Author: Virabian Jhanna

AZERBAIJAN BLAMES "STALLED" NAGORNO-KARABAKH TALKS ON ARMENIA

Russia & CIS Military Newswire
October 30, 2007 Tuesday 8:46 AM MSK

Armenia has "an unconstructive approach" to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, "as a result of which Azeri- Armenian negotiations are
stalled" Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibragim, who voiced the accusations at a news
conference, expressed hope that Armenia would take "a constructive
position" after an upcoming presidential election, "regardless of
who comes to power."

Ibragim also praised Turkey’s position on the conflict and its refusal
to unseal its border with Armenia.

"The position of Turkey remains unchanged, and we hail this move not
only because Turkey’s motives in this particular instance are its
fraternal relations with Azerbaijan but also because thereby Turkey
is proving that it is a responsible member of the world community,"
the spokesman said.

KOCHARIAN ALLY SET TO HEAD ARMENIAN OVERSIGHT BODY
By Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 31 2007

President Robert Kocharian will ask parliament to elect a leading
member of the pro-presidential Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) as the
new head of a state body tasked with overseeing use of public funds,
it emerged on Wednesday.

The Audit Chamber has until now operated under the tutelage of
Armenia’s National Assembly and been greatly influenced by its
speakers. One of the amendments to the Armenian constitution enacted
in November 2005 declared it fully independent of the legislature.

The latter can now approve or reject only chamber heads nominated by
the president of the republic.

Deputy parliament speaker Ishkhan Zakarian, who is affiliated with the
BHK, has for months been tipped to take over the body. Zakarian met
with President Robert Kocharian on Wednesday and told RFE/RL afterwards
that the head of state will nominate him for the post. He said the
decision will be formally conveyed to the parliament leadership later
in the day.

Zakarian is a figure close to Kocharian and Gagik Tsarukian,
a millionaire businessman and the founding leader of the BHK. The
party is represented in the government by three ministers. It also
controls one of the two posts of deputy parliament speaker.

The Audit Chamber has repeated criticized in the past the government’s
use of public finances and external loans but lacked the legal
and administrative muscle to affect government policies. It was
particularly active from 2003-2005 when the Armenian parliament was
headed by Artur Baghdasarian, the leader of the now opposition Orinats
Yerkir Party.

In particular, the chamber harshly criticized the government’s
privatization policies, implying that they were tainted with
corruption. It also accused the Justice Ministry of misusing a 1999
World Bank loan designed to strengthen the Armenian judiciary. The
government denied those allegations.

BEFORE TAKING TO THE SEA THE SHIP WRECKS
Naira Khachatryan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Oct 31 2007
Armenia

RPA deputy-Chair, MP Galust Sahakyan expressed his viewpoint
regarding the recent internal political developments, in "Pastark"
club yesterday.

The accusations addressed to the authorities during October 26
demonstration have analogous answer, but this respond will be given
in proper time and at a proper place. "We don’t see any necessity to
give response, not because we don’t have response, but simply because
we want to look forward. And the responses will be given during the
campaign. I don’t think our processes are against anyone or anything.

We campaign for the "number" and we are not a party, using bad
language. But naturally in case of clear accusations we will give
clear answers."

G. Sahakyan believes demonstration based tactics will hardly be
effective in this campaign. "It is a bygone period. Demonstration
can’t be decisive, during the presidential elections; it is the main
election process that decides the election returns. Another thing is,
that your election campaign must be based on not using bad language,
criticizing the authorities, or seizing power, but through introducing
specific programs. I don’t share the idea that the more crowded the
demonstration the more spirit it will give. I even think that it is
better when there are less people in the meeting but certain programs
are introduced to society."

RPA doesn’t condition its strategy by the nomination of a particular
candidate. "Once the political domain becomes more serious and when
we see the candidates, naturally in case of ten candidates we will
change our strategy, in case of three candidates our strategy will be
different. Each day will be decisive, in operative sense. The thing is
about the campaign. So, we don’t separate any candidate as an opponent,
each candidate is an opponent for us."

There used to be a thinking that by the nomination of the former
President the rivalry will take an ideological nature. Are these
expectations justified? Touching upon this question Galust Sahakyan
underscored, " Frankly speaking, I was also of the same opinion. But
I’m disappointed because there is no political base for Levon
Ter-Petrosyan to be elected. I thought new approaches would be
proposed. But today I don’t hold this idea. "By the apt definition of
the RPA deputy-Chair "Before taking to the sea the ship is wrecking."

G. Sahakyan also touched upon RPA internal unification, " Everything
is peaceful and stable inside the Republican Party. The atmosphere is
trustworthy. And we will stand for the elections with full confidence."

G. Sahakyan believes the role of the Republican Party in this
pre-election phase is great, in the whole political domain. "Both
the opposition camp and why not the pro-governmental as well can’t
solve any issue without the Republican Party. That is why they must
say both good and bad things about us."

As for the success registered during the recent 10 years, the speaker,
showing deserved honor to the acting President, attached importance
to the teamwork as well. "The biggest role was the role of the
country’s President. But a complete team was working and the role of
the Republican Party was really decisive. The party supported the
President of the country. It is obvious that certain work has been
done and during the parliamentary elections the people gave their
evaluation to this work. " Speaking about the possible speculation of
Karabakh issue during the Presidential elections G. Sahakyan said," the
solution of Karabakh issue doesn’t depend only on the Presidents. It
depends on the people. We will not even try to stand for the elections
through the speculation of Karabakh issue. For us it is one of the
important agenda issues and we are in full command of the issue."

October 27 is also not a campaign topic. " It is intolerable when
people speculate similar realities, to come to power. They could
raise this question five years back, seven years back. Why now, on
the threshold of the elections? It is intolerable to use this for
the elections."

G. Sahakyan said it is not right to be guided by certain doubts. "
I have eye-witnessed and I have my subjective attitudes. I have always
had doubts. But this doesn’t mean that you should look for the guilty,
in order to come to power. They usually look for the guilty during
the trial. The thing that was said during the meeting could be said
during the trial; maybe thus they could be useful for the proceeding.

We are not the country to influence all the external challenges and
to be able to avert them. This is my subjective idea. And I will
never use the victims the martyrs of October 27 as a factor to come
to power. This is a terrible immorality."

ARMENIA’S TERRITORIAL CLAIMS TO TURKEY PREVENT FROM ESTABLISHING DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS – TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA

Regnum, Russia
Oct 30 2007

"After Armenia appeared as a result of the collapse of the USSR
in 1991, Turkey was the first country to recognize it," Turkey’s
Ambassador to the Russian Federation Kurtulus Taskent announced at
a news conference in Moscow today, a REGNUM correspondent informs.

"However, Armenia’s Independence Declaration contains a number of
articles that present Armenia’s claims for eastern Turkish territories,
after that the events in Karabakh occurred, during which Armenia
occupied about 20% of the Azerbaijani territory. Those facts prevented
from establishing diplomatic relations between our countries," the
ambassador believes.

"Meanwhile, there are about several thousands illegal labor migrants
in Turkey from Armenia; Turkey gives its air passage for air links
between Armenia and European countries," Kurtulus Taskent noted,

"To establish normal diplomatic relations with Turkey, Armenia must
eradicate from its Independence Declaration and the constitution
those articles containing claims for territories of other countries,"
the Turkish ambassador to Russia concluded.

"THIS EXHIBITION IS TOO CONTROVERSIAL"

KarabakhOpen
30-10-2007 12:40:26

An exhibition of photos of Muslim Monuments in Artsakh opened
on October 28 in Stepanakert. The display is supported by the
International Alert, it is held by Business Center and Art for Peace
and Development NGO. The author of the photographs is Areg Balayan.

During the presentation the head of the Business Center Valery
Balayan said there are monuments of Muslim culture in the country
where we live, and their study may later be helpful to making tourist
itineraries in Karabakh.

According to Manushak Titanyan, architect, head of the Art for Peace
and Development NGO, says when last year they started the studies,
they found out that the Muslim monuments in NKR, especially outside
the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region belong to different
cultures. "It is not clear which culture the architect and builders
belonged to, the initiators and owners of those buildings. There are
lots of Armenian elements, Persian culture is felt in the mosques
in Shushi. We also found out that all the mosques in Karabakh were
built after the 18th century.

Mostly kurgans typical of nomads have been preserved. Different peoples
and tribes passed across this territory, and there is no reason to
hide it. It is necessary to study and make conclusions," she says.

"Frankly speaking, this exhibition is too controversial. Most monuments
look like Armenian. Especially the bridge in Kubatlu, the inn of Hajji
Gullter, and others. I think a serious historical study is necessary
to find out the identity of these monuments," says the director of
Artsakh Agency for Development of Tourism Sergey Shahverdyan.

There are 6 mosques in Karabakh, including 3 in Shushi, one in
Aghdam, Horadiz and Fizuli each. About 30 monuments were studied and
photographed, mostly kurgans and burial vaults.

TORCH RELAY CALLS ATTENTION TO DARFUR
by Elizabeth Ahlin, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Omaha World – Herald (Nebraska)
October 29, 2007 Monday

Oct. 29–More than three years ago, Abdelhamid Mohamed escaped his
homeland of Darfur in the middle of the night, bringing with him only
his wife and three children.

On Sunday, Mohamed, 35, stood in Memorial Park to ask the people of
Omaha, his new home, to help the people of his homeland by working
to end genocide in Darfur.

Mohamed stood with daughters Nagat, 9, and Naglaa, 7, and son Mazin,
5. Mohamed laid one hand affectionately on Nagat’s head. With the
other, he gripped a burning torch.

The torch was carried through Omaha as part of the Dream for Darfur
Olympic Torch Relay, an event designed to raise awareness of the
problems in Darfur while pressuring China, host of the 2008 Summer
Olympics, to use its influence to end the violence there.

Runners followed a 15-mile course Sunday, starting at Temple Israel,
7023 Cass St., running downtown to the Qwest Center Omaha, and
back west to Memorial Park. A new team took over the torch for each
one-mile leg, representing individual families and such groups as the
Anti-Defamation League, Lutheran Family Services and Duchesne Academy.

Save Darfur Omaha worked with Temple Israel to organize the event.

China has a role to play in ending the genocide of the people of
Darfur, said Anna Sully Sparwasser of Save Darfur Omaha. China has
been accused of funding the war in Darfur by investing heavily in
Sudan’s oil industry. Save Darfur Omaha has joined international
human rights activists and Darfur rebels in asking China to use its
economic influence to stop the war in Darfur.

"They have the power," said Sully Sparwasser, who called the Olympics
a demonstration of peace and unity. "We want them (China) to really
believe in the theme of the Olympics and bring that dream to Darfur."

In 2003, African rebels in Darfur took up arms against the Sudanese
government, accusing it of decades of discrimination. Since then, more
than 200,000 people have died, many at the hands of the janjaweed, a
militia of Arab nomads. The Sudanese government has denied accusations
that it directed the janjaweed to attack the people of Darfur in
retaliation.

The group of people who gathered at Memorial Park was a mix of local
activists and concerned citizens. Burke High School students Amy
Durmaskin and Lindsey Brigman, both 17, learned about Darfur at school
during "genocide day," in which students studied genocides that have
been committed since World War II. They launched a school club, and
they’ve been working since then to raise awareness among their peers.

"I hope that people will speak up and speak loudly," Durmaskin said.

The demonstration Sunday was important to Mohamed. While he escaped
Sudan with his wife and three children, he lost the rest of his family.

"I don’t know where my family is now," Mohamed said.

In 2004, Mohamed and his family escaped to Egypt. Almost a year and
a half ago, his family was given the green light to come to America.

He is happy to be in the United States, where his children are making
friends and attending school. Life is good here, he said, calling
Omaha his "new home." But not everyone has been so fortunate.

"I worry about the rest of my Darfurian people now," Mohamed said.

The first torch of the Dream for Darfur relay was lit in the African
country of Chad, near the Darfur border. From there, it was carried
in Rwanda and Armenia. The international torch relay is scheduled
to go through Germany, Bosnia and Cambodia before ending up in China
in January.

In the United States, the torch will travel through 28 states before
January.

ARMENIA’S TER-PETROSIAN SETS STAGE FOR TENSE PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
by Emil Danielyan

EurasiaNet, NY
Oct 29 2007

Photos by Karen Minasyan

After nearly a decade of self-imposed political retirement, Armenia’s
former President Levon Ter-Petrosian is seeking a return to power. His
decision, anticipated for months, renders the outcome of an upcoming
presidential election unpredictable. During the biggest opposition
rally held in years, Ter-Petrosian urged Armenians on October 26
to help him thwart what he portrayed as the handover of power from
President Robert Kocharian to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. He
accused the two men of leading a "gangster state" that stifles dissent
and free enterprise. The development is a further indication that the
62-year-old scholar, who led Armenia to independence from the Soviet
Union and earned accolades in the West for his conciliatory line on
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, will be Sarkisian’s main election
challenger. The latter’s victory in the presidential ballot, due
next February or March, was seen by many as a foregone conclusion
after his governing Republican Party won last May’s parliamentary
elections by a landslide. [For details, see EurasiaNet’s Armenia: Vote
2007]. "From now on, I declare myself a candidate for the presidency
of the Republic of Armenia," Ter-Petrosian told about 20,000 people who
gathered in Yerevan’s Liberty Square. His 90-minute speech, repeatedly
interrupted by "Levon! Levon!" chants, offered a damning indictment
of the Kocharian administration’s policies and track record. A large
part of it was devoted to what Ter-Petrosian called the "relentless
plunder" of the population by Kocharian, Sarkisian and their political
associates. "In the last five years, the criminal regime has stolen at
least $3 billion to $4 billion from the people," Ter-Petrosian alleged,
without offering specifics to substantiate the claim. He indicated that
officials enjoy a de facto monopoly over the most lucrative economic
sectors, and receive informal payments from businessmen with close ties
to the government. Ter-Petrosian went on to dismiss as grossly inflated
the double-digit rates of economic growth reported by the Armenian
authorities in recent years. He reaffirmed his belief that Armenia’s
sustainable economic development is impossible without a solution
to the Karabakh conflict. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive]. And he again alleged that the Kocharian administration
prefers the Karabakh status quo to cutting a compromise peace deal
with Azerbaijan. Ter-Petrosian resigned in 1998 under pressure from
his key cabinet members, including then Prime Minister Kocharian and
Interior Minister Sarkisian, who resented his strong support for an
international peace plan that called for a gradual settlement of the
conflict, rather than for a package peace plan. The ex-president
pointed to the government’s overall acceptance of peace proposals
that resemble his earlier ideas as a sign that his position was
correct. Other sensitive areas were also raised. The Yerevan rally
was held the day before Armenia marked the eighth anniversary of the
1999 armed attack on parliament that resulted in the deaths of former
parliament speaker Karen Demirchian, former prime minister Vazgen
Sarkisian (no relation to Serzh), and six other officials. Many
Armenians think that the five gunmen had powerful sponsors; some
suspect Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian of masterminding the shootings.

[For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Ter-Petrosian
likewise pointed the finger at Kocharian, blaming the latter for
the bungled criminal investigation into the parliament attack. "The
October [1999] massacre was the main milestone that cleared the
broad way to the formation and development of Kocharian’s regime,"
he said. Neither Kocharian, nor Sarkisian immediately commented
on the allegations. Speaking to journalists several hours before
the Ter-Petrosian rally, the Armenian president shrugged off his
predecessor’s presidential ambitions. "The first president, at least
according to the latest surveys, is not the main opposition candidate
and there are at least two or three opposition figures with higher
approval ratings," he said in televised remarks. "I am convinced that
our people will not want to return to 1995-1996," Kocharian added,
accusing Ter-Petrosian of "ruining" the Armenian economy during his
rule. Armenia’s Gross Domestic Product shrank by more than half in
1992-1993 following the Soviet collapse and the onset of the war in
Karabakh, leaving the country largely cut off from the rest of the
world and paralyzed by a severe energy crisis. While Ter-Petrosian
is still widely associated with the resulting hardship, the strong
attendance at the October 26 rally suggests that many disaffected
Armenians are now ready to at least listen to their former leader.

His harsh attacks on the current government, voiced in a
characteristically academic manner, appeared to impress many undecided
rally participants. "Before the speech I was dithering, but am now
astonished," said one young man. "I’ve never heard such a speech
before. He spoke with the precision of a machine." Vasil Khanaghian,
a disabled Karabakh war veteran from a village in southern Armenia,
made up his mind before the rally. "I won the war under the leadership
of Levon, and not those rascals," he explained, referring to President
Kocharian and Prime Minister Sarkisian. But not everyone in the crowd
was convinced. One elderly man, who did not want to give his name,
was unhappy with Ter-Petrosian’s failure to talk about controversial
episodes from his own presidency such as the flight of his "thieving"
former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian, who left Armenia in 2000
to avoid prosecution for murder.

Ter-Petrosian loyalists, meanwhile, are increasingly buoyed by their
leader’s return to active politics. "If this momentum is maintained
during the election campaign, his victory will become inevitable,"
Aghasi Yenokian, a local pundit sympathetic to the ex-president, told
EurasiaNet. Opposition leaders, many of whom have been in talks with
Ter-Petrosian for months about his return to politics, argue that
the government is increasingly ill at ease with the prospect. On
October 23, police detained a dozen pro-Ter-Petrosian activists,
among them two newspaper editors, who were publicizing the planned
demonstration in downtown Yerevan. They were released the next morning
after four-hour negotiations between Ter-Petrosian and senior police
officers. The activists had decided to take to the streets after
none of Armenia’s leading TV stations loyal to Kocharian agreed to
broadcast paid rally advertisements. One regional TV channel, which
aired a September speech by Ter-Petrosian that was his first in a
decade, now claims to be harassed by security and tax officials.

Transportation was also reportedly restricted between Yerevan and other
parts of the country hours before the landmark rally. In an October
25 editorial, the pro-opposition Yerevan daily Aravot argued that the
Armenian authorities were far more tolerant of dissent in the run-up
to the May parliamentary elections than in the current presidential
campaign. "They either find the upcoming elections more important,
or are scared of Levon," it said. Editor’s Note: Emil Danielyan is a
freelance journalist based in Yerevan.

Karen Minasyan is a freelance photographer, also in Yerevan

BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY VICTORY
By Nikos Konstandaras

Kathimerini, Greece
Oct 29 2007

When a country loses in war or diplomacy it is logical to expect
that it will be bound by the conditions imposed by the victor. It
is less logical, and yet commonplace, that countries can be trapped
by their success and thus persist with policies that turn out to be
disastrous in the long term. History is full of great victories that
ultimately became defeats. In our region, the clearest example of this
paradoxical entrapment of a victor is the Turkish invasion of Cyprus
in 1974. The Turks are so proud of this episode that one might think
it was an earth-shattering achievement – something like the conquests
of Alexander the Great. The Greek Cypriots suffered all the evils
of the invasion and the occupation of a part of their country. But,
though the wounds remain open, the Greek Cypriots recovered. With hard
work and persistence they created a country that today is flourishing,
is a member of the European Union and provides its citizens (including
any Turkish Cypriots who want them) all the freedoms and opportunities
of a full democracy.

For Greece, the invasion of Cyprus signaled the fall of the military
dictatorship in Athens and the establishment of the longest period
of democracy and social development our country has ever known. What
did Turkey get? It has been trapped into sustaining the primacy
of the military over all aspects of life, culminating in the 1981
coup and the continued "guardianship" of the political system by the
generals. The occupation of northern Cyprus has cost Turkey billions
to support the Turkish-Cypriot economy and fund a large occupation
force. But, above all, Turkish policy on Cyprus – as in the Armenian
and Kurdish questions – has been trapped in an intransigence born of
military success that was followed by repeated diplomatic defeats.

This policy still blocks Turkey’s progress toward becoming a member
of the EU. The Turks, like so many others, very often ignore the
fact that a political solution which involves a just compromise
with the defeated is the most effective way to achieve a viable
and long-lasting solution. The Lausanne Treaty of 1923 is a shining
example of the wise handling of victory by the Turks – agreeing to a
situation in which the defeated Greeks too could recover and revive
their nation. A recent example of how a military victory can trap
the victor is the American occupation of Iraq. In 1991, the Americans
(wisely leading a huge international coalition that included regional
forces) crushed Saddam Hussein’s forces and chased them out of Kuwait
and deep into Iraq. But they left the Iraqi leadership untouched in
Baghdad. If the victory of 1991 had not been so easy, it is quite
possible that the Americans might not have allowed themselves to
be seduced so easily into the invasion of 2003 and the subsequent,
catastrophic occupation. Closer to us in historical and geographical
terms is Athens’s dispute with Skopje. When in 1992 Prime Minister
Constantine Mitsotakis badgered Greece’s EU partners into deciding
that our neighbors could not include the name or term Macedonia in
any form, this was seen as the pinnacle of Greece’s great diplomatic
campaign. That, precisely, was the time for an inspired move by Greece:
With the impetus of its diplomatic victory it could have proposed
a just compromise. Such a decision might have enraged those who in
both countries have made a career out of demanding total victory
but it would have allowed the two countries to get on with sharing a
fruitful future. But Athens was trapped by its victory in the European
Union, with no subsequent government wanting to step back from the
absolutist demands of the past. Skopje, with nothing to lose, did
the only thing left to it: It donned the mantle of the victim and
began to collect supporters for its own intransigence. (Of course,
the Albanian problem did, and still does, present a mortal threat,
so the talk of victimhood is not entirely unwarranted.) Today, Athens
is proposing a compromise. But it is too late. Skopje already enjoys
much greater diplomatic support than Athens. But if our neighbors
believe that a temporary advantage justifies their intransigence,
they will squander the last opportunity for a just solution to a
problem that should no longer hamper their coexistence with Greece.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

THE APPEAL OF ST. EGIDIO CONFERENCE
NAPLES, ITALY
OCTOBER 23, 2007

Men and women of different religions, from many parts of the world, we have
gathered here in Naples to forge bonds of brotherhood, and call to God for
the great gift of peace. The name of God is peace.

In the heart of the Mediterranean Sea and in this extraordinary city, which
is well acquainted with poverty and greatness of heart, we stooped down upon
the wounds of the world. There is an illness that pollutes every thing and
its name is violence. Violence is the grim daily companion of too many men
and women on our planet. Violence becomes war, terrorism, poverty and
despair, exploitation of our planet. It is fuelled by contempt, it stuns
people with hatred, it kills hope and sows fear, it strikes down the
innocent, and debases humanity. Violence seduces the hearts of human beings
and tells them, "nothing can change". This pessimism makes people believe
that living together is impossible.

>From Naples we can say, stronger than before, that anyone who uses the name
of God to hate the other, to practice violence, or to wage war, is cursing
the name of God.

As Benedict XVI told us, "Never can evil and violence be justified by
invoking the name of God".

We focused on our diverse religious traditions, we heard the sorrow of the
South of the World, and we felt the burden of pessimism rising from the 20th
century with its weight of war and shattered illusions. We need the strength
that comes from the spirit of love, which helps rebuild and mend the unity
of humankind. The power of the spirit changes the hearts of men and women
and transforms history.

In the depths of our religious traditions we have discovered that a world
without dialogue is a world without hope, where people are fated to fear
each other. Dialogue does not cancel differences. Dialogue enriches life and
dispels pessimism that makes one see the other as a threat. Dialogue is not
the illusion of the weak, it is the wisdom of the strong, who rely on the
weak power of prayer. And prayer changes the world and the destiny of
humankind. Dialogue weakens no-one’s identity, and it encourages everyone to
see the best in the other. Nothing is lost with dialogue, everything is
possible through dialogue.

To those who still kill, to those who still sow terrorism and wage war in
the name of God, we say: "Stop! Do not kill! Violence is always a defeat".

We commit ourselves to learn the art of living together and to offer it to
our fellow believers. There is no alternative to the unity of the human
family. We need brave builders, in all cultures, and in all religious
traditions. We need the globalization of the spirit, which reveals to us
what we no longer see: the beauty of life and of the other, in all
circumstances, even the hardest.

Our religious traditions teach us that prayer is an active power in history,
and it moves peoples and nations. Humbly, we offer this ancient wisdom to
the service of all peoples, of every man and every woman, to open a new era
of freedom from fear and contempt for the other. It is the spirit of Assisi,
and here, from Naples, full of courage and strength, it challenges violence
and any abuse of religion as a pretext for violence.

Following in this path, confident that peace can be a gift to the whole
world, we commit ourselves to the Most High.

"KHOR VIRAP HURLED AT THE NEWLY-MARRIED COUPLE"

A1+
[01:00 pm] 29 October, 2007

It is already a few days the path to the sacristy of Khor Virap
Monastery has been blocked by stones falling from the walls.

"A few days ago a thunder was heard during a wedding ceremony. The
guests rushed out in a trice," sexton Vigen says.

At first I thought it was an earthquake. Suddenly I saw huge blocks
falling down and blocking the way.

Everybody thought the whole building will hurl at the newly-married
couple, Vigen told A1+.

"Fortunately, there were no victims. The guests had already descended
when the stones began collapsing.

There is a 3-4 meter crack on the wall. I fear to imagine the
consequences when the wall pulls down."

Despite the poor state of the building, tourists continue visiting
the historical destination.

Artyom Grigorian, the Head of the Commission for Protection of
Monuments, states they are aware of the monastery state, but it is
upon Holy Echmiadzin to deal with the matter as the monastery belongs
to the Armenian Apostolic church.

The walls of the monastery are multi-layer. Special techniques and
great sums are required for the restoration. He voiced hope that the
relevant bodies would take measures in this respect.

Meanwhile, the watchmen have to remove huge blocks to open the path
to the sacristy.

To note, according to Artyom Grigorian, many monuments need emergency
repair besides the monastery of Khor Virap.