?” she asked.
It still has 80 families active as members, but, Sarkisian said,
“When you marry a non-Armenian, there’s where you’re losing ground.”
With time, she worries that younger people will drift away from
the church.
As director of Christian education at St. Gregory, she’s working
to make sure that doesn’t happen. In Sunday school, for example,
children learn the Lord’s prayer in both English and Armenian. That
way, she said, “they learn to be good Christians, but they also get
the Armenian flavour.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IN EARLY JULY PUBLIC TELEVISION AND RADIO OF ARMENIA TO BECOME MEMBER
OF EUROPEAN BROADCASTING UNION
YEREVAN, MAY 24. ARMINFO. Aleksan Haroutunian, Head of the Board of
Public Television and Radio of Armenia is satisfied with the activity
of the Board for 2004.
During his report at the National Assembly Tuesday, he informed that
the programmes of the PTA were fully broadcasted in the whole
territory of the country. The funds provided to the Board by the state
budget of Armenia for 2005 were the same as the funds allocated by the
state budget in 2004, 2003 and 2002. In 2004 the commercial incomes
increased by 20% as against 2003 and totaled about 350 mln drams.
The activities on Armenia’s accession to the European Broadcasting
Union is in process. ALl the negotiations have been finished, all the
requirements of the European Union are fulfilled and during the coming
forum of the Union on July 5-8 PTA will become real member of this
organization. Days of TV and Radio companies of several countries were
held in Armenia during 1.5 years, which will be continued in future.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian MPs discuss Karabakh, ties with Turkey in Brussels
Arminfo, Yerevan
23 May 05
BRUSSELS
At the negotiations on a peaceful settlement to the Karabakh conflict,
the Armenian side will not support an option which does not guarantee
the independence and security of Nagornyy Karabakh, an Armenian
parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan said at
talks within the framework of the delegation’s visit to Brussels
today.
The head of the parliament’s standing commission on defence, national
security and interior issues, Mger Shakhgeldyan, and a representative
of the opposition Justice bloc, Aram G. Sarkisyan, are among the
delegation members.
As for the problem of Armenian-Turkish relations, which was also
discussed today, the Armenian MPs said that Armenia does not have
territorial claims to Turkey. Official Yerevan has been supporting the
development of relations with Ankara without preconditions.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

St Petersburg Times, Russia
May 23 2005
Bush Foresees Changes in the Caucasus, Central Asia
By Anatoly Medetsky
STAFF WRITER
MOSCOW – U.S. President George W. Bush predicted more democratic
changes across the Caucasus and Central Asia and pledged Washington
would help new democratic governments.
Speaking at a Washington dinner on Wednesday evening given by the
International Republican Institute, Bush recalled the arrival of
democratic governments in the former Soviet republics of Georgia,
Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan as well as in Iraq and Lebanon in the last 18
months and said more countries would follow.
“These are just the beginnings,” Bush said, according to a transcript
of his speech published on the White House’s web site. “Across the
Caucasus and Central Asia, hope is stirring at the prospect of change
– and change will come.”
The comments appeared aimed at the former Soviet republics of Armenia
and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia.
Bush also announced a plan to create an Active Response Corps within
the State Department by 2006 that would be on call to quickly deploy
staff to crisis situations in countries that overthrow “tyranny” and
elect pro-Western governments.
The U.S. federal budget for 2006 will request $24 million for this
office and $100 million for a new Conflict Response Fund, Bush said.
The IRI, a pro-Republican Party nonprofit organization dedicated to
advancing democracy worldwide, was helping Poland, Lithuania and
Latvia in an effort “to bring freedom” to Belarus, he said.
Russia is jittery about conceding ground to the United States in the
CIS, its traditional sphere of influence. Federal Security Service
director Nikolai Patrushev said last week that the revolutions in
Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan showed that “certain forces in the
West were trying to weaken Russia’s influence” over its neighbors.
He also claimed that IRI had earmarked $5 million to finance
opposition groups in Belarus this year, but an IRI spokeswoman said
the organization spent about $500,000 annually on programs in Belarus
and that none of it went to political parties.
No official reaction to Bush’s comments came from Moscow on Thursday.
The chairman of the State Duma’s International Relations Committee,
Konstantin Kosachyov, could not be immediately reached for comment,
and the Foreign Ministry had no comment, a spokesman said.
Independent political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky said Bush’s
predictions and promises of help to possible new democracies in the
former Soviet Union would not hurt relations between Russia and the
United States.
“We haven’t been making any efforts to stabilize the situation in
these areas,” he said, referring to last week’s uprising in
Uzbekistan, which left hundreds dead, as an example of the region’s
instability. “That’s why [the United States] began to deal with
this.”
Timofei Bordachyov, deputy editor of the Russia in Global Affairs
journal, said the Active Response Corps would most likely help new
pro-Western governments handle refugee crises, rein in public
disorder and build Western-style institutions.
The promise of such help would not, in and of itself, necessarily
spark new revolutions because what really causes them is corruption
and poverty, he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Financial damage from Armenian occupation over $26bn
Azer News
19 May 05
The occupation by Armenia of Azerbaijani territories has inflicted
financial damage worth $26.5 billion to Azerbaijan, Economic
Development Minister Farhad Aliyev said.
“Azerbaijan has also lost the revenues worth $10-12 billion it could
have acquired if Armenia had not occupied its territories.”
Aliyev emphasized that a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and
displaced persons as a result of the occupation and are currently
the poorest group of people in the country.
“By the year-end, all refugees and IDPs living in makeshift tents
will be relocated to newly-built settlements”, the Minister said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkey transfers to Palestinians historic land documents
By Arnon Regular ([email protected]) and Aluf Benn ([email protected])
Haaretz
03/05/2005
Turkey transferred to the Palestinian Authority Ottoman archives
documenting land ownership in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza
Strip, ahead of this week’s visit to Israel and the PA by Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to Palestinian sources.
The archives, which include about 140,000 pages of documentation
from the period between 1500 and 1914, contain significant data about
ownership relevant to the present.
The sources say the most important information involves the holy places
in East Jerusalem, and will be useful to the PA in future negotiations.
Erdogan made an uneventful visit yesterday to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on
the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where he prayed. Waqf (Muslim Religious
Trust) and PA security forces deployed on the Mount, preventing access
to activists of Hizb al-Tahrir, an organization whose members attacked
the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Majer there last year.
Erdogan ended his visit yesterday with a meeting with Foreign Minister
Silvan Shalom, who before leaving yesterday for Mauritania, asked
Turkey’s help in advancing relations between Israel and other Arab
and Muslim countries.
Erdogan was received in an official ceremony yesterday afternoon at
the Muqata in Ramallah, and later visited the grave of Yasser Arafat.
After Erdogan’s meeting with PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime
Minister Ahmed Qureia, Abbas thanked Erdogan for Turkey’s economic
and security assistance, and called for Turkey’s increased involvement
in negotiations with Israel.
“There is agreement between us and Israel on the importance of Turkey’s
role in the peace process,” Abbas said. “Turkey has access to both
sides and good intentions, and this role should be expanded.”
Erdogan said that following the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting, a new
opportunity had been created in the Middle East peace process. He
said he has urged Israel to support the PA, and “to give a chance
to Abu Mazen so he can take control of the situation and prevent the
attacks that Israel is complaining about.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress