Author: Ekmekjian Janet

LIBRARY OF ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY TO PRESENT PART OF ITS
NEW FUNDS UNDER HEADING “GENOCIDE AND HUMAN RIGHTS” ON APRIL 22
YEREVAN, APRIL 20. ARMINFO. The funds of the Library of the Armenian
Foreign Ministry under heading “Genocide and Human Rights” will be
presented on April 22 within the framework of measures of the National
Library Week and the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The State Commission for events dedicated to the 90th Anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide informs ARMINFO that the funds of the
ministerial library have been replenished with new books, articles,
tapes and other materials published in Europe, the USA and Armenia.
Foreign diplomats, specialist in political study and scientists will
participate in the ceremonial presentation of the new library funds.
The library was founded in 1999 on the initiative of the Foreign
Ministry and due to the financial assistance of Davtyan Fund. The
latter has two thousands of books in various languages, as well as news
bulletins and 50 names of magazines published in Armenia ands abroad.

TURKS SHOULD ACCEPT HISOTRIC RESPONSIBILITY
A1plus
| 18:18:19 | 21-04-2005 | Politics |
“The Jewish community of Ukraine appealed to President Yushchenko
calling Ukraine to recognize the Armenian Genocide”, representative of
the Jewish community of Ukraine Josef Zisels stated during “Ultimate
Crime, Ultimate Challenge. Human Rights and Genocide” International
Conference.
He is convinced that if the world had paid attention to the tragedy of
Armenians, neither the Ukrainian hunger nor the holocaust would have
taken place. Mr. Zisels attaches great importance to the recognition of
the Genocide by Israel. To note, former Israeli Minister of Education,
Knosset deputy Yossi Sarid noted that not recognizing the Armenian
Genocide Israel does not recognize what happened to Jews during the
Second World War either.
Today Mr. Sarid appealed Turks with the words, “You should bear
the responsibility for the Genocide. This is the truth. You wasn’t
you to perpetrate the Genocide but you should accept the historic
responsibility.”

Parliament to hold hearings on Shusha occupation
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 20 2005
Baku, April 19, AssA-Irada — The Milli Majlis (parliament) will
hold hearings on the occupation of Azerbaijan’s Shusha District by
Armenia on May 6, Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov told a Tuesday meeting of
the parliament.
Alasgarov said the parliament will adopt a resolution after the
hearings. The document, developed by a commission comprising MPs from
ruling and opposition parties, as well as independent deputies will
be forwarded to world countries’ parliaments.*

POLAND HAS RECOGNIZED THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
A1plus
| 11:51:41 | 20-04-2005 | Official |
On April 19 the Polish Seym has recognized the fact of the Armenian
Genocide. The Polish Parliament has unanimously adopted an announcement
with which they condemn the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
It is mentioned in the announcement that the Seym pays a tribute of
the respect to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide
realized by the Turks during the First World War/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MUNICIPALITY OF YEREVAN MAINLY “REMITS” ILLEGALLY BUILT GARAGES
YEREVAN, APRIL 18. ARMINFO. 95% of illegal erections “approved” by
the municipality of Yerevan are garages, Grigor Melkumian, general
Advisor of Yerevan’s mayor, informed journalists Monday.
According to him, the municipality does not satisfy mainly the
applications for legalization of large facilities. The municipal
authorities have satisfied 65% out of 38,000 bids with a request
of legalization of illegal buildings. In preliminary estimations
of the municipality, the receipts of the state budget may total 1.2
bln drams from the approval of the legalization of the erections and
lands. The fate of other 68,000 illegal erections, on which citizens
have not made application, will be determined within the next half
of this year. The municipality plans to carry out their inventory
making and submit documents concerning them to tax bodies.

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 ANTELIAS SEMINARY BECAME MY SECOND BIRTHPLACE”
declares His Holiness Aram I
A special ceremony was held in Athens on April 16 on the occasion
of the 10th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Aram I
and the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Seminary of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias.
His Holiness Aram I delivered a special speech on the occasion,
stressing that the Seminary in Antelias had been a second birthplace
for him.
“The Seminary in Antelias became my second birthplace, where I
was reborn and received spiritual and mental formation and where
I undertook the task of serving our church, nation and homeland,”
he said.
His Holiness assured that the Seminary is not a school in the usual
meaning of the word. Rather, it’s an institution that transmits spirit
and faith and forms a truthful Armenian and an honest spiritual man.
“The Seminary will continue its mission with this realization and
mission,” he said.
His Holiness thanked those who had made good wishes on the occasion
of the 10th anniversary of his enthronement, and said: “After the
Seminary, our people became another seminary for me. I learned a lot
from my interactions with our people as a Vartabed, a Bishop and a
Catholicos. There’s a lot learn in a service dedicated to people,
if we’re ready to see the right, to listen and to learn.”
The opening remarks were delivered by Bishop Khoren Doghramdjian,
prelate of the Prelacy of Greece, who spoke about the main achievements
of His Holiness and the mission of the Seminary.
Ara Mangoian of the Prelacy spoke in detail about the Seminary and
focused on the service the Seminary provided to the Armenian Church
and people.
Kevork Kandaharian, a long time professor in the Seminary spoke about a
decade of service by His Holiness Aram I as the Catholicos of Cilicia.
Kandaharian focused on Aram I the intellectual, the spiritual leader,
the ecumenist and the constructor.
His Holiness had arrived in Athens the same day. He was greeted at
the airport by the prelate of the Prelacy of Greece, the clergy
of the Armenian Community of Greece, the Minister of Religious
Affairs of Greece and the Ambassadors of Lebanon and Armenia to the
country. Rev. Bartev Gulumian, Rev. Housig Mardirossian and Mr. Kevork
Kandaharian accompanied His Holiness.
The Catholicos then went to the Saint Garabed Church of Athens,
where a crowd of faithful greeted him. After a short service,
Bishop Doghramdjian welcomed His Holiness, who gave a special sermon,
during which stressed the important role of faith and the church in
the lives of people.
His Holiness also visited the Cemetery of Athens, where he conducted
a requiem service in front of the tomb of the late Archbishop Sahag
Ayvazian, who had been the prelate of the Prelacy of Greece for more
than 40 years.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
history and the mission of the Cilician 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.

For trust, dollar still trumps lari
By M. Alkhazashvili
The Messenger, Georgia
April 19 2005
The Georgian financial sector is still highly dollarized. According to
the data of the State Statistic Department, Georgian citizens save 70
percent of their money in dollars, while 76.3 percent of commercial
bank deposits are in dollars, as reported by Bankebi da Pinansebi
(Banks and Finances).
Over the last 18 months, savings have become less dollarized; in
December 2003 86.1 percent of deposits were in dollars according to
the National Bank of Georgia; by February 2005 this figure had fallen
to 76.3.
Nonetheless, valuation of long-term goods in Georgia remains in dollars
and this can be explained by several factors. Firstly, while the dollar
is a universal world currency, the circulation of the lari is limited
even within Georgia. The lari is not in circulation in South Ossetia
or Abkhazia; nor is it dominant in Javakheti, where ethnic Armenians
predominate and the Russian ruble is the most common currency owing
to economic reliance on the Russian base in Akhalkalaki. Even in
Kvemo Kartli the ruble is frequently found together with lari.
A second factor is that many Georgian families rely on money sent to
them from abroad – and this money is mostly sent in dollars.
Thirdly is the fact that, despite its gradual strengthening over the
last fifteen months, the lari still does not command the full trust
of the population. This is largely because of the Coupon fiasco in
the first half of the 1990s, when people’s savings were wiped out by
the rapid devaluation of the coupon. The lari also devaluated as a
result of the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Recently, of course,
it is the dollar that has been devaluating; but this has so far
had little effect on popular support for the dollar within Georgia.
“Georgians still lack the trust in the lari which would help them
to save in their own currency,” says economist Demur Giorkhelidze as
reported by Rezonansi.
That the lari strengthened so quickly is one of the reasons for
continued lack of trust in the Georgian currency, and fear of possible
devaluation in the future. Furthermore, although the rate of the
lari against the dollar is more or less the same as in the middle of
last year, it should be noted that twice in the last twelve months
the lari has suddenly, mysteriously strengthened, only to then fall
back again. Late last year, for example, the dollar fell from 1.85
lari to the dollar to almost 1.60 in just three or four days; only
for it then to return to its former level.
It is unclear why this should happen, although one plausible
explanation put forward by some economists is that the government
has been interfering with the exchange rate. Such economists argue
that the strength of the lari is unsustainable, and that devaluation
is inevitable. They say, for instance, that if the government spends
money gained from privatization quickly this may well lead the lari
to weaken.
For Georgians to begin saving in lari, however, attractive bonds in
lari need to be introduced. So far the few bonds that do exist are
dollar-denominated.

