Author: Emma Nadirian

AROYAN AND TIGRAN PETROSIAN WIN AT “KARABAKH-2005” CHESS TOURNAMENT
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 12 2005
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Representative of Armenia Levon
Aroyan took the first place in the group “A” of the “Karabakh-2005”
international chess tournament held in Stepanakert. The young
chess-player who turned 23 in the days of the tournament gained 6
out of 9 possible points. Ashot Anastasian (Armenia) and Khikara
Nakamura (Japan) shared 2-3 places with 5.5 points. In accordance
with tournament coefficients they took their places in the tournament
table in the same order. Vasiliy Ivanchuk (the Ukraine), one of
the best chess-players of the world, and Karen Aroyan (Armenia),
the winner of 2004 championship in Stepanakert, played worse than
their capabilities and took places in the middle of the table.
3 chess-players at once gained 6.5 out of 9 possible points in the
group “B.” Tigran L.Petrosian (Armenia) had higher additional points
and got the title of the winner. Ervin Lami (Holland) took the second
place, Sergei Grigorian (Russia) the third place.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia Fund, Inc.
111 North Jackson St. Ste. 205
Glendale, CA 91206
Tel: 800-888-8897
Fax: 818-243-7222
News Advisory
October 11, 2005
Contact: Sarkis Kotanjian
Email: [email protected]
Armenia Fund Welcomes Ambassador Markarian to California
-Ambassador Markarian Urges Community Support-
Los Angeles, CA – In an effort to generate greater community
involvement, Armenia Fund, Inc. hosted a pre-sale dinner event for its
upcoming Telethon 2005 Gala at the Tarzana home of Mr. and Mrs. Berj and
Belet Shahbazian on Friday, September 30.
With the help of the gala co-chairs Lily Ring Balian, Jasik Jarahian,
Janet Mirzayan, Anahid Sarian, and Julia Aghishian, Armenia Fund
successfully sold the tables of the November 18 event at the Millennium
Biltmore Hotel. This year’s annual gala will feature special guests H.E.
Arkady Ghoukasian, President of Karabakh, and H.E. Vartan Oskanian,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.
The pre-sale event brought together prominent community members and
officials including special guests H.E. Tatoul Markarian, Ambassador of
the Republic of Armenia to the United States, H.E. Archbishop Hovnan
Derderian, primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of
North America, and H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirosian, prelate of the
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America.
`Armenia Fund has empowered Armenians from throughout the world to take
advantage of the historic opportunity to be a part of Armenia’s
nation-building,’ said Markarian.
The evening also honored the Shahbazian family for their generosity and
commitment in sponsoring the renovation of Etchmiadzin School #5 in
Armenia. The first phase of the project was completed in May, with the
final phase scheduled for completion in 2006.
Maria Mehranian and Ara Agishian, Chairperson and Vice-Chair of Armenia
Fund respectively, granted the Shahbazian family Armenia Fund Honorary
Membership. The honor is bestowed to major donors of the organization.
`It is people like the Shahbazians who make a difference in the everyday
lives of so many throughout Armenia and Karabakh,’ said Mehranian.
Mehranian also outlined the theme and focus of this year’s Telethon –
Redevelopment of Martakert. The project entails four major initiatives
— Healthcare, Education, Drinking Water and Agricultural Development.
`In the past ten years Armenia Fund has concentrated on areas that are
in the most need. Proceeds from this year’s Telethon among other
projects will benefit the complete renovation of the Martakert Regional
Hospital; including the purchase of five ambulances, a communications
dispatch center and medical equipment that meets U.S. standards as well
as training and education for hospital personnel,’ said Mehranian.
Armenia Fund, Inc. is the U.S. Western Region affiliate of `Hayastan’
All-Armenian Fund. For more information on Armenia Fund, the Annual
Gala, or Telethon 2005, please call 818-243-6222 or e-mail at
[email protected]. 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.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI PARLIAMENTARIANS TO RAISE KARABAKH CONFLICT ISSUE AT PACE
ArmInfo News Agency
Oct 1 2005
Autumn Session
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1. ARMINFO. Azeri parliamentarians are going to
raise the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the PACE autumn
session. As “Trend” informs, member of the Azeri delegation to PACE,
deputy Bakhtiyar Aliev says.
He says that they will raise the issue of “elaborating a legal
mechanism for the Political decision on the withdrawal of Armenian
military units “from Azeri territories”, recognizing the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan, and returning refugees to their home,
approved at the PACE sub-committee session for the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, Jan, 2005″. In his words, a new report on the condition of
refugees and migrants in the South Caucasus is being prepared, based
of the resolution adopted in 2002. “The document notes that Armenia
has no right to settle people in the occupied territories. However,
in fact, Armenia settles Armenian people from other places in these
territories. We will carry a work at the sub-committee sitting to
stop this process’, Aliev says. The PACE session is to be conducted
on Oct 3-7, 2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GUAM PA ADOPTED A RESOLUTION ON NK CONFLICT
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Sept 29 2005
A resolution on unsettled conflicts on the CIS territory including
Nagorno Karabakh conflict was adopted in the course of the sitting
of the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) Parliamentary
Assembly in Kishinev.
According to Freedom Radio Station, Azeri parliamentarian Jahangir
Guseynov rendered a report on the current stage of the Karabakh
settlement at the sitting. He called upon the parliamentarians to pay
special attention to the problem. Jahangir Guseynov also said he had
managed to include the issue referring to dislocation of the Russian
military bases from Georgia to Armenia into the GUAM PA agenda.
The next sitting of the GUAM PA is to be held in Kiev in early 2006.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri official downplays Armenia’s threats to quit peace talks
Bilik Dunyasi news agency
16 Sep 05
Baku, 16 September: The latest statement of the press secretary of the
Armenian Foreign Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, on the Nagornyy Karabakh
process is nothing but a diplomatic trick and manoeuvring, the head of
the foreign relations department of the Azerbaijani presidential
administration, Novruz Mammadov, has said.
Gasparyan said that “our position remains unchanged. If Azerbaijan
raises any issue with the UN, Armenia will quit the Nagornyy Karabakh
peace talks and Baku will have to negotiate directly” with Xankandi
[Stepanakert].
Mammadov was commenting on the inclusion of the issue “On the
situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan” on the agenda of
the 60th session of the UN General Assembly.
“Behind this message is Armenia’s great anxiety. The matter is that
Azerbaijan’s position on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict has become very strong and is supported by
international organizations and states. The inclusion of the issue ‘On
the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan’ on the agenda
of the 60th session is a logical consequence of this. There is nothing
unusual here. This is our right,” Mammadov said.
Armenia sees that Azerbaijan’s stand on the Nagornyy Karabakh
settlement is getting more support from the international community
and is trying to threaten Azerbaijan that they will stop the
negotiations, step aside and involve the Armenians of Nagornyy
Karabakh in direct talks.
“First, it is not so easy to avoid the talks. The territories are
under occupation and negotiations are continuing. Armenia is in a
desperate position and may be looking for an excuse. Second, if
Armenia indeed wants to quit the talks and Yerevan officially declares
its withdrawal from the Nagornyy Karabakh issue, we will find a chance
to talk to the Armenians of Nagornyy Karabakh. We can do it and there
is no problem about that,” Mammadov added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITALIAN ARCHITECT GETS INVOLVED IN HOLY CROSS ARMENIAN CHURCH RESTORATION IN TURKEY
Armenpress
September 2, 2005
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS: An Italian architect, invited by
Turkish culture ministry to help restore the Armenian Holy Cross
Church on Akhtamar Island Van in Turkey, is on the ground, Haraj
Armenian newspaper in Paris reported.
It identified the Italian as Paolo Panei, who is also a UNESCO expert.
Panei is said to define what kind of chemical substances should be
used to clean the church’s walls. Haraj also quoted a Turkish Armenian
architect involved in the restoration works as saying that it will
take a long time.
