Author: Emil Lazarian

Russian “Kultura” TV channel to be broadcast in Armenia
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
16 Jun 04
[Presenter] The Russian TV channel “Kultura” will be broadcast in
Armenia from September. The head of Russian State Radio and Television
Company Oleg Dobrodeyev, founder of “Kultura” TV, arrived in Armenia
to sign agreement. The Russian “Kultura” promises to show films on
Armenian culture when it is broadcast in Armenia.
[Correspondent over video of meeting] The Russian TV channel “Kultura”
will be soon broadcast in Armenia. This was successful due to the
efforts of the Armenian culture representatives. Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan said this during a meeting with the head of Russian
State Radio and Television Company Oleg Dobrodeyev. Oleg Dobrodeyev
thanked them for the support and attention.
[Oleg Dobrodeyev, captioned, in Russian with Armenian voice over] They
like this channel a lot in Russia. We are assessing your support and
assistance in the broadcast of “Kultura” in Armenia. Thank you. Because
without your assistance this project could not come to fruition.
[Correspondent] Kultura’s programmes would provide Armenians with an
opportunity to be closer to genuine cultural values.

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2004
CONTACT: David Zenian
E-mail: [email protected]
ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY RAISES HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE AT TURKEY-EU SEMINAR
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian Assembly Tuesday raised the question of human
rights in Turkey and specifically issues regarding reported calls for
introducing laws to allow the removal of the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul
at a panel discussion on Turkey’s EU Prospects and Europe’s Domestic
Policies.
Debating the pros and cons of Turkey’s membership in the European Union were
Turkish and American journalists and policy experts invited by the Western
Policy Center to evaluate where Europe and Turkey stood on the thorny
question of whether Turkey should be allowed to become a full member of the
European family of nations.
Among the panelists, Soner Cagaptay, coordinator of the Turkish Research
Program at The Washington Institute, was the most vocal supporter of full
Turkish membership. Cagaptay was also critical of European nations who, he
said, were using double standards in their approach to Turkey.
“For some European nations the cup is half empty and not half full when it
comes to Turkey. We have fulfilled all their demands, and yet, we are
treated differently. In some and even most cases we are not worse than
several East European countries,” he said.
Repeating often stated remarks by Turkish government officials that Turkey
had introduced and implemented laws to safeguard human rights as underlined
by the “Copenhagen criteria” of the European Union, Cagaptay said:
“We are in full compliance on issues involving respect of minority rights
and separation of church and state and many other key points.”
While several members of the audience raised questions involving economic
integration, demographic changes and cultural issues, Armenian Assembly
Director of Public Affairs David Zenian asked Cagapray for his views on
recent Turkish newspaper reports involving the Armenian Patriarchate of
Istanbul.
“We read in a recent report published by the Turkish newspaper Cumhurriyet
that the Turkish Interior Ministry is pressing for the passage of laws which
will allow more control over the election process of the Armenian Patriarch
including a clause giving the government authority to depose the head of the
Armenian church.
“Imagine the Italian government enacting laws which not only dictates that
the Pope be an Italian citizen – the Turkish government already demands that
the Patriarch be a Turkish citizen – but also giving itself the right to
depose the Pope if it regards the election to be irregular or flawed?”
Zenian asked.
Cagaptay had no comment. Instead he returned to his earlier grievances,
repeating his allegation of European double standards.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
NR#2004-054
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Anand draws with Kasparov
Rediff, India
June 16 2004
June 16, 2004 03:12 IST — Former World champion Viswanathan Anand
drew his final round game with world No. 1 Garry Kasparov to ensure
victory for the Rest of the World team against Armenia at the Hyatt
Ararat in Moscow, on Tuesday.
Despite defeat in the sixth and final round, the Rest of World held
on to their lead, winning the match by a narrow 18.5-17.5 score.
Rest of the world began the last round with a two-point cushion at
16-14, while Armenia looked for two extra wins, without defeats.
Playing Kasparov with white pieces, Anand snatched the precious half
point with a comfortable draw.
The Sicilian Pelican game between Anand and Kasparov saw neither
player willing to take risks. A little out of the theoretical waters,
Anand captured the center “d” pawn and offered a draw which Kasparov
accepted. Just into the middle game, Anand held more than an even
position on the quenside, but Kasparov’s double bishop ensured
splitting of the point.
Anand completed the event with two wins, a lone defeat to Leko and
three draws.
The only decsive game of the day came from the Vaganian-Adams game,
wherein the veteran Armenian brought in all his experience in the
Queens Indian game to down the English Grandmaster.
Giving it all, Vaganian went all out for the kingside attack,
marshalling his pieces in quick time. Adams’s decision to hold on
to the bishop against knight backfired as the white knight occupied
vital squares, making inroads into black’s territory.
Holding a vice-like grip in the position, Vaganian found an nice
intermezzo forcing Adam’s resignation by 38 moves.
Short draws occured in Valleo Pons-Leko and Akopian-Svidler, where
peace was signed in 18 and 16 moves respectively.
Dutchman Loek van Wely opened with white pieces against Armenian
Grandmaste Lputian and the game moved in the Queens Gambit Tartakover
variation. The players focussed on the queenside and van Wely was
just pleased to sign a draw, as Lputian forced the repetion of moves,
by repeatedly attacking the white queen.
With the lead narrowing down, it all boiled down to the Gelfand-Bacrot
game. A student of former world champion Tigran Petrosian, in whose
memory this event is held, Gelfand held a minor advantage in the Slav
game after the opening phase.
A big space advantage and the awkward position of the black king
pointed to a defeat for the world team. But the Frenchman, Bacrot,
rose to the occasion, and hung on grimly.
Ensuring a winning rook and bishop endgame, Gelfand had Bacrot in
all knots. Extricating himself from difficulties, Bacrot sacrificed
his bishop, wiping out the dangerous pawns.
A stalemate on the 70th move, gave the Rest of the World team a
crucial half point, ensuring them a match victory over the Armenian
team by a single point, 18.5-17.5.
Results Match 6: Rest of the World (18.5) beat Armenia (17.5).
Viswanathan Anand (ROW) drew Garry Kasparov, Rafael Vaganian (ARM)
beat Michael Adams (ROW), Fransisco Vallejo Pons (ROW) drew Peter Leko
(ARM), Vladimir Akopian (ARM) drew Peter Svidler (ROW), Loek van Wely
(ROW) drew Smbat Lputian (ARM), Boris Glfand (ARM) drew Etienne Bacrot
(ROW).
Viswanathan Anand – Garry Kasparov: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6
10. Nd5 Bg7 11. c3 f5 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. Nc2 O-O 14. Nce3 Be6 15. Bd3 f5
16. O-O Ra7 17. a4 Ne7 18. Nxe7+ Rxe7 19. axb5 axb5 20. Ra6 d5 21. Nc2
Bc8 22. Ra8 Qd7 23. Nb4 e4 24. Be2 Bb7 25. Ra5 d4 26. cxd4 Draw Agreed.

