Author: Kanayan Tamar

RA PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN ON THE ISSUES RELATED TO THE DIALOGUE WITH THE EXTRA PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 17, 2011 – 18:00 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan issued a statement
relating to a dialogue with the extra parliamentary opposition.

The presidential statement reads,

“For the forces, which are concerned with the problems of our people
and development of our state, the only logical and acceptable way
to move forward and find solutions to the existing difficulties is
dialogue and discussions. All other methods can be dangerous, full of
inevitable losses. We have been speaking about it constantly and will
not recoil from repeating it again and again. After the Presidential
elections in 2008, my first public statement was a call for cooperation
directed to all political forces and non-governmental groups. And
ever since, the working style of the authorities remains unchanged.

No matter how difficult, at times even tough the discussions have
been, the Political Coalition has been able to maintain constructive
cooperation with the parliamentary opposition – Armenian Revolutionary
Federation and Heritage Party – for the benefit of Armenia’s
advancement. We have not only been absolutely open for cooperation
with all political forces, but have created corresponding mechanisms.

The work format with the extra parliamentary parties allowed to
juxtapose approaches existing in the political field and related
to the issues which are vital for our state and our nation. The
establishment of the Public Council also was aimed at the attraction
of as many social groups as possible in the decision making processes,
and we always consider proposals coming from that structure.

Dialogue with the Armenian National Congress has also been initiated by
us. We have started the process and it was done not under any pressure,
as some forces embarrassed by that dialogue are trying to present,
but as a result of our deeply conscientious conviction. I assess
positively our work with the ANC for last several months and hope
that there is mutual understanding that the launched process should
be upheld and advanced through the joint efforts. To destroy is easy,
however political maturity is manifested through the ability to add
to whatever has already been done. I believe, if the parties are able
to abstain from the temptation to corner each other and the process
by one-step, unreasoned moves, it will be possible to resolutely move
forward and bring greater benefits to our people and our state. From
this point of view, the essential principle is clear: ultimatums are
unacceptable, and talking in ultimatums is a road which leads nowhere,
and turning a dialogue into negotiations is simply unacceptable.

I would like to restate: we have always been open and ready for
any kind of discussion. If there are political forces, which have
concrete and reasonable proposals, we are ready to provide concrete
solutions; If among the numerous problems facing our people and
our country the ANC is interested exclusively in the elections, the
Speaker of the National Assembly is ready to personally receive the
representatives of that political body and hear them out. If, however,
there are suggestions aimed at the rise of our economy and solution of
the social problems existing in the country, then the Prime Minster
personally will receive them and discuss these issues. If there are
issues which command intervention by the President, the Head of the
Presidential Staff will receive them and discuss all issues.

However, if instead of negotiations, which are unacceptable, the
Armenian National Congress is genuinely ready to continue the dialogue
on the outline of the country’s development, essential issues of
the country’s foreign and internal policies and desires to do so
through the specially designated individuals, the representatives
of the Coalition parties can sit down at the negotiation table with
them. The Political Coalition is ready to conduct such discussions
with all political forces which possess concrete proposals.

We have embarked on a very important road, and it is important not
only for today. I am confident that if somberness of mind does not
leave us, we will be able to install a new political culture which
is extremely important for independent Armenia.”

DE NOUVEAUX TARIFS POUR LES TRAJETS EREVAN-BATOUMI-EREVAN
Stephane

armenews.com
vendredi 17 juin 2011

La compagnie des Chemins de fer du Caucase du Sud a annonce les prix
des billets pour les trains de voyageurs entre Erevan et Batoumi
entre juin et juillet.

Les trains fonctionneront tous les jours du 15 Juin au 1er Octobre.

Les mardis et vendredis un train supplementaire emmenera les vacanciers
armeniens vers la mer Noire.

En Juin, le coût des billets varie entre 13550 drams et 27630 drams
selon le type de voitures. En Juillet, les prix iront de 9960 drams
a 31240 drams. Les billets pour les trains sont disponibles dans
les gares d’Erevan, Vanadzor, Gyumri et Armavir via le système de
billetterie automatique Orion.

88 CARS TO THE ARMENIAN AMBULANCE PARK

ARMENPRESS
JUNE 17, 2011
YEREVAN

Within the framework of the contract signed between the governments
of Armenia and China 88 cars have been provided today to the Armenian
ambulance park. Healthcare minister Harutyun Kushkyan said at the
cabinet sitting today that it is a big step in upgrading of “1-03”
service.

He said in the last 20 years neither the parks of provinces nor the
capital were accomplished.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan highlighted the filling of the park in
the sphere of medical services, which will allow making qualitative
changes in the sphere.

Viewed 15 times

ARMENIAN EXPERT: STREET-MADE ICE-CREAM DOES NOT CORRESPOND TO QUALITY STANDARDS

/ARKA/
June 17, 2011
YEREVAN

Street-made ice-cream which is sold in Yerevan streets does not
correspond to quality standards, said the Chairman of National
Association of Consumers’ Rights Protection Melita Hakobyan in the
press-conference on Friday.

“It does not correspond to quality and hygiene standards. Many years
ago ice-cream making equipment disappeared from Yerevan streets but,
unfortunately they appeared again”, said Hakobyan.

Raw-material used for such an ice-cream has unknown origin and even
there maybe no milk.

“Quality of ice-creams produced by our local companies is rather high.

I recommend to buy this product”, she said.

TIGRAN SARGSYAN WAS PRESENT AT THE OPENING OF HANQAVAN “ANI RESORT” HOTEL

Noyan Tapan

17.06.2011

(Noyan Tapan – 17.06.2011) On June 16, RA Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan was present at the opening of Hanqavan “Ani Resort” hotel.

The Prime Minister got acquainted with the conditions and offered
services of the hotel.

Congratulating the participants on behalf of the government, the
Prime Minister Sargsyan gave importance to the Armenian-American
businessmen Sedrak Achemyan’s investment in Armenia.

The head of the government noted that the investment was done not in
Yerevan, but in the region which will promote the regional balanced
development.

TRABZON POLICE CHIEFS WON’T BE PROSECUTED FOR DINK MURDER

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 17, 2011 – 12:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The High Criminal Court of Rize (eastern Black Sea
coast) dismissed the appeal against the decision to drop procedures
related to the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist,
editor-in-chief of the Armenian Agos newspaper Hrant Dink, Bianet
agency reported

The joint attorneys of the family of the slain journalist had filed an
appeal with the Rize Court against the decision given by the Trabzon
High Criminal Court.

Accordingly, Faruk Sarı and Engin Dinc, on duty for the Chief of
the Trabzon Police Intelligence Branch; the two former Chiefs of the
Trabzon Police, Ramazan Akyurek and ReÅ~_at Altay; Muhettin Zenit
who was responsible for the communication with assistant intelligence
staff member Erhan Tuncel; Ozkan Mumcu, Mehmet Ayhan and Onur Karakaya,
Department Chief Inspector Ercan Demir and the Chief of the Trabzon
Anti-Terror Branch, Yahya Ozturk, will not be prosecuted in the
context of the Dink murder.

The Dink family lawyers demanded the investigation of the above
mentioned persons and later on appealed the decision for the closing
of procedures. Both their petition and the appeal put forward that
the officials of the Trabzon police at the time were responsible for
the killing of Hrant Dink.

COURT THROWS OUT 2 SLANDER SUITS AGAINST MEDIA
Mariam Chakhoyan

hetq
19:43, June 16, 2011

Today, in a welcome reversal for the media, a Yerevan court threw out
two slander suits filed against the Kentron TV station. Many however,
do not view the judge’s verdict as free from outside influence.

The suits were filed by Ashot Harutyunyan and Gevorg Hayrapetyan. They
had gone to the court, demanding that the TV station issue a retraction
of reports aired by Kentron TV. At issue were “recreations” of an
alleged crime the two have been charged with.

The plaintiffs argued that the broadcast was aired to sow confusion
in the minds of the viewers and reinforcing the credibility of the
charges.

Seda Safaryan, the attorney for both plaintiffs, told Hetq that the
court’s verdicts were not free of outside influence.

EDWARD NALBANDIAN MEETS FRENCH MINISTER FOR COOPERATION

Armradio.am
17.06.2011 11:06

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received Henri de
Raincourt, French Minister for Cooperation.

Greeting the guest, Minister Nalbandian noted that Armenia attaches
special importance to multifaceted cooperation with France and the
development of friendly relations.

Ministers Nalbandian and de Raincourt praised the high-level political
dialogue established between the two countries. Reference was made
to issues of economic, inter-parliamentary, cultural and educational
cooperation.

The interlocutors discussed the cooperation within the framework of
the International Organization for the Francophonie, emphasizing
the importance of the conduct of the meeting of the International
Association of Francophonie Mayors in Yerevan this fall.

The parties discussed Armenia-EU cooperation, the positive progress
registered in the negotiations on the Association Agreement,
preparation for the talks on visa facilitation.

Edward Nalbandian and Henri de Raincourt exchanged views on the
peace process on the Karabakh conflict settlement. In that context
Minister Nalbandian underlined the positive involvement of France as
OSCE Minsk Group co-chair.

TCA PASADENA-GLENDALE PRESENTS PROGRAM ON LEVON ZAVEN SURMELIAN

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Editor

Zareh Sapszian and Sona Khandjian

PASADENA, Calif. – Tekeyan Cultural Association’s Pasadena-Glendale
Chapter organized an evening dedicated to the life and literature
of the Armenian-American author Levon Zaven Surmelian on Thursday,
May 26, at the Beshgeturian Center in Altadena.

Zareh Sapszian, a fiction writer and contributor to Nor Or,
was invited to deliver the lecture. Sapszian was born in Aleppo,
Syria. He graduated from Karen Yeppe High School, and became a teacher
of Armenian language and literature at the Armenian Evangelical High
School in Ainjar, Lebanon. He then moved to the United States, due
to the civil war in Lebanon and settled in Los Angeles. He is married
and has one daughter.

Sapszian first presented a biographical sketch of the late Surmelian,
who was born in Trabzon, Turkey in 1905. Surmelian’s father, Garabed,
was a pharmacist and had three other children. He lost his parents
during the Armenian Genocide.

When Russia occupied Trabzon in 1916, Surmelian escaped to Batumi,
Georgia. In 1918, he moved to Istanbul, Turkey, which was under the
control of the Allied Nations, and studied rural economy at Armash. In
1920, he traveled to Armenia with his classmates, to help improve
Armenian agriculture. Disappointed in the Soviet regime, he fled back
to Batumi, and then returned to Istanbul.

Finally in 1922, Surmelian immigrated to the United States and
settled in Kansas. His first order of business was to study English,
then further his studies in rural economy. Two years later, he became
infected with tuberculosis and traveled to Los Angeles, where he spent
four years in a sanitarium to recover from his emaciating disease. He
married Zarmig Geurdjian in 1957, but had no children. His wife passed
away in 1992 and only two years later, he died.

Introducing Surmelian, Sapszian noted that first and foremost, he was
a poet. His first book of poems, titled Joyous Light, was published
in 1924. At this point, Sona Khandjian presented a poetic recitation
of some of his most famous poems, leaving a lasting impression on
the audience.

Surmelian’s first book in English, titled I Ask You Ladies and
Gentlemen, was published in 1945 by E. P. Dutton. This autobiographical
book became a best seller quickly. His second book, titled 98.6,
was published in 1950. The title, 98.6, refers to the temperature
of the human body and it tells the story of a young man suffering
from tuberculosis.

In 1968, Surmelian published two more books, Apples of Immorality
and Techniques of Fiction Writing. The latter became a textbook for
literature in universities throughout the United States.

It’s noteworthy to mention that Surmelian’s library and entire wealth
was bequeathed to the Armenian General Benevolent Union, which in
turn dedicated a state-of-the-art printing facility to honor him in
Yerevan, to be used by the writers’ union.

– Kevork Keushkerian

ARMENIAN, GEORGIAN CHURCH LEADERS REACH IMPASSE

asbarez
Thursday, June 16th, 2011

Karekin II and Ilia II in Georgia

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-The spiritual leaders of Armenia and Georgia have
failed to reach any concrete agreements on disputes between their
state-backed churches after nearly one week of negotiations held
during Catholicos Karekin II’s visit to Georgia.

The supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church and
Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox Church publicly
disagreed on the main sticking points as they wrapped up the talks
late on Wednesday.

Karekin II began the trip last Friday in the hope of convincing
Georgia’s political and religious leadership to grant an official
status to the Georgia Diocese of the Armenian Church and return
several churches in and outside Tbilisi to the latter. Karekin II’s
office said after his weekend meeting with Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili that the Georgian side agreed to register the diocese and
pledged to preserve the churches “until their return to the diocese.”

However, no agreements or joint declarations were signed as a result.

Speaking to journalists in Georgia’s Javakheti region mostly populated
by ethnic Armenians, the two pontiffs said they failed to work out
a mutually acceptable document. “I think that we are saying the same
things but with different wordings,” said Ilia.

Ilia insisted that the Armenian Church should gain official recognition
in Georgia only if the Georgian Church is granted the same status in
Armenia. Karekin II countered that Armenia’s small ethnic Georgian
community, numbering less than 1,000 people, never applied for such a
status. He argued that Armenian law provides for the easy registration
of religious minorities.

Contradicting Saakashvili’s assurances reportedly given to Karekin II,
Ilia also stated that “Armenian churches will be repaired in case
of the restoration of Georgian churches in Armenia.” “If Georgia
restores Armenian churches, then Armenia must repair and preserve
Georgian churches as well,” he said.

The elderly patriarch referred to several medieval and mostly abandoned
churches located in Armenia’s northern Lori province. The area was
for centuries controlled by Georgian kings through their Armenian
vassals. Some of those noble families were members of the Georgian
Church.

The Armenian Church disputes Georgian claims to these worship sites,
saying that they were built and always used by Armenian adherents of
the Greek Orthodox faith.

“Of course, restoration of historical monuments must be an obligation
of the two states, but one must first of all ascertain their origin,”
said Karekin II.

Asked by RFE/RL’s Armenian service whether the Georgian Church is ready
to substantiate its claims with documentary evidence, Ilia replied,
“Yes, we are ready.”

The Georgian Church proposed that the two sides form a joint commission
of scholars and historians for that purpose. The proposal was not
accepted by Karekin II.

“We replied that they should first present necessary facts as to
what exactly the commission should investigate,” said the Armenian
Catholicos. “An appropriate decision [on whether to set up such a body]
would be made after that.”

Both religious leaders stressed that the two churches will continue
to seek a negotiated solution to these disputes.