Author: Nargizian David

IN SHAVARSH KOCHARIAN’S WORDS, NOW THERE ARE PRECONDITIONS FOR SOLUTION OF NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT MORE FAVORABLE FOR ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Jun 27 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 27, NOYAN TAPAN. Preconditions for Nagorno
Karabakh settlement more favorable for Armenia have been created
at present. Shavarsh Kocharian, the Chairman of the National
Democratic Party, stated at the June 27 press conference. Among these
preconditions, in particular, he mentioned the process of Kosovo’s
getting independence, Karabakh’s democratization and Azerbaijan’s
going to dictatorship.

The NDP Chairman emphasized that in the negotiations process
Azerbaijan has always distorted the settlement models proposed,
demanding everything and ceding nothing, and this is already obvious
for the mediators, too.

In S. Kocharian’s words, the oil factor contributes to
strengthening of Azerbaijan’s economy and army, which should not be
underestimated. However, on the other hand, Azerbaijan has become
the hostage of Baku-Ceyhan gas pipeline, as destabilization in the
region does not proceed from superpowers’ interests. In S. Kocharian’s
opinion, besides conflict settlement, the OSCE Minsk Group has also the
function of stability preservation, which it implements successfully.

In case of Karabakh’s participation in the negotiations, in speaker’s
words, the issue can be no longer considered as a territorial argument
between Armenia and Azerbaijan and Armenia will be no longer perceived
as an aggressor. And the newly elected NKR President, as he stated,
should try to use the created positive preconditions for making NKR
part of the negotiations.

According to S. Kocharian’s observation, a considerable improvement in
the respect of democratization has been recorded over the past seven
years in NKR. Among them he mentioned the new NKR Constitution, the
electoral processes, civil control over the army, as well as President
Arkady Ghoukassian’s refusing to run for presidency for the third time.

UNESCO TO SEND MISSION TO REGION

Armenpress
Jun 26 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS: Spokesperson for the
Armenian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Karapetian told
Armenpress that Armenia has been undertaking efforts
so that UNESCO sends a mission to the region to assess
the condition of the Armenian cultural monuments in
Old Jugha (Nakhijevan). He said that it is not a
secret that the Armenian monuments are being
systematically destroyed in the Azerbaijani territory,
especially in Nakhijevan. He said that Armenian
leadership stated about it in the UNESCO, UN and
European establishments.

Letters were sent to the general director of the
UNESCO in 1998, in 2002 and in 2005 presenting the
situation and calling on undertaking steps for
stopping the cultural genocide of the Armenian
monuments in Nakhijevan. According to Karapetian, the
steps carried out by the Armenian side towards drawing
the attention of the international community to the
fact of purposeful destruction of Armenian
cross-stones in Nakhijevan in 2006 finally helped to
break the silence. "Armenia greatly underscored the
visit of the mission to Nakhijevan for the assessment
of the situation," Karapetian said.

When Armenia demanded that a mission be sent to Old
Jugha Azerbaijan said that the mission must study the
condition of monuments in Nagorno Karabakh.

Karapetian said that in a letter to UNESCO Armenian
Foreign Minister Oskanian noted that Armenia on its
turn is ready to discuss issue on the organization of
the visit of the mission to Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh
in case of agreement of the authorities of Karabakh,
for studying the condition of the monuments.

UNESCO has approved the membership of the mission
which will visit the region. The time of the visit is
not yet clear

Strasbourg, 25.06.2007 – The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers
has just made public the third report on the situation of regional or
minority languages in Hungary.

On the basis of this report, the Council of Europe calls on Hungary to
improve its legislative framework in favour of minority language
protection.
In particular, it asks the Hungarian authorities to actively promote the
establishment of further bilingual schools at all stages of education
and to
increase accordingly the number of teachers able to teach subjects in
these
languages.

Further to the report, the Committee of Ministers has adopted a series
of
recommendations addressed to Hungary. These include inter alia:

– improvement of the financial situation of minority language education
and
increased stability of resourcing;
– improvement of the offer of minority language programmes in the media;

– improvement of the conditions for the transferral of educational and
cultural bodies and institutions to minority self-governments.

The report has been drawn up by a committee of independent experts which
monitors the application of the European Charter for Regional or
Minority
Languages.

In Hungary, 14 regional or minority languages are protected under the
Charter: Armenian, Beás, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Greek, Polish,
Romany,
Romanian, Ruthenian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian and Ukrainian.

< irs/local_and_regional_democracy/regional_or_minor ity_languages/2_Monitoring/2.3_Committee_of_Expert s’_Reports/Hungary_3rd_report.pdf> Full text of the report

< CM/RecChL(2007)4&Language=3DlanEnglish&Ver =3Doriginal&BackColorInternet=3D9999CC&Bac kColorIntranet=3DFFBB55&BackColorLogged=3D
FFA C75> Recommendation CM/RecChL(2007)4

Further information can also be found on the
<;
Charter’s website or by contacting the Charter Secretariat (Council of
Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg, [email protected], Tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 34
48)

Press Release
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 439a07
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected]
internet:

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A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common
responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 47 member
states.

JUDGEMENT UPHELD IN GOLD THEFT CASE

Gulf Times, Qatar
June 24 2007

A DOHA appeal court has upheld the one-year imprisonment given to an
Ukrainian man and two Armenian women who were convicted by a lower
court of stealing gold items from a jewellery shop on September
18, 2006.

The court also upheld the six-month imprisonment against two more men –
one Ukrainian and one Armenian – involved in the same case.

The first-degree court had acquitted four other Armenians – two men
and two women – "for lack of evidence" in the same case in mid-April.

All the accused, who had came to Qatar on tourist visas, have also
been found guilty in other gold theft related cases.

The owner of the jewellery shop identified the accused during the
trial. He told the court that he discovered that 15 chains weighing
a total of 570gm were missing after a week of their last visit to
his store.

He identified the jewellery items recovered from the accused at the
police station. The court ordered them to return the items to the shop.

A spokesman for the Armenian community in Qatar, Basel Jawad, told
Gulf Times that the convicts did not intend to appeal against the
verdict in the Supreme Court.

AVET ADONTS: PUBLIC OPINION FORMATION ONE OF KEY COMPONENTS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

ArmRadio.am
25.06.2007 13:38

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on European
Integration Avet Adonts said that an immense work is awaiting the
Committee. He noted that besides being a new structure in the National
Assembly, it is still the only official body in Armenia, the name of
which includes the expression "European integration."

The Chairman said the Committee will be engaged in bringing the
Armenian legislation to conformity with European standards and the
relations with the European Union, the Council of Europe and other
European organizations.

Avet Adonts said that in the fall the relations will the European Union
will get more active in the framework of the European Neighborhood
Policy Action Plan.

"It is a long-term program, which envisages the conformity of our
legislation with European standards in all directions, a serious and
great work is awaiting us in this sense," the Chairman said.

Mr. Adonts noted that "we are interested in deepening the political
dialogue and economic cooperation with the EU and its member states
and intend to expand the cooperation with the European Parliament both
within the Armenia – EU Interparliamentary Cooperation Commission and
through establishing direct ties with the committees and factions of
the European Parliament."

Avet Adonts said that the public opinion formation is one of the key
components of European integration.

"Without the formation of public opinion all the efforts of the
legislative and executive powers can remain ‘undigested’," the
parliamentarian said.

Speaking about Armenia-NATO relations, the Chairman of the Committee
said that "Armenia’s membership to the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) does not restrict the cooperation with NATO."

"Today Armenia is executing an Individual Partnership Action Plan with
NATO. It is a rather large program with distinct objectives. As for the
perspectives of Armenia’s cooperation with NATO, the issue of joining
the alliance is not on our foreign policy agenda. However, I’m sure
the perspectives of our relations must be broadly discussed among the
public, and the newly established NATO Information Centre in Yerevan
must be one of the main agents in this process," Avet Adonts said.

‘IT IS NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH AN ENVIRONMENT OF INTER-ETHNIC TOLERANCE IN ORDER TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS IN JAVAKHQ,’ CHIEF EDITOR OF AKUNQ NEWSPAPERS SAYS

Yerkir.am
June 22, 2007

"Statement about the Armenians being separatists are openly made
in Georgia. In other words, they are claiming that the Armenians in
Javakhq with the support from Armenia are preparing the ground for
replicating the Karabagh scenario in Georgia," Chief Editor of Akunq
Newspaper in Javakhq Mels Torossian stated at a press conference on
June 21.

Torossian says these ungrounded statements have become the daily
material for the Georgian media. Even thought the official circles
avoid conversations on this issue but the public media still comment
on it.

Torossian believes Azerbaijan and Turkey are behind this plot of
spreading hostility between Armenia and Georgia. An environment of
inter-ethnic tolerance must be established in order to solve the
problems in Javakhq.

Deputy Director of the Caucasus Media Institute Sergey Minassian
believes the anti-Armenian moods in Georgia derive from the fact that
the Georgian society and the political elite still perceive Armenia
as being closely connected with Russia’s politics. Minassian believes
the Armenians in Javakhq are not integrated into the Georgian society
and this is not their fault. "The Georgian society is not yet ready
to accept the Georgian Armenians as equal citizens and does everything
to hinder this process," Minassian noted.

