Author: Khondkarian Raffi

PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA MET ARMENIAN SCHOOLCHILDREN
ArmRadio.am
22.05.2006 13:58
President of the Supreme Court of Georgia Konstantin Kublashvili met
50 pupils of the Armenian school of Tskhaltuba village in Akhalkalak
region. The Black Sea Press Agency was told at the Ministry of
Education and Science of Georgia that the schoolchildren came
to Tbilisi with the financial assistance of the Representation
of “Eurasia” Foundation in Georgia and “Alpe” Georgian Fund. The
initiative of the meeting belongs to the President of the Supreme Court
of Georgia. The aim of the meeting was to introduce the children of
non-Georgian schools to the court system of Georgia. The pupils will
visit the Georgian Parliament to learn about the main principles of
the work of legislative and executive authorities.

KOCHARIAN INDICATES NEED TO ADVANCE COOPERATION WITH ARAB COUNTRIES
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.05.2006 13:04 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Kuwaiti newly appointed Ambassador Ra Majdi Ahmad
Ibrahim Al Dafirii (residence in Teheran) presented credentials
to the Armenian President Robert Kocharian today, reports the
Press Service of the Armenian leader. During the meeting Kocharian
emphasized the need to expand cooperation with Arab states, specially
emphasizing the role of Kuwait. Touching upon the question of bilateral
relations, the parties noted the available potential of development of
cooperation. From the point of view of development of economic ties
the interlocutors emphasized the completion of the legal framework
as a priority. The diplomat presented the situation in Kuwait and
regional developments to President Kocharian.

EUROVISION MILESTONE SET FOR THURSDAY TONIGHT
By Fred Bronson, Billboard.Com
VNU Entertainment News Wire
May 18, 2006, Thursday 11:34 AM Eastern Time
The Eurovision Song Contest reached a milestone last year when the
50th running of the Pan-European competition took place in Kiev,
Ukraine. Thursday night (May 18), the veteran song contest was to
reach another.
Since the first Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast in 1956, some
992 songs have fought for first place. That means the eighth tune to
be performed at tonight’s live contest in Athens will be the 1000th
Eurovision song.
That honor falls to Ireland’s representative, Brian Kennedy, who will
perform his own composition, “Every Song Is a Cry for Love.” It’s
appropriate that Ireland’s entry is the 1000th song to compete in
Eurovision, as Ireland has won the contest more times than any other
country — seven in all. The running order is selected by random draw,
so it’s the luck of the Irish that put them in eighth position.
This is the third year that the annual competition has held a
semi-final. With 37 countries entered, there are too many songs
to be performed in one three-hour telecast. The 10 highest-scoring
countries from the previous year are pre-qualified for the final,
to be broadcast on Saturday. The “big four” — Spain, Germany, France
and the United Kingdom — are also pre-qualified, as they contribute
the most to the budget of the TV show and the rest of Europe couldn’t
afford to stage the contest without funding from those four nations.
Here is the running order of Thursday night’s semi-final, to be
broadcast live at 7 p.m. GMT. The 10 countries with the highest number
of votes phoned in by viewers will advance to the final.
1. “Without Your Love,” Andre (Armenia) 2. “Let Me Cry,” Mariana Popova
(Bulgaria) 3. “Mr. Nobody,” Anzej Dezan (Slovenia) 4. “Sense Tu,” Jenny
(Andorra) 5. “Mum,” Polina Smolova (Belarus) 6. “Zjarr e Ftohte,”
Luiz Ejlli (Albania) 7. “Je T’Adore,” Kate Ryan (Belgium) 8. “Every
Song Is a Cry for Love,” Brian Kennedy (Ireland) 9. “Why Angels
Cry,” Annet Artani (Cyprus) 10. “The ‘Coco-Dance’,” Severine Ferrer
(Monaco) 11. “Ninanajna,” Elena Risteska (Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia) 12. “Follow My Heart,” Ich Troje featuring Real McCoy
(Poland) 13. “Never Let You Go,” Dima Bilan (Russia) 14. “Superstar,”
Sibel Tuzun (Turkey) 15. “Show Me Your Love,” Tina Karol (Ukraine)
16. “Hard Rock Hallelujah,” Lordi (Finland) 17. “Amambanda,” Treble
(The Netherlands) 18. “We Are the Winners,” LT United (Lithuania)
19. “Gonna Make You Dance,” Nonstop (Portugal) 20. “Invincible,” Carola
(Sweden) 21. “Through My Window,” Sandra (Estonia) 22. “Lejla,” Hari
Mata Hari (Bosnia & Herzegovina) 23. “Congratulations,” Silvia Night
(Iceland).

