Author: Karagyozian Lena

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

A NEW ADDITION TO THE RELIGION TEXTBOOK SERIES FROM ANTELIAS

The religion textbook series, a project launched by the Catholicosate of
Cilicia two years ago, now has the published version of its fourth volume.
The textbook is a collection of important Biblical figures and events
catered for 14-year-old students. Substantial space is provided to the
Saints of the Armenian Church and the teachings of The Fathers, within the
general content which focuses the spotlight on the life and works of
prophets. The textbook also includes moral lessons that seek to raise the
awareness of young students. With colorful pictures and enjoyable divisions,
the textbook will surely be a favorite for the young students.

Similar to the three volumes printed previously, this volume also has a
"Teacher’s Guide", which includes guidelines on explaining and conveying
each lesson to the students. The recommended methods include games within
the classroom, handcrafts and other modern teaching methods designed to
capture students’ attention.

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View the cover here:
tos/Photos59.htm#3
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the books
published in the Printing House 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.

Kosovo’s future
The day after independence

Nov 22nd 2007
The Economist print edition

The next Balkan headache for the European Union

FOR months the future of Kosovo has been uncertain. In March Marti
Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, presented a plan for conditional
independence to the United Nations, which has run the province since the end
of the war in 1999. Russia stepped in to stop this, and has since treated
Kosovo as a bargaining card with the West. The crude message was that, even
though Kosovo is surrounded by the European Union and NATO, a resurgent
Russia can still get its way there. Now it looks as if this may have
backfired.
Kosovo has a population of 2m, 90% of whom are ethnic Albanians who have
long demanded independence. Serbia’s leaders say they cannot have it, since
Kosovo was always a Serbian province and not a Yugoslav republic before the
country fell apart. Serbia has proposed various models of autonomy, drawing
on such examples as Hong Kong and the Swedish-populated Aland Islands,
formally part of Finland. But Kosovo’s Albanians have rejected them all. A
final bout of diplomacy intended to reach a compromise has, predictably,
failed so far to find one.

The diplomats will present a report on their work to the UN on December
10th. Russia and Serbia want the talks to go on after that. But their
chances of success are diminishing. "The intriguing thing," comments Mr
Ahtisaari, with not a little hint of satisfaction, "is that the Russian
attitude has reinforced the unity of the EU. I don’t think that was their
original intent."

Kosovo’s Serbs were told to boycott the election on November 17th by their
leaders, and only 40-45% of Kosovar Albanians turned up to vote. The
election was won, with 34% of the vote, by Hashim Thaci, a former political
leader of Kosovo’s guerrillas who fought against the Serbs in 1998-99. After
the poll he said Kosovo would declare independence immediately after
December 10th. But privately he told Western diplomats he could wait until
spring; he then said nothing would be done before consulting the Europeans
and Americans.

Many countries wonder if Kosovo’s independence is a good idea. Some fear a
precedent for separatists, from Abkhazia to Catalonia. At one time, the
European Union looked set to be divided over recognition. But a likely
German decision to say yes, plus what seemed a scary bid by Russia to
exploit Kosovo to divide the EU, has converted many doubters. Only Cyprus is
likely to resist to the bitter end. Slovakia and Greece seem resigned to
accepting Kosovo’s independence.

This is a big success, says Ivan Krastev, a Balkan analyst, "but the
problems will come later. It must be understood that EU unity cannot expire
on the day after the recognition of Kosovo." What this implies is a large EU
commitment to the region, beyond replacing the UN mission in Kosovo with an
EU one. It is not clear that all European governments are prepared for this.

Several things need to be done in the wake of Kosovo’s probable
independence. The most delicate are careful handling of the Serb breakaway
northern bit of Kosovo and the reinforcement of pro-European voices in
Serbia. The second may involve some unpalatable decisions, such as setting
aside the condition that Serbia’s advancement towards EU accession must be
conditional on the arrest of Ratko Mladic, a Bosnian Serb general wanted by
The Hague war-crimes tribunal.

Another place causing concern is Macedonia, where recent violence involving
ethnic Albanians has set nerves jangling. Macedonia hopes to be invited to
join NATO next April. That would warn off predators in what by then may be a
newly independent Kosovo. But it may not happen, for Greece threatens to
veto a Macedonian invitation as part of its 15-year-long campaign to get it
to change its name.