133 BRITISH MPS SUPPORT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

DeFacto News Agency, Armenia
June 19 2007

26 MPs supported the analogous document in 2006, while in 2003 it
was supported by 63 MPs, an independent French journalist Jean Ekiyan
told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The resolution is expected to receive more support in the course of
presenting "Darfur and Armenia" report at the House of Commons June
27. At the measure British PM Gordon Brown, a historian, will present
his stand on the issue "Genocide Denial and the UK Government’s
Ethical Foreign Policy".

PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Media Relations Specialist
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

June
___________________

FR. HOVNAN DEMERJIAN ANSWERS GOD’S CALL

In an instant, Jason Demerjian was gone. Standing before the congregation
was the same young man they had come to know, but he was no longer Jason.
Instead, he was now Fr. Hovnan, the latest priest to join the Armenian
Church.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), ordained Fr. Demerjian into the priesthood on Sunday,
June 17, 2007, at the St. James Church of Watertown, Massachusetts.

"We have come together on this special day to witness a divine mystery: the
transformation of a young man into a different type of man," the Primate
said in his sermon. "The change itself is invisible to the eye. Standing
before us, we still see the same young man we have come to know. But the
effect on his soul is real, profound, and lasting. Although we cannot fully
comprehend what has happened, we know that today the Holy Spirit has entered
into Jason Demerjian and he became something new: a father for the flock of
Jesus Christ."

ANSWERING THE CALL

The ordination, which took place over two days Saturday and Sunday June16
and 17, is just the latest step in Fr. Demerjian’s journey to answer God’s
call to serve the Armenian Church community.

"I’ve been preparing for a long time," he said. "So it’s a big day, full of
God’s grace with big changes."

He was ordained deacon by Archbishop Barsamian, at St. Vartan Cathedral in
February 2007. A recent graduate of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New
Rochelle, NY, Fr. Demerjian served for two years as the Diocese’s college
ministry facilitator. Along with his degree from St. Nersess, Demerjian
earned a master’s degree from the Harvard Divinity School.

Throughout all his studies and work for the Church, he’s been trying to hear
and answer God’s call. Entering the priesthood is, of course, a major
decision, but one he feels is right for him.

"You can be reasonably sure about the priesthood in the same way, perhaps,
that you can be sure about a decision like marriage," he said. "You can’t
know 100 percent that it is right, you can’t really know until you do it.
Yet you have a good idea that it is the right thing, that your life is
leading up to it."

Before joining the Diocese, Fr. Demerjian lived in Armenia as a U.S. Peace
Corps volunteer. Afterwards, he started and administered the Armenia
Volunteer Corps. It was while in Armenia that he met his wife, Anna, who now
works for the Children of Armenian Fund.

While contemplating his priestly ordination, he considered other ways to
help serve the Armenian community, ultimately deciding upon ordination.

"God’s hand is on your life in different ways and this feels right," he
added. "Certainly there’s struggling with it or against it. But that
doesn’t take away from the fact that it is the right thing and, in fact,
maybe that contemplation was an essential part in making it the right
thing."

Fr. Daniel Findikyan, dean of the St. Nersess Seminary, served as the
sponsoring priest of the ordination. Dr. Tom Samuelian was the godfather of
the ceremony.

SPREADING THE WORD

Following his traditional 40 days of solitude, he will celebrate his first
Divine Liturgy on July 22, 2007, at the St. Gregory the Enlightener Church
of White Plains, New York,

Fr. Demerjian will eventually begin serving as pastor to the St. Hagop
Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. He and Yn. Anna will begin there
September 1. As a pastor, he looks forward to preaching and teaching.

"I like preaching and talking and presenting and educating, helping people
rediscover the depth and beauty of their church," he said. "I think it’s
important a priest be a reflection of the light of Christ, a good Christian
and example of someone who follows Christ."

Along with a dedicated priest, the St. Hagop community will gain a Yeretzgin
who is devoted to the life of the Church as well.

"She’s ready as much as you can be ready," Fr. Demerjian said of Yn. Anna.
"It’s a commitment and a calling for the Yeretzgin as well. It’s a happy
occasion for her because she would be involved in the Church no matter what,
now she has even more opportunity to do that. But it is also a serious
responsibility that she welcomes."

Fr. Demerjian was ordained on Father’s Day. In the congregation were his
parents Kenneth and Karen, who made sure he attended Church regularly as he
was growing up.

"It is truly an act of love that has brought Fr. Hovnan to today’s
ceremony," the Primate said in his remarks. "He heard God’s calling, felt
His never ending love, and chose to welcome the Holy Spirit into his heart.
I know it was not a decision he made lightly, nor one he made alone.
Indeed, it was with the support of his parents, and the encouragement of his
wife, Anna — herself a dedicated daughter of the Church."

"A great responsibility has been laid upon Fr. Hovnan’s shoulders," the
Primate added. "Of course, the priest does not carry this weight alone. He
shares the burdens and joys of the pastoral calling with his fellow priests,
with his Yeretzgin, and with his parishioners. I have faith that Fr. Hovnan
will be an excellent father to his flock, because he has a genuine
dedication to God."

CELEBRATION OF NEW LIFE

Following the ordination, Fr. Hovnan was celebrated at a banquet in the St.
James Church hall. Fr. Karekin Kasparian, pastor of the St. Gregory the
Enlightener Church of White Plains, New York, served as the emcee. The
pastor priest, Fr. Arakel Aljalian, offered the invocation. Also speaking
were the sponsoring priest, Fr. Daniel Findikyan, and godfather, Dr. Tom
Samuelian, along with Fr. Hovnan’s father, Kenneth.

Attendees also saw a video produced for the occasion in which Fr. Hovnan
spoke about his faith journey. While addressing the gathered well wishers,
Fr. Hovnan thanked his family and those who guided him along his spiritual
journey.

In his remarks at the banquet, the Primate noted the presence of Fr.
Hovnan’s parents and the importance of their strong faith.

"As the Diocesan theme ‘Church and Home: One in Spirit’ implies, we must
build a solid foundation for our faith in the next generation," the Primate
said. "The way to do that is to assure that our parents serve as Christian
role models, and the Demerjians surely have. We celebrate their success in
raising a Christian family today as we welcome our newest priest: Fr.
Hovnan."

— 6/19/07

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Dn. Jason Demerjian kneels before the congregation at
the St. James Church of Watertown, Massachusetts, during his ordination to
the priesthood on Sunday, June 17, 2007.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), anoints Fr. Hovnan Demerjian with
Holy Muron during his priestly ordination on Sunday, June 17, 2007.

PHOTO CAPTION (3): Fr. Hovnan Demerjian and Archbishop Khajag Barsamian,
Primate, on the altar during the Divine Liturgy at which Fr. Hovnan was
ordained to the priesthood.

PHOTO CAPTION (4): The Primate addresses the faithful during the ordination
of Fr. Hovnan Demerjian on Sunday, June 17, 2007, at the St. James Church of
Watertown, Massachusetts.

PHOTO CAPTION (5): Archbishop Barsamian with Fr. Hovnan and Yn. Anna
Demerjian at the banquet following Fr. Hovnan’s ordination to the priesthood
on Sunday, June 17, 2007.

MIKHAIL HAROUTIUNIAN TO TAKE PART IN COUNCIL SITTING OF DEFENCE MINISTERS OF CIS COUNTRIES TO TAKE PLACE IN MOSCOW ON JUNE 20

Noyan Tapan
Jun 18 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The delegation headed by Michail
Haroutiunian, the RA Minister of Defence, will leave for Moscow to
take part in the sitting of the Council of the Defence Ministers of
the CIS member countries on June 20. This information was provided
to Noyan Tapan by the RA Defence Ministry.

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT CALLS UPON WAR

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
June 18 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / Òrend corr I. Alizadeh / The chairman of the Ana
Vatan party, MP Fazayil Aghamaly, urged at a special meeting of the
Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani parliament) on 16 June that Azerbaijan
should liberate the occupied territories via war. He noted that the
expectations of the Azerbaijani community of peaceful talks between
Azerbaijan and Armenia, in particular from the latest meeting in St
Petersburg, had not come to fruition due to the non-constructive
position of the Armenian side. "For this reason Azerbaijan should
prepare itself for war," Aghamaly stated.

According to Aghamaly, extension of the 2007 budget paid special
attention to the field of the military and the strengthening of the
army which will provide conditions for a war. The MP addressed the
Speaker, Ogtay Asadov, asking for his suggestion to be taken to the
relative official channels.

A member of Musavat deputy group, Panah Huseyn, considers military
operations to be the only way for a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. He noted that the government should take measures in
connection to this. "My position reflects the viewpoint of the
entire opposition," the deputy added. "The opposition is ready for
cooperation and joint work with the authorities for a solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The decision was made at the forum held
several days ago," he said. The deputy stated that the opposition was
unanimous in the position on the refusal of holding a referendum on
determination of the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh.

–Boundary_(ID_Bwrjo58hTajKF+P9 iOg27g)–