Author: Toneyan Mark

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 21 2005
WE MUST STRENGTHEN OUR STATE: ARMENIAN PREMIER
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. Today we do not have to discuss
whether we need independence or not, stated RA Premier Andranik
Margaryan, who visited the Yerablur memorial complex on the occasion
of the 14th anniversary of Armenia’s Independence. “We must be able
to strengthen our state in the future, ensure its stability and
security,” he said. Margaryan added that social problems need first
of all to be resolved, and conditions for the return of emigrants
should be created, “for them to be able to participate in building up
a free state with us.”
In his turn, RA Minister of Defense Serge Sargsyan said that the most
important achievement of independence is the right to free life. On
the other hand, “we too late started dealing with social problems of
the guys that sacrificed their lives and health for independence.”
President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Arkady Ghukasyan
said that “independence is a military, moral, economic, and political
victory.” “Without Armenia’s independence, Karabakh’s independence
would not exist. When we speak of Armenia’s independence, we mean
independence of the entire Armenia people,” he said. P.T. -0–

Pan Armenian News
MARGARYAN AND RULER OF SHARJAH DISCUSSED ESTABLISHMENT OF UAE EMBASSY IN
ARMENIA
21.09.2005 04:28
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ September 20 Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan
met with Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member
and Ruler of Sharjah and the delegation headed by him, RA government’s press
office reported. During the meeting the parties expressed satisfaction with
the level of the relations established between Armenia and the Arabian
countries including the UAE, signing of agreements on cooperation in various
fields and beneficial cooperation within international structures. The
parties also stressed that the friendship between the two peoples
contributes to the bilateral cooperation and development of cultural and
trade ties. Andranik Margaryan noted the balanced UAE policy pursued both in
the region and at international level. The interlocutors also touched upon
the economic cooperation. Andranik Margaryan voiced assurance that the visit
of the Ruler of Sharjah and the Days of Arab Culture held in Armenia will
convey an impulse to the development of relations between the RA and UAE,
strengthening of cultural and scientific ties. The Armenian Premier noted
the importance of opening the Arab Cultural Center in Armenia and thanked
Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi for the readiness to partly finance
the project. He also expressed gratitude for granting a ground area in 1995
for the construction of the Armenian Church which the only in the Emirates
to date. Andranik Margaryan expressed hope that in the near future the UAE
will establish an embassy in Armenia. To note, the Armenian party has
already granted a territory for its construction.

KINGS AND LEGENDS OF ANCIENT PERSIA;
by Souren Melikian
The International Herald Tribune
September 17, 2005 Saturday
Persepolis survived in Iranian psyche
LONDON
It was a great idea to devote an exhibition to the first classical
age of one of the three oldest cultures in the world, Iran.
“Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia,” at the British
Museum, focuses on the Achaemenid period (557-333 B.C.). It should
not be missed, but it is marred by curious flaws.
The Achaemenid Empire came into existence when the first Iranian
emperor documented in history, Kurush (later known to the Romans
as Cyrus), ascended the throne around 557 B.C. For the first time,
all Iranian groups, the Medes in the northwest, the Persians in the
center and south, the Sogdians in the northeast and the Scythians,
right up to the Sir Darya, which flows through present-day Uzbekistan,
were united under one rule.
But the empire soon extended far beyond Iranian territory. Assyria,
which had waged war against the Medians, was included in it. So were
Armenia, which had recently arisen in ancient Urartu (now mostly
in eastern Turkey), Lydia and other territories. By the late sixth
century B.C. the entire Middle East was under Achaemenid control,
up to the Mediterranean shores.
It would take the world-conquering fury of Alexander to break up the
empire in 333 and burn down its jewel, the huge royal palace-shrine
called by the Greeks Persepolis, “the Persian City.”
The mark left by the empire in Iranian culture remained indelible.
The memory of Persepolis continued to resonate through time in
the collective Iranian psyche long after its ancient name had been
forgotten it is called today Takht-e Jamshid, “The Throne of Jamshid,”
after a legendary king.
Iranian poets writing in Islamic times lamented its ruins. Solemn
visits were made to the site by kings who left calligraphic
inscriptions recording their presence down to the late 19th century.
This was not just the result of curiosity. As Sufi mysticism, long
confined to closed circles, spread across Iranian society from the
13th century on, the visits took a mystical turn.
The most extraordinary pilgrimage of all was organized in 1476 when
Sultan Khalil and his troops, accompanied by religious leaders, went to
Persepolis and spent an entire day gazing at the bas-reliefs. The great
Sufi master Jalal ad-Din Davani recounts in a work titled Arz Name
(“The Military Review Book”) the visions experienced by the sultan,
who saw the standing figures coming out of the stone walls and going
back into place.
The ruler’s son Ali, a child prodigy who was a calligrapher, engraved
a poem made up from verses by the 12th-century Sufi poet Nezami. The
visit and the poem made a lasting impression in Iran. In 1606, the
author of a treatise on calligraphy and painting “The Rose Garden of
Art” cited it and reproduced it. The verses can be seen to this day.
I photographed and published them in 1971 in an essay on Islamic
period pilgrimages to Achaemenid sites in the journal Le Monde Iranien
et l’Islam.
The entire Achaemenid age continued to evoke echoes, however imprecise,
in the collective memory of Iran in a way that has no equivalent in
other cultures. Its precise history became lost, but the names of
one ruler, Daraya-vahush (Darius I in Latinized form, 522-486 B.C.),
shortened to Dara, and of his father, Vishtaspa (Hystaspes in Latin),
changed to Goshtasp, are easily recognized in the “Book of Kings”
versified in the 10th century.
In the 15th century, Davani still observed that royal gatherings once
took place at Persepolis on new year’s day.
Mystery surrounds the destination of the huge palatial structure
with walls carved with processions of guards and laymen bringing wine
vessels or driving animals. Debate still rages among scholars as to
the exact nature of the Achaemenid kings’ religious beliefs and the
meaning of many symbols, including the mythical creatures that loom
large at Persepolis, eludes us. Alexander’s troops destroyed the
palace in 330 B.C., and anything that might have shed light on it.
Even reduced to rubble and bereft of their meaning, the remains
profoundly impressed the Iranians. They continued to perceive the
Achaemenid period as a golden age. From its very beginnings, the
Sasanian dynasty, which ruled Iran from 224 to 651, made attempts
at revivalism. At Naqsh-e Rostam, near Persepolis, the Sasanian rock
reliefs are carved under the Achaemenid reliefs. Some of the characters
have a closely resembling smile, barely suggested. The lips are closed,
the eyes stare as if in ecstasy.
The reasons for this admiration are fairly obvious to anyone
strolling through Persepolis. The plaster casts that take up much
of the exhibition space fail to convey the grandeur of the setting,
the mastery of space and the rhythm of the figures. A few sculptural
fragments do not re-create the effect of bas-reliefs as a whole.
The figure of a charioteer who stands holding the reins of the
two horses that pull his vehicle is remarkable. But the fragment
“obtained at Persepolis by Sir Gore Ouseley” in 1811 would look
better if the front part of the two horses, given by him to his son,
had not turned up many decades later at auction. The Miho Museum in
Japan bought them in 1985. Instead of reuniting the two fragments,
the exhibition organizers supplied a plaster cast of the Miho piece,
which does not help much.
Another fragment retains the bust of a camel driver ripped off the
north staircase of the Apadana. This was purchased by the British
Museum in 1894, when the monument was quarried by passing European
travelers.
Not a great deal of Achaemenid sculpture in the round survives. A
small lapis lazuli head of a king dug up at Persepolis in 1946
is on loan from the National Museum in Tehran. It is one of those
rare masterpieces that justify a visit on their own. The smile of
certainty that illuminates the face, as serene as it is mysterious,
is not easily forgotten.
The foreparts of a lion also carved out of lapis lazuli again gives
in miniature size some idea of the greatness of animal sculpture in
the round that reached an apex in the sixth century B.C. So do three
lions cast in bronze in a larger size to serve as a pedestal.
It would have been desirable to include as an introduction some of the
beakers and cups in gold and silver from the 10th and 9th centuries
B.C. recovered at Marlik or perhaps some copper vessels worked in
repousse from northern and western Iran in the eighth and seventh
centuries B.C. All show examples of low-relief animal sculpture that
would help to understand the blossoming of the Achaemenid age.
One of the greatest and most original aspects of Achaemenid art
is represented by gold, silver or bronze vessels. The exhibition
selection is uneven and disparate. Only one of the so-called rhytons,
or vertical beakers linking up at an angle with the foreparts of
an animal, real or mythical, to serve as a pouring vessel, rates as
a true masterpiece. Said to have surfaced at Erzincan, in Armenia,
now part of Turkey, it was acquired by the British Museum in 1897.
Another British Museum rhyton, reputedly from Mar’ash in Syria,
displays Iranian influence, but is clearly not Iranian.
One wonders why the Louvre bronze rhyton ending with the foreparts of
a gazelle is not in the show. It would look better than the heavy gold
rhyton with the foreparts of a winged lion bought in France by the
shah’s regime shortly before the 1961 Paris exhibition “7,000 Years
of Art in Iran.” It bears a troubling similarity in workmanship to
other gold pieces now recognized as duds. The same comment applies to
a gold bowl from the same source. A beautiful silver bowl reputedly
from Erzincan and another from the so-called “Oxus treasure” do not
make up for the presence of four other shallow bowls that despite their
cuneiform inscriptions again raise questions as the catalogue admits.
The display, cramped and clumsy, does little to improve the mixed
impression with which one leaves an exhibition probably put together
under very difficult conditions. It should have been dazzling, and
it is not.

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 10) 517 163
Fax: (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
September 19, 2005
Seven New Priests Ordained in Holy Etchmiadzin
On Saturday, September 10, the evening prior to the Feast of the Holy Cross,
seven young deacons, all graduates of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary of
Holy Etchmiadzin, were called to serve the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church as
married clergymen. Their sponsoring priest was Rev. Fr. Mushegh Babayan, a
member of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin.
The following morning, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, His
Eminence Archbishop Mesrob Krikorian, Pontifical Legate to Central Europe,
celebrated Divine Liturgy in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin.
During the liturgy, he ordained the seven deacons to the rank of priesthood.
As he anointed the forehead, right and left hand of each young man, Abp.
Mesrob called them by their new priestly names: Deacon Vazgen Kesablian was
renamed Father Khatchatur; Deacon Manuk Ghalachian became Father Sebeos;
Deacon Davit Mikaelian was renamed Father Derenik; Deacon Gor Grigorian
became Father Grigor; Deacon Andranik Hakobian was renamed Father Mashtots;
Deacon Armen Mkrtchian became Father Mesrop; and Deacon Vardan Avetisian was
renamed Father Stepanos.
Following the ordinations, Abp. Mesrob addressed his sermon to the newly
ordained, “The priesthood, dear ones, is not simply offering the services of
our Church. Worship is very important, the Holy Sacraments are very
important, but these are not the only responsibilities of the clergyman.
The words of the Gospel are equally as holy and as vital. We are the
servants of the Gospel, and therefore we transmit the holy words of the
Gospel to the people. We must bring it to them in the orthodox way,
explaining it to them and sealing these words on the hearts of our people.”
The same day in Yerevan, at the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Mother
Cathedral, Bishop Arakel Karamian, Primate of the Diocese of Kotayk,
ordained ten graduates of the Accelerated Course for Priesthood to the rank
of deacon.

RA PRESIDENT AND US AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA DISCUSS PROCESS OF
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS AND COURSE OF KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 16, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA President
Robert Kocharian received John Evans, the Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the US to the Republic of Armenia, on September 15.
The Ambassador thanked the Government and people of Armenia for
assistance and sympathy displayed towards those suffered from the
hurricane Katrina.
They touched upom the process of the Constitutional reforms, on the
occasion of what John Evans mentioned that reforms will open new
possibilities for the development of Armenia.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA President’s Press Office, the
sides discussed the process of settlement of the Karabakh problem as
well.

Pan Armenian News
ZATULIN: BORDERS ONCE DRAWN BY SOMEONE NOT ETERNAL
15.09.2005 04:28
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday Simultaneous CUS: Abkhazia, Transdniestria,
South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh as post-soviet space realities conference
opened in Moscow. As stated by CIS Institute Director, Russian State Duma
Deputy, member of State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Relations with
Compatriots Constantine Zatulin, who is one of organizers of the event, the
conference was being arranged for some half a year. Its main goal was to
acquaint wide public with the life in unrecognized states. `We want to hear
opinions of political scientists, experts, public figures of those states,’
he stated. `By the way, on the eve of the conference it seems to me that
Georgia and Azerbaijan started panic over the conference held, following
someone’s example. In my opinion, Georgia got totally afraid that we are
going to form a simultaneous CUS. In the reality `simultaneous CUS’, which
underlies the conference title, only reflects our notion of the happening,
i.e. simultaneous Commonwealth of Unrecognized States, CUS in short [the
acronym CUS in Russian is the same as CIS – Commonwealth of Independent
States – translator’s note]. No one was going to recognize the commonwealth
as a formal structure in the course of the conference. There is no
commonwealth of the kind, however it is available due to the fact of these
formations being thrown away from the legal political life and legitimate
international relations. As of the signing of any documents, nothing of the
kind will take place and it was not provided for initially,’ Zatulin added.
`The Soviet Union has collapsed and then why we should believe that borders
once drawn by someone, e.g. providing for presence of Nagorno Karabakh in
Azerbaijan or Abkhazia as part of Georgia, are something eternal, not
subject to any correction due to the events taking place?.. Besides, we do
not make any political decisions at the conference. Even if we did, I think
that impartial consideration of the issue, an attempt to present an
alternative viewpoint is very important. As of the nervous response of
Azerbaijan to the fact of organization of the conference, I regret the
reaction was that of the kind,’ the Russian MP stated, reported the Echo
Baku newspaper.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

