Author: Felekian Ara

TRIAL AGAINST JOURNALISTS WHO INCITED ISLAMIC RELIGION LAUNCHED IN BAKU

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.03.2007 14:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday a trial launched in Sabil district court
of Baku against two Azeri journalists.

Reporter Rafiq Tagi and editor S. Sadagatoglu of "Senet" newspaper are
accused of inciting religious hatred with an article that criticized
Islam. On November 15 the court ordered a 2-month imprisonment
for R. Tagi and S. Sadagatoglu as a preventive punishment. . Tagi’s
November 1, 2006 article titled "Europe and we" asserted that Islamic
religion has suffocated people, pulled them away from freedom and
hindered humanity’s development, and said the Prophet Muhammad
created problems for Eastern countries. R. Tagi and S. Sadagatoglu
were arrested under 283rd article of Azeri Penal Code (inciting
religious, national and racial hatred). First lawyer of defendants
Isahan Ashurov basing on corresponding articles of law demanded to
change preventive punishment for his clients because of violation of
their rights. However the court rejected the petition.

The next hearing is scheduled for April 2, Day.az reported.

March 20, 2007

PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Website: <;

PRELATE TO PARTICIPATE IN A MEETING OF PRELATES AND PRELACY REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA IN ANTELIAS

Upon the invitation of H.H. Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House
of Cilicia, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, departed to
Antelias, Lebanon to participate in a meeting of the Prelates and
representatives of the Prelacies of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

During the meeting, held under the auspices of His Holiness,
from March 23rd to March 27th, a number of issues of immediate concern to
the Catholicosate as well as relations between the Catholicosates of Armenia
and Artsakh, Christian Education projects, inter-church relations, the
mission of Armenian schools and the Year of the Armenian School, and various
other topics will be discussed.

The Prelate will return to Los Angeles to celebrate Palm Sunday,
Holy Week, and Easter with the Prelacy faithful.

PRELACY DIVAN

PRO-RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER VOWS TO START ‘AGGRESSIVE ELECTION FIGHTING’

Armenpress
Mar 19 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 19, ARMENPRESS: Aram Karapetian, the leader of an
opposition Nor Zhamanakner (New Times) party, who does not conceal his
pro-Russian stance, vowed today to launch what he called’ aggressive
election fighting."

Speaking to a news conference Karapetian, who ran for 2003 presidential
election and collected as many votes as to be placed fourth, but was
surprisingly banned to run for parliamentary elections few months
later, urged today ‘the real opposition forces, ‘ who want this
country to experience a dramatic positive change, to join efforts
for an aggressive electioneering and use every possible resource.

Karapetian agreed that a sizeable portion of Armenians are frustrated
with major opposition forces, but said the fight would entail success
only in case hundreds of thousands of Armenians take to the streets
to defend their legitimate rights.

Karapetian then slightly criticized those opposition leaders, among
them a veteran politician Vazgen Manukian, head of the almost extinct
National Democratic Union, for deciding to boycott the May 12 polls,
arguing that ‘every political party must participate in all national
elections."

Karapetian said his party will use free airtime on Public TV,
envisaged by the law and will also buy airtime to advertise his
party’s campaign. He also warned Armenia would come under strong
external pressure if the polls were rugged.

WB regional director highly evaluates Armenian Government’s work

Arminfo
2007-03-16 19:03:00

WB Regional Director Donna Dowsett-Coirolo highly evaluates the
Armenian Government’s efforts to quickly implement its credit
agreements with the WB.

During a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margayan, she
said that the WB is ready to continue cooperation with the Armenian
Government. Margaryan noted that Armenia has made substantial
progress in economic reforms. He expressed hope that the Armenia-WB
cooperation will be continued.

To note, since 1992 the WB has lent Armenia a total of $1.2 47bln
under 47 credit programs.

PRESS RELEASE
March 14, 2007

American University of Armenia
40 Marshal Baghramian
Yerevan 0019 ARMENIA
Tel: (37410) 512-522
Fax: (37410) 512-523

Contact: Diana Manukyan
E-mail: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]

In Memoriam: AUA Remembers Mr. Sarkis Acopian

A memorial ceremony commemorating the life of the great friend and supporter
of the American University of Armenia, Mr. Sarkis Acopian (1926-2007), was
held on March 14, 2007, at the University.

Speakers during the ceremony included His Holiness Karekin II, the
Catholicos of all Armenians, AUA President Haroutune Armenian, Dr.Martin
Adamyan, author of "A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia," and Mr. Karen
Aghababyan, Coordinator of the Environmental and Conservation Research
Center at AUA.

