Author: Nadirian Emma

3 employees of Livestock Production Examination Center charged with
taking bribes

YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, NOYAN TAPAN. A group of employees of the RA
Police Main Department for the Fight against Organized Crime revealed
that in the period of 1-7 October 2009 Arayik M., 41, and Zhora G., 37
– veterinarians of Livestock Production Examination Center LLC took
450 thousand-dram bribes each from meat suppliers and 13 butchers of
Yerevan agricultural food market No 4 for allowing them to sell meat
without a required veterinary certificate. Karen A., 50, a
veterinarian of the same company was taking monthly bribes of 150
thousand drams from meat sale points under his supervision.

The PR and Information Department of RA Police reports that the
case-related materials have been sent to the RA Police investigation
unit of the city of Yerevan.

Aysor, Armenia
Jan 16 2010

Azerbaijan sends Note of Protest over Zhirinovsky’s statement

Azerbaijan’s Embassy to Russia has sent to Russian Foreign Ministry a
Stiff Note of Protest over Duma vise-speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s
statement on recognition of Karabakh, a spokesperson to Azerbaijani
foreign ministry Elkhan Polukhov reported.

`Azerbaijan’s Embassy to Russia has sent to Russian Foreign Ministry a
Stiff Note of Protest over Duma vise-speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s
statement with appeal to recognize territories which are occupied by
Armenian Armed Forces,’ said Elkhan Polukhov.

Duma vise-speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky, in particular, said in an
interview with Latvian Neatkarigas Rita Avize paper if Karabakh
declares independence, then Russia must recognize it.

`The sent Stiff Note of Protest expresses protest against such kind of
statements and any appeals by Russian Parliament vice-speaker. It
notes this doesn’t conform to rule of relations between Russia and
Azerbaijan,’ said spokesperson.

news.am, Armenia
Jan 16 2010

Mercan links debates on Protocols with Armenia’s steps

14:48 / 01/16/2010The chairman of Foreign Relations Committee of the
Turkish Parliament Murat Mercan, stated that Armenia-Azerbaijan
relations should be developed before a debate on Protocols is launched
in the parliament, Hurriyet reports, referring to Anatolia News
Agency.

`We are all eager to bring the protocols to the committee and the
Parliament floor, and we do want to see a normalization in relations,
but at this time it would be in vain to debate the issue that is
highly likely to be revoked by the committee,’ Hurriyet quotes Mercan.

According to Turkishny website, Mercan also said, `As a Committee
chairman I can include Protocols in agenda, however if they are
revoked, a number of complex issues will emerge. Turned down protocols
should be returned to the government to be discussed once again and
sent back to our committee. My goal is to avoid such developments, and
have critical steps taken in Azerbaijan- Armenia conflict. Unless it
happens, I consider placing of Protocols on the agenda incorrect.’

A.G.

45 000 CHILDREN WERE BORN IN 2009

Lragir.am
15/01/10

44 999 children were born in Armenia in 2009. 18 765 marriages and
3 013 divorces have been registered. 14 165 cases of recognition of
fatherhood and 131 cases of adoption were registered. The number of
deaths amounted to 27 268.

In 2008, 41 406 births, 18 236 marriages and 3 192 divorces took place
in Armenia. 13 257 people recognized their fatherhood, 180 children
were adopted. 27 281 cases of death were registered.

In 2007, 40 844 births, 18 144 marriages, and 3 038 divorces were
registered in Armenia. 13 158 people recognized their fatherhood,
187 children were adopted. 26 827 death cases were also registered.

The nativity in Armenia increased alongside with decreasing death
cases. The press service of the ministry of justice reports.

ARMENIA FEARS CHANGE IN RUSSIAN POLICY: NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA

Tert.am
12:15 ~U 13.01.10

Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, is in Yerevan
today for a two-day official visit. According to Russian daily
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, there are concerns in Yerevan that Russia’s
specific economic interests will push "strategic cooperation" into
Plan B.

The publication recalls that a similar situation was created last
year: Erdogan in Moscow, and Lavrov in Yerevan. It was during that
time that the Russian Foreign Minister implied that it was time for
Yerevan to think about the future and to find a common language with
its neighbours. Today, Moscow’s interests are evident: to expand its
influence in the region, as well as to establish closer cooperation
with Turkey and Azerbaijan, who, in turn, hope and presume that
Moscow has the power and might to convince its strategic partner to
make concessions in the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Ankara, in turn, is prepared to guarantee its support for all Russian
pipeline projects in the region, while Baku, with Ilham Aliyev
at the forefront, is of the opinion that "the idea of reinstating
his country’s territorial entirety is more important than all the
hydrocarbonic reserves."

"MY BREAD MEANS TO BREAK YOUR HEAD"

Lragir.am
13/01/10

Interview with the head of the Committee on freedom of speech Ashot
Melikyan

During the election at Constituency No. 10, journalists became the
main target of assaults. And in general, journalists are very often
assaulted during elections in Armenia. What would you say in this
connection?

I would not say that reporters became the main target because besides
them, political figures, trustees and observers also were assaulted.

This question would be right to be addressed to those who assaulted but
we have our opinion. Unfortunately, not the electors but the leadership
of the government decides the result of the election. From this point,
any one who hinders this process becomes a target of assault. This
is an unnatural phenomenon for civil people, but for those who want
to keep power at any cost, this is quite natural.

During the Yerevan Mayoral election, an incident took place when
one of the shaved-heads told a reporter "my bread means to break
your head". Until they earn their bread in this way, this situation,
unfortunately will continue. However, the society learns about these
incidents so the authors of violence do not reach their goals.

Violence committed against reporters remains unpunished: their authors
are not revealed and do not bear responsibility. In your opinion,
what is the reason?

I would like to remember the press conference of the American Committee
of defense of journalists taken place in September 2009.

Dwelling on the assassinations of journalists, it was noted that if
all that was committed by ordinary criminal elements, those cases
would be revealed immediately. But, unfortunately, those incidents are
organized by the government, people who have authority in political
field who have different subjects which wait for orders. From this
point, it is natural that they do everything for their servants not
to be harmed. The atmosphere of impunity is the result of the fact
that high-ranking officials are engaged in those incidents.

Armenia regularly becomes the target of criticism of different
international lawyer organizations in connection with the low level
of democracy in the country, violation of human rights, freedom of
speech. Yesterday, Freedom House published such a report too, in
accordance with which Armenia has not been registering any progress
in this relations for 8 years running. What would you say in this
connection? Is this a natural phenomenon for post-soviet countries?

I am inclined to think that Freedom House and other lawyer
organizations manage to assess the situation right in their reports.

Their assessments generally reflect the reality. When the government
announces that those are double standards, I think they are not
objective.

After each such a report, the government announces that those
organizations pursue the interest of their own countries hence they
voice assessments which are not to be dwelt. They do not do anything
to correct the situation.

We can only be sorry for such kind of behavior. I think they do
not ignore all this at all. There are sober thinking people within
the government too who understand that in reality those assessments
correspond to the reality. If we proceed from their logic, in the
reports of American organizations, the U.S. had to be in the first
place as the most democratic country of the world. But it is not so.

They criticize their country very much. In the first place there
are countries of Northern Europe, as well as Estonia which is a
post-soviet country.

Interview by ARMAN GALOYAN

THE GREAT FRENCH WHINE
By Anne Jolis

Wall Street Journal
2748703652104574651970434512410.html?mod=googlenew s_wsj
Jan 13 2010

The Kiwi Cuvee 2007 Sauvignon Blanc offers "Lime, green pepper, and
wet grass aromas. . . . A vibrant, well balanced table wine that will
excel with chicken fajitas."

So goes the Beverage Testing Institute’s online summary of the Kiwi
Cuvee, which may sound like the wine was inspired by a New Zealander
backpacking through Mexico. In fact the wine is a produit de France,
and it has provided a taste of dry-yet-fruity irony, after Australia’s
trademark office rejected it for registration Down Under. Without
trademark protection, the wine probably won’t be sold on the Australian
market–at least not under the Kiwi Cuvee name. Responding to a
complaint from the New Zealand Winegrowers group, the decision said
the name was "likely to deceive or cause confusion," for instance in
restaurants where a chalkboard menu might not specify a wine’s origin.

And so, France gets a dose of its own medicine. The Australian
ruling is satisfaction for any producer whose marketing has been
thwarted by Europe’s system of geographical indications, which the
French pioneered. Many a Californian sparkling wine producer has
been frustrated by not being able to sell his product abroad as
"champagne." Armenian-made cognac, said to be Winston Churchill’s
preferred variety, must similarly be sold as "brandy" for fear of
invoking Gallic wrath.

It all started in 1883 with the Paris Convention for the Protection
of Industrial Property, the first multiparty intellectual property
agreement, which included measures on indicating a product’s source.

In 1909, Paris took the provision one step further and decreed that
only brandies from Cognac, France, or its surrounding regions, could
be sold as "cognac." Today, the European Union has registered close
to 900 protected product names, of which 166 are French. The EU has
even tried to limit the use of words such as "classic," "noble,"
"ruby," "tawny" and "vintage" in wines from the U.S. The World Trade
Organization provides basic protections for geographic labels, so
that consumers know where their products come from.

So it’s hard to blame New Zealanders for their delight in Australia’s
having informed Lacheteau that the "kiwi" brand is reserved there
for products hailing from New Zealand. What probably makes the
ruling particularly savory is that Lacheteau is the same company
that in 2005 sent legal threats to New Zealand’s Kahurangi Estate,
which was exporting a "Kiwi White" chardonnay to Sweden. Lacheteau
told Kahurangi it had trademarked the name "Kiwi Cuvee" and would
sue anybody–even New Zealanders–daring to use it in Europe.

