Author: Khondkarian Raffi

RMENIAN ARMY MOST EFFICIENT IN REGION

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.07.2008 14:41 GMT+04:00

The Armenian army is the most efficient in the region, Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanyan told a news conference today.

"The Armenian armed forces are capable to rebuff any attack and to
ensure security of the borders and people. The army is represented
by each soldier at the frontline and we will spare no effort to take
care of our soldiers," he said.

"The Defense Ministry also attaches importance to military and
patriotic upbringing of generations. We have already organized two
DVDs on Armenian history – Tigran the Great and Mesrop Mashtots,
as well as History of Armenian World that will be distributed to
schools in Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk," Minister Ohanyan said.

ANCA EASTERN REGION ANNOUNCES HONOREES FOR 2ND ANNUAL PROGRAM, WHO CONTRIBUTED TO ARMENIAN CAUSE

DeFacto Agency
July 23 2008
Armenia

The Armenian National Committee of America, Eastern Region (ANCA-ER),
announced the honorees for its Second Annual Banquet and Awards
Program, to take place on Saturday, September 13, 2008, at the Grand
Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

As announced previously, the ANCA-ER will present the ANCA Freedom
Award to Harvard University professor and human rights activist
Dr. Samantha Power. A leading voice on genocide awareness, Power won
the Pulitzer Prize for her book A Problem from Hell: America and the
Age of Genocide. She teaches at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and was a senior
adviser to U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The Vahan Cardashian Award will be presented to Martha Aramian
of Providence, Rhode Island, a long-standing active member of the
Armenian community. Aramian has been a strong activist in her local
Providence community and supporter of the ANCA’s efforts at a national
level. In 2006, on the occasion of the ANCA’s Capital Campaign, she
donated $200,000, greatly facilitating the purchase of the ANCA’s
new national headquarters in Washington DC. Aramian has sponsored
the establishment of a child care center, senior center, and youth
camp in Vanadzor, a city devastated by the 1988 earthquake.

"We are pleased to honor Samantha Power and Martha Aramian," commented
Banquet Committee Chair Stephen Mesrobian. "These are two individuals
who have had a lasting impact and made a real difference in the
Armenian Cause through their dedication and support."

To note, the ANCA Freedom Award honors individuals who have succeeded
in bringing the history of the Armenian people and the truth about
the Armenian Genocide to the mainstream public consciousness. Recent
recipients have included U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans,
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez and musical band System of a Down.

The Vahan Cardashian Award is given annually to an ANC activist or
supporter who demonstrates longstanding accomplishments on behalf
of the Armenian Cause. The award is named for Yale-educated lawyer
Vahan Cardashian who set aside his successful New York practice
to dedicate himself to the establishment of the American Committee
for the Independence of Armenia (ACIA), predecessor organization to
the Armenian National Committee and advocate for the plight of the
Armenian nation. The 2007 Cardashian Award was presented to Vahe
Amirian of New Jersey.

U. S. STATE DEPARTMENT: RA PRESIDENT MADE A COURAGEOUS STEP INVITING TURKISH PRESIDENT TO YEREVAN

DeFacto Agency
July 22 2008
Armenia

RA President Serzh Sargsian made a courageous step by inviting
Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan, said Matthew Bryza,
U.S. Deputy Assistance Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs. "Certainly, I can’t speak on behalf of President
Gul or Turkish government but the U. S. hopes that Abdullah Gul will
take this golden opportunity," he noted, PanARMENIAN.Net reports
quoting RFE/RL.

To note, RA President Serzh Sargsian invited Abdullah Gul to Yerevan
to a World Cup qualifying match between Armenian and Turkish teams
to be held on in September 6. According to Turkish FM Ali Babacan,
Abdullah Gul’s presence at the football match between Armenian and
Turkish teams in Yerevan will depend on the development of relations
between the two countries before the match. "Normalization
of relations with Armenia is one of serious goals of Turkey’s
foreign policy", he underscored.

WILL CRIMINALS BE UNMASKED?

A1+
21 July, 2008

The criminal action brought with regard to Levon Gulian’s death will
likely resume. Today the RoA Appellate Court rejected the claim lodged
by the Prosecutor’s Office against the court of general jurisdiction
of Kentron and Nork-Marash districts.

On March 26, 2008, the Prosecutor’s Office rejected the petition
of Gulian’s advocates to continue the case hearing. The advocates
appealed the decision at the court of general jurisdiction of Kentron
and Nork-Marash districts. The latter upheld the petition to resume
the case hearing on June 6, 2008.

Reminder, on May 12, 2007, Levon Gulian was invited to testify as
a witness of a murder case at the Police Department of Yerevan’s
Shengavit district. He was then taken to the police headquarters
building.

According to a police statement, Gulian died while attempting to escape
from a police custody. Human rights activists and his family suspect
that he died during interrogation at the hands of police. They say
Gulian was tortured and brutally beaten.

Levon Gulian’s case was first viewed by the prosecutor’s office then
by the special investigation service. On March 12, 2008, the case
was dismissed because of the absence of corpus delicti.

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ON TURKISH – ARMENIAN RELATIONS

Turkish Press
July 20 2008

ANKARA – Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Burak Ozugergin said on
Friday that there were contacts between Turkey and Armenia from time
to time.

Commenting on a news report that appeared in media today with the title
"secret talks with Armenia", Ozugergin said, "Turkey has recognized
Armenia as a state in 1991. The two parties have contacts from time
to time within this scope. There is no sense to interpret the talks
in question differently."

AZERBAIJANI PARTY PRESENTS MURDER OF ARMENIAN SOLDIER AS FIGHT ‘WITH RECONNAISSANCE GROUP’

ArmInfo
2008-07-21 15:13:00

The Azerbaijani party presents the murder of the Armenian soldier
as a fight ‘with reconnaissance group’.

As spokesman of RA Defense Ministry, Colonel Seyran Shahsouvaryan told
ArmInfo, the statements of the Azerbaijani party about the alleged attempt
of RA Armed Forces to penetrate into the territory of Azerbaijan are the
next attempt of disinformation of the world community and its own country’s
population. ‘Nothing of the kind happened in fact’, S. Shahsouvaryan
emphasized. As for the murder of the Armenian captive Gor Manasaryan, RA DM
spokesman said that a soldier of involuntary service of one of the boundary
units G. Manasaryan lost his way and was shot dead by the Azerbaijani
soldiers. Now, the Azerbaijani party presents the murder of the Armenian
soldier as a fight "with reconnaissance group". ‘The Azerbaijani party
deliberately hushes up or does not want to admit that there was not even an
outfit on the killed soldier required in the case if everything happened in
a way the Azerbaijani party presents’, S. Shahsouvaryan said.

Presently, the body of the killed soldier is at the Azerbaijani side. The
Armenian party intends to shortly take active measures to return the body of
the died soldier to his relatives.

R. BALAYAN: "WORLD INTERESTED IN ARMENIAN LAUGH, NOT CRY"

Panorama.am
15:30 19/07/2008

Today "Pan Armenian Film Project" forum started on July 14
finished. The forum was conducted in the frames of "Golden Apricot"
festival.

In the frames of the forum two film projects should be drafted,
one of which should be a documentary. One of the projects is named
"home" and the other one – "land". The most interesting point of the
project is that there won’t be one director as the films should be
collected via 8-9 different films.

Armenian-Russian director Roman balayan said that world is interested
in how Armenians laugh and not cry. He asked the authors of the films
to think from this angle.

Interfax News Agency, Armenia
July 19 2008

ARMENIA DENIES REPORT OF CLASH ON AZERI BORDER

Yerevan, 19 July: The Armenian Ministry of Defence dismisses
Azerbaijani media reports about the attempt of an Armenian sabotage
group to enter the territory of the neighbouring country.

"This information is yet another propagandistic step of Baku which
does not fit in any reasonable frames" the press secretary of the
Armenian Defence Ministry, Col Seyran Shahsuvaryan, told Interfax on
Saturday [19 July].

"Besides, dissemination of such misinformation puts under threat the
negotiation process on the peaceful resolution of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict," Shasuvaryan added.

The Azerbaijani television channel ANS had earlier said that a
sabotage group consisting of 14 people attempted to enter Azerbaijan’s
Tovuz District from Armenian on the night of 18-19 July. [Azerbaijani]
servicemen prevented this attempt, killing one of the members of the
group. The body of the dead [Armenian soldier] and his weapon remained
in the hands of Azerbaijani servicemen, ANS reported.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HAS REJECTED U.S. ADMINITSTRATION’S PROPOSAL TO CUT FUNDING TO ARMENIA

NOYAN TAPAN

JU LY 18

The House Foreign Operations Subcommittee approved million in
assistance to Armenia and million for Nagorno Karabakh, as well as
million in Foreign Military Financing for Armenia and Azerbaijan,
reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).

The Bush Administration initially proposed to cut funding to Armenia
by nearly 60 percent from .5 million in FY 2008, to a proposed level
of million in FY 2009. In addition, the Administration had requested
that million of the funds to Armenia allocated in FY 2007, be directed
out of Armenia, which triggered a response by Congressmen Adam Schiff
(D-CA) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI). In a letter sent to House Foreign
Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Ranking
Member Frank Wolf (R-VA), they urged that funding be re-programmed
to support democracy efforts in Armenia: "As friends of Armenia, and
more importantly, as advocates of democracy, we urge you to support
the transfer of funds to help nurture Armenia’s democracy as opposed
to stifling it. Armenia would benefit greatly from more democracy
and good governance programming."

The Assembly commends the efforts of Congressman Knollenberg (R-MI)
for sending a strong message regarding Azerbaijan’s continued war
rhetoric during today’s consideration of the House Foreign Operations
Appropriations Bill. The Knollenberg amendment sought to zero out
military funding for Azerbaijan. The amendment was not approved by
a vote of 7 in favor and 8 against.

BUS CONVEYING ARMENIAN TOURISTS CATCHES FIRE

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.07.2008 16:06 GMT+04:00

A bus conveying Armenian tourists to Antalya, Turkey, caught
fire. According to preliminary data, the fire emerged in the engine and
then spread over the passenger compartment. It was soon extinguished
and none of 33 passengers suffered, continuing their way in another
bus, the Public TV of Armenia reported.

Turkish media reports say that a criminal case has been initiated.