Author: Emil Lazarian

YERKRAMAS NEWSPAPER GIVEN GOLD MEDAL FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY ON OCCASION OF ITS 10th ANNIVERSARY
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 20 2006
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The 10th anniversary of the
Yerkramas newspaper of Armenians of Russia was marked on 2006 November
15 with a festive concert. The event was opened with speeches of
official guests who congratulated the newspaper’s editorial staff
and its readers on the occasion of the jubilee. In particular,
a representatie of the Embassy of Republic of Armenia to Russian
Federation read the greeting message of Ambassador of RA to RF, Armen
Smbatian to the newspaper, that read: “Ten years ago you started a
project that you realize with obstinacy deserving respect.
You managed to gather a team of co-thinkers and many interested and
attentive readers… Today the Yerkramas newspaper has obtained an
individual face, has determined its position, worked out its style.
It has also managed to become not only an objective mirror of life
of Armenian community of Russia, but also an arena for dialogue for
representatives of various nationalities, ages and religions.”
In connection with the jubilee, RA Minister of Education and Science
Levon Mkrtchian, RA Consul General to RF South Federal Okrug Ararat
Gomtsian, President of Society of Friendship and Cooperation with RA
Viktor Krivoruckov, Chairman of public movement For Self-Governance
of Workers, President of Association of Russian-Armenian Business
Cooperation Levon Chakhmakhchian and others also addressed written
congratulations to the Yerkramas newspaper of Armenians of Russia.
On behalf of the Elite of the World International Charity Fund of
World Humanity (President of the Fund is count Peter Sheremetev),
the editorial staff of Yerkramas received a gold medal For the Sake
of Humanity given to juridical persons and organizations having made
a considerable contribution to life to the advantage of the society
and having created a publicly useful work, as an expression of honor
and gratitude by the people. Yerkramas newspaper’s editor-in-chief
Tigran Tavadian on behalf of the International Armenian Cossack Union
(ataman Major-General Sergei Madatian) was also awarded order For H®nor
and Loyalty named after Lieutenant-General, prince Valerian Madatov,
hero of Patriotic War of 1812.
–Boundary_(ID_00akSwT0d7n7GCkrkq3ZKw)–

RUSSIAN AND FRENCH CO-CHAIRS OF THE OSCE MINSK GROUP TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN NOVEMBER 21
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 20 2006
November 21 OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov of Russia
and Bernard Fassier of France will arrive in Yerevan. “Armenpress”
was told at the US Embassy in Armenia that American Co-Chair Matthew
Bryza will not arrive in the region because of the crowded schedule.
The Co-Chairs will have meetings with RA president Robert Kocharyan
and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. The mediators will leave Yerevan
for Baku.
The visit of the Co-Chairs is targeted at discussing the properness
of the meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The
meeting may be possibly held November 28 in the framework of the
summit of CIS leaders.
It is not certain so far weather Yuri Merzlyakov and Bernard Fassier
will visit Stepanakert or not.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Office of Public Information
25 Columbia Heights
Brooklyn NY 11201
Contact: David Semonian
Tel: 718-560-5600
Fax: 718-560-5619
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
November 14, 2006
Armenia acquits 19 conscientious objectors, but issue remains unresolved
YEREVAN, Armenia-Nineteen conscientious objectors who left alternative
labor service have been informed by the Armenian Prosecutor General’s
Office that they have been acquitted and that the criminal proceedings
against them have been terminated. The ruling opens the way for them
to apply for compensation for their illegal prosecution and
imprisonment.
Although the government of Armenia has organized nonmilitary work
assignments, they are under military control and supervision. Thus the
law providing for alternative labor service, as well as its
implementation, fails to meet the criteria laid down by the Council of
Europe, which calls for genuine and nonpunitive civilian alternative
service. In a series of videotaped interviews posted on the Web site
, four young Jehovah’s Witnesses describe in their own
words why Armenia’s alternative service was not an acceptable option
for them.
In a separate development, on September 12, 2006, Hayk Avetisyan was
sentenced to two years in prison for his conscientious refusal of
military service or alternative labor service. On September 25, 2006,
Assistant Prosecutor A. Manukyan appealed the decision, asking for a
stricter sentence. The October 18, 2006, decision of the Court of
Appeal granted the prosecuter’s appeal and increased Avetisyan’s
sentence from 24 to 30 months in prison. Despite the progress implied
in the latest acquittals, Avetisyan is one of nearly 50 conscientious
objectors who are Jehovah’s Witnesses currently in prison for their
conscientious refusal of military service. From their study of the
Bible, they learned that Christ’s followers should love their
neighbors and that Christians are bound together in an international
brotherhood. (Matthew 22:39; Acts 15:22) As such, they do not resort
to weapons of warfare or learn war anymore.-Isaiah 2:4; Matthew
26:52.
Until Armenia complies with its commitments to the Council of Europe
to adopt genuine civilian alternative service and release
conscientious objectors from prison, the issue of conscientious
objection to military service remains unresolved.
Contacts
Paul Gillies Phone +44 7775 833880
David Semonian Phone +1 718 560 5600

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT COMMITTED TO MAKE SYSTEM CHANGES IN SOCIETY
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 17 2006
This year the Armenian Government has proclaimed a new priority that
will result in system changes in the society, Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan said while speaking at the Bertelsmann Foundation
in Berlin, Thursday.
The press service of the Armenian President reports Kocharyan as
saying that Armenia has launched a large-scale program to develop rural
areas. Presently, there is a big gap between Yerevan and the regions
and so, the Government has mobilized own resources and has applied to
Diaspora structures for undertaking joint efforts to improve living
conditions in Armenian villages. This will stimulate the youth to
develop their regions, towns and rural communities, Kocharyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER SERZH SARKISYAN IS ON A THREE-DAY VISIT TO IRAQ
Source: Krasnaya Zvezda, November 15, 2006, p. 3
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
November 17, 2006 Friday
The visit of Sarkisyan is dedicated to meeting with the Defense
Minister of Iraq, as well as acquaintance with conditions of service
of Armenian servicemen being in this country within the coalition
forces. There are 46 Armenian servicemen in Iraq including 30 drivers,
10 combat engineers, three doctors and three liaison officers.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA’S OCCUPATION OF AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIES TOPS AGENDA-PRESS
by Kirill Zharov
ITAR-TASS News Agency
November 17, 2006 Friday 08:00 AM EST
Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev has described as the country’s
most pressing problem Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories.
“This is a huge problem for us and the whole region. Baku supports
peaceful settlement of this issue on the basis of the international law
and the UN requirements,” he told the eighth summit of Turkish-speaking
countries.
“If this problem remains unresolved, the two countries’ relations
may worsen,” Aliyev said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION WELCOMES SIGNING EU-ARMENIA ACTION PLAN
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.11.2006 14:56 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Armenian Federation (EAFJD) has welcomed
the adoption of the EU Neighborhood Policy’s Armenia action plan,
which was signed on November 14th, 2006 by the Armenian Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Vartan Oskanian, in the presence of the Commission
and the Council’s senior leaders. As the EAFJD told PanARMENIAN.Net,
“the EU takes note of the European aspirations expressed by Armenia
and will support the Armenian government as its continues to inform
the Armenian public concerning the Union, in particular through the
creation of a European information center in Yerevan.” “We welcome this
action plan to stimulate the integration movement between the European
Union and Armenia,” declared Hilda Tchoboian, the Chairperson of the
European Armenian Federation. “Building on a powerful convergence of
views and a strong sense of community, the Federation looks forward
to contributing to the future growth of Armenian-European relations,”
added Tchoboian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EUROPEAN INTEGRATION NECESSITY ON THE WAY OF ARMENIA BUILDING LEGITIMATE STATE
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.11.2006 15:11 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The signing of the EU-Armenia Action Plan within
the European Neighborhood Policy is a very important step, Armenian
MP Shavarsh Kocharyan stated in Yerevan. In his words, the Armenian
people more than others in the region are ready to adopt European
values. “European integration is a necessity on the way of Armenia
building a legitimate state,” Kocharyan said. He also noted that three
South Caucasian countries have different ways and different programs.
“Georgia aspires to Europe via the NATO, Azerbaijan – via energy
resources and only Armenia acts within the Action Plan aimed at
economic and political stability in the country,” the MP said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KOCHARIAN URGES ESTABLISHMENT OF DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH TURKEY
source: The New Anatolian.
ABHaber, Belgium
EU-Turkey news network
Nov 19 2006
Armenian President Robert Kocharian stated late Thursday that Turkey,
as a candidate for for European Union membership, should follow a
“different approach” on the issue of establishing diplomatic relations
with Yerevan.
Stressing that diplomatic relations should be established without
preconditions and prejudices, Kocharian claimed that although his
country had suggested to Turkey the establishment of diplomatic
relations, Ankara refused. “Our suggestion is still valid,” he said
in a speech at a meeting organized by the Bertelsmann Association
in Berlin, where he also met on Thursday with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel.
Touching on Armenian’s relations with its neighbors, Kocharian also
said, “Turkey, which is an important state in its region, closed its
borders to Armenia. An important country like Turkey should follow
a different approach.”
‘Proposal for historians’ commission is a ploy’
The Armenian president dismissed the Turkish proposal to establish a
joint commission of historians to study the Armenian genocide claims
as a “Turkish ploy” by which he claimed Ankara will try to distance
itself from the core of the alleged issue.
Kocharian made the remarks in response to former German Ambassador
Dietrich Kyaw, who asked him why he had rejected Turkish Premier Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s proposal of a historians’ commission to examine the
genocide allegations.
Kocharian also stated that Yerevan wants the establishment of a
commission of politicians instead of a commission of historians
and said, “Politicians, not historians, have responsibility for the
‘genocide’.”
‘Nagorno-Karabakh is independent’
Kocharian also claimed that the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
declared its independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the enclave has never been a part of Azerbaijan.
Stating that Nagorno-Karabakh young people have grown up with the
will to live in an independent state and won’t retreat from the ways
things are, Kocharian underlined the need for the concerned sides in
the region to be ready for a solution in Nagorno-Karabakh before the
EU makes new initiatives.
Kocharian stressed that no country that had gained its independence
will give up this right and added, “The people of Nagorno-Karabakh
also fought for for their independence and won it. Therefore they
don’t want to lose it.”
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region in Azerbaijan that has been
under the control of Armenian and ethnic-Armenian Karabakh forces
since a 1994 cease-fire ended a six-year separatist war that killed
about 30,000 people and drove about 1 million from their homes. The
region’s final status remains unresolved, and years of talks under the
auspices of international mediators have brought few visible results.
Ankara: Armenia distorts the facts
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan on Friday lambasted
the claim of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, saying, “The claim that
Kocharian’s letter to Erdogan in 2005 did not get a response is
another example of the Armenian aim to distort the facts.”
Bringing up Erdogan’s proposal to setup a commission composed
of Armenian and Turkish historians to study the genocide claims,
Tan said, “While the situation is like that, the Armenian Foreign
Ministry claimed on Nov. 4 that Kocharian’s letter to Erdogan did not
get a response. However, the concerned Turkish and Armenian officials
have gathered three times since April 2005, and our latest proposal
was conveyed to Yerevan this September. Therefore, the latest claim
of the Armenian Foreign Ministry is another example of the Armenian
aim to distort the facts.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY EXCLUDES FRANCE FROM DEFENSE FAIR
Source: The New Anatolian
ABHaber, Belgium
EU-Turkey news network
Nov 19 2006
Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul announced on late Thursday that France
hasn’t been officially invited to a defense industry fair over
the French Parliament’s passage of an Armenian bill last month,
introducing punishments to those who question genocide claims.
Gonul, at a meeting publicizing the Eighth Defense Industry Trade
Fair, expressed his displeasure at the French Parliament’s passage of
the bill penalizing those who question Armenian genocide claims with
prison terms up to one year and fines up to 45,000 euros, and said that
they had presented Ankara’s concerns to Paris on numerous occasions.
Gonul stated that Ankara gave a notice to French companies, instead
of invitations, and added, “The French defense minister is a valuable
government member. But he has not been formally invited here. We sent
invitations to other countries.”
The Turkish defense minister’s remarks prompted a French official to
leave the meeting. French Armament Attache Jean Claude Geay commented
to reporters after leaving the meeting in the wake of Gonul’s speech
that an invitation was made to him by a retired general who heads
the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation. “But after hearing the defense
minister’s statement, I realized that staying here for meetings was
useless. That’s why I’m leaving,” he added.
In related news, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry canceled
the invitation of the a French music company to perform a remembrance
ceremony for Turkish poet and Sufi mystic Mevlana Rumi.
The move of the Turkish Defense and Culture and Tourism Ministries
came a day after Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Ilker Basbug
announced that Turkey has suspended military relations with France
over French Parliament’s passage of the Armenian bill.
The French Defense Ministry played down on Thursday Turkish decision
to suspend military ties with France, saying, “France believes that
existing cooperation with Turkey will continue,” and noting that the
suspension was announced by a military commander, not Turkey’s civilian
government. However, no immediate response was made by France to the
latest moves of the ministries.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress