Author: Kanayan Tamar

MANOYAN: WITHDRAW OF HOAGLAND’S NOMINATION IS THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY’S VICTORY

Yerkir
07.08.2007 13:43

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – This solution of Richard Hoagland’s appointment
is the American Armenian community’s victory, Kiro Manoyan, the
director of the ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office,
told a news conference today.

He said it was a victory because with the help of political figures
the community managed to stop a process that would have resulted in
appointing a diplomat who was questioning the Armenian genocide. Unlike
Hoagland, the official US position is that while the word genocide
is not used, it, however, is not questioned.

"This was a success of Armenians and the Armenian diplomacy although
Armenia did not do anything directly. I think this was important
too because the White House wanted Yerevan to pressure the Armenian
community but Yerevan fortunately did not do that," Manoyan said.

Manoyan said that one of Hoagland’s letters was the main reason: when
he was asked which cases can be characterized by the US as genocide and
why the US did not recognize the 1915 events as genocide, Hoagland,
going a step further from the official position of the US, had said
that the US should clarify whether the events were premeditated.

Manoyan said that the White House dropped Hoagland’s nomination
following Hoagland’s letter asking to be replaced because he would
never be confirmed due to the Senate’s procedure, according to which
any senator can delay the appointment.

As for the position of the next candidate in the Armenian genocide
issue, Manoyan said that the prospective candidate should have the
right stance.

"In this case, the right stance should be the right stance of the US
executive power. I said already that Hoagland was one step further,"
Manoyan said.

Whitehouse.gov (press release), DC
Aug 3 2007

Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate

White House News

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE ON AUGUST 2, 2007:

A. Paul Anderson, of Florida, to be a Federal Maritime Commissioner
for the term expiring June 30, 2012. (Reappointment)

Dennis W. Carlton, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Council of
Economic Advisers, vice Katherine Baicker, resigned.

Julie Fisher Cummings, of Michigan, to be a Member of the Board of
Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service for a
term expiring September 14, 2011, vice William A. Schambra, term
expired.

Cynthia Dyer, of Texas, to be Director of the Violence Against Women
Office, Department of Justice, vice Diane M. Stuart, resigned.

John A. Gastright, of South Carolina, for the rank of Ambassador
during his tenure of service as United States Coordinator for
Afghanistan, Department of State.

Mark D. Gearan, of New York, to be a Member of the Board of Directors
of the Corporation for National and Community Service for a term
expiring December 1, 2010. (Reappointment)

Carl B. Kress, of California, to be a Federal Maritime Commissioner
for the term expiring June 30, 2011, vice Steven Robert Blust,
resigned.

Tom Osborne, of Nebraska, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of
the Corporation for National and Community Service for a term
expiring October 6, 2012, vice Cynthia Boich, term expiring.

Jeffrey William Runge, of North Carolina, to be Assistant Secretary
for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, Department of Homeland
Security. (New Position)

Alan D. Solomont, of Massachusetts, to be a Member of the Board of
Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service for a
term expiring October 6, 2009. (Reappointment)

Margaret Spellings, of Texas, to be designated a Representative of
the United States of America to the Thirty-fourth Session of the
General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization.

Donna N. Williams, of Texas, to be a Member of the Board of Directors
of the Corporation for National and Community Service for a term
expiring October 6, 2009, vice Marc Racicot, term expired.

WITHDRAWAL SENT TO THE SENATE ON AUGUST 3, 2007:

Richard E. Hoagland, of the District of Columbia, a Career Member of
the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of
America to the Republic of Armenia, which was sent to the Senate on
January 9, 2007.

20070803-3.html

ARMENIAN SOLDIERS DETAINED AZERI CITIZEN WHO PASSED ON KARABAKH SIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.08.2007 16:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An Azeri citizen was detained on the contact line
between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Viktor
Kocharian, Chairman of the NKR State Commission on Prisoners of War
and the Missing told the PanARMENIAN.Net that the detained Azeri
citizen did not have documents with him. "He represented himself
as Aliev Anar Marif-oglu born in 1978 in Azeri town of Mir-Bashir,
where he was living the recent years. Currently the competent bodies
of the NKR are clearing up the causes and motivations that made the
Azeri citizen pass on the Karabakh side," Kocharian stated.

He also underlined the OSCE and IRCC offices in Nagorno Karabakh have
been informed about this incident. "Today representatives of IRCC
Office in Stepanakert have already visited A. M. Aliev, who passed
them a letter addressed to his relatives," the Chairman of the NKR
State Commission said.

AZERI CITIZEN ARRESTED WHEN CROSSING THE BORDER

armradio.am
03.08.2007 13:15

On August 2 an Azerbaijani citizen was arrested when passing to the
Karabakhi side in the northeast direction of the contact line between
the Armed Forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, Mediamax reports.

The NKR State Commission for War Captives and Missing Persons reported
that the Azeri citizen had no identifying documents. He introduced
himself as Aliyev Anar Marif oghli. He was born in 1978 in the
Azerbaijani city of Mir-Bashir.

Corresponding bodies are clarifying the reasons for crossing the
border.

The State Commission for War Captives and Missing Persons has informed
the Nagorno Karabakh Offices of the OSCE and the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about the incident.

Today ICRC representatives visited the captive and the latter passed
a letter for his relatives.

FOOD PRICES FALL BY 6.2% IN ARMENIA IN JULY 2007

Noyan Tapan
Aug 2, 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, NOYAN TAPAN. Food prices fell by 6.2% in Armenia
in July on June 2007, mainly as a result of seasonal fluctuations of
fruit and vegetable prices.

According to the RA National Statistical Service, there was a 7.4%
price fall in the commodity group of fruit and vegetables in July
2007 on July 2006 and a 35.8% price fall in July on June 2007, which
was mainly due to the fall in prices of green beans (69.3%), tomato
(60.5%), eggplant (50%), green pepper (48%), and potato (40.3%). Prices
of cabbage, cucumber, carrot, onion, garlic and mangel-wurzel fell
by 2.1-28.2% in the indicated period.

A 25% inflation was recorded in the commodity group of fruits in
July 2007 on the same month of last year and a 14.1% price fall – in
July on June 2007, mainly due to a fall in prices of apricot (48.4%),
apple (14.3%), watermelon (41.3%) and melon (31.55). Prices of peach,
strawberry, banana, orange, and cherry declined by 0.7-11.6% in the
indicated period.

The downward tendency in egg prices continued in July 2007, with the
overall price fall for 3 months making 7.5%. The average price of eggs
declined by 2.9% in July on June. A 0.7% price fall was registered
in the commodity group of meat products in July on June 2007, mainly
due to 0.7-2.3% fall in prices of beef and poultry. Prices of mutton
and pork declined by 0.5% and 0.3% respectively in the indicated
period. The average republican price of granulated sugar fell by 1.8%
in July on June 2007. Prices of milk products and other foodstuffs
fell by 0.1% in July on June, while prices in the commodity groups
of coffee, tea, cocoa, confectionery, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks
and cigarettes remained at the previous month’s level.

There was 0.9% inflation in the commodity group of fish products in
July on June 2007. 7.8% inflation was recorded in the commodity group
of bread products in June-July 2007, including a 0.4% inflation in
July on June. The price of flour grew by 8.2%, of bread – by 10.6%,
of grain – by 19.3% in June and July.

ARMENIAN WRESTLERS WILL COMPETE FOR MEDALS

armradio.am
30.07.2007 17:06

Armenian wrestlers Gevorg Gevorgyan (54kg) of Gyumri and Gevorg
Sahakyan (63kg) of Etchmiadzin proceeded to the final round of the
European Greek-Roman Style Wrestling Championship underway in Warsaw,
the capital of Poland. The Armenian sportsmen will compete for medals,
Secretary General of RA Wrestling Federation Lyova Vardanyan told
Armenpress.

ARMENIAN FESTIVAL COMBINES PAGANISM AND NATIONALISM
Onnik Krikorian, a journalist and photographer from the United Kingdom living and working in the Republic of Armenia.

EurasiaNet, NY
July 27 2007

Tradition, in the South Caucasus, dies hard. With the ancient July
festival of Vardavar, one small group of Armenians is seeing a chance
to relive Armenia’s pagan past, and affirm the country’s national
identity.

Armenia adopted Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD,
thereafter destroying or converting its pagan temples. For most
Armenians, this date represents the turning point for their nation,
and one that would later distance it from Muslim neighbors in Iran,
Azerbaijan and Turkey.

But each year at Armenia’s only remaining pagan temple, at Garni,
32 kilometers east of Yerevan, a few hundred Armenians gather to
celebrate Vardavar as an event that they consider represents Armenians’
true and original faith. The festival is perhaps the most popular of
all traditional and religious events in the Armenian calendar, with
youngsters and adults gleefully dumping water over hapless passers-by.

The celebration has now been absorbed into the Christian calendar,
but was traditionally associated with Astghik, the Armenian goddess
of water, beauty, love and fertility. The festival’s name is derived
from the Armenian word for rose, "vard." Early observers of Vardavar
offered Astghik roses and sprinkled water on each other, or feasted
near water in the hope that she would provide rain in time for harvest.

Now re-invented to represent the transfiguration of Christ, the holiday
is scheduled by the Armenian Church to be held approximately 98 days
after Easter.

At Garni, pagan priests placed sacrificial knives in fire, as well
as rose petals in earthenware jugs of water, before reading aloud
from the Ukhtagir, a collection of pre-Christian folk stories and
legends immortalizing Armenia’s pagan gods written by Slak Kakosian,
the founder of the Pagan Covenant, one of Armenia’s main pagan
organizations. Founded in 1990, the group now claims it has over
1,000 members.

In the group’s events, nationalism and paganism mingle equally. "We
are pagans," said 43-year-old Zohrab Petrosian, Kakosian’s successor.

"We are Armenians, but we don’t know our true religion. Simply lighting
a candle in a church or wearing a cross around our necks does not make
us Christian. I’ve been a member of this organization for 10 years,
but as an Armenian I’ve been pagan since the day I was born."

At the Garni Vardavar observances, one of the highest-profile attendees
was Armen Avetisian, leader of the ultra-nationalist Union of Armenian
Aryans, who received a three-year suspended sentence in 2005 for
inciting racial hatred against Jews. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].

Avetisian and his followers wore black t-shirts featuring the picture
of Garegin Njdeh, an Armenian national hero who lived from 1886-1955.

Njdeh was a skillful military leader and anti-Bolshevik activist
who developed a philosophy that blended religious and nationalist
elements. His ideas have been influential in shaping the political
platforms of modern-day parties, including the governing Republican
Party of Armenia, as well as its junior coalition partner, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation – Dashnakstutiun.

Until recently, many of those attending the pagan festivals were
affiliated with the Republican Party, but now members of other parties
are starting to join in. This year, for example, apart from members
of the Union of Armenian Ayrans, most other people in attendance
identified themselves as members of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation – Dashnakstutiun.

The appearance of ultra-nationalists, however, raises concern in
some circles that the pagan movement could make a radical departure
toward the extreme right. Armenian pagans tend to dismiss the concern,
though. Many at the Garni observances said politics wasn’t a factor
for them. Robert Garabedian, an ethnic Armenian astrophysicist from
Germany, was baptized as a pagan at the Garni event. Speaking to
EurasiaNet, Garabedian said that spending Vardavar at the temple
site carried a personal rather than political significance. "I’m
Zoroastrian, Christian and Buddhist, and now I want to be baptized
into the same religion that my [Armenian] ancestors followed," he said.

The hordes of children drenching pedestrians and motorists with water
usually overshadow any such quests for meaning on Vardavar. Even so,
Armenia’s pagans might take comfort in the fact that torrential rains
unexpectedly hit Armenia at the festival’s end on July 15. As the
rain poured down in the days that followed, one can only wonder if
Astghik wasn’t listening, after all.

"COMMENTS ON CODE OF RULES OF LINE OF CONDUCT OF RA JUDGE" BROCHURE PUBLISHED

Noyan Tapan
Jul 26, 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The launching of the brochure "Comments
on the code of rules of the line of conduct of the RA judge" took place
in the RA Court of Appeal on July 25. According to the information
provided to Noyan Tapan by Alina Yengoyan, the Spokeswoman of the RA
Court of Appeal, the U.S. International Development Agency and the
ROLI Armenian office of the American Lawyers’ Association provided
assistance for the publication of this book.

"The code of rules of the line of conduct of the RA judge" has been put
in action since December 8, 2005. It includes claims of fundamental
documents concerning the rules of the line of conduct of a judge,
such as the Bangalor principles adopted in the Hague in November,
2002, the November 19, 2002 conclusion of the consultative council of
the European judges on "The professional line of conduct of a judge,
particularly, the norms of ethics, the line of conduct incompatible
with the status of a judge and principles of impartiality", as well as
other international guarantees and approaches concerning the subject
of this issue.

INDIA ELECTED ITS FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT

AZG Armenian Daily #139
25/07/2007

International

India elected its first female president on Saturday, official results
showed, in what supporters called a boost for the rights of millions
of downtrodden women, despite a bitter campaign marked by scandal.

Pratibha Patil, the ruling coalition’s 72-year-old nominee for the
mainly ceremonial post, easily beat opposition-backed challenger and
vice president, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, in a vote by the national
parliament and state politicians.

Patil won about two thirds of the Electoral College votes. There had
never been any doubt she would win, given support from the ruling
coalition.

Supporters hoped Patil’s candidacy would help bring issues that
plague women in India, like dowry-related violence, into the public
spotlight. A woman is murdered, raped or abused every three minutes
on average in India.

Her presidency also reflects the growing power of some women in India,
where an increasing number are taking part in the workforce and in
schools and hold senior positions in corporations.

However, her campaign was marked by some mishaps, i.e. the employees’
union has taken Patil and others to court, claiming loans meant for
poor women were instead given to her brother and other relatives and
not returned. She was also accused of trying to shield her brother
in a murder inquiry.

Patil is a lawyer by profession. She has participated in parliament
works since 1962. She has variously been one of the members of the
government of Maharashra state. She has been the Governor of the
northwestern state of Rajasthan recently.

CRITICISM IS NOT ATTEMPT OF VIOLENT COUP

Lragir, Armenia
July 24 2007

On July 24 the court heard the case of the members of the Consolidation
of Armenian Volunteers Civil Initiative Vardan Malkhasyan, Jirair
Sefilyan and their friend Vahan Aroyan, accused of calls for a violent
coup. Vardan Malkhasyan testified and elucidated on his speech which
was defined as a call for a violent coup.

Article 27 of the Constitution allows expressing opinion and
nobody has the right to make someone change their opinion, Vardan
Malkhasyan stated. Article 301 of the Criminal Code contradicts to
the Constitution of Armenia, it is not distinct and certain, and this
"uncertainty allows the government to apply this article arbitrarily
for settling accounts with oppositionist and undesirable figures."

Vardan Malkhasyan appealed to the hall. "Don’t give up, we will win."

In testifying he looked at the hall not the bench. Vardan Malkhasyan
said his speech was criticism, stern criticism but not an appeal for a
violent coup. I said the people who sell what was gained through the
blood of freedom fighters, who led the Armenians into this poverty,
are concealed enemies, internal enemies, leftovers of the criminal
world. "If the court decides that they are the government of Armenia,
I will plea guilty," Vardan Malkhasyan stated. He said in his speech
that Serge and Kocharyan have put out the fatherland to sale. "Everyone
says this, I am not alone." Vardan Malkhasyan does not deny his speech,
but he says he did not call for a violent coup and proposes holding
a linguistic test.

"I wonder why the government fears criticism," Vardan Malkhasyan
stated and criticized the government in the courtroom. Recently
Robert Kocharyan has stated that there is lack of confidence for
courts. The reason is "that there are people in Armenia who think
they are above the law and justice, who do not let the judge think
correctly, implement justice, and the cause comes from the president."

According to Vardan Malkhasyan, the decision on their detention
makes the court sentence us to more stern punishments. "We have been
detained for 7 to 8 months now. If the court decided to sentence us
to three months of detention, not a fine or three years in prison,
who will account for our serving more by 5 months?" Vardan Malkhasyan
asked. It means the court will sentence to the ultimate punishment,
three years, Vardan Malkhasyan thinks.