Dr. Haroutune Armenian began the memorial with a talk in which he described
Mr. Sarkis Acopian as a person deeply concerned about environmental
conservation and environmental education and as an initiator of many
important industrial and scientific projects, a benefactor of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, and as a generous supporter of a variety of development
activities in the United States and Armenia. "Mr. Acopian’s goal, which he
obtained so brilliantly, was to achieve the highest international standards
in all his work. He was an ingenious person, entrepreneurial, hard working,
diligent, and a man with the highest levels of integrity. His standards
were so impeccable that we can use his profile as a model for our students
at AUA to encourage them to emulate his approach to life. He was a model of
strong moral and ethical principles and it was a great pleasure to know such
a man," continued Dr. Armenian.

Karen Aghababyan, remembered Mr. Sarkis Acopian with a slide presentation
that covered the major activities of Mr. Acopian’s life with a special focus
on his generous contributions in Armenia in a variety of areas from
environmental protection to the building of new churches.

His Holiness Karekin II, the Catholicos of all Armenians delivered the
eulogy in remembrance of Mr. Acopian, a person devoted to the Armenian
Church and the community at large for a very long time. "We praise with our
respect and gratitude the highly devoted Armenian son, Sarkis Acopian. We
have today the opportunity to live through once again those beautiful
moments and times which we enjoyed with happiness together with Mr. Acopian
and to share his ideals and his very humane and God loving devotion to his
motherland."

Mr. Sarkis Acopian made numerous donations to national and international
causes including the environmental education program at the American
University of Armenia and the Florida Institute of Technology. Other major
philanthropic endeavors included the Nature Conservancy Acopian Bog Turtle
Preserve, and the St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church in Charlotte, North
Carolina, built in memory of his beloved mother, Dr. Arax Acopian. Other
important donations have included gifts to the Armenian General Benevolent
Union, the Embassy of Armenia in Ottawa Canada, the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America, the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, the Armenian
Assembly of America, the Children’s Home of Easton and the building of two
churches in Armenia, St. Hakop and St. Mesrob. His great sense of gratitude
to his adopted country played a major part in his being the largest
individual donor to the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. He
received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the St. Gregory the Illuminator
Medal, and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Muhlenberg College.

________________________________________ _______________________________
The American University of Armenia Corporation (AUAC) is registered as a
non-profit organization in the United States and the American University
of Armenia Fund (AUAF) in Armenia. The American University of Armenia (AUA)
is affiliated through AUAC with the Regents of the University of California.

Receiving major support from the AGBU, USAID and private donors, AUA offers
instruction leading to the Master’s degree in eight graduate programs. For
more information about AUA visit <; .

IRAN-ARMENIAN GAS PIPELINE TO BE PUT INTO COMMISSION ON MARCH 19

ArmRadio.am
16.03.2007 10:50

The Iran-Armenian gas pipeline will be put into commission on March
19. Head of the "High-tension Electric Networks" Sahak Abrahamyan told
Armenpress that the Presidents of Armenia and Iran will participate
the opening of the pipeline. The construction of the 40 km long sector
of the gas pipeline on the Armenian territory has been completed.

In the first stage it is envisaged to transport 300-400 million cubic
meters of gas. Later it will be possible to increase the volume till
2.5 billion cubic meters.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, CIS MILITARY TREATY OFFICIAL DISCUSS COOPERATION

Arminfo
15 Mar 07

Yerevan, 15 March: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan met [CIS]
Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO] Secretary General
Nikolay Bordyuzha in Yerevan today [15 March].

The presidential press service reported that the parties had discussed
the key goals of the CSTO as well as issues related to reforming the
organization to raise its effectiveness.

BRIDGE OF CIVILIZATION

A1+
[01:39 pm] 14 March, 2007

The scientific conference titled "Dialogue of Cultures and
Civilizations- Bridge Between Human Rights and Cultural Values"
kicked off in Paris on March 13 under the patronage of UNESCO and
Universal Political Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations". The key issues
of the discussion will be "Human Rights in the Context of Various
Cultures and World Outlooks", "Role of Authorities, Political Society,
Schools and Media in the Dialogue of Cultures and Civilizations",
and "Challenges of Global Changes".

Archimandrite Vazgen Nanyan, inspector of Spiritual Seminary of
Mother Holy Saint Echmiadzin will represent Armenia in the conference,
Archbishop Eznik Petrosyan reports.

BIRAND: WHY TURKEY INVITES ARMENIAN HISTORIAN IF IT’S NOT READY TO OPEN ALL ARCHIVES?

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.03.2007 20:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Turkish History Institute (TTK) President Yusuf
Halacoglu was supposed to meet with Ara Sarafyan, the author of Blue
Book, which is seen as one of the most important documents backing
Armenian claims. Both sides were supposed to produce various documents
to argue their case, the first such meeting," observer Mehmet Ali
Birand writes in Turkish Daily News.

"Armenians usually don’t participate in such meetings.

Sarafyan was very important in this respect. His visit was supposed
to provide a huge boost to Turkey’s call for historians focusing on
the matter, discussing and debating it," he continues.

"Suddenly, we were all told the meeting was cancelled.

Professor Halacoglu held a press conference and said Sarafyan had
cancelled the trip, presenting an article in weekly Agos that said
the Armenian Diaspora was furious about Sarafyan’s trip. That was
the reason of cancellation, he said. Now we learn that the real
reason why the meeting was cancelled was very different. It appears
Halacoglu refused to open the archives without limits and objected
to presenting certain documents. What was this all about? If you were
not going to show the documents, why would you ask for a meeting? Why
do you organize such a meeting before agreeing on the conditions of
opening of the archives? Why do you initiate a process you cannot go
take to the finish? No one will ever believe Turkey when it proposes
to open the archives and share all the documents so that historians
can discuss the matter. Turkey will sail alone in the stormy European
waters. There is no one to offer us a shelter in his or her harbor
anymore. Our job will become more difficult from now on," Mehmet Ali
Birand writes.

Baku and Ankara upholds the hostile policy towards Armenia

10.03.2007 13:13
Tatul Hakobyan
"Radiolur"

The forum of Azerbaijani and Turkish Diaspora organizations, featuring
more than 500 participants from 50 countries, started in Baku
yesterday. Among the guests are the Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and leader of the unrecognized Northern Cyprus Mehmet
Ali Talat. Undoubtedly, the forum mainly focused on the statements of
the Turkish Premier and the President of Azerbaijan, which have a
clear anti-Armenian character.

Ilham Aliyev declared in his speech that `Azerbaijan will never put up
with the occupation of Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent regions and
will not allow building a second Armenian state on Azeri land.’ Aliyev
urged Armenia to reconsider its policy and `refuse from the ungrounded
demands on Azerbaijan and Turkey.’

`Armenia should implement changes in its policy; it should withdrow
from Azerbaijan land and refuse from demands on Turkey connected with
the Armenian Genocide,’ he said, adding that otherwise the future of
Armenia may be questionable. It’s still nothing. From Aliyev’s next
sentence it becomes clear to what extent Baku is ready for concessions
and the settlement of the Karabakh issue. `Armenia has no territorial
demands on Armenia, although it could have, since today’s Armenia has
been created on historically Azerbaijani lands.’ ` Zangezur and
Yerevan were the lands of our predecessors, these are old Turkish
territories. If we lay claims on these lands, the self-determination
of Armenians will be under question.’

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared in his speech that only
through close cooperation Azerbaijan and Turkey will manage to solve
the problems and issues they face and. He said `Armenia has occupied
Azerbaijani lands, but earlier or later justice will triumph.’ Among
the challenges to Turkey Erdogan stressed the `demand of the Armenian
Diaspora to recognize the Armenian Genocide,’ as well as `the unfair
isolation of the Turkish community of Cyprus.’ `The pain of
Azerbaijan is Turkey’s pain, the joy of Azerbaijan is the joy of
Turkey,’ Erdogan underlined.

In an interview with the Azeri APA agency Erdogan cited departed
President Heydar Aliyev as saying that `Azerbaijan and Turkey are
separate states, but Turks and Azerbaijanis are the same people.’
Highly assessing the Ankara-Baku relations, Erdogan emphasized the
construction of pipelines with neighboring Georgia and friendly
Azerbaijan, as well as other regional programs, including the
Kars-Akhalkalaki rail project.

It’s worth mentioning that Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship is
particularly strong especially when the question refers to the policy
towards Armenia. For many years these two countries have been keeping
Armenia in blockade, which is considered a hostile activity. Turkey
associates the normalization of relations with Armenia and
establishment of diplomatic relations with the resolution of the
Karabakh issue.

Certainly, the word `resolution’ has no negative meaning, but by
saying ` resolution’ Turkey means unilateral concessions by Armenia.