Author: Nanijanian Alex

MONASTERY ATOP CHURCH OF HOLY SEPULCHRE IN DANGER OF COLLAPSE
By Jonathan Lis

Ha’aretz
.html
09:34 07/10/2008
Israel

The historic Deir al-Sultan monastery on the roof of the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is in danger of collapse.

The church is one of the most sacred sites in Christendom. By
tradition, it is the site both of Golgotha where the New Testament
says that Jesus was crucified,[2] and the place where Jesus was buried
(the sepulchre).

The monastery’s two chapels and the tiny rooms where its monks live
could crumble, injuring the many tourists who visit the site, as well
as the monks who live there, and even the ancient Church of the Holy
Sepulchre itself.

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An engineer who examined the structures recently said the complex was
a "danger to human life." As long ago as 2004, before the situation
worsened to its present emergency state, the Interior Ministry said it
would pay for renovations. However, because of a long-standing dispute
between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose clergy live at the site,
and the Coptic Church, which claims ownership of it, the parties
have not managed to reach an agreement that would allow renovations
to proceed. The Interior Ministry has made clear to various church
officials over the years that it would pay for the work only if the
various ownership issues were resolved among the denominations.

The head of the Ethiopian Church in Jerusalem, Archbishop Matthias,
sent a letter about 10 days ago to Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit
and to the minister in charge of Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Eitan, in
which he warned of the sorry state of the complex as well as of his
unwillingness to come to an agreement with the Copts. With regard
to the Interior Ministry’s demand that the two denominations come to
terms, the archbishop said: "This condition is completely unacceptable
to us, since we do not recognize any right of the Coptic church in the
area in question. Moreover, it is inconceivable that the implementation
of emergency repairs at the holy site would be conditioned on the
consent of the Coptic church. Indeed, there is disagreement between us
and the Coptic church regarding the rights at the site in question, but
that is precisely the reason we are turning to the Israeli authorities,
as a neutral factor, to carry out the necessary repairs."

The church commissioned an engineer’s report, submitted by Yigal
Bergman of the construction supervision firm Milav, who wrote,
among other things that the complex was in a "dangerous state of
construction. The structures are full of serious engineering damage
that creates safety hazards and endangers the lives of the monks and
the visitors. This is an emergency … also due to the immediate
danger to the site that would damage other parts of the nearby
churches." The report also highlighted dangerous problems in the
electrical and sewerage infrastructure of the ancient buildings.

Deir al-Sultan monastery contains 26 small rooms for the use of
Ethiopian monks, four service and storage rooms, a large open
courtyard and two chapels, one above the other, which are entered
from the courtyard and exit into the entrance plaza of the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre below.

This is far from the first dispute between the denominations that share
space in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre regarding its maintenance
and the use of its various areas. Three large denominations have
control of the church: the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Orthodox and
the Roman Catholics. Smaller denominations with rights in the church
include the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Copts, as well as the Syriac
Orthodox. One of the best known disputes between the communities
surrounds the question of which denomination has the right to remove
a ladder that was placed on a ledge outside an upper-floor window
in the 19th century. Because no agreement has been forthcoming, the
ladder stands there to this day, above the main entrance to the church.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN RECEIVED THE GOVERNOR OF ROSTOV REGION

armradio.am
02.10.2008 14:35

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the Governor of Rostov region
Vladimir Chub, President’s Press Office reported.

The interlocutors attached importance to the further development
of ties on the level of separate administrative units of the two
countries and noted that it creates a good basis for the reinforcement
of interstate relations.

The parties specially underlined the role of the Armenian community,
which is a unique bridge between the parties.

GEGARD MOUSASI VS ANDERSON SILVA- ITS NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO DREAM OF

Bleacher Report
October 01, 2008
CA

Mousasi the Armenian/Dutch fighter is the new middleweight king of
K-1 mma promotion DREAM. With pinpoint striking, good submissions and
an intelligent stoic demeanor, Mousasi may just be the middleweight
threat Silva is looking for.

Silva, having just recently announced he was planning on retiring
next year, is most likely doing so in a ploy to get the UFC to start
hiring some top talent in the 185 lb. division. Nevertheless, Mousasi
could be the guy to upset the fearsome spider.

Mousasi’s style and build is much like the spiders and could prove
to be an interesting matchup. Being very lanky as a fighter, Mousasi
possesses good striking and has developed an all around good jiu-jitsu
game.

Recently beating Ronaldo "Jacare" de Souza to claim the DREAM belt
Mousasi’s victory is very reminiscent to the Yushin Okami vs Silva
fight, where Silva was disqualified via an up kick from the bottom that
knocked Okami out, however in DREAM- Mousasi was awarded the victory.

Mousasi has even submitted black belts in jiu-jitsu much like Silva
as well, where Silva submitted Lutter by triangle, Mousasi submitted
Denis Kang by way of triangle choke.

The two fighters teams even have a rivalry with one another. Mousasi,
who trains with Red Devil Fight Club in Russia has Fedor Emelianenkot
the no.1 heavy weight. Silva trains out of Muay Thai Dream Team which
has Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera who is either no. 2 or 3 depending who
you ask.

Emelianenko and Noguiera have a classic rivalry that ended in
Emelainenko taking the belt from him.

However, despite what an amazing match up this could possibly be, it is
most likely not to happen. Since Mousasi has recently signed to fight
with Affliction, while Silva is fighting in the UFC. Sadly this fight
won’t happen since Dana White is so intent on running any possible UFC
compeitor out of buisiness and has no intentioin of importing Vladmir
Finkelstein’s fighters, much less anyone foreign who isn’t from Brazil.

Forbes Magazine
Obama, Turkey And The G-Resolution
Asli Aydintasbas 09.29.08, 4:00 PM ET

There is no doubt that much of the Muslim world is rooting for Barack
Obama in the U.S. presidential race. The 47-year-old Illinois senator
is a favorite son to many in the Middle East who are enamored of his
middle name "Hussein" or even harbor the belief that the senator is a
closet Muslim having to hide his true colors to get a place in the
American political establishment. Still others welcome the idea of an
Obama presidency as a shift from the unpopular Middle East policies of
the Bush administration.

But here in Turkey, the Obamania in the rest of the Muslim world was
quick to fade early in the race. Once intrigued by the young senator
and his life story, much of the Ankara establishment and the Turkish
elite now say they prefer John McCain to snatch the presidential seat.

And all this has little to do with Barack Obama himself.

Modern Turkey is a nation still sorting through the cultural and
political clashes that have emerged with the foundation of a secular
modern republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire in 1923. It is a
nation accustomed to both domestic and foreign conflict and obsessed
with the idea of its loneliness on the world stage. So it is no
surprise that, on any given subject under the sun, most Turks would
ask, "But is it good for Turkey?"

In this case, the political establishment in Ankara and Turkey’s
secular elite seem to think that Barack Obama is not good for Turkey.

"It all has to do with the Armenian issue," a senior Turkish
politician tells me, referring to what is essentially a semantic
problem, but one with ripple effects far beyond the confines of this
region. Turks and Armenians have long disagreed on what to call the
tragic events that took place in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman
Empire in 1915. Turks say the forced deportations and massacres of
Christian Armenians took place in the context of a civil war and do
not amount to "genocide." For Armenians in the neighboring Armenia or
spread around the world in a large diaspora, this is the first
genocide of modern times and as such deserves a universal recognition.

What does all this have to do with Barack Obama? With almost no direct
contact, Turks and Armenians have long been fighting the issue out in
distant national forums–most notably in the U.S. Congress. Almost
every year, the powerful Armenian-American lobby attempts to pass a
resolution from Congress marking the events of 1915 as "genocide." The
government of Turkey has its own lobbying effort in Washington, almost
solely dedicated to the "Armenian issue," and prevents the bill at the
expense of threatening to sever strategic ties with the United
States. (Having seen Turkey significantly reduce economic and military
relations with France when the French Senate passed a similar bill,
Washington knows the issue goes far beyond a semantic exercise.)

Successive American presidents have intervened in the 11th hour to
kill off the g-resolution in order not to damage relations with a key
ally and next door neighbor of Iraq’s. Last year, House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and other congressional supporters had to drop the resolution
at the last minute when the White House warned it would cripple ties
with Turkey and impact the war effort in Iraq.

Yet Barack Obama has pledged he would support a genocide resolution.
Worse for Ankara, his running mate Senator Joe Biden has long been an
ally of Greek and Armenian lobbies in Washington and sponsored bills
questioning Turkish policies on Cyprus and Armenia.

"John McCain on the other hand knows Turkey well and can understand
our strategic value," the same Turkish politician tells me. Ankara
essentially prefers a man who would have a nostalgic appreciation of
Turkey’s role in the Cold War and in containing Saddam Hussein, and
not push for a "paradigm change" in that equation.

"There is also the Clinton factor," a western diplomat notes. Most
Turks were enamored of Bill Clinton when he visited Turkey in the wake
of a major earthquake in 1999 and pushed for policies that elevated
the Turkish-U.S. relationship to a strategic partnership on energy
and regional issues.

Bill and Hillary Clinton have since visited Turkey and maintain ties
with the Turkish government. (Turkey’s prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan,
makes a point of seeing the former president or his wife on nearly all
his U.S. trips.)

"Obama defeating Hillary did not go down well here," says the diplomat.

When Turks watch the results of U.S. elections in November, they will
do with an eye toward April 16, the day Armenians commemorate what
Turkish officials call "the so-called genocide," and hope Obama will
not win.

Asli Aydintasbas is an Istanbul-based journalist and former Ankara
bureau chief of the newspaper Sabah.

THE ONLY DIFFICULTY IS A CONTINUOUS INCREASE OF PRICES
Sussanna Balayan

Azat Artsakh Daily
01 Oct 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]

As we have informed, recently by means of "Hayastan" all-Armenian Fund
some buildings have have been put into operation: school building in
Togh and water-pipes in Hadrut and Spitakashen.In Togh after solemn
ceremonies the deputy manager Ara Vardanyan answered the journalists’
questions. "In what direction will the money, got from the telethon,
be expended?". A.Vardanyan particularly noted, that as always, by
means of money got from the telethon which will take place on November
27th in Los Angeles, the Fund will continue the works in Martuni,
Hadrut and Martakert regions. "How do the preparatory works of the
telethon pass?".

"All the subjects directed to the organization of this year’s telethon
are already ready, now the final preparation of the subjects for just
this day is carried out. Corresponding interviews, meetings with the
management of "Hayastan" Fund are realized. Taking the opportunity,
let’s say also, that the president of the republic assisted the
preparatory works and under his protection a banquet we’ll organize,
in which businessmen from RA and RF will participate and questions
refering to the program will be discussed. "And what works are realized
in Artsakh?". "In Artsakh during the tele thon we’ll show the society
what works have been realized and what is foreseen. In Artsakh during
the last two months our photographing group has already prepared
all the materials about realized works. Also we work with companies
realizing huge business in NKR "Karabakh Telecom", "Base Metals" for
providing their participation in the telethon". "It has been always
spoken about promised and non transfered sums. What difficulties
meets the Fund during the realization of the programs?". "Generally,
in the Fund’s practice we are leading in the sense of the sums.One
of the difficulties, that I can note, is a countinous increase of
prices. The construction becomes more expensive year after year This
is the main complication, but I must note, that Diaspora understands
by what it is conditioned, and that Armenia and Artsakh can’t fight
against it",- emphasized Ara Vardanyan at the end of the talk.

‘WITH THE SAME GOODWILL AND THE SAME RIGOUR"
Karine Asatrian

A1+
[04:31 pm] 29 September, 2008

Though today’s PACE session mostly referred to the Russian-Georgia
conflict PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig also spoke about Armenia
and Azerbaijan in his addressing speech.

"I am referring in particular to Azerbaijan and Armenia, which I
visited over the summer to provide them with political support in
their citizens’ best interests. Last June the Assembly issued concrete
recommendations to these two countries aimed at remedying a number
of problems which prevented them from honouring their commitments as
member states of the Council of Europe. In both cases we are awaiting
convincing results and we will assess them with the same goodwill, but
also the same rigour that we have to apply every time it is a question
of defending our principles and values," said Lluis Maria de Puig.

Note, before today’s session the PACE President managed to answer
four questions posed by reporters. Three of them referred to the
Russian-Georgian conflict.

PRESIDENT RECEIVES MS. RICE

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
26 Sep 2008
Armenia

With the purpose of participating in the 63rd session of the UN
General Assembly, President Serge Sargsyan, who is now visiting New
York, has received the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in his
residence. During the meeting, the parties discussed issues concerning
the Armenian-American relations and the regional developments.

S. Sargsyan expressed his gratitude to the US Government for the
assistance provided to Armenia. In response to that, the State
Secretary mentioned that Armenia is making a progress in its political
reforms, and this establishes good grounds for ensuring the on-going
nature of the assistance.

The parties touched upon the Karabakh settlement process
continuing within the frameworks of the OSCE Minsk Group. Serge
Sargsyan reiterated Armenia’s willingness to settle the Karabakh
conflict peacefully, through negotiations and mutual concessions and
underscored that such resolution of the conflict would contribute to
the establishment of peace and cooperation in the region.

The Secretary of State expressed gratitude to the Armenian President
for his initiative towards regulating the relationship with Turkey
and expressed hope that the Turkish President’s visit to Armenia and
the recent Armenian-Turkish meetings are establishing a good basis
for future cooperation.

OSCE OFFICE SUPPORTS DISCUSSION ON IMPLEMENTING EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
26.09.2008 12:37

Armenia’s implementation of its commitments as a signatory to
the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages was the focus of a conference supported by the OSCE Office
today in Yerevan.

Organized with the Yerevan State Linguistic University in co-operation
with the Council of Europe, the discussion focused on Armenia’s second
report to the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages and on States’ monitoring of implementation of
the charter.

"Protection of the linguistic rights of national minorities is an
integral part of minority rights protection, which is a high priority
of the OSCE Office. We hope the discussion will contribute to further
improvements in legislation and language policy-making in Armenia,"
said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

Rector of Yerevan State Linguistic University Professor Suren Zolyan
added that the conference will further emphasize linguistic diversity
as one of the most important aspects of Europe’s cultural heritage,
and provide an opportunity to evaluate the Charter’s application in
the past and examine perspectives for the future.

Experts and representatives from the government and national
minority organizations discussed the results of the monitoring,
the achievements, the obstacles and the prospects in the course of
implementation of the Charter in the context of Armenian language
policies. The conference marked the tenth anniversary of the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the OSCE
Oslo Recommendations regarding the Linguistic Rights of National
Minorities as well as the European Day of Languages, celebrated on
26 September. The United Nations General Assembly also declared 2008
the International Year of Languages.

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages was ratified
by Armenia in 2002. The purpose of the Charter is to protect and
promote regional and minority languages as a threatened aspect of
Europe’s cultural heritage and to enable speakers of a regional or
minority language to use it in private and public life.

CONFERENCE ON QUALITY INSURANCE SYSTEM IN HIGHER SCHOOLS STARTS IN ARMENIA

ARKA
Sep 23, 2008

YEREVAN, September 23. /ARKA /. A two-day conference on a quality
insurance system of Armenian higher schools started in Yerevan State
University today.

Development of Armenian higher schools within Bologna process will be
discussed at the conference, rector of the University Aram Simonyan
said at the opening ceremony. He pointed out cooperation of the Yerevan
State University with the State Engineering University of Armenia to
develop the new processes.

Coordinator of Tempus program of the European Commission Lana Karlova,
in her turn, said that the conference will help discuss experience
and approaches of the country’s higher schools on quality reforms.

The definition of quality of education changed in Armenia now, Karlova
said adding that the final result, i.e. ability of graduates to meet
market requirements is considered quality as compared with the previous
criteria on student selection or laboratory equipment. Armenia is going
through the process slowly, Karlova said adding that the institutional
reformation is quite a difficult process.

Young people should be maximally involved in solving the problem
and their opinion should be taken into account in making any change,
she said.

Representatives of Middlesex University and University of Genoa –
partner universities of the Yerevan State University the State
Engineering University of Armenia) partici pate in the conference.

Armenia joined the Bologna convention in 2005.

RA MFA: THERE IS NOTHING EXTRAORDINARY IN MEETINGS BETWEEN ARMENIAN AND TURKISH DIPLOMATS

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2008 15:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian and Turkish diplomats have always kept
in contact, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said.

There is nothing extraordinary in these meetings, he added, the RA
MFA press office told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Earlier this week, the Turkish Daily News (TDN) reported that Armenian
and Turkish diplomats gathered in Bern to continue talks. Diplomats
will try to finalize a draft for the common declaration of good
will in the wake of a tripartite summit between Turkey, Armenia and
Azerbaijan to take place in New York at the end of September.

Undersecretary of the foreign ministry, Ertugrul Apakan, and his
deputy, Unal Cevikoz, headed for Switzerland last Sunday to meet
their counterparts in Bern, which already hosted two rounds of talks
in May and July, it added.

The declaration is to be announced at the meeting of Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, which
is expected to the take place during the U.N General Assembly in New
York being held Sept.23 to Oct.1.