Author: Emil Lazarian

February 16, 2007

PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: <;

START OF MORNING AND EVENING LENTEN SERVICES

Monday, February 19, is the day following Paregentan and the
start of Lent. During the Lenten period, morning and evening services will
be offered at all Prelacy churches on Wednesdays and Fridays. The first
morning service will take place on Wednesday, February 21st. H.E.
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, will officiate over the service
at Holy Martyrs Church in Encino, and H.E. Archbishop Suren Kataroyan,
former Prelate of Aleppo, will officiate over the service at St. Mary’s
Church in Glendale.

For more details, please contact your local church or visit the
upcoming events section of our website at
<http://www.westernprela cy.org/> to view the complete schedule of services.

Evening services will also be offered at the Armenian Apostolic
Church of Crescenta Valley, located at 2817 Montrose Blvd. in La Crescenta,
on Friday evenings at 7:00 p.m..

A1+

SHAVARSH KOCHARYAN WILL BE NOMINATED BY MAJORITY SYSTEM
[05:37 pm] 16 February, 2007

Dual citizenship must serve the return of Armenians
to Armenia, says leader of National Democratic Party
Shavarsh Kocharyan. `We thought it necessary to
stipulate several fundamental issues in the draft
Constitution, but unfortunately we didn’t do it. If an
Armenian comes to Armenia to live here permanently,
there is no problem in participating in the
elections’, he said adding that before the adoption of
the Constitution, he introduced several offers which
where not taken into account.

According to the leader of the NDP, if the duall
citizen lives in Armenia temporarily, he does not have
suffrage. «Or he must be deprived of one citizenship»,
he thinks.

As for the army service of the dual citizens,
according to him, they must serve in the army of the
country where he lives permanently. «If he lives in
Armenia, he must serve in the Armenian army».

As for the upcoming parliamentary election, Shavarsh
Kocharyan has decided to participate in them by the
majority system.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanARMENIAN.Net

Robert Kocharian and Jacques Chirac to meet in Paris
16.02.2007 13:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ February 17 Armenian President
Robert Kocharian is departing to France on a 4-day
formal visit. In Paris the Armenian leader will meet
with French President Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister
Dominique de Villepin, Senate President Christian
Poncelet and National Assembly Speaker Jean-Louis
Debre. The Armenian President and the first lady will
be present at the `Charles Aznavour and Friends’
concert to take place in the Opera Garnier in the
framework of the Year of Armenia in France. They will
also attend an exhibition of outstanding painter of
sea-scapes Ivan Ayvazovsky in the Navy Museum and an
exhibition titled `12 capital cities of Armenia’. In
Lourve the Armenian and French President will open
`Saint Armenia’ exhibition. The RA leader is also
expected to meet with the Armenian community and take
part in the opening ceremony of Armenia Garden in
Nice, reports the RA President’s press office.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1+

OPPOSITION IS DEPRIVED OF AIR
[06:23 pm] 15 February, 2007

The international community criticizes the fact that
the RA TV Stations have fixed high prices for
political advertisements just on the eve of the
parliamentary elections.

A1+ initiated polling aimed at revealing the citizens’
opinion in this connection.

We suggested our readers answering the question, `Why
do the RA TV Stations charge such high prices /80
000-130 000 AMD per a minute/ for political ads?’

Over 235 people participated in our poll. Most of
them, 54 percent, assume that this step is aimed at
`depriving the Opposition of air’.

25 percent are convinced that the prices are fixed
`under pressure’, 17 percent say that the prices
`pursuit commercial goals’. Only 3% think that the TV
Stations fixed the prices `willingly’.

Today we offer our readers answering another question,
`In which format will the Opposition participate in
the upcoming parliamentary elections?’

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanARMENIAN.Net

UN Special Envoy for Kosovo: compromise on Kosovo hardly possible
15.02.2007 18:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Martti Ahtisaari, the UN Special Envoy for Kosovo
said that reaching compromise on Kosovo’s status is unlikely. The
positions of both sides are tough and the possibility that they will
change their mind is `extremely small,’ said Martti Ahtisaari.

Yesterday the Serbian parliament overwhelmingly rejected the UN plan
on Kosovo. The parliament issued a resolution that says `UN plan
illegally creates foundation for formation of a new independent states
on Serbia’s territory.’ The document was passed with 225 votes `for’
and 15 `against’, reports the RBC.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RIA Novosti, Russia
Feb 15 2007

Armenia says officer killed by Azerbaijan sniper, Baku denies
11:57 | 15/ 02/ 2007

BAKU/YEREVAN, February 15 (RIA Novosti) – Armenia and Azerbaijan have
once again traded accusations amid a bilateral conflict over a
breakaway region, with Yerevan claiming an Azerbaijani sniper killed
an Armenian officer, and Baku denying the allegation.

"A contract serviceman, 49-year-old Major Ervand Pashikyan, was
fatally injured at about 9:30 a.m. local time [5:30 a.m. GMT]
yesterday by a shot fired by an Azerbaijani sniper at the combat
position of the Noembryan military unit," Col. Seiran Shakhsuvaryan,
a spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry, said referring to the
military unit in northeastern Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan.
The spokesman said the officer died on the spot from a chest wound.

The Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan, conversely, said Armenia opened
small arms fire at Azerbaijani positions Wednesday morning, which
lasted for 20 minutes.

"The attack was suppressed with return fire, and the Azerbaijani side
suffered no loss of life," Ilgar Verdiyev, a ministry spokesman,
said, adding it was nonsensical of Armenia "to regularly violate the
ceasefire and then blame it on Azerbaijan."

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the two
South Caucasus nations have been in conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a
region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population. The dispute
first erupted in 1988 when Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence
from Azerbaijan and moved to join Armenia.

Over 30,000 people were killed on both sides between 1988 and 1994,
and over 100 died following a 1994 ceasefire. Nagorno-Karabakh
remained in Armenian hands, but tensions between Azerbaijan and
Armenia have persisted. Azerbaijan seems determined to restore its
control over the separatist region.

Hürriyet, Turkey
Feb 15 2007

Turkey faces more dangers than ever

General Yasar Buyukanit’s speech at the Turkish Embassy last night,
hosted by Turkish Ambassador to Washington, DC Nabi Sensoy, took
place amidst comments of "Save us Pasha, Turkey is secular, and will
stay secular."

General Buyukanit touched on a variety of different topics, ranging
from the Armenian claims of genocide to Cyprus to the ongoing war in
Iraq. Responding to speculation from some circles that Turkey faced a
threat of "being divided," Buyukanit said "There is no one that could
ever divide Turkey. No one would ever be that brave." Buyukanit began
his speech by warning the audience that "My visit here unfortunately
takes place during a very criticial period of time…..Today Turkey,
since its formation as the Turkish Republic in 1923, has never faced
as many risks and threats as it now faces."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
New York Armenian Students’ Association
333 Atlantic Avenue
Warwick, RI 02888
(401) 461-6114
Email: [email protected]

Armenian Relief Society `Mayr Chapter’ of New York (ARS Mayr Chapter)
and NY Armenian Students’ Association (NY ASA) Host a Fundraiser Mixer
in New York City

On February 2, 2007, over 50 people from the tri-state area, upstate
New York and Washington D.C. braved the cold winter rain to gather at
Sortie, a trendy midtown Manhattan lounge, to support a worthy cause –
the construction of a roof for the Gavar Special School in Gavar,
Armenia.

Located in the impoverished Gegharkunik region, the Gavar Special
School is dedicated to educating children with special needs. At
present, there are nearly 700 special needs children who receive no
education (special needs orotherwise) in this region. Indeed,
orphanages in Armenia receive five times more funding than special
needs schools and only provide half the services.

The school is fortunate to have two dedicated Peace Corps volunteers,
JasonSprague and Kayte Williams, who, along with the school’s
director, Lavrik Arevshatyan, have worked tirelessly to meet the
children’s education and other needs, provide a safe environment in
which the children can learn and raise money for necessary repairs for
school, even paying out oftheir own salaries to do so. Recently, a
foundation called The Lots of SunFoundation for Special Needs Children
in Support of Gavar Special School was formed to, in part, lobby the
Armenian Government to provide greater financial support for special
needs children and ensure that donations from the school are not
unduly taxed.

The school and the region also face weather-related challenges. The
last two months have been the coldest in the last few years, freezing
indoor and outdoor sewer pipes of structures in the region as well as
its freshwater supply. The roof is made of metal sheeting which is
leaking and causing widespread structural damage to the school. To
make matters worse, on January 20,2007, a storm with high winds ripped
away portions of the roof’s dilapidated metal covering. The estimated
cost of the roof’s construction is $85,000, a figure which has nearly
doubled in the last year due to the increased costs of building
materials and the appreciation of the Armenian dram against the
U.S. dollar.

Fully aware that the safety of the children is further compromised,
the attendees of the mixer and other donors responded generously and
over $1000 wasraised for the roof construction. The ARS Mayr Chapter
and NY ASA wish to extend their thanks to the attendees and other
donors for their support for this worthy cause.

In response to the mixer, Jason Sprague of the Gavar School sent the
following message: `The Staff, Students and Volunteers of Gavar
Special School wish to thank all those who attended the Armenian
Relief Society Mayr Chapter of New York and the New York Armenian
Students’ Association for their gracious support of Gavar Special
School. The donated money is obviously important but more importantly
people are learning of about the situation of special needs education
in rural Armenia. Especially in Gegharkunik, there are over 650
children that have special needs that receive no education. As many
as 500 of these children could benefit from special education and have
a productive life. The situation is dire for these very wonderful
children. Your help will be used to create a safe learning
environment. We hope you will visit Gavar Special School on your next
trip to Armenia to meet the students, staff and volunteers and see the
changes your support has helped to ensure. Please subscribe to
to see the changes as they happen
and stay abreast of the news at Gavar Special School. Thank you again
for your kind compassion and we consider you part ofGavar Special
School’s community!’

Additional donations of any amount are greatly needed and appreciated,
and those who are interested can log to the Gavar Special School
website at

The ARS was founded in 1910 as an independent, non-sectarian,
non-governmental organization (NGO), serving the humanitarian, social,
and educational needs of Armenians. The ARS has affiliate entities in
24 countries with a membership of approximately 18,000. An NGO on the
roster in consultative statuswith the Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations, the ARS is a 501© (3) charitable, tax-exempt
organization. The ASA is a nationwide membership organization that
promotes Armenian culture and education by providing Armenian
communities with social, academic, and educational events. Allfunds
raised by the regional branches contribute to the ASA’s scholarship
fund for Armenian students studying in the United States.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Feb 14 2007

SCIENTIFIC REFORMS IN ARMENIA NEED REVISION

YEREVAN, February 14. /ARKA/. The concept of scientific reforms in
Armenia needs revision, said Radik Martirosyan, the President of the
RA National Academy of Sciences, presenting the concept of scientific
reforms and the Government’s 2007-2010 development program.
"The concept of reforms in the Armenian science sector needs
revision. Today, in this concept there exist certain flaws and norms,
with which not all the interested authorities agree," he said.
According to the concept and the 2007-2010 program, it is proposed by
2010 to finish the elaboration and adoption of laws and by-laws on
the scientific development.
A special inter-departmental commission of four working groups has
been set up to work on the above-mentioned documents.
Martirosyan said that the working groups operate in the spheres of
reforming legislative field, finding approaches to financing science,
elaborating priority directions for scientific works and conducting
independent expert examinations.
RA President Robert Kocharyan and RA Minister of Education and
Science Levon Lazarian adopted the decision of implementing
scientific reforms in Armenia on July 24, 2006.
On August 18, the RA Government approved the rule of events under the
reforms program. On November 15, 2006, the Concept of scientific
reforms was brought up for public discussions. L.M. -0–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenian borders highly secured
15.02.2007 17:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Units of the Russian armed forces jointly with the
102nd base perform their military duty throughout Armenia’s air space,
Russian armed forces commander-in-chief, general Vladimir Mikhaylov
told a news conference in Yerevan today. In his words,

Armenian borders are highly secured. `C-300 rockets are mounted in
Armenia to ensure the republic’s security. Besides, the 4th army of
the Russian armed forces deployed in Rostov-on-Don exercises radar
control of the Armenian territory,’ said the general.