Author: Emil Lazarian

Armenian opposition rejects dialogue with ruling coalition
Mediamax news agency
13 May 04
Yerevan, 13 May: Armenia’s united opposition today refused
to participate in the negotiations with the ruling coalition
and independent parliamentary factions due to the fact that “the
authorities have not taken effective steps to meet the main demand” of
the opposition, or to be more precise, “to overcome the situation that
has developed in the country since the 2003 presidential elections”,
the Justice bloc and the National Unity Party said in a statement
approved in Yerevan today.
A member of the Justice bloc, Shavarsh Kocharyan, told a press
conference in Yerevan today that the opposition was ready to discuss
all issues with the coalition, but only after the consideration of
the opposition’s main demand.
The secretary of the Justice bloc, Viktor Dallakyan, told journalists
that at a rally scheduled 14 May, the opposition is planning to demand
that President Robert Kocharyan resign and answer “who is to blame for
the failure of the dialogue between the opposition and the coalition”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri leader’s Karabakh remarks “standard” statement – Armenian ministry
Noyan Tapan news agency
13 May 04
Yerevan, 13 May: The Armenian Defence Ministry has described as
“standard” a statement made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
yesterday that “the Azerbaijanis can restore Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity at any time”.
“This statement contains nothing serious,” the spokesman for the
defence minister, Col Seyran Shaksuvaryan, said in an interview with
our Noyan Tapan news agency correspondent. He underlined that if the
Azerbaijanis could, they would have won back the liberated territories.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Former FM says Armenia may join BTE gas project
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
May 13 2004
A statement made by officials concerning the liberation of seven
occupied districts of Azerbaijan by Armenia following the recent talks,
has sparked various opinions.
Former foreign minister of Azerbaijan Tofig Zulfugarov told AssA-Irada
that a concrete proposal concerning the liberation of seven occupied
districts should be expected after the meeting of the two countries’
ministers scheduled to be held in Strasbourg on May 12.
Commenting on the absence of any reaction to the proposal by Armenia,
Zulfugarov did not rule out the possibility of applying pressure
on Yerevan, and especially on President Kocharian. According
to some sources, the United States has supported the idea of
liberating occupied territories and thus aspires to achieve Armenia’s
participation in the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) gas pipeline project.
Giving a positive assessment to the idea, Zulfugarov said that
Armenia’s involvement in the BTE project may divert its attention
from the issue of Garabagh’s status.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Religious Leaders Meet in Mardin for Peace
Zaman, Turkey
May 13 2004
The second International Symposium of Religions and Peace in the
Light of the Common Ancestor (Abraham) (Harran Meetings), organized by
Intercultural Dialogue Platform of Journalists and Authors Foundation
(JAF), begins in Mardin today.
The conference, which is supported by the Ministry of Culture and
Tourism, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Governorship of Mardin
and Mardin Education Foundation (MAREV), will be held in the Qasimiye
(Qasimiyya) Madrasa. Topics such as “Peace in Abraham’s Message”,
“Peace in the Abrahamic Tradition”, “Heroes of Peace in the Three
Heavenly Religions”, “The Place of the Abrahamic Message in the
Future World” will be discussed over four sessions. 28 academics and
11 religious leaders from Germany, the US, Sweden, England, Italy,
France and Turkey will participate in the symposium.
After an opening ceremony at 09:30 by the Intercultural Dialogue
Platform, the Kirklar Church, Mardin Ulu Mosque, Hatuniya Madrasah
-in which the footprint of the Prophet Muhammad exists- and the Tombs
of Sitti Radviye and her son Qutbettin Ilgazi will be visited as part
of the symposium.
The Deyrulzaferan Monastery, and the monasteries of Mor Gabriel in
the Midyat district and Mor Yaqub in the Nusaybin district as well as
Hasankeyf will also be visited. The program in Mardin will conclude
with a visit to the tomb and Mosque of Zeynel Abidin. The participants
will then come to Istanbul to complete the symposium.
Vice-Director of Religious Affairs Muhammet Sevki Aydin, Istanbul
Mufti Dr. Mustafa Cagrici, Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarch
Bartholomeos, Turkey Armenians Patriarch Mesrob II, Turkey Jewish
Chief Rabbi Rav. Ishak Haleva, Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicar in
Istanbul Monsignor Georges Marovitch, Latin Catholic Congregation
Spiritual Leader Monsignor Louis Pelatre, Assyrian Orthodox Community
Metropolit Filksinos Yusuf Cetin and Assyrian Catholic Community
Patriarchal Vicar Chorbishop Yusuf Sag are expected to participate
in the symposium whose Project Scientific Coordinator is Dr. Bekir
Karliga. The first of the International Symposia of Religions and
Peace in the Light of the Common Ancestor Abraham (Harran Meetings)
were held in the Harran district of Sanliurfa – the place of birth of
the Prophet Abraham- between April 13 and 16, 2000. 44 theologians,
academics and journalists had joined the Abraham Symposium.
13.05.2004
05.13.2004 Mustafa Ozge
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Guardian, UK
May 13 2004
After the revolution
Following the downfall of provincial hardman Aslan Abashidze, Nick
Paton Walsh takes a look inside his regime and examines his legacy
Thursday May 13, 2004
For prisoner David Asanidze, last week’s revolution that ended 13
years of authoritarian rule in the tiny western Georgian province of
Adzharia was a decade late in its coming.
Since 1994 he has languished in a two-man cell without sentencing or
trial, a political prisoner of the former regime. One of his
relatives, Tengiz Asanidze, is a renowned opponent of Abashidze, and
that, it seems, was enough to ensure his imprisonment on charges of
terrorism following a dispute with one of ousted leader’s bodyguards.
Confined to a cell in Adzharia’s security ministry jail and clearly
disturbed by his incarceration, he still awaits a court decision to
free him.
“I was arrested as a terrorist and put here as an example to the rest
of Adzharia. I was tortured with electric shocks. My hands were tied
from the ceiling above my head. A plastic bag was put over my head.
Sometimes they would do it here”, he said, referring to the little
courtyards adjacent to the cell. “Sometimes they would give me to the
interior ministry for a few days.”
Asanidze added that the former security minister, Soso Gogitidze, had
told him that if the revolution came near, he would be taken out into
the yard and shot in the head.
“I understand the president [Mikhail Saakashvili] has promised he
would not pursue that man [Abashidze]. But I cannot forgive. Ten
generations cannot forgive,” he said.
It did not take long for the anger felt towards Abashidze – who is in
Moscow after reportedly spending his first night in exile at the
country home of the city’s mayor Yuri Luzhkov – to rise to the
surface in the Adzharian capital, Batumi. With peaceful revolution
achieved through protest and the diplomatic intervention of Russia,
and the subsequent partying over, the region – which bares ample
evidence of the corruption and largesse of the Abashidze regime –
faces the nightmare task of rectifying more than a decade of misrule.
At Abashidze’s town residence, a large building in the centre of
town, his personal tastes are evident. There are two large ceremonial
swords in the kitchen, laid on the table beside glasses of fine
cognac and his favourite snack – sausages. In the corner lies a box
containing his favourite firearms: a Luther pistol with Nazi
insignia, a Ruger .375 pistol – in a gift box alongside the personal
card of the Armenian president, Robert Kocharian – and three AK47
magazines.
Two women and a man, who refuse to comment, seem anxious to collect
Abashidze’s possessions for him. They scurry around his bedroom,
piling up his CDs and favourite medals, from a Soviet military
veteran’s award to a gift from the National Bank of Yugoslavia. On
his mahogany bedside table lie the books El Prado Erotico and a guide
to China’s forbidden city, and behind endless doors, the guest rooms
drag on, many unfurnished and clearly rarely occupied.
“This stuff belongs to the government now,” said Georgia’s deputy
security minister, Gigi Ugulava, who gave the Guardian a tour of
Abashidze’s Batumi residence. “We will appoint a government here, and
then hold elections. Then the new administration will make use of the
possessions.”
Outside, panic breaks out as gunfire briefly fills the air. Troops
rush in and civilians scuttle to take cover. A group of Abashidze’s
former bodyguards have arrived intent on collecting their wages.
Batumi is still in his thrall.
“People here tell stories of how Giorgi, Abashidze’s son, used to
have the roads closed here so he could race around the town in his
Lambourghini”, Ugulava said. “Property was relative here. If one of
his entourage liked your car, they took it. They owned everything.”
“These are riches greater than we found at [former president Eduard]
Shevardnadze’s residence,” said Georgia’s security minister, Zurab
Adeishvili.
Soon though, Abashidze’s 80 prize-winning exotic dogs, and his
ostriches and peacocks, will have new owners. The government has
announced that it is to auction off his pets, his two Humvee jeeps
and his other riches. “Much more was spent on those dogs than on the
healthcare for Adzharia’s Khelvachauri district,” said Georgia’s
general prosecutor, Irakli Okruashvili.
Abashidze’s two prized Tornado speedboats, one equipped with a
machine gun, now patrol the harbour for the military. Troops line the
streets his son once raced around, hoping to stop his old militia
from regrouping, and President Saakashvili has moved into his huge
country house – one of only two places locally deemed to be secure
for Georgia’s new leader. Two Strelna shoulder-fired missiles
disappeared from the Batumi arsenal recently. The risk of future
unrest is real.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Business wire
May 13 2004
Colombo Yogurt – First U.S. Yogurt Brand – Celebrates 75 Years;
Colombo Takes Yogurt from a Small Kitchen in Andover, Mass., to
Kitchens across America
MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 13, 2004–Just a glance at the
yogurt case in any grocery store and it’s easy to see how significant
the business of yogurt has become in America. As Colombo Yogurt
celebrates its 75th anniversary this month, Colombo also celebrates
75 years since the introduction of yogurt to America.
Although yogurt had been enjoyed for centuries in the Middle East, it
made its American debut through an immigrant family business on a
small Massachusetts farm in 1929. In the years since, yogurt has
since become a staple in households nationwide. In fact, according to
a recent survey conducted by Colombo Yogurt, nearly three in four
American adults eats yogurt at least once per week.
The introduction of Colombo Yogurt in 1929 gave Americans their first
taste of yogurt and 75 years later, the popularity of yogurt
continues to grow. In the last three years alone, the yogurt category
has grown 31 percent(1) and in 2003, 72 percent of households
purchased yogurt(2).
“In the last few years people have been discovering that yogurt isn’t
just a breakfast food or a snack, it’s a versatile ingredient that
can take a leading or supporting roll in any meal — any time of
day,” said TV celebrity chef and James Beard Award-winning cookbook
author Alton Brown.
The $2.7 billion(3) American yogurt industry started over a
wood-burning stove at the Andover home of Rose and Sarkis
Colombosian. Soon, as Colombo & Sons Creamery, the Colombosians along
with sons Bob and John were hand-filling Rose’s Armenian family
recipe into 8-ounce glass jars and distributing their product
throughout the Northeast in a horse-drawn wagon.
Remaining relatively small until the early 1960s when the health
benefits of yogurt gained a larger following, Colombo & Sons grew
from a family business to a leader in the yogurt industry. Modern
machinery replaced the old wood stove, and a fleet of refrigerated
trucks replaced the horse-drawn wagon. Though changes were made, what
has not changed in 75 years is Colombo Yogurt’s quality, delicious
flavor assortment and 8-ounce serving size.
“For 75 years our loyal customers have confidently shared Colombo
Yogurt with future generations because it has stayed true to its
original quality even when we added new varieties,” said Bob
Colombosian, member of Colombo’s founding family. “I wish my parents
were still around to see the incredible growth of Colombo Yogurt and
what we have achieved in 75 years – I know they would be proud.”
Purchased by General Mills in 1993, Colombo continues to be a leader
in the American yogurt industry.
“We have the utmost respect for the Colombosian family and the rich
heritage of Colombo Yogurt,” said Doug Pritchard, marketing manager
for Colombo Yogurt at General Mills. “Starting in 1929, Colombo set
the standard for what consumers expect from American yogurt and we’re
pleased to mark this exciting milestone to celebrate how far Colombo
has come and what it means to the families that enjoy it.”
Today, Colombo Yogurt comes in two varieties, Colombo Classic and
Colombo Light, a wide range of flavors, and two packaging
configurations, the most popular of which is Colombo’s original
8-ounce container. The recent survey commissioned by Colombo about
yogurt preferences confirmed that the majority of yogurt-buying
consumers prefer Colombo’s 8-ounce serving size rather than the
6-ounce size produced by most yogurt manufacturers.
In honor of its 75th anniversary, Colombo has created new television
advertising featuring Bob Colombosian and his wife, Alice,
spokespeople for the brand since 2001. The ads will run in select
markets in the Northeast starting in June.
About Colombo Yogurt
In 1929, Sarkis and Rose Colombosian made the first batch of Colombo
Yogurt in their Andover kitchen using a family recipe. Soon, they
were selling it across the Northeast, making Colombo the first yogurt
sold in America. Now, 75 years later, Colombo is still selling yogurt
throughout the Northeast and takes pride in its Massachusetts
heritage. Colombo offers both 8-ounce cups and 32-ounce containers
and is owned by Minnesota-based General Mills. Visit
for more information.
Underwritten by Colombo Yogurt, Opinion Research Corporation
conducted the yogurt consumption survey by telephone from March
12-15, 2004, interviewing a national probability sample of 1,024
adults 18 years of age and older, living in private households in the
continental United States. The margin of error is plus or minus three
percentage points for the entire sample and four percentage points
for yogurt consumers.
(1) AC Nielsen, US 2MM+, 2000-2003
(2) AC Nielsen Panel Facts, Total US, 2000-2003
(3) AC Nielsen, US 2MM+, 52 weeks ending 3/27/04, excluding Wal-Mart
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Yerevan, Teheran sign treaty on building gas pipeline
By Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 12, 2004 Wednesday
YEREVAN, May 13 — A basic treaty on construction of a gas pipeline
from Iran to Armenia will be signed in the Armenian capital on
Thursday. For this purpose, Iranian Oil and Gas Minister Bijan Zanganeh
arrives in Yerevan, Tass learnt on Thursday from press service head
of the Armenian Energy ministry Lusine Arutyunyan. The Iranian guest
will be received by President Robert Kocharyan and Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan.
The project provides for laying down a 100-kilometer gas pipeline along
the Iranian territory and 41 kilometers in Armenia. The pipeline will
pump daily 1.5 million cubic meters of Turkmen gas. The approximate
cost of the project is 96 million U.S. dollars.
According to Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsesyan, it is planned
to start construction within this year and to complete tentatively
in 2006.
The gas pipeline from Iran is to be built only to meet domestic needs
of Armenia, Kocharyan emphasized. According to the president, any
other direction of the pipeline, for instance to Europe, is not under
discussion, since this will raise problems for the republic. “We regard
this project as a serious question for Armenian energy security,”
the president underlined.
Besides, the republic is now building the second high-voltage power
transmission line which will, apart from boosting power flow to
Iran, be used for selling power, generated in Armenia, in exchange
for deliveries of Iranian gas. According to the president, “this is
profitable business”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

International airport opens in Azerbaijani Nakhichevan
By Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 12, 2004 Wednesday
NAKHICHEVAN (Azerbaijan), May 12 – Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev
attended on Wednesday a ceremony to unveil an international airport
in Nakhichevan.
The commissioning of the airport will make it possible to link that
southwestern region of the country with Moscow, Ankara, Istanbul,
Tehran and some capitals of former Soviet republics, the first deputy
general director of the Azerbaijanskie Avialinii state carrier told
Itar-Tass.
According to Sabir Ilyasov, two landing strips of the new airport
will be able to land heavy passenger and cargo planes of the Il-76,
Mria and Boeing types.
The air terminal can accommodate up to 300 passengers an hour. The
new airport has a cargo terminal and flight-control points ensuring
the safety of flights in mountainous conditions. Nakhichevan Airport
has got the status of international one.
President Aliyev emphasized the importance of opening an international
airport in Nakhichevan, which has been cut off from the rest of
Azerbaijan since 1992 as a result of a conflict around the mostly
Armenian populated Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorno Karabakh.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, he drew attention to the fact
that such a major facility had been for the first time built without
the attraction of foreign investments.
Aliyev also said Azerbaijan was planning to buy several
state-of-the-art aircraft in 2006.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARKA News Agency
May 13 2004
Science conference on Armenian medieval architecture takes place in
Brussels
RA Ex-Minister of Culture and Youth appointed on position of Director
Executive of “One-Nation – One Culture” Foundation”
RA President to leave for Moscow with working visit
*********************************************************************
SCIENCE CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE TAKES PLACE IN
BRUSSELS
YEREVAN, May, 13. /ARKA/. Science conference on Armenian medieval
architecture took place in Brussels on the initiative of Armenians of
Europe Assembly. Architects, staff of European Commission culture
department, lectors and students. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA EX-MINISTER OF CULTURE AND YOUTH APPOINTED ON POSITION OF DIRECTOR
EXECUTIVE OF “ONE-NATION – ONE CULTURE” FOUNDATION”
YEREVAN, May, 13. /ARKA/. RA Ex-Minister of Culture and Youth Tamara
Poghosian was appointed on position of Director Executive of
“One-Nation – One Culture” Foundation, RA Government told ARKA.
According to RA President’s decree as of May 3, 2004 Tamar Poghosian
was release from taking position.
“One-Nation – One Culture” Foundation was created for organization of
All Armenia culture festival that will take place on August 14-23 in
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA PRESIDENT TO LEAVE FOR MOSCOW WITH WORKING VISIT
YEREVAN, May 13. /ARKA/. Today RA President Robert Kocharian to leave
for Moscow with working visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s
invitation. During the visit two Presidents will meet to discuss the
whole specter of issues of mutual interest. As planned Kocharian also
to meet Russian PM Mikhail Fradkov to touch the issues related to
enhancing of and development of economic relations. RA President also
plans to meet the Managers of the companies supplying gas to Armenia
and representatives of the Russian business circles. On 15 May RA
President to return to Armenia. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Forum 18, Norway
May 14 2004
TURKMENISTAN: Religious persecution’s latest disguises
By Felix Corley, Editor, Forum 18 News Service
In his latest attempt to disguise Turkmenistan’s de facto
criminalisation of religious belief, President Saparmurat Niyazov has
today (13 May) revoked the de jure criminalisation of unregistered
religious activity. Believers were, before the de jure
criminalization, treated as de facto criminals and fined, detained,
beaten, threatened, sacked from their jobs, had their homes
confiscated, banished to remote parts of the country or deported in
retaliation for unregistered religious activity. Niyazov has also
cancelled a secret decree requiring registered religious communities
to subject themselves to tight financial regulation by the state –
but has imposed tight financial regulation in a different way,
through an official model statute for religious communities. Forum 18
News Service has obtained a copy of this, and religious leaders in
Turkmenistan have told Forum 18 that they find these restrictions
unacceptable. Many prefer to continue to exist in the underground.
Under intense international pressure over its repression of religious
life, Turkmenistan’s president Saparmurat Niyazov has today (13 May)
revoked the punishments introduced into the Criminal Code last year
on those involved in unregistered religious activity. Before these
punishments were introduced, Turkmenistan already had tight controls
-which it still maintains – on unregistered religious activity. All
Shia Muslim, Baptist, Pentecostal, Adventist, Armenian Apostolic,
Lutheran, Hare Krishna, Jehovah’s Witness, Baha’i and Jewish activity
was de facto if not de jure treated as illegal. Believers were, even
before the de jure criminalization of unregistered activity, fined,
detained, beaten, threatened, sacked from their jobs, had their homes
confiscated, banished to remote parts of the country or deported in
retaliation for involvement in unregistered religious activity. De
jure decriminalisation is not expected to change the established
pattern of de facto criminalisation.
President Niyazov also cancelled a secret decree he had issued on 23
March which required registered religious communities to subject
themselves to tight financial regulation by the state. However, Forum
18 News Service has also received a copy of the six-page model
statute handed out to religious communities by the Adalat (Fairness
or Justice) Ministry which requires all religious communities to pay
20 per cent of their income to the government’s Gengeshi (Council)
for Religious Affairs and imposes other tight controls. This imposes
tight financial regulation in a different way, as well as forcing
registered communities to provide the state with information helpful
to its continued persecution of religious believers (see F18News 10
May ).
The pro-government website turkmenistan.ru claimed that the president
cancelled the criminal penalties and the secret decree “with the aim
of creating the necessary legal guarantees to secure freedom of
religion and belief, as well as to complete the laws of the country
on religious organisations”. Turkmenistan has for the last seven
years refused to register all communities of the Shia Muslims,
Armenian Apostolic Church, all Protestants (including Pentecostals,
Lutherans and Baptists), Jews, Baha’is, the Hare Krishna community
and the New Apostolic Church.
The president’s moves are the latest in an embarrassing series of
conflicting legal moves designed to head off international criticism
sparked by last October’s amendments to the religion law and the
criminal code which tightened even further restrictions on registered
religious communities and criminalized unregistered religious
activity.
In March this year, the president also announced an apparent paper
relaxation of persecution, apparently allowing religious communities
to gain official registration regardless of how many members they
have or what faith they belong to (see F18News 12 March
). However, it
became clear that this apparent relaxation masked moves to impose
stringent controls on any community that registered, such as a
requirement that any worship service or other event needs state
permission to take place (see F18News 10 May
).
The change in bureaucratic requirements also did not signal any
respite in persecution, being apparently intended to allow religious
communities to exist in theory but be persecuted in practice. Secret
police raids continued and on the same day the March announcement was
made, a Jehovah’s Witness was arrested and pressured by officials,
including a Mullah, to renounce his faith and then fired from his job
(see F18News ). As
Forum 18 has documented, persecution continued since then unabated,
Muslims, for example, being barred from building new mosques on 29
March (see F18News 30 March
). It is highly
unlikely that today’s announcement marks any actual relaxation in
persecution.
The registration regulations issued by the Adalat Ministry on 10
March, which appear still to be in force despite the latest legal
moves, come in the form of a model statute which religious
communities appear required to follow very closely if they are to get
registration. Article 13 defines the first aim of a religious
organization, ahead even of “jointly confessing and spreading their
faith”, as “respecting the Constitution and laws of Turkmenistan”.
Services would be allowed in property owned by religious
organisations and in private homes “in cases of ritual necessity”. It
remains unclear if regular services in private homes or elsewhere
would be illegal.
Only adults citizens of Turkmenistan would be allowed to belong to
religious organizations, according to Article 16, leaving it unclear
whether foreign citizens living in the country would even be allowed
to attend religious services of registered organizations.
Although registered religious communities would be able to teach
children on their own premises, teachers would have to be approved in
advance by the Gengeshi.
Article 15 of the statute requires the payment of 20 per cent of
income to the Gengeshi every quarter, while all donations from abroad
have to be registered at the Adalat Ministry.
Leaders of religious organizations have to be Turkmen citizens,
making it difficult for faiths like the Catholics or the Armenians
which do not have native clergy. The model statute also defines how
the administration of each faith must work and how often its
governing body must meet.
The model statute also states that leaders of religious organizations
are also expected to have higher religious education, a concept which
is not defined. This concept may be a further restriction on the
clergy who can be appointed, possibly related to Niyazov’s decree
dismissing from state employment, with effect from 1 June, anyone who
holds higher education decrees awarded outside Turkmenistan since
1993.
Article 38 allows courts to liquidate religious organizations for
“repeated or gross violations” of the country’s laws, while the
Adalat Ministry can also terminate an organisation’s registration
(for which the statute gives no further explanation).
Religious leaders in Turkmenistan have already told Forum 18 that
they find the restrictions in the model statute unacceptable. Many
prefer to continue to exist in the underground, as the latest
apparent relaxations mark no change in the continued de facto
criminalisation and persecution of religious believers.
For more background see Forum 18’s latest religious freedom survey at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress