Author: Navasardian Karapet

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT: ARMENIANS ARE GUESTS IN YEREVAN

Regnum News Agency
Jan 17 2008
Russia

Today, on January 17, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev went to
the front-line area and participated in opening ceremony of Geydar
Aliyev Museum and the Olympic Center in the village of Guzanly. As
the presidential press office informs, Ilham Aliyev also had a meeting
with local residents. During the meeting, he made several statements
on settling the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

Particularly, while speaking to the local residents, Aliyev announced
that the war with Armenia was not over, Az.TV state television
informs. He added that "Armenia did not won the war; it was just the
first stage of the war completed." Aliyev noted that "Nagorno Karabakh
will never be independent; the position is backed by international
mediators as well; Armenia has to accept the reality."

According to Aliyev, "in 1918, Yerevan was granted to the Armenians.

It was a great mistake. The khanate of Iravan (Yerevan) was the
Azeri territory, the Armenians were guests here." As for the role
of international organizations, they, according to the Azerbaijani
president, show double standards in the problem of Nagorno Karabakh.

PACE NAGORNO KARABAKH SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMAN TO VISIT BAKU

AzerTag
Feb 1 2008
Azerbaijan

The delegation comprsing members of Nagorno Karabakh Subcommittee
of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) headed by
the Chairman of the subcommittee Lord Russell-Johnston will visit
Azerbaijan on 7 February, press service of the Foreign Ministry said.

In the framework of visit to last till February 9, the delegation
is expected to have meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, members
of the Milli Majlis and other officials. As stated, the goal of the
visit is to have discussions on Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

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WESTERN DIOCESE E-NEWSLETTER
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Bible Readings
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Diocesan News
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COMMEMORATION EVENING IN MEMORY OF HRANT DINK AT WESTERN DIOCESE

In the evening of January 25, 2008, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan
Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese, presided over the
commemorative event in memory of Hrant Dink, on the first anniversary
of the assassination of the slain journalist, in the Nazareth and Sima
Kalaydjian Hall of the Diocesan complex in Burbank, California.
( story.php?id=824)

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS GATHER AT WESTERN DIOCESE

On Saturday, January 26, 2008, the Sunday School teachers for the
newly established parishes of Antelope Valley, La Canada-Crescenta
Valley, Santa Clarita (Valencia), Victorville, Ventura County, Boise
(Idaho), Burbank, as well as Scottsdale, Arizona gathered at the
Western Diocese to share their experiences and discuss the issues
pertaining the Sunday School Program.His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan
Derderian, accompanied by several clergy from the Diocese, presided
over the meeting. The Primate expressed his appreciation to the
participants for their presence and thanked for their crucially
important service to the Church. The Primate in his remarks lauded the
importance of the Sunday School programs to the mission of the
Church.In the second part of the meeting, Mrs. Debbie Derderian, spoke
extensively on the importance of Sunday School programs and the
responsibility that has been entrusted with them in providing proper
Christian education for the future generations. The Vicar General of
the Western Diocese, Very Rev. Fr. Dajad Dz. V. Yardemian, offered the
concluding remarks in which he presented directives for the betterment
of the Sunday School programs to the participants, wishing them even
more success in their mission.
( ry.php?id=825)

PRIMATE’S PASTORAL VISIT TO ARIZONA

On Sunday, January 27, 2008, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,
Primate of the Western Diocese, paid a pastoral visit to the Arizona
Parish on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of
the Armenian Church in the state.
( .php?id=830)

Upcoming Events
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======================= ======
The Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, providing
spiritual guidance and leadership to the Armenian Apostolic community,
is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization comprised of 47
churches in 16 western states. It was established in 1898 as the
Diocese of the Armenian Church encompassing the entire United States
and Canada. In 1927 the Western Diocese was formed to exclusivly serve
the western United States.

3325 North Glenoaks Blvd. Burbank, CA 91504
Tel: (818) 558-7474 Fax: (818) 558-6333
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

Armenian ombudsman to be aware of all the human rights violations over
the electoral campaign

2008-02-01 14:43:00

ArmInfo. A the signals about human rights violations over the electoral
campaign will be thoroughly examined by the Armenian Ombudsman office.

As Armenian Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan said at the press-conference
today, the following hot line telephone numbers and e:mail address may
be used to give information about violations: 53-76-51, 53-92-71, 53-
88-31, 53-76-34, 53-85-77, 091-00-88-17, 091-28-02-06,
[email protected]. He also added that on 19 February from 07:00 AM to
09:00 PM duty will be held at the Ombudsman Office, which is closely
cooperating with Armenian law-enforcement agencies.

The ombudsman called up all the political forces of Armenia to
tolerance.

United Labor Party to support Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan’s
candidacy at forthcoming presidential election

2008-02-01 19:10:00

ArmInfo. The United Labor Party (ULP) will support Armenian Prime
Minister, Leader of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Serzh
Sargsyan’s candidacy at the forthcoming presidential election in
Armenia.

The relevant decision was taken at the ULP’s 4th congress, Friday.
According to a close ballot of the party’s active members, a total of
124 out of 199 delegates voted for the prime minister, 47 – for
Armenian ex- president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, 14 – for ex-Premier, Leader
of the National-Democratic Union Vazgen Manukyan, 5 – for ex-Speaker of
the Armenian Parliament, Leader of the Law-Governed Country Party
Arthur Baghdasaryan, and 2 – for Vice-Speaker, member of Bureau of the
ARF Dashnaksutyun Party Vahan Hovhannisyan. Nobody voted for Leader of
the People’s Party Tigran Karapetyan. The rest of the candidates
received 1 vote each.

During a press-conference which followed the congress, Gourgen Arsenyan
said that nobody exerted pressure or imposed anything on the ULP active
members. "During the voting we also took into account 7 votes of
members of one of our regional branches who didn’t vote for Serzh
Sargsyan. Nobody is going to press or made those, who voted for other
candidates today, participate in the pre-electoral campaign of the
prime minister or support his candidacy. We respect the opinion of each
member of our party", Arsenyan said. At the congress Arsenyan was
re-elected chairman of the party. The participants in the congress
appealed to voters to actively participate in the election and to all
the presidential candidates to demonstrate political tolerance,
political ethics and refrain from applying anti-propaganda towards one
another.

ADAM SCHIFF: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL IMPERILS TURKEY’S FUTURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.02.2008 17:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ This week, Rep. Adam Schiff commemorated slain Agos
editor Hrant Dink in a Congressional Record statement, Rep. Schiff’s
spokesman, Mr Sean Oblack told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The statement says,

"Madame Speaker:

"It is with a mixture of anger and sadness that I rise today to honor
the one year anniversary of the murder of Hrant Dink, the courageous
Armenian-Turkish journalist, who was murdered by a Turkish extremist.

"Mr. Dink founded the bilingual newspaper Agos in 1996, giving a voice
to Turkey’s Armenians. He acted on his beliefs of building community
and acknowledging the past, for which he was persecuted, prosecuted
and eventually forced to pay the ultimate price. Clearly, however, his
life’s work was not in vain; at his funeral, approximately one hundred
thousand people marched behind his coffin, chanting, "We are all Dink.

We are all Armenians."

"Before Mr. Dink’s untimely death last January, the Turkish government
constantly tried to limit his freedom of speech. It confiscated copies
of Agos on many occasions and on the flimsiest of pretenses. In 2004,
Mr. Dink wrote an article stating that Turkey’s first woman pilot
was an Armenian orphan adopted after 1915. The government convicted
him of insulting "Turkishness" under Article 301 of the Penal Code,
a law specifically designed to prevent discussion of the Armenian
Genocide. He received a six-month suspended sentence. This was just
one of several such prosecutions against Mr. Dink.

"Mr. Dink’s courage to confront the historical facts of the Armenian
Genocide cost him his life. He continually received threatening
telephone calls, emails, and letters. He reported this terrorization
to the police, but they failed to protect him. On January 19, 2007
an extreme nationalist teenager shot Mr. Dink three times outside
the Agos offices in Istanbul, killing him. Court hearings continue,
but Mr. Dink’s family stated that the investigation of his murder
was conducted in secrecy and is incomplete.

"Turkish prosecutions under Article 301 increased in 2007 and continued
to affect Mr. Dink’s family. Arat Dink, his son, published an interview
in which Mr.

Dink said that the 1915 to 1917 Armenian massacres constituted
genocide. Last October Arat Dink received a one year suspended sentence
for publishing this interview. Punishing Mr. Dink’s son for publishing
his murdered father’s words is a travesty and exposes the lengths to
which Ankara will go to hide the truth about the Armenian Genocide.

"Mr. Dink’s death was devastating to the democratic principle of a
free and unfettered press and to the efforts of a handful of Turkish
intellectuals who have been fighting to expose the crimes of Turkey’s
Ottoman predecessor. Denying the Armenian Genocide harms Turkey and
imperils the future of this important nation. As the world marks the
anniversary of Dink’s murder I reiterate my call for Turkey to honor
the memory of Hrant Dink by repealing Article 301, and to acknowledge
the truth of the Armenian Genocide.

