Author: Hambardsumian Paul

REPUBLICAN PARTY TO SHELTER MAYOR

Lragir.am
24 July 06

The mayor of Yerevan Yervand Zakharyan is one of the new Republicans.

He was even elected member of the Council of the Republican Party.

Our source informed that Yervand Zakharyan was "invited" to the
Republican Party to get protection. The point is that the Audit
Service of the President audited privatization of land in Yerevan
and revealed serious breaches and a damage of millions of dollars
to the state budget. The procuracy suited an action. And now Serge
Sargsyan and the Republican elite have told him that he can be safe
only in the Republican Party. Subsequently, Yervand Zakharyan found
a devotee of the Nzhdehist ideology in him.

Iran leader’s warning to Israel

BBC NEWS:
2006/07/23 15:49:10 GMT

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Israel that it has
"pushed the button of its own destruction" because of its actions
in Lebanon.

He also said Israel should "pack up" and move elsewhere, repeating
comments made last year.

Israel has accused Iran of involvement in the capture of the two
Israeli soldiers, which sparked the current crisis, claims Iran denies.

Iran has also been accused of supplying Hezbollah with money and arms.

"Israel pushed the button of its own destruction by attacking Lebanon,"
Mr Ahmadinejad said while addressing an education conference.

I advise them to pack up and move out of the region before being
caught in the fire they have started in Lebanon Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Iranian president

He did not give further information but suggested Islamic nations
and others could isolate Israel and its supporters, AP news agency
reported.

He also repeated last year’s calls for Israel to move out of the
Middle East, comments which sparked widespread condemnation.

"I advise them to pack up and move out of the region before being
caught in the fire they have started in Lebanon," he said.

Iran helped found the Lebanese-based Hezbollah in 1982, but says it
only gives spiritual and political support to the group, not financial
aid, training or weapons.

It has also rejected Israeli claims it was involved in the capture
by Hezbollah of two Israeli soldiers two weeks ago, which led to the
Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
Yerevan 0033, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 58.08.77, 52.22.38
Fax: (+374 – 10) 54.38.97
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:

July 20, 2006

Heritage Calls News Conference: Headquarters Reopened?

Yerevan–Today the Heritage Party held its first press conference in its
offices since their being put under illegal lock on March 4, 2006, by the
management of the Paronian Theater. After months of disrupted office
operations, political persecutions, and judicial hassles–and accepting as a
legal basis the June 26 verdict of the Court of First Instance of Yerevan’s
Central and Nork-Marash communities, which went into effect on July 12–the
party’s board members, in the presence of several media representatives,
opened the office doors at noon and then proceeded inside. These doors had
been sealed for unsubstantiated reasons by marshals from the Service for
Mandatory Execution of Judicial Acts (SMEJA) on May 30, only one day after
the office’s reopening pursuant to the Court’s injunction. SMEJA and the
theater’s representatives refused to be present at the reopening of the
office. When entering the premises, the Heritage officials and the
accompanying participants in the press conference noticed that the seal
placed on the door of the office’s fifth floor had been broken and one of
the windows was open.

The opening remarks of the news conference were made by the Heritage’s
political secretary Vardan Khachatrian. "All that which the party has gone
through recently is for us merely one in a long series of phases of our
political quest for liberty, democracy, and the rule of law. This clearly
proves that the coming together of noble, ethical, and untainted forces has
no viable alternative," Khachatrian stated.

Responding to questions posed by the members of the media, Khachatrian also
gave details about the party’s main priorities and concerns as well as the
courses of action it plans to take. In his words, the Heritage Party has
already initiated multi-level consultations to consolidate the political
field and civil society, the results of which should become more tangible by
autumn.

The press conference also touched upon the Heritage Party’s position on the
regulation of the Mountainous Karabagh conflict. In this respect, Vardan
Khachatrian underscored the imperatives of Mountainous Karabagh’s
participation in the peace negotiations and the resolution of the conflict
within the context of the supremacy of human rights. Khachatrian also
revealed that, in addition to its ten-point plan as detailed on its website,
the party will soon prepare a comprehensive analysis of the Karabagh issue
and convene a special round-table policy discussion devoted to it, "since a
just settlement on Artsakh is the most crucial challenge facing the Armenian
nation and its future," Khachatrian concluded.

Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the land. Its
central headquarters are located at 7 Vazgen Sargsian Street, Yerevan 0010,
Armenia, with telephone contact at (374-10) 580.877, fax at (374-10)
543.897, email at [email protected], and website at

CODE OF GOOD AIMS AND CORRUPTION RISK

Lragir.am 20 July 06

On July 20 the government of Armenia adopted the Technical Code
of removal of the fertile layer of soil and requirements on its
preservation and use. The representatives of the Ministry of
Environmental Protection assure that this completes the enactment
of the Land Code of Armenia. The code really has good aims but it
contains corruption risk.

The technical code will cover all kinds of land works in Armenia. If
the fertile layer of soil is removed and, for instance, a mine is
operated, either the soil must be preserved or given to others
for use. The latter contains a corruption risk. Deputy Minister
of Environmental Protection Simon Papyan and Juliet Ghlichyan, a
senior official of the ministry, explained in detail that standards
of maintenance and removal of the fertile layer of soil have been
set down. But the problem is that if the head of the community or
the marzpet (the head of the regional administration), in case the
land does not belong to communities, can prove that they do not lack
fertile soil, they can give fertile soil to everyone they want. And
since in accordance with the Land Code of Armenia fertile soil is not
for sale, the head of the community or the marzpet officially will
not get anything in return for this favor, but if they need a layer
of fertile soil, there will always be another head of community or
another marzpet, who would answer their favor.

And since our officials are mainly guided by the principle "a post
stops being attractive unless you abuse it", it is beyond doubt that
the head of the community or the marzpet will give the land to those
who would have "a kind eye on them". Simon Papyan agrees that there
is such risk.

Statistics shows that fertile soil is highly demanded in Armenia:
about 70 percent of the territory of Armenia is on the verge of
erosion, the majority of land of the Ararat Valley is salinated and
unusable. Since Soviet times 7500 hectares of land is bad.

In order not to leave the responsibility for cultivation of this
land on the shoulders of the government, businesses have to present a
clear plan of cultivation of land with clear timing, and during its
economic activities it transfers money to the capital intended for
this very aim. And if this business is unable to prove that it can
provide necessary conditions for preservation of the removed layer
of fertile soil, it has to give it to someone else. In other words,
companies also need to get on well with heads of communities or
marzpets, who have a layer of fertile soil.

Chairman of the Human Rights Association of Turkey supports Hrant Dink

ArmRadio.am
19.07.2006 11:57

Representative of the Turkish "Peace Initiative" organization engaged
in human rights protection Sanar Yurdatapan suggested his support for
the editor-in-chief of the Istanbul based "Agos" newspaper Hrant Dink,
who was recently sentenced to six months of conditional imprisonment
for offending Turkish national identity.

According to the Turkish "New Anatolian" periodical, speaking at the
20th session of the Human Rights Union, Yurdatapan declared that his
organization considers that Article 301 of the Criminal Code should
be eliminated. Chairman of the Human Rights Association Yusuf Alatas
also suggested his support to Hrant Dink.

G8 Statement on Karabakh Made Baku Watchful

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.07.2006 13:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan assesses positively the G8 countries
keeping the Nagorno Karabakh issue in focus, stated chief of the
Department of Information of the Azeri MFA Tahir Tagizadeh. "Judging
from what we saw in media reports on the statement made by Russia
on behalf of G8, the leading states of the world keep their active
approach to settlement of the conflict, and this is positive,"
Tagizadeh said.

The Azeri MFA representative expressed watchfulness on the provision of
the statement, in which the G8 urge Azerbaijan and Armenia to prepare
their peoples to peace, not war. "If expressions on possibility of
other ways of solving the issue are meant here, it is necessary to
take into account the specific character of Azerbaijan’s situation. We
are not in a position to allow holding talks for the sake of holding
talks," Tagizadeh underscored.

On the whole, the diplomat continued, the statement of G8 countries
is a positive one, "however in the overall context of latest urges
of the Azeri party towards OSCE MG co-chairs to become more active
(as it is known, G8 comprises all three co-chairing countries),
I would say that it is insufficiently specific unfortunately."

ZORYAN INSTITUTE OF CANADA, INC.
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
Tel: 416-250-9807 Fax: 416-512-1736 E-mail: [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: George Shirinian

DATE: July 17, 2006
Tel: 416-250-9807

Zoryan Institute Awards 2nd and 3rd Ph.D. Scholarships to Address
Shortage of Genocide Scholars

The Board of Directors of the Zoryan Institute is pleased to announce
the winner of its Ph.D. Scholarship Award for year 2006. The committee
unanimously chose Ms. Talar Chahinian-Mahroukian, who is studying
Comparative Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Her Ph.D. thesis, titled "Silent Tremors: Aftermath Experience in
French-Armenian Literature," analyzes the published works of the group
of Armenian writers in France who initiated the literary movement
called Menk.

As part of her study, Chahinian-Mahroukian applies trauma theory to
interpret this post-genocide literary discourse. She has presented
papers on this subject at three academic conferences, both local
and international.

One of her professors described her as ".one of the most talented
students I’ve had the good fortune to work with since I came to
UCLA." This award will enable her to complete her research of journals
and periodicals published in Paris between the two world wars, which
are found in the Mekhitarist Special Collection in Vienna.

"I would like to express my deepest gratitude for being selected as
this year’s recipient of the 2006 Zoryan Institute Ph.D. Scholarship,"
Chahinian-Mahroukian stated. "I feel extremely humbled and honored to
be a part of the institute and to join its tier of doctoral students
working to enhance scholarship on the Armenian Genocide and Diaspora. I
believe that studying the Armenian Genocide and its aftermath through
the lens of literature has great value," she continued. "For me, the
realm of literature provides a space for the intersection of multiple
disciplines, such as history, sociology and psychoanalytic theory
and, thus, offers a broad perspective of the genocide’s effects in
the conceptualization of an Armenian Diasporan identity. I am very
much committed to my project and look forward to the contribution it
will bring to the discourse on genocide and Diaspora. Aside from the
financial assistance, the institute’s Ph.D.

scholarship also offers a sense of reassurance for a doctoral student,
by broadening the often-solitary context within which the research
is conducted," she added.

In addition to Chahinian-Mahroukian, the institute also awarded a
scholarship for the second year to Ms. Sevane Garibian of Paris,
who is studying the effect of the Armenian Genocide on the Nuremberg
laws and also on international criminal law related to crimes against
humanity. Since her award in 2005, Ms. Garibian has published three
articles; two in French and one in English entitled: "Pour une lecture
juridique des quatre ‘lois memorielles,’" "Le genocide armenien hors
la loi?," and "Crimes against Humanity and International Legality
in Legal Theory after Nuremberg." Her work led to her being cited
in the French Parliament debate in June on penalties for denying the
Armenian Genocide.

"I would like to express my warmest thanks to the Zoryan Institute
and its prestigious Committee for renewing my PhD Scholarship for
another year," said Garibian. The trust this decision expresses and
the support it represents in my work are very important to me and
will give me the chance to finish writing my PhD thesis in the best
conditions.. I hope the Zoryan scholarship-but also the Genocide and
Human Rights University Program that the Zoryan Institute provides
each year-will encourage and motivate other young scholars from all
over the world to engage in and pursue research and publication in
this enormous field," she concluded.

"It is thanks to the vision of people like Dikran and Sonia Bal,
who wanted to encourage new scholars in this field and provided the
financial means to establish this scholarship program, that we are
able to foster and nurture Armenian Genocide studies," said Greg
Sarkissian, President of the Zoryan Institute.

