Author: Nadirian Emma

500 OFFICIAL AND ABOUT 100 UNOFFICIAL EVENTS TO BE ORGANIZED ON OCCASION OF YEAR OF ARMENIA IN FRANCE

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 26 2006

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The starting point of Year of
Armenia in France will be the September 29 official visit of French
President Jacques Chirac to Armenia and opening of the Square of
France in Yerevan, in the place of crossing of Mashtots Avenue-Sayat
Nova-Baghramian streets. The next day, on September 30, a gala concert
will be held in Republic Square with participation of Charles Aznavour
and his friends with presence of the two countries’ Presidents. On this
occasion French variety stars, including Michel Legran, will arrive
in Armenia with legendary singer Charles Aznavour. Unprecedented
fireworks with the colors of the French flag will take place at the
end of the concert.

As Edvard Nalbandian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
Armenia to France, informed journalists at the September 26 press
conference, in a symbolic way Year of Armenia in France started
on September 21, the day of the 15th anniversary of Armenia’s
independence. It will be concluded in the same symbolic way in France
on the country’s national holiday, on 2007 July 14. In 2007 a large
gala concert will be also held in France with performances of Moris
Ravel’s and Aram Khachatrian’s two great works, "Bolero" and "Dance
with Swords."

In E.Nalbandian’s words, besides cultural events, many economic
conferences and forums will be held in France on the occasion of Year
of Armenia. A conference dedicated to cooperation between Armenia
and France in the issue of government decentralization will be
held in October with participation of Chairmen of French Senate and
Armenian National Assembly and delegation led by RA Prime Minister:
23 Armenian and French regions cooperate currently in the format of
"sister cities" or "sister regions."

Conferences dedicated to trade-industrial, agricultural and high
technologies spheres will be held in December, February and March,
respectively.

In the words of Vigen Sargsian, Assistant to RA President, who was
present at the press conference, 500 official and about 100 unofficial
events will be held in France on the occasion of Year of Armenia. The
catalogue of events has been already published in France. Besides
state governmental commissions, Armenian communities of France will
also organize some events.

The President’s Assistant said that many exhibitions with display
of Armenian medieval cultural values, painting, photography will be
organized in 125 French cities. An exhibition under the title "Surb
Hayastan" (St Armenia) to be opened in the halls of Louvres museum is
the most characteristic of them. In addition to Etchmiadzin treasures,
Matenadaran collections, 40 Armenian khachkars (cross-stones)
will be also displayed at the exhibition. As V.Sargsian commented,
these are the khachkars that have been already displaced from their
proper environment.

During the year the Armenian Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras
will perform on tours in different cities of France. Besides,
retrospective reviews of Armenian films, jazz and variety concerts
will be organized. The 3rd biggest collection of Armenian manuscripts
in the world kept at the French National Library will be organized
at the Library.

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
for Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: +322 732 70 26
Tel/Fax: +322 732 70 27
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
September 25, 2006
Contact: Vartenie ECHO
Tel: +322 732 70 26

THE EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION DENOUNCES THE TURKISH PRESSURE ON THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

– The Socialist and Liberal groups demand to suppress the paragraph on
the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a precondition to the
adhesion of Turkey.

– Under the pressure exercised by Turkey, the Socialist and Liberal
groups – while being the two principal promoters of the paragraph in
question during the vote of September 4 in the Committee on Foreign
Affairs – have performed an about turn by submitting an amendment
which aims to suppress the precondition. These amendments do not enjoy
the unanimity of their groups.

`Turkey has imposed these amendments by intimidating certain members
of the two groups. Several parliamentarians close to the file have
even been personally threatened’ declared Hilda Tchoboian, the
president of the European Armenian Federation.

`Turkey, while not in Europe, is attempting to revert and direct the
political line of our European representatives and is imposing its
denial. The recognition of the genocide as a precondition to the
adhesion was adopted in the same terms in the resolution of September
2005. We warn against this risky strategy which will offend the
European nations in order `not to offend’ a state which is
definitively negationist’ concluded Hilda Tchoboian.

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ARMENIA TO HOST CIS EXERCISES ON NUCLEAR PLANT SECURITY

Interfax News Agency
Central Asia General Newswire
September 25, 2006 Monday 1:27 PM MSK

The heads of CIS anti-terrorist units will convene in Armenia on
September 26-29 to work on issues of securing nuclear power plants
from terrorist attack.

The Atom Anti-Terror 2006 joint command exercise, to be held in
conjunction with the meeting, will work on locating and eliminating
sabotage teams that have penetrated into Armenia, CIS Anti-Terrorist
Center head Boris Mylnikov told Interfax.

"The CIS has not held exercises at nuclear power plants before. Yet
Russian secret services have and they will share their experience
with the others," he said.

A task force of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
headquarters and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Regional
Anti-Terrorist Center will take part in the exercises.

Representatives of the secret services of the G8, China, Greece,
countries accredited in Armenia, and a number of neighbor states will
be observers.

Representatives of the Azerbaijani secret services will not take part
in the exercises "for well-known reasons," while Tajik representatives
won’t attend due to financial problems, he said.

RUSSIA WON’T LET GUAM ‘PEACEKEEPING MISSION’ TO CIS CONFLICT REGIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.09.2006 13:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The GUAM is planing a peacekeeping mission not
only for Abkhazia and South Ossetia but also for Nagorno Karabakh and
Transnistria, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov told Kathimerini
Greek newspaper. In his words, such ‘peacekeeping service’ offered
by a deliberately engaged union cannot be adequately perceived by
all of the sides of the settlement process.

Certainly, Russia that stands for a political settlement of the
conflicts, will take appropriate measures to prevent development by
this scenario," the Minister underscored.

KARABAKH ARMY’S AIR DEFENCE UNITS HOLD DRILL

ARMINFO News Agency
September 23, 2006 Saturday

Stepanakert [Xankandi], 23 September: Air defence units of the
Nagornyy Karabakh republic’s [NKR] army have held a training exercise
in Karabakh.

The main task of the exercise was to discover and eliminate the
supposed enemy’s facilities used to carry out an air strike, our
Arminfo correspondent in Stepanakert has reported.

The command, in particular, noted that both commanders and soldiers
coped with their duties and displayed a creative approach.

Turkish lawyer wants CDA candidates in court
Twisting around the Armenian question
By our correspondents

Trouw (Dutch national newspaper)
September 22, 2006

The Dutch Turkish politicians Ayhan Tonca and Osman Elmaci, both on
the candidate list of the CDA for the elections, risk trial in Turkey.

Today, nationalist Turkish lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz is in the process of
investigating Tonca and Elmaci’s statements on the Armenian issue. If
they are opposed to Turkish law, then Kerincsiz will, so he said
yesterday to Trouw, press charges, because it violates article 301
of the Turkish penal code. This penal code forbids the slandering
of Turkey’s reputation. Earlier, Kerincsiz pressed charges against
the authors Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak, without success. Tonca and
Elmaci received the Turkish lawyer’s attention after their conspicuous
twist in their standpoint on the Armenian issue.

It was only in June that they were campaigning against the submitted
bill of the ChristenUnie (CU) via an e-mail group of local Turkish
politicians in the Netherlands. The CU cited, among others, the
Turkish genocide against the Armenians in 1915.

An e-mail discussion revealed that both Tonca and Elmaci deny the
Armenian Genocide. But after a commotion over their views, they said in
an explanation on Thursday: "Hereby we declare that we, if we had had
seats in the parliament during the motion on the Armenian Genocide,
we would have seconded the standpoint of the CDA after participating
in the fraction’s debate and would have voted in favor of the motion
presented by the ChristenUnie."

Yesterday the two refused to say whether they recognize the Armenian
Genocide implicitly.

Now PvdA is struggling with the same problem. Yesterday, it
became clear that PvdA had placed Erdinc Sacan in the 53rd
place of the candidate list. Sacan participated in the same
anti-Armenian e-mail lobby. Yesterday, he joined Tonca and Elmaci’s
explanation. Spokespersons of both the CDA and the PvdA pointed out
that the decisive reason for putting these candidates on the list
was that all three men conform to the fraction’s standpoint, which
is more important than what they think for themselves.

STATEMENT OF PRESIDENT ROBERT KOCHARIAN ON THE OCCASION OF INDEPENDENCE DAY

Armenpress
Sept 21 2006

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS: Your Holiness, Soldiers, officers
and generals, Dear compatriots and guests, I congratulate all of us on
the occasion of the 15th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic
of Armenia.

For the people with millennia long history the last fifteen years of
statehood is just a blink. However, it took in a war, energy crisis,
blockade, and all the hurdles of the transitional period. The starting
point for establishing Armenian statehood was extremely difficult. But
the spirit of our people was high and great was the desire to overcome
all the difficulties in the name of freedom and dignity. In the flames
of war that spirit gave birth to heroes and formed the army, which
we are proud of. The armed forces of the Republic of Armenia are a
powerful defender of the Motherland of all Armenians. The Republic
of Armenia is the greatest achievement of determined hard work of
many generations.

Today Armenia is a steadily developing country.

Successful reforms are underway in all areas of life.

The high tempo of economic growth makes Armenia a new, more promising
country. It is of vital importance, since competitive and effective
economy is the main guarantee for the building of a truly democratic
state.

A number of strategic programs, which are being implemented in our
country, are aimed at the general development and advancement of our
people and our country, and particularly, at the resolution of social
problems. Among priorities the state has identified poverty reduction,
improvement of life quality, and equal development of the country as
a whole.

In the establishment of the Armenian state the input of Diaspora
is hardly to be overestimate. Since day one it has mobilized all
its resources and stood by our state. Symbolically, the third
Armenia-Diaspora conference is also being held during these
jubilee celebrations. It is also important that through the years
of independence the factor of Diaspora has been revaluated, and our
relations have become reciprocal and complementary.

In foreign relations Armenia has proved to be a stable, reliable and
predictable partner. We continue to successfully deepen the engagement
of our country in international affairs, preserving and strengthening
at the same time traditional ties.

The just resolution of the NK conflict remains the highest
priority. And it can only be based on the respect and recognition
of the Artsakhi people’s right to self-determination. Nothing
should threaten security and development of the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic. Dear compatriots, Such a precious jubilee is both
inspiring and binding – we must do the utmost for the strengthening
of Armenia. We should spare no effort to build a new country being
citizens of which will make proud many generations of our people. Once
again I congratulate on the occasion of the 15th Anniversary of
Independence.

Long live the Republic of Armenia! Long live the glorious Army
of Armenia!

APPOINTMENT OF THE NEW US AMBASSADOR AND THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE (ANALYSIS)
Armen Manvelyan

Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 19 2006

During the past 10 days the struggle around the appointment of a new US
Ambassador to Armenia has been transferred from the Foreign Relations
Committee to the Senate itself. The main question specialists are
concerned with is whether the upper House of the US Congress will
vote or the nomination will be postponed. To remind, Senator Robert
Menendez has declared he is against Hagland’s candidacy, which means
that the discussion of the question may be delayed. Nevertheless,
notwithstanding all this Hoagland may be appointed next US
Ambassador to Armenia with the simple majority of the votes. It
should be mentioned that members of Bush’s party comprise majority
in the Senate, which means 51 votes will be enough for Hoagland’s
appointment. Therefore, it is possible that for the first time in
the history of the Senate the Ambassador will be appointed with the
simple majority of votes, while up to now all Ambassadors have been
confirmed, receiving 100 percent of the ballots. The situation with the
appointment of a new US Ambassador to Armenia is associated with the
activity of Armenian lobbyist organizations in the US – the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) and the Armenian Assembly of
America (AAA), which demand from George Bush to fulfill his promise and
recognize the Armenian Genocide. To remind, the recall of the former
US Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans by the Department of State was
connected with the fact that the latter properly characterized the
events at the turn of the century as genocide. The Armenian lobbyist
organizations consider that it is immoral to appoint an Ambassador
to Yerevan, who does not recognize the Genocide or avoids using the
term. However, this was the approach Richard Hoagland demonstrated
during the inquiry in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: he
used evasive terms when responding to questions about the events
in the Ottoman Empire. Thus, we can assert that Richard Hoagland
has become the victim of the struggle between George Bush’s policy
on the Armenian Genocide and the Armenian lobbyist organizations and
pro-Armenian Senators. Famous Democrat Senator John Kerry has declared:
"I will vote "no," but I don’t mind Hoagland’s candidacy. I disagree
with the Administration’s policy." We can say that the struggle over
Hoagland’s nomination shows that number one world power, which has
declared itself the main agent of freedom and justice in the world,
should understand at last that it cannot endlessly deny the demand
of the Armenian American community to characterize the massacre of
Armenians as genocide.

BoxingScene.com, AR

Last update: 09-16-2006

Shaun George, Ter-Meliksetyan Are Victorious

By Ryan Songalia

Local favorites Shaun George and Archak "Shark Attack" Ter-Meliksetyan
returned in triumphant style as Hall of Fame Promotions provided an
entertaining night of fights at John F. Kennedy High School in
Paterson, NJ. A lively crowd met the gladiators as they put on a show
well worth the price of admission.

Most of the crowd in attendance were there to see what George and
Ter-Meliksetyan would be able to produce in light of their recent
performances. While not exactly highlight fights for either men, the
results suggested that both have alot of fighting left before their
stories can be concluded.

In the main event, cruiserweight prospect Shaun George won a lopsided
decision over the game, but outclassed John Douglas. George, 184 1/2,
who suffered his only defeat at the hands of Matt Godfrey in his last
outing, was by far the more polished of the two combatants in the
ring, and that was the only attribute that was of any consequence.

While Douglas, 196, outweighed the favored George by some 11.5 pounds,
it was George’s significantly more impressive hand speed and balance
that drained the fight of any drama from the opening bell. In the
first round, it was immediately apparent that George possessed the
more solid technique. He landed very effectively with lefts and rights
to the head and body, although with significantly less thunder than
his opponent. It appeared that George didn’t need to do much to set up
his offensive attack, as Douglas’ terrible balance created all of the
punching angles necessary for George to take the advantage.

In an interview a few days before the fight, George advised all of the
fans to get to their seats early, insinuating that he planned to make
an early night of his unheralded challenger. Through the first two
rounds, it seemed as if the knockout he had promised might come to
fruition. However, after his quick start, George fell into a pattern
of rote fighting, content to let his man survive in the
non-competitive circumstances that were unfolding. By the third round,
the fight had begun to mirror each preceding round, as George was able
to land at will to the head and body with impunity while not appearing
interested in stopping his foe.

By the middle rounds, Douglas was finding openings in the tight
peekaboo defensive stance of George with clubbing right hands and body
shots, but those glimpses of competitiveness were few and far between.
George won all 8 of the rounds on my scorecard, with the official
decision not being too far off from my unofficial tally. George
expressed interest in a rematch with the man who in May handed him his
one and only loss, a first round technical knockout to Matt
Godfrey. Godfrey will be facing Danny Batchelder on the 23rd of this
month in Hartford, CT. George elevates his record to 12-1-2 (5 KO),
while Douglas slides to 6-12-3 (3 KO).

Archak Ter-Meliksetyan, 155, returned with a dominant TKO at the
expense of the overmatched New York resident Dillan Carew,
154. Despite having fallen short in his last three bouts, Archak did
not at all appear to be lacking in confidence, as he went on the
attack from the opening bell on an opponent who did not appear to be
up to the challenge. Archak, of Paterson, NJ, landed power combination
after combination on his outgunned foe, not leaving for a second any
doubt as to who was in charge. Carew was able to land some uppercuts
from time to time as Archak leaned face forward on the inside,
although with little to no measurable power in his blows. The end was
near from the ring walk, and eventually came at 2:20 of the fourth
round. Archak, who bares a striking resemblance to fellow Armenian and
2004 US Olympian Vanes Martirosyan, gets back in the W column and
moves to 16-4 (13 KO). Carew suffers his tenth loss by way of the
early route, falling to 20-15-3 (12 KO).

Jersey City native Michael Torres remained unbeaten as he stopped a
gutsy Ramiro Rivera in five. After a first round that left little to
take to the water cooler, Torres exploded in the second with a
succession of rights and lefts that left Rivera clinging to his
consciousness by a fine thread. Finally, after landing with some
heavy shots upstairs, Torres connected with a rocket right hand that
sent Rivera to the seat of his pants.

Not coming all the way from Arizona to be embarrassed, Torres fought
back with all his reserves, but by the end of the round Torres had
weathered his opponent’s last hurrah and was on point with the
overhand rights that had been his foe’s poison. Torres dropped Rivera
in the fourth round again, by which time many in the audience,
including myself, began to call for the referee’s intervention in the
bout. Finally, the end came at 1:22 of the fifth round, following a
third knockdown that was more a product of Rivera being without any
legs. Torres, who is trained by former light heavyweight contender
Johnny Persol, raises his unbeaten record to 8-0 (4 KO). Rivera drops
to 4-2 (3 KO).

In other action, Carlos Macias, 134, hammered his way to a unanimous
decision victory over the winless Miguel Orengo, 133, in four
one-sided rounds. Macias dropped Orengo three times on body shots en
route to winning a unanimous decision. Andy Mejias, 152, won his pro
debut in spectacular fashion, knocking out Vincent Irwin, 153 in the
first round. Jamar Patterson, 149, ran through Charles Wade, 149,
dropping his opponent for the ten count in round 2.

The audience was scattered with notable celebrities of ring fame and
other fields of interest. Among the celebrities in attendance were New
York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey, R & B singer Oran "Juice" Jones,
and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels of Run DMC. From the world of fistic
endeavors, Vivian Harris, Yori Boy Campas, Lou Duva, Oscar Diaz, and
Jorge Gonzalez were among those enjoying the fights.

A1+

WHICH ANTHEM WILL UNITE THE ARMENIANS?
[08:05 pm] 15 September, 2006

In order to find out the opinion of the people about the change of
the RA national anthem, the website of «A1+» organized a poll
giving the readers of the site a chance to listen to all the five
versions of the anthem and vote for the best of them.

586 readers participated in the poll. The survey showed that two of
the five anthems were mostly preferred by the readers. Here are the
final results of the poll:

1. Music – Tigran Mansuryan, words – Eghishe Charents (42%)

2. Music – Robert Amirkhanyan, words – Lyudvig Duryan (5%)

3. Music – Ervand Erznkyan, words – Ararat B (4%)

4. Music – Aram Khachatryan, words – Arsen Soghomonyan (44%)

5. Music – Edgar Hovhannisyan, words – Vahagn Davtyan (4%)