Author: Nahapetian Samvel

OBSERVATION OF CONTACT LINE OF NKR AND AZERBAIJANI ARMED FORCES POSTPONED BECAUSE OF SHOTS FROM AZERBAIJANI SIDE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 30 2006

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 30, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The observation
of the contact line of the Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan Armed Forced
envisaged near the settlement of Seysulan on March 29 didn’t take
place because of shots from the Azerbaijani Army’s captured village
of Karmiravan. The OSCE monitoring group headed by Andrej Kasprczik,
the Personal Representative of the OSCE Minsk Group Chairman-in-Office
as well as representatives of the NKR Defence Ministry and Ministry
of Foreign Affairs accompanying the observation group fixed three
shots. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the NKR Foreign Ministry’s
Information-Analytical Department, Ambassador Andrej Kasprczik
postponed the observation because of absence of security guarantees
from the Azerbaijani side.

AZERI EMBASSY IN BUDAPEST URGES HUNGARIAN AUTHORITIES TO “SECURE” SAFAROV

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2006 01:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Budapest has appealed to
Hungarian law enforcement bodies to “secure” Azerbaijani officer
Ramil Safarov. The statement says, “the reason is that Armenians
have recently declared that they will pay $125 thousand for Safarov’s
head. The Karabakh Liberation Organization has also recently appealed
to the Hungarian government with a similar request, APA reports.

February 19, 2004 lieutenant of the Armed Forces of Armenia Gurgen
Margaryan, sent to Budapest to take English courses within the NATO
Partnership for Peace Program, was brutally hacked by Azeri officer,
who took the same courses. Safarov is indicted in compliance with
article 116.2 of the Criminal Code of Hungary (murder, committed
with special cruelty, and attempt at lives of over one person), which
provides for punishment varying from imprisonment of 10-15 years to
life sentence. The last court hearing on Safarov’s case will be held
April 4. The verdict is to be announced April 13.

THREE-MOUTH LAMB GROWS IN DOVEGH VILLAGE OF TAVUSH

Noyan Tapan
Mar 29 2006

IJEVAN, MARCH 29, NOYAN TAPAN. A unigue biological phenomenon – a
lamb with three mouths is growing up in the yard of Ashot Gorginian,
of the Dovegh village in Tavush marz. In addition to a usual mouth,
the lamb has two others – under each ear, with these mouths also
having teeth (one or two on each jaw) and tongues. When bleating, the
lamb is making a sound with all the three mouths, and when it takes
milk with the “front” mouth, some milk is flowing out of the other
two mouths. Yet the 1.5-month male lamb is not feeble at all. The
animal’s owner cannot provide any reason for this phenomenon.

THE FOREIGN MINISTRY OF NAGORNO KHARABAKH ANNOUNCES

A1+
01:53 pm 30 March, 2006

The Foreign Ministry of Nagorno – Kharabahk made an announcement
on the failure of the OSCE observation because of the breach of the
cease – fire by the Azeri side on the border of Nagorno – Kharabahk
and Azerbaijan.

Drawing the attention of the international society to the multiple
regular cases of the cease – fire violation by the military forces
of Azerbaijan on the above – mentioned border including the shelling
during the observations the Foreign Ministry deems it necessary
to declare that these actions are the outcome of permanent military
oratory of the Azeri Administration which do not deserve the attention
of the interested countries and organisations. The attempts of the
mediators to put responsibility of the cease – fire violation equally
on all sides of the conflict create prerequisites of nonpunishment
for Azerbaijan, the real guilty of the violations, which is not
permissible at all. On this score the Foreign Ministry says that any
silent assistance can stir the sides of the conflict to the violation
of the existing balance and instability all over the Caucasus,”
This is mentioned in the announcement of the Foreign Ministry of
Nagorno-Kharabakh.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
03/30/2006
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1) Bulgarian Parliament Rejects Motion to Recognize Armenian Genocide
2) French Socialists to Introduce Bill against Denial of Armenian Genocide
3) Bill Introduced in Senate to Block Funding for Proposed Railway Project
Excluding Armenia
4) World Bank Gives Armenia Grant to Support Renewable Energy Project
5) More Clashes in SE Turkey as Kurds Bury 3 Dead

1) Bulgarian Parliament Rejects Motion to Recognize Armenian Genocide

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–The parliament of Bulgaria turned down a draft
resolution
calling for the official acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide and
designating April 24 as the day of remembrance for its victims.
The motion was initiated by the Ataka party last January. Armenian ambassador
to Bulgaria, Sergey Manaserian, said that the Bulgarian parliament is not
likely to resume debates about the issue this year. He said the motion is
being
strongly opposed by another parliamentary faction, the Movement for Freedoms
and Rights party, which represents ethnic Bulgarian Turks and is also a member
of the governing coalition.
Another factor that led to the Bulgarian parliament’s decision is its active
economic and trade contacts with Turkey. In 2007 Bulgaria is expected to
become
an EU member and would not like to stir up additional problems with its
neighbors or its biggest national minority.
The Armenian ambassador said this April 24, events commemorating the 91st
anniversary of the Genocide will be held in various Bulgarian cities.

2) French Socialists to Introduce Bill against Denial of Armenian Genocide

YEREVAN (Yerkir/Armenpress)–The Socialist faction of the French Parliament
decided to introduce a bill against the denial of the Armenian genocide. The
Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s (ARF) Western Europe Central Committee
issued a statement welcoming the decision, which resulted from petitions sent
by the ARF to the Socialist Party leader Francois Holland.
“This is the second time that the Socialist faction is showing its support
for
Armenians,” the statement says.
The Socialist Party of France also helped pass a law recognizing the Armenian
genocide in May 1998. “The Socialist Party could use May 18, 2006 to pass a
law
that would outlaw the denial of the Armenian genocide,” continues the
statement
If passed, the law will make it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide and
deniers would be convicted.

3) Bill Introduced in Senate to Block Funding for Proposed Railway Project
Excluding Armenia

WASHINGTON, DC–Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and newly appointed
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced legislation this week that
would prohibit US assistance for the building of railroads traversing the
Caucasus that circumvent Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).
The legislation mirrors a similar House measure (HR 3361) called the “South
Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2005,” introduced by
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank
Pallone (D-NJ) in June, 2005. The House version of the legislation currently
has 77 cosponsors.
“We welcome this effort to protect US taxpayers from subsidizing an
ill-advised and over-priced railroad project that–at the insistence of Turkey
and Azerbaijan–has been specifically designed to exclude Armenia,” said Aram
Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “Constructing this railroad around
Armenia runs directly counter to US foreign policy, is commercially untenable,
and will only serve to institutionalize Turkey and Azerbaijan’s blockades of
Armenia.”
In his speech on the Senate floor, S 2461 original cosponsor Senator Menendez
noted the Turkish government’s ongoing campaign to “isolate Armenia
economically, politically, and socially,” citing Turkey’s 13-year blockade of
Armenia and, more recently, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline, which also circumvents Armenia. “US policy in the South Caucasus
seeks to foster regional cooperation and economic integration and supports
open
borders and transport and communication corridors. US support for this project
would run counter to that policy which is why Senator Santorum and I are
introducing this legislation today.”
In May, 2005, the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, Georgian President
Mikhail Saakashvili, and Turkey’s President Akhmed Nedget Sezer announced
their
intention to construct the railway corridor linking Turkey, Tbilisi, and Baku.
The project would effectively replace the Kars-Gyumri railroad route, which
has
been blockaded by Turkey for more than a decade. The governmental and
commercial interests involved in the project, estimated at between $600
million
and $1 billion, will almost certainly turn to the US government for financial
support, subsidies, favorable lending terms, and low-cost risk insurance, as
they did for the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline route.
In October 2005, the European Commission added its voice to the growing
international opposition to a Caucasus railroad. The Commission’s position
was
articulated by the Directorate General for Transport and Energy. In explaining
why the European Union would not support the creation of this rail line, the
Directorate noted that its construction was both unnecessary and
inefficient in
light of the existing railroad connecting Kars, Gyumri, and Tbilisi.
Sen. Menendez’ complete statement follows.

Statement by Senator Robert Menendez upon Introduction of S 2461

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to block US
support for yet another anti-Armenian initiative.
In numerous cases over the last few years, the Turkish government has
methodically sought to isolate Armenia economically, politically and socially.
One of the most egregious examples was the imposition of a 1993 blockade
against Armenia in support of Azerbaijan’s war against Karabagh Armenians.
The Turkish government has routinely sought to exclude Armenia from projects
that would benefit the economies of the countries of the South Caucasus. The
latest example of this policy is the proposal to build a new rail line that
would connect Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Similar to the Baku-Ceyhan
pipeline, this rail link would specifically go around Armenia.
Now, geographically, we all know that a pipeline or rail line that seeks to
connect Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan would have to pass through Armenia. One
would have to make a special effort to bypass Armenia.
The US should not endorse Turkey and Azerbaijan’s politically motivated
attempt to isolate Armenia.
I therefore rise today in opposition to this plan, and to introduce
legislation, along with my colleague, Senator SANTORUM, that would bar US
support and funding for a rail link connecting Georgia and Turkey, and which
specifically excludes Armenia. This project is estimated to cost up to $800
million and would take three years to complete. The aim of this costly
approach, as publicly stated by Azeri President Aliyev, is to isolate Armenia
by enhancing the ongoing Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades and to keep the
existing Turkey-Armenia-Georgia rail link shut down. This ill-conceived
project
runs counter to US policy, ignores the standing Kars-Gyumri rail route, is
politically and economically flawed and serves to destabilize the region.
US policy in the South Caucasus seeks to foster regional cooperation and
economic integration and supports open borders and transport and communication
corridors. US support for this project would run counter to that policy which
is why Senator Santorum and I are introducing this legislation today.
We cannot continue to stoke the embers of regional conflict by supporting
projects that deliberately exclude one of the region’s most important members.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

4) World Bank Gives Armenia Grant to Support Renewable Energy Project

YEREVAN (Armenpress/RFE/RL)–The World Bank approved Wednesday a Renewable
Energy Project for Armenia totaling $25,050,000. The amount includes a $5
million International Development Association (IDA) credit and a $3 million
grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project will also be
supported by co-financing of $3 million from the Cafesjian Family Foundation.
This project will assist the government in increasing privately owned and
operated power generation utilizing renewable energy and to reduce greenhouse
gas (carbon dioxide) emissions.
Although Armenia has achieved remarkable results in reforming its energy
sector, a few challenges remain. Armenia must shift its reliance from costly
and polluting sources of energy to lower cost and environmentally friendly
alternatives. Also, Armenia needs to diversify its energy sources and utilize
indigenous renewable energy resources.
While the overall legal and regulatory framework in Armenia is supportive to
the development of renewable resources, private investments in renewable
projects are impeded by a number of legal, regulatory, informational,
financial, and institutional barriers. The Renewable Energy Project will
provide assistance to remove the existing barriers and debt financing, as well
as technical, legal, managerial and business support to a selected number of
renewable projects.
“The project will increase the role of renewable resources in Armenia’s
electricity generation mix in the future thereby increasing the
diversification
of electricity supply and energy security,” said Gevorg Sargsyan, Head of the
World Bank team designing the project. “It will also generate environmental
benefits by reducing emissions and pollution.”
World Bank officials also discussed anticipated repercussions of the upcoming
surge in the price of Russian natural gas on Armenia’s population and
economy.
Roger Robinson, head of the World Bank office in Yerevan, predicted that the
doubling of the gas price, which is due to take effect this Saturday, will
mainly affect the cost of electricity generated by thermal power plants, as
well as the cost to heat households using gas heaters, usually poorer
families.

“While the raising of the gas price in Armenia will have some negative
impacts
on certain parts of the economy and will hurt the budgets of some people, my
personal feeling is that the overall impact will not be as severe as some
people believe or fear,” Roger Robinson said,
He said, however, it was difficult discuss more precisely the effects of
Russia’s decision because of ongoing talks over the price.

5) More Clashes in SE Turkey as Kurds Bury 3 Dead

DIYARBAKIR (Reuters)–Kurdish youths hurled stones and molotov cocktails at
Turkish police and burned tires on Thursday in a third day of violent clashes,
which have so far claimed three lives and wounded more than 250 people.
The fighting erupted when thousands of people attended funeral ceremonies for
the three people–two young men and an eight-year-old boy–killed during
Wednesday’s clashes in Diyarbakir, a major city in Turkey’s mostly Kurdish
southeast.
According to Kurdish officials, two of the three victims were shot by police.
Some of the mourners, ignoring calls for calm from local officials,
attacked a
police station they were passing. Police used tear gas and truncheons to
disperse them.
In a sign that the unrest may be spreading, CNN Turk television said about
3,000 protesters had also fought with police in the nearby town of Batman.
More
than 10 people were hurt in those clashes, it said.
In Diyarbakir, a city of nearly one million on the river Tigris, most shops
and offices were shut on Thursday. The Turkish army has stationed combat
vehicles in the suburbs in a bid to discourage protesters.
The violence first erupted on Tuesday after funeral ceremonies for 14
guerrillas of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), killed by security
forces last weekend.
Diyarbakir governor Efkan Ala told a news conference late on Wednesday that
police had detained around 200 people during the clashes, the worst seen in
Diyarbakir in 30 years.
“This violence damages the image of Diyarbakir, which had been steadily
improving … It will delay the flow of investment here that would curb
unemployment,” Ala said.
Political analysts say the riots are rooted in high unemployment, poverty and
a belief among the Kurds of the region that Ankara is not seriously interested
in improving their lot.
Under pressure from the European Union, which it hopes to join, Turkey has
removed restrictions on Kurdish language and culture, but critics say it is
too
little too late.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government is also under fire from Turkish
nationalists who view the concessions to Kurds as rewarding terrorism.
Ankara holds the PKK responsible for the deaths of more than 30,000 people
since it launched its armed campaign for an independent Kurdish state in
southeast Turkey in 1984.
“We are now paying the price for Erdogan’s Diyarbakir adventure,” Devlet
Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), said in televised
remarks.
Erdogan infuriated nationalists last summer when he visited Diyarbakir and
said Turkey had made mistakes in the past in its handling of what he called
the
“Kurdish problem.”
The PKK is also on the terrorism blacklist of the European Union and the
United States.

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DEPUTY FM TO VISIT ARMENIA ON TUESDAY

Athens News Agency, Greece
March 28 2006

Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stylianidis will be departing for
a two-day visit to Armenia on Tuesday in order to promote bilateral
economic ties.

To this end, the 4th Greek-Armenian Interministerial Committee will
convene to discuss cooperation in the agricultural, commercial,
tourism, bank, energy, transport, cultural, educational and
seismological sectors.

Cooperation between the municipal authorities of Athens and Yerevan
will also be discussed.

After the interministerial committee meeting, the two sides will sign
a protocol of bilateral economic cooperation.

During his two-day visit, Stylianidis will be meeting with Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan and
other government officials.

Stylianidis will also be meeting with Patriarch of Armenia Karekin
II and members of the Greek community.

NO SHORTAGE OF STORIES FOR THIS BOOKER PRIZE WINNER

Canberra Times
March 29, 2006 Wednesday

Booker Prize-winning author DBC Pierre says he really likes Australia
now he doesn’t have to appear in court.

That’s a joke, although the Australian- born 44-year-old did face court
in Adelaide for his dad’s corn husks, found by customs officials in
boxes the grieving 20-year-old had packed – “with a desperate hangover”
– and sent from the family home in Mexico after his agricultural
scientist father died.

And so Pierre was charged and convicted in the “beautiful old court
building” by the “nice affable guys” who, he readily points out,
were just doing their job. There is no shortage of stories when it
comes to DBC Pierre, in Canberra last night to give a reading from
his second novel, Ludmila’s Broken English, at Tilley’s in Lyneham.

Set in an area of the world he had never visited before, near the
dangerous border region of the former Soviet republics of Armenia
and Azerbaijan, the novel has been described as the unlikely meeting
between East and West that follows Ludmila Derev’s appearance on
a Russian brides website. Seen as a swipe at globalisation, it
examines human atrocities in the Caucasus and is what he calls an
“honest portrayal of the chaos and disorder that passes for daily
life in that part of the world”.

Born Peter Finlay in Reynella, South Australia, Pierre left for Mexico
with his family at the age of six. Waywardness and adventures followed,
until his spectacular debut on the literary stage at age 41 when his
first novel, Vernon God Little, won the 2003 Man Booker Prize.

Before it won, it was published in 38 countries – but its blistering
assault on the superpower that gave the world the Big Mac, The
Jerry Springer Show and the high-school massacre raised such ire in
America that nobody would publish it there. And it didn’t help that
the manuscript for Vernon literally arrived on American publishers’
desks the day after September 11.

Hot on the heels of the Booker came the news that Pierre owed money
to several people, including some angry people in Texas, which, by
his own cheerful admission, he had let slip through his fingers in
a happy-go-round of drugs, the odd libation, and big ideas.

Stories such as these surround DBC Pierre, and he retold them last
night in a rich voice, with his sense of humour constantly rattling
sabres.

Astute and smart, he doesn’t take himself seriously either. But there
is no mistaking his commitment to his art, and Ludmila’s Broken English
(Faber) will no doubt be very closely scrutinised.

As for the name, it comes from his teenage nickname “Dirty Pierre”
and, after a chequered, varied career, including as a cartoonist,
he came up with “Dirty But Clean”.

He abbreviated that, and took the literary world by storm.

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 10) 517 163
Fax: (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
March 27, 2006

His Holiness Karekin II Defrocks Rev. Fr. Karekin Haroutiunian

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, has issued a Pontifical Order whereby Rev. Fr. Karekin
Haroutiunian has been defrocked for uncanonical actions by violating
his oath of obedience.

As of January 31, 2006, the defrocked clergyman is a member of
the laity and shall be known by his baptismal name of Haroutiun
Haroutiunian.

##

‘THE RETURN OF THE POET’: THE NEW VICTORY OF ARMENIAN CINEMA
By Ruzan Zakarian, Media-7 Cultural Center

Yerkir.am
March 24, 2006

Before the screening in Yerevan, Harutyun Khachatrian’s film “The
Return of the Poet” first appeared on the screen at the International
Film Festival in Rotterdam. It was then presented at the film
festival in Tehran. The film attracted the attention of critics and
art workers alike.

The film received positive comments in European press and internet
publications. It was announced one of the best three films screened
at the Rotterdam Festival.

The author of the film, Harutyun Khachatrian has already received
invitations to present his film and lecture at a number of
international festivals. The cinema centers in the Netherlands and
Japan have organized a retrospective screening of the works of four
Armenian film directors – S. Parajanov, A. Peleshian, A. Egoyan and
H. Khachatrian.

In the third millennium when the intolerance towards cultural monuments
leads to violence, when destruction of cultural monuments leads to
wars, when inter-religion cultural relations are becoming war fronts,
the success of Harutyun Khachatrian’s film means a victory in this
conflict.

“The Return of the Poet” is about someone who carries the wisdom of
the nation, who is a poet, a philosopher, a gussan. This film tells
about Jivani. It’s a film that asks questions so relevant for our
times, and the author tries to find answers traveling with Jivani.

The director of the film simply watches how Jivani’s statue created
in Yerevan is transported to Javakhq, the poet’s place of birth. And
the travel from Yerevan to Javakhq is not merely travel. It is a
saga about Armenia. It reveals to what extent Jivani’s songs have
been preserved and how up-to-date they sound.

The film shows that the people have kept in their hearts Jivani’s
simple melodic songs that came from his heart. Jivani’s songs flow
as the life itself. And this is why people have always listened to
his songs and continue listening to them.

Khachatrian takes up another line in his film: the road that takes
from Yerevan to Javakhq, the road by which Jivani’s statue is
transported, passes through Armenian cities, town and villages. The
director manages to tell about the hard lives people live in these
places. He draws parallels between the past and present making you
think about the constant and temporary values, about the national
identity thus creating a portrait of Armenia, a collective portrait
of the Armenian nation.

A1+

WHERE ARE WE ARMENIANS AND WHERE ARE WE GOING?

05:18 pm 24 March, 2006

`EUROPE HAS SERIOUS PROBLEMS’

`I am afraid that speaking about the collision of civilizations we
will ignore our national development’, advisor of the RA Foreign
Ministry Ashot Voskanyan expressed his concern during the discussion
with the theme `Collision of Civilizations and Armenia’ in the
`Mirror’ club. According to him, it would be better to think not about
the collision of civilizations, but about the solution of social
problems.

The Advisor considers the expression `collision of civilizations’
dangerous and artificial. Mr. Voskanyan fears that the collision
Russia-USA which started during the Soviet times can be replaced by
that of civilizations.

Mr. Voskanyan reminded that when he represented the issue of RA
membership to CE, a number of Europeans asked if the Armenians are
Europeans, `When I said that we are Christians, they said that the
people in Latin America are Christians too, but it doesn’t make them
European’.

Ashot Voskanyan was convinced that Armenia will not be a full member
of CE for a long time. According to him, it is clear for the Europeans
what we want, but they do not understand what we will give them.

Before referring to the main theme, the second guest of the `Mirror’
club Hrach Bayadyan tried to explain what civilization and especially
Western civilization is. As for the confrontation of East and West Mr.
Bayadyan thinks there must not be clear-cut boundaries. «When we speak
about the confrontation of East and West, we spread the ideology
created by the West».

Ashot Voskanyan had a different concept of the West, «The West is
Europe in the extreme, and USA is the West of the West». According to
Mr. Voskanyan, before speaking about civilizations, we Armenians must
understand what our own society is. «For centuries we failed to have
not only statehood but also a society».

He also spoke about his concept of Europe, «Europe has serious
problems. They follow the path of self-purification. The society must
discuss the problems within itself. That is to say, there is a section
in the society which raises these problems. This is Europe. »

To note, during the discussion no one failed to find out which
civilization is Armenia in, where it is going and what it can gain and
lose on its way.