Author: Kamalian Hagop

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

CATHOLICOS ARAM I MEETS WITH PRESIDENT KHATAMI

BARCELONA – His Holiness Aram I and the former President of the Islamic
Republic of Iran Ayatollah Khatami held a private meeting in Barcelona
yesterday. They were later joined by their respective delegations. The
Catholicos and the Iranian officials discussed the situation in Lebanon, the
relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Catholicosate of
Cilicia and issues related to the Armenians of Iran.

Talks were also held on the upcoming interfaith dialogue between Iran and
the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Tehran this November. Both the former
President and the Pontiff stressed the importance of interfaith dialogue in
the current world. They were invited to the luncheon organized by the
government of Catania in honour of the high-level delegates in the
historical palace of the parliament.

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View the photos here:
tos/Photos231.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

SARGSYAN INAUGURATED AS ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

Interfax News Agency
April 9 2008
Russia

Serzh Sargsyan took the office of Armenian president on Wednesday.

The inauguration ceremony of the new Armenian president took place
at a special parliamentary session in the Yerevan opera and ballet
theater. The ceremony was attended by Catholicos Karekin II, the
Armenian political elite, and officials from foreign missions.

Sargsyan took the oath with his right hand on the Bible and the
Armenian constitution, after which he delivered a program speech.

Sargsyan inaugurated as Armenian president (Part 2)

YEREVAN April 9

Serzh Sargsyan took the office of Armenian president on Wednesday.

The inauguration ceremony of the new Armenian president took place
at a special parliamentary session in the Yerevan opera and ballet
theater. The ceremony was attended by Catholicos Karekin II of All
Armenians, the Armenian political elite, and officials from foreign
missions.

Sargsyan took the oath with his right hand on the Bible and the
Armenian constitution, after which he delivered a program speech.

The first time in Armenian history, all the services of the Armenian
armed forces for took an oath of loyalty to the president as the new
commander-in-chief, and a small military parade took place on Freedom
Square adjacent to the theater.

The presidential inauguration ceremony was broadcast live on national
television. Journalists could see the ceremony on TV screens in a
special room.

A balloon show will take place in central Yerevan on Wednesday evening.

Sargsyan was Armenian prime minister before he won presidential
elections on February 19, in which nine candidates were running.

Before his appointment as prime minister, Sargsyan was defense
minister.

SERZH SARGSYAN TAKES ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT OFFICE

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.04.2008 15:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On April 9, the inauguration of Armenia’s third
President Serzh Sargsyan took place during a solemn parliamentary
session in the State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet.

The President-elect swore on the RA Constitution and Gospel.

"Assuming the office of the President of the Republic of Armenia I
swear: to fulfill the requirements of the Constitution in an unreserved
manner; to respect the fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms;
to ensure the protection, independence, territorial integrity and
security of the Republic to the glory of the Republic of Armenia and
to the welfare of the people of the Republic of Armenia," he swore.

According to the RA Constitution, the inauguration is due 50 days
after the presidential election.

Serzh Sargsyan won the February 19 presidential race with 52,8%
of votes.

HENCEFORTH ARMENTEL TO OPERATE UNDER "BEELINE" BRAND

Noyan Tapan
April 8, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Henceforth ArmenTel will operate under
the "Beeline" brand, the management of VimpelCom company (Russia)
– ArmenTel’s owner announced. Armenia is the 7th CIS country to use
"Beeline" brand. The entrance of ArmenTel into the group of companies
operating under "Beeline" brand is aimed at strengthening the positions
of VimpelCom’s international brand.

Mobile communication cards with the new brand are already on sale
and will be used along with the previous cards until the latter go
out of circulation.

According to the acting director general of ArmenTel Genady Kalgashkin,
the change of the brand presupposes a new approach to the level of
servicing and the quality of provided services, as well as a complete
reformation of the sales network and innovation of the company’s
corporate culture.

CONFERENCE IT/ AYVAZYAN – PARIS

8.html
April 4, 2008, Paris

On Friday, April 4, the Tchobanian Institute, in partnership with the
UGAB, organized the first of a series of conferences with Dr. Armen
Ayvazyan on "Armenia’s Security Predicament and the Ways Out of
It". Mr. Francois Thual, a prominent French geopolitologist and the
Diplomatic Counselor to the Speaker of French Senate, was also invited
as a Distinguished Speaker.

The large room of the Alex Manoogian Cultural Center was full to
capacity (approximately 125 people) and about thirty spectators have
to follow the conference from the mezzanine.

After the welcoming remarks from Bruno Knadjian (Secretary of
UGAB-Paris), Varoujan Sirapian, President-Founder of the Tchobanian
Institute, promptly presented the latest issue of the Europe&Orient
Review. He told about the projects of the Institute concerning the
various publications and also the cultural actions, in particular the
active participation in the organization of the 1st Festival of BD
(comics) and the event in Yerevan planned for October 2008.

Then he passed the word to Dr. Armen Ayvazyan who presented
compellingly the strategic situation and the challenges of the
national security of modern Armenia (including the Republic of
Nagorno-Karabagh/Artsakh). Then Mr. Varoujan Sirapian, the moderator
of the event, passed the floor to Mr. Francois Thual, who, as usual,
knew how to captivate the attention of the attendees with a methodical
and substantiated speech.

The attendees demonstrated their acute interest by posing questions
both about the subject of the day and the tense political situation
after the Armenian presidential elections. The two speakers brought
their answers to these questions. Present in the room was Mr. Alexis
Govciyan, president of the CCAF and also President of UGAB-Europe,
who also contributed his views with a synthesis of what was developed
by the speakers.

The audience included noted personalities such as Mrs. Nelly
Tardivier-Henrot, the Commissar of the Armenia’s Year in France (held
in 2007), the persons in charge for the UGAB-Paris and various French
Armenian associations, the clergymen and, perhaps most important,
many young people.

At the end of the conference and accompanied with hearty applause,
Varoujan Sirapian passed a Tchobanian Institute’s Member of Honor
Certificate to Mr. Francois Thual, one of its first and devoted
partners.

The evening continued very late at the lounge around a glass of
friendship.

The next conferences

The next conferences that Dr. Ayvazyan and Mr. Varoujan Sirapian
will attend are scheduled in Marseilles (April 8), Valence (April 9)
and Lyon (April 10).

–Boundary_(ID_mLDk91Pf4kGaMyUPASjJ5Q)–

PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN CONGRATULATED ARMENIAN WOMEN ON MOTHERHOOD AND BEAUTY DAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.04.2008 12:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian congratulated
Armenian women on Motherhood and Beauty Day, the leader’s press
office reported.

"Dear women,

I congratulate you on Motherhood and Beauty Day.

Inexhaustible motherly courage and care stipulate the woman’s
exclusive role in the upbringing of young generation with the family
and society. Let your hearts fill with pride on the success and
worthy deeds of your children. I wish you warmness and happiness
in your homes. Be always womanly and charming," the President’s
congratulatory message says.

It is inconvenient to be a shoemaker and wear a pierced shoe

05-04-2008 15:06:16 – KarabakhOpen

The problem of publication of books has recently become one of the
urgent issues in Karabakh. Certainly, it is not because the Karabakh
issue has been solved, the quality of life has risen, all foes have
been defeated, and the gold reserve exceeds the amount of consumed
pork. Simply, as it usually happens, an issue which seems unimportant
first becomes an indicator of general processes.

The point is that the government annually assigns a considerable sum
for publishing books. In 2008, for instance, 10 million drams was
assigned. The special commission under the ministry of culture and
youth posts an announcement for books to publish and selects those
which it thinks deserve government funding.

A few days ago the government affirmed a list of 23 books which will be
published in 2008. Affirm is not the exact word here because the
minister of culture Norek Gasparyan who had presented the list was
instructed to review the list.

The point is that 2 of the 23 books are by the minister of culture, and
the author of another two books is the president of the Writers’ Union
Vardan Hakobyan, who is a member of the commission. In addition, Norek
Gasparyan’s book of short stories `set a record’ in its `weight group’
(43 printer lists) which must be published in English for whatever
reason, and the novel `Mother’ (30 printer list). The government must
allocate 1,250,000 drams for these two books. The two books by Vardan
Hakobyan entitled Volume 4 and Volume 5 are 70 printer lists together
(1,900,000 drams).

Before the list was submitted to the government, the parliament
unexpectedly held hearings on the issue of publication of books.
Unexpectedly because the NKR parliament does not hold hearings often,
especially on such issues which seem unimportant first. We have learned
that the hearings were held because a number of authors were
dissatisfied with the way how eligibility for government funding is
measured. Both the parliamentarians and the authors said it is
inadmissible when an official misuses his or her powers for his or her
personal interests. In addition, the question was asked who has
assessed the result of the funds the government spends on publication
of books. What is the propagandist, national, art value of the books
which are published on government funding?

The participants of the hearings were supposed to prepare
recommendations to the government which, but as far as we know, have
not been extended to the government. However, the concern was voiced.

After this again a list was submitted to the government according to
which 30 percent of the funds allocated by the government should be
spent on the books by the minister and the president of the Writers’
Union.

The reaction was rigid. Prime Minister Ara Harutiunyan instructed to
review the list and said during the meeting of government the list
should not include more than one book by the same author. It is true
that he did not state that according to laws and moral rules an
official cannot allocate money to himself. He can be either a member of
the commission or a participant of the competition. But it was in the
air.

Unfortunately, this is the case not only with publication of books. It
is somehow inconvenient in our country to be the head of a building
company and not to build a house for oneself on public funds. It is
inconvenient to be a shoemaker and wear a pierced shoe. It is
inconvenient to work for the car pool of the government and not to buy
a `written-off’ car. It is inconvenient¦

VARTAN OSKANIAN MET WITH UKRAINE’S DEPUTY FM

armradio.am
04.04.2008 18:18

On April 4 RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian received the Deputy
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Konstantin Yeliseev.

Greeting the guest, Minister Oskanian expressed appreciator for the
high-level relations between Armenia and Ukraine.

Konstantin Yeliseev thanked for the opening of the exhibition dedicated
to the 90th anniversary of the Armenian-Ukrainian diplomatic relations.

The parties stressed the willingness of the two countries to foster
the development of cooperation in the economic and cultural spheres.

The interlocutors discussed the process of resolution of the Karabakh
conflict and its perspectives.

CEASE-FIRE REGIME BREAKING DISPROVED IN ARMENIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY

arminfo
2008-04-03 15:38:00

ArmInfo. Information about cease-fire regime breaking was disproved
in Armenian Defence Ministry.

As press-secretary of Armenian defence minister, Colonel Seyran
Shaksuvaryan told ArmInfo correspondent, the "information" disseminated
by Azerbaijani Defence Ministry about breaking of cease-fire regime
at Berd-Tovuz direction is false. The situation at the line of contact
is stable, Shakhsuvaryan said.

To note, over the last period of time the Azerbaijani party is
officially and unofficially disseminating information allegedly about
breaking of cease-fire regime, initiated by the Armenian party. One can
notice tendency of extension of geography of firing. If earlier they
used to inform about "breaking" in one direction, today "breaking"
happens in several directions simultaneously. According to some
military sources, in such a way Azerbaijan is preparing ground for
a new attack just in the same way as it tried to capture one of the
posts of the army of Karabakh on 4 March of the current year.

FOUR PAGES DEVOTED TO THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MASS VIOLENCE

armradio.am
03.04.2008 15:53

Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence launched today the first working
tool on the crimes against Humanity perpetrated on all the continents,
during and after the 19th century. Four pages are devoted to the
Armenian Genocide, independent correspondent Jean Eckian informed
from France.

This Encyclopedia Project aims to create a regularly updated
electronic database focusing on massacres and genocides of the
20th century. Currently, there is no tool available that documents
and classifies our knowledge by continent, country and historical
period. The Encyclopedia’s first objective is to fill this gap by
offering reliable historical description and interdisciplinary analysis
of both well-documented and less well-known 20th century massacres.

Such a unique database will not only be valuable to scholars, but
also the NGO community, international legal experts, policy makers
and journalists.

Anyone seeking a reliable account regarding a specific case of
massacre, in a particular country or on an exact date will now be
able to locate the information on the Encyclopedia.

The Online Encyclopedia provides chronological indexes, case studies,
analytical contributions on socio-political violence in a given
country, a glossary of the terms most often used in genocide studies
as well as theoretical papers written by the most representative
authors in the field.