Author: Emil Lazarian

STATEMENT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH FOR THE OSCE MINISTERIAL MEETING

A1+
[07:34 pm] 05 December, 2006

We are encouraged that negotiations in 2006, facilitated by the
Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and supported by the OSCE Chairman
in Office, have brought the sides closer to agreement on the basic
principles for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

We welcome the support of the leaders of the G8 to these efforts,
expressed at the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg in July.

We urge Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to redouble their
efforts in the coming year to finalize these basic principles as soon
as possible.

We call on the sides, with the assistance of the international
community, to extend co-operation to conduct an environmental operation
to suppress the fires in the affected territories and to overcome
detrimental consequences. These measures can constitute significant
steps toward restoring confidence between the sides. The OSCE is
available to assist.

We also express our continuing support for the Personal Representative
of the OSCE Chairman in Office and his mission to the region and
particularly for their efficient assistance to the environmental
Assessment Mission and for their ongoing monitoring of the
cease-fire. We regret that incidents along the front lines continue
occasionally to result in loss of life on both sides to adhere strictly
to the cease-fire.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SYRIA SUPPORTS PEACEFUL REGULATION OF NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT

Panorama.am
16:24 05/12/06

"Syria supports peaceful regulation of Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
Mukhlis Faraun, charge d’affaires on issues of Syria in Armenia,
made a statement at Urbat Club today.

In his words, Syria is very familiar with the military solution of
conflicts. Faraun reminded that the Supreme Religious Head of Syria,
Mufti, promised to contribute to peaceful regulation of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict during his recent visit to Armenia. The diplomat
underscored peaceful settlement of this conflict before any other
new conflict will emerge in the region.

Speaking about the conflict in Middle East and his disposition to
Iraq, Faraun said, "There are some forces in Lebanon who try to create
hostilities among close people." However, he believes the authorities
in Lebanon will manage to reconcile. Faraun believe Western forces
support bombings of churches in Iraq.

Speaking about the Armenian contingent in Iraq, he said, "I would
not like the Armenians to be in Iraq but I understand that they are
executing a peacekeeping mission."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PARTIES HAVE DIFFERENT OPINION ON PROLONGATION OF ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN IRAQ

Panorama.am
17:06 05/12/06

Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan refuted a statement made an hour
ago which said no country withdrew from peacekeeping mission in
Iraq. After the break he said there are 27 countries with 159,000
soldiers in Iraq and Netherlands and Portugal have withdrawn.

Viktor Dallakyan, member of parliament, also said South Korea and
Italy have also withdrawn.

The interim committee on foreign relations has given a positive
response to the proposal of the president to prolong the term of the
Armenian contingent in Iraq for one more year. The chairman of the
committee, Armen Rustamyan from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnakcutiun) have voted against, however. He said he has expressed
the disposition of his party. Dashnakcutiun was against sending troops
to Iraq and is against prolongation of its term.

Parties expressed different opinions on prolongation of mission with
Justice block saying they will vote against. The voting will take
place tomorrow.

GENETIC RESEARCH EXCLUDED TURKISH ORIGIN OF HAMSHEN ARMENIANS

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.12.2006 13:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The initial results of the genetic research of
Hamshen Armenians launched in 2003 have been received. As reported
by Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of Russia, quoting project
director Levon Yepiskoposyan, the genetic DNA analysis taken from
Hamshen Armenians of Krasnodar and Rostov regions was carried out on
the London university college jointly with British colleagues. The
genetic investigation showed the following:

-Hamshen Armenians represent rather isolated territorial group,
Armenian origin of which make no doubt.

-The hypothesis advanced by Turkish scientists on the so-called
Turkish origin of Armenian-speaking.

Hamshens was completely refuted.

Some clarity was introduced in the problem of Hamshens’ homeland. To
receive a final answer to this question the genetic history of Hamshens
is being investigated.

Hamshen Armenians make the majority of the Armenian population of the
Krasnodar region and some regions of Kuban and Adygea. They originate
from the region of Hamshen of Western Armenia, who settled in Kuban
after the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. According to the
experts, some 250 thousand Armenians live in Adygea and Abkhazia. The
number of islamized Hamshen Armenians living in Turkey varies from
700 thousand to 1.5.2 million.

PASHIKYAN IS THE THIRD IN SARATOV

A1+
[01:06 pm] 06 December, 2006

Armenian chess player Arman Pashikyan took the third place in the
international tournament in Saratov with 6.5 points from 9 possible.

The winners were Savchenko and Chernishov from Russia with 7 points
each. Another Armenian chess player, Gabriel Sargsyan, participated
in the tournament too.

He had only 5.5 points.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Father 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 IN DETROIT

"Not only we should build Church, we must be built by the Church, we must
become Church. The Church is not an organization, it is a community of faith
hope and love" said His Holiness Aram I in his pontifical message to the
people at Saint Sarkis Armenian Church in Detroit, Michigan.

His Holiness is in Detroit for a very brief visit on his way to Indiana and
Minnesota where he is invited to deliver lectures at Saint Johns, Notre Dame
and Indiana Universities.

Upon his arrival in Detroit, Aram I was greeted by Archbishop Oshagan
Choloyan; Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Eastern USA, Archbishop
Moushegh Mardirossian; Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Western
region.

On Friday evening, December 1, 2006, after a brief service at Saint Sarkis
Church, Archbishop Oshagan warmly welcomed His Holiness and emphasized the
pastoral importance of his encounter with the Armenian community.

After explaining the purpose of his visit to the USA, His Holiness focused
his message on the meaning of the Church and of the vital importance of
participating in the life of the Church. "As a community of faith, love and
hope, the Church must become a living reality at the heart of our nation. In
fact, from the very inception of the Armenian Church, our people have
identified themselves with the Church. That is why being Armenian has meant
being Christian and the Church has embraced the totality of our nation in
all aspects of its life. We must look at our Church with this understanding;
we must bring an active and responsible participation in the life and
mission of our Church. This is the way of being Christian for the Armenians.
I can not understand a Christian way of life outside the Church. The Church
for us is the house of God which has also become the house of our people. We
must therefore keep this house strong and vivid. Since this is the source of
our spirituality and the values which were given to the world through the
incarnation of Jesus Christ."

After the message of His Holiness, a reception was organized in the main
hall of the church.

This was a wonderful occasion for His Holiness to meet the members of the
Armenian community of Detroit.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
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.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, December 4, 2006

Jerry Kouyoumjian Leaves $2,491,000 to AGBU Programs

The last survivor in his family, Jerry Kouyoumdjian, eager to ensure
AGBU’s mission to promote the Armenian heritage, bequeathed his
estates to the organization that helps 400,000 Armenians annually.

Natives of Kharpet in historic Armenia, the Kouyoumjian family found
refuge in Boston after a long journey that began during the Armenian
Genocide. Setrak Kouyoumdjian and Aznive Kurkdjian fled with their
four sons to the French city of Marseille in the early 1920s, where
they lived with other Armenians who escaped sure death at the hands
of Turkish authorities. Varoujan, known as John, and Zaven, known as
Jerry, were among the four Kouyoumdjian boys who traveled with their
parents and received an education in French schools until they
finally settled in the United States in 1938, on the eve of the
Second World War.

John, born in 1915, completed the 12th grade in Marseille, while
Jerry, born in 1921, left France before completing high school.

Wide-eyed and keen to succeed, John established two retail businesses
in America, one selling greeting cards and the other repairing
watches and selling jewelry. He never married and nurtured his
interest in cultural activities, particularly ballroom dancing, in
which he was a skilled performer.

The younger Jerry joined the United States Army during World War II
and, as a technical officer, served in the Battle of Normandy, in the
Rhineland and throughout Central Europe. His honors included the
European, African, Middle Eastern Theatre Ribbons. After his
honorable discharge in 1945, Jerry joined his older brother John in
the retail business. A bachelor all his life, Jerry loved to help
those less fortunate than himself and also enjoyed supporting the
arts and public television.

Both brothers lived a private, quiet life during their final years in
Boston. Little information remains about the other members of their
immediate family. John passed away at the age of 77 in 1993, while
Jerry lived until this year, when he died at the age of 84.

Totaling $2,491,000, the Jerry Kouyoumdjian Memorial Fund will
support AGBU’s educational, cultural and humanitarian projects in 35
countries.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

"JAVAKHK" COUNCIL CONDEMNS "PERSECUTION" CARRIED OUT BY RA AUTHORITIES TOWARDS VAHAGN CHAKHALIAN

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Dec 05 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Conditional
imprisonment with one and a half-year term was defined on December
4 by the verdict of the Court of First Instance of the region of
Shirak issued towards Vahagn Chakhalian, a chairmanship member of the
"United Javakhk" democratic alliance, accused of illegally passing
the state border of Armenia. This is said in the information spread
by the "Javakhk" Council on December 4. According to the message,
"a little after making the verdict public, V.Chakhalian, coming back
to Yerevan, was stopped by employees of the Shirak Police and said
that they had an order to immediately deport him from the country,
but they did not present any legal basis for it. The regional police
chief refused categorically the variant proposed by the attorney of
V.Chakhalian to take the latter’s wife, an expectant mother, and leave
for Javakhk on the next day." The "Javakhk" Council most strictly
condemns the continuous political persecution carried out by the RA
authorities towards Javakhk national figure V.Chakhalian. Taking into
consideration that circumstance that during the days spent in Yerevan,
some false actions were brought against V.Chakhalian in Akhalkalak,
this shameful fact of illegal deportation may be qualified as "giving
an Armenian to a foreign state," is said in the information of the
"Javakhk" Council.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GENOCIDE RECOGNITION ISSUE NOT DOMINATING IN ARMENIA-TURKEY RELATIONS

ArmRadio.am
05.12.2006 10:50

"I have always said and I will say that the Genocide issue is not
dominant in Armenia-Turkey relations," Armenian Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian said in an interview with the Turkish "New Anatolian"
periodical.

IN the Minister’s words, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is
not a precondition for the establishment of bilateral relations. "The
recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a moral responsibility,
but is should not become an obstacle in the improvement of relations
between the two countries. Since the Armenian side does not present
the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as precondition, Turkey
should not require Armenia to refuse from demands on the issue,"
the Minister added.

According to Vartan Oskanian, neither Turkey not Armenia should present
preconditions. "We carry out the policy of Genocide recognition, Turkey
is implementing denialist policy. I really see no reasons, which would
prevent opening of the border and cooperation of the peoples. It would
create more favorable conditions for more constructive resolution of
existing questions," the Foreign Minister underlined.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MPs PROPOSE PROLONGING OPERATION TERM OF LAW "ON RESTORATION OF TOWN OF GYUMRI"

Noyan Tapan
Dec 04 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN. At the December 4 sitting, RA
National Assembly in first reading discussed the bill "On Making
Amendments and Additions to the Law "On Restoration of the Town
of Gyumri." Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) faction members Samvel
Balasanian and Hovhannes Margarian, who are from Gyumri, submitted
a draft, according to which it is proposed prolonging the operation
term of the above mentioned law from 2007 January 1 to 2014 December
31. The MPs expect to discuss a new draft envisaging making amendments
and additions to the same law in the future. The draft is aimed at
giving all-embracing solution to problems faced by Gyumri, including
creation of jobs, reduction of unemployment.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress