Author: Tvankchian Parkev

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS RECEIVES PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS

Noyan Tapan
July 7, 2009

ECHMIADZIN, JULY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II
on July 6 receiving President of Cyprus Dimitris Christofias being in
Armenia on an official visit, touched upon the warm friendly contacts
created between the two states and peoples and expressed a confidence
that after the visit of the President of Cyprus they will further
deepen and will give good results. Speaking about common problems
and challenges, His Holiness the Patriarch attached importance to
the necessity of combining the forces and cooperating. The Catholicos
also thanked D. Christofias for his warm and considerate attitude to
the Armenian community stressing that thanks to the kind attitude
of the authorities of Cyprus the Armenians completely live their
national-church and cultural life.

D. Christofias, in his turn, emphasized the great contribution of the
Armenians in Cyprus in the issue of improving the relations between
the two countries and peoples. He also informed the Patriarch that
a memorial to the victims of Armenian Genocide has been unveiled in
Larnaka lately.

According to the report of the Information Services of the Mother
See of Holy Echmiadzin, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian was
present at the meeting.

TODAY THE FINAL MATCH OF THE RA PRIME MINISTER’S CUP WAS HELD IN THE VAZGEN SARGSYAN STADIUM OF YEREVAN

Frid ay, 3 July 2009

Today the final match of the RA Prime Minister’s Cup was held in
the Vazgen Sargsyan stadium of Yerevan. The match was followed by RA
President Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan from the
Governmental Lounge.

The RA Prime Minister’s Cup seeks to promote physical training and
soccer among the staff of executive agencies and helps further the
principles of fair Play and Healthy Armenia in sports events. Kicked
off on June 8, the tournament involved a number of ministry and
agency teams.

The final match was contested by the teams of the Ministry of Defense
and the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The Ministry of Defense
squad won the cup beating down the opponent by 6:0. Felicitating
all the participants on successful completion of such an important
sporting event, Tigran Sargsyan handed in the first prize to the
winner of the competition.

Prizes and bonuses were conferred upon the holders of second and
third places, the best player, the best forward, the best goalkeeper,
the best defender, the best midfielder. A prize was out for fair
play. The best civil servant player got a special prize on the part
of the Civil Service Council.

Public dialogue exists independently of political format
04.07.2009 16:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ International Alert’s Projects Director for the
Eurasia Program Dessislava Roussanova made a statement on the
organization of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Public Peace Forum.
`Public dialogue is not linked to any political interpretation of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict and doesn’t imply political resolution of
the problem,’ she said. `The principles the sides in the conflict
vindicate during political talks do not underlie the agenda of public
dialogue. The Public Peace Forum aims to create a favorable atmosphere
for resolution of the conflict. All participants bear their individual
responsibility. Being well aware of the format and principles of the
Forum, they are united by an aspiration to find a peaceful solution.’
`I believe that there are people who sincerely wish stabilization of
the region and I call all those wishing peaceful future not to damage
the bridge toward this future,’ Mrs. Roussanova said.

Boston Globe

With its budget slashed, Registry plans to close 11 offices

July 3, 2009 03:11 PM By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

Customers should expect longer wait times as the state Registry of
Motor Vehicles closes 11 branch offices to cope with a $13 million hit
in this year’s state budget, Registry officials said today.
Registrar Rachel Kaprielian said that the RMV will try to soften the
impact of the closures by opening four "mitigation branches" which are
mostly smaller locations inside state-owned property, where they won’t
have to pay rent. Two such branches will open on the Massachusetts
Turnpike, one at the Natick service plaza and one at the Charlton
service plaza.
Kaprielian acknowledged that "things are going to get a little
crunched" but said that customer service remains the agency’s "North
Star."
The Registry’s busiest branch, in Chinatown, which draws 289,000
customers a year, will close, but not before the agency opens another
Boston location, Kaprielian said. The new location has not yet been
determined.
The Registry will also ramp up efforts to get people to use its
website.
Layoffs are anticipated. But agency officials said the realignment
plan was crafted with the goal of minimizing staff reductions, because
that would only increase wait times further.
The branches will close, in the following order, between July and
September: Lowell, North Attleborough, Cambridge (Cambridgeside
Galleria), New Bedford, Springfield (Eastfield Mall),
Southbridge, Framingham, Falmouth, Eastham, and Beverly. The Chinatown
branch will close in December.
In addition to opening at the Natick and Charlton plazas, mitigation
branches will open at the Cape Cod Canal Visitors center at the
Sagamore Bridge and on Route 1 in Peabody.

ARMEN SMBATYAN AND POLAD BULBULOGLU LEFT YEREVAN FOR BAKU

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.07.2009 18:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian and Azeri Ambassadors to Russia Armen
Smbatyan and Polad Bulbuloglu, and Russian President’s Envoy for
International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy met RA President
Serzh Sargsyan upon their arrival in Armenia from NKR.

"We’re here to help people of Armenia and Azerbaijan. We don’t wish to
interfere in the course of political negotiations between NKR conflict
parties. We, as representatives of both countries’ intelligentsia
would like to assist in the establishment of peace and creation of
the atmosphere of trust," Mikhail Shvydkoy said after the meeting
with RA President.

In his turn, Azeri Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu emphasized
that they’re unwilling to interfere in the political process of NKR
conflict settlement. "We thank RA and Azeri Presidents for meetings
conducted. The meeting with Serzh Sargsyan was conducted in a
constructive atmosphere," Polad Bulbuloglu emphasized.

Armen Smbatyan noted that relations between RA and Azeri people
should be normalized, and people of authority must contribute to this
process. Upon completion of meeting with RA President, Armen Smbatyan
and Polad Bulbuloglu left Yerevan for Baku.

The first visit of Armenian and Azeri intelligentsia to Stepanakert,
Yerevan and Baku took place on June 28, 2007, on the initiative of
Ambassadors Armen Smbatyan and Polad Bulbuloglu.

NKR conflict started in 1988, after Armenian population of
Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region announced its disconnection from
Azerbaijan. Based on working USSR constitution, the step was legally
formalized at Dec 10, 1991’s referendum, where 99,89% of NKR population
voted for complete independence from Azerbaijan.

Large-scale military activities followed, instigated by Azerbaijan,
which lost control over NKR territory and 7 adjusting regions in
spring 1994.

An agreement on ceasefire in conflict zone came into effect on May
12, 1994. The conflict resulted in the death of around 30 000 people,
1 million became refugees.

Negotiation for peaceful settlement of NKR conflict have been conducted
since 1992 within MG OSCE framework, with USA, Russia and France
as Co-Chairs.

Currently conflict settlement negotiations are being conducted in
accordance with principles worked out by MG OSCE in Madrid. Contents
of Madrid Principles haven’t been publicized yet.

IF RUSSIA IS GOING TO AGGRAVATE SITUATION IN GEORGIA, IT WILL DO IT BY MEANS OF JAVAKHETI: GEORGIAN POLITICAL EXPERT

ArmInfo
2009-07-02 10:16:00

ArmInfo. If Russia is going to aggravate the situation in Georgia,
it will do it by means of Javakheti, Georgy Khutsishvili, the Georgian
political expert, said during a TV-Bridge Yerevan-Tbilisi on Wedneday.

‘Nevertheless, the good-neighbored ties of Georgia and Armenia are
not subject to any significant shocks and these states enjoy certain
balance and understanding. Given this fact, no state should even dream
of colliding the interests of Armenia and Georgia since it will fail’,
he said. As for the possibility of normalizing the Georgian-Russian
relations, Khutsishvili said the Georgian- Russian border must be
opened sooner or later since ‘they in Russia also want that’. ‘But we
are an independent state and demand respect since Russia and Georgia
are no longer a single state’, he said.

ARMENTEL FINED AMD 8 MILLION BY RA PSRC

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
01.07.2009 16:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ArmenTel (Beeline trademark) was fined AMD 8 million
by RA Public Services Regulation Committee (PSRC).

Commenting on the information above, ArmenTel Press Secretary Anush
Begloyan told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that the fine was imposed
for failing to provide VoIP services to two companies in 2007. She
also informed that at that time a great number of providers turned
to ArmenTel for VoiP services, so the company was unable to handle
all requests in time.

RA PSRC obliged ArmenTel to transfer AMD 8 million in RA State Budget
within 2 weeks and present corresponding payment documents to the
Committee.

ARMENIA’S CONTROL CHAMBER DETECTS LAND USE LAW VIOLATIONS IN ARMAVIR REGION

ARKA
July 1, 2009

YEREVAN, July 1. /ARKA/. The Control Chamber of Armenia (CCA) has
detected a number of violations to the land use law, said CCA Chairman
Ishkhan Zakaryan, citing 2007-2008 checkups in Armavir region.

"The region faces major problems with land purchase transactions,"
he was quoted as saying at a press conference on Tuesday.

Zakaryan also cited cases of land price underestimations, with 60
hectares of land being sold at 6mln drams and resold at 28.5mln drams
in five days.

According to the CCA chairman, in Parakar village (famous for its
gambling halls and entertainment centers) casino owners bought land
at 6 drams per hectare.

Zakaryan said the chamber had detected violations in the mechanization
procurement sector.

Village dwellers sold obsolete equipment at high prices, Zakaryan
said, adding prices ranged from 200,000 drams to 5mln drams. "If
the village administration wanted to expand its park, it could
procure state-of-the-art equipment at the same price," Zakaryan
concluded. ($1-360.06 drams)

PRESS RELEASE
UCLA Armenian Graduate Students Association
c/o Armenian Graduate Students Association
Kerckhoff Hall, Room 316
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel: 310-206-8512
Email: [email protected]
Web:

Please distribute to graduate students and faculty. Thank you!

Eighth Annual Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies

University of California, Los Angeles, Friday, February 19, 2010

We enthusiastically invite graduate students and recent post-docs (Ph.D.,
within the last two years) in fields associated with Armenian Studies
(broadly defined) to present their recent research. Work in progress is
encouraged. We accept papers from a variety of disciplines and welcome
comparative themes and interdisciplinary approaches. Panel submissions are
also welcome.

Applicants must e-mail presentation abstracts of no more than 250 words and
their curriculum vitae by September 20, 2009. Please attach the required
documents in the form of a Word document. Please note that a 20-minute time
limit for presentations will be strictly enforced (roughly 8-10 pages
double-spaced). Invited participants will be required to submit a final
version of their full presentation by December 21, 2009.

A reception will be held on the Thursday evening prior to the event to
welcome the colloquium speakers. Students will have an opportunity to meet
with faculty and students on campus, tour Armenian Studies resources, and
visit Armenian Studies classes. The colloquium will conclude with a
reception.

Priority of acceptance will be given to those who have not presented at the
colloquium before. Limited travel grants will be available to assist those
who would otherwise be unable to attend. Travel grant applications will be
sent to all invited participants.

To submit abstracts or for more information contact the UCLA Armenian
Graduate Students Association Colloquium Committee at
[email protected].

OPIUM SMUGGLING ATTEMPTS FOILED IN ARMENIA

ARKA
June 29, 2009

YEREVAN, June 29. /ARKA/. Armenian State Revenue Committee’s
smuggling-prevention unit has foiled two attempts to bring about
500 grams of opium worth AMD 10 million or $27,000 to the country,
the press office of the committee reported on Monday.

According to the report, Igor Nikoghosyan and Arthur Barseghyan,
two residents of Armenian city of Kapan, tried to bring drugs from
neighboring Iran in their stomachs.

This is the first case of such a way of drug smuggling in Armenia.

Under Armenian Health Minister’s decree, even 25 grams of opium is
viewed as gross smuggling.

The case is under investigation now.