NO CONSOLIDATION OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES OF WORLD YET
by Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 17, 2006 Wednesday 03:28 PM EST
Despite all its efforts, the World Armenian Congress has not yet
achieved complete consolidation of Armenian communities in the world,
Ara Abramyan, the president of the World Armenian Congress and of
the Union of Armenians of Russia, told a news conference on Wednesday
evening, summing up the results of the meeting of the General Council
of the congress.
Abramyan, a prominent public figure and entrepreneur of Russia, said,
“The World Armenian Congress now has an opportunity to form chapters
in various countries, but the problem is the communities are not yet
ready for this.” Therefore, the Yerevan meeting emphasized the need to
create effective mechanisms of cooperation of Armenian communities in
various countries and to overcome the existing difficulties, Abramyan
said. He believes the Armenian authorities can do much in this matter.
Despite difficulties that existed in relations with the Armenian
authorities earlier, there are presently no differences between
the World Armenian Congress and state structures of the republic,
Abramyan said.
The World Armenian Congress will participate in Armenia’s political
life in as much as the country’s laws permit and it is useful for
the republic, Abramyan said. “Half a million Armenian citizens reside
in Russia now, and I cannot remain indifferent to the policy of the
republic,” he said. “This does not mean that we will interfere in the
political processes,” he said. “Whoever may come to office in Armenia,
the World Armenian Congress will cooperate with the authorities,”
Abramyan said.

REFORMS SHOULD GO ON
Lragir.am
17 May 06
On May 17 Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan met with Stephen Nix, the
International Republican Institute Eurasia director, and the political
expert Rasa Alisauske, reports the Public Relations Department of
the National Assembly.
During the meeting they discussed the activities of the IRI in Armenia,
the importance of promoting democratic reforms was emphasized. The
guests presented the findings of their research on different problems
to Arthur Baghdasaryan.

OSKANIAN TO DEPART FOR STRASBOURG TO PARTICIPATE IN COE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS SESSION
PanARMENIAN.Net
17.05.2006 13:09 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ May 18 Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
will depart for Strasbourg to participate in the 166th Session of
the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, reported RA MFA press
office. Within the visit framework Vartan Oskanian and the Foreign
Ministers taking part in the session will meet with CoE Secretary
General Terry Davis to discuss the status of Kosovo. Special Envoy
of the U.N.
Secretary-General for the Future Status of Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari
will also be present at the meeting.
Vartan Oskanian is also scheduled to meet with Azeri Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov. May 19 the RA FM will address the session.
On the same day Vartan Oskanian will depart for the U.S. and Canada
to meet with the Armenian communities of Los Angeles, Boston and
Ottawa. He will discuss a wide scope of issues referring to the
Armenia-Diaspora third forum scheduled for September 18-20. The
Armenian Minister will return to Yerevan May 24.

ARA ABRAHAMIAN PRESENTS VARTAN OSKANIAN FORTHCOMING PROGRAMS OF WORLD ARMENIAN CONGRESS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Issues relating to
events to be organized soon in Yerevan on the initiative of the
World Armenian Congress were discussed at the May 15 meeting of
Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian with Ara Abrahamian, the
Chairman of the World Armenian Congress and the Union of Armenians
of Russia. Ara Abrahamian presented details of organizing and
expections from the “Caucasus without Conflict, Terrorism: Dialogue
of Civilizations at Caucasian Crossroad” international conference
and the sitting of the experts’ commission engaged in the Armenian
Genocide Issues.
Mentioning modernity of the issues to be discussed during the
conferences, the Minister expressed readiness concerning RA Foreign
Ministry’s participation in the events at corresponding level. Ara
Abrahamian presented his structure’s future activities and programs. As
Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and
Information Department, the interlocuters touched upon in details the
Armenian rural communities’ development program which is the pivot of
the agenda of the Armenia-Diaspora third conference to take place in
Yerevan in September of the current year. The interlocuters touched
upon international events, regional issues.

FRANCE’S BILL
By Ozdemir Ince
Turkish Press
May 16 2006
HURRIYET- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper labeled the Armenian
Events of 1915 a ‘genocide’. Some deputies in France are preparing
a bill to criminalize denial of the so-called Armenian genocide. I’m
certainly angry about France and the US, both of whom are using the
‘genocide’ as a political tool and can’t get rid of the fixed idea
of genocide. But there are also people in these two countries working
against this shell game.
If this bill is passed, then France will contradict its history of
freedom and make things worse while trying to erase the opprobrium
of colonialism. My wise French friends are saying that comparing the
Jewish Holocaust with the Armenian genocide is absolute nonsense. But
they aren’t the majority among French intellectuals. Moreover they
grow more intense when this issue is debated. The ‘genocide’ is so
deep in their subconscious that many of them can’t get rid of it.
A total of 400,000 Armenian people are integrated into France, and all
of them are French citizens. France is certain about Armenians being
French. This is very important. Armenian society is very influential
in every field of daily life and every profession. It has a strong
middle class.
So it’s natural that a French person supports a French Armenian. Also
it’s almost impossible to publish an article espousing the opposite
view in top newspapers like Le Monde, Liberation and Le Nouvel
Observateur. Le Monde published the views of Orhan Pamuk, Murat Belge,
Halil Berktay and Baskin Oran, but wouldn’t publish my article even
in the readers section. I wrote about the tricky maneuvers of the
French and Armenians in Cukurova between 1919 and 1921. This is one
of France’s most shameful eras, but nobody wants to learn about it
and they even aren’t interested.
Like Elisabeth Badinter, there are historians who say: ‘Turkish and
Armenian historians should study if there was a genocide in Turkey
or another place. But it’s not the business of the French Parliament
to deliver an opinion on this issue. Moreover, legal determination
of discussion about a historical event and making it criminal is
unacceptable.’ But I don’t know if this will be enough to convince
even her husband Robert Badinter, an influential politician, jurist
and writer.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called representatives of French
firms and warned them to support Turkey’s stance. I don’t think that
this will work. Then France will play its European Union card. As a
matter of fact, their ambassador spoke about this a few days ago.
Turkey has to find another method, but it is difficult with this
government.

LEAVING THE BASE: RUSSIAN TANKS ARE LEAVING AKHALKALAKI
by Vladimir Novikov
Translated by Elena Leonova
Source: Kommersant, May 15, 2006, p. 10
Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part B (Russia)
May 15, 2006 Monday
A trainload of Russian military hardware will leave Georgia today; The
first echelon of armored vehicles being withdrawn from Russia’s 62nd
military base at Akhalkalaki will leave Georgia for Russia today. The
process of shutting down the Akhalkalaki base started late last week,
in accordance with Russian-Georgian agreements reached on March 31
in Sochi.
The first echelon of armored vehicles being withdrawn from Russia’s
62nd military base at Akhalkalaki will leave Georgia for Russia
today. The process of shutting down the Akhalkalaki base started late
last week, in accordance with Russian-Georgian agreements reached
on March 31 in Sochi. According to those agreements, the Akhalkalaki
base will be shut down by the end of 2007, but all military hardware
must be withdrawn a year earlier – by the end of 2006.
Colonel Igor Konashenkov, an aide to the Commander of the Russian
Ground Forces, said at a press conference in Akhalkalaki that the
first echelon withdrawn to Russia will include seven tanks, about
10 armored personnel carriers and armored patrol vehicles, and some
other military property. According to Konashenkov, Georgian Railroads
delivered an echelon of nine railway carriages and specially-reinforced
platforms to the Tsalka station on Friday, May 12, for the purpose
of transporting the Russian military hardware.
The echelon is scheduled to depart on the morning of May 15.
The echelon’s path from Georgia to Russia runs through Azerbaijan.
Colonel Konashenkov said: “Georgia will ensure security for the
Russian military cargo on Georgian territory, Azerbaijan will do so
on Azeri territory, and once it crosses the Russian state border,
security will be provided by a military patrol from the Russian Group
of Forces in the Trans-Caucasus.”
Loading of Russian armored vehicles to be withdrawn from Akhalkalaki
started on the morning of May 13 and continued through May 14.
Loading was supervised by General Alexander Popov, commander of
the Group of Russian Forces in Georgia, and his deputy, Colonel
Vladimir Kuparadze. According to statements made at a press conference
yesterday, no complications were involved in loading Russian hardware
and any difficulties were only technical. “We aren’t having any
particular problems. Just a shortage of personnel, so each person has
to do the work of three,” said Colonel Kuparadze. General Popov made
a similar statement, adding that after troop withdrawal is completed
in 2008, he’d like to visit Georgia as a tourist.
Despite reassuring statements from the Russian military, tension
in Akhalkalaki over the impending withdrawal of Russian hardware
persisted until the very last moment. Special forces from the Georgian
Interior Ministry were transferred to the town of Akhalkalaki in the
early morning hours of May 13; if necessary, they were to stop any
protests by local residents who oppose the decision to close the 62nd
base. The special forces officers, armed with batons and shields,
were took up their position at a district police station.
It’s worth noting that shortly before this, tension was exacerbated
by none other than Georgian Defense Minister Iraklii Okruashvili. In
an interview with Imedi television on May 1, Okruashvili alleged
that “Russia is organizing provocations in Akhalkalaki, with the
aim of halting troop withdrawal on the pretext that local residents
are obstructing it.” Given this war of nerves, a reinforced mobile
artillery battalion from the Russian Armed Forces was sent from
Akhalkalaki to the Tsalka railway station for loading and guarding
the cargo.
All the same, none of the apprehensions and suspicions of recent
days and weeks were borne out; contrary to expectations, there were
no unusual incidents during the withdrawal of Russian hardware.
In late April, a number of non-governmental organizations from the
Dzhavakheti region in southern Georgia, which has a predominantly
Armenian population, organized a picket outside the main gates of the
Russian military base at Akhalkalaki. Protesting against the closure
of the base, they said that thousands of local residents will lose
their jobs after the Russian military leaves. Moreover, the Armenian
protestors said that they fear aggression from neighboring Turkey
and don’t believe that the Georgian Armed Forces would protect them
from it.
Although the withdrawal of Russian hardware from Akhalkalaki has
already begun, the NGOs of Dzhavakheti say they won’t stop their
attempts to prevent the closure of the 62nd Russian military base in
southern Georgia.

A SYRIAN MONASTERY LIES AT THE NEXUS OF ISLAM, CHRISTIANITY
AZG Armenian Daily
16/05/2006
It is late afternoon at the monastery of Deir Mar Musa on the edge
of the Syrian desert and the only sounds are the call of desert birds
and the whisper of the breeze over time-worn stones.
Until, that is, a group of Muslim schoolgirls arrive from a nearby town
to fill the monastery’s valley with laughter and joyful chattering.
“Keep the noise down. This is a monastery,” bellows the Rev. Paolo
Dall’Oglio, the monastery’s Italian Jesuit founder, looking stem for
a moment before breaking into a broad, proud smile.
The monastery of Deir Mar Musa was first built by Greek monks in the
sixth century as a remote retreat from the material and political
world. Abandoned in the 19th century, it once again houses a small
religious community. But now, under its second founder, Father
Dall’Oglio, it is on the forefront of politics with a fresh approach
to bridge-building with the Islamic world.
“When I arrived here 25 years ago, Syria was [a] center of the struggle
between communism and capitalism,” says Dall’Oglio, dressed in a
worn gray pullover. “And today it is the crossroads between Islam
and Christianity.”
“For us, dialogue really starts from being curious about others,” he
says, explaining that instead of proselytizing, the Catholic Church
now advocates building bridges with Islam.
Through day-to-day interaction, bridge-building is what the Deir
Mar Musa’s six monks and nuns and several lay assistants are working
toward. Traveling to local Muslim communities they work with Muslim
leaders to improve opportunities for young people, promote ecological
awareness, and arrange theological discussions between religious
leaders.
“It’s really just a simple, evangelical life,” he says, stroking
silvery beard. “I accept pluralism as a gift from God.”
In 1977, DeU’oglio began studying Arabic in Damascus, where he soon
heard about a ruined Byzantine monastery 50 miles away on the edge
of the Syrian desert.
Five years later he made his first visit. After leaving the main
road and trekking into barren hills, he arrived at a crumbling
building. Clambering through the ruins, he found himself in a roofless
church staring at medieval frescos slowly dissolving beneath the sun,
wind, and rain.
“I came here for 10 days of prayer and meditation,” he says. When he
returned to Damascus, he began laying plans for nearly a decade to
restore the ruins and make it the home for a new sort of monastery.
Now on one typical April day, the restored monastery is visited by
a busload of noisy Muslim schoolgirls on a field trip, two Syrian
Christian soldiers in camouflage uniforms, and a stream of foreign
backpackers and tourists. “Sometimes on Fridays thousands of people
come,” says Dell’oglio. “For Muslims, a Christian monastery is a holy
place. And Muslims know that monasteries like this were protected by
the prophet Muhammad himself.
The monastery also combines medieval monasticism with Arab traditions
of hospitality by extending free accommodation to all travelers –
provided they help with cleaning, washing the dishes, and collecting
Jitter from, the- surrounding hills.
“Our hospitality is really a political program,” he says. “I would
say to the [American] people ‘come to Syria and discover the human
values of these people – Muslims and Christians.'”
“Yes, we have problems [in the region] but let us consider the
problems of the Middle East as a problem within one family and not
as the problems of an enemy.
Let us look for another logic beyond the logic of military aggression
and occupation and see that we are one humanity. Peace is something
that you build with your enemies.”
Ironically the monastery’s very success at attracting visitors means
that the monks now have little time for meditation or study. Recently
they have refurbished another old monastery 30 miles further north
as well as ancient caves throughout the surrounding stony hillsides.
“We consider ourselves at home when we are surrounded by guests,”
says Dell’oglio. “But obviously sometimes we get tired and so we have
caves where people can go for some quiet.”
Not surprisingly, many visitors find it difficult to leave. One young
French woman is coming to the end of nearly two years of living in the
monastery and working with local people as an agricultural engineer.
“This place is like something wonderful,” she says.
“Every day I wake up here and think that I just want to live here
for always and always.”
But Dell’oglio rubs his eyes tiredly when asked about the future of the
region, and particularly of Syria’s 1 million native Christians. He
says if relations with the West worsen, it will get more difficult
for Christians to stay in Syria.
His concerns are shared in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
“The Christians in Syria are very worried about the future,” says
Ayman Abdul Nour, a Syrian reform leader in Damascus. He notes that
a disproportionate number of visa seekers at North American embassies
are Christians.
But while Dell’oglio is concerned about Syrian Christians, he’s also
thinking globally.
“The big issue is whether there can even be a future without religious
harmony,” says Paolo. “To build religious harmony is to build a future
for humanity.
It’s not going to be easy but I say let’s do it. Bring it on.”
The Christian Science Monitor, Monday 1 May 2006.