Author: Tadevosian Garnik

`Constriction and interior’ exhibition opened in Yerevan on may 8

YEREVAN, May 8. /ARKA/. The specialized exhibition `Constriction and
interior’ opened in Yerevan on May 8. The exhibition will last till May
10.

Forty local and foreign companies will present about 200 kinds of
products and services in construction, renovation, interior and
exterior design, said the Commercial Director of `Prom Expo’ company
Vahagn Mirijanian.

The visitors to the exhibition will get acquainted with the products
and services offered by the participating companies. The participants,
in turn, will be able to establish business contacts.

`People start understanding the importance of exhibitions and steps are
required to improve conditions for such events,’ Armenian Minister of
Economy Nerses Yeritsian said. `0–

Catholic News Agency, CO
May 7 2008

Prayer and the gifts of the Holy Spirit bring Christian unity, Pope
says

Vatican City, May 7, 2008 / 09:46 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict greeted His
Holiness Catholicos Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of
All Armenians, during his weekly general audience on Wednesday
morning. In his remarks, the Pope emphasized that ecumenical dialogue
is fuelled by the Holy Spirit and prayer.

"It is my great joy today to greet His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II,
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and the
distinguished delegation accompanying him. Your Holiness, I pray that
the light of the Holy Spirit will illumine your pilgrimage to the
tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, the important meetings you will
have here, and particularly our personal conversations. I ask all who
are present today to pray for God’s blessing upon this visit.’

The Holy Father also thanked Karekin II for his `personal commitment
to the growing friendship between the Armenian Apostolic Church and
the Catholic Church.’ Recalling the string of visits between John
Paul II and the patriarch, Pope Benedict said that, `I am sure that
this spirit of friendship will be further deepened during the coming
days.’

In an external niche of Saint Peter’s Basilica, there is a fine statue
of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, founder of the Armenian Church. It
serves to remind us of the severe persecutions suffered by Armenian
Christians, especially during the last century. Armenia’s many
martyrs are a sign of the power of the Holy Spirit working in times of
darkness, and a pledge of hope for Christians everywhere.

Your Holiness, dear Bishops and dear friends, together with you I
implore Almighty God, through the intercession of Saint Gregory the
Illuminator, to help us grow in unity, in one holy bond of Christian
faith, hope and love."

As the Church prepares to celebrate Pentecost, Benedict XVI said that
these days should `renew our hope in the help of the Holy Spirit to
advance along the path of ecumenism. We have the certainty that the
Lord Jesus never abandons us in our search for unity, because His
Spirit is tirelessly at work to support the efforts we make to
overcome all forms of division."

"Since the first moment of her existence the Church, thanks to the
power of the Holy Spirit, has spoken in all tongues and lived in all
cultures. She destroys nothing of their history and gifts, but assumes
them all in a great and new unity, which reconciles unity with the
multiplicity of forms. With its power, the Holy Spirit … unites
divided man in divine charity and thus creates … the great community
which is the Church in all the world."

While some may think of Pentecost as a one-time event in the life of
the Church, the Holy Father said, "the Church is always, so to say, in
a state of Pentecost. Gathered in the Cenacle, she prays incessantly
to obtain ever new effusions of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, … and
is not afraid to announce the Gospel to the furthest confines of the
earth. This is why, faced with difficulties and divisions, Christians
cannot resign themselves or give way to discouragement.

"This is what Christ asks of Christians: to persevere in prayer in
order to keep alive the flame of faith, hope and charity, and the
longing for full unity", the Pope encouraged. Referencing his speech
to ecumenical leaders at St. Joseph’s Church in New York, Benedict XVI
said that prayer is central to the ecumenical movement. `In this
period of globalization and, at the same time, of fragmentation,
‘without prayer ecumenical structures, institutions and programs would
be deprived of their heart and soul’," he said.

At the end of the audience, the Holy Father greeted pilgrims in
several languages. Among the English speaking pilgrims, he greeted
delegates taking part in the in the Annual Conference of the Canon Law
Society of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as pilgrims from Our
Lady of the Rosary Church in Qatar.

"Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims, especially those from
England, Scotland, Australia, India, Indonesia, Korea, Canada, Guam
and the United States, I cordially invoke Almighty God’s abundant
blessings of joy and peace."

w.php?n=12571

A1+

TIGRAN KARAPETIAN DOES NOT WORRY
[05:37 pm] 06 May, 2008

The date of licensing TV channels approaches.

According to the `Law on TV and Radio’ tenders for
granting license to different TV frequencies are to be
held in autumn. The tender for the frequency of TV
channel `ALM’ will be the first to be announced. Its
license expires in April 2009.

Tigran Karapetian, Director of `ALM’ Holding,
declares: `I have little hope we shall be able to
renew the license but I do not worry. Television is
not the only way to be in touch with people. I can go
to the countryside on foot and no one can hold me
back. TV is not the only means of communication.’

`I have nothing to worry about. TV channel `ALM’ is
not a financial source for me. My family and I will
not starve’, Tigran Karapetian informed `A1+’.

Panorama.am

15:46 06/05/2008

MBRD RUNS BANK IN ARMENIA

Moscow Bank for Reconstruction and Development
affirmed the project of running a bank in Armenia.
According to the MBRD managing director Sergey Zaycev,
in 2008 MBRD will dispose 570 million dollars to buy
banks.

`The sum is enough to run several projects in Russian
and CIS countries. And we are intended to start
activities in Belarus, Uzbekistan, Armenia where
`Systema’ AFK companies’ group positions are quite
stable,’ he said.

MBRD main stock holder is `Systema’ AFK which is in
the list of 50 world famous bank net.

Source: Panorama.am

OSCE OFFICIAL CALLS TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS FROM VIOLENCE

UzReport.com
May 2, 2008 Friday

Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media,
called on the OSCE participating States on 2 May to protect press
freedom by curbing violence against journalists and abolishing undue
restrictions on free speech and reporting.

"In the past year, we saw a deterioration in two crucial dimensions of
press freedom – the physical security of journalists, and the legal
protections of critical speech," Haraszti said ahead of World Press
Freedom Day on 3 May.

Haraszti said he was alarmed that violence targeting journalists
in several OSCE countries was rising, and that such actions were
conducted with impunity which he said had resulted in "censorship
by violence". He called on governments to get tougher on those who
intimidate journalists.

"In revenge for critical coverage, or because of attempts to prevent
it, journalists have suffered physical violence ranging from beatings
to murders in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia,
Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia," he said.

"Violence against journalists is not ‘crime as usual’ because it is
meant to undermine a basic institution of democracy – the free press.

"Those who issue fatwas calling for murder of journalists and artists,
and those who contract murders of reporters should belong to the same
category of offenders. Both pursue the same goal: silencing the press
by violence."

He also called on governments to protect the safety of journalists
by effectively assisting them as they cover demonstrations, including
unsanctioned ones.

Arbitrary, politically motivated restrictions on dissenting or
offensive speech also endanger media freedom, Haraszti said.

"They range from labelling as ‘extremist’ the reporting, debates,
or criticism on controversial issues – which we have seen in
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Tajikistan –
to criminalization of historical or religious disputes, which we have
witnessed in Azerbaijan, Switzerland and Turkey."

"This is in addition to the criminalization of ‘defamation’ and
‘breach of secrecy’, which still continues to harm professional
journalism in many countries," he said.

Haraszti urged governments to abstain from arbitrary restrictions on
discourse in society.

"All tailor-made criminalization of speech content must be
abolished. This includes the special bans on historical debates,
as well as blasphemy. Anti-terrorism and extremism laws must not be
used to punish offensive or critical speech," said Haraszti.

"Actual incitement to criminal actions should be punished, but
broad protection must be granted to political speech, to the right
to discuss, dissent, and even deride, all of which are crucial in
democratic societies."

Imagine Cup Software Design Interoperability Award To Take Place On 5 May

2008-05-04 12:31:00

ArmInfo. Imagine Cup Software Design Interoperability Award will take
place at Tigran Mets hall of Armenia-Marriott Hotel on 5 May.

The event organizers are Micrsoft Armenia, Enterprise Incubator
Foundation (EIF), and the Competitive Armenian Private Sector Proejct
(CAPS) program of assistance funded by USAID. This year’s theme of the
competition was "Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable
environment." For the first time this year the Armenian regions were
also involved into the event. As a result, 5 of the 9 developer teams
entered the final. Three best teams will be announced at the ceremony.

The winner will get an opportunity to represent Armenia at Imagine Cup
international competition in Paris in summer.

Representatives of the Armenian Government, the local and international
IT-sector, and rectors of local universities will participate in the
awarding ceremony.

Iran warns against violation of its right to civilian nuclear energy

16:58 | 03/ 05/ 2008

TEHRAN, May 3 (RIA Novosti) – Iran’s foreign minister called on
Saturday on the six countries mediating in the Iranian nuclear problem
issue to avoid violating Tehran’s right to civilian nuclear energy.

"At [our] recent meeting in Kuwait with U.K. Foreign Secretary David
Miliband, he told me the Iran Six intends to send us a letter [with
proposals to settle the Iranian nuclear problem] after the May 2 London
meeting," Manouchehr Mottaki told journalists.

"I told him in response: you know very well which word is forbidden in
Iran. Be careful in your proposals to avoid crossing the forbidden
line," he said without specifying what he meant.

