Author: Tamamian Anna

FRANCE: PROFANATION OF THE ARMENIAN MEMORIAL OF LYON

Jean Eckian
21-08-2007
Paris

For th third time since its inauguration on April 24, 2006, the
Memorial of the Armenian Genocide of Lyon was profaned by graffiti,
probably of Turkish origin.

Last week, the association of the Memorial of Lyon (MLGA), under in
the chair of Jules Mardirossian, noted the degradation of an stele,
on a total of 36, posting the inscriptions of the name of cities of
the South of France (Saint-RaphaÃ"l, Perrache…), signed "Turke,
political refugees".

Following this intolerable stain of the Armenian memory, a complaint
was deposited to the Police station of Lyon and Co-ordination Council
of Armenian Organisation of France requires that the profaners required
and be condemned for this odious crime. Also, the CCAF calls the
French Senate has to confirm as of the next parliamentary session,
the text voted on October 12, 2006 by the French National Assembly,
aiming at sanctioning the acts and matter negationnists.

At the time of the preceding profanation of the Memorial of Lyon
(April 2006), Nicolas Sarkozy, Minister of Interior, firmly had
condemned the authors and had assured "of his whole solidarity to
the Armenian community".

–Boundary_(ID_RKfCb0Q87Amwin9hg T23Ug)–

OBITUARY – EDWARD ISABEKIAN

AZG Armenian Daily #149
21/08/2007

Culture, Social

Another classic, Eduard Isabekian, People’s Artist of Armenia, passed
away at the age of 93 in his house in Ashtarak. He is considered to be
one of the best masters of monumental art in Armenia, a great master
of epic composition and portrait.

Isabekian was born in Igdir, on November 8, 1914. In 1941 he graduated
from the Fine Art Academy of Tbilisi. Since 1941 to 2005, including
the last exhibition held at RA National Picture Gallery, Isabekian
participated in numerous exhibitions. His pieces are exhibited in
many galleries both in Armenia and abroad, as well as in private
collections. In the course of the last few years, he had to give up
painting because of the loss of eye-sight, but he became an interesting
story-teller and interlocutor.

In 1967-86 he used to be the head of the National Picture Gallery
of Armenia. He was one of the founders of the Yerevan State Fine
Art Academy, he was one of its professors, as well as RA People’s
Artists, laureate of RA State Prize, Knight of "Mesrop Mashtots"
and Vahan Tekeyan Union’s "Ararat" medals.

He also received the title of Yerevan’s Honoured Citizend. The artists
also wrote the story of his hometown Igdir, a book entitled "Igdir."

The staff of "Azg" daily newspaper expresses condolences to the son
of the great artist professor Aram Isabekian.

IRAN’S PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD: OUTSIDERS CAN’T HURT TIES WITH TURKEY

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 21 2007

Iran is keen to further improve its relations with neighboring Turkey
and no outsider can harm the flourishing ties, Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday after a meeting with visiting
Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler.

Ahmadinejad told Guler at the meeting that he was happy to see that
Turkey is developing in all fields and that Iran and Turkey would
deepen cooperation in energy, according to a statement from the press
office of the Iranian Presidency.

Ahmadinejad’s remarks apparently targeted the United States, which
raised objections when Turkey and Iran signed a preliminary deal
last month to use Iran as a transit route for Turkmen gas and agreed
to develop Iran’s South Pars gas field to facilitate the transport
of gas on to Europe. Contrary to expectations, the two countries
did not sign the agreement during Guler’s two-day visit to Tehran,
but Guler said officials of the two countries have made progress in
detailing the primary deal signed in Ankara.

"We made progress on this issue during our meetings. We had some
talks concerning service agreements on [gas] wells. Our meetings will
continue," Guler told the Anatolia news agency before departing for
Turkey. Turkey and Iran agreed on increasing capacities of existing
transmission lines between the two countries and discussed building
three natural gas fired-plants in Turkey and Iran during the latest
talks, he said.

"Our meetings were extremely productive. We signed a memorandum of
understanding [MoU] on electricity. Our talks on other issues are
also continuing," Guler was quoted as saying, as he referred to a MoU
signed during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Parviz Fattah,
on Sunday. The Iranian Energy Ministry announced on Monday that a
second MoU, in addition to the one signed in May in Ankara concerning
cooperation in electricity field, was signed during talks with Guler
and Fattah. At the time, Turkey and Iran had reached an agreement in
principle over dam and power station construction and electricity
trade. The two countries had agreed then that Iran would sell six
billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year.

This time the two countries also agreed on strengthening existing
transmission lines between the two countries via new investments, on
building three thermal power plants on Turkish and Iranian soil close
to the border between the two and on paving the way for investment
by the Turkish private sector in order to build dams on Iranian soil.

Iranian media elaborated on details of a meeting between Guler and
Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari on Sunday and said
that exporting 35 billion cubic meters of refined gas and building a
new pipeline between Iran and Turkey are part of the new agreements
made between the two.

"We agreed to found a joint company to build Iran-Turkey and
Turkey-Europe pipelines. We also agreed to transit Iran’s gas to
Europe via Turkey and Turkmenistan’s gas to Turkey via Iran," Nozari
was quoted as saying by the Iranian news wires.

In addition to Ahmadinejad, Guler held talks with Iranian Foreign
Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday.

Guler’s visit to Tehran came in defiance of strongly worded objection
by the US, Turkey’s NATO ally, to cooperation with Iran in the energy
field. Following the signing of the MoU late last month, when Turkey
agreed to use Iran as a transit route for Turkmen gas and agreed to
develop Iran’s South Pars gas field to facilitate the transport of
gas on to Europe, Washington soon voiced its opposition to the MoU,
with US Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson stating an expectation that
Ankara would take US concerns into consideration as it moved ahead
on the deal, which remains at the MoU level.

Meanwhile, a report by the private NTV news channel linked absence
of a final agreement to objection by the Turkish Foreign Ministry
who opposed to its signing saying that this would damage relations
with the US.

The Foreign Ministry has been concerned that such an agreement could
facilitate adoption of two separate resolutions that are pending in the
US Senate and the House of Representatives, urging the administration
to recognize the World War I-era killings of Anatolian Armenians as
genocide. While Foreign Ministry officials were not available for
comment on the issue as of Monday, US Embassy officials in Ankara
told Today’s Zaman that they had "nothing to add to earlier comments"
on Turkish-Iranian energy cooperation.

———————————— ——————————————–
Iran shells PEJAK targets in northern Iraq Iranian military continued
the shelling of northern Iraq for a fourth day yesterday as Tehran
steps up the fight against an outlawed group, PEJAK, linked to the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), news reports said.

The intermittent shelling by the Iranian military had destroyed farms
and killed livestock in Iraq’s mountainous northeast, villagers living
near the Kandil Mountains — where the PKK and its offshoot the PEJAK
have camps — told Reuters on Monday. Some, they said, were hiding in
caves while others fled. Local officials and the Ministry of Peshmerga
Affairs in Iraq’s largely autonomous Kurdish region said on Saturday
that two women had been hurt in the shelling across a front of about
50 kilometers. There has so far been no comment so far from Tehran
or Baghdad about the shelling. Cross-border fighting occasionally
occurs as Iraq’s neighbors, Turkey and Iran, combat PKK and PEJAK
terrorists operating from bases in Iraq’s mountainous and remote
north and northeast.

IN JANUARY-JULY OF 2007 ARMENIA’S GDP GREW BY 12,1%

Mediamax
Aug 20 2007
Armenia

Yerevan, August 20 /Mediamax/. The growth of Armenia’s GDP in
January-July of 2007 totaled 12,1%, as compared to the same period
of 2006.

As the press service of the National Statistical Service of Armenia
told Mediamax today, the GDP volume in January-July of 2007 totaled
1287363.0mln drams.

The volume of industrial production in the republic in January-July
of 2007 stood at 388117.0mln drams, having increased by 1.3%, as
compared to the same period of 2006.

The average monthly salary in Armenia in January-July of 2007
increased by 19.8%, as compared to the same period of 2006, thus
making 72249 drams.