P U B L I C A F F A I R S O F F I C E NEWS RELEASE
EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AMERICAN AVENUE 1
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
TELEPHONE (+374 10) 46 47 00; 46 47 01; 46 47 02
E-MAIL: [email protected]
September 15, 2005
Regarding the U.S. Embassy Website
The U.S. Embassy website provides links to various external web pages
regarding Armenia, as well as the United States, as a service to our website
users. These privately run links do not express the views of the U.S.
Government, and the U.S. Embassy takes no responsibility for their content.
The U.S. Embassy in Armenia would like to clarify that the U.S. government
does not define what may or may not be “part of Armenian historical lands,”
as some reports have stated. The U.S. government supports the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and holds that the future status of Nagorno Karabakh
is a matter of negotiation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

DID HRACHYA ACHARYAN UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION MARK VICTORY?
A1+
| 14:58:53 | 13-09-2005 | Social |
“If they are not going to compromise I am not going either. I intend
to leave the university. It’s a pity I have paid the fee for three
years in vain”, a 4th year student of the university after Hrachya
Acharyan said.
University Pro-rector Aram Khachtryan explained that in 2001 the
students of the most expensive faculty paid 449217 AMD, in 2002 –
459756 AMD, in 2003 – 470334 AMD, in 2004 – 417150 AMD. Thus, the
fee have raised as compared to last year and lowered as compared to
the year of 2003.
Today the protesting students divided into two groups, one of which
returned to the classrooms.
The protester appealed to the Human Rights Defender, however were
told that the Ombudsman does not deal with the private universities.
To note, the university pro-rector said that the administration is
ready to make concessions partially. “If they do it proceeding from
a principle – we cannot help, but if there are students who are not
able to pay we will meet them halfway as we always do”, he said.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]:
PRESS RELEASE
13-09-2005
Strasbourg Meetings of the Foreign Minister Oskanian
September 13, 2005
On September 13 in Strasbourg, Minister Vartan Oskanian met with Bruno
Haller, the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe and Ambassador Roland Wegener, Head of the Ago Monitoring Group of
the COE Committee of Ministers. Afterwards Minister met the members of the
Ago Monitoring Group with participation of Gianni Buquicchio, the Secretary
of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
During the meetings the sides discussed the process of the constitutional
reforms in Armenia and the implementation of the commitments undertaken by
Armenia to the Council of Europe upon membership
Council of Europe officials reaffirmed their assistance for the reform
package and underlined the importance of the constitutional reforms for the
development of democracy in Armenia.
Minister Oskanian briefed the Council of Europe officials on the recent
developments of Nagorno Karabakh peace process.

THORRINGTON GETTING A CHANCE TO PROVE HIMSELF
by Kent McDill, Daily Herald Sports Writer
Chicago Daily Herald
September 4, 2005 Sunday
John Thorrington consulted the road map in his mind as he discussed
the story of his personal heritage and world travels.
It’s a story that begins in South Africa, and he’s now reached a
point where he feels settled in Major League Soccer as a member of
the Chicago Fire.
Thorrington, 25, is available to start at midfield tonight when
the Fire plays the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center in
Carson, Calif. It is the second of five consecutive road MLS games
for the Fire, which does not play at home again until the first week
of October.
Thorrington has only recently been able to contribute after a spring
filled with injury problems. But Thorrington had the game- winner in
the Aug. 13 match against the Galaxy at Soldier Field.
For Thorrington, that felt like his first real contribution to the
team he joined in the spring.
“My whole goal now is to repay the faith Dave (coach Sarachan) and
the staff had in bringing me here,” Thorrington said. “It felt so
good to contribute and help the team get a win.”
Thorrington has played in only five games this season (three starts)
after battling a back problem and a hip-alignment issue through the
first four months of the season.
Thorrington is an American citizen, but he was born in South Africa
to an English father and an Armenian mother. His family moved to
California when he was 2, he applied for American citizenship in
1997 at the age of 18, and he was able to play for the U.S. Under-20
national team in 1999.
Thorrington eventually made an appearance for the U.S. national team
in a friendly match against Ecuador in June 2001.
Professionally, Thorrington began his career in England in 1997, when
he became the youngest American to sign with a team from the English
Premiership by joining Manchester United. He spent three years training
with Man U and then played with the reserve team before moving on.
A stop in Germany to play with Landon Donovan on the reserve team
of Bayer Leverkusen was followed by seasons with English second-
and third-division teams before coming “home” to the states for
this season.
Considering his background, Thorrington was prepared to compare MLS
play to the competition that exists in the EPL.
“It’s a different style of play,’ Thorrington said. “There is more
of a Latin influence here. We play an aggressive style.
“I don’t think European leagues should look down on MLS. We have
players competing in their leagues. The overall standard of play in
MLS has come on.”