Author: Khondkarian Raffi

OSKANIAN: THE CO-CHAIRS ARE ASPIRING TO REVIVE THE KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROCESS
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 17 2006
During today’s meeting Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian and
heads of Armenian diplomatic corps discussed issues of countering the
new challenges our country faces, as well as questions of economy,
politics and transport. Reference was made to the GUAM initiative to
transfer the issue of frozen conflicts to UN General Assembly agenda.
In Vardan Oskanian’s words, inclusion of the question in the UN agenda
demands active diplomatic work from us.
“Azerbaijan’s efforts to transfer the Karabakh issue to the UN
agenda pursue the aim of diverting the attention from the Minsk Group
process,” the Foreign Minister said. In his opinion, there are positive
prospects of achieving progress the OSCE framework.
“The Co-Chairs are aspiring to revive the document put on the table,
the principles of which are acceptable to us, RA Foreign Minister
stated.
Vardan Oskanian confirmed once again that in case Azerbaijan transfers
the Karabakh settlement process to the UN, Armenia will stay evolved
in the process but only together with Nagorno Karabakh.
Nevertheless, the Minister noted that the UN is not entitled to take
any decision.

The Associated Press
September 15, 2006 Friday 7:55 PM GMT
Deadly fight raises fears of ethnic violence in Russia
By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Fighting involving ethnic Armenians and others in a Volga River town
left one person dead and at least three injured this week, officials
and news reports said Friday, fueling fears of a rise of ethnic
violence across Russia.
The violence came about a week after clashes and rioting targeting
Chechens in the northern town of Kondopoga left two people dead and
underlined the potentially explosive tension between ethnic Russians
and often darker-skinned people from the Caucasus and Central Asia,
in some cases migrants.
One ethnic Russian man was killed and three were injured in a brawl
with ethnic Armenians at a cafe in the town of Volsk early Sunday,
said Alexei Yegorov, police spokesman in the Saratov region, where
the town is located.
Yegorov said the fight was not motivated by ethnic bias, but Ekho
Moskvy radio reported that it was followed Monday by an attack on
ethnic Armenian students at a technical college in the town that left
one student with a knife wound.
Yegorov denied the attack took place and also denied what Ekho Moskvy
reported was further ethnic tension early Friday in the town some 700
kilometers (450 miles) southeast of Moscow. He said two ethnic
Armenians had fled the town following Sunday’s fight and were being
sought by police.
Ekho Moskvy said that in addition to the three Russians injured in
the cafe fight, one ethnic Armenian was also injured. It said the man
who was killed was a 25-year-old former paratrooper who had served in
the conflict in Chechnya.
While authorities sought to downplay the ethnic element in the
violence, it has raised fears that similar rampages could spread to
other Russian cities where increasingly aggressive nationalist groups
bristle at people from Russia’s Caucasus provinces and neighboring
ex-Soviet nations.
Russia has seen a marked rise in xenophobia and racist attacks in
recent years and rights groups say authorities do little or nothing
to combat xenophobia, often treating hate crimes as hooliganism.
Asked about the violence in Volsk, Deputy Prosecutor General
Alexander Buksman said his office is gathering information about such
incidents around the country to try to determine whether there is a
common cause, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
Dozens of nationalists demonstrated Thursday in Moscow, demanding
tighter controls over migrants from the Caucasus living in university
dormitories and the cancellation of provisions encouraging students
from other ex-Soviet nations to study in Russia.
About 150 were detained and some were fined for minor infractions,
the Interfax news agency quoted Moscow police spokesman Yevgeny
Gildyev as saying, but several dozen were allowed to hold a rally a
soft approach by the Russian authorities who usually move quickly to
disperse unsanctioned demonstrations.
The pro-tolerance group SOVA said 11 young people were sentenced in
the western city of Belgorod this week to prison terms ranging from 1
1/2 to 5 years for attacking a Roma family with knives and metal
rods, seriously injuring two people.
SOVA said it was just the fourth time that a Russian court has ruled
that defendants organized and participated in an extremist
organization. Court officials in Belgorod could not immediately be
reached for comment.

A1+
SERGE SARGSYAN EQUIPPED SCHOOLS
[07:52 pm] 15 September, 2006
Today RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan equipped 40 schools of Gyumri
region with laboratory and didactic materials.
>From now on the pupils will study chemistry, physics and biology not
only with the help of chalk and blackboard, but also with the help of
laboratory equipment and experiments. The donation was made in
connection with the Day of Gyumri, September 19.
Armenouhi Minasyan

COURIC SLIPS TO THIRD PLACE
By Jacques Steinberg
The New York Times
Published: September 13, 2006
On the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks,
more evening news viewers chose to watch “NBC Nightly News With
Brian Williams” than the broadcasts of his two main competitors,
Charles Gibson on ABC and Katie Couric on CBS, according to
preliminary figures from Nielsen Media Research released yesterday
by the networks. Mr. Williams’s program drew an estimated 8.3 million
viewers, more than the estimated 7.9 million who watched “World News”
with Mr. Gibson, and the estimated 7.5 million who saw Ms. Couric,
on her fifth night. All three programs were pre-empted in some parts
of the West Coast on Monday by President Bush’s address, and yet
Mr. Williams’s audience was still bigger than the average number
he drew last week (about 7.1 million a night), as was Mr. Gibson’s
(6.9 million a night). Ms. Couric, who easily won the ratings race
last week with an average of 10.2 million viewers a night, was down
substantially on Monday.
JACQUES STEINBERG
Stolen Munch Paintings to Be Displayed Soon
Stolen and recovered, the Edvard Munch paintings “The Scream” and
“Madonna” will go on view once more at the Munch Museum in Oslo in
the fall even before they are restored, Agence France-Presse reported
yesterday.
Because of enormous interest in the paintings, “the museum will
display them, in their current state, to the public and the media,
for a short period,” a statement said. Both paintings were damaged
but “are in better shape than expected,” said Jorun Christoffersen, a
museum spokeswoman, who added, “They will need some major restoration
work.” A photograph, above, released by the museum on its Web site,
, showed that the lower left corner of “The
Scream” was crumpled, and that “Madonna” had a scratch and a tear
in the canvas. The paintings, stolen in 2004 in broad daylight,
were recovered two weeks ago. The police have not said how they
retrieved them. Before they were recovered, three men were convicted
of complicity in the theft.
Ratings Ride Coattails
President Bush’s 17-minute address on Monday night fell smack in
the middle of the second part of ABC’s contentious “Path to 9/11”
mini-series, with Harvey Keitel. But the thematic synchronicity, which
also extended to a 9/11 “Primetime” afterward, may have helped lift
ABC to No. 1 for the night, averaging about 12 million viewers over
all, according to Nielsen’s estimates. CBS inserted the president’s
9 p.m. speech into a lineup of repeats: “How I Met Your Mother” (5.9
million) at 8, “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (5.5 million)
at 8:30, and “Two and a Half Men” (7.6 million) after the speech. A
repeat of “CSI: Miami” (8.3 million) followed, propelling CBS to No. 2
for the night. On Fox, the interruption may account for some of the
drop-off for “Vanished” (5.9 million), which paled in comparison
with the solid audience at 8 for the serial drama “Prison Break”
(8.8 million).
That episode, which included the bloody death of the escapee Abruzzi
(Peter Stormare), led over all for the hour among adults 18 to
49. NBC’s “Dateline” (6.1 million) from 8 to 10, which paused for
Mr. Bush’s speech, could not compensate for a “Medium” repeat at 10
(4.8 million), which drove the network to a subdued last place for
the night. BENJAMIN TOFF
Turkish Novelist Faces Trial
A prominent Turkish novelist who faces trial next week for “insulting
Turkishness” says the case is the first to pivot on words uttered by
fictional characters, Reuters reported. The novelist, Elif Shafak,
above, a feminist who writes in English and Turkish, has been charged
in connection with her new novel, “The Bastard of Istanbul.” The case
is being followed closely by the European Union, which says Turkey
must foster more freedom of expression as a condition of membership.
Ms. Shafak, 34, is scheduled to give birth during the week the trial,
set for Sept. 21, is to begin. She has been charged under a provision
of Turkey’s penal code that has been used against several journalists
and authors. Ms. Shafak said that to date the article “has never been
used against fictional characters.” “In that sense this is a new step,”
she said, “and it’s quite surprising and upsetting, because if they
keep doing this, no one can write novels in this country anymore;
no one can make movies, even.” In her novel, Armenian characters
make disparaging comments about Turks and refer to the genocide of
Armenians during the Ottoman Empire, a massacre denied by Turkey.
Bush ‘Assassination’ Film Acquired for Wide Release
Newmarket Films, the company that handled Mel Gibson’s “Passion of
the Christ,” has acquired the distribution rights to “Death of a
President,” the provocative Gabriel Range pseudodocumentary that
depicts the assassination of President Bush, Reuters reported.
Newmarket is expected to give the film a wide release in the next
few months. It was seen recently at the Toronto International Film
Festival and is to be shown next month on Channel 4 in Britain. “We
portrayed the horror of assassination,” said Mr. Range, who said he
had received five or six death threats as a result of his movie,
which has evoked protests from some conservatives. “I don’t think
anyone would get the idea of assassinating Bush from this film.”
Accolades
Britain will pay tribute to the Beatles in January when it issues a set
of six stamps featuring album covers from their most famous recordings,
above, the BBC reported. The collection includes “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely
Hearts Club Band,” “Abbey Road,” “Help!,” “Revolver,” “Let It Be”
and “With the Beatles.” …
The European Film Academy will honor Roman Polanski, 73, with
its lifetime achievement award at ceremonies in December in
Warsaw. Mr. Polanski’s films include “Chinatown” and “The Pianist,”
winner of the 2002 Academy Award for best director. Mr. Polanski fled
the United States in 1977 after pleading guilty to having sex with
a 13-year-old girl. … Shi-Yeon Sung, a 31-year-old South Korean,
has become the first woman to win the Sir Georg Solti International
Conductors’ Competition, held every two years in Frankfurt,
Agence France-Presse reported. In the finale of the competition,
which attracted 500 applications from 72 countries, Ms. Sung led the
Frankfurt Opera’s Museumsorchester in Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet”
fantasy overture; after being named the winner of the $19,000 first
prize, she conducted Beethoven’s “Egmont” Overture.
Footnotes
The opening concert of the New York Philharmonic’s 165th season will
be telecast live tonight to a large screen suspended in Josie Robertson
Plaza at Lincoln Center, where the performances of Beethoven’s “Egmont”
Overture, Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos in E flat and Beethoven’s
“Eroica” Symphony may be seen and heard free of charge. The concert,
led by Lorin Maazel and featuring the pianists Emanuel Ax and
Yefim Bronfman, will be broadcast nationally on “Live From Lincoln
Center.” … A Yiddish-language version of the Neil Simon comedy
“The Sunshine Boys,” in a staged reading starring Theodore Bikel and
Fyvush Finkel, will be presented by the National Yiddish Theater –
Folksbiene for a single performance at 4 p.m. Jan. 7 at Symphony
Space. Directed by Isaiah Sheffer, the translation by Miriam Hoffman,
which had its premiere in Tel Aviv in 2001, will be presented with
English and Russian supertitles. … The London-based organization
Lost Musicals will present what is billed as the first New York
revival of the original, full 1929 Broadway book and score of the
Cole Porter musical “Fifty Million Frenchmen” for four performances
at Florence Gould Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. It will also
be performed on Sept. 24, Sept. 29 and Oct. 8.

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:
FIRST MEETING OF WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
NEW CENTRAL COMMITTEE
The first meeting of the World Council of Churches new Central Committee
started on Wednesday, August 30, 2006, in Geneva.
The Armenian Church is participating in this meeting with two delegations:
Bishop Vicken Aikazian and Mrs. Paula Devedjian on behalf of the
Catholicosate of All Armenians, and Bishop Nareg Alemezian and Dr. Nora
Bairakdarian-Kabakian representing the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia.
The new Central Committee was elected last February by the 9th Assembly of
the WCC in Porto Alegre, Brazil. His Holiness Aram I has been the moderator
of the WCC Central and Executive committees for an unprecedented two terms
from 1991 through 2006.
30 August-September 6 meeting mainly concentrated on outlining the Council
‘s projects for the coming seven years.
Besides participating in the plenary and group deliberations, Bishop Nareg
and Dr. Nora held meetings and interviews regarding their views on
ecumenical issues and especially on the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its
repercussions.
In the Public Issues Committee, Dr. Nora greatly assisted in the
composition of the statement on Lebanon and presented it to the plenary.
Bishop Nareg met with the representatives of the Christian world
communions and on behalf of His Holiness Aram I expressed thanks for their
solidarity during the latest crisis in Lebanon and their collaboration with
the Holy See of Cilicia.
The Armenian Church will have the following representatives in the WCC
Consultative Bodies for the next seven years:
a.. Faith and Order Standing Commission
Bishop Nathan Hovhannissian (Catholicosate of All Armenians, Armenia)
a.. Faith and Order Plenary Commission
Bishop Vicken Aikazian (Catholicosate of All Armenians, Armenia)
Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian (Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, Lebanon)
a.. Commission on World Mission and Evangelism
Ms. Nayiri Baldjian (Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, Lebanon)
a.. Commission of the Churches on International Affairs
Ms. Tsovinar Ghazaryan (Catholicosate of All Armenians, Armenia)
Ms. Vanna Kitsinian (Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, Lebanon)
a.. Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World
Council of Churches
Bishop Vicken Aikazian (Catholicosate of All Armenians, Armenia)
a.. Joint Commission between Christian World Communions and the World
Council of Churches
Bishop Nareg Alemezian, Moderator (Armenian Catholicosate of
Cilicia, Lebanon)
a.. Youth Body
Ms. Nayiri Baldjian (Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, Lebanon)
Before returning to Antelias, Bishop Nareg had meetings with the senior
staff of the WCC and underlined the commitment of the Armenian Catholicosate
of Cilicia to the ecumenical movement on global, regional and local levels.
##
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.

ALLAHSHUKUR PASHAZADEH PRESENTED OIC SECRETARY GENERAL WITH “ORDER OF SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM”
Author: A. Mammadova
Trend, Azerbaijan
Sept 10 2006
The hosting in Baku of high-level conferences of the Organization
for Islamic Conference (OIC) speaks about Azerbaijan`s increasing
popularity in the Islamic World, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur
Pashazadeh, Chief of the Administration of Caucasian Muslims stated
during the meeting with Tourism Ministers of OIC Member States today,
Trend reports.
According to him, despite the fact that Azerbaijan had been part of
the Soviet Union for 70 years, the Country managed to retain its faith.
Mr. Pashazadeh pointed out that Armenia’s occupation of 20 per cent
of the territories of Azerbaijan lead the remaining of well-known
Islamic monuments and mosques under Armenian occupation. Muslim
countries should assist us in spreading the information about this
fact all around the World.
The Chief of Caucasian Muslims presented OIC Secretary General
Ekmeleddin Ikhsanoglu with “Order of Sheikh-ul-Islam” for his services
in spreading Islamic values.
Mr. Ikhsanoglu expressed his thanks to the Chief of Caucasian
Muslims. He also added that the resolution “Situation on the Occupied
Territories of Azerbaijan” recently adopted by the UN tells us that
relations between Muslim countries has become stronger and stronger.

MEDALS AND HONORARY TITLES GIVEN TO A NUMBER OF FIGURES OF HEALTH AND ECONOMIC SPHERES ON OCCASION OF 15th ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE
Noyan Tapan
Sept 11 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. On September 9, RA President Robert
Kocharian signed a decree on awarding General Director of Nairi medical
center Haroutiun Kushkian Mkhitar Heratsi medal for his achievements
in the sphere of healthcare, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary
of proclamation of RA independence. By President’s another decree of
the same day, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Armenia’s
independence, for their achievements in the sphere of healthcare,
the following honorary titles of Republic of Armenia were given:
The title of Honorary Figure of Science was given to Head of Chair
of Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi, Doctor of
Medical Sciences, Professor Artashes Aznaurian, RA NAS corresponding
member Hayrapet Galstian. The title of Honorary Doctor was given to
surgeon of polyclinic of town of Berd, Tavush region Sergei Abgarian,
Coordinator of Kanaker-Zeytun medical center Karlen Yesayan, Head of
out-patients department of village of Getashen, Armavir region Susanna
Hakobjanian, Head of Department of hospital of Ashtarak, Aragatsotn
region Sargis Sazhumian. As NT was informed from President’s Press
Office, by Robert Kocharian’s September 9 decree, on the occasion
of the 15th anniversary of proclamation of RA independence, Anania
Shirakatsi medal was given to Head of individual peasant farm
of Ararat region Arshavir Bznuni, Chairman of Armenian Union of
Builders, Chairman of Horizon-95 LTD Gagik Galstian, Chairman of
Dili LTD, Tavush region Ashot Tamrazian, Board Chairman, Director
General of ArmRosgasprom CJSC Karen Karapetian, Chairman of Union of
Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia, Director General of Apaven
LTD Arsen Ghazarian, Director General of Synopsys-Armenia company Hovik
Musayelian, Board Chairman of Ardshininvestbank CJSC Karen Safarian,
Chairman of Sos Simonian LTD of Kotayk region Sos Simonian.

MONEY AS THE END AND MEANS
Aram Abrahamian
Aravot.am
08 sept 06
Armenian politicized circles discuss two themes today” the growth
of violence and the coming parliamentary elections. It seems, nobody
denies the ties between those two themes. The parliament itself has no
authority in Armenia: it isn’t a legislative body and is nothing as a
state institution. In that case you’ll ask why the whole criminal world
directly or indirectly participate in the electoral processes. Just
for the above-mentioned reason: legislative activities and state
institutions are as far from them as Schubert’s symphonies. The only
sacred thing for the representatives of our criminal is the MONEY;
they make great efforts to have it more.
As money is the end in this ”pre-electoral fight”, so money and
power must be the means, and now money and power are accumulated
and assigned before ” decisive battles”. As it is known money is
used to give electoral bribes, as for power, it is necessary for
administrative levers and own interests. Is it possible for different
“power centers” not to have discrepancies, the part of which can be
solved by shoots and blasts? Is it possible for media, which detects
all those mechanisms not to be oppressed?
In time, when ”October 27” happened, there were people who were
saying that Karen Demirchian and Vazgen Sargsian wanted to fight
against corruption, but terrorism prevented that fight. I consider
such explanation as a ”black humor” . The services of those state
men towards the Homeland are enormous but why should we ascribe
their intentions, which they have never had to them. Now the official
explanation of Shahen Hovasapian’s murder is that he wanted to collect
taxes fairly but the taxpayers persisted by terrorism. Mr. Hovasapian
also had great merits but that version will lead the investigation
by a wrong direction.
–Boundary_(ID_Z/0sVCJ0vIMO90ToqXYlKA) —

ARMENTEL DEPRIVES OVER 100 COMPANIES – INTERNET PHONE CONNECTION PROVIDERS OF DATA TRANSMISSION CONNECTION
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Yesterday the company
ArmenTel deprived, without any warning, 100 companies –
Internet phone connection providers of their data transmission
connection. Representatives of these companies stated this at the
September 8 press conference. According to Artyom Khachatrian,
director of the company Dashink Kadrayin Kentron, all the companies
have appropriate licences, and based on the conclusion of the RA
Ministry of Transport and Communication, their operation does not
contradict ArmenTel’s licence. It was noted during the press conference
that the companies – Internet phone connection providers requested
ArmenTel to provide explanations, but there was no answer.

WHAT TIGRAN TOROSYAN DID IN STRASBURG
Lragir.am
05 Sept 06
The Times Yerevan informed that the daughter of the speaker of the
National Assembly Tigran Torosyan was admitted to work in the European
Union. Our source informs that Tigran Torosyan, the leader of the
Armenian delegation to the PACE used his position to facilitate his
daughter’s placement in the PACE, not the European Union. Our source
in Strasburg informs that for several months Tigran Torosyan has been
asking the PACE officials to solve the problem of his daughter’s
job. He asked and even made some “sacrifices”. Personal or state,
we will touch upon this in the future.