"Together with his family and colleagues, the Armenian community in
Turkey, and his admirers around the world, we remember Hrant Dink,
heroic defender of speech and human rights, on the one-year anniversary
of his murder."

PACE DELEGATION HEARTENED BY THE "CLEARLY EXPRESSED POLITICAL WILL" OF THE ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES, BUT IS CONCERNED WITH "THE APPARENT LACK OF TRUST IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS"

Mediamax
January 31, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. The Observation Mission of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) stated in Yerevan today
that "till now, the election campaign has taken place in an open and
unimpeded climate". At the same time, the Mission took into account
the statements of a number of candidates on the difficulties with
the rent of offices in a number of regions.

Mediamax reports that the PACE Observation Mission made a statement
today following the results of their visit to Armenia. The document
noted that the members of the Mission heard several complaints that
the candidates are in unequal conditions because of the decision
of the current Prime Minister to maintain his position during the
campaign period.

"While recognizing the legality of the current Prime Minister to
continue his function despite being a candidate, we add to the
responsibility of the government to avoid any perception that
administrative resources are abused in favor of, or against, any
particular candidate", the statement reads.

The PACE Mission expressed regret in connection with the "clearly
imbalanced media coverage on the most broadcast media, including public
television, before the official campaign period, as was reported
by several monitoring organizations, including by the Election
Observation Mission of the OSCE/ODIHR whose findings published in
its first interim report the delegation fully supports".

The PACE Delegation expressed its hope that the progress, shown over
the parliamentary elections in Armenia last year, will be continued
during the upcoming Presidential elections in 2008.

"We are heartened by the clearly expressed political will of the
authorities to address previous shortcomings and to hold fully
democratic elections in the line with Armenia’s commitments to the
Council of Europe", the statement reads.

At the same time, the PACE Delegation is concerned with "the apparent
lack of trust in the electoral process, including in the impartiality
of the legal complaints and appeals process, expressed by a number of
interlocutors". "Therefore, we strongly recommend that the authorities
take all necessary measures to ensure the public confidence in the
electoral process, especially with regard to the secrecy of the
vote and the transparency of the counting and tabulation processes",
the statement reads.

RA CEC CONTINUES ACCREDITATION OF OBSERVERS FOR FEBRUARY 19 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN ARMENIA

arminfo
2008-01-31 12:03:00

ArmInfo. The Central Election Committee of Armenia continues
accreditation of observers for the forthcoming February 19 presidential
election in Armenia.

As RA CE spokeswoman Tatev Ohanyan told ArmInfo, 7 985 observers
from 23 native public organizations, which carry out monitoring of
the election, have already been accredited. As for the international
observers, T. Ohanyan said that RA CEC accredited observers from 5
structures: the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (34
observers), OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, OSCE Bureau for Democratic
Institutes and Human Rights, the mission of CIS and the Council of
CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. However, it is difficult to give
the exact number of the accredited international observers as yet.

RA PRESIDENT RECEIVES AMBASSADORS OF EU MEMBER-COUNTRIES ACCREDITED IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Jan 30, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. At the January 30 meeting
with Ambassadors of EU member-countries accredited in Armenia, RA
President Robert Kocharian estimated Armenia’s cooperation with EU as
positive and said that the relations and contacts have become much
more systematized. He considered as too efficient his last visit to
Brussels, during which concrete cooperation programs were discussed.

Touching upon the forthcoming presidential elections, R. Kocharian
once more stressed the RA authorities’ political will to hold the
elections in line with the international standards. In his words,
the state structures have done their best in the organization respect
according to the schedule proceeding from the law.

According to the President’s Press Office, R. Kocharian gave
explanations on issues interesting the diplomats, which mainly
concerned the preelection process, the developments over the Nagorno
Karabakh settlement.

TURKISH RULING PARTY SLAMS US DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES’ STANCE ON ARMENIAN ISSUE

Anatolia News Agency
Jan 29 2008
Turkey

ANKARA (A.A) – 29.01.2008 – A statement from the media office of
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party condemned Tuesday
Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama, the presidential hopefuls of the
US Democrat party, over their shared pledge to recognize Armenian
allegations on the incidents of 1915.

"The Armenian issue, which has become a matter of history, is being
used as a tool to exert pressure on Turkey. We are strongly condemning
these unfair and unfounded statements, which were made to receive a
handful of additional votes," the statement said.

"The best response to the two presidential hopefuls would be to
express that writing the history is not the task of parliaments."