Author: Nanijanian Alex

SARGSYAN OMITTED CLAIM FOR ANOTHER POLITICAL BLOC: SAFARYAN

Tert.am
15:50 ~U 30.11.09

During last Saturday’s Republican Party of Armenia convention,
Heritage Party MP Stepan Safaryan came to the conclusion that the
country’s governing leaders are handing over all their power to a
single political party.

For comparison purposes, Safaryan provided the example of Republic of
Armenia’s second president, Robert Kocharian, who had a few players
in the political arena. "The country’s acting president has other
preferences entirely."

In Safaryan’s words, from the beginning, Sargsyan had ruled out the
claim for another political bloc. With this, as noted by the MP,
the country’s political matrix doesn’t change. As for the opposition,
meaning, the Heritage Party and Armenian National Congress, Safaryan
is not of the opinion that "the opposition will appear as an united
front."

news.am, Armenia
Nov 28 2009

Poland backs Armenia-Turkey normalization

13:41 / 11/28/2009Poland backs peaceful conflict settlements in South
Caucasus and appreciates high Armenia-Turkey Protocols’ signing,
Polish National Defense Minister Bogdan Klich stated at the Nov.28
meeting with RA Premier Tigran Sargsyan.

Sargsyan thanked Klich for the adoption of Armenian Genocide
resolution by Polish Sejm, RA Governmental PR and Information
department informed NEWS.am.

Speaking of the current regional developments, RA Premier presented
Klich NKR peace process and normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations.

The officials also touched upon Partnership for Peace (PfP) program
within NATO framework. Poland will soon assume EU presidency and is
interested in Eastern Partnership project.

Bogdan Klich also conveyed Tigran Sargsyan his Polish counterpart
Donald Tusk’s greetings, whose visit to Armenia is scheduled in the
near future.

PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN MEETS THE AMBASSADOR OF INDIA

armradio.am
27.11.2009 14:56

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received today the newly appointed
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Armenia,
Achal Kumar Malhotra.

Congratulating the Ambassador on starting his diplomatic mission
in our country, the Prime Minister expressed hope that his activity
would contribute to the reinforcement of friendly ties between Armenia
and India.

"Our political relations are on a high level, and we greatly appreciate
this. At the same time we wish that the economic relations deepen
and expand. I’m confident a great potential exists for it," the Prime
Minister said.

The interlocutors touched upon the establishment of an Information
and Communication Technologies Center in Armenia. Reference was made
to the cooperation in the fields of agriculture and science.

The parties discussed the experience of the two countries of resisting
the global financial-economic crisis.

The Armenian Prime Minister voiced hope that the Armenian-Indian
Intergovernmental Commission would convene a sitting in the near
future.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Karine Abalyan
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

November 25, 2009

___________________________________________

PRIMATE ORDAINS DEACON AT ST. PETER CHURCH OF WATERVLIET, NY
Community Marks Parish’s 110th Anniversary, 95th Anniversary of Women’s
Guild

Growing up at St. Peter Armenian Church in Watervliet, N.Y., Yervant
Kutchukian learned important lessons about service – lessons he would take
with him to Washington, D.C., New Rochelle, N.Y., and Oxford, England.

After spending years away from his home parish, Kutchukian returned to the
St. Peter Church, where last month he was ordained to the diaconate by
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern). The October 18 ordination coincided with the
celebration of the 110th anniversary of the parish’s establishment, and the
95th anniversary of its Women’s Guild.

"One of the oldest parishes in our Diocese, St. Peter Church is very active
and deeply involved in the life of the Albany area community," Archbishop
Barsamian said. "The passage of more than 100 years has not slowed the
parish’s activity – it has only made it more lively."

Serves with humility and love

A native of New York State’s Capital District, Kutchukian attended Armenian
School at St. Peter Church as a boy. In college, he studied International
Relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he also
attended the city’s St. Mary Armenian Church.

Kutchukian was baptized at St. Mary Church in 2001, and the following year,
he began graduate work at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle,
N.Y., where he studied Armenian language in the context of faith. By the
time he received his master’s degree in 2005, Kutchukian had earned the
ranks of acolyte and sub-deacon.

He followed his passion for languages to Oxford, England, where he spent a
year studying Syriac. Upon his return to the U.S., Kutchukian settled again
in the Albany area, where he is now in his second year of Clinical Pastoral
Education residency at Albany Medical Center. He spends the workweek
ministering to patients in the psychiatric and prison wards. On Sundays, he
serves on the altar at St. Peter Church.

"He always serves with humility and love, and has given back to the church
community a hundredfold," said the Rev. Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian, director
of Youth and Vocations at St. Nersess Seminary, and the former pastor of St.
Peter Church, who attended Kutchukian’s ordination last month.

Reflecting on the ordination, Kutchukian said he was stirred at the point in
the service when the bishop asks the congregation if the candidate is worthy
of the rank to be bestowed on him. "That was a really moving moment,"
Kutchukian said, "and also a moment of recognition of people’s expectations
and people’s trust in me, and in the ways I can contribute to the church."

He said he was encouraged by the faces of family and friends attending the
day’s events, and by the many letters of support he had received in the
mail. At the banquet following services, Kutchukian spoke about the
inspiration he drew from the warm community at St. Peter Church.

"The vocation of the diaconate is a vocation of service," he said. "Some of
my best examples of service were in that room." From Armenian School
teachers to parish council and Women’s Guild members, Kutchukian said,
"everyone in that parish has a role to play in building up the church."

Backbone of the community

The October 18 service and banquet were part of this fall’s celebration of
the 110th anniversary of the parish’s establishment, and the 95th
anniversary of its Women’s Guild.

At the banquet, Armenian School students performed songs and recited a poem.
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian spoke about the accomplishments of the upstate
New York parish. He thanked Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian and the Rev Fr. Garen
Gdanian, pastor emeritus of St. Peter Church, for their contributions.

Fr. Gdanian, who served as pastor of St. Peter Church from 1970 until his
retirement in 1989, was honored at the church last spring on the occasion of
the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. During the October
18 banquet, parish council chair Richard Hartunian presented the beloved
priest with a framed print of Christ on the cross, again expressing the
parish’s gratitude for Fr. Gdanian’s dedication and guidance.

On Saturday, October 24, the St. Peter Church community continued its
celebration with a dinner-dance. The following Sunday included a requiem
service for deceased benefactors of the church.

Established as a parish on January 2, 1899, St. Peter Church purchased its
first building in Green Island, N.Y., in 1913. The new house of worship was
consecrated on July 30, 1916, and served the community for two decades,
until the relocation of the church to Troy, N.Y., in the spring of 1928.

The present sanctuary in Watervliet was built in 1970, and consecrated on
September 19, 1971. Last fall the parish completed an expansion project,
which saw the addition of office and storage space, as well as the
installation of an elevator.

"St. Peter Armenian Church offers hope, love, faith, and community to all
Armenians in the Capital District, and to those who continue to move to the
area," Fr. Doudoukjian said.

The parish Women’s Guild was established on May 4, 1914. Today the
organization has 50 members, who organize the parish’s annual Christmas
party, Mother’s Day lunch, and Holy Thursday Communion breakfast. The
Women’s Guild also prepares memorial meals traditionally served after
requiem services, runs the bakery at the church’s yearly festival in June,
and assists with other activities.

"They’re an extremely important component of our parish," Hartunian said.
"Without them, I don’t know where we’d be."

Women’s Guild members were recognized for their contributions throughout
last month’s anniversary events. Even then, Hartunian said, they were busy
making sure that the programs ran smoothly.

"The women are the backbone of the community, as in many of our parishes,"
Fr. Doudoukjian said. "The women of St. Peter Church have endless energy,
endless love for their church, and endless love for each other."

###

Photos attached.

Photo 1: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), ordains Yervant Kutchukian to the diaconate at
St. Peter Armenian Church in Watervliet, N.Y.

Photo 2: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, the Rev. Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian, the
Rev.Fr. Garen Gdanian, Yervant Kutchukian, altar servers at St. Peter
Church, and St. Nersess seminarians pose for a group photo following
services on October 18.

ARF: LIBERATED TERRITORIES – INTEGRAL PART OF NKR

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.11.2009 17:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Recognition of Nagorno Karabakh independence by
Armenia should pursue two important goals: the first goal is to bring
Nagorno-Karabakh back to the negotiating table and the second one is
to reach its international recognition, Vahan Hovhannisyan, head of
the ARF parliamentary faction told a press conference in Yerevan today.

According to Mr. Hovhannisyan, if the above-mentioned objectives
are not achieved, then the mere recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh by
Armenia will do nothing. The policies led by Armenia’s leadership
do not allow Nagorno Karabakh to return to the negotiating table,
even in the case of its recognition by Armenia.

According to Vahan Hovhannisyan, "in case of military aggression
Armenia first should defeat the enemy on the battlefield, and then
think about recognition".

NET PROFIT OF ARMECONOMBANK OVER THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2009 REACHED 300 MILLION AMD

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.11.2009 17:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Over the third quarter of 2009 Armeconombank’s
assets grew by 15.5 per cent reaching 53 billion AMD, credit
investments grew by 3.3 billion AMD to 29 billion AMD, demand deposits
increased by 1.5 billion AMD, press office of the bank reports. During
the same period the deposits of legal entities grew by 1.2 billion
AMD, while the deposits of physical persons increased by 9.2 per cent.

Net profit of "Armeconombank" in the third quarter of 2009 amounted to
300 million AMD. According to the press office of the bank, this
significant increase of bank’s showings indicates that despite the
negative impact of the global financial crisis on the whole banking
system of the country, the confidence of customer in the bank grows.

As of November 23 the total capital of the bank exceeds 8.6 billion
AMD. Currently the bank has 35 branches in Armenia and Karabakh

WAR THREATS LOOM OVER ‘PEACE’ TALKS
By Ara Khachatourian

Asbarez
Nov 23rd, 2009

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmen issued a statement Sunday after the
meeting between Armenian and Azeri presidents on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. The representatives of France, Russia and the US expressed
optimism on the progress of the peace talks, but failed to condemn
Azerbaijan and its president, Ilham Aliyev, for inciting violence
by threatening military action against Armenia and Karabakh one day
before sitting down with his Armenian counterpart.

"That meeting must play a decisive role in the process of
negotiations," Aliyev said late on Friday, in comments broadcast
by state television on Saturday and in reference to the meeting
in Germany.

"If that meeting ends without result, then our hopes in negotiations
will be exhausted and then we are left with no other option," he said,
saying Azerbaijan had the right to use force to take back the mountain
region. "Azerbaijan is spending billions on buying new weapons,
hardware, strengthening its position on the line of contact," he said.

"We are doing that because we never excluded and we do not exclude
that option. We have the full right to liberate our land by military
means," he added.

The above statements should have been enough to raise red flags for all
parties involved. If the Minsk Group mediators truly were committed to
the peace process they should have not only canceled the meeting, but
issued a terse warning to Azerbaijan, which has used military rhetoric.

On the other hand, in the absence of a Minsk-Group-initiated
cancellation, Armenia should have pulled out from the meeting in
protest of Aliyev’s remarks, sending a clear signal that it does not
negotiate with parties that threaten the national security of Armenia
and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

However, there was an interesting and bold announcement from President
Serzh Sarkisian’s spokesperson Samvel Farmanyan, who on Monday told
reporters that an official recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic by Armenia was not being ruled out in the event that
Azerbaijan continues its military rhetoric.

The series of events call into question the optimism expressed by
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, as well as the validity of the
peace process. One wonders if the parties involved have adopted
another-still elusive-definition of the word "peace" given that the
atmosphere in which the Munich talks were held were tainted from the
onset and before any matter of relevance could be placed on the agenda.

Was Farmanyan’s statement another knee-jerk reaction from Yerevan,
or one that may actually have legs?

Azeri foreign minister, Araz Azimov, on Monday told the press and his
Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, that the talks were encouraging.

All sides are now looking at the OSCE summit in Athens to continue
the process, or the progress, depending on which angle this is
being viewed.

The Armenian side has not commented about the talks, but Farmanyan’s
remarks indicate that Armenia did not see any progress in the talks
after Sunday’s Munich meeting.

In fact, the diplomatic back-and-forth prior to the meeting
demonstrated that neither party is on the same page. On one hand,
Azeris said that the focus was on the timetable by which Armenia
allegedly would "return lands" to Azerbaijan. On the other hand,
Armenia called into question whether they and the Azeris were taking
part in the same peace talks, because the focus, in Armenia’s opinion,
was determining the status of Karabakh.

This, coupled with continued assurances by Turkey that Turkey-Armenia
relations are dependent on the outcome of the Karabakh peace process,
as well as announcements by Karabakh authorities that they have never
been presented with the so-called "Madrid Principles," at best paints
a dubious picture of the ongoing peace process.

In this climate, Armenia must act resolutely and put in motion the
processes that are outlined by Farmanyan in his statement, and before
another round of talks between the "sides" insist on Karabakh’s
complete participation in the peace process. At the same time, the
Armenian Foreign Ministry should also engage in diplomatic talks with
Minsk Group co-chairing countries urging them to condemn Azerbaijan
for its continued military rhetoric and non-peaceful disposition that
it has demonstrated and advocated from the onset of the talks.

Furthermore, until such a condemnation by the Minsk Group co-chairs,
Armenia should refrain from taking part in peace talks.