Council of Europe should urge Armenian opposition back to parliament – paper
Ayots Ashkar, Yerevan
15 Jun 04
Text of Artak Grigoryan report by Armenian newspaper Ayots Ashkar on
15 June headlined “What do we go to Strasbourg with?”
The upcoming visit [23-24 June] of President Robert Kocharyan to
Strasbourg and his speech at the PACE [Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe] session will be a special conclusion to the
process of the fulfilment of our country’s obligations towards the
Council of Europe and on the whole of Armenia’s integration into
European structures.
What balance of achievements and shortcomings will Armenia submit
to Strasbourg? Are they enough to keep the rating and authority of
our country at a high level and to make integration into European
structures irreversible? Especially now that, thanks to the efforts
of the opposition, the Council of Europe has in fact put forward
new demands.
The calm and balanced steps taken by the authorities recently show that
the opposition is losing. The reason is obvious: Armenia is fulfilling
its new demands point by point. For this reason the opposition’s modus
operandi of avoiding dialogue and banking on a parliamentary fight is
becoming strange. Let us recall that one of the main demands of PACE
was to start dialogue. It turns out that the PACE demands are a compass
for the activity of one sector of the Armenian political field, the
authorities, but for the opposition they are a means to put pressure
on the authorities. It has become obvious that, notwithstanding the
problem of the fulfilment of Armenia’s obligations towards them, the
European structures have become a tool for the radicals in forming
a negative image of our country.
We think that after all this our president may calmly leave for
Strasbourg and present specific information about the fulfilment
of PACE’s demands, as well as the process of fulfilling Armenia’s
long-term obligations towards the Council of Europe. One thing is
evident: in terms of meeting our country’s commitments to European
structures, the authorities are ahead of the opposition in all senses.
During the president’s upcoming visit to Strasbourg, the existence of
such serious pre-conditions will allow the last “European card” to be
snatched from the hands of the radical opposition. The time has come
for Europe to keep parity on the fulfilment of its decisions and to
put pressure not only on the authorities, but also on the opposition,
demanding that it come back to parliament and finish jointly the
process of fulfilling Armenia’s obligations towards the Council of
Europe. Because a successful ending of this process is favourable,
not only to Armenia, but also to Europe.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Pope may mediate Karabakh settlement – Vatican envoy
Ekspress, Baku
12 Jun 04
Ekspress on 12 June headlined “The Pope wants to be a mediator as well”
“Pope John Paul II may be a mediator in the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict,” the Vatican’s ambassador to the South Caucasus, Apostolic
Nuncio Claudio Gugerotti, told journalists yesterday. He recalled
that the Pope has been playing a major role in the settlement of
conflicts in “the whole world”.
“This is the second time that John Paul II has offered his mediation to
Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Gugerotti said. He called on the conflicting
sides “to express a decisive position on the issue before it is too
late”. Gugerotti added that the Vatican could make its positive
contribution to the just settlement of the conflict “without any
religious, racial and ethnic segregation”.
“One should appreciate this proposal. We are against shedding innocent
blood in any part of the world. We are ready to mobilize our all
goodwill efforts to prevent this,” he added.
Asked by our Ekspress correspondent whether “the Vatican recognizes
Armenia as an aggressor”, Gugerotti said that in issues of this kind,
he prioritizes “only general interests”: “And the interest here must
be a settlement to the Karabakh conflict.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Human rights development very slow in Armenia – ombudsman
A1+ web site
12 Jun 04
11 June: Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan held a news conference today to
mark the 100 days of the establishment of the human rights institution
in Armenia.
Alaverdyan said that the process of restoring violated human rights
in Armenia is very slowly. The institution has only recently started
to operate and the ombudsman hopes that it will be really successful
in Armenia since people are now taking their work more seriously.
Passage omitted: Minor details
The ombudsman said that she was more interested in the problems of
defenceless people rather than in sensations.
As for the trial of the skinheads who committed disturbances on 5
April attacked journalists , she said: “We should be glad about the
very fact that those who beat up journalists have been brought to
book in our country.”