The Church of Holy Cross was built by architect Manuel between 915
and 921 AD. The restoration project was developed in 2003 by Turkish
culture ministry in cooperation with the Conflict Resolution and Peace
Establishment Foundation of the Washington-based American University.
Haraj also reported that a Turkish Eapa publisher’s has released a
book that contains interesting facts about an Armenian orphanage in
Turkish Urfa.
Titled ‘The Armenian Orphanage of Urfa’ it was written in 1919 by an
American, Mary Caroline Holmes, who responded to calls to help Armenian
orphans in Turkey in the aftermath of the 1915 genocide, leaving her
native New York for eastern Anatolia and was appointed head of the
orphanage. She writes when she arrived the Armenian population of
Urfa had been either killed or driven out and the plight of remaining
Armenian children was horrible.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:
August 30, 2005
ACNIS Examines Information Security
Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
has convened a number of policy roundtables on security matters, especially
concerning national, economic, and energy safety. Today’s roundtable was
devoted to information security against the background of national and
global safety. The meeting brought together those formerly and currently in
charge of the sector, experts, social and political observers, and media
representatives.
ACNIS analyst Alvard Barkhudarian greeted the audience with opening remarks.
She talked about the traditional and current problems facing information
security, the relevant developments within the international arena, the role
played by the media and journalists in working within the domain of
information security, and other points. “We are deeply convinced that
Armenia must have a conception of information safety that should not be used
for propaganda purposes, but instead ought to help information professionals
make more influential the information and communication technologies (ICT)
or other news sources in which they work. In general, this conception must
be geared toward the future and the improvement of Armenian society’s living
standard,” Barkhudarian noted.
A policy intervention by Boris Navasardian, the Yerevan Press Club chairman,
encompassed the international experience and legislation regarding
information security and also presented interesting details about its status
in Armenia. According to him, since the world is changing, information
security is becoming a contemporary issue and the following three trends are
being observed: the increasing influence of democratic values on
geopolitical events; the fight against terrorism; and the development of new
technologies. Navasardian also presented the international norms for
information safety. He noted that Armenia’s laws solely contain prohibitions
or restrictions. The dissemination of certain information is banned, but no
mechanism is proposed to stop it. The role of the media and information is
being disregarded.
In his address, Aram Abrahamian, the editor of the “Aravot” daily, touched
upon the concept of “dangerous” information, and the professionalism of the
media and the journalists. His policy intervention concluded that if
professionalism is not a panacea that protects the public from perilous
information, then, at the least, it is a prerequisite to accurate
information. Abrahamian mentioned that dangerous information is something
which, in one way or another, presents a threat to state, national, or
public interests. He brought forth a number of examples regarding several
intricacies of the resettlement of liberated territories, Armenian-Georgian
relationships, and particularly the developments unfolding in Javakhk,
intra-political propaganda, and Armenian-Turkish relations. Based on these,
he presented those issues that confront the information sphere. “The key
pressing issue is whether talking about this is merely providing information
or coverage, or whether it is harming national security as well,” observed
Abrahamian, who sees the answer to this in the professionalism of the news
reporter and the editor.
During her policy intervention, Anush Sedrakian, aide to the National
Assembly speaker, made an attempt to define political censorship. In her
words, censorship is carried out in the modern world by means of new
devices, particularly through withholding, delaying, devaluating, and
spinning information. According to Sedrakian, in order to secure desirable
censorship, the discussion of facts must be avoided, only commentaries made,
a direction given to the topic, a certain character conveyed to the event,
etc.
The formal interventions were followed by contributions by Nikolay Grigorian
from the Emergency Management Committee; former minister of state Vahan
Shirkhanian; Seyran Shahsuvarian from the Ministry of Defense; “Mediamax”
News Agency chief editor David Aleverdian; Armenian Center for Political and
International Studies director, political analyst Aghasi Yenokian; Alexander
Iskandarian from the Caucasus Media Institute; Edgar Hakobian of the
“Heritage” Party; ACNIS director of research Stiopa Safarian; and several
others.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2005, the Center focuses
primarily on civic education, conflict resolution, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax
(37410) 52-48-46; e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]; or visit
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA VISIT
ARCHBISHOP Andrew Hutchison, primate of the Anglican Church of
Canada, along with four other leading Canadian clerics will visit
Armenia later this month at the invitation of His Holiness Karekin
II, supreme patriarch of all Armenians.
The Aug. 24-Sept. 1 visit to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the
centre of authority in the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, is
being organized by the church’s Canadian diocese, according to the
church’s website Armenianchurch.ca.
The group plans to discuss future prospects for the role and mission
of Christian churches and co-operation between the eastern and
western churches, and meet with Armenian government officials.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VARTAN OSKANIAN: “TODAY INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY INCLINES TO PROTECT
PEOPLES’ RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION”
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. Prior to the presidents’ meeting in
Kazan, Azerbaijan’s assessments of the Nagorno Karabakh resolution
process have become more frequent. Specifically, Azerbaijani officials
of varying capacities, have made statements on different occasions,
alleging that the essence of the Prague Process is a stage-by-stage
solution, and that time works in their favor, and that international
public opinion is moving in their direction. On the other hand, they
also say that the negotiations are not productive and that “we must be
prepared for everything,” most probably having in mind a military
solution to the conflict, since Azerbaijan’s military budget has
increased by one-third. RA Foreign Minsiter Vartan Oskanian’s
interpretations of the above-mentioned estimations of the Azerbaijani
party were submitted to Noyan Tapan by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press
and Information Department. The interpretations are the following: “As
a rule, each time Azerbaijan does not achieve what it wants, they
either badmouth the Minsk Group, or express dissatisfaction or
disaffection with the negotiations process, thus creating new
political backdrop for the next stage of the negotiating process.
That’s what they’re trying to do now. As for the Azerbaijani
characterization of the Prague Process, here too, they are talking not
about what is, but about what they would like to see. It is clear to
everyone, including the Azerbaijanis, that Karabakh’s
self-determination is the key issue, which must find expression in the
right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh to decide its own future. The
remainder – doing away with the consequences of the conflict, the
issue of territories, return of refugees, etc. – will follow. Of
course, the package solution of the conflict may be implemented in
stages; in this regard, we are prepared to demonstrate flexibility. As
for the time factor, I will repeat that which we all know: time works
to no one’s advantage, because as a result of the unresolved conflict,
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh all suffer. On the other
hand, an Azerbaijani military budget that is bloated by oil dollars,
doesn’t change anything. First, they can neither seduce nor, worse,
scare us with their oil. Armenia always has the ability to militarily
counter any Azerbaijani military budget. In fact, the advantage that
Armenians have over Azerbaijan is not in military expenditures or
arms, but in the justness of the cause. Armenians believe that the
Nagorno Karabakh cause is just, and in case of war, they will be
fighting for their own homes and land. This is not what the
Azerbaijanis did or would do. It would be better for Azerbaijan to
compete not militarily, but engage in healthy economic and political
competition. And in those realms, today, Azerbaijan is far from
challenging Armenia or even Nagorno Karabakh. As for the position of
the international community, they are assessing the situation more
realistically, and are reckoning with reality and fact. The
international trend regarding conflicts – East Timor, developments
around Kosovo, the Sudan Agreement – all these developments
demonstrate that the international community today is leaning towards
greater respect for the right of peoples to self-determination.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH ARMENIAN JOURNALISTS IN BATUMI
TBILISI, AUGUST 16. ARMINFO-BSP. President of Goergia Mikheil
Saakashvili met with Armenian journalists having rest in Batumi on
August 15. The president stated that next year some 100,000 tourists
from Armenia are forecasted to visit Georgia, and all the conditions
are created for it. The Georgian president stated that he welcomes
desire of a number of investors from Armenia to invest in construction
of hotels in Ajaria and restoration of report infrastructure. “You
must feel that Georgia welcomes you and waits for you, and you will
return to Georgia for many times,” Saakashvili stated.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress