Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

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:
THE president of the Court of cassation
of Lebanon VISITS ANTELIAS
The president of the Court of Cassation of Lebanon, Dr. Antoine Mikhayel
visited His Holiness Aram I in Antelias on May 26. Dr. Mikhayel is also a
member of the Lebanese Supreme Court.
The pontiff and Dr. Mikhayel discussed issues related to the situation in
Lebanon and the role of the Armenian community in the country.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Prime News Agency, Georgia
May 30 2006
OSCE Delegation to Visit Tskhinvali Region
Tbilisi. May 30 (Prime-News) – A delegation of the OSCE member states
is to visit the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone on Tuesday and
meet the de facto South Ossetian officials.
The aim of the visit is to study the situation in the conflict zone
in details, Prime-News was told by Carlos Sanchez de Boardo, Spanish
Ambassador to OSCE.
The delegation of four OSCE officials paid a working visit to the
breakaway region on May 28th. The delegation arrived in Georgia from
Armenia and after the visit to Tskhinvali leaves for Baku.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
05/30/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) Armenia Celebrates Independence Day 2) Azerbaijan Blocks Armenian Participation in CIS Defense Meeting 3) Representative Pallone Condemns Firing of Ambassador Evans 4) Genocide Denial Bill to Be Introduced in Dutch Parliament 5) 21 New Members Join The Ranks of The ARF 1) Armenia Celebrates Independence Day YEREVAN (Yerkir/Armenpress)--Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, Catholicos Karekin II, Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharian, and other officials and diplomats visited the Sardarabad memorial on May 28 to pay tribute to the soldiers who were killed during the famous battle for independence. The event also marked the 88th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Republic. Kocharian took the opportunity to congratulate the Armenian people in a letter, saying that May 28 marks a milestone in Armenia's nation-building, freedom, and democracy. "Independence was a centuries-old goal for the Armenian people, which came true because of the national liberation struggle and especially because of the heroic battles in May 1918," said the letter. "The First Republic of Armenia inspired the people with strength. It was the basis, on which Soviet Armenia and the current state were founded." Independence Day celebrations continued all day in Yerevan and ended with a concert and salute in Victory Park. 2) Azerbaijan Blocks Armenian Participation in CIS Defense Meeting YEREVAN (RFE/RL/Yerkir)--Armenia said on Tuesday that Azerbaijan has prevented it from participating in this week's meeting in Baku of high-ranking defense officials from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The one-day session of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers is scheduled to open in the Azeri capital on Wednesday. Yerevan said last week that Defense Minister Serge Sarkisian will not attend it, because Azeri authorities failed to guarantee the security of the Armenian delegation. In a statement, the ministry said it has been informed by the Moscow-based Secretariat of the CIS structure that the Azeri authorities have refused to guarantee the security of the Armenian participants. It condemned the move, accusing Azerbaijan of failing to honor its international obligations. "This fact again confirms that Azerbaijan is not able to meet its commitments to secure participants of international meetings in its territory," said the statement. "The Council Secretariat has to create equal conditions for all participant states of the meeting." "We expect an official response from the CIS Council of Defense Ministers to the incident," added the statement. A spokesman for the Azeri Defense Ministry confirmed that Baku is against Armenian participation in the meeting. Previously, the Azeri Government also refused to allow a group of Armenian army officers to take part in a NATO-led military exercise that had been due to take place in Azerbaijan in September 2004. NATO officials responded by canceling the multinational drills. 3) Representative Pallone Condemns Firing of Ambassador Evans WASHINGTON, DC--The controversy surrounded the firing of US Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans continued to grow this week with a powerful statement by the Co-chairman of the Armenian Caucus, calls for Congressional hearings, and a series of as yet unanswered inquiries from the national media during the State Department's daily press briefing, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). In a May 25 statement on the House floor, Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) forcefully condemned the Administration for forcing Ambassador Evans to vacate his post for publicly affirming the Armenian genocide. He voiced his "fear that the Government of Turkey may have played a role in this unfortunate event. I strongly believe they have expressed concern to the White House over Evans' remarks last year. In fact, immediately following his remarks, Evan issued a "correction," all too seemingly at the behest of the Administration. We must not allow a third party to interfere in US diplomacy and refrain from declaring the truth in order to promote relations with Turkey." Congressman Pallone noted that he has yet to receive an explanation from the State Department, despite having written a letter to the Secretary more than two months ago requesting a thorough description of the reasons behind the Ambassador's recall. Commenting on similar unanswered letters and questions posed during Congressional hearings regarding this controversy, he noted that, "now, the White House has made an 'official' announcement but still has not given an explanation." He closed by expressing his "hope that the newly-appointed US Ambassador to Armenia, Richard Hoagland, will not play the word games of the White House, and comply with Turkey's campaign of genocidal denial." The White House made the recall of Ambassador Evans official this week with the public announcement of his replacement, Richard Hoagland. As he has repeated over the past several months, the State Department spokesperson, Sean McCormack, again avoided answering a direct question last week about the reasons for Ambassador Evans' recall. In response to persistent questioning, he limited his remarks to generically praising Ambassador Evans' service, noting his replacement, and repeating the stock-phrase that he and other senior Administration officials "serve at the pleasure of the President." The ANCA has called for Congressional hearings to investigate the firing of Ambassador Evans. Using the ANCA website, activists can send their legislators a free ANCA WebFax asking them to call for hearings of both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House International Relations Committee. These letters call for a full hearing, featuring testimony from all the key figures involved in this situation, as well as a thorough examination of the role of the Turkish Government in exporting its suppression of speech to the United States. The ANCA WebFaxes state, in part, that, "Ambassador Evans is, in effect, being punished for honoring his President's pledge to properly recognize the Armenian genocide--a promise that George W. Bush made on the campaign trail in February of 2000 but abandoned once in the White House. Ambassador Evans should be praised, not dismissed, for rejecting 'gag-rules' imposed by the Turkish Government on the discussion of the Armenian genocide by America's leaders at home and diplomats abroad." The letters close by expressing outrage that the "Administration has lacked the courage to speak honestly--either to Congress or the American people--about its reasons for firing Ambassador Evans. Hopefully, these hearings will provide the transparency that we, as citizens, have the right to expect of our government." Earlier this week, sixty Members of Congress, led by Representative Ed Markey (D-MA), sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking for clarification of the reasons behind Ambassador Evans' recall. Prior to this letter, Representative Pallone, Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA) each independently called on the State Department to explain reports that Ambassador Evans was being recalled because of his speech on the Armenian genocide. They have yet to receive any response to their inquiries. Following his statements last February, Ambassador Evans was forced to issue a clarification that his references to the Armenian genocide were his personal views and did not represent a change in US policy. He subsequently issued a correction to this statement, replacing a reference to the genocide with the word "tragedy." The American Foreign Service Association, which had planned to honor Ambassador Evans with the "Christian A. Herter Award," recognizing creative thinking and intellectual courage within the Foreign Service, reportedly rescinded the award following pressure from the State Department a few days before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Washington, DC to meet with President Bush. 4) Genocide Denial Bill to Be Introduced in Dutch Parliament The Christian Union party of The Netherlands will introduce a bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian genocide and other crimes against humanity to the Dutch Parliament during a press conference on Thursday, June 1. The bill specifically refers to the Armenian genocide as one of the crimes against humanity covered by the law. Christian Union parliamentarians Tineke Huizinga and Andre Rouvoet will give the press conference along with representatives from the April 24 Committee of the Federation of Armenian Organizations in the Netherlands (FAON), Center for Information and Documentation of Israel (CIDI), and Dutch Anti-racism Organization (LBR). 5) 21 New Members Join The Ranks of The ARF At the official initiation ceremony Saturday, twenty-one youths joined the ranks of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) by taking an oath. The new members took their oath at the Homenetmen Ararat Center in Glendale in front of about 100 ARF members. The "Gnkahayr" of the ceremony was Professor Rubina Peroomian, who led the oath-taking ceremony and initiated the new members. In her message, she said that this year's ceremony coincides with May 28, the day on which the Armenian people established their independence in 1918. She stressed that to be an ARF member means to struggle for the rights of the Armenian people. In his closing remarks, ARF Western Region Central Committee Representative Hovig Saliba told the new members, "With your participation, our struggle will become more powerful. Within the ranks of the ARF, you will find new ideological allies, which you will never find anywhere else." He added that we should all continue the struggle until the establishment of a unified Armenia. After the ceremony, an event organized by the ARF Zavarian chapter was held for Independence Day. Karnig Sarkissian, and Harout Chekerian sang traditional and patriotic songs, as those in attendance celebrated Armenian independence. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

Regnum, Russia
May 28 2006
Amrenian foreign minister: Parties are still too far from signing any
document on Karabakh
A meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents Robert Kocharyan and
Ilham Aliyev will most probably be held on June 4 in Bucharest,
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has announced.
According to him, on the negotiation table there is a document on
some principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, which
will be worked out by the presidents. `If the parties come to an
agreement on those principles, the paper will become a document,’
Oskanyan is quoted as saying. Answering the question by a REGNUM
correspondent whether there will be an opportunity to sign any
document in Bucharest, the Armenian minister is reported as saying
`the situation is too far from it.’ `The parties should agree on some
principles, after that we can speak of a document,’ Vardan Oskanyan
stressed.
As REGNUM earlier reported, the meeting of the presidents is expected
to be held within framework of The Black for Partnership and Dialog
Summit in Bucharest on June 4-6.

FIRST CHURCH TO BE BUILT IN SEVAN WITH ASSISTANCE OF FRENCH ARMENIAN
BENEFACTOR

ETCHMIADZIN, MAY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. Karekin II Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians received on May 25 a group of French
Armenian pilgrims accompanied by Armenian Apostolic Surb Church
benefactor Sargis Petoyan. His Holiness welcame with satisfaction the
pilgrims’ visit to the Fatherland and the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin, the cherished spiritual center of the whole Armenian
people. His Holiness Patriarch presented the pilgrimes challenges
arisen before the Church and its present activity in the sphere of
preparing churchmen, the people’s Christian up-bringing, church
construction and social service. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the
Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Patriarch
of All Armenians expressed appreciation and his blessing to Sargis
Petrosian by charity of who the first church will be built in the city
of Sevan.

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:
Watch the recorded video here:
anSchoolevent.wmv
CEREMONY DEDICATED TO THE ARMENIAN SCHOOL
“THE ARMENIAN SCHOOL, THE SACRED TREASURE OF OUR LIFE,
SHOULD BE KEPT STRONG AND ACTIVE”
SAYS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I
The Educational Committee of the Armenian Executive Council of the Diocese
of Lebanon organized a public ceremony dedicated to the Armenian schools in
the “Emile Lahoud” Hall on May 24. Held under the patronage of His Holiness
Aram I, the event was organized on the occasion of “The Year of the Armenian
School” and formed part of the Catholicos’ pontifical visit to the Diocese.
Primate Bishop Kegham Khatcherian, priests, ministers and deputies, the
mayor of Bourj Hammoud Mr. Antranig Meserlian, the Ambassador of Armenia to
Lebanon Mr. Vahan Der Ghevontian, representatives of the Executive Council,
Armenian political parties, organisations and unions, principals of schools,
teachers and parents as well as a large number of people attended the event.
After the Lebanese and Armenian anthems were played, a video about the
Armenian schools of Lebanon was screened. Sebouh Mandjian then delivered the
opening remarks, stressing that the ceremony was not just a regular event,
but a conscious, yet humble contribution to the Armenian school.
“The builder of Armenianness and the school of Mashdots will thrive with
music and dance, which will prove once again that the Armenian school is not
only an educational institution, but a source of life and the strong rock of
our collective’s existence,” said Mandjian.
A group of students from Armenian national colleges then took to the stage
reciting the poem entitled “Mesrobadon” by Zareh Khrakhouni. The “Gargatch”
Choir of Hamazkayine and conductor Zakar Keshihian then entertained the
audience with performances of “My Teacher”, “Orhnerk Yergrabahi” and
“Haigagan Joghovertayin Yerkashar.”
The keynote speaker of the event, Mr. Garo Hovhannesian stated: “The school
before everything else, the school above everything else and the school, the
only indispensable institution.”
Hovhannesian pointed out that the Armenian school has an essential role to
play in the revival of the Armenian community of Lebanon. He said issues
related to the Armenian school should be discussed within the general
context of the community’s organization and strengthening and not considered
from a solely educational perspective.
Assessing the educational status of the Armenian school and focusing on the
difficulties Armenian education faces, the speaker stated that all Armenian
saints and heroes have been born from Armenian schools.
“Armenia is not only located in Armenia. Armenia is also found wherever
there are Armenians. It is the obligation of each Armenian to keep the flag
of Armenia and Armenians raised in his own world,” he said, adding that in
the circumstances of the Diaspora “the Armenian motherland should be felt in
Armenian schools.”
Talking about the difficulties Armenian schools face today, Hovhannisian
assured that when the Armenian schools are in trouble, the Armenian
community in general is in trouble.
“If we don’t have the atmosphere that lights fires in the spirits of the
young generation and creates storms in their veins, we should urgently
produce it if our intentions for the future of the Armenian school are real.
No efforts should be spared for the creation of this atmosphere,” concluded
the speaker.
The “Kayiane” dance ensemble of Hamazkayin then performed the dance entitled
“Lernayin Aghtchigner”.
Primate Bishop Kegham Khatcherian defined the Armenian school: “The Armenian
school means conscious teaching and a conscious generation.” The Bishop
assured that the role of the Lebanese-Armenian community as a leader
community of the Armenian Diaspora would be fully realised if the Armenian
schools continue in their mission.
The Pontiff delivered his message at the end of the event. “There are values
and sanctities in the lives of nations and they form the richness of these
nations, guarantee their identities. In other words, those values guarantee
the eternity of a nation,” he said.
“Those values have persisted in our life and have kept our nation through
the storms of history. These values are the Motherland, the Church, Culture,
national struggle and the School,” His Holiness added.
The Catholicos stated that the Armenian school is the institution that forms
true Armenians. He pointed out, however, that the Armenian school faces
difficulties today and has started to lose its comprehensiveness. The
Pontiff stressed that the time has come to praise the Armenian school and
remind of its values and importance.
“The Armenian school is not only textbooks and a building; it’s a spirit.
That spirit should be reassessed not only with words, but by correct
diagnosis of the problem and adequate solution to it,” he concluded.
##
View photos here: tm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the dioceses of
the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