Russian NTV channel off the Armenian air for good
A1+ web site
14 Jun 04
14 June: Russian NTV channel will no longer be broadcast in
Armenia. Today the National Commission for Radio and Television
[NCRT] unanimously decided to hand over the 23rd decimetre channel,
which previously relayed NTV channel programmes, to the Armenian
government for the transmission of Kultura [Culture] TV programmes.
The frequency was not put out to tender as it was given to the
government within the framework of an intergovernmental agreement on
the transmission of TV programmes concluded between Armenia and Russia.
The frequency was transferred to the Transport and Communications
Ministry. It is not yet clear who will rebroadcast. “The company
Paradiz [Paradise], which rebroadcast NTV, has no claims on it,”
the head of the NCRT, Grigor Amalyan, said. “The government has the
right to use it at its own discretion.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
June 11, 2004
___________________
DIOCESE TO HOST EXPERT ON PRESERVATION OF MANUSCRIPTS
The efforts by the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library to digital preserve
Armenian manuscripts will be the focus of an illustrated presentation
by Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, executive director of the library at
the Eastern Diocesan Center in New York on Tuesday, June 15, 2004.
The presentation, organized by the Diocese’s Zohrab Information Center,
is open to the public will begin at 7 p.m. in the Guild Hall of the
Diocesan Center, 630 Second Ave. in New York City.
The Hill Monastic Manuscript Library holds the world’s largest
collection of microfilm and digital images of handwritten books.
The most recent estimate shows the library’s holdings at 90,000
manuscripts, about 30,000,000 pages.
Begun in 1965 by the Benedictine monks of Saint John’s Abbey as a
response to the destruction of European monastic libraries during the
two World Wars, the library has photographed resources from libraries
throughout Europe and Ethiopia. Currently the library is photographing
manuscripts in Sweden and at four sites in Lebanon.
The library’s most recent efforts have been to provide increased access
to its digital images via the Internet and to focus on preserving the
manuscript traditions of the Christian East, with a special emphasis
on collections of Armenian manuscripts.
The strong Armenian literary and artistic heritage created many
wonderful manuscripts, which are today universally regarded as
masterpieces of the book arts. In April 2004, the library began
photographing the manuscripts of the Armenian Catholicate of Cilicia
in Antelias, Lebanon. They are in conversation with other Armenian
libraries, and will soon meet with the Armenian Patriarch in Istanbul
about preserving the Patriarchate’s collection
The June 15 program will begin at 7 p.m., and will conclude with
a reception. The Diocese is located at 630 Second Ave. (at 34th
St.), in New York City. The event is free and open to the public.
For further information, call (212) 686-0710 ext. 26 or e-mail
[email protected].
-6/11/04
# # #

Armenian premier, outgoing Iranian envoy upbeat on bilateral ties
Noyan Tapan news agency
11 Jun 04
Yerevan, 11 June: Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan today
received the Iranian ambassador plenipotentiary and extraordinary to
Armenia, Mohammad [Farhad] Koleini, who is completing his diplomatic
mission.
Highly rating the activities of the diplomat over the past four years,
the prime minister said that remarkable achievements had been made in
the ties of the two states and nations, both in political and economic
spheres. An atmosphere of confidence in bolstering cooperation between
business circles of the two countries has been created, further steps
for the development of traditional cultural, educational and other
relations have been undertaken, the Armenian government’s department
for information and public relations told Noyan Tapan news agency.
Ambassador Mohammad Koleini took satisfaction in the assistance
provided by the government, the authorities and other bodies of
Armenia, as he carried out his mission, and added that he would further
contribute to the consolidation of friendship between the peoples of
Armenia and Iran, who shared a great historic past.

Turkish Speaker condemns Canadian parliament’s ruling on Armenian genocide
   
TRT 2 television, Ankara
11 Jun 04
   
The Turkish Grand National Assembly reacted against the Canadian
House of Commons decision which recognized the so-called Armenian
genocide. In a letter to the Canadian House of Commons, National
Assembly Speaker Bulent Arinc said: This decision runs counter to
the efforts to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations in a sensitive
place in the world.
In his letter, Arinc said that describing the 1915 events on the
basis of distorted historical data as genocide is an inexcusable
mistake. Harshly condemning the one-sided and erroneous decision of
the Canadian House of Commons, Arinc demanded that this mistake be
corrected as soon as possible.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress