Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Russia Today, Russia
July 20 2009

Memorial services mourns Iran plane crash victims

20 July, 2009, 06:24

Relatives have held a memorial service in St. Sarkis church in Tehran
to remember the 45 passengers from Iran’s Armenian community who died
in Wednesday’s plane crash.

Hundreds of Armenian Christians and some Iranian members of parliament
gathered Sunday at the Tehran church to mourn the victims of the
tragedy.

The service to remember 168 victims of the crash has also been held in
Armenia. The country’s Prime Minister, Tigran Sarkisyan, and other top
officials attended the ceremony.

INTERNATIONAL JUDO FEDERATION PRESIDENT OFFERS HIS CONDOLENCES IN TU-154 CRASH

Trend News Agency
July 16 2009
Azerbaijan

The International Judo Federation president Marius Vizer offered his
condolences to the Iranian Judo Federation over the tragic incident
on Jul 15, claiming lives of members of the Iranian Junior Judo
squad. The Iranian judo team was traveling to the Armenian capital,
Yerevan, for a training camp, Mehr news agency said.

The death of Iranian athletes is a great loss for the International
Judo Federation. I offer my condolences to their families and the
Iranian Judo Federation. I will soon travel Iran to sympathize with
families and friends of the dead athletes, Vizer said.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTY CANCELS PROTEST DUE TO PLANE CRASH DEATHS

Regnum
July 15 2009
Russia

15 July: Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation –
Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD] were among the passengers of the TU-154 plane
flying to Yerevan from Tehran that crashed.

Ara Nranyan, an ARFD member of the Armenian National Assembly, has
told Regnum correspondent that there were two of them but he stopped
short of naming them.

Nranyan said that the ARFD decided to cancel a protest due to the
plane crash and a day of mourning for the victims on 16 July announced
under a decree by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

As Regnum reported earlier, the ARFD intended to picket the Armenian
Foreign Ministry [on 16 July] in protest at the ministry’s policy on
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO ALLOCATE 1 MILLION 500 000 DRAMS FOR EACH ARMENIAN CITIZEN PERISHED IN THE TU-154 AIRPLANE

ARMENPRESS
July 16, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 16, ARMENPRESS: During today’s session of the Armenian
Government a decision has been made to allocate corresponding sums
to the Armenian Labor and Social Affairs Ministry for assistance
to the families of the victims of the TU-154 airplane implementing
Tehran-Yerevan flight.

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Gevorg Petrosian noted that
1 million 500 000 drams will be rendered for each Armenian citizen
perished in the airplane crash.

Another 675 000 drams will be allocated by the Yerevan municipality
for conduction of a number of expenditures.

SERZH SARGSYAN TO PAY WORKING VISIT TO LORI AND SHIRAK

Noyan Tapan
July 16, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 16, NOYAN TAPAN. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
paid a working visit on July 15 to the regions of Lori and Shirak.

He laid flowers at the monument perpetuating the memory of the Artsakh
war and Great Genocide victims in Spitak, took a walk at the cultural
exhibition organized on the occasion of the city holiday.

S. Sargsyan visited in Spitak, Gyumri and Shirakamut the construction
sides of the apartments built for the families left shelterless in the
consequence of the earthquake, got acquainted with the construction
process. The President associated with dwellers of that community,
listened to the problems they were interested in.

According to the information from the RA President’s Press Office,
S. Sargsyan broke off his working visit to the region of Shirak and
returned Yerevan, because of the crash of the plane travelling from
Tehran to Yerevan.

CRIMEA TO HOST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON "UKRAINIAN-ARMENIANS: YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW".

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
15.07.2009 14:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In cooperation with the Ukrainian Eparchy of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, the Centre of Armenian Studies (CAS) under
Ukrainian Union of Armenians and the Crimean-Armenian Society (CAS) are
conducting the Second International Scientific-Practical conference on
"Armenians of Ukraine: yesterday, today and tomorrow". The event is
due on September 5-6, 2009, in "Sourb Khach" monastery (Crimea).

Conference will focus on the following themes: Armenian-Ukrainian ties
from ancient times to the present day, history of medieval Armenian
settlements of Crimea and other Ukrainian regions, resettlement
of Crimean-Armenians in Azov province, the culture of Ukrainian
Armenians from middle ages to the present day, Armenian-Ukrainian
cultural dialogue etc.

Working languages are Russian, Ukrainian, Armenian and English. Upon
the end of the conference, a collection of scientific articles will
be compiled, "Yerkramas" Armenian newspaper reports.

GAGIK JHANGIRIAN CONSIDERS THAT HE IS FORCED TO STAY IDLE

Noyan Tapan
July 14, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. RA National Assembly deputy Khachatur
Sukiasian searched for will be arrested in case of presenting himself
to the law enforcement bodies and unless he presents himself, the law
enforcement bodies will continue searching for him, but will fail
to find him. Former RA Deputy Prosecutor General Gagik Jhangirian
stated at the July 14 press conference. He has been lately set free
from the place of imprisonment by an amnesty.

In his words, the charges brought to Haykakan Zhamanak daily’s
editor-in-chief Nikol Pashinian and K. Sukiasian, as well as to former
Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanian set free by an amnesty and
to others are absurd. G. Jhangirian said that the sentences on over
90 cases filed on the 2008 March 1 events will be appealed against
without fail.

He said that his brother, Vardan Jhangirian, who was sentenced to
suspended imprisonment with the charge of using violence to a power
representative not dangerous for life or health has been returned
from Germany, where he received treatment and now is able to walk
without crutches. However he is returning to Germany in a few months
to continue his treatment.

G. Jhangirian not agreeing to the definition "former deputy prosecutor
general" stated that he continues holding his office, he is just
forced to stay idle. "I am waiting until they furnish, repair my
office, then I will return," he said.

NA FINISHES ACTIVITY OF SPECIAL SESSION IN THREE HOURS, WITH EXHAUSTING AGENDA

NOYAN TAPAN
JULY 13, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The draft On General Education and
the package of amendments in a number of functioning laws, resulted
from it were adopted in the second, then in the third reading and
completely at the National Assembly’s special meeting convened on
the Armenian government’s initiative on July 10.

According to it, the state policy principles in the sphere of general
education system, the organization-legal and financial-economic
bases are particularly defined. Bases of the right for education,
compulsory general education and free secondary education fixed by
the Constitution are also guaranteed.

As main and adjacent reporters mentioned, Minister of Education
and Science Armen Ashotian and member of the NA Standing Committee
on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Issues and of the
Zharangutiun (Heritage) faction Anahit Bakhshian, the oddessey of
adoption of this legislative initiative discussed at the parliament
since 2005 was finished.

It was also mentioned that during this period of time, this draft was
edited many times, based on proposals of all the political forces,
and a legislative package having a logic which is in keeping with
solution of the problems raised today in the sphere of general
education was adopted as a result.

The NA also certified two credit agreements. Newly-appointed member
of the Constitutional court Manuk Topuzian’s oath ceremony took place.

The parliament finished actvity of the special session without
interruption, in three hours, exhausting the agenda.

ENVOY DENIES AZERI INVOLVEMENT IN "GREEN REVOLUTION" IN IRAN

Ekho
July 3 2009
Azerbaijan

The Iranian ambassador to Armenia has denied Azerbaijan’s involvement
in masterminding a "green revolution" in Iran, the Baku-based
independent Russian-language paper Ekho has said.

The paper quoted ambassador Seyyed Ali Saqqa’ian as saying at a news
conference in the Armenian capital Yerevan on 2 July that "taking in
view Iran’s ties with all regional states, including Azerbaijan, we do
not confirm the report on Azerbaijan’s involvement in masterminding a
‘green revolution’ in Iran".

Ekho reported that after the 12 June presidential election in Iran
various reports were circulated that a "coloured revolution" was
taking place in the country and some countries, including Azerbaijan,
were involved in it.

In the meantime, Azerbaijani political expert Mubariz Ahmadoglu has
said that incumbent Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad’s victory
in the latest election was ensured through "fraud", independent
Russian-language newspaper Zerkalo reported. Speaking at a news
conference in Baku on 2 July, Ahmadoglu said that opposition candidate
Mirhoseyn Musavi "won the presidential election".

Zerkalo newspaper quoted Ahmadoglu as saying that the real rivalry
in Iran was between the chairman of the Iranian Expediency Council,
Hashemi-Rafsanjani, and Supreme Leader Khamene’i. Ahmadoglu said that
the 12 June election showed the lack of unity among Iran’s religious
and political elite. He added that the Israeli president’s recent visit
to Azerbaijan could be considered to be the Iranian foreign policy’s
"heaviest defeat" in the past 20 years and that "even heavier defeats"
awaited Iran.

"In general, this country is quite possibly on the verge of collapse,"
Zerkalo quoted him as saying.

FORMER NA SPEAKER: ARMENIA NEEDS POLITICAL FORCES OF NEW QUALITY

Noyan Tapan
July 10, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. PACE new Resolution N 1677 on Armenia
adopted at the June session is evidence that the home political
crisis has not been overcome in the country yet. Former NA Speaker,
independent deputy Tigran Torosian expressed such an opinion at the
July 10 press conference. In his words, the Resolution’s content
makes it clear that Armenia has not fulfilled the demands made in
the former resolutions. In that context, according to T. Torosian,
it is not understandable how the Co-chairs used the word combination
"a step forward" in their conclusion.

Speaking about Armenia’s home political sphere, the former NA Speaker
said that country’s multi-party system is degradated. In T. Torosian’s
affirmation, capable political forces of new quality are needed to
correct the situation and to solve the most important problems faced
by the state.

Speaking about fall of Armenia’s economy, T. Torosian said that its
reason is not only the world financial-economic crisis, but also
the economic policy carried on by the state and the imperfection of
new laws.

In connection with the amnesty granted on June 19 T. Torosian said
that it "was not the way society expected" and cannot weaken political
tension.