Haute-foodie types insist that such bulwarks against competition are
not economic protectionism masquerading as gastronomic snobbery, nor
even the victory of the monopolist that beats in the heart of every
French farmer. Rather, the argument is that geographic differences in
soil, air, humidity and so on actually lead to a discernible difference
in quality and taste. So the justification for what is effectively a
trademark is that a product’s origin partly defines the product itself.

Perhaps there is truth to that. But then, nothing stops producers
from these prized regions from simply applying for and defending
regular trademarks. This would eliminate the temptation for every
local producer in the world to seek privileged status for otherwise
ordinary place-names. Producers of Parma ham or feta cheese could
very easily certify their products as meeting privately developed
standards of quality and brand them accordingly, without the global
bureaucracy that has grown up around "geographical indications."

Until now, New Zealanders haven’t seemed overly moved by the
geographical protection arguments. They have yet to complain about
kiwifruit grown in Chile or California. "Kiwi Shoe Polish" was created
in 1906 by a Scottish-born Australian, and is now owned and marketed
without trouble by America’s Sara Lee Corporation. So it’s hard to
see the New Zealand Winegrowers’ challenge as anything other than
payback for a century of French dictates about which products can be
called what, and by whom.

Expect now some form of retribution. Perhaps the next New Zealand-born
hairdresser to offer a "French twist" ‘do in Europe will be handed
a cease and desist letter.

Miss Jolis is an editorial page writer for the Wall Street Journal
Europe.

CHURCH IMPORTANT FOR MAINTENANCE OF ARMENIAN IDENTITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.01.2010 12:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ diepresse.com Austrian website has posted Margarita
Schubert’s article titled "Armenians in Austria: church is the only
piece of homeland."

"Armenians easily integrate into other societies but do not forget
their origins. Nevertheless, even a centuries-old and richest
culture can prevent diversion from national traditions and values,"
the author wrote.

Commenting on the article to Pan.ARMENIAN.Net, Archimandrite Vahan
Hovakimyan said, "The problem of preservation of national identity
is urgent for Armenians across the globe and the Church can help
its solution. The Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches
in Vienna are collaborating. Armenian families need the Church and
attend it regularly."

Preservation of the native language is a vital issue for the Armenian
Diaspora, according to His Reverence Hovakimyan. "Armenian families
do observe national traditions but less and less young people speak
Armenian," he said.

Advisor at the RA Embassy in Austria, Vahan Chakhchyan noted for his
part that the Mekhitarist Catholic Church and St. Hripsime Church
of Holy Ejmiatsin function in Vienna to unite the Armenian community
of Austria.

"Church is a strong link to maintain Armenian identity. In Hovhannes
Shiraz Saturday school people can study the Armenian language,
literature, history or take a course of Armenian dances. Besides,
several benevolent organizations organize various events to support
Armenian youth. However, the tendency of assimilation is pressing in
all Armenian communities," he said.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world’s oldest National Church
and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the
first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301
AD, in establishing this church. The Armenian Apostolic Church traces
its origins to the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in
the 1st century.

The official name of the Church is the One Holy Universal Apostolic
Orthodox Armenian Church. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the
central religious authority for the Armenian Orthodox population in
the Republic of Armenia as well as for Armenian Orthodox communities
worldwide. It is headed by a Catholicos. Although it is traditional
in Eastern churches for the supreme head of the church to be named
Patriarch, in the Armenian Apostolic Church hierarchy, the position
of the Catholicos is higher than that of the Patriarch. The Armenian
Apostolic Church presently has two catholicoi (His Holiness Karekin
II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; and Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia), and two patriarchs,
plus Primates, Archbishops and Bishops, lower clergy and laity
serving the church. The Catholicos of All Armenians represents the
centralized authority of the Armenian Church. He is the supreme judge
and the head of the legislative body. He is President of the Supreme
Spiritual Council as well as the College of Bishops. Ordination of
bishops, blessing of Holy Chrism, proclamation of Feasts, invitation
and dismissal of National-Ecclesiastical Assemblies, issuing decrees
concerning the administration of the Armenian Church and establishing
dioceses are part of his responsibilities. Both clergy and lay are
involved in the administrative structure of the Church.

Led by His Holiness Karekin II, the spiritual and administrative work
of the Armenian Church is carried out in the Republic of Armenia in
the areas of Religion, Preparation of Clergy, Christian Education,
Construction of new Churches, Social Services, and Ecumenical
activities. Underneath this administrative structure are the hierarchal
Sees: The Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia located in
Antelias, Lebanon, is a regional See with current jurisdiction of the
Dioceses of Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus as temporarily granted to her by
the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in 1929, is led by Catholicos
Aram I.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem which has jurisdiction over
all of the Holy Lands and the Diocese of Jordan, is led by Patriarch
Archbishop Torgom Manoogian.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and All of Turkey, which
has jurisdiction in the modern day Republic of Turkey, is led by
Patriarch Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan.

The three historic aforementioned hierarchal sees administer to
the Dioceses under their jurisdiction as they see fit, however,
the supremacy of the Catholicosate of All Armenians in all spiritual
matters remains pre-eminent.

In addition to the responsibilities of overseeing their respective
Dioceses, each hierarchical See, and the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin, has a Monastic Brotherhood.

The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui
juris in full union with the Roman Catholic Church. It is in full
communion with and accepts the authority of the Pope in Rome as
regulated by Easterncanon law. Since 1749, Armenian Catholic Church
is headquartered at the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate complex in
Bzoummar, Lebanon. After the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with
the rest of Oriental Orthodoxy, formally broke off communion from
the Chalcedonian churches, numerous Armenian bishops made attempts to
restorecommunion with the Catholic Church. In 1195 during the Crusades,
the church of the Armeniankingdom of Cilicia entered into a union with
the Catholic Church which lasted until Cilicia was conquered by the
Mamluks in 1375. The union was later re-established during the Council
of Florence in 1439, but did not have any real effects for centuries

In 1740, Abraham-Pierre I Ardzivian, who had earlier become a Catholic,
was elected as the patriarch of Sis. Two years later Pope Benedict XIV
formally established the Armenian Catholic Church. The headquarters
of the patriarchate was later moved to Antelias, north of Beirut. In
1749, the Armenian Catholic Church built a convent in Bzoummar,
Lebanon. During the horrific Armenian genocide in 1915-1918 the Church
scattered among neighboring countries, mainly Lebanon and Syria.

The Armenian Catholic Church can also refer to the church formed by
Armenians living in Poland in 1620 after the union of Leopolis by
MikoÅ~Baj (Nicholas) Torosowicz, which has since established bonds
with the older Armenian Catholic Church. The church which had been
historically centered in Galicia as well as in thepre-1939 Polish
borderlands in the east, now has two primary centers; one in Gdansk,
and the other in Gliwice. A number of its members migrated to Sweden,
which holds its own chapter.

The Armenian Catholic Patriarchate of the See of Cilicia is
the top authority of the Armenian Catholic Church headed by a
Catholicos-Patriarch. The present head is Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni.

Today there are sizeable Armenian Catholic communities in Argentina,
Armenia, Australia, Canada, France, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Romania
and the United States.

CC TO PASS IMPARTIAL DECISION IN CASE OF FINDING PROTOCOLS NOT CONFORMABLE TO RA CONSTITUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.01.2010 13:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Constitutional Court had better hold
a public discussion on Armenian-Turkish Protocols, according to head
of Heritage party’s governing board Armen Martirosyan.

"Given the political situation in Armenia, the RA CC’s decision
to accept only written statements and conclusions is quite
understandable," he told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

At that he noted that all Armenian state institutions comply with
ordinances of superior bodies, the Constitutional Court being no
exception. "The CC will pass impartial decision in case of announcing
the Protocols not conformable to RA Constitution, but it will to all
appearance find them appropriate," he added.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the common border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich
by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish
counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of
diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.

Founded in 2002, Heritage a National Liberal Party, is national by
its roots, liberal in its economic principle, and an advocate of the
democratic system of governance and due process for its citizens. The
party’s objective is the development of Armenia as a democratic,
lawful, and rights-based country that anchors its domestic and foreign
policies in the nation’s sovereign interest. During the party’s Third
Congress on May 30, 2005, Raffi K. Hovannisian was elected chairman.

The other eight members of the party board were elected by secret
vote..

HOLY SEE OF ST. ECHMIADZIN PUBLISHES NEW BOOKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.01.2010 18:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With the blessing of Catholicos of All Armenians, His
Holiness Karekin II, the Holy See of St. Echmiadzin published several
books at the end of 2009. "For Homeland’s Sake", "Nerses Mokatsi",
"Strength of Spirit", "Bible and We" – these are the titles of the
new books intended for various groups of readers.

"For Homeland’s Sake" (author: Penelope Delta) is a historic novel
depicting Bysantine-Bulgarian relations in the X century. The book
has been translated into Armenian by Marianna Apresyan.

"Nerses Mokatsi" is a monograhy by Aelita Dolukhanyan, which introduces
the reader to the life, activities and creative heritage of 16th
century philosopher and poet Nerses Mokatsi.

"Strength of Spirit" is Karpis Surenyan’s essay about Armenian
architecture. The book was published under the financial support of
Sargsis Gabirelyan foundation.

"Bible and We" is a book by Levon Mirijanyan.