Author: Emil Lazarian

MILAN STATE COUNCIL CALLS FOR MAKING RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PRECONDITION OF TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP TO EU
Noyan Tapan
Nov 01 2006
MILAN, NOVEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. On October 26, Italian Regional
Council of Milan approved the proposal on recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. This was informed by RA FM official web-site,
which reminds that the Council of the city of Milan had recognized
the Armenian Genocide as early as in 1997. The document calls on
the Italian government, Prime Minister, all political forces, public
and especially youth to make recognition of the Armenian Genocide by
Turkey as a precondition for the latter’s joining EU.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MOSCOW PRESSES FOR CFE TREATY RATIFICATION IN RUN-UP TO NATO AND OSCE SUMMITS
by Vladimir Socor
Eurasia Daily Monitor — The Jamestown Foundation
Tuesday, October 31, 2006 — Volume 3, Issue 201
On his October 25-26 official visit to Moscow, NATO Secretary-General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer successfully resisted demands by Russian
officials for prompt ratification of the adapted Treaty on Conventional
Forces in Europe (CFE) by NATO countries. Russia hopes to induce
some governments in the alliance to proceed with ratification of the
1999-adapted treaty despite Moscow’s ongoing breaches of certain treaty
provisions and of the 1999 Istanbul Commitments, which together with
the CFE Treaty form a package approved at that year’s OSCE summit.
By calling for ratification during de Hoop Scheffer’s visit,
Moscow is signaling that it plans to raise this issue at the OSCE’s
upcoming year-end ministerial conference in Brussels on December
3-4, hoping to break the linkage between ratification of the CFE
Treaty and fulfillment of Russia’s Istanbul Commitments regarding
the South Caucasus and Moldova. The Kremlin apparently even hopes
to talk the alliance into loosening that linkage in the communique
of NATO’s upcoming summit in Riga at the end of November. Russia is
eager for ratification of the adapted treaty in order to extend its
applicability to the territories of the three Baltic states, which
are not covered by the existing treaty’s ceilings on force deployments.
Moscow’s main argument — as presented during de Hoop Scheffer’s visit
— claims that Russia has fulfilled all of its 1999 obligations by
signing the agreements with Georgia to close the Batumi and Akhalkalaki
bases and withdraw the Russian troops stationed there by the end
of 2008. During de Hoop Scheffer’s visit, President Vladimir Putin
signed into law on October 26 the Russian parliament’s ratification
of the March 31 agreement with Georgia on closure and withdrawal from
those two Russian bases (Itar-Tass, October 26).
However, de Hoop Scheffer raised the issue of Russia’s noncompliance
with its 1999 commitment to withdraw its forces from Moldova. Russian
media purported to quote him as urging Moscow to withdraw just the
arsenals from Moldova in order to clear the way for ratification of
the CFE Treaty (Interfax, October 26, 27). Such Russian media reports
would seem to be misquoting de Hoop Scheffer. In fact, NATO’s official
collective position calls for withdrawal of Russian troops, as well
as the arsenals, from Moldova. This position, with emphasis on troop
withdrawal, is enshrined in NATO’s communique at its latest summit
in Istanbul in 2004 and subsequent communiques, as well as documents
endorsed by NATO countries collectively at the OSCE.
During the NATO leader’s visit, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
hinted that Moscow might initiate procedures for abandoning the
existing CFE Treaty, which was signed in 1990 and is currently in
force. Notably dropping the standard reference to the treaty as a
“cornerstone of security in Europe,” Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr
Grushko described that treaty as “out of touch with reality” and
warranting either revision or an exit from it (Russian MFA press
release, October 25).
For their part, a group of Duma leaders meeting with de Hoop Scheffer
warned that they might delay the ratification of the Status-of-Forces
Agreement — the legal basis for a host of NATO-Russia common
activities, intended to be held on Russian territory — if NATO
countries delay ratification of the adapted CFE Treaty. Such insolvent
warnings are political in nature, targeting a few governments in
NATO that might for reasons of their own accommodate Russia in
Europe’s East.
Russia takes the position that it has completed the fulfillment of
the 1999 agreements regarding the South Caucasus and Moldova and that
those agreements did not constitute obligations in the first place.
Thus, Moscow describes its agreement with Georgia on troop withdrawal
until 2008 as a purely bilateral matter, the resolution of which
should precipitate the ratification of the CFE Treaty by NATO
countries. Irrespective of such phrasing and despite the delay
during all these years, the agreement with Georgia does constitute
long-awaited progress toward fulfillment of one aspect of the 1999
Istanbul Commitments.
However, Russia remains in breach of the original and adapted treaty
and the Istanbul Commitments on the following counts:
*Retention of the Gudauta base in Georgia, which was to have been
closed down in 2001 under the Istanbul Commitments;
*Troops unlawfully stationed in Moldova despite those same Commitments;
*Treaty-banned weaponry (“unaccounted-for treaty-limited equipment”)
handed over by the Russian military to their local allies in
Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Karabakh (including
Armenian-held territory in Azerbaijan beyond Karabakh); and
*Stationing Russian troops including so-called peacekeepers in
conflict areas without the “host-country consent,” such consent being
fundamental to both the existing and the adapted CFE Treaty.
Thus, there is no case for NATO countries to take any steps toward
ratifying the adapted CFE Treaty at the NATO summit or the OSCE’s
year-end conference, in view of Russia’s ongoing breaches on multiple
counts.
(See EDM, May 17, 22, June 12)
–Vladimir Socor
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia Fund, Inc.
111 North Jackson St. Ste. 205
Glendale, CA 91206
Tel: 818-243-6222
Fax: 818-243-7222
Url:
PRESS RELEASE
Contact ~ Sarkis Kotanjian
[email protected]
Andre Set to Perform Live During Armenia Fund’s Telethon 2006
Los Angeles, CA – Armenia Fund is proud to announce that one of the most
popular Armenian singers, Andre, will be performing at its 9th Annual
International Telethon to be aired worldwide on Thanksgiving Day, November
23, 8:00AM-8:00PM PST.
In May of this year Andre won 8th place in Greece for representing Armenia
at Eurovision song contest competing against contenders from 23 other
nations. Armenia was competing at the Eurovision song content for the first
time in 2006.
As part of the Rebirth of Artsakh project, proceeds from the live 12 hour
program will benefit the regional development of Hadrut, Nagorno Karabakh.
The funds will go towards building new drinking water pipelines as well as
reconstructing healthcare facilities and schools that fell victim to the
devastating war. In an effort to eradicate poverty in this war ravaged
border region, Armenia Fund will also implement a comprehensive agricultural
development project to impact 1,000 farmers in 8 Hadrut villages. A similar
regional development program is currently underway in the northern Martakert
region using the funds raised during last year’s Telethon 2005.
A graduate of Armenian State Music Theater, Andre was born in Stepanakert,
Nagorno Karabakh. His music career started early, when, as a member of a
music band “Children of Artsakh” he performed for the NKR Defense Army
soldiers. After winning the “Road to Renaissance” music competition he
formed his own pop-jazz band “Karabakh” touring regions of Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh. A winner of many international music contests as a solo
artist, Andre has performed in the United States, Russia, China, Europe,
Lebanon, Iran, United Arab Emirates and countries of the former Soviet
Union.
A winner in the Best Singer category of Armenian National Music Awards,
Andre has been topping the charts for several years in a row.
Stay tuned for more Telethon 2006 entertainment news.
Armenia Fund, Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation
established in 1994 to facilitate large-scale humanitarian and
infrastructure development assistance to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Since
1991, Armenia Fund has rendered more than $160 million in development aid to
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia Fund, Inc. is the U.S. Western Region
affiliate of “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund. Tax ID# 95-4485698
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue
New York, New York 10016
Contact: Aram Arkun
Tel.: 212 686 0710 ext. 126
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Arme nian Letters, Fonts, and Art: A November 1 NYC Panel Discussion
with a Display of Art by English Designer Puzzovio
The Armenian alphabet had profound repercussions for Armenian identity,
faith, and culture for sixteen centuries. It also is a work of beauty
in and of itself, and a source of inspiration for art.
