Author: Kharatian Ani

ARMENIAN MINISTER, FOREIGN EXPERTS DISCUSS STRATEGIC DEFENCE REVIEW

Mediamax
Nov 14 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 14 November: Armenian Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan has
met members of an international consulting group, which assists in
the the implementation of Strategic Defence Review (SDR), in Yerevan.

At the meeting on 13 November, the defence minister said that under
the Armenian presidential decree an interdepartmental commission,
which started to implement the first stage of the SDR – the assessment
of the environment of security and threats, had been set up, a source
at the Defence Ministry press service told Mediamax.

Ohanyan expressed the hope that the interdepartmental commission
would manage to work out a document, which would serve as a basis
for developing the long-term defence plans and contribute to the
efficient implementation of defence reforms.

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT WORRIES ABOUT BEHAVIOR OF ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH

Lragir.am
16:29:21 – 18/11/2008

On these days the problems with the Armenian church in Georgia has
reoccurred. The story repeats, about which the Republican Member
of Parliament Shirak Torosyan, the leader of Javakheti Union of
Compatriots, reminded on November 18 at the Pastark press club. In
this connection, he voiced concern about the passivity of the
Armenian Apostolic Church towards the issue of the Armenian churches,
as well as the legal status of the Armenian Apostolic Diocese in
Georgia. Shirak Torosyan accused Echmiadzin of passivity, and noted
that his passivity is strange against the active, even aggressive
behavior of the Georgian church when the Georgian church tries to
present as Georgian not only the churches of Georgia but also a lot
of churches of the regions of Lori and Tavush in Armenia. Meanwhile,
not a single orthodox Georgian lives there. The member of parliament
who talked about it wondered that the Armenian Apostolic Church is
silent and is not trying to solve the existing problems.

Shirak Torosyan stated that the behavior of the Armenian Apostolic
Church is identical to the passive behavior of the Armenian
government. Shirak Torosyan also underscored the creation of a separate
diocese in Javakheti, noting that it may have not only spiritual but
also geopolitical importance because it will underline at least the
virtual borders of Javakheti. At the same time, Torosyan said the last
Armenian catholicos who visited Javakheti was Khrimyan Hairik in 1905,
but he popped in on his way to Batumi, it was not a pastoral visit.

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

"THE FIRST GENOCIDE OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, REMAINS
UNPUNISHED"

SAYS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I AT THE
SAINT’EGIDIO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

"When we speak about the martyrs of the 20th century, we can not avoid
referring to the genocides during which many people perished. The first
genocide of the 20th century was the Armenian Genocide, planned and executed
by Ottoman Turkey. The Genocide, to which one and a half million Armenians
fell victim, remains unpunished," said His Holiness Aram I while opening the
session entitled "The legacy of the 20th century’s victims" at the
Saint’Egidio international conference in Cyprus.

His Holiness chaired the session, which lasted over three hours and featured
six speakers from Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Sweden and Iraq. All the
participants, newspaper editors, theologians and professors, emphasized the
need to for effective measures for preventing genocides and respecting human
rights.

In his closing remarks, the Pontiff underlined the word "impunity" and the
necessity for a serious discussion of the fact that the Armenian Genocide
remains unpunished within the context of the United Nations and with the
participation of non-governmental organizations. "Unpunished genocides lead
to new genocides. Let us not forget Hitler’s words, "’who today remembers
the massacres of Armenians’." His Holiness observed that the legacy of those
martyrs today is the pursuit of justice.

The conference was launched on Sunday 16 November 2008 evening with the
opening remarks of the Presidents of Cyprus and Albania. Around a thousand
people from all religions and circles (spiritual, academic and government)
are participating in the conference.

##
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.

AZERI REPORTERS MISTRANSLATE BRYZA

Panorama.am
16:26 17/11/2008

Today the American Co-chairman of OSCE Minsk Group Matthew
Bryza described co-chairmen’s visit to region "constructive and
successful". Mr. Bryza rejected the information that the two
Presidents have signed secret records. The American co-chairman
greeted the Presidents to sign Moscow declaration. "After November 2
the Presidents’ disposition is positively changed, and I would like to
say thank you to my Russian colleagues," added Matthew Bryza. According
to the American co-chairman they have a tremendous work to do with
the Foreign Ministers. He said: "We are happy that the Presidents
ordered their Foreign Ministers to start negotiations."

To the reporters’ question whether Mr. Bryza announced in Baku that
Nagorno Karabakh should return back the territories. Bryza rejected
the news: "Azeri media everything interprets as they want to. I don’t
remember in what language my interview was, but I know that it was
translated."

Russian co-chairman Yuri Merzliakov said that the President of
Azerbaijan I. Aliev "positively evaluated the declaration".

ELECTION’S END BRINGS SOME NEW CHALLENGES

Burbank Leader
Nov 13 2008
CA

It is, in short, a fine time to be a Democrat.

The American two-party system has swung back and forth like a pendulum
over the last century, with neither the Democrats nor the Republicans
putting more than two consecutive candidates in the White House
since 1928.

Sometimes, the two parties run neck-and-neck; Tuesday, it was little
short of a Democratic free-for-all, as Sen. Barack Obama won the
presidency in a landslide, and his fellow party members decisively
took the House and Senate.

Caught up in that euphoria were the area’s newly elected — and
reelected — officials, as Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Brad
Sherman handily beat their Republican challengers, Assemblymen Paul
Krekorian and Anthony Portantino prevailed over the GOP, and State
Sen.-elect Carol Liu, also a Democrat, won election for the first
time. Rep. David Dreier, who overcame Democratic and Libertarian
opponents, was the area’s lone Republican victor.

As people across the world celebrate Obama’s victory, it’s easy to
get intoxicated by all the revelry. The excitement, though, will
fade before long, and when our elected leaders take office again,
they’ll do so not as icons, but as hardworking politicians.

Our state and our country still face trying times, particularly in
terms of the economy, which continues to sag as the state Legislature
weighs budget cuts and the White House does what it can to mend
Wall Street.

Obama, both during and after his campaign, has called for Democrats and
Republicans to set aside their differences and seek solutions together,
and we strongly advise our local officials to adopt the same attitude.

The victors in Tuesday’s election already have shown signs that they
can work harmoniously with the other side. Schiff and Dreier both
supported the federal government’s controversial $700-billion plan
to bail out ailing financial institutions. Krekorian, who was elected
to his second term, submitted 16 bills during the last two years that
were signed into law by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schiff may have a valuable supporter in Obama, who has vowed to support
a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, a cause that Schiff
has advocated strongly. Following his reelection, though, Schiff
pledged to step across the aisle and work with House Republicans on
a number of measures as well.

Tuesday was a glorious night for Democrats, to be sure. The temper of
the times, though, calls for more than a partisan celebration. Let’s
hope that our elected leaders, in Burbank, Glendale and elsewhere,
will work to ensure that it’s a bountiful time for America.

YURI YUROZ MURAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS DISPLAYED IN GUATEMALA

The Guatemala Times
33-yuri-yuroz-mural-of-human-rights-displayed-in-g uatemala.html
Nov 14 2008
Guatemala

The artist of Russian-Armenian origin Yuri Gregorian, or Yuri Yuroz,
unveiled his work "the Mural of Human Rights Yuroz" at a special
event held at the National Palace of Culture on November 7. With
this event the artist started a tour that will take him around the
world. Guatemala had the privilege to be the inauguration site of
the world tour for this Russian-Armenian artist.

Yuroz is one of the most recognized and representative artists of
today and his work is in major private and public collections. His
work with high social content, has been exhibited around the world.

The Mural of Human Rights was commissioned by the Organization of the
United Nations, to commemorate the 10 year campaign for the promotion
of human rights around the world, started by the UN in 1995.

After a year of readings, sketches and search for ideas, Yuroz delivers
a mural that is 9 meters long and 1.85 meters high, which consists of
6 panels, each of which tells a story and vision of Human Rights. The
piece of cubist style will be on display at the Sixth Passage of the
National Palace of Culture, for a period of two months.

"I thank all Guatemalans for the embrace of this program for human
rights … to all those wonderful people a big hug, to all who have
supported us," said the artist Yuroz.

Dr. Rafael Espada, Vice President of Guatemala stated "I want to
thank everyone for their presence tonight, but my special thanks go
to Maestro Yuroz, for being in Guatemala for the second time. This
time for his unique expression in art of the concept and emotions of
human rights."

"I have great faith; I believe that this century is going to uphold
what is the basic respect for life. The word human rights has at
times been manipulated and even abused, I’m going to say beyond human
rights, the right to life. Life is not just to respect the lives of
human beings, it is the life of nature, to respect the environment,
respect for the green of the mountains, respect to water, respect
to heaven, respect for all what belongs to us all over the world,
"said Vice President Rafael Espada.

PRESS RELEASE
Office of Assemblymember Paul Krekorian
Adrin Nazarian Chief of Staff
620 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 403
Glendale, CA 91203
(818) 240-6330
(818) 240-4632 fax
[email protected]

November 14, 2008
(818) 240-6330

Assemblymember Paul Krekorian Appointed

to Emergency Finance Committee

Burbank Lawmaker Will Work on Responses to Mortgage Crisis

Sacramento, CA – Today, Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass appointed
Assemblymember Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) to a special Banking and
Finance Committee that will be formulating emergency responses to
California’s mortgage and credit crisis.

"The national and international financial crisis has been devastating to
Californians," said Krekorian. "Countless families are struggling to
avoid foreclosure of their homes, and many more are being frozen out of
the American Dream because of the unavailability of credit. I’m eager
to get to work on developing solutions that will ease the impact of the
crisis, stimulate economic activity, and prevent the kind of predatory
lending practices that created much of the problem."

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called an emergency legislative session
on November 6 to remedy an estimated $11 billion budget shortfall, and
to invigorate California’s economic health, which has taken a beating
from a nationwide housing crisis, poor performance on Wall Street, and a
dismal jobs report. The Speaker created the special Banking and Finance
Committee to address these issues during the emergency session.

"Since this year’s budget was signed in September, California’s housing
crisis has gone from bad to worse, people have lost their life savings
on Wall Street, and our budget deficit has escalated to over ten billion
dollars," said Assemblymember Krekorian. "We must act quickly and
decisively to solve this crisis. I look forward to working with Speaker
Bass and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve practical
solutions to help California families during this especially difficult
period."

Assemblymember Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) represents the cities of
Burbank and Glendale, and the Los Angeles communities of Atwater
Village, Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley
Glen, Valley Village and Van Nuys.

# # #

TURKISH ARMENIANS INDIGNANT AT DEFENSE MINISTER’S STATEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.11.2008 15:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Those who do not like Turkey’s "one nation, one
flag" structure can leave and go anywhere they like better, Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said when commenting on Defense
Minister Vecdi Gonul statement that Turkey had to deport Greeks and
Armenians in the beginning of the 20th century.

Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul took this threatening discourse to new
heights on Monday with a speech he gave at the Turkish Embassy in
Brussels. "Would we be the nation-state we are today if the Greeks
in the Aegean region or the Armenians here and there continued to
stay in Turkey?" he asked.

Gonul drew harsh criticism from intellectuals and civil society
organizations for expressing ideas in a way that could be taken for
justifying ethnic cleansing.

The Armenian community of Istanbul sent a letter to PM Erdogan to
remind that the Turkish Constitution says that Turk is a citizen of
Turkey, irrelative of the nationality, Turkish Press Review reports.

S. DEMIRCHYAN: NKR SHOULD BECOME TALKS’ COMPETENT PARTY

DE FACTO
Nov 14, 2008

YEREVAN, 14.11.08. DE FACTO. Nagorno-Karabakh Republic should become
a Karabakh talks’ competent party, Stepan Demirchyan, oppositional
People’s Party of Armenia (PPA) leader, believes.

"Karabakh conflict’s settlement is unreal without Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic’s competent participation in the talks", Demirchyan stated
at a press conference held on Friday.

In his words, the fact that NKR President does not participate in
the talks is a negative side of the declaration signed in Moscow.

At that the PPA leader added that the decision on continuation of
the talks on the conflict’s peaceful settlement within the frames
of the OSCE Mink group was the declaration’s positive side, noting
that Russia had underscored its role in the conflict’s settlement by
initiating the declaration’s signing.

According to Demirchyan, NKR’s participation in the talks will enable
to solve many components of the settlement. "We are against one-sided
concessions in the conflict’s settlement, however, we consider mutual
concessions acceptable", he said. At the same time he added that
Armenian opposition did not anticipate the issue’s rapid settlement,
Novosti-Armenia Agency reports.

AGBU Press Office
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New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, November 13, 2008

AGBU Toronto Organizes Art Exhibit by Alexander Saroukhan, Hagop
Hagopian & Armenian Canadian Artists

From October 31 to November 2, 2008, AGBU Toronto organized an art
exhibition at the AGBU Alex Manoogian Cultural Centre in honor of
Egyptian-Armenian artist Alexander Saroukhan, who is widely considered
the leading caricaturist of 20th-century Armenian life. Also included in
the exhibition were art works by Hagop Hagopian of Armenia and local
Armenian Canadian artists.

On this occasion, Edmond Azadian was invited from Southfield, Michigan
to speak about the life and work of Saroukhan. He also spoke about the
work of Hagopian as one of the leading contemporary Armenian painters.
Azadian introduced both artists to the crowd and shared his personal
experiences with them while he was the editor of "Arev" (Sun) daily
newspaper in Cairo, Egypt. Both Saroukhan and Hagopian originally hail
from Egypt, while Hagopian repatriated to Armenia during the Soviet
period.

Other participating artists were Natalie Avanessian, Oleg Danilyants,
Shushanik Danilyants, Silva Djarahyan, Nina Dmitrieva, Seyran Gasbarian,
Marine Hakopyan, Tamara Harutyunyan, Hari Ketenjian, Jack Koca, Harout
Mardirossian, Tatiyana Menjolian Newyniak and Alina Sahakian.

Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians on six continents.