TURKEY TO BEGIN TO ADDRESS ARMENIAN COMMUNITY’S ISSUES, SAYS ERDOGAN

Tert
Nov 23 2009
Armenia

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during his address
before Justice and Development (AK) Party representatives yesterday,
referred to minorities living in Turkey — making particular mention
of Armenians.

As reported by Tert.am’s correspondent in Istanbul, Erdogan noted
that the government has to begin to also address Armenians’ and
Armenian community’s issues in the country, as in the case of the
Kurdish community.

In Erdogan’s words, they have already met with representatives from
the Armenian community and have begun to discuss certain issues.

The Turkish prime minister has also promised to focus its attention
on the Armenian community’s issues.

CORRUPTION IS POLITICAL AMONG US

Lragir.am
23/11/09

Interview with the Executive Director of the Transparency International
anti-corruption centre Varuzhan Hoktanyan

According to the Transparency International indexes, Armenia shares
the 120-125 positions in the world among the most corrupt countries,
while last year it was the 109-114. In fact, Armenia registered a
regression by 11 points. In your opinion, what determines Armenia’s
constant regressions?

If we approach the question from the scientific point of view, it is a
little earlier to say that Armenia registered a regression. The indexes
of corruption in Armenia are 2, 7 while last year it was 2, 9, and in
other words 0, 2 percent of regression. In general, only in case of 0,
3 percent of difference we can speak about regression. But there is a
worrying circumstance which is that last year Armenia registered 0,
1 percent of regression and if the situation keeps moving like this
we may say that we will have growth of corruption. It is a little
earlier to speak but there is nothing to be happy for because starting
from2003, no progress was registered. The general index of perception
is 3 in Armenia, if it was 8, I would not worry because we would be
one of the less corrupt countries of the world.

What ways, methods, does our country have to undertake to fight
against corruption? What is to be done? Our government seems to have
repeatedly aroused this issue. They reveal corrupt professors, etc…

The experience shows that such kind of struggle against corruption is
not effective though we cannot say it does not help at all. This year,
progress was registered in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia. None
of these countries is democratic, but the progress was registered
thanks to the struggle against minor corruption.

In our country, like in the above-mentioned countries, the primary is
the political corruption. There is a misunderstanding that corruption
is not taking bribes. Bribe taking is only one type of it. Corruption
is the misuse of official positions.

Since corruption has a system character, the fight against it must have
the same character too. This means that by taking several professors
you cannot solve the issue. You must understand the reasons of the
corruption. In the end, the struggle against it will not be effective
if there is no public support.

What type of struggle against corruption must there be?

The struggle will be serious only if there is political will. For
example, in Poland, in 1995 elections were held and the Polish
president Valensa who was a brilliant leader and fighter against
communism was defeated because his economic policy did not satisfy
people. In the same year, in Armenia there were held elections
accompanied by bribes, violence, and expressions of political
corruption. The cornerstone of political corruption among us was put
in 1995.

In the future, these phenomena deepened especially in 1998 after the
change of government and we see that elections do not fulfill their
function. One of the problems is the link of political and economic
leaderships of the country in which result we had a very bad result
from the point of the country’s occupation. In other words, country’s
public policy, tax, customs and so on is decided by the interests of
a group of oligarchs. This is also corruption.

In your opinion, is the question on the struggle against the corruption
primary within the oppositional and governmental circles?

By the way, we have studied the pre-electoral programs of the parties
running for 2007 parliamentary elections. No one dwells on the
corruption maybe because it is not a primary issue in their agendas.

During 2007-2008 elections, corruption did not become a primary
one either because there is no general perception in Armenia that
after all, rigged election is also corruption. Our society is very
demoralized. Considering this fact, as well as the tolerance our
society shows towards corruption, I would not blame the opposition
that it does not consider this issue a primary one but I have to say
to the political figures that if they bring up this issue, people
will follow them. I cannot say that the opposition loses when not
paying attention to the corruption issues.

AAC ACCUSES GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES OF INDIFFERENCE TO ARMENIAN SACRED PLACES

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.11.2009 18:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Apostolic Church accused Georgian
authorities of indifference to Armenian sacred places in the country,
what resulted in collapse of Surb Gevorg of Mughni Church in Tbilisi.

"Armenia’s attempts to negotiate the legal status of Surb Gevorg of
Mughni and other Armenian churches in Georgia proved fruitless. The
indifference of Georgian authorities contradicts the country’s
international commitments to establish good-neighborly relations,
to protect the national minorities’ rights and to preserve their
cultural and historical heritage," AAC Supreme Spiritual Council said
in a statement.

The SSC called on Georgian leadership and Georgian Orthodox Church to
grant a legal status to the AAC and preserve Armenians’ sacred places.