Author: Emil Lazarian

RA MINISTER OF CULTURE AND ITALIAN AMBASSADOR INTERESTED IN EXTENSION OF ARMENIAN-ITALIAN CULTURAL COOPERATION

Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. A number of problems regarding cultural
cooperation between Armenia and Italy were discussed at the March 20
meeting of RA Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Gevorg Gevorgian
with Italian Ambassador to Armenia Marco Clemente. The Minister and
Italian Ambassador, in particular, touched upon Italian singers’
tours, raising of quality of skills of Armenian singers in Italy,
giving of Italian state stipends to Armenian specialists studying in
cultural educational centers, foundation of a restoration school and a
laboratory in Armenia, as well as issues regarding joint restoration
of any monument of special cultural importance. According to the
Press Service of RA Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs, Gevorg
Gevorgian and Marco Clemente also stated that they are interested in
the extension of Armenian-Italian cultural cooperation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COURT SANCTIONS HOLDING OF TURKISH RALLY IN BERLIN AT THE SAME TIME PROHIBITING “ANY NEGATIONIST EXPRESSIONS”

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 20 2006

BRUSSELS, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Chamber of the
Supreme Administrative Court of the Land of Berlin made public its
verdict, according to which it invalidated the police decision about
prohibiting the holding of the rally envisaged by Turks on March 18 in
Berlin within the framework of the so-called “Tallaat-Pasha Action”. As
Noyan Tapan was informed by ARF Dashnaktsutiun European Armenian
Federation for Justice and Democracy, the court verdict mentions
that “statements that no Armenian Genocide took place in 1915 are a
slander which is a violation that can be punished by Article 189 of
the Criminal Code,” so is subject to criminal prosecution. To recap,
the above-mentioned article also envisages punishment “for disrespect
to the deceased”. So, the court sanctioned the holding of the rally
at the same time prohibiting “any negationist statement be it in
oral or written form”. Besides, the court called on the police to
follow this with all responsibility. “This unprecedented verdict is
a legal recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the first ban on the
Turkish negationism in Germany,” Hilda Choboyan, Chairwoman of the ARF
Dashnaktsutiun European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy,
declared. “This is the beginning of the liquidation of the legal fog
in connection with this issue. Henceforth this is the legal act of
the Land of Berlin,” she emphasized and called on the whole European
community to struggle against the negationist policy of Turkey.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NUMBER OF THOSE STUDYING FRENCH LANGUAGE DECREASES IN LAST DECADE IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. March 20 is the International Day of
Francophonie. On this day one-week events dedicated to the French
language and culture start in 63 countries of the world which are
real members of the Francophonie International Organization or
have a status of observer in the organization. 53 countries are
real members of the organization and another 10, including Armenia,
have a status of observer since 2004. As Noyan Tapan was informed by
Susan Gharamian, Director of Francophonie International Organization
Armenian center, Alliance Francaise, the per cent of people studying
French has decreased in the last 10 years in Armenia. At present it
amounts to 12 and the number of those studying English increased up
to 80%. According to the Alliance Francaise Director, a number of
events will be held in Armenia in connection with the International
Day of Francophonie. A contest of knowledge of practical French will
be held on March 21 on the initiative of the Association of Support to
Practical French Language, with participation of students of Armenian
higher schools. This contest is annual and the winner will leave for
Paris next year to take part in the Week of Francophonie. A written
contest “Golden Feather” will be held on March 22. 3 works will be
selected out of the best 15 ones. They will be sent to Paris where
the author of one work will be recognized the winner. An intellectual
game in French, by individual and team variants, will be held on March
23. On March 26, a 24-hour virual contest of compositions will be held
on the initiative of the “Paris-4” and “Paris-5” Universities. Students
of higher schools and persons of other specialities studying French
can take part in it. The subjects of the compositions will be sent
once every two hours by Internet by these two Universities. The
best works will be placed on the web site of the Francophonie
International Organization, as well as on the site of the Alliance
Francaise. Besides, according to S.Gharamian, a number of cultural
events will be also held jointly with the French Embassy in Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ABOUT 71% OF UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE IN ARMENIA ARE WOMEN

Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. As of March 1, the level of
unemployment in Armenia made 7.6% what reduced compared with the same
day of the previous year by 1.6%. As the Noyan Tapan correspondent was
informed by the “RA Employment Service” agency, women make the 70.8% of
those unemployed. At present demand of qualified computer programmers,
clerks, doctors (in marzes), translators (especially of the English
language), insurance agents, brokers, tailors, turners, welders,
milling-machine operators, carpet makers, jewellers, specialists of
the service sphere is high in the labour market. But working places for
some professions remain vacant, mainly because of the low salary. 1303
people looking for job were given work in February. Women make 59.2%
of them. It was also mentioned that as of March 1, 5341 unemployed
people got unemployment benefit.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KAPAN “GANDZASAR” WINNER OF HUNAN AVETISIAN MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The traditional memorial tournament
after Soviet Union hero Hunan Avetisian held on Armavir “Jubilee”
sports ground was over. 9 teams of Armenian championship highest
and first group took part in it. First they competed in 2 groups
where those who took the first places competed for the prize. Kapan
“Gandzasar” and Yerevan “Banants-2” teams competed with each other
in the final. “Gandzasar” defeated the latter with a score of 3 to
0 and won the cup. The prize was given to the winner team by hero’s
son, Henzel Avetisian. The tournament organizers had also instituted
prizes for football-players that distinguished themselves in separate
game links.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LEVON ARONIAN DEFEATS VESELIN TOPALOV

Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. A unique chess tournament under the
title “Amber” started in Monte Carlo. 12 strongest chess-players
hold small competitions with one another. Each competition consists
of a “blind” and a quick game. After 2 tours 5 chess-players are
at once in the lead. They are: Levon Aronian (Armenia), Peter Leko
(Hungary), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Alexander Morozevich (Russia)
and Francisco Valekho (Spain). They gained 2.5 out of 4 possible points
each. Representative of Armenia, world cup-holder Levon Aronian drew
the game with Dutch Van Veli in the first tour (1 to 1) and defeated
world champion, Bulgarian Topalov in the second tour with a score of
1.5 to 0.5. The “Amber” tournament participants will play 22 games
in total. The winner and the other prize-winners will become known
on March 30.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CHAIRMAN ON RETURN TO COUNTRY

ddp news agency
20 Mar 06

Berlin: After a demonstration by Turkish nationalists in Berlin [on
Saturday 18 March], Home Affairs Senator Ehrhart Koerting (Social
Democratic Party of Germany) has got his people to check the legal
consequences for Dogu Perincek, chairman of the Turkish Workers’
Party. On the sidelines of the demonstration, the politician denied
the genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915, Koerting
told the Home Affairs Committee on Monday [20 March]. So that he
cannot give any “hate speeches” any more, the aliens authority is
now checking as a precaution whether Perincek could be expelled from
Germany if he enters the country again.

According to Koerting, 1,350 Turkish nationalists demonstrated in
Berlin on Saturday. They demanded, among other things, the rescission
of a Bundestag resolution of mid-2005, which recalls the “almost
complete eradication of the Armenians in Anatolia”. According to the
home affairs senator, only very few of the demonstrators came from
Berlin. [passage omitted]

FAMILIES OF PERISHED FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF GYUMRI TO GET FREE PASSES
By Gegham Mkrtchian in Gyumri

AZG Armenian Daily
21/03/2006

On Saturday, Gyumri Municipality handed the families of 84 perished
freedom fighters free passes for city transportation. The passes allow
each member of the family to use transport means free of charge. This
initiative was the fulfillment of Gyumri mayor’s promise.

Military commissar of Gyumri, colonel Martirosian who was present at
the ceremony in Municipality and relatives of the perished thanked
mayor Vartan Ghukasian for appreciating the deed of the freedom
fighters and for the attention that their families are granted. The
mayor said that this will become a tradition as it is our duty to
those who won the victory at the cost of their blood.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REVAZ GACHECHILADZE: GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES DON’T PURSUE ANTI-ARMENIAN POLICY

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.03.2006 21:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The incidents in Tsalka should be rated as malicious
hooliganism, Georgian Ambassador to Armenia Revaz Gachechiladze stated
when responding to PanARMENIAN.Net reporter’s question. In his words,
the killing of 23-year-old Gevorg Gevorgyan should be referred to
everyday life. “I do not think State Minister Georgy Khaindrava was
right to rate the killing as criminal disorder. Young people drank,
fought and this ended in a tragedy. Those guilty were arrested and will
be punished according to the law,” he said. At the same time he noted
that 150-200 murders are committed in Georgia every year for social and
economic motives. “In Armenia the number of murders is much smaller. It
is clear. Your country is mono-ethnic. The population of Georgia
is multinational and conflicts are inevitable. Swans, Adjarians,
Georgians and Turks live in Tsalka besides Armenians. Presently some
1800 people of Tsalka live beyond social control. These are young
people, who do not obey the elders. Collisions are always possible
in such a region. I would not condition the tension in Javakhk by
political motives. The social-economic factor plays the major role
here. The Georgian authorities do not pursue a purposeful ethnic
policy targeted at displacement of Armenians from Javakhetia,” the
Georgian Ambassador said.

Revaz Gachechiladze also noted that other national minorities
in Georgia, Azeris for example live in worse social-economic
conditions. “We cannot resolve all the problems at once and we cannot
engage with the Javakhk problem only ignoring the other regions,”
Gachechiladze said. To remind, in the air of Shant TV Channel Georgian
State Minister for Migration Affairs Georgy Khaindrava said “the
killing in Tsalka is the result of a criminal disorder which won’t
tell on the Armenian-Georgian relations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIANS AND RUSSIANS EXPERIENCE NO INTERPERSONAL PROBLEMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.03.2006 22:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgia pursues a complimentary line, which calls
for normal relations with all the states, Georgian Ambassador to
Armenia Revaz Gachechiladze stated at a press conference in Yerevan
today. In his words, Georgians and Russians experience no problems
at interpersonal level. “Politics sometimes runs counter to the
interests of certain people and nations suffer from it. Georgia is
discontent with Russia’s peacekeeping activities in the region of the
Georgian-Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhazian conflicts. The peacemakers
had to establish peace in the region. Instead they sided with the
separatists and granted Russian citizenship to the residents of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia,” he said.

The Ambassador also noted that in 1994 Georgia issued a plan of
the South Ossetian conflict that was approved by the OSCE. “The
plan provides for the juridical status of South Ossetia as a part of
Georgia. Georgia highlights the plan since it first of all takes into
account the interests of the Ossetian population. However Russian
diplomats say they are not acquainted with the document. I should
underline that is was sent to the RA MFA as well,” Gachechiladze said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress