Author: Hambardsumian Paul

UKRAINE READY TO PROMOTE THE SETLEMENT OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT
ArmRadio.am
20.06.2006 11:43
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko had a meeting with the Foreign
Minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan in the framework of the latter’s
official visit to Ukraine.
Viktor Yushchenko and Vardan Oskanyan discussed a broad circle of
issues of bilateral cooperation and expressed in favor of development
of Armenian-Ukrainian relations. The President underlined that Ukraine
is looking ahead to RA President Robert Kocharyan’s visit. In his
turn Vardan Oskanyan noted that historically there have been good
relations between the two peoples and emphasized the existence of a
broad legal field between the two states.
During the meeting special attention was paid to the maintenance
security and stability in the South Caucasian region, particularly the
prospects of settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Viktor Yushchenko
underlined that Ukraine stands for the peaceful settlement of
the conflict and is ready to suggest its territory for holding
negotiations.

AWARD JEWELLER SHINES
By Dion Teasdale
Upper Yarra Mail, Australia
June 20 2006
A HEALESVILLE jeweller has been honoured with the Healesville Rotary
Club’s annual Pride of Workmanship Award.
Harout Nenejian, a jewellery manufacturer at Healesville Jewellers,
was presented with the award late last month.
The award recognises the commitment, hard work and pride of an
outstanding individual employee working in the local community.
Mr Nenejian, an Armenian who was born in Syria, came to Australia seven
years ago and has been working in Healesville for the past two years.
He was nominated for the Pride of Workmanship award by his employer,
Sally Browne, who said she was very proud of Mr Nenejian’s work
and attitude.
“Harout is an ambassador for our business, but he is also a role
model in the wider community,” she said.
“He is a very skilled employee, but he is also very polite and eager
and he takes great pride in his work and in being a part of the
local community.”
Mr Nenejian said he was very surprised to be nominated for the award
and was overwhelmed when it was announced he had won it.
“When they read out my name my jaw dropped, but it is such a good
thing. It is an honour to be recognised in this way,” he said.
Mr Nenejian said taking pride in his work was very important to him
and something he learned from his father.
“My father is a jeweller back in Syria and I grew up learning from
him. I learned that it is important to treat your customers like they
are members of your family,” he said.
“Making jewellery is my life. It runs in my blood and I love working
in Healesville and working with the people here.
“There is a great community feeling in the town. People are very
welcoming and friendly.
“I feel like I am part of one big happy family and it is easy to take
pride in what I do,” he said.
Healesville Rotary Club’s vocational director, Rod Thom, said the
club was very impressed with Mr Nenejian’s participation in the
local community.
“The Pride of Workmanship Award acknowledges an employee who displays
outstanding qualities in all aspects of work performance and Harout
is a very deserving recipient,” he said.
“He is a person who takes great pride in what he does and how he goes
about it and that is definitely worth recognising and celebrating.”

PRESS RELEASE
“Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund, Toronto
5005 Steeles Avenue East, Suite 208,
Toronto, Ontario, M1V 5K1, Canada
Contact : Migirdic Migirdicyan
Tel: (416) 332 0787
Fax: (416) 332 0736
e-mail : [email protected]
Toronto, Hayastan All-Armenian Fund banquet with Baroness Cox a huge
success.
$300,000 raised to build yet another school in Karabagh.
June 13, 2006 Toronto, ON – On Sunday, June 11, Hayastan All-Armenian
Fund had its annual banquet at the AGBU Manookian Hall, at a capacity
audience. This year’s Guest of Honour was Baroness Caroline Cox, the
Deputy Speaker of the British House of Lords and a great humanitarian,
who is a true friend of Karabagh and its people. The Master of
Ceremonies of the evening was Vahan Kololian, who ran the proceedings
in an impeccable manner. The program started with the national
anthems of Canada, UK, Armenia and Karabagh interpreted by baritone
Garo Nishanian and accomplished pianist Raffi Bedrosyan. The first key
item of the evening was the Letter of Greetings from the Prime Minister
of Canada, Right Honourable Stephen Harper. The letter was presented
and read by Hon. Jason Kenney, the Parliamentary Secretary to the
Prime Minister. After that Ara Boyajian, the treasurer of the Fund’s
Toronto Chapter, gave a detailed presentation of all the projects of
the Fund since its inception. Then, a congratulatory letter from the
NKR Washington, DC, office representative Vardan Parseghian was read.
The highpoint of the evening had arrived. Migirdic Migirdicyan,
the local chairman of the Fund, introduced the key-note speaker
Baroness Caroline Cox who gave a superb presentation, accompanied by
slides, of her experiences in Karabagh during and after its struggle
of independence. The speech was interrupted by several standing
ovations. Inspired by the Baroness’ presentation several patrons
increased their pledges. Thereby, as soon as the construction of the
school in Madaghis finishes, a new school will be built for another
village with the same architectural plan. This school will be named
after Baroness Cox. A total of $300,000 was raised.
At the end of this intellectually and emotionally charged evening, in
appreciation of all of her tireless work for the people of Karabagh,
the Toronto Chapter of the Fund presented Baroness Cox with a life-size
portrait of herself, painted by internationally acclaimed painter
Robert Amirault.
The evening ended with the prayers and the closing remarks of Bishop
Bagrat Galstanian, the Primate of the Canadian Diocese.
For additional information or a sample copy, please contact:
“Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund, Toronto
5005 Steeles Avenue East, Suite 208,
Toronto, Ontario, M1V 5K1, Canada
Contact : Migirdic Migirdicyan
Tel: (416) 332 0787
Fax: (416) 332 0736
e-mail : [email protected]
Hayastan Foundation Canada Inc. – “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund is a
charitable organization, realizing humanitarian projects in Armenia
and Artsakh. During the last thirteen years, it has undertaken and
successfully completed numerous winter heating, water distribution,
gasification and school construction projects.

Ani, a disputed city
Haunted by history
Jun 15th 2006 | ANI
> > From The Economist print edition
The ruins of a contested capital are still hostage to geopolitics
WHATEVER you think about ghosts, it is hard to speak of this desolate
plateau on Turkey’s eastern edge without using the word “haunted”. A
millennium ago, Ani rivalled Byzantium as one of the great cities
of the Christian world. At its height, the Armenian capital had
over 100,000 inhabitants. Now all that stands is an impressive wall,
and the gaunt but beautiful remains of churches and mosques randomly
scattered across a vast expanse of grassy earth. On a hot day in early
summer, with flowers blooming and birds swooping through the ruins,
the place is utterly empty.
Ani’s location at one of Eurasia’s nodal points, where rival
civilisations either clash or co-operate, has been both a blessing and
a curse. The “silk route” linking Byzantium with China ran through
it. But less than a century after it became the Armenian capital in
961, the city began falling victim to waves of conquerors, including
Seljuk Turks, Georgians and Mongols. In 1319 it was devastated by
an earthquake.
Even as a ruin, Ani has been a disputed city. In 1921 when most
of the site was ceded to Turkey, the Armenians were dismayed. They
have since accused the Turks of neglecting the place in a spirit of
chauvinism. The Turks retort that Ani’s remains have been shaken by
blasts from a quarry on the Armenian side of the border.
Turkey’s authorities insist that they are doing their best to conserve
and develop the site. “By restoring Ani, we’ll make a contribution
to humanity,” says Mehmet Ufuk Erden, the local governor. “We will
start with one church and one mosque, and over time we will include
every single monument.” The culture ministry has listed Ani, with
an Armenian church on an island in Lake Van, among the sites it is
keenest to conserve. For a country that was reluctant, until recently,
to accept the cultural heritage of non-Turks, this is a big change.
But some scholars say more is needed. “Piecemeal restoration is no
substitute for a master plan for Ani as a whole,” argues Stefaan
Poortman of the Global Heritage Fund, a California-based conservation
group that helps to manage endangered historic sites. And making
a master plan for a site straddling two countries is impossible
unless they co-operate. Could it happen? In September, some 14 Black
Sea countries hope to meet in Istanbul to dicuss their cultural
heritage. So Turks and Armenians will get a chance to talk about Ani,
if history’s ghosts can be exorcised

ARMENIA TO BECOME MEASLES FREE BY 2010
Armenpress
YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS: Some 200,000 children in Armenia have
been inoculated against nine infectious disease since 2002-such as
hepatitis B, diphtheria, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis and others as part
of Armenian Children Millennium Inoculation Program, funded by the
World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and some other international
donor organizations.
Among other former Soviet republics Armenian boasts the highest rate
of inoculated children. In 2002 WHO declared Armenia ‘a poliomyelitis
free country.”
Sheldon Yet, head of UNICEF Armenia office, unveiled at a news
conference today in Yerevan a program of measles immunization that
will be launched in 2007.
The objective is to eliminate this disease by 2010.
Armenian Children Millennium Inoculation Program will release
$200,000 for purchase of vaccines. The UNICEF plans also a study
to find out the embracement level. Sirak Sukiasian, coordinator of
the immunization program, said recent cases of measles were reported
among grown ups who were not inoculated against the diseases. He said
no child vaccinated since 2002 was reported with measles.

WAGING PEACE: ECUMENICAL ADVOCACY DAYS
Matt Horton
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, DC
June 13 2006
Elenora Giddings Ivory, director of the Washington, DC office of the
Presbyterian Church USA (Staff Photo M. Horton).
THOUSANDS OF FAITH-based activists from around the country gathered in
Crystal City, Virginia from March 10 to 13 to discuss and lobby for
social justice. The Saturday conference program featured in-depth
discussion in area- and issue-specific tracks, including Africa,
Asia Pacific, Eco-Justice, Global Security and the Nuclear Weapons
Danger, Jubilee/Economic Justice, Latin America, USA/Domestic and
the Middle East.
The Middle East track, coordinated by Churches for Middle East Peace
(CMEP), featured 10 panel discussions, including “Israeli Political
Culture and Dynamics”; “Jerusalem-Core of the Conflict and Key to
Peace”; “Palestinian Political and Cultural Dynamics”; “Iraq: What
do the Warriors Think?”; “Reconstruction: The Key to True Security”;
“In Search of the Rule of Law in Iraq”; and “Iraqis Speak.”
“What’s Really Going on in Iraq” featured Iraq-born Washington, DC
businessman and political activist Andy Shallal and Chris Toensing,
executive director of the Middle East Research and Information Project
(MERIP), who gave what panel moderator Simone Campbell, national
coordinator of NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby,
described as “candid and disturbing accounts” of life in Iraq.
“Educating Local Congregations About Bethlehem and the Wall” featured
Charles Lutz, CMEP’s Grassroots Advocacy Project Director in Minnesota,
co-author of Christians and a Land Called Holy, and a participant
in the International Solidarity Movement’s 2002 Olive Harvest
Campaign. Peter Nagle, founder of the Friends of Bethlehem ministry,
screened his film, “Sacred Space Denied: Bethlehem and the Wall.”
“Hopes and Fears of Middle East Christians” featured Bishop Vicken
Aykazian, representative of the Armenian Orthodox Church on the CMEP
board and president-elect of the National Council of Churches. “There
will never be peace in the Middle East unless there is a solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Bishop Aykazian said. “That
conflict is the root of every problem.”
Painting a bleak future for Christians in Palestine, the bishop noted
that “in 1926, 56 percent of the population [in historic Palestine]
were Christians, now it’s less than 3 percent.” Christian Palestinians
have traditionally had greater options for immigration to the West,
he explained, and because of this, “you cannot stop [Christian
immigration] unless you give them freedom and the guarantee of a
safe life.”
This situation, he warned, is also bad for Christians throughout the
Arab world, including in Iraq. Bishop Aykazian recalled that, at the
recent World Council of Churches summit in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the
Iraqi delegation challenged the American delegation on the occupation,
stating, “Our life is like hell. What have you done to us?”
Regarding the historic Armenian populations in the Arab world and
refugees from the 1915 Armenian Genocide who found asylum in Arab
Muslim countries, “where they felt at home,” the bishop cited similar
drastically decreasing numbers. “In 1967, there were 45,000 Armenians
in Palestine,” he said. “Now we have fewer than 3,000. We had 50,000
in Iraq. Today I don’t think we have more than 5,000.”
In between the day’s tracked portions, denominations met together
for lunch. The Presbyterian lunch was coordinated by Elenora
Giddings Ivory, Catherine Gordon, and Carolynn B. Race of the
Washington office. Rev. Jean Marie Peacock, vice moderator of the
216th Presbyterian General Assembly and pastor of the Lake View
Presbyterian Church in Louisiana, told her lunchtime audience about
the ongoing struggle to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Rev. Carol
Wickersham of Beloit, Wisconsin spoke about No To Torture, a group
formed following the Abu Ghraib abuses, and likened the social justice
commitment of the PCUSA to Daniel fighting the many-headed dragon. “All
the people in this room are engaged in the same struggle,” she said,
“whether we are fighting one head or another.”
The Program continued Sunday, training participants to lobby their
elected representatives, with Monday spent on Capitol Hill.
For more information about Ecumenical Advocacy Days, visit their Web
site, <;, or call conference coordinator Michael Neuroth at (202) 230-2276. For more information about Churches for Middle East Peace, visit <;. es/May-June_2006/0605060.html

AIR HOSTESS WHO ONCE ACCOMPANIED JOHN PAUL II WAS AMONG THOSE DIED IN AIR CATASTROPHE NEAR SOCHI
Interfax-Religion, Russia
June 13 2006
Moscow, June 13, Interfax – Marina Asratian who died in the A-320
wreck near Sochi was an air hostess of the Pope of Rome John Paul II.
Five years before the tragedy she accompanied the Pope on his mission
to Armenia as a senior air hostess, Zhizn newspaper wrote on Tuesday.
The head of the Vatican expressed his wish to have a photo with
Marina taken.
He called her his guardian and an angel of heaven, the newspaper wrote.

RIA Novosti, Russia
June 9 2006
Police officer detained in Tajik students assault case in Moscow
10:30 | 09/ 06/ 2006

MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) – A police officer has been detained in
connection with the beating of six Tajik students at a Moscow
dormitory, prosecutors said Friday.
The students from the former Soviet republic in Central Asia were
beaten and robbed Wednesday evening in a dormitory of the State
Management University by a group led by a man claiming to be a police
officer.
The Prosecutor General’s Office said the 27-year-old suspect would be
charged with robbery and hooliganism, and that an investigation had
been launched to catch his accomplices. The case is being overseen
personally by Moscow’s chief prosecutor.
The attack happened around 8 p.m. Moscow time (4 p.m. GMT) Wednesday,
when a man dressed in civilian clothes knocked on the door of a
student room at the dormitory in southeast Moscow claiming to be a
police officer, and presented what students said was identification.
When a student opened the door, six more men in plainclothes broke
in.
“They beat the students with an iron wrench and belts and kicked
them,” prosecutors said. “One of the students dropped his mobile
phone, and the assailants grabbed it and went away.”
The assault is the latest in a series of attacks on foreigners in
Moscow. In a murder that shocked the country, Vagan Abramyants, a
17-year-old Armenian student at the Moscow Academy of Management, was
stabbed to death on the platform of Pushkinskaya metro station in the
center of Moscow at about 5 p.m. April 22.
But prosecutors said they the latest crimes were not being considered
as racially motivated.

BBC Sports
June 9 2006
Gamewatch: Federer v Nalbandian
French Open
Semi-final result:
R FEDERER Swi bt D NALBANDIAN Arg
3-6 6-4 5-2 (Nalbandian retired)
Game-by-game updates:
If Federer can carry the form of the last hour into the final he’ll
have a great chance.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
Third set:
Federer 5-2 Nalbandian
Nalbandian’s serve is becoming weaker by the second and allowing
Federer to take control. He breaks again and Nalbandian goes to the
umpire to tells him he’s pulling out.
Federer 4-2 Nalbandian
Two aces signal Federer’s confidence at the moment and Nalbandian
looks distinctly unhappy out there.
The trainer is back on and attending to Nalbandian’s stomach – an
area he had an injury earlier in the year.
Federer 3-2 Nalbandian
Federer has a point for the double break but Nalbandian hangs on with
a smash.
Federer 3-1 Nalbandian
Federer clearly has little sympathy for Nalbandian and plays a solid
service game. He is hitting confidently on both the backhand and
forehand sides, winning the game to 15.
The trainer is on for David Nalbandian and the pair have a lengthy
discussion before the doctor joins them. Meanwhile, Leonardo di
Caprio causes a stir by arriving in the stands accompanied by several
bodyguards. Nalbandian is given a couple of pills and returns to the
action.
Federer 2-1 Nalbandian
Nalbandian stays in touch by holding to 15.
Federer 2-0 Nalbandian
Federer takes his eighth game in nine and leaves Nalbandian sprawled
in the clay with the forehand winner that gives him the game.
Federer 1-0 Nalbandian
The match has completely turned around in the space of 20 minutes –
Nalbandian is feeling the pressure and the mistakes start to flow as
he gives up another break of serve.
———————————————- ———————————-
Second set:
That was a privilege to watch – from 0-3 it was genius from Federer.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
Federer 6-4 Nalbandian
The game hangs on a lengthy rally with Federer 30-15 ahead, and after
numerous heavy forehands from both men it is Nalbandian who makes the
error.
Federer 5-4 Nalbandian
Nalbandian stops the rot but does have to watch as one more stunning
Federer forehand flies past him.
Federer 5-3 Nalbandian
Federer wraps up his fifth straight game and his forehand is now back
in the groove – one cross-court winner causing the Swiss to clench
his fist in delight.
Federer 4-3 Nalbandian
A stunning game sees winners from both players but it is Federer who
has really hit top form. He chases down one lob and hits the ball
around his legs for a winner down the line that even Nalbandian
appaluds. The next point ends with a blistering Federer backhand and
he breaks serve again when Nalbandian nets a smash.
Federer 3-3 Nalbandian
Federer gets back on level terms, producing a delicate half-volley
when he needs it at 30-30.
It’s as if Federer didn’t set his alarm clock at the right time and
he’s finally woken up.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
Federer 2-3 Nalbandian
The improvised shot of the previous game looks like it did inspire
Federer, who suddenly hits top form and races to two break points, at
which point Nalbandian double faults.
Federer 1-3 Nalbandian
Federer comes up with one improvised forehand cross-court slice that
puts him 3-0-15 up and might boost his confidence. He goes on to
hold.
Federer 0-3 Nalbandian
Federer is struggling to get the ball into court at the moment and
Nalbandian holds to love. Federer’s coach Tony Roche looks
unimpressed in the crowd.
Federer 0-2 Nalbandian
Federer makes two forehand errors before Nalbandian finds an
outrageous angle on a backhand return. Federer then puts a backhand
slice long and Nalbandian goes a break up. The Argentine supporters
celebrate, meanwhile Federer looks surprisingly low-key.
Federer 0-1 Nalbandian
A wild mishit from the Federer forehand signals another comfortable
hold for Nalbandian and the Argentine is in complete control at the
moment.
———————————————- ———————————-
Federer hasn’t had a break point yet, and that’s very unusual. It’s
not like he has to go to Plan B, he’s just got to get Plan A right.
I’d give him four out of 10 so far.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
First set:
Federer 3-6 Nalbandian
Nalbandian gets a set point when Federer nets a forehand but hits a
wild return. The Argentine soon has a second chance but Federer
finishes the point with an easy smash. Nalbandian does not waste the
third set point, however, with Federer firing a forehand long.
Federer 3-5 Nalbandian
Nalbandian has been to at least the semi-finals of all four Grand
Slams and that experience is already showing – he looks the more
confident player at the moment and closes in on the first set with
another love service game.
Federer 3-4 Nalbandian
Federer holds to love and has looked pretty good so far, apart his
previous service game. The Argentine fans are certainly happy enough
with Nalbandian and are treating the Parisians to the same chant on
every changeover.
Federer 2-4 Nalbandian
Nalbandian holds impressively, firing down one ace and dominating the
rallies again with his forehand.
Federer’s backhand has been superb during the tournament but if he
leaves it short, like then, Nalbandian will step up and hit the big
forehand.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
Federer 2-3 Nalbandian
A loose Federer volley and a forehand error give Nalbandian two break
points and the Argentine capitalises with a fierce return that
Federer cannot control.
Federer 2-2 Nalbandian
Nalbandian plays a risky second point by rallying to Federer’s
forehand, and the Swiss makes him pay with one unreturnable shot down
the line. Another double fault sees Federer go 15-30 up but
Nalbandian comes through.
Federer 2-1 Nalbandian
Both players have started confidently and look to be timing the ball
well. A fierce cross-court forehand gives Federer the game to 15.
Federer 1-1 Nalbandian
Nalbandian hits two double faults, which does not help his cause, but
a strong forehand gives him the game.
Federer 1-0 Nalbandian
Federer opens with a comfortable hold to 15. The wind is quite strong
today and could pose some problems.
I’m taking Federer to win this one and I don’t think it will take as
long as everyone thinks.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
The players are out on Phillipe Chatrier Court and Nalbandian’s
supporters are already in good voice.

OSKANIAN: NOTHING SECRET IN MEETINGS OF ARMENIAN AND TURK DIPLOMATS
Yerkir
08.06.2006 16:49
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Armenian authorities do not disregard events in
Russia, Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian stated at a news conference in
Yerevan. In his words, everything possible is being done for murders
on the national ground not to repeat. “However, it is the business
of the Russian party, not ours,” Oskanian underscored.
As of Turkish press reports on meetings between Armenian and Turk
diplomats, Oskanian remarked there is nothing secret in these. “We
always meet, hold talks. Of course the Armenian party would like
those talks to be productive,” the Armenian FM said.