Author: Kalantarian Kevo

UN FONCTIONNAIRE AMERICAIN TENU INFORME DES INVESTIGATIONS SUR LES TROUBLES DE 2008
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 23 juin 2011

Le procureur general Aghvan Hovsepian a tenu informe un haut
fonctionnaire du Departement d’Etat americain de la reprise de
l’enquete sur les troubles post-elections de 2008 a Erevan.

Le bureau du procureur general a indique que Thomas Melia, le
vice-assistant au secretaire d’Etat pour la democratie et les droits
de l’homme, s’est informe des investigations en cours et a recu des
informations detaillees. Il a dit que Melia a ete specifiquement
interesse par l’execution d’un recent ordre donne par le President
Serge Sarkissian aux enqueteurs.

Selon une declaration publiee par son bureau, Aghvan Hovsepian a dit a
Thomas Melia qu’ils ont eu des echecs en raison ” d’obstacles objectifs
“. ” Les evenements ont eu lieu la nuit et ont implique des milliers
des gens dans un secteur residentiel couvrant plusieurs milliers de
mètres carres ” a-t-il dit cite par la declaration.

Aghvan Hovsepian a aussi dit que les enqueteurs, qui continuent a etre
accuses par le Congrès National Armenien(HAK) de vouloir etouffer
l’affaire, avaient besoin de l’aide d’experts internationaux dans
cet effort.

Andranik Mirzoyan, le directeur du SIS et Vahagn Harutiunian, le chef
d’une equipe du SIS conduisant l’enquete, etaient aussi presents lors
de la reunion. Vahagn Harutiunian a dit a Thomas Melia que depuis
que l’ordre de Serge Sarkissian a ete publie fin avril son equipe a
interroge 70 temoins et projette d’en questionner 400 autres.

La declaration a ajoute que le fonctionnaire americain a loue les
enqueteurs pour ” l’important travail ” fait par eux.

Le diplomate americain a aussi rencontre le Ministre des Affaires
Etrangères Edouard Nalbandian. Selon le Ministère des Affaires
Etrangères les deux hommes ont discute ” des efforts des autorites
armeniennes pour renforcer la democratie, les progrès positifs
enregistres dans cette direction et les futurs etapes “.

PETITION DE L’EGLISE APOSTOLIQUE ARMENIENNE DE SUISSE
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 23 juin 2011

Nous, les soussigne(e)s, demandons a Sa Saintete Karekine II de
changer sa politique actuelle, comme la centralisation de contrôle
et de decision unilaterale prise de questions eglise locale ; de
retablir et de preserver des principes democratiques traditionnels
de notre Eglise apostolique armenienne. Cela comprend le respect du
principe de separation du domaine spirituel (sous la responsabilite
de membres du clerge) et de questions structurelles, financières,
administratives et juridiques (gerees par des laïcs) ; d’etablir une
pratique du dialogue constructif avec nos communautes et tous les
croyants qui s’y trouvent, et d’ecouter les fidèles dans leur desir
de choisir leur propre structure de l’eglise et leur pretre.

Petition Ouverte a SS Karekin II :

Le vendredi 3 juin 2011, la communaute armenienne de Suisse a lu sur
le site web du Saint Siège d’Etchmiadzine que le père Abel Manoukian,
très respecte (et sanctionne legalement) pretre de la communaute
depuis 16 ans, a ete defroque pour “desobeissance” par votre Saintete.

Les motifs invoques etant pretendument de :

~U” ne pas avoir accepte un diocèse en Suisse ;

~Une pas avoir accepte le locum tenens a la tete du diocèse de Suisse
et comme pretre designe de l’Eglise St. Hagop a Troinex ;

~Une pas s’etre rendu au Saint Siège Etchmiadzine conformement a
l’ordre recu. ”

Nous, les soussigne(e)s, representant la plupart des membres de
l’Eglise apostoliques armeniennes de Suisse (AACS), ainsi que des
membres de la communaute ecclesiale generale, et les Armeniens fidèles
de toutes origines et nationalites a travers le monde, soutenons les
points suivants :

Nous deplorons “l’ordre patriarcal” qui defroque notre pretre et nous
contestons formellement les motifs invoques, que nous considerons
inacceptables et injustifies puisque nous n’y voyons aucune violation
de nos lois canoniques communement acceptees et nos traditions
democratiques.

Nous constatons que declarer unilateralement la Suisse un diocèse
va a l’encontre des souhaits explicites de la majorite des fidèles
Apostoliques de Suisse. Cela n’est pas acceptable. Nous rappelons
que l’Assemblee Generale de l’Eglise Apostolique Armenienne de Suisse
n’a jamais approuve un diocèse en Suisse.

Nous rappelons a Sa Saintete qu’il n’appartient pas a un pretre ni
a un conseil de l’eglise de creer ou de supprimer un diocèse. C’est
uniquement et entièrement a la communaute concernee qu’appartient
cette prerogative.

Nous considerons le Saint Siège d’Etchmiadzine comme un centre
important et venere pour notre spiritualite. Nous avons toujours
ete attaches a Etchmiadzine et aimerions poursuivre ces liens. Nous
soutenons de tout coeur Etchmiadzine en tant que siège de notre
Eglise et nous esperons qu’il sera regi de manière transparente et
avec egard pour celles et ceux qu’il sert.

Nous concluons que la situation actuelle conduit a la division et la
destabilisation de nos communautes, ce qui ne profite qu’a une petite
minorite et a la longue n’aura qu’un impact negatif pour notre nation.

Nous adherons aux principes traditionnellement democratiques de
notre Eglise Apostolique, etablie par les premières assemblees
nationales ecclesiales, dès le 5ème siècle, et respectons les
valeurs et comportement chretiennes ; nous exprimons nos points de
vue ouvertement et de manière transparente.

Nous adressons cette petition au Saint Siège :

1.Pour qu’il soit a l’ecoute de ses fidèles dans leur desir de choisir
leur propre pretre.

2.Pour preserver nos droits traditionnels et les principes
democratiques en separant les questions spirituelles (responsabilite
du clerge) des questions structurelles, financières, administratives
et juridiques (gerees par les laïcs).

3.Pour inverser sa politique et modifier sa strategie actuelle afin
d’etablir une dialogue constructif avec toutes nos communautes
et tous ses fidèles : nous demandons une focalisation sur les
questions spirituelles et religieuses et un engagement tangible vers
l’unification de notre peuple.

Nous sommes fermement et collectivement determines a defendre les
principes democratiques et la transparence de l’Eglise Apostolique
Armenienne.

Nous les soussigne(e)s, acceptons et soutenons cette petition, et
nous invitons nos compatriotes dans toutes les communautes se joindre
a nous.

IT IS TIME FOR PARTIES TO KARABAKH CONFLICT VOICE POSITIONS ON BASIC PRINCIPLES – ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

news.am
June 22 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – It is time for the parties to the Karabakh conflict to voice
their positions on the basic principles of the conflict settlement,
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told a briefing in Strasbourg.

“I am going to Kazan in high spirit and in anticipation of a
constructive dialogue. Later it will be clear how the talks will end,”
he said noting that talks on Nagorno-Karabakh started long ago and
the sides have already managed to discuss many issues.

Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev
will arrive in Kazan on June 24 to attend a traditional Russian
President’s Cup horse race at the invitation of Dmitry Medvedev.

Earlier, Presidents of Russia, France and Armenia issued a joint
statement on Nagorno-Karabakh within the framework of G8 Summit,
on May 26.

They called upon the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to
demonstrate their political will by finalizing the Basic Principles
during their upcoming summit in June.

ARMENIA IMPORTANT MEMBER OF COUNCIL OF EUROPE IN STRATEGIC REGION-COE SEC GEN

news.am
June 22 2011
Armenia

I congratulate Armenia on declaration of amnesty and release of
political prisoners, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Thorbjorn Yagland told a joint press conference with President of
Armenia Serzh Sargsyan in Strasbourg, Armenian News-NEWS.am reports.

He stressed Sargsyan informed him of the ongoing reforms in Armenia
and the dialogue with the opposition. “We also discussed the CoE’s
contribution to these processes,” Yagland said, adding Armenia is an
important member of the Council of Europe and plays an important role
in the region.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan appealed to the parliament offering to declare an amnesty
on the occasion of 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

Chief editor of “Haykakan Zhananak” newspaper Nikol Pashinyan and
former MP Sasun Mikaelyan, who were convicted for their involvement
in Armenia’s capital on March 1, 2008 events.

SUMMIT FAILURE MAY LEAD TO ‘BACKLASH’ ON KARABAKH FRONTLINE

news.az
June 22 2011
Azerbaijan

News.Az interviews Azerbaijani political expert Tabib Huseynov.

What are your expectations of the meeting between the Azerbaijani
and Armenian presidents to be held in Kazan later this week?

In Kazan, the presidents will try to agree on the final articulation
of the basic principles. Failure to achieve some progress, if not
a full agreement at this meeting, may significantly complicate the
talks. This in turn would lead to a negative backlash on the situation
along the frontline.

Today the maximalist and pro-status quo attitudes within Armenian
political circles and society at large are hardly conducive to the
signing of an agreement in Kazan. So, perhaps, a more realistic option
is for the presidents to adopt a statement, which would reiterate
their political commitment to seek a solution based on the basic
principles. This statement may possibly include some generalized
points from the basic principles document, similar to those which
were earlier revealed by the US, Russian and French presidents in
their joint statements in L’Aquila and Muskoka.

Such a statement, however modest it may look, would still be an
important political move to prepare the societies to accept the basic
principles. The Kazan meeting will not be the last chance for Armenia
and Azerbaijan to agree on the basic principles, but it will be an
important milestone, which will largely determine the further course
of the peace process.

At the G8 summit in Deauville, the leaders of Russia, the United
States and France called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to finalize the
basic principles of the conflict settlement at their meeting in Kazan.

What is the reason for the mediators’ optimism about this meeting?

After all, it seems there are no significant changes in Armenia’s
position.

The mediators’ strongly worded calls to agree on the basic principles
in Kazan are a reflection not of optimism, but of concern that further
delay would discredit the diplomatic process.

Let’s recall that the Kazan meeting will be the ninth trilateral
meeting between the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. This
is quite an unusual format when presidents directly become
negotiators. The advantage of such a format is that it allows for
high-profile discussions and, if an agreement is reached, would provide
for its quick implementation. But the presidents cannot endlessly
discuss the same things over and over again. Lack of progress in such
high-profile talks may negatively affect personal working relationships
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents and would, therefore,
further complicate the talks. Failure to achieve progress may also
damage the Russian president’s and Russia’s credibility as the lead
mediator.

The Minsk Group, by issuing increasingly strongly worded statements,
is building up pressure on both sides to agree without further delay
to a compromise based on the basic principles. These principles have
been extensively discussed over the course of the last few years and
the positions and arguments of the sides are now clear. It is time
to make a decision now and move on to the next phase of the talks,
that is, drafting of the comprehensive peace agreement.

Do you believe that the world powers really are interested in
resolution of the Karabakh conflict or do they make statements just
to show that they are doing something?

The international mediators increasingly realize that the status quo
does not guarantee stability and its continuation is not in their
interest, just as it is not in the best interests of the Azerbaijani
and Armenian peoples. This status quo only entrenches radicalism
and reduces chances for a negotiated settlement, thus increasing the
likelihood of war, which would have devastating consequences for both
Armenia and Azerbaijan and for wider regional security.

So, the mediating countries, including some sections of the Russian
political establishment, are now interested in peaceful, gradual and
predictable change in the status quo. But at the end of the day,
we need to bear in mind that the mediators can provide incentives
and exert some pressure, but the decision will have to come from the
Armenian and Azerbaijani leaderships.

How long may it take to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and resume
the normal co-existence of Azerbaijanis and Armenians in the region?

Achieving peaceful coexistence between the two peoples will be a
long and incremental process, which may take several decades, even
after the signing of a peace agreement. Armenians and Azeris lived
peacefully side by side for centuries and in that sense, any talk
about their ethnic incompatibility is nothing but a chauvinistic
attempt to justify territorial expansion. Once there is an agreement
and the process of the return of displaced Azeris begins, Armenians and
Azeris will start living side by side again. Then they will rediscover
the wealth of positive cultural and historical experiences of their
cohabitation that far outweigh their negative experiences.

ISSUE OF MISSING PERSONS NOT POLITICAL BUT HUMANITARIAN PROBLEM – HEAD OF YEREVAN ICRC DELEGATION

news.am
June 22 2011
Armenia

Interview of Lorenzo Caraffi, head of Yerevan Delegation of the
International Committee of the Red Cross to the Armenian News-NEWS.am
agency.

Could you please elaborate on the current programs, cooperation with
the Armenian Red Cross Society (ARCS), dissemination of knowledge on
the International Humanitarian Law (IHL)?

ICRC has been active in Armenia since 1992. According to the mandate,
along with other issues, we deal with the dissemination of IHL and
its implementation. In terms of implementation, importance is given to
the process of drafting a national law on missing persons, where the
ICRC supports the authorities. One of the elements of the cooperation
with the Armed Forces also includes raising awareness of IHL. Another
important point is that ICRC works to create an environment conducive
to the respect of IHL.

Concerning the cooperation with the ARCS, the two organizations work
with the families of missing persons, providing them with psychosocial
support. We also assist relevant services of the ARCS, particularly in
dissemination of International Humanitarian principles and cooperate
in restoring family links. Until the end of last year, we have been
cooperating in a very important field – collecting data on the missing
persons. Jointly with the ARCS, six First Aid courses have been
organized in borderline regions of Tavoush, Gegharkunik and Syunik.

Do you carry out other programmes for borderline areas?

Yes, in relation to the families of the missing. Since the beginning
of this year, we have been working in two regions mentioned above to
help families of missing persons, to be closer to these people. We are
trying to provide them with psychological and psychosocial support,
the importance of which, in my opinion, is underestimated. Besides,
a study was carried out, which proved that families of the missing
are less protected in terms of social protection than the others. In
this regard, we started a program aimed at assisting the families of
the missing by providing a certain number of cattle and micro credits.

These programs are implemented together with local partners.

Concerning the list of missing persons, how many names are in the list,
and how complete is it?

There are 407 names of persons from Armenia, 449 names from NK and 3710
from Azerbaijan in the list. The staff of our delegations in Armenia,
Azerbaijan and the mission in Nagorno-Karabakh NK carries out relevant
activities. It is very important to underline the following aspect-
the list is not complete. It contains names of missing persons whose
family members applied to ICRC. In case new families will apply to the
ICRC, tracing request will be opened and the names of their missing
relatives will be included into the list.

At what stage is the project on collection of detailed data on
missing persons?

In the frame of this project, detailed data on 323 missing persons has
been collected. This is less than the total number of missing persons,
because not all the families agreed to provide information. It is
anticipated, that the collected information will help in future to
carry out exhumations for clarifying the fate of these persons.

Similar projects are being implemented in Azerbaijan and
Nagorno-Karabakh. The idea behind this project is the creation of
a single database on missing persons. In case some steps are taken
in future, such as exhumation and identification, the database will
serve as the main source of reference. Technically, when we talk
about information, we mean ante-mortem data on missing persons. It
includes different type of information, such as dental history,
physical characteristics, or circumstances of disappearance. Similar
activities are implemented in Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.

The collected data is translated into Russian for making it available
to all the three parties. At some stage, in order to complete the
picture, the three databases will be merged into single database, and,
as soon as conditions allow to work, in particular to do exhumations,
these data could be used. All this, however, depends on the political
will of the authorities. The position of the ICRC is that the issue
of missing persons is not a political but exclusively humanitarian
problem, addressing which would alleviate the human suffering.

Repatriate Arthur Badalyan, who has been in captivity in Azerbaijan
for about two years, is currently preparing a claim to the European
Court for Human Rights, accusing the Azerbaijani authorities for
applying violence to and torturing him while in captivity. Where
there any kind of violations observed by the ICRC delegates?

We were aware about Armenian citizen, Arthur Badalyan who went
missing on 9 May 2009, as his family applied to us. There are certain
provisions in the Geneva Conventions about notifying prisoners of war
or civilian internees. On the other hand, a dialogue between the ICRC
and the authorities regarding this issue is confidential. The ICRC
delegates have visited Badalyan in captivity. Under this context,
let me remind that the ICRC is a neutral organisation, and in a
highly polarized situation between the sides, neutrality is becoming
a priority. This brings us back to the issue of confidentiality. The
conditions of detention are discussed with the detaining authorities,
and it is the neutrality of the ICRC enables the organisation to
facilitate repatriation operations.

Does the ICRC dispose of instruments to prevent torture and
inhuman treatment as well as mechanisms to influence in case its
recommendations are not followed?

It is difficult to answer such a general question. The work of the
ICRC has a positive impact on the captives, although not always we
manage to reach the desired. Nevertheless, I would like to quote
the words of Nelson Mandela that he said during the visits by the
ICRC delegates: “What matters is not only the good the ICRC brings,
but the evil it prevents.

How many times have the ICRC delegates visited the prisoners of war
in Armenia and in Azerbaijan?

Since the beginning of the year, the Armenian prisoners of war kept in
Azerbaijan have been visited five times, the Armenian civilian family
of five persons – four times. We visited the Azerbaijani prisoner of
war in Armenia for four times.

How would you estimate the cooperation between the delegation and
the Armenian authorities?

The cooperation with the Armenian authorities has been definitely
on a good level since the beginning of our activities here. I highly
appreciate the efforts of the authorities, especially the MFA, that
they make for drafting the law of missing persons. In addition,
the productive dialogue with the Ministry of Defence is very much
appreciated; I think that good cooperation increases the mutual trust.

And I would like to underline again that the issue of missing persons
is exclusively humanitarian problem. The ICRC, in its turn, as an
independent humanitarian organisation, pays great attention to the
block of issues for improving the conditions of the families of
missing persons. These issues should be the authorities concern.

OBITUARY: COMMUNITY LEADER NORAIR BAHLAVOUNI

Armenian Weekly
Tue, Jun 21, 2011

Community leader, political activist, intellectual, writer, editor,
and broadcaster Norair Bahlavouni, the third of his parents’ four
children, was born in Samarkand, Turkestan on Jan. 27, 1924, where his
father, Yeghishe Bahlavouni, had taken refuge to avoid the relentless
persecutions of the notorious Soviet state security organization
Cheka. Entrusting the safety of his wife Nvart and newly born child
to his father-in-law, Ghukas Malentsian, a high-ranking officer in
the ministry of agriculture of Turkestan ASSR, Yeghishe departed for
northern Russia. After another turbulent year and separation, the young
couple finally reunited in Tabriz, Iran, the “cultural citadel” of
the Iranian-Armenian community in 1925, where they started a new life.

Norair Bahlavouni The young Norair received his early education in
Tabriz in the Ghazaros Aghayan kindergarten under prominent educator
Shushanik Khanazad, and his elementary and secondary education in
the historical Aramian School. He received mentorship from a legion
of eminent intellectuals and scholars, among them Andre Der Ohanian
(Amurian), Haykak Kosoyan, and Yervand Hayrapetian. Norair’s education,
like thousands in his generation, was cut short when all Armenian
schools, clubs, institutions, and organizations, because of the
rapprochement between the governments of Iran and Kemalist Turkey,
were shut down.

The role of his mother proved crucial and left a lasting impact on
the young Norair.

Fate had destined the Bahlavounis to be on the move again for the next
two decades, first to Rasht (1926-29) and then to Tabriz (the young
couple was invited back to Tabriz by Archbishop Nerses Melik-Tangian,
the illustrious prelate of the Armenian Diocese of Atrpatakan, where
his mother taught Russian at the Temakan (parochial) School). In 1934,
after the premature death of their daughter Seda, the couple moved to
the historic city of Hamadan, and two years later in 1936 to Borujerd,
where they served as teachers and principal in the local Armenian
schools and institutions. After two years of service, the Bahlavounis
moved to Tehran in 1938, where they settled permanently.

After graduating from the Sepehr School with distinction, Norair
was accepted in the prestigious Alborz School-College. Concurrent to
his studies, he immersed himself in the social and cultural life of
the flourishing Armenian community in Tehran. Upon completion of his
secondary education, he was preparing to leave for Beirut to attend
the American University of Beirut (AUB) and was also accepted to
Boston University’s department of humanitarian and social sciences,
none of which were realized because of the exigencies of life. He
had to sacrifice his dreams for higher education and assume the
responsibility of supporting his elderly parents and raise his
family, exploring various employment opportunities and careers:
UKCC transportation company, accountant in the Keoroghlian flour
company in Ghazvin, Anglo-Iranian Bank, director of the Dariush
Film company, and finally the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC),
where he served as accountant and auditor for 31 years, and in the
NIOC’s foreign relations data and information analysis department,
a position which he held until 1979.

On July 4, 1944, Norair, with a group of idealistic and dedicated
friends, co-founded the “Ararat” Armenian Cultural Organization (AACA),
an institution that after six decades continues to remain the heart
and soul and the anchor of the Iranian-Armenian community to this
day. He served on the Central Executive Board of AACA for several
terms as a member, secretary, vice-president, and president. In the
same decade he co-founded the Iranian-Armenian Writers Society. Over
the years he assumed more and crucial responsibilities in the life of
the Iranian-Armenian community as a member of the Armenian Diocesan
Assembly for several terms, delegate of inter-diocesan consultative
assemblies, delegate to the Cilician Catholicosate’s World Assembly
(1963-1978), and twice co-chair of the Catholicosate’s Assembly in
1972 and 1977, respectively.

Norair Bahlavouni joined the ranks of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) from his adolescent years, an organization to which
he remained loyal and served with devotion and distinction to the
end, assuming a number of sensitive and crucial positions. He was a
member of the Armenian National Committee (ANC) and contributed to
a number of publication projects in Armenian, Farsi, and English, in
collaboration with his comrades-in-arm releasing, under the general
title Armenology, approximately 14 booklets.

In 1960, he established and served as the editor of Alik Monthly
for three years until its publication ended in 1963. From 1976-78,
he served as editor-in-chief of Alik Daily, the oldest continuing
Armenian-language daily in Iran. In 1978, by the decision of the Tehran
Armenian Diocesan Assembly and the ARF Central Committee, he was
nominated and served as the coordinating secretary of the committee
in charge of the celebrations of the coronation of Shah Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi of Iran on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of the Pahlavi Dynasty, as well as the celebrations
of 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Iranian monarchy. He
received commendation for his exemplary leadership and performance
as the editor of Alik Daily with a special 50th anniversary medal.

In 1979, Norair moved with his family to the United States and settled
in Boston, Mass. Shortly after, in 1979, with Jirair Gharibian,
he co-founded the Armenian Independent Radio Hour of Boston, and
concurrently, for a period of eight months in the same year, served
as the executive director of the California-based Armenian Educational
Foundation (AEF). In 1982, he was invited to join the editorial staff
of the Voice of America, Armenian section, as editor and broadcaster,
a position which he held until his retirement in 2003.

The pages of Alik and several Armenian periodicals are replete
with Norair Bahlavouni’s editorials, articles, and essays, not
to mention hundreds of pieces he edited and broadcast during his
tenure in the Voice of America. He devoted his retirement years to
a number of literary and academic projects, including collecting and
editing essays, articles, translations, and recitations, among them:
Banakhosut’iwnner, demk’er, iradardzut’iwnner (Keynote Speeches,
Personages, Events), Yerevan, 2010; Khmbagrakanner, hoduatsner ew
ugherdzner (Editorials, Articles, and Addresses), Yerevan, 2010;
Yeghishe Bahlavouni: Hushamatean (Yeghishe Bahlavouni: Memorial
Book), Yerevan, 2006; a two-CD set of recitations of selected works
by Avetis Aharonian, including Ukhtavore (The Pilgrim), Hargank’
k’ez (Honor to Thee), Hayrenikd im nerir indz (O’ My Fatherland,
Forgive Me), Ahazang (Alarm) Masis (Masis), and Stuernere ijnum en
(The Shadows are Descending), Washington, D.C., 2006); Vahe Artsruni’s
Hay-tachkakan paterazme, hay spayut’iwne, Shatakh (Armeno-Turkish War,
The Armenian Officers Corps, Shatakh), Yerevan, 2002; and edited his
mother’s translation of Oscar Wilde’s “Salome” (Yerevan, 2003).

Norair Bahlavouni is survived by his wife Lydia, daughter Seda,
son Armen, daughter-in-law Silva, two grandchildren Alina and Alex,
sister Roubina, and three nieces Alenoush, Shake, and Biayna and
their families.

SERZH SARGSYAN: WORK OF PACE AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR NAGORNO-KARABAKH WILL NOT BE EFFECTIVE

arminfo
Wednesday, June 22, 20:48

The work of PACE Ad Hoc Committee for Nagorno-Karabakh will not
be effective, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said during a
question-and-answer after the president’s speech in PACE. He admitted
the European society’s striving to support Armenia in the Karabakh
conflict settlement by means of this Ad Hoc Committee, however, he
warned that “ambiguous information” that may appear as a result of
this Committee’s activity may seriously undermine the whole process.

Sargsyan called on the participants to abstain from this measure and
pointed out that regardless of any opinion, Nagorno-Karabakh was,
is and will be, even if unrecognized, part of Europe, part of the
European community.

Sargsyan stressed that the Ad Hoc Committee for Nagorno-Karabakh has
no special mandate, and the OSCE Minsk Group represented by Russia,
France and the USA deals with the conflict settlement process. “It is
impossible to imagine a more efficient format deserving confidence,
therefore, I think that the Committee’s work will not be effective,
and I fully support our delegation’s position in this matter”,
Sargsyan said.

To recall, the Armenian Dewlegation to PACE boycotted the first
sitting of the re-launched Ad Hoc Committee for Nagorno-Karabakh in
Strasbourg on June 20.

DESTINY OF RUINED CHURCHES IS UNKNOWN

Aysor.am
Wednesday,June 22

“The destiny of the St. Gevorg’s church in Mughni is still not clear,”
said archbishop Arshak Khachatryan.

By the order of the Georgian government the church is now in the stage
of reconstruction, however is still not clear in what status it will
be presented and whether it will be returned to the Armenian’s at all.

“2 questions have been discussed with the president; the status to
be given to the church and the return of the vicars. But there can
be no discussion about the return of the vicars untill the issue of
the status is not clear,” the archbishop said.

“For us the most important thing now is the reconstruction of the
historical and cultural appearance of St. Gevorg church.”

KARABAKH HAS BEEN, IS, AND WILL REMAIN A PART OF EUROPE

Aysor.am
Wednesday,June 22

“We travel to Kazan in anticipation of progress, as we attach great
importance to regional stability and development, to securing a safe
future for the generation growing up in Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh,
and Azerbaijan, and to demonstrating good will and a constructive
approach. However, we all should realize that an agreement can
be finalized and effectively implemented only when the patterns of
Armenophobia and racism are eliminated in Azerbaijan and an atmosphere
of trust is formed. Naturally, no one may question the inherent
right of the people of Karabakh to live freely and safely on their
land and to be the masters of their destiny. The short-term impact
of uninformed debates allows the parties to avoid lasting solutions
that could otherwise emerge in the peace talks in the frameworks of
the OSCE Minsk Group,” the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in
his statement at the PACE plenary session.

I am confident that the overwhelming majority of our colleagues at the
PACE, who have expressed or will express a desire to discuss any issue
related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, have done or will do so out
of good will. However, some can still act on the basis of inadequate
information, which can indeed undermine the process. Therefore, I
urge all of you to exercise some restraint. The main guidance should
be the principle of causing no harm.

Is it possible to help? Certainly, it is. Regardless of different
visions for the final resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
one thing is certain. Karabakh has been, is, and will remain a part of
Europe, albeit unrecognized. Do we realize that society in Karabakh
today is a part of European society, a part of the European family
regardless of the de-jure status of Karabakh? Has the time not come
for the Council of Europe to engage directly with Karabakh in terms
of its primary functions of protection and promotion of human rights,
formation of civil society, democracy, tolerance, and the like? Would
it not be much more logical if the Council of Europe first engaged
with Karabakh before expressing a desire to discuss matters related
to Karabakh, with the participation of the people of Karabakh in such
discussions?” S. Sargsysn said.