Local observers say Mottaki meant to say that "suspension" by Iran of
uranium enrichment was that "forbidden word", so he made it clear that
Tehran will reject any initiatives if they contain a demand for Iranian
authorities to impose a moratorium on enrichment.

Mottaki also said Iran will soon familiarize all interested sides with
its own "package of proposals" to resolve international problems.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday new sanctions
against Iran had not been discussed at the regular round of six-nation
talks on Iran’s controversial nuclear program in London on Friday.

"There was no talk about new sanctions, although our American
colleagues believe that pressure on Iran should be preserved," he told
journalists.

Miliband said Friday the world powers engaged in the long-running
dispute with Iran have agreed to make a new proposal of incentives to
Tehran to halt its nuclear programs.

The U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany proposed to Tehran
in June 2006 cooperation in civilian nuclear technology, trade and
other spheres in a bid to persuade Tehran to give up uranium enrichment
and resume talks with the Iran Six group of negotiators.

"I am glad to say that we have got agreement on an offer that will be
made to the government of Iran," Miliband said.

The Western nations suspect Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons
under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Tehran insists in needs
uranium enrichment technology to generate electricity.

The Islamic Republic has rejected the 2006 incentives. It has also
defied three rounds of relatively mild UN Security Council sanctions
imposed over its refusal to halt nuclear-related activities.

Miliband did not reveal details of the new offer, but said it
symbolized a new approach to Iran, adding that the rights sought by
Iran "need to be accompanied by a clear set of responsibilities."

He also said the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany
continued to insist that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment, the
technology that posed a serious security threat to the region.

69-23 47th Ave.

Woodside, NY 11377
(718) 651-1530
April 29, 2008
For Immediate Release

New York AYF Commemorates April 24 with Month-Long Activities

NEW YORK – April as a month of remembrance and a call to action was the theme
for the New York Hyortiks this year as they approached Armenian Genocide
commemorations. The chapter organized various activities and carried out
several projects throughout April to lead the community in a continuous
remembrance.

Early in April the chapter’s educational committee organized two
consecutive screenings of movies with Armenian Genocide-related
themes. On April 13 the Hyortiks showed *Back to Ararat* at St. Sarkis
Armenian Apostolic Church after services. The following week on April
20 they showed *Genocide in Me*to an audience at St. Illuminator’s
Armenian Apostolic Cathedral. Community members were engaged with the
films and issues they brought up regarding Genocide recognition,
different ways of commemorating, and the concept of "never
forgetting."

In conjunction with the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New York
the Hyortiks also put together general "April is Genocide Remembrance
Month" posters that gave a brief description of the Genocide and why
certain businesses might be closed on April 24. The posters – that
were hung outside local Armenian churches and a few Armenian
businesses in Manhattan – targeted those passing by the buildings,
educating them on this issue.

On the day of April 24 members hit the streets and passed out flyers in
Manhattan’s jewelry district. The flyers called for the United States to
"end the gag rule," referring to Turkish pressure on the US when it comes to
the Armenian Genocide. In the afternoon some members attended a
commemorative service and lunch at St. Vartan Cathedral in Manhattan.
Finally that evening, the chapter helped set the solemn mood for a memorial
service at St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church. Members decorated the
stairs leading up to the church with small candles and posters remembering
the Genocide. After the service junior and senior members led attendees in
singing "Adanayin Voghpuh."

The following evening the Hyortiks volunteered at the welcome table of the
annual City Hall Event sponsored by the ANC of New York. As in years past
the chapter presented a speech on behalf of the organization during the
program. This year’s comments highlighted the theme of freedom and human
rights. Presented by Hyortik executive member Maria Nercessian, the speech
discussed freedom as an essential component of humanity. "Nintey-three years
ago, Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire had all of their freedoms taken
away, the freedom to laugh, to sing, to think, and to live freely as
Armenians. What makes these individuals different from those suffering here
and now and to those, for example, in Darfur who are constantly enduring
such pain on a daily basis? Nothing. We are all humans," said Nercessian.
She ended her presentation with remarks in Armenian, quoting from Mikael
Nalbantian’s poem "Yerk Azadoutyan" that touched upon the human desire for
freedom.

On April 26 the AYF Central Hai Tahd Council led many in the region on the
March for Justice. Drawing in people from New York, New Jersey, Boston,
Providence, and Philadelphia, the march led the group from St. Illuminator’s
Armenian Apostolic Cathedral to the UN xx Plaza where they rallied for
justice for the Armenian Genocide. That day New York AYFers came out early
to help set up for the event, run the technical aspect and support CHTC’s
leadership on the protest. Flyer-ing the community weeks before the event,
the Hyortiks brought out local community members to the march. Staying until
the very end to clean up, New York’s AYFers helped CHTC pack up and return
to the Armenian Center in Woodside, N.Y.

Finally the Hyortiks participated in an Armenian youth and student movement
to help out at the annual Times Square Rally as an organized and unified
body. Together with youth from various local organizations, AYF members
assisted at the event by passing out t-shirts; bringing and handing out
placards to attendees; distributing booklets to passers-by; and cleaning up
at the end. After the event the Hyortiks joined fellow youth at a small
gathering held at St. Vartan Cathedral where they mingled and discussed
various issues in the Armenian community.

"I think it was important for the Hyortiks to host and participate in
Genocide commemoration events throughout the month of April in order to show
the world that all Armenian youth have not forgotten our martyrs, our Cause.
We will keep protesting and marching until Turkey admits the crimes it has
committed against our ancestors," said Hyortik member Arousiag Markarian. **

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

CityHallHyortiks: Some New York AYF members with ANC Eastern Region Director
Karine Birazian at the annual City Hall Commemoration sponsored by the ANC
of New York

March for Justice1: On April 26, New York AYFers came out early to help set
up and helped out all day for the March for Justice held by the AYF Central
Hai Tahd Council

St Sarkis Candle Lighting: New York AYF members decorated the stairs leading
up to the St. Sarkis Armenian Church with small candles and posters
remembering the Armenian Genocide

Times Square AYF: Together with youth from various local organizations, AYF
members assisted at the annual Times Square Rally by passing out t-shirts;
bringing and handing out placards to attendees; distributing booklets to
passers-by; and cleaning up at the end

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE OF PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN ON THE OCCASION OF LABOR DAY

armradio.am
01.05.2008 13:26

Dear Compatriots,

I congratulate you on the occasion of Labor Day.

May 1 is traditionally celebrated as the day of all working
people. Respect toward work and working people has always been held
high In Armenia. This is the holiday of those who by their diligent,
day-by-day work contribute to the advancement of our country and
development of the Armenian economy.

We realize that the Armenian workers anticipate that the new
authorities will solve the issues of new jobs, improvement of the
job market, regulation of the legal base of work, and increase of
wages. All these issues are in the center of our attention, and all
these issues are solvable.

Once again congratulating all of us with the Labor Day, I wish you
peaceful and creative work for the well being of your families and
our country.

5TH HEARING IN DINK CASE WILL BE HELD JULY 7

armradio.am
30.04.2008 12:53

The fifth hearing in the trial of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink was held at Istanbul’s 14th Court for Serious Crimes in
BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ district. The next hearing will be held July 7. In
the case, in which 19 suspects are standing trial, the court
heard the testimonies of Ä°rfan Ozkan and Numan Å~^iÅ~_man, whose
questioning could not be completed before. The two suspects repeated
the testimonies that they gave to security forces in the Black Sea
city of Trabzon, where all the suspects are from, and said they had
seen two hand guns in police informer and one of the inciters of the
murder, Erhan Tuncel’s house.

Another suspect Å~^enol Akduman, who was set to be questioned
yesterday, did not attend the hearing because he is completing his
military service.

The 19th suspect in the trial, inciter Yasin Hayal’s brother-in-law,
CoÅ~_kun Igci, attended the hearing, however Dink’s lawyers could not
cross-question him because Igci did not have a lawyer present. Igci
at the hearing of two gendarmerie soldiers who were standing trial
for neglect of duty in Trabzon said in his statement that he had
performed his duty and informed the gendarmerie about Hayal’s plan
to murder Dink.

Speaking at the hearing Hayal said, "I hate and feel disgust at
Hrant." Upon this statement, one of Dink’s lawyers asked Hayal whether
he had known Dink before he bombed a McDonald’s restaurant in Trabzon,
said one of Dink’s lawyers, who wished to remain anonymous. Hayal
said he did not know Dink before the event. So the lawyer asked if
there was any relation between his hatred and disgust at Dink and
the then visit of retired army member Veli Kucuk and the Istanbul
president of an ultra-nationalist association, Levent Temiz, when he
was in prison. Following this question Hayal is said to have panicked
and shouted at the lawyer: "You are lying, you are lying."

Dink’s lawyers also filed a complaint against Hayal’s lawyer Fuat
Turgut under Article 214 of the Turkish penal code, for inciting one
person against another, due to his hate-filled speeches against Nobel
Prize-winning writer Orhan Pamuk.

Dink’s lawyers have requested the presence of more than 10 witnesses to
provide testimony in the next hearing. One of Dink’s lawyers, Fethiye
Cetin, said the hearing will be open to members of the press since O.S.

will no longer be a minor as of June 28, teh Turkish Daily News
reported.

–Boundary_(ID_sbWYtyqC2u812ZEoAxs N9A)–