Author: Hakobian Adrine

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  +374-10-517163
Fax:  +374-10-517301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Website: 
March 25, 2007

The Message of Condolence of
His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians,
on the death of Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Andranik Margarian

We mourn the sudden death of Prime Minister Andranik Margarian with deep
pain.  His death is a great loss for our native state and people, and the
grieving Margarian family.

The earthly life Andranik Margarian, devoted son of our people and patriotic
statesman and politician, ended too soon.  The Prime Minister of blessed
memory brought his important contribution with special diligence to the
strengthening of our statehood, the creation of a new life for the Armenians
and to the gratifying work of building the luminous tomorrow of our people.

Also worthy of gratitude are the labors and contributions of the late Prime
Minister to the work of reinforcing the relationship between Church and
state, making it more effective and productive.

On behalf of the Supreme Spiritual Council and the Brotherhood of the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin, we are unified at this sad time in heartfelt
prayers with his grieving widow and children, the President of the Republic
of Armenia, senior officials of our state, his friends and associates, and
all our people.

We pray to Almighty God, asking that the soul of the departed be received in
the blessed and heavenly kingdom in lights and peace, and for the
consolation and comfort of His Holy Spirit to be granted to all grieving
hearts.

We offer incense, prayer and blessing to the luminous memory of Andranik
Margarian.

`O Lord, make the soul of the departed worthy and accept him in the life
eternal.  Amen.’

With sorrowful love and blessings,

KAREKIN II
SUPREME PATRIARCH
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS

GABRIEL SARGSYAN LEADING IN THE CHESS TOURNAMENT IN SPAIN

ArmRadio.am
22.03.2007 15:11

Armenian Grand Master Gabriel Sargsyan celebrated his fourth victory,
defeating Ukrainian Grand Master Ruslan Ponomaryov in the 5th round of
the international chess tournament under way in the Spanish city of
Safra. Gaining 4.5 points in 5 rounds Gabriel Sargsyan is leading in
the tournament with the advantage of 1.5 points over Peres Kandelaria
and Grande Sunega occupying the 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

PROGRAM ON DIAGNOSIS OF AGRICULTURAL ANIMAL DISEASES AND ANTI-EPIDEMIC MEASURES TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN ARMENIA THIS YEAR

Noyan Tapan
Mar 22 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 22, NOYAN TAPAN. This year the RA Ministry of
Agriculture will implement the program on diagnosis of diseases of
agricultural animals and anti-epidemic measures in order to create and
ensure a stable state in veterinary and sanitary sector. Hovhannes
Hovhannisian, Head of the Financial Economic Accounting of the
ministry, told NT correspondent that 797 mln 374 thousand drams (about
2.2 mln USD) has been allocated from the state budget for purchase of
vaccines. According to him, the program includes the 10 most dangerous
diseases (brucellosis, tuberculosis, anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease,
etc). Cattle, pigs, horses will be vaccinated, and work on diagnosis
of tuberculosis and brucellosis will be done.

PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV: ARMENIA SHOULD UNDERSTAND ITS MISTAKE, TURN CONSTRUCTIVE

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 20 2007

Armenia should understand that the time is going in favor of us,
they should comprehend their mistake today or tomorrow and take a
constructive stance, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in a
holiday ceremony in Baku.

He underscored the strength of the army, saying the armed forces are
ready and capable of liberating the occupied lands.

"I believe that the conflict will be settled in favor of Azerbaijan,"
he added.

CONSTRUCTION OF PETROLEUM REFINERY, IRAN-ARMENIA RAILWAY TO CONTRIBUTE TO STRENGTHENING OF ARMENIA’S ENERGY SECURITY

Arka News Agency, Armenia
March 21 2007

YEREVAN, March 21. /ARKA/. The implementation of the program on
constructing a petroleum refinery and the Iran-Armenia railway will
contribute to the strengthening of Armenia’s energy security, said
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian.

"I think that it will be a rather positive development," he said.

Oskanian pointed out that the projects are on the initial stage,
however, they are on the agenda of the Government’s activities.

He said that it will be possible to make detailed comments on the
issue after the research of the projects’ economic advisability.

According to Russian publications, the company "Gasprom oil" has
recently confirmed that it is looking for a possibility to construct
a petroleum refinery in Meghri (the Syunik region in Armenia next to
the border with Iran). The matter concerns a refinery with 7mln tons
of oil per year. The total cost makes USD 1.7bln without accounting
transport infrastructure which will cost another $1bln.

On March 19, during the opening ceremony of the Iran-Armenia gas pipe
line in Meghri, Presidents of Armenia and Iran Robert Kocharyan and
Mahmud Ahmadinejada discussed the possibility of constructing the
Armenia-Iran railway.

VARTAN OSKANIAN: THE STATE DEPARTMENT ACCEPTED ITS MISTAKE
Marlena Hovsepyan

"Radiolur"
21.03.2007 15:52

The recent meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
in Geneva showed that there are still a number of disagreements
between the sides, RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said at today’s
press conference. "The meeting was rather arduous. I cannot say we
registered progress during the meeting, but we did not make a step
back, either. That is why the decision was taken to hold another
meeting, trying to continue the negotiations and prepare ground for
the meeting of the Presidents after the parliamentary elections in
Armenia," the Minister said.

OSCE PA Rapporteur on Nagorno Karabakh Goran Lenmarker had
declared recently that the final document on the resolution of
the Nagorno Karabakh issue might be signed in summer of the current
year. "Certainly, it’s a good wish, but we are not very close to that,"
the Foreign Minister noted.

The legal aspect of the Armenian side in the Karabakh issue is used,
the bases of self-determination of Karabakh are very firm, Vartan
Oskanian repeats, but we must not forget that the issue is being
discussed on the political level today and has other aspects. What
is the basis of Ilham Aliyev’s statements that the Karabakh issue
will be resolved in their favor? "Our pointers today are not the
statements of Azerbaijan, but the negotiations, the existing documents
and Azerbaijan’s stance in the talks. I have had the opportunity to
say that there are serious contradictions there. We shall be guided
by the document, the main axis of which is the issue of Karabakh’s
self-determination through a referendum. I see no problem if Aliyev
sees their interest in this context," the Minister says.

Azerbaijan is trying to prove that the Kosovo precedent cannot
be applied in case of Karabakh. Let us remind that the question
refers to the principle of self-determination of peoples. Of course,
the conflicts are different, but the Karabakh issue clearly moves
through the path of self-determination. "We see no opportunity of
turning back in the Karabakh issue. If Kosovo gains independence,
from the legal perspective it will be another ground for the policy
of self-determination for Karabakh. If is goes another way, NKR will
continue moving along its path," said Vartan Oskanian.

In the 2006 Human Rights Report of the US Department of State Nagorno
Karabakh was described as the occupied territory of Azerbaijan. This
is a document related to human rights and not the settlement of the
Karabakh issue, the Minister says. It has no legal base and does not
reflect the US policy.

Nevertheless, the formulation is incorrect, and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs presented the fact to the attention of the State
Department. "It is an obvious mistake. The Department of State accepts
that it is an incorrect formulation and should not have found place
in the document. They have promised to somehow correct it," Vartan
Oskanian said.

Turning to Armenian-Turkish relations, the Foreign Minister sated
that although the Turkish side is trying to present the opening
of the Church of the Holy Cross in the framework of improvement of
relations between the two states, the reality is different: it is a
reconstruction of a separate historic and cultural monument and has
nothing to do with the improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations.

Vartan Oskanian also mentioned that the official opening ceremony
will be attended by RA Deputy Minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjyan.

MANUK GASPARYAN ADVISES TO TAKE ELECTION BRIBE IN CASE OF NEED

Panorama.am
18:42 20/03/2007

"In the morning the competition will be quite normal," Manuk Gasparyan,
People’s Way Party (JUK) chairman, said speaking about possible
scenarios of May 12 elections. However, he believes some who have
great experience in election fraud, will spoil the case.

JUK leader advises the voters to take even election bribes in case of
need. "I would not like that you take it, but if you have the need,
take it," he said.

Gasparyan said they have collected 12 million Armenian drams to
participate in elections. "Of coarse, it is very little," the chairman
said, saying they cannot afford TV air. Instead, Manuk Gasparyan
is going to make a tour in 15-20 communities in order to talk to
the people.

"I will not criticize the authorities. If they ask questions, I will
answer. Otherwise, I will only speak about our programs," the party
leader said.

AHMADINEJAD ARRIVES IN ARMENIA TO INAUGURATE GAS PIPELINE

Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
March 19 2007

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived at an Armenian border town
for the inauguration of a newly constructed pipeline that will transfer
Iranian gas to Armenia.

The Iranian president and his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharyan,
will preside over the inauguration ceremony within the next few
minutes.

The 110km pipeline, 70km of which is within Iranian territory, is
40km from the Armenian border to the city of Kajaran.

Test operations on the project have been conducted. The project is
be delivered to Armenia within the next few months.

The pipeline has an approximate cost of USD 33 million, 85 percent
of which was financed by the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI)
with the remaining 15 percent put up by Yerevan.

"FROM JOURNALISTS TO JOURNALISTS" ENGLISH HANDBOOK PUBLISHED

YEREVAN, MARCH 19, NOYAN TAPAN. An English handbook entitled "From
Journalists to Journalists" was published within the framework of the
"Role of Mass Media in Covering Government" program of the British
Council. Its presentation took place on March 16.

In the words of Davit Alaverdian, the editor-in-chief of the
"Mediamax" information agency, main principles concerning the
journalism genres and mastery, professional peculiarities are involved
in the book. In his words, the book can serve as a guidebook both for
beginner and for experienced journalists. "30 Armenian, Georgian and
Azerbaijani journalists attempted in this handbook to unite the
knowledge and experience that they had got during the ten-day training
organized in London in July, 2006," D. Alaverdian mentioned. He
expressed a hope that the Armenian and Russian translations of the
handbook will also be published in future.

In the words of Tony Crocker, the British Council Armenian Office
Director, the "Role of Media in Covering Government" program started
in 2006, with the assistance of the UN Development Programme Yerevan
Office. The goal of the program is to develop skills of mass media in
covering government programs, stimulate effective cooperation among
mass media and state structures.

Turkish Press
March 18 2007

PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

——————

HERE IS THE ANSWER OF TURKISH PEOPLE

Terror Free Tomorrow, an American non-governmental organization
conducted a questionnaire in Turkey and asked "what kind of a
reaction would occur if Armenian bill in the Congress passes?"

78 percent of Turkish people opposed the bill, while 79 percent
defended a "harsh reaction to the USA". Another striking result of
the questionnaire is that only one fifth of Turkish people have
positive thought about the USA.