KASPAROV WAS RELEASED

A1+
[07:58 pm] 29 November, 2007

The World Chess Champion, the leader of the oppositional United Civil
Front Garry Kasparov was released today. He was detained after 24
November gathering. The Court accused Kasparov of violating the law
on conducting gathering and of not obeying the law-keepers. Kasparov
served 5-day administrative arrest by the decision of the Court.

IT WILL SNOW

A1+
[03:53 pm] 30 November, 2007

Meteorologists forecast snow in the Great Plains and regions of the
Republic of Armenia on December 2, Zaruhi Petrossian, the head of the
"ArmHydroMet" Hydrometeorological Centre told A1+.

According to Zaruhi Petrossian the temperature went down on November
29. Temperature will keep on dropping at the beginning of December.

Hayots Ashkharh Daily, Armenia
Nov 29 2007

KARABAKH’S DESTINY DEPENDS ON ARMENIAN ELECTIONS

The First Unexpected Nomination

Yesterday, in `Urbat’ club, Arman Melikyan announced about his
decision to nominate his candidacy for presidency. He has recently
sent his resignation from the post of the Adviser to the President,
to Stepanakert, but he is sure this news will swiftly reach
Stepanakert through Mass Media.
This is how Arman Melikyan formulated the motivations of his
decision: ` In my view the tactics of the rivals can bring to a
serious political confrontation, if not conflict. This is a big
danger. I have come to the decision to run for the presidential
elections, to try to avert that danger.’
He also said: ` I don’t want to be represented as an alternative,
I don’t want to be a united candidate, I don’t want to be a
candidate, simply I don’t see any other option. The thing is I
advance other approaches, in terms of the negotiation process and the
reforms in the governing system.’
Arman Melikyan said the pre-election campaign is around two
principal issues – Karabakh issue and fighting corruption, around
which two poles have been formed. ‘ Unfortunately two poles have been
formulated – one supports the Armenian Pan National Movement, and is
concentrated on ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the other – the
Republicans. These two poles bring the people face to face with a
serious alternative.’
Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s approach towards Karabakh issue is totally
unacceptable for A. Melikyan. ‘It is evident that his team has
remained in the same position they used to be in 1997 and in essence
they are ready to cede the territories of Nagorno Karabakh, the
territories that are out of the borders of former Nagorno Karabakh
Autonomous Province and Present NKR.
His disagreements with the pro-governmental pole is mostly linked
with their evaluations of the scale of corruption. But as he said he
expects clearer approaches and evaluations regarding Karabakh issue,
>From the pro-governmental pole. `The Republican team not giving any
guarantees that those territories won’t be ceded, meanwhile denies
the fact of the existence of the corrupted government system.’
A. Melikyan says the most dangerous thing in the pre-election
dispositions is that all the difficulties are ascribed to Karabakh
issue. `In this confrontation a very serious wedge is thrust, in
Karabakh – Armenia relations. They try to introduce the expression
`Karabakh-inhabitant’ as an enemy of Armenians. They try to link all
the difficulties faced by Armenia, with Karabakh issue. But it is a
nonsense.’
Representing his approaches regarding NKR issue he underscored: `
In my view it’s high time to say that we will never cede the
liberated territories. We have serious bases to do so, deriving from
the imperative of the protection of human rights. I don’t think we
can ignore the rights of our compatriots, wherever they are. The
biggest error of the negotiation process is that from the beginning
the factor of Armenian refugees have been overlooked, which started
>From the beginning of 1990-ies. But it is never late to advance that
issue on the negotiation table. Armenia’s foreign policy has lots of
work in this respect. This is a task for the new President.’
The speaker said Karabakh’s presence around the negotiation table
is indispensable.’ We must do our best for Karabakh to partake in the
negotiations as an independent party.’
He also stressed the importance of the recognition of Karabakh
that can be discussed in Armenia-Karabakh bilateral negotiations. `
These negotiations can last for a certain period of time. For some
months, years, but the existence of the negotiations is necessary. In
my view Armenia must declare that the 1989 decision on the
unification of Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Province with Armenia is
in force, because it doesn’t take into account today’s territorial
and post-war realities. It will provide an opportunity for Armenia
later to recognize Karabakh with the existing borders.’
The speaker believes the foundation of corruption has been laid in
the beginning of 1990-ies. `It was at that very period of time that
the system was formed. Because there was a misbalance. People, must
be paid according to the degree of their responsibility. They must be
well off not to fix their eyes upon the state recourses.
The second mechanism, which according to A. Melikyan can hinder
the formation of corruption, system is supervision. ` There must be
serious mechanisms of supervision, including public control’
He considers all those who share his approaches and standpoints as
his supporters. `In my view my approaches are logical. Should the
voters appreciate them, they will be triumphant. Otherwise, later
they will start to look for the errors they have made.’

NAIRA KHACHATRYAN

AZERBAIJAN TO USE OTHER WAYS TO RESTORE ITS TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY – DEFENCE MINISTER

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 15 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / Òrend corr E. Huseynli / If peaceful negotiations on
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict do not give concrete
results, Azerbaijan will choose other ways to restore its territorial
integrity, the Azerbaijani Defence Minister, Colonel-General Safar
Abiyev said during his meeting with the newly-appointed British
Ambassador to Azerbaijan Dr Carolyn Browne on 15 November.

According to the Minister, Armenia can no longer occupy 20% of
Azerbaijani land.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.

Azerbaijan supports a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, Abiyev said

–Boundary_(ID_TmPX3KpvtSuKmQFfmK9aXg)–

IRAN, ARMENIA REVIEW EXPANSION OF DEFENSE COOPERATION

Qatar News Agency
November 8, 2007 Thursday 12:22 PM EST

Iran, Armenia Review Expansion Of Defense Cooperation tehran, November
08 (qna) – Iran’s Minister Of Defense And Armed Forces Logistics
Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad-najjar Conferred On Thursday In
Yerevan With Armenian President Robert Kocharian On Expansion Of
Cooperation Between The Two Countries. according To Public Relations
Department Of Iran’s Defense Ministry, At The Meeting, The Armenian
President Welcomed The Recent Visit Of The Iranian Defense Minister
And Expressed The Hope That It Would Bear Fruitful Results For Both
Sides. supporting The Agreement Signed By The Two Countries’ Defense
Ministries, He Called For Implementation Of The Agreements Endorsed
By The Two Sides’ Presidents In Iran-armenia Joint Statement. the
Iranian Defense Minister, For His Part, Called His Meetings With
Armenian Military Officials As Fruitful And Promising, Iranian News
Agency (irna) Reported. iran Believes In Good Neighborliness And
Establishment Of Mutual Understanding With Countries Of The Region
And Is To Do Its Utmost To Consolidate Peace In The Caucuses Region,
Arabiangulf And Other Parts, Najjar Said. it Is Vital To Defuse
Crisis And Security Threats In Order To Prevent Unilateralism Which
Would Disrupt The World Order, He Said Adding That Comprehensive
And All-out Tranquillity And Security Would Be Established Through
Collective Cooperation And Understanding Among Countries Of The Region.

Iran And Armenia Signed In Yerevan A Memorandum Of Understanding
(mou) On Expansion Of Defense Cooperation Between The Two Countries.

the Mou Was Signed By Minister Of Defense And Armed Forces Logistics
Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad-najjar And His Armenian Counterpart
Micheal Harutyunyan.

PROTESTS AGAINST CUMHURIYET JOURNALIST’S DISMISSAL
Erol Onderoglu

BIA Net, Turkey
Nov 12 2007

The "We Want Our Future" Istanbul Initiative protested against the
dismissal of journalist Erdogan Aydin; the Tunceli Bar Association
has called for a review of the decision.

At a protest in front of the Cumhuriyet newspaper office yesterday
(11 November), the "We Want Our Future" Istanbul Initiative condemned
journalist Erdogan Aydin’s dismissal from the newspaper after he took
part in a discussion programme on the pro-Kurdish Roj TV channel.

Around thirty people shouted the slogan "Erdogan is enlightened
("aydin"), Cumhuriyet is dark". In a press statement, the initiative
accused the Cumhuriyet, Vakit and Zaman newspapers of "collaborating
as war hawks when it comes to nationalism", saying "they have joined
the holy alliance against freedoms".

The religious Vakit and Zaman newspapers had reported of Aydin’s
participation in the discussion programme in a distorted manner.

Targeting intellectuals threatens their lives

The statement also said, "We oppose the bigoted lynching attempts
supported by the Cumhuriyet newspaper, which is progressive only in
words, not in essence, with worry."

The group declared that as they represented the future of the country,
they did not want any "democrat, intellectual and real patriot" to
suffer for their ideas. Aziz Nesin, the Alevi writer who survived an
arson attack in which 33 writers, singers and intellectuals were killed
in Sivas in 1993, and Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist who
was murdered on 19 January this year, were given as examples of what
happens when intellectuals are targeted.

The Cumhuriyet newspaper was likened to "a ship that is constantly
being pulled to the right"; the initiative criticised it for praising
the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), for supporting capitalism,
and for opting for a military rather than a democratic solution to
the Kurdish question.

Letter by Tunceli Bar Association

In a letter sent to the newspaper, the Tunceli Bar Association has
called for a review of Aydin’s dismissal.

In the letter it says, "It is known that the Cumhuriyet
newspaper, which is as old as Turkey, has overcome many dangers
in terms of freedom of thought and democracy. There are still many
progressive-democratic and socialist writers on the newspaper. Seeing
as this is the case, it is in one word shameful that the newspaper
management has signed [the dismissal]."

The letter added: "We cannot understand how a newspaper which lost
people like (murdered) Ugur Mumcu and Ahmet Taner Kislali cannot
tolerate an Erdogan Aydin." (EO/AG)

ple/102843/protests-against-cumhuriyet-journalists -dismissal

ARMENIA SHOULD EMBARK ON NATIONAL TORTURE-PREVENTING MECHANISM ELABORATION

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 12 2007

YEREVAN, November 12. /ARKA/. Armenia should embark on national
torture-preventing mechanism elaboration, Silvia Pogolsa, Human Rights
Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan, said Saturday in an interview
with ARKA News Agency.

She said that Armenia has ratified UN torture-preventing convention
protocol and ought to work out pre-emptive mechanism to fulfil its
commitments.

In her words, Armenia already applies two basic principles of
this mechanism – a monitoring group inspecting penitentiaries and
another monitoring group keeping its eye on human rights in police,
particularly in pre-trial detention facilities.

Pogolsa said that all close state-run establishments such as
orphanages, mental hospitals or army have to no longer be secret.

She said the process has already started in Armenia and expressed
hope for the mechanism introduction within one or two years.

The human rights officer thinks the process that started in due way
is in need of support.

She said there are many ways of putting mechanisms into practice,
and Armenia should choose one of them suitable to it.

Pogolsa said OSCE pledged constant support in this process. he
thinks that effective mechanisms will enable Armenia to fulfill its
commitments by later this year, at least to lay legal groundwork for
putting the mechanism into practice.

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment adopted by UN General Assembly on December 18,
2002, took force on June 22, 2006.

GREEK AMBASSADOR AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSS OPPORTUNITIES OF IMLENENTING JOINT PROGRAMS

Noyan Tapan
Nov 9, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The newly appointed ambassador
of Greece Ioannis Korinthios handed a copy of his credentials to
the Armenian foreign minister Vartan Oskanian during their November
9 meeting.

Welcoming the ambassador, the Armenian foreign minister wished him
success during his high mission. Expressing a high opinion about
the current level of Armenian-Greek relations, V. Oskanian said that
Armenia is interested in strengthening and developing the political
and economic dialog between the two countries.

During the talk, the newly appointed Greek ambassador also expressed
satisfaction at the active cooperation of Armenia and Greece and
assured the RA foreign minister that he will spare no efforts to
strengthen the bilateral relations.

According to a press release of the RA MFA Press and Information
Department, the interlocutors also spoke about the great potential for
developing the bilateral economic links and discussed the opportunities
of implementing joint programs.

Reference: Ioannis Korinthios was born in 1950 in Athens. In 1975 he
graduated from Athens University of Economics and Business. In 1977,
he started working with the MFA of Greece. In 1979, he worked as third
secretary at the Greek embassy in Nigeria. In 1982, he was appointed
the consul of the Consulate General of Greece in Germany. In 1992,
he was the head of the Greek MFA department of bilateral political
relations with Westen European countries, in 1993 – the Greek consul
general in the South African Republic. In 2000, he was appointed the
Greek ambassador to Kenya.

Mr. Korinthios is married and has two daughters. He is fluent in
English, French and German.