CJSC INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CORPORATION OF ARMENIA TO
COMPLETE MODERNIZATION OF KHRAMIGES-1 IN GEORGIA IN JUNE 2005
YEREVAN, APRIL 18. ARMINFO. The CJSC International Energy Corporation
of Armenia (IEC) will complete modernization of Khramigas-1 in Georgia
in June 2005, Deputy Director General of IEC Mels Hakobyan informs
ARMINFO today.
He says that project of modernization of the hydro power plant was
to be completed three months ago, but it was postponed in connection
with the acute energy crisis in Georgia and impossibility to suspend
the HPP. Factually, the deputy director general says, from Dec
2004 to Mar 2005 KhramiGES-1 (KhramiHPP- 1) continued generating
electricity. Meanwhile, IEC started implementation of the project yet
in October 2004. He notes that in September 2004 IEC won a contest
for reconstruction of the plant. The total cost of the project, which
was to be completed within 6 months in conformity with the demands
set, is estimated at $5 mln. Some 20 companies from Armenia, Georgia
and Europe, the winners of the international tender, participate in
modernization of KhramiGES- 1.
CJSC IEC was founded in May 2003 by RJSC UES of Russia holding
for exploitation of Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade of HPPs. The company is
licensed by the Armenian Commission for Public Service to produce
electricity for 15 years and to export it. Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade of
Sevan, Hrazdan, Argelan, Arzni, Kanakaer, Yerevan HPPs is the main
producer of electricity in Armenia. Its capacity is 556 megawatt, which
is some 18% of the total capacity of the power engineering in Armenia.

Countering genocide rap, Turkey says Armenians killed many Turks
Agence France Presse — English
April 18, 2005 Monday 10:57 AM GMT
ANKARA April 18 — In a fresh step in a propaganda war against claims
that the Armenians suffered genocide under the Ottoman Empire,
Turkey’s state archive has issued a list of massacres of Turks by
Armenians between 1910 and 1922 in which over half a million people
are said to have been killed.
The release on Sunday of the list, with a total of 523,955 alleged
victims, came as part of increasing Turkish efforts to counter pressure
on the government to address the genocide allegations.
Armenians are preparing to mark the 90th anniversary on April 24 of
the start of the controversial 1915-1917 events.
Turkey categorically denies the allegations and says that hundreds of
thousands of people perished on both sides in what was civil strife
during World War I when the Armenians took up arms for independence
in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian troops invading the
crumbling empire.
The director of the Turkish state archive, Yusuf Sarinay, said a 1915
Ottoman decision to deport the Armenians from the region, which marked
the beginning of the mass killings, was a defensive measure against
an insurgency that had already claimed many Turkish lives.
“The Armenians committed systematic massacres in certain regions in
order to become the majority there,” Sarinay was quoted as saying by
the mass-market Hurriyet newspaper on Monday.
Ankara fears that the 90th anniversary of the start of the alleged
genocide could fuel anti-Turkish sentiment in international public
opinion and cloud the country’s image at a time when it is bidding
for membership in the European Union.
Some EU politicans are pressing Turkey to address the genocide claims
in what Ankara sees a politically-motivated campaign to impede its
EU membership bid.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week proposed to Armenian
President Robert Kocharian the creation of a joint commission to
study the genocide allegations as a first step towards normalizing
ties between the two estranged neighbors.
Ankara has also declared its archives open to all historians.
The killings have already been acknowledged as genocide by a number
of countries, including France, Canada and Switzerland.

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:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I MEETS WITH THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF MECC
His Holiness Aram I held a meeting with the General Secretary of the
Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Dr. Georges Saleh on April
15. Dr. Saleh wanted to find out Aram I’s views on certain issues
related to the Council’s reform.
A special committee has been set up for the purpose of reforming
the Council.
His Holiness also met with the former General Secretary of MECC,
Dr. Gaby Habib. For the last 15 years Dr. Habib has been living in
Washington, where he is actively engaged in ecumenical relations. The
Catholicos and Dr. Habib discussed issues related to ecumenical
relations and activities in the United States.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
Ecumenical activities of the Cilician 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.