The salary of budget organizations has increased by 21.7%, making
53230 drams during the accounting period, and the salary of non-budget
organizations stood at 90170 drams (growth – 19.4%).

JENAM-2007 ASTROLOGICAL CONFERENCE KICKS OFF

Panorama.am
17:28 20/08/2007

JENAM-2007 conference of European and National Astrological Unions
has kicked of in Yerevan today.

Armenian Astrological Union Deputy Chairman Areg Michaelyan said
the event is "unprecedented." "Novosty Armenia" agency reports
say more than 300 scientists from 37 countries of the world
participate, including from USA, Canada, Japan, Brazil, India and
other countries. In the words of organizational committee member Areg
Michaelyan, the event must foster astrophysics as well as expand links
among young scientists and attract the attention of the scientific
world to Armenia. Under the slogan of "Our unstable universe" six
sessions and eight scientific meetings will be organization around
the most modern issues during the conference. JENAM-2007 will continue
until August 25.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY
Aug 19 2007

Pressure mounts on ADL

Published: 08/19/2007

The Anti-Defamation League is under mounting pressure over its
refusal to recognize the World War I massacres of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks as genocide. Andrew Tarsy, head of the ADL’s New
England office, was fired Friday after he publicly broke ranks with
the organization over the issue, the Boston Globe reported. On
Saturday, Boston Jewish Community Relations Council came to Tarsy’s
defense, issuing a statement of support and reiterating an earlier
position that the massacres constitute a genocide. `In light of the
current controversy between the ADL and the Armenian community, we
stand by that statement and applaud the N.E. Regional chapter of ADL
and its Director, Andrew Tarsy, for their bold and unprecedented
action of standing up to their National body,’ the JCRC said. `We
stand with them and in support of the local Armenian community which
has always recognized the Holocaust and been with us each and every
year to commemorate it.’ The ADL has been under fire since the
Armenian community in Watertown, Mass., one of the country’s largest,
began agitating to have the town rescind its participation in a
popular anti-bigotry program the ADL sponsors. On Tuesday, the Town
Council unanimously voted to end its relationship with No Place for
Hate and other Massachusetts communities are reported to be
considering similar moves. Tarsy initially defended the ADL, which
asserts that it doesn’t deny the genocide and that the matter should
be left to historians. But on Friday, Tarsy reversed himself in an
interview with the Globe. "I strongly disagree with ADL’s national
position," Tarsy said. "It’s my strong hope that we’ll be able to
move forward in a relationship with the Armenian community and the
community in general." The ADL responded with a statement, due to be
published as an advertisement in regional newspapers this week,
reiterating its opposition to an effort, vigorously opposed by
Turkey, to have Congress pronounce on the issue. "We believe that
legislative efforts outside of Turkey are counterproductive to the
goal of having Turkey itself come to grips with its past," the
statement said. "We take no position on what action Congress should
take on House Resolution 106."

html

LABOR MARKET INFLUENCE ON EDUCATION SYSTEM VISIBLE IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency
Aug 17 2007
Armenia

YEREVAN, August 17. /ARKA/. Labor market influence on education system
is seen in Armenia, Armenian Education Minister Levon Lazarian said
Friday at a press conference.

He said that some specialties have taken a high profile in the country
and pointed out quite high competition for student vacancies in
Armenian leading universities’ certain faculties as evidence of that.

The minister singled out radio physics in Yerevan State University
and Armenian State Engineering University as a specialty attracting
entrants.

"The same applies to energy specialties in Armenian State Engineering
University", he said adding that few applied for them last year.

According to the information placed on education ministry’s internet
site, 79 entrants aspired to 45 vacancies in Yerevan State University’s
radio physics and electronics faculty and 180 and 159 to Armenian
State Engineering University’s radio and communications and energy
faculties’ 55 and 60 vacancies in 2007.

According to the information, 25719 entrance exams were held in 2007
in Armenia.

24423 entrants passed the exams.

The highest points – 18 to 20 – were scored by 4801 entrants and the
lowest admissible points were 8. 2417 entrants failed to enroll in
the universities.

PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:

August 14, 2007

Hovannisian and Heritage Take Message to Town and Village

Talin–Raffi Hovannisian and the Heritage Party’s volunteer corps,
composed mainly of young activists from the capital and the 15th
electoral district, today completed their first round of parliamentary
campaign visits to all 84 precincts of the constituency. Traveling
between the city of Talin and 80 villages from the remote highlands of
Mt. Aragats to the riverside of the Arax and Akhurian, they presented
their program for a new model of democratic representation in the
National Assembly, including public accountability and the rule of law
throughout the land, establishment of higher education for the region,
economic and agricultural development opportunities for all citizens,
and other priority issues such as irrigation and water resource
distribution, gas supply, and roads and infrastructure.

The Heritage campaign will continue with town-hall and village-square
meetings, with the intent of better understanding local viewpoints,
problems and solutions, until election day on August 26. Raffi
Hovannisian and five other candidates are vying for the vacant mandate
from the 15th district.

Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the land.
Its central office is located at 31 Moscovian Street, Yerevan 0002,
Armenia, with telephone contact at (374-10) 536.913, fax at (374-10)
532.697, email at [email protected] or [email protected], and website
at

Violence in Jerusalem’s Old City Kills 1

Friday August 10, 2007 3:46 PM

By ARON HELLER

Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM (AP) – A man grabbed a pistol from an Israeli security guard
in Jerusalem’s Old City and shot him on Friday, but was shot dead by
another guard as he tried to flee, Israeli police said.

Rescue teams reported that nine other people were wounded in the melee.

The assailant wrested the weapon from the guard in the Old City’s
Christian Quarter, shot him in the shoulder and fled, police and rescue
services said. Police said the identity of the assailant remained
known. Police described the dead man as “Arab-looking” and between
the ages of 18-20, but that he carried no identification.

After the shooting, another guard ran after him, and the two briefly
exchanged fire before the assailant was killed, police spokesman Shmuel
Ben-Ruby said. Nine bystanders were wounded by the gunfire and
shrapnel, one seriously and the rest lightly, according to rescue
services. Among the wounded were Jews, Christians and Armenians, police
said. It was not clear if any of the wounded were tourists.

The Israeli government employs the security guards to protect Jewish
families and students who live in the Old City.

The Old City of Jerusalem is home to people of all faiths and is
divided into four quarters: Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian. It
is also popular with tourists and pilgrims from around the world.

The shooting took place in a touristy alleyway in the Christian quarter
near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where tradition says Jesus was
stripped, crucified, and finally laid to rest before being resurrected
on Easter Sunday.

Despite tensions, attacks in the Old City are rare.

The last attack took place exactly one year ago to the day, when an
Italian tourist was stabbed to death by a Palestinian with ties to the
Islamic Jihad militant group.

Organized tours of the Old City were not interrupted by the shooting
but some of those who neared the bloodstained road expressed concern.

“All the tourists told me, ‘We are worried, we are afraid, take us
back to the hotel,”’ said Shmulik Shamir, an Israeli tour guide.

15 THOUSAND DOLLARS ALLOCATED TO SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM IN ARTSAKH THANKS TO CANADIAN ARMENIAN CYCLIST MASIS KESHISHIAN

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Aug 09 2007

MONTREAL, AUGUST 9, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The "Hayastan"
All-Armenian Fund Toronto branch is currently building a new school
in Artsakh to be named after Baroness Caroline Cox, the speaker the
House of Lords of the British parliament. With the aim of making his
contribution to this school building program, the young cyclist Masis
Keshishian, a descendant of the Keshishian family (formerly residing
in Istanbul) set out on his bicycle early July 29 from the yard of
Toronto’s Trinity Armenian Church, with the blessing of priests and
to the applause of those present.

Toronto correspondent of "Marmara" daily reported that by passing
100 km a day, Masis Keshishian, went along a 600-km road and reached
Montreal’s St Gregory the Illuminator Church late August 3 where he
was met by Bishop Bagrat Galstian, the chairman of the "Hayastan"
All-Armenian Fund Montreal branch Andranik Shirinian, and numerous
supporters.

15 thousand dollars raised thanks to this donation will be allocated
for the school construction program in Artsakh.