New art, and, in the age of the computer, new types of digital fonts,
continue to be created based on the creations of Mashtots. On Wednesday
evening, November 1, a panel of speakers at the Armenian Diocese in
New York City will address issues concerning the different styles
or forms of the Armenian alphabet in manuscripts, printing, and
now, on computer screens. The art of Carolyn Puzzovio, a designer
from England inspired by the Armenian alphabet, will be on display
(starting in the afternoon of October 31 and ending at noon, November
2), and she will also speak as part of the November 1 panel.
The other speakers are Dr. Abraham Terian of St. Nersess Armenian
Seminary, and New York typographer Peter Bain. This event, organized
by the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center of the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), forms part of the Diocese’s
1600th anniversary celebrations of the Armenian alphabet.
Carolyn Puzzovio is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Lincoln,
UK and has been involved in design education for over twenty-five
years. Her background is as a practicing graphic designer and
her major interest within the subject has been lettering and type
design. This interest has developed further into alphabets other
than our own Latin alphabet with an increasing fascination for the
Armenian “aybuben.” Carolyn has given talks on the Armenian alphabet
at international conferences/events – and following an invitation
from the Armenian Ministry of Culture, held a one-woman exhibition
of her work at the Armenian National Gallery in October 2005. She
returned to Armenia this fall as part of a British government-funded
research project to design/revive traditional Armenian typefaces for
digital settings which also have Latin characters for dual-alphabet
use. Carolyn’s talk, “The Remarkable Legacy of Mashtots,” is about
the story of the development of the alphabet, and a celebration of
its uniqueness and the inspiration it has provided in her art and
design work recently.
Peter Bain’s talk is entitled “Typographic Principles from an Armenian
Perspective,” and will deal with the connections between writing
and typography, with Armenian examples where suitable. Peter Bain
is principal of Incipit (<;), a Brooklyn-based design studio whose practice is built on typography for a wide range of clients. His projects have been recognized by the AIGA and the Type Directors Club. He has collected phototype, co-curated the exhibition "Blackletter: Type and National Identity" at the Cooper Union School of Art, and written on letterforms for Communication Arts magazine. Bain has lectured in New York, London and elsewhere. He is a member of the Association Typographique Internationale, and is on the faculty of Parsons/The New School for Design and Pratt Institute. Abraham Terian will speak on "The Evolution of the Armenian Alphabet." Dr. Abraham Terian is Professor of Armenian Patristics and Academic Dean at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle, New York, and editor of the St. Nersess Theological Review. He holds a Bachelor's degree in history and ancient languages, a Master's degree in archaeology and history of antiquity, and a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Basel, Switzerland, specializing in Early Christianity and its Jewish and Hellenistic backgrounds. Before coming to St. Nersess in 1997, he was Professor of Intertestamental and Early Christian Literatures for some twenty years at Andrews University, and for several years a recurring Visiting Professor of Armenian Studies at the University of Chicago. He has served as Chairman of the Hellenistic Judaism Group of the Society of Biblical Literature (1983-85) and as President of the Society's Midwest Region (1990-92). He is the author of several books in Jewish and Armenian Studies, and a recipient in 2005 of the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in the Humanities award. The panel of speakers will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 1, at the Guild Hall of the Diocese of the Armenian Church (630 Second Avenue and 35th St.) in New York. Admission is free to the talks and the art display. For more information, email zic [email protected]. If
you wish to see the artwork between noon October 31 and November 2
at times other than the evening of November 1, please RSVP either by
email, or telephone 212 686 0710.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Two Michigan GIs killed in Iraq war
The Detroit News
Monday, October 23, 2006
By Mark Hicks
Deaths in what is turning out to be one of the
deadliest months for U.S. soldiers in Iraq have hit
home for two Michigan families.
Lance Cpl. Clifford R. Collinsworth, 20, of Chelsea
and Lance Cpl. Nicholas J. Manoukian, 22, of Lathrup
Village died Saturday while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
Both were assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary
Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Manoukian, born Aug. 31, 1984, in Westland, attended
Southfield Christian School and Shrine High School in
Royal Oak.
He later transferred to Kimball High School in Royal
Oak, where he graduated in 2003.
An avid snowboarder and hockey player, Manoukian often
drew and sketched, which led him to pursue a designing
career.
After taking art classes at Oakland University, he
joined the Marines in June 2004.
Training at Parris Island, S.C., and later at the
Marines base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., Manoukian
enjoyed “doing something to be proud of,” said his
mother, Mary Manoukian Calhoun. “He had the need to
challenge himself. ~E He liked being part of a
brotherhood.”
In March 2005 he was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq, where
he served as a radio operator.
Manoukian returned home that October and quickly
resumed practicing on his prized Pearl drum set –“one
of many loves in his life,” his mother said.
On July 8, Manoukian married his longtime girlfriend,
Danielle, at the National Shrine of the Little Flower
Catholic Church in Royal Oak.
The couple met eight years earlier at a friend’s
Halloween party.
During their courtship, Manoukian often penned poems
for Danielle, and surprised her with love notes on her
car windshield.
“He was full of surprises,” Danielle Manoukian said.
“He was amazing.”
He returned to Iraq last month for his second
deployment.
Besides his wife and mother, survivors include his
stepfather, Gary Calhoun, and a stepson, Nico Mullen.
He was preceded in death by his father, Isaac, and
grandmother, Lillian Vasi.
Services are pending.
Relatives of Collinsworth could not be reached for
comment.
So far this month, 87 American service members have
been killed in Iraq, putting October on pace to be the
deadliest month for U.S. troops since the siege of
Fallujah in November 2004.
The latest Michigan deaths puts the state casualty
total near 100, according to the Web site
icasualties.org, which tracks military deaths in Iraq.
You can reach Mark Hicks at (313) 222-2300 or
[email protected].
s/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061023/UPDATE/610230439
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Marine made ‘the ultimate sacrifice’
By Lisa Roose-Church, DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
Livingston Daily Press & Argus (Livingston County, MI)
October 26, 2006
Livingston County sheriff’s Deputy Ken Taylor is
remembering the life of his second cousin, Lance Cpl.
Nicholas J. Manoukian.
Manoukian, 22, of Lathrup Village, was among the four
Marines based at Camp Lejeune who died Saturday during
combat in Anbar province, Iraq.
He was killed when a roadside bomb hit his Humvee near
Ramadi.
“He was young, but he did what he wanted to do,”
Taylor said. “He was not afraid to serve his country.
That was his calling.”
The Defense Department identified the other Marines
killed as Lance Cpl. Clifford R. Collinsworth, 20, of
Chelsea; Lance Cpl. Nathan R. Elrod, 20, of Salisbury,
N.C.; and Cpl. Joshua C. Watkins, 25, of Jacksonville,
Fla.
Collinsworth, Manoukian and Elrod were members of the
1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine
Division. Watkins was a member of the division’s 2nd
Tank Battalion.
Taylor, former school resource officer for the Howell
Police Department, said Manoukian was a good kid who
enjoyed sports, in particular soccer and hockey.
Taylor said Manoukian was a man not afraid to serve
his country.
“He always wanted to be part of a brotherhood,” Taylor
said. “He liked the Marines because it’s a close-knit
family.”
Manoukian was born in Westland, attended Southfield
Christian School and Royal Oak Shrine High School and
graduated from Royal Oak Kimball High School in 2003.
He studied art at Oakland University and joined the
Marines in June 2004. He first was deployed to Iraq in
2005 and returned to Iraq in October for a second tour
of duty, Taylor said.
Manoukian married his longtime girlfriend, Danielle,
at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic
Church in Royal Oak on July 8.
“We share the same wedding anniversary,” Taylor noted.
“He will be sorely missed. He died doing what he
believed in. He did what he could do to make the world
a safer place.
“He gave his life; the ultimate sacrifice,” the deputy
said.
Manoukian also is survived by his mother, Mary
Manoukian Calhoun; stepfather, Gary Calhoun; and
stepson, Nico Mullen.
Collinsworth was eager to join the Marines, leaving
for boot camp days after graduating from Chelsea High
School two years ago.
“He wanted to be a Marine for a long time, and it was
a great thing for him,” Collinsworth’s 22-year-old
sister, Melissa Collinsworth, said. She said he hoped
to attend college and teach history.
Contact Lisa Roose-Church at (517) 552-2846 or at
[email protected].
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
s.dll/article?AID=/20061026/NEWS01/610260313/1002
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BREAKING A STALEMATE
Andrey Kolesnikov
Kommersant, Russia
Oct 31 2006
Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin met Armenian President Robert Kocheryan
on Monday. Kommersant special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov reports
how the Armenian president got himself into a stalemate and how he
managed to find a way-out.
Meetings between Russian and Armenian president bring as many
unexpected turns as there can be. It can be an utter failure as it
was the case in Sochi last December when Putin and Kocheryan went
to have some beer at the press center after talks and could not get
enough of it because their throats were really parched. Quite on the
contrary, their get-togethers can be triumphal as it was in Sochi in
March when the two presidents first fell out but finally agreed on
a Russian fuel price hike for Armenia.
There is also a third kind of meetings which Monday’s meeting showed –
a time when the negotiators seem to do everything to guess each other
wishes and fulfilling instantly.
Russia’s president greeted Robert Kocheryan and said to him he was
going to meet him back in October in Minsk but something was in the
way. To tell the truth, the Kremlin itself derailed the CIS summit in
Minsk after which Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he
was ready to go anywhere for the meeting, even to Astana. Apparently as
a response to Lukashenko’s statement, a new summit has been scheduled
in Minsk again.
Vladimir Putin admitted that he was disappointed with net Russian
investments in the Armenian economy.
“Unfortunately, Russian investments in the Armenian economy occupy
the shameful third place,” he said.
The Russian president must have derived pleasure from the perky word
he used, so he decided to repeat it.”
“I’m saying it is shameful because it is not number one.”
In fact, it was not worth wondering at the fact or use such words as
‘shameful’. Investments are indeed shamefully small probably because
Armenia has been giving aways its assets to Russia in the recent
years to pay for various services, including those of mediation,
so there is no need to invest in it.
“Thank you for your kind words,” Robert Kocheryan replied to Vladimir
Putin and gave a warm smile. “Thank you for your invitation.”
At this point the Russian president looked at him with some kind of
child astonishment.
“The invitation that I really have fished for…” Kocharayan carried
on and gave a sigh.
The Armenian president said that “all major agreements on energy
projects with Gazprom are about to be implemented” as “they were
endorsed by Gazprom’s board a few days ago.”
Armenia’s leader did not say exactly what projects they were.
However, there are reports that Armenia will be paying a new price
for Russian gas starting from April. Still, Armenian consumers will
have rebates to make up for rising prices. The treaty will be valid
through January 1, 2009 and will send numerous investments into
the Armenian economy as payment for additional issuing of stocks of
ArmRosGazprom. The money is to be spent to finish the construction of
the fifth block of the Razdanskaya thermo electrical power station and
finance the construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline which will
be controlled by Gazprom – Putin’s main or even the only geopolitical
win in the region in the recent years, I daresay.
All the aforementioned agreements were fully endorsed after Monday
talks, therefore the Armenian president felt perfectly comfortable
to say to Putin:
“The implementation has begun, and the investment component which
you have aptly called shameful…”
He paused, unable to get out of the logical stalemate he had put
himself into without any help. However, he found no succor with the
Russian president and decided to lay it on the line:
“It will be changed substantially next year – I am sure of this.”
Robert Kocharyan did not mention, though, whether investments will
rise or fall – just to be on the safe side.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REPORT PUTS TURKEY’S EU HOPES IN JEOPARDY
By Daniel Dombey in London and Fidelius Schmid in Brussels
Financial Times, UK
Oct 31 2006
Turkey’s bid for European Union membership will be dealt a fresh blow
next week when an official report will slate Ankara for failing to
make enough progress on freedom of expression, curbing the use of
torture and establishing civilian control over the military.
The draft European Commission report, obtained by FT Deutschland,
the FT’s sister paper, comes at a particularly sensitive time, with
EU officials struggling to keep the accession talks alive.
Some EU member states, including the UK, fear that the pro-European
consensus within Turkey may be fragmenting, and that the debate within
the union on future enlargement has had the effect of alienating Turks,
rather than encouraged reform.
“We would have hoped that Turkey would have delivered a lot more during
the past 18 months, certainly since the beginning of negotiations in
October last year,” said one EU official. “If Turkey had been moving
more, if there was greater freedom of expression, if there wasn’t
any torture, things would be a lot more promising.”
Instead, the debate over Turkey’s accession will come to a head at
an EU summit in December, when Ankara will be judged both for its
reaction to an EU deadline to open up its ports to ships from Cyprus –
which so far it has refused to do – and to its broader reform record.
The Commission’s report faults Ankara for failing to allow access
to Cypriot ships, which it states infringes the EU’s customs union
agreement with Turkey. It is this issue that could formally halt
negotiations, since as an EU member state, Cyprus wields a veto over
Turkey’s possible accession.
However, Turkey’s reform record will also set the mood in December.
“Turkey needs to relaunch the reform process with full determination,”
Olli Rehn, the EU’s enlargement Commissioner said last week, urging
EU member states to focus on the issue.
The draft report, which Mr Rehn will present in its final form next
week, says that “prosecutions and convictions for the expression of
non-violent opinion…are a cause for serious concern.” It cites the
example of a journalist who was given a suspended six months prison
sentence for articles he wrote on Armenian identity.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, said at the weekend
that he had no plans to change the article of the penal code used in
such cases, which makes it a crime to insult the Turkish state. “On
this matter, there is no work in hand,” he said.
The Commisison draft adds that “cases of torture and ill treatment
are still being reported, in particular outside detention centres,”
although it also notes a diminution in the incidence of torture.
“The armed forces have continued to exercise significant political
influence,” the report also says, citing statements made by senior
military officials on Cyprus, secularism and the country’s Kurdish
minority.
The draft report faults Turkey for corruption, insufficient
independence of the judiciary, and inadequate protection of minority
rights.
However, it does commend Ankara for training the judiciary and for
its steps towards establishing an ombudsman to help citizens win
redress against the government.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KLO DEMANDS TO INTERRUPT TALKS DIRECTED AT FULFILLING ARMENIA’S CLAIMS
Author: S.Ilhamgizi
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 31 2006
“We need to interrupt the negotiations directed towards the
implementation of the pretensions of Armenian aggression, and state
that we will not allow the adoption or realization of any documents
which are contrary to the will of the Azeri people”, such opinion was
voiced in the resolution of Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO)
disseminated on 30 October, Trend reports.
Furthermore, the resolution says that many sources confirm the
information regarding the discussing of unfair principles linked with
the destiny of occupied Azerbaijani territories during the negotiations
between the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow
and Paris and adopting these principles at the time of the meeting
in Brussels. These negotiations focus on the territorial pretensions
of Armenia, as well as pretension for part of Khojavend, Agdara and
Goranboy districts of Azerbaijan, the issue of referendum and other
issues not meeting the interests of Azerbaijan.
“The KLO feels that the mediator countries in the peaceful talks are
functioning under the pressure of the Armenian lobby. We demand to
immediately refuse the negotiations directed towards implementing
the pretensions of Armenia,” it was stated in the resolution.

YEAR OF ARMENIA IN FRANCE OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES IN NICE
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 31 2006
YEREVAN, October 31. /ARKA/. Events within the scope of the year of
Armenia in France officially set off in Nice. Press and Information
Department of the RA Foreign Ministry reports that the events were
officially launched on October 26, by the RA Ambassador to France
Edward Nalbandyan dna Mayor of Nice Jacques Peyrat. As agreed
the events, dedicated to Armenia, will last whole year long, and
will include various aspects of the Armenian culture, namely music,
choreography, photography, cinema, modern and innovative art, as well
as the art of cookery. After the official opening ceremony Nalbandyan
and Peyrat held a press-conference, at which they presented a program
of tens of events envisaged in the scope of the Year of Armenia in
France. Armenia is the sixth country, presented in Nice, after the USA,
Great Britain, Italy, Germany and Canada.
Making a speech at the opening ceremony of one of the events,
Nalbandyan said that he was satisfied with the fact that the events,
in the scope of the Year Of Armenia in France were held not only in
large cities or cities inhabited with Armenians, but in remote towns
of the country as well.
“Such events contribute to establishment of close and worm relations
between Armenian and French nations, direct cultural dialogue”,
Nalbandyan said.
Events, dedicated to Armenia, have already launched in Lions,
Saint-Etienne, Grenoble, Marseilles. The official program pf the
Year of Armenia in France includes more than 500 events in 125 cities
of the country. Besides that 200 more events are planned beyond the
official program.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress