Author: Kanayan Tamar

TURKISH ENTREPRENEURS PREPARE TO HOST ARMENIANS FOR LITURGY IN ST.

news.am
Aug 24, 2011
Armenia

VAN. – Turkish companies dealing with souvenirs and jewelry in Van
again hope to host Armenian tourists as the cross was put on Armenian
St Khach church in Akhtamar (Turkey). However, Armenian News-NEWS.am
reporter does not see last year’s passion.

95 years later after the Armenian Genocide, St Khach Church in Akhtamar
held for the first time liturgy on September 19 in 2010.

However, the Turkish authorities did not put the cross on the church,
making excuses that they will not manage in time. The cross was put
10 days after the liturgy. Armenians throughout the world did not
admit this step by the authorities and boycotted the liturgy.

After the cross was put, the number of visitors to Akhtamar has
doubled. The 2010 registered 30,000 tourists, while the first six
months of 2011 already registered more tourists than it was during
the whole 2010.

WITHDRAWAL OF PROTOCOLS FROM TURKISH PARLIAMENT INDICATES ANKARA’S NON-CONSTRUCTIVE STAND

news.am
Aug 24, 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – The withdrawal of Armenia-Turkey Protocols from Grand
National Assembly de facto proves the failure of normalization between
Armenia and Turkey by Ankara, expert in Turkish studies Ruben Melkonyan
told a press conference on Wednesday.

Despite the Protocols were withdrawn from legislative framework,
they still remain on the agenda of Turkey’s political life, he
noted. “The Turkish government has not yet revoked Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu’s signature. Consequently, protocols lack validity and
were declared invalid, but they remain in Turkey’s political life,”
Melkonyan noted.

The expert underlined Turkey once again showed its non-constructive
attitude towards Armenia-Turkey reconciliation process, unlike Armenia,
which proved to be a reliable partner. The expert stressed at the
moment there are no prerequisites for Armenia-Turkey accords to be
again included in the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

It is conditioned by the fact that the possibility of external pressure
on the authorities is minimal. To date, the agenda of international
community and international agencies is full of many other problems
and Armenian-Turkish relations are sidelined, Melkonyan said.

As reported earlier, on October 10, 2009, in Zurich, Ministers
of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Turkey signed the “Protocol on
the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations” and “Protocol for the
development of bilateral relations”, which needed to be ratified by
the parliaments of the two countries.

However, on December 7, 2009, Turkey linked the Armenian-Turkish
process to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. During a meeting with U.S.

President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
that Ankara would not ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols without
resolution of the Karabakh conflict. On April 22, 2010, Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree suspending the ratification
process.

MILITARISTIC STATEMENTS OF AZERBAIJAN REFER TO RUSSIA RATHER THAN ARMENIA – FORMER PM

news.am
Aug 24, 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Azerbaijan’s militaristic statements on Nagorno-Karabakh
changed the addressee, ex-Prime Minister of Armenia Khosrov Harutyunyan
told to a press conference on Wednesday.

“We have to admit that the addressees of these statements are no
longer Armenia and Karabakh. Now they are directed at the international
community and above all – Russia,” said Harutyunyan.

According to him, after the conflict in South Ossetia, the main
guarantor of stability and peace in South Caucasus is Moscow.

“That’s why President Dmitry Medvedev meets with the Presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan alone, with the approval of Mr. Sarkozy and Mr.

Obama. Therefore, to speak about war and the need to resume
military operations means not to recognize the role of Russia,”
said Harutyunyan.

According to him, it is now Azerbaijan’s turn to voice its position.

“The ball is on Baku’s side: they will determine whether a peaceful
resolution to the conflict will be a perspective,” said he.

Another important factor in the context of the Karabakh conflict is
Turkey’s role.

“After the conflict in South Ossetia, Turkey is no longer satisfied
with the role of regional, Middle Eastern power and claims to resolve
international issues in other regions. The contacts between Turkey
and Azerbaijan should therefore attract the attention of Russia,”
said Harutyunyan.

STAFF OF ARMENIA VESSEL MEETS PRESIDENT SARGSYAN AFTER WORLD TOUR

news.am
Aug 24, 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan met with staff of
Armenia vessel on Tuesday, after they made journey around the world.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed content with successful completion of
a fact-finding mission, stressing its significance in terms of
preservation of Armenian identity and cultural values, the presidential
press service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Referring to the contacts with representatives of Armenian communities
worldwide, President Sargsyan noted. “The Armenian communities’
desire to be in touch with is once again indicated the importance of
this work.”

The leader of the expedition Zori Balayan told President Sargsyan
about their achievements, as well as difficulties and hardships they
faced during the journey.

The members of the expedition handed the Armenian flag, the book on
Armenian freedom fighters in Karabakh war to the Armenian President.

ARCHBISHOP BARSAMIAN RESPONDS ON STATUS OF CHURCHES IN TURKEY

AZG
25-08-2011

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian Primate

The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America published the
text of a letter sent by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), to United
States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, regarding assertions made
by Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, President Barack Obama’s recess
appointment to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey.

In an official written statement addressing an inquiry from New Jersey
Senator Robert Menendez, regarding the present operational status of
“the more than 2,000 Christian churches functioning prior to 1915
on the territory of present-day Turkey,” Amb. Ricciardone asserted:
“Most of the Christian churches functioning prior to 1915 are still
operating as churches. Some churches of significance operate as
museums. The remaining have fallen into disrepair or were converted
to mosques for lack of use”.

The full text of Archbishop Barsamian’s letter to Secretary Clinton,
in response to the above assertion, appears below.

Dear Madame Secretary:

My kind greetings and blessings you, as you continue your service to
our nation.

As Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, I
write regarding the statements made by Ambassador Francis Ricciardone,
President Obama’s appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of
Turkey, during his confirmation hearing.

Please know that we have been generally supportive of the efforts of
the U.S. government to promote a more normal relationship between
the republics of Turkey and Armenia. Likewise, we greatly respect
and appreciate the productive role you personally have played in
such initiatives.

With those efforts in mind, it is difficult to understand Ambassador
Ricciardone’s assertions about the status of historic Armenian
churches, and other Christian churches, in Turkey. The loss of these
many hundreds of churches, their neglect and outright destruction,
and the conversion of many of our sanctuaries into mosques, is a matter
of intense pain to Armenians: an ongoing reminder of the loss of life
and the destruction that we suffered as a result of the 1915 Genocide.

Ambassador Ricciardone deeply offended Armenian-Americans with his
remarks, opening sensitive wounds and potentially setting back the
gradual process of healing. In all charity, perhaps the Ambassador
is simply unaware of certain facts. But mastery of the history of a
country, its dark as well as bright chapters, is essential to serving
the United States effectively and diplomatically in this important
and complex region.

Again, it is our general support for your efforts, Madame Secretary,
as well as our desire to see genuine progress made to benefit the
entire region, that prompts this letter to you. I am confident that
you will give these thoughts all due consideration, as you make
decisions about the vital role America plays in Turkey, in Armenia,
and throughout the world.

Madame Secretary, you have our great respect and support in all your
undertakings. May our Lord strengthen and guide you in your service
to our beloved country.

ATTEMPT TO DEFEND MURDERER
Suzan Simonyan

Lragir.am

24/08/2011

The incident of last November in one of the southern military units of
NKR is the past year’s most bloody and fantastic thriller in the life
of our army. The wire of headphones of one of the senior sergeants was
ripped. He utters a word of abuse, and one of the conscripts, Manvel
Hazroyan, 19, thinks the sergeant meant him. In 5 hours he kills 4 and
wounds 3 from a machine gun. In the end, he shoots from the machine
gun twice at himself. This is the official story. Later in hospital,
at the intensive care unit, Manvel Hazroyan confesses that he was the
killer. “One of the victims was outdoors. He killed him. Then he went
downstairs. It was dark. He opened the squeaking door and opened fire.

One person went unnoticed. He left the room barefooted. He set to run.

Hazroyan chased him and shot him dead. Later the guy’s brother asked
him why he killed his brother. He said I didn’t know it was your
brother,” tells Edmond Marukhyan, Hazroyan’s attorney.

However, Hollywood wouldn’t pick up this story because it has a
serious shortcoming. The motive of murder is not in place. The
American audience would never believe that one would kill a squad
for a word of insult, and do it after thinking for 5 hours. Those
7 should have insulted him so deeply, at least raped him. However,
Hazroyan would not tell anything.

In hospital, Manvel was interviewed and confessed in the absence
of his attorney. Earlier Vova Gasparyan, the deputy minister of
defense, met with him. It is not known what they talked (this episode
is missing in the records). It is not known what other officials met
with him. His father, Armen Hazroyan, arrived at the hospital but was
not allowed to talk to his son privately. At the intensive care unit,
7-8 soldiers guarded Manvel, and even the doctors felt uneasy when
they were asked about the health of the patient.

The father’s impression was that his son was intimidated, and he did
not believe his confession was true, and on the same day he shared
his doubts with reporters. Later the young man told his attorney he
didn’t realize what he was doing at the time of killing. “Sometimes he
is calm, sometimes he breaks down. If he took a word of abuse uttered
in the air for him, if he was mad with everyone, it means this person
has an unhealthy perception. It means he is not sane. If he is not
sane, why was he called up? If there is no such perception, it means
something is wrong with the investigation,” Marukhyan says. On August
3, when Judge Hamlet Davtyan voiced his verdict of life sentence,
Hazroyan again lost control. On hearing his sentence for life, the
young man threw the plastic bottle with water at the judge and hit
him. The officers of Shushi jail handcuffed him and beat him in the
court room.

Edmond Marukhyan tried to help his defendant but he was beaten too.

When everyone calmed down, the attorney asked the officers why they
beat him too, they said because he defends Hazroyan. These crimes
were committed in front of the judge but charges were brought only
against the person who threw the bottle.

Hazroyan reported violence against him to the Prosecutor General’s
Office. The report was redirected to the Office of the Prosecutor
General of Karabakh. There is no response. The Chamber of Advocates has
hung a condemning decision on the wall. Attorney Melania Arustamyan
says the Chamber of Advocates took every possible step to defend
Marukhyan but neither the steps nor the decision is published,
considering the Karabakh issue.

The head of the security of Shushi remand prison who was among
those who beat Hazroyan asked him in the presence of his attorney,
“Do you complain that we beat you?” Hazroyan refused to complain.

“How could he say yes, the head of security used violence? If he did,
after the investigator left, they would beat him to death in Shushi
jail,” Edmond Marukhyan says. He appealed the decision of the Court
of First Instance as he found a great number of violations during
the preliminary investigation and trial, so the verdict cannot be fair.

“Manvel Hazroyan was interrogated in the absence of his attorney.

After getting his confession, they engaged an attorney who signed
the records but he was not a member of the Chamber of Advocates of
Armenia. In other words, according to the law of Armenia, it was not
an advocate. The investigation was built on this evidence which they
took with violation of the law. The real motive of the crime is not
known. A sane person would not take up a machine gun and kill his
friends for an indirect word of insult,” says Edmond Marukhyan.

He filed a petition to assign a forensic examination by a psychologist
and a psychotherapist but his petition was dismissed.

“Since there is no evidence, conclusion of forensic examination
obtained in accordance with the law that he is insane, the punishment
cannot be considered fair. You cannot sentence a person for life like
this. We think it is unacceptable to use the forensic examinations
and Hazroyan’s confession as evidence,” the attorney says.

He was labeled “traitor” for a legislative discrimination between NKR
and Armenia. Hazroyan has been transferred to Armenia. He is at the
Nubarashen penitentiary. Every time Marukhyan meets his defendant,
he asks: “Did you think, huh? Do you have anything to say?” But he
keeps silent.

132.4% Year-On-Year Growth In Armenia’s Gross Agricultural Product In Jan-July 2011

/ARKA/
August 24, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, August 24. /ARKA/. Armenia recorded 132.4% year-on-year
growth in gross agricultural product on August 1, 2011, Grisha Baghian,
first deputy agriculture minister, said Wednesday at a news conference.

“Certain progress was seen in cattle breeding,” he said. “This
segment’s gross product grew 1.2% over the mentioned period.”

The number of cows in Armenia grew by 1,600 by early August, compared
with the same month a year earlier.

The number of sheep and goats grew by 23,500 and pigs by 3,500.

Milk output grew by 3,000 tons for seven months to 400,000 tons,
and meet output grew by 1,500 tons to 3,000.

Instead egg output shrank 20% over the period between August 1, 2010
and August 1, 2011. Some 380 million eggs were produced for the first
seven months of this year.

The deputy minister said that there was excessive egg output at the
same period a year before. Poultry farms then had to butcher 150,000
laying hens. “However, I think this segment will show growth later
this year,” Baghyan said.

In his words, necessary ground is laid in Armenia for agriculture
growth in 2012.

He said the number of cows will grow by 2,500 by 2012, compared with
the previous year, to 535,000, pigs by 2,500 to 120,000 and sheep
and goats by 29,000 to 600,000.

According to the agriculture ministry’s projection, the 2011 meet
output will be greater than that of the previous year by 3,000 tons.

The ministry expects 127,000 tons this year.

Milk output is expected to grow by 8,000 or 9,000 tons to 610,000
tons.

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

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Watch our latest videos on YouTube here:

BIRDS NEST CHILDREN JOIN THE IFTAR ORGANIZED BY MRS. MAY MIKATI WIFE OF THE
PRIME MINISTER

On Monday 22 August in the evening the wife of the Prime Minister of Lebanon
Mrs. May Mikati invited all children in orphanages in Lebanon, to join her
at an Iftar dinner at the Prime Minister’s Palace.

The Birds Nest children, accompanied by Very Rev. Krikor Chiftjian and the
Director Mr. Samuel Boyadjian, were also invited.

At the end of the dinner, Mrs. Mikati thanked all the humanitarian
organizations in Lebanon who took care of orphans or provided foster care to
children. Before leaving the palace, V.Rev. Krikor thanked Mrs. Mikati on
behalf of His Holiness Aram I, for inviting the children of Birds Nest.

##
Photo here:

MEETING OF THE ARTSAKH AND FRENCH DEPUTIES

August 25, 2011

On August 22, the NKR NA Deputies met with the French NA Deputies who
had arrived in Stepanakert on an acquainting visit on the invitation
of the NKR NA. The meeting took place in the NKR NA meeting hall. The
NA staff and representatives of the NKR MFA also attended the meeting.

Opening the meeting, NKR NA Chairman Ashot Ghulian, on behalf of the
Republic’s authorities and the attendants, warmly greeted the guests –
Deputies of the French NA, members of the France-Armenia Friendship
Group, Chairman of the National Security and Armed Forces Committee
Gee Tessier, member of the Social Issues Committee, Vice-Mayor of
Marseilles Valery Buayer, Secretary of the Foreign Relations Committee,
Mayor of Vienne Jack Remilier, and Secretary of the Social Issues
Committee George Colombier. “The Artsakh Armenians, who are building
their independent statehood, are glad to receive friendly France’s
NA Deputies on their native land”, said the NA Chairman, expressing
his gratitude to the guests for their visit. He also expressed his
gratitude to the visit’s initiators and organizers – the persons
accompanying the French Deputies and especially NKR Representative
to France Hovhannes Gevorgian. “We appreciate the mediation mission
of France as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group in the Karabakh
settlement process. We are sure that France, representing the herald
of the ancient world independence, respects the aspiration of the
Artsakh people for building its independent state”, the Speaker noted.

The Parliament Speaker also expressed his conviction that the French
Deputies’ visit to Artsakh proceeds from the traditions of the
Armenian-French centuries-old friendship and is another manifestation
of this friendship. As such, it is another link in the continuous
chain of our inter-parliamentary contacts, Mr. Ghulian noted.

According to the NA Chairman, the Artsakh parliamentarians had the
honor to receive twice their French counterparts for the recent years.

In particular, in 2009-2010, they were the delegations led by Chairman
of the French NA France-Armenia Friendship Group Fransua Roshbluan
and comprising Deputies Rishar Malier, Arlet Grogkost, Ryke Ruche,
Michel Difenbaker, and Pascal Kroso.

“The working visit of the NKR delegation to France in October 2009
was important for us and, I believe, for our French friends”, noted
the NKR NA Chairman. “Our delegation, which I had the honor to lead,
met with Chairman of the French Senate France-Armenia Friendship Group
Serge Lagosh and some members of the NA France-Armenia Friendship
Group to discuss important regional issues related, in particular, to
the Karabakh settlement process, the role of France in this process,
and the developments in the Caucasus region”, he said. The NA Chairman
expressed hope for further meetings with the current French Deputies
and their counterparts in Artsakh and the hospitable land of France.

Especially that this year is a jubilee both for the
NagornoKarabakhRepublic and the France-Armenia interstate relations.

“20 years have passed since the freedom-loving French people, who
also respects any aspiration for freedom, established full-fledged
state relations with Armenia, and their mutual understanding allows
to hope for more achievements”, said the Parliament Speaker.

Leader of the French delegation Gee Tessier also made a speech.

Noting that their current visit was based, in particular, on the
commitments assumed within the France-Armenia Friendship Group,
the French Deputy said, “I often think why the people of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic, about a century after a forcible resolution, again
have to face difficulties from generation to generation in living
on their native land and why the world’s conflicts have a positive
resolution in one case and are merely ignored in another case. Why
shouldn’t we speak of the fact that Armenians have the full right to
live in this region, especially that their roots are historically much
deeper on this land?” Noting that, thanks to the meetings, they gained
certain distinctness on the essence of the Karabakh conflict and its
settlement process, he expressed his confidence of the importance of
Nagorno Karabakh’s equal participation in the settlement process. As a
result of our yesterday’s and today’s talks, we understood that your
peaceful future must be established only via your participation and
your will, he noted. “We see how you remove the consequences of the
war and reconstruct your country and it isn’t difficult to imagine
your ability to establish tomorrow’s final and stable peace, as you
have the corresponding will”, emphasized the French Deputy. According
to him, there is no alternative to the peaceful development of Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh in the South Caucasus region. “As of us, French
Deputies, on our return to France in a few days, we’ll inform the
corresponding state structures of our country and all those who are
interested in establishing peace in this region that the Karabakh
people have great aspiration for establishing peace and living in
peaceful conditions”, he said.

The meeting of the Artsakh and French Deputies was completed with Mr.

Ghulian’s conclusive speech. In his speech, the NA Chairman appreciated
the assessments and wishes their French counterparts expressed from
the Parliament’s tribune and in their immediate talks.

Noting that, thanks to the recent years’ contacts, the Artsakh
Parliament had gained over ten friends at the National Assembly of
France, the NKR NA Chairman, on behalf of the Artsakh parliamentarians,
expressed readiness to continue that friendship, to share opinions and
positions with their French friends and to have corresponding debates
on the Karabakh and other regional issues. “I think that in the 21st

century, we have our part in continuing and developing the
Armenian-French friendship. Tomorrow morning,

after your departure, I think we’ll feel the same satisfaction in our
meetings, which, I hope, were useful for our further cooperation”,
the NA Chairman noted.

NKR NA Press Service

ZVARTNOTS AIRPORT NEW TERMINAL TO OPERATE FROM SEPT. 16

PanARMENIAN.Net
August 25, 2011

PanARMENIAN.Net – In the framework of events dated to the 20th
anniversary of Armenia’s independence, new terminal of Zvartnots
airport will be put into operation.

As the airport’s press office told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter,
the opening ceremony will take place with participation of Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan and ambassadors accredited to the republic
on September 16.

The new terminal occupies a territory of 34 thousand m2. It is modernly
equipped and has high earthquake stability.