Author: Madatian Greg

ARMENIA TO BE PRESENTED BY SEPARATE PAVILION AT "BOOK EXPO – 2006" INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF BOOK TO BE HELD IN WASHINGTON

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 19 2006

WASHINGTON, MAY 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The "BOOK EXPO –
2006" international exhibition of book will be held in the Washington
Exhibition Center on May 19-21. Armenia will be presented there by
a separate pavilion.

About 50 books and publications, including historiographic, fiction,
encyclopedian and children’s literature published in Armenia during
the recent years are presented by the National Publishing Association
and the "Edit Print" publishing house. As Noyan Tapan was informed
by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information Department,
publishers of 46 countries are represented at the "BOOK EXPO – 2006"
exhibition. Besides Russia, Armenia is the only CIS state which is
represented in the exhibition by a separate pavilion.

GRAND INSURANCE TERMINATES ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FROM KILLED PASSENGERS’ RELATIVES

Armenpress
Jun 19 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Grand insurance company
terminated on June 18 acceptance of applications from the relatives
of passengers of an Armenian airliner that crashed in the Black Sea
on May 3 killing all 113 people aboard for payment of compensations.

Artak Antonian, Grand company’s executive manager, told Armenpress
they have received applications from relatives of 100 killed passengers
and the crew members. He said 87 of applicants are Armenian citizens,
22 are citizens of Russia. He said relatives of the remaining four
killed passengers may file their applications later.

He said all relating documents will be send to London and after
their are approved by a London-based insurance company that has
reinsured Grand, agreements on payment of compensations will be
signed with relatives and compensations will be started to be paid
in 10-15 days. He refused to elaborate on the compensation amount,
but earlier reports said it may amount to $20,000.

NEW CONNECTIONS IN LITERATURE
By Hovhannes Yeranian

Yerkir.am
June 16, 2006

In Yerkir’s previous issue we published an interview the chairman of
the Writers’ Union of Armenia Levon Ananian. He spoke about restoration
of cooperation in literature with the former Soviet countries. In
this issue, we continue the interview which this time deals with
foreign countries (not the former USSR). Several weeks ago Levon
Ananian complained that Yerkir does not cover numerous meetings and
events held at the Writers’ Union. This complain is justified and we
present to our readers’ attention this interview.

Q: Mr. Ananian, Diaspora should be taken into consideration when
literary establishing relations in the sphere of literature with
foreign countries. From this perspective, the Beirut convention was
rather interesting since it provided an opportunity to establish
connections not only with Diaspora Armenian literary circles.

A: Yes, I think it was important that the third convention of Armenian
writers was held in Beirut. I met with the Lebanese Minister of
Culture and we made a number of arrangements. First, a statue of
Avetik Isahakian will be set up in the center of Beirut, and we will
set a statue of Jubran Khalil Jubran in Yerevan. We have already sent
the sketches for Isahakian’s statue to Beirut. This statue is very
important in terms of presenting the Armenian culture.

Thousands of tourists from different countries visit Beirut every year.

Secondly, we made arrangements for several events. Days of Lebanese
literature will be held in Armenia. After that days of Armenian
literature will be organized in Lebanon. A number of Arab writers
will visit Armenian in 2007.Beirut is the non-official ‘capital’
of the Armenian Diaspora. Through cultural connections we will try
to preserve it like that because experience has shown that Armenians
remain more Armenian in the Middle East preserving their language
and culture than in Europe, USA and other countries.

During the Soviet period Beirut was our second capital in terms of
literature and culture. Unfortunately, the Armenian community in Beirut
is gradually weakening. Globalization does its job. However, we must
support this community that has active literary and cultural life.

Q: Conventions of Armenian writers writing in other languages are
a great opportunity to explore the literary trends in different
countries. Such information and analysis can be useful for the future
of Armenian literature.

A: The second convention of Armenian writers writing in other languages
will be held in 2007 in Armenia. At this convention we are ready to
establish qualitatively new connections and relations will Armenian
writers living and working in different countries and in different
languages. Each of them is a carrier of two literary traditions,
and we can use this reality that has emerged as a result of our
nation’s history.

Q: As far as I know a delegation of writers was supposed to visit
Iran. Why was this visit cancelled?

A: We have very good relations with Iran. We implement a number of
projects in cooperation with the Iranian Cultural Center. The visit
was postponed for some reasons. Last year we hosted several Iranian
writers in cooperation with the Armenian Organization for Cultural
Relations. The response visit was postponed and will be organized in
September instead of June.

We are thinking of organizing a friendship celebration at the bridge
in Meghri. An international conference was planned to be held in
Spahan, it was postponed till autumn as well. Ahmad Nurizade plays
an important role in promoting the Armenian literature. He is the
only foreigner who writes in Armenian.

A journal titled "Mihr" is published by the Iranian Embassy in Armenia.

This journal always pays much attention to the Armenian culture
and literature.

Eduard Hakhverdian has contributed greatly to the translation
of Iranian literature into Armenian. He has translated about 15
authors. We have made significant progress in literary and cultural
relations between Armenian and Iran.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my gratitude to the
Cultural Center at the Iranian Embassy in Armenia. The Center is very
interested in promoting Iranian literature in Armenia and visa versa.

What I said earlier about the importance of preserving the Armenian
community in Beirut is equally true for the Armenians in Iran. The
Armenians in Iran do not get assimilated, they preserve their national
identity. The Armenian community is very important in maintaining
friendly relations with Iran.

Both sides acknowledge the importance of cultural relations in addition
to economic and political relations, and this is very important.

ANTI-ARMENIAN HYSTERIA IN AZERBAIJAN CONTINUES

ArmRadio.am
15.06.2006 16:16

NKR Ministry of Defense has rejected the statements of Baku on firing
Azeri villages and destruction of cultural monuments on territories
under the control of Nagorno-Karabakh Armed Forces. Head of Press
Service of NKR Ministry of Defense, Deputy Colonel Senor Asratyan
informed that "by spreading apparently false information Azerbaijan
tries to neutralize the negative attitude of the international
community connected with the destruction of the ancient Armenian
cemetery in Nakhijevan."

Senor Asratyan noted that after every unsuccessful round of
negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement Baku undertakes
measures to defame the Armenian side.

"Azeri authorities are not ready for concessions. Therefore, they
try to stiffen the settlement process in every possible way by
strengthening the anti-Armenian propaganda," Senor Asratyan underlined.

PRESENTATION ABOARD ‘CILICIA’ ACCOMPANIED BY ARMENIAN COGNAC
By Tamar Minasian

AZG Armenian Daily
15/06/2006

A few days ago the presentation of Zori Balayan’s "Cilicia: A Way to
the Ocean" book took place onboard "Cilicia" sailing vessel moored
in Amsterdam. The crew of the vessel received the first copies of
the book.

The participants of the presentation were treated to Armenian cognac
by captain Karen Balayan. Famous actor Sos Sargsian had presented the
cognac before the start of the journey and had asked to drink it only
at the end of the journey in Amsterdam.

DID ROBERT KOCHARYAN AND SERGE SARGSYAN DELUDE OLIGARCHS?

Lragir.am
13 June 06

While the period of the election campaign is drawing nearer, different
players in the political sphere have found themselves in a difficult
situation. Particularly, the Lragir.am has learned that some oligarch
owning some TV channels in Armenia are in a dilemma and are facing
a problem of orientation. Political orientation is meant.

Some of these oligarchs, who possess TV frequencies, are concerned
about the behavior of Robert Kocharyan and Serge Sargsyan. They are
said to have complain to their close people that they are unable
to find out whether Robert Kocharyan and Serge Sargsyan are in the
same team or are opponents. An oligarch owning TV channels, who is
also a big producer, said on an occasion that the Kocharyan-Sargsyan
tandem used to assure him that they are a team, whereas now their
behavior is highly controversial, complained the oligarch. We have
learned that the anxiety of TV channel owners occurred after Serge
Sargsyan had been displeased with the TV reports and news praising
Robert Kocharyan, and the reports and news praising the minister of
defense aroused the president’s dissatisfaction. In the meantime,
on finding themselves in such an uncertainty the businessmen owning
TV channels are especially displeased that they nevertheless have to
make up their mind, when very little time is left until fall.

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:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE AMBASSADOR OF IRAN

His Holiness Aram I received the newly appointed Ambassador of the
Islamic Republic of Iran to Lebanon, Mohammed Riza Shibani in Antelias
on June 8. The political and cultural secretaries at the Embassy
accompanied the Ambassador.

The Iranian diplomats and His Holiness talked about the current
situation in Lebanon. The Ambassador informed the Catholicos of the
recent dialogue between Iran and the international community and the
latest proposals presented to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Referring to the Armenian community of Iran, the Catholicos asked the
Ambassador that consultations between the mixed government-community
committee over legal issues related to the community continue. He also
asked that the government follow closely the anti-Armenian policy of
Azeris in the region of Tabriz.

Speaking about the Armenian community of Lebanon, the Pontiff said
its political approach have always been in favor of Lebanese internal
unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

##
View photo here: tm#2
*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
history and mission 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.

FOUND: SECRET HOAD OF IDS FOR ARMENIANS
Story By Dominic Wabala

Daily Nation , Kenya
June 11 2006

Dramatic details emerged of the items recovered by police from the
Runda Estate house of the deported Armenian brothers.

Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargasyan had Kenyan passports as well
as appointment cards to the Kenya police force. They were ranked as
Deputy Commissioners of Police.

In addition, they had cards giving them unrestricted access to all
airports in Kenya.

Also found in their house were assault rifles and pistols with serial
numbers indicating they belonged to the presidential security unit.

They also had jackets, caps, boots and face masks similar to those
issued to the police Quick Response Unit.

As police investigations continued, two Tanzanians who had been held
following the early Friday morning raid at the home were also deported,
while a woman identified as Ms Shivana Atarakyia was released after
questioning.

Police were still pursuing leads into where the Armenians had kept
two suitcases they fled with from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
after defying orders to have them inspected.

The hasty deportation was condemned by Cabinet ministers as details
emerged that a well-connected political activist had attempted to
persuade Police Commissioner Hussein Ali not to carry out the raid.

Other sources said the raid was delayed for about two hours – from
11 pm to 1.30 am – as a senior Cabinet minister tried to persuade
the police chief not to carry it out. Eventually, the police boss
issued the order and the gate was pulled down setting off the search,
arrest and subsequent deportation of the two brothers.

The brothers’ connections to people in government seemed to have
been confirmed beyond doubt with the recovery of certificates of
appointment as deputy commissioners of police, a post equivalent to
that of a provincial police officer.

A certificate issued to one of the brothers bore his photo but with
the names A.M. Johannes.

Another certificate of appointment issued to the brothers had earlier
been confiscated by a senior police officer. Such certificates,
which used to be given to members of the disbanded Police Reserve,
can only be issued with authority of the Commissioner of Police,
a unit commander such as the CID boss, or a provincial police chief
as laid out in the Force rules and regulations.

Two Kenyan passports – number A1031196 bearing the name Darkisyan Artak
and number A0131195 issued to Sarkissyan Arman – were also recovered
at the home. It was not immediately clear how the two could have got
their hands on the two passports which were signed by the principal
immigration officer as is required.

An airport pass – allowing Mr Margaryan full access to all areas of
the airport – was also recovered. Such passes are only issued with
the authority of the Kenya Airports Authority boss, Mr George Muhoho,
or the airport security chief. Such passes are not commonly issued
to non-KAA staff. Not even cabinet ministers have them.

Mr Muhoho was unavailable for comment but his personal assistant,
Mr Dominic Ngige, declined to explain how Mr Margaryan could have
been issued with unlimited access to the airport, saying it was a
matter to be addressed by the police.

The 13 vehicles including Toyota Harriers, a Mercedes Benz, a Subaru
Legacy, a Honda Civic, Mitsubishi Pajero, an assortment of Toyota
saloon cars and a white Volvo, remained in the compound although the
Officer Commanding Gigiri Police Division Patrick Lumumba said their
authenticity would be verified.

A Mercedes Benz with GK plates is suspected to belong to a well
connected political personality.

After conducting a search in the compound and an adjacent empty plot,
police recovered two AK-47 assault rifles with 101 rounds of ammunition
in a magazine specifically for use by the General Service Unit in
banditry and cattle rustling prone areas, and four Ceska automatic
pistols with 146 rounds of ammuntion.

They had serial numbers which closely matched those issued to the
Presidential Escort.

Police conducting the raid were taken aback when they reported their
find to their superiors on open-radio frequencies. Instead, the
policemen were given a tongue lashing when they tried to inform their
bosses of the items they had found at the Runda home. “Why should you
say such things on the radio? Don’t you have a better way of passing
such information?” one officer was reprimanded by a mystery voice.

Twenty-four orange reflective jackets, the same number of face masks
and 18 black caps, all branded with Rapid Response, similar to the
ones used in the Standard/KTN raid, were also recovered, as were two
pairs of jungle boots, three bullet-proof jackets, two combat T-shirts,
four combat jackets, two combat trousers and two scarfs.

The detectives also recovered 16 pairs of number plates including GK,
diplomatic and private motor vehicle registration numbers; three combat
Infra Red cameras, 12 Motorola communication handsets, 11 chargers,
one CCTV monitor, 10 CCTV cameras and two safety jackets.

Three computers similar to those snatched by the QRU officers during
the Standard/KTN raid were also later recovered in a Subaru car parked
in the compound.

And, as the drama of the Arturs and their two deported accomplices,
Mitri Tashci and Alecsandra Pak unfolded, detectives from the
Anti-Motor Vehicle Theft Unit (Flying Squad) and the Special Crime
Prevention Unit continued with investigations and searching the
compound yesterday.

Windsor-Hights Herald, NJ
June 9 2006

Opening activism

By: Dick Brinster, Staff Writer 06/09/2006

Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
Her battle with Twin Rivers now playing to larger audience

EAST WINDSOR – Disputes over the color and style of front doors
opened the way to what is now Margaret Bar-Akiva’s battle against a
“Trojan horse.”
There might be no better way to begin chronicling a decade for an
activist that began with a term on the board of directors of the Twin
Rivers Homeowners Association and morphed into what she believes is a
war for democracy against those who control such associations.
“Although it began with a debate over rules governing such mundane
items as a storm door, no intelligent discussion can take place
without distinguishing between good rules, bad rules and benign
rules,” Ms. Bar-Akiva said. “Good rules are what day you take out the
garbage, keeping the community clean and healthy, and benign rules
are what color and style your door and mailbox can be.
“Bad rules are where they trample on your First Amendment rights.”
To Ms. Bar-Akiva, the latter is war. And a big battle in that
conflict will be decided by the state Supreme Court. It has agreed to
hear arguments over the board’s attempt to limit placement of
political signs, use of the Twin Rivers Community Room and access to
the development’s newsletter.
The action was filed by Frank Askin of the Rutgers Constitutional
Litigation Clinic on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union of
New Jersey.
A ruling in favor of the association’s board might affect more
than the Committee for a Better Twin Rivers, a plaintiff’s group that
includes Ms. Bar-Akiva’s husband, Haim. Ms. Bar-Akiva is looking
beyond the impact a negative ruling would have on the local community
of 10,000 residents, the state’s oldest planned-unit development,
begun in 1969.
She says 1.4 million people in New Jersey and 52 million
nationwide are living under rules of homeowners’ associations.
“It would be a blow not only to homeowners who live in these types
of communities but I think we need to be very concerned about what
the implications of living in dictatorial enclaves within a country
that holds itself up as a model of democracy,” she said.
That sort of belief carried Ms. Bar-Akiva from the Twin Rivers
board, on which she served from 1994 through 1996, to formation in
1997 of the Common-Interest Homeowners Coalition. Now, the depth of
the battle against homeowners’ associations (HOAs) has led to Ms.
Bar-Akiva leaving as founding president to become legislative liaison
to the C-IHC board.
She hopes the war can be won in Trenton, where Assembly bill A798
was approved March 2. Ms. Bar-Akiva calls that bill an attempt to
snuff out the rights of homeowners and wants to block implementation
of what’s known as the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act.
“It is the brainchild of the attorneys of the Community
Associations Institute,” she said. “CAI is a trade organization that
represents the interests of attorneys, property managers,
administrators, management companies, accountants, etc., all of whom
get paid from hardworking homeowners’ fees.”
But, she insists, this certainly is not done in the best interest
of the homeowners.
“Lawyers of CAI represented the board in the Twin Rivers case,
arguing that homeowners who live in HOAs have no constitutional
rights!” she said. “Those same attorneys want you to believe that a
bill they crafted could be good for homeowners.”
That’s exactly what Assemblyman Peter Biondi, R-Somerset, thinks
of A798, a bill he co-sponsored, because he says it will consolidate
a myriad of laws and regulations applying to HOAs.
“This bill, which is extensive in scope, will not only clarify the
powers of homeowners’ associations but will provide more homeowner
protections,” he told the Herald. “The fact that New Jersey has a
large number of residents living in common-interest residences makes
this bill necessary and will be effective in helping our residents
living in these homes.”
Ms. Bar-Akiva, a mother of three who works for the state Division
of Human Services, is concentrating on stopping S805, the Senate
counterpart of A798. If passed in the Senate and signed by the
governor, UCIOA would become law.
“We find UCIOA to be the Great Pretender, a Trojan horse, a pig in
a poke,” said Ms. Bar-Akiva. “Its 114 pages cement the rights of
developers and of boards, but do nothing to protect owners from
abusive boards.”
Ms. Bar-Akiva is working in support of another Senate bill, S1608,
introduced by Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer.
“It is written in a clear and concise manner and is meant to do
exactly what its title implies: Owners’ Rights in Common Interest
Developments (ORCID),” she said.
Meanwhile, at stake in the state Supreme Court is the outcome of a
lawsuit filed in 2000. Twin Rivers board President Scott Pohl says
$750,000 has been spent in defense of an eight-count action brought
by Mr. Bar-Akiva and two other residents.
A Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the board, applying the
business judgment rule – which holds that a decision must be made in
good faith. But an appellate panel earlier in February sent the suit
back to the lower court that previously dismissed it, instructing it
to apply a constitutional standard to counts involving placement of
signs, the community room and newsletter.
The appellate court’s action did not approve of the residents’
demand for a one-person, one-vote system to elect board members. In
Twin Rivers’ system, votes are based on the value of one’s property.
Ms. Bar-Akiva says there are many problems involving HOAs in New
Jersey and throughout the country. For her, the bottom line is
democracy.
Her first major attempt to push that concept beyond Twin River
began reluctantly in January 1997, when an Assembly task force
conducted hearings on HOAs.
“I wanted nothing to do with it,” Ms. Bar-Akiva remembered. “My
husband insisted that he wanted to go and testify. When he returned
home that night he told me that scores of people from across New
Jersey had shown up on that bitterly cold night to testify about
their own horror stories in HOAs.”
Soon, the Bar-Akivas hosted a meeting at their home with several
of those who testified, and a group of 17 formed the C-IHC.
With Ms. Bar-Akiva’s background, it might be no surprise that
rights and freedom are top-priority items.
She says her Armenian grandparents and parents survived the
genocide committed by the Turks in 1915 and 1922. The forced
deportation from Turkey landed her ancestors in what is now Israel in
1923.
“I think when you grow up in an environment where you’re aware of
the Armenian genocide, the Jewish Holocaust, and the suffering of the
Palestinian people, you realize how easy it is for things to go wrong
when good people don’t speak up,” she said.
For the first 12 years she and her husband lived in Twin Rivers,
Ms. Bar-Akiva was hardly an activist. But in 1993 – six years after
buying a townhouse for her parents in Twin Rivers – that began to
change. She said she received a letter from the board saying the
brown front door on her parents’ home was in violation of the
community bylaws because it was the same color as the townhouse
itself.
“They gave us a deadline to change the color of the door, which we
did, but missed the deadline by 12 days,” she said. “We received a
fine of $1,200.”
Then she won a seat on the board. Shortly after she left, the
C-IHC was founded. The ink on the charter was barely dry when the
Bar-Akivas received a letter from the board saying the storm door on
their home was in violation of architectural standards.
She especially criticized the Twin Rivers board and its attorneys
for being wasteful in the 1997 storm-door suit. Ms. Bar-Akiva
contends it cost homeowners $100,000. Mr. Pohl, who was elected to
Ms. Bar-Akiva’s former seat on the board, disputes that, saying about
$30,000 was spent. He denied Ms. Bar-Akiva’s claim that attorneys for
Twin Rivers charged $400 an hour for depositions.
Today, Mr. Pohl insists the same storm door, minus grates but
including a second color on the hinges – both objectionable to rules
Ms. Bar-Akiva claims were never recorded – is on the front of the her
residence. Mr. Pohl does agree with the Bar-Akivas on one thing – the
ridiculousness of the fight – but blames them for most of the cost.
Ms. Bar-Akiva contests that.
“You have an in insignificant encounter which then opens your eyes
as to how bizarre it can get,” she said. “These attorneys deposed us
for seven hours . . . all over a storm door.”

LEAVING ORINATS YERKIR DID NOT HELP GOVERNOR OF GEGHARKUNIK

Lragir.am
08 June 06

On June 8 the government of Armenia, relying on the May 6, 1997 order
of the president on regional governance, dismissed Stepan Barseghyan
from the post of governor of the region of Gegharkunik. Arsen Grigoryan
was appointed governor of Gegharkunik. Stepan Barseghyan, being a
member of the Orinats Yerkir Party, became governor thanks to the
coalition agreement. After the secession of the Orinats Yerkir Party
from the coalition Stepan Barseghyan left the party.