The scholarship is open to currently enrolled Ph.D. students in
good standing at an accredited university who are preparing a
thesis on the Armenian Genocide or a comparative study with other
genocides. Candidates must have completed all requirements for the
Ph.D. except for the dissertation. Applications for the 2007 awards
are being accepted now, with a closing date of February 28th. For
inquiries, call 416-250-9807 or write to [email protected].

The Zoryan Institute is the first non-profit, international
center devoted to the research and documentation the contemporary
issues related to social, political and cultural life of Armenians
worldwide. To this end, the Institute conducts multidisciplinary
research, publication, and educational programs dealing with Republic
of Armenia, Genocide, and Diaspora within a universal context.

YEREVAN GOLDEN APRICOT FESTIVAL RECEIVES INVITATIONS OF COOPERATION FROM
ROTTERDAM AND PUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS

YEREVAN, JULY 17, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. For cooperation
with the Golden Apricot Yerevan International film festival and with
Armenian cinematographers, as well as their great contribution to
the world cinematography world-famous film directors Godfrey Reggio,
Krzsystof Zanussi, Dong-ho Kim and scriptwriter Antonio Guerra were
awarded gold memorial medals of RA Ministry of Culture and Youth
Affairs. The awards were given to them by Minister Hasmik Poghosian
at the July 15 meeting at the Ministry.

Film director Haroutiun Khachatrian, General Director of the Golden
Apricot festival, assured that the festival could not fully form
without the state support and financing.

The festival director also declared that this young festival has
already received invitations of cooperation from Rotterdam and Pusan
festivals. In 2007 January RA Ministers of Culture and Foreign Affairs
will leave for Rotterdam to sign the respective agreement-memorandum.

Robert Kocharian Went on Short Leave

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.07.2006 12:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian left on a short
leave today, the RA leader~Rs press office told PanARMENIAN.Net. The
RA President will spend his vacation in Armenia.

BÝA, Turkey
July 14 2006

Dink Verdict on Way to European Court

Turkish-Armenian weekly "Agos" Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink’s lawyer
Fethiye Cetin says they will take his suspended 6 months prison
sentence to the European Court of Human Rights. Cetin expresses
sorrow for justice system, noting that the opportunity to s

BIA News Center
13/07/2006

BÝA (Ankara) – Armenian-Turkish bilingual weekly "Agos" newspaper
Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink’s lawyer Fethiye Cetin has said they will
take his suspended 6 months prison sentence to the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) following this week’s ratification of the verdict
by the Turkish Court of Cassation.

Cetin said they would apply to the ECHR as soon as they received
written notification of the Appeals Court’s decision that was taken
despite objections of the prosecution, saying the verdict was "at
the very least, sad for justice".

"With regard to the interpretation of article 301, they could have
created a precedent that would have been extremely just and in
accordance with democracy. This would have been in the interest of
Turkey. This opportunity was lost" Cetin said, evaluating the court’s
conclusive decision that confirmed Dink’s sentence.

Dink was originally sentenced under article 301 by an Istanbul court to
6 months jail on October 7, 2005 where opinions expressed in his 2004
article series "The Armenian Identity" published in Agos were found
to be "insulting and ridiculing Turkishness". Subject to the verdict
were Dink’s remarks "The poisoned blood that will spill from Turks will
be replaced by noble blood of the Armenians who will create Armenia".

The same court later suspended the sentence justifying it with the
convict’s goodwill but the deferment was on condition that he did not
commit a similar offence for a period of five years and if he did,
would serve the previous sentence in full alongside any new sentence.

Following an appeal against the decision, the high court prosecutor
demanded Dink’s acquittal, but the demand which relied on the
evaluation that Dink’s controversial expressions were "allegorical"
rather more than insulting "Turkishness" was turned down. (EO/II/YE)

–Boundary_(ID_IHB8L2UqpPZ+/eZwjNKU7w) —