PanARMENIAN.Net/
US Hopes for Agreement between Kocharian and Aliyev in Romania

27.05.2006 13:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The hope would be that the Presidents of Azerbaijan
and Armenia might at that point be able to come to closure on some of
the issues that divide them within the context of settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict, stated Sean McCormack, an official of the
US Department of State. He was commenting on the result of the visit
of US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried to the South Caucasus.
`Fried was to the South Caucasus working with the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs, Russia as well as France, to see if we could find a way
forward on resolving the Nagorno Karabakh issue between Armenia and
Azerbaijan,’ Sean McCormack said. `I don’t have a readout for you as
to what sort of progress they may have made,’ he added.
«I know that the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia are scheduled to
get together in Bucharest, Romania, in early June. They made a run at
it while they were in France. They weren’t able to come to agreement,’
the US official stressed. “We, working with the Minsk Group co-chairs,
are hopeful that they can come together to resolve whatever
differences there are. These are tough issues, we know. It’s going to
require tough political decisions on both sides. But we think that at
the end of the day, taking this tough political decisions will benefit
all the peoples of the region,’ McCormack concluded.

PRESS SECRETARY OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT URGES SPEAKER TO RESIGN WITH DIGNITY
Yerevan, May 25. ArmInfo. The statements of the leader of the Orinats
Yerkir party Artur Bagdassaryan that Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan or employees of his staff pressured the businessmen who left
his party are not true, says the press secretary of the Armenian
president Viktor Sogomonyan.
Neither the president nor anybody from his administration have ever
discussed with those businessmen any problems related to their
withdrawal from OY, says Sogomonyan. He notes that Bagdassaryan is
simply trying to shift the responsibility for the split of his party
on others instead of searching for the reasons inside himself. “In any
case one should be able to leave with dignity,” says Sogomonyan.

SECOND BLACK BOX RECORDER FROM CRASHED ARMENIAN AIRBUS RECOVERED
Agence France Presse — English
May 23, 2006 Tuesday 11:56 PM GMT
The second black box flight recorder from an Armenian Airbus passenger
plane that crashed in the Black Sea earlier this month was recovered
from the sea bed overnight,the Russian transport ministry said
Wednesday.
The instrument will give investigators technical details of the doomed
flight, according to the Interfax news agency.
All 113 passengers and crew died when the Armavia airlines Airbus A320,
which had taken off from Yerevan, crashed May 3 during its approach
to Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi. Eighty-five of the victims
were Armenians, many of them on family visits.
The other flight recorder, with voice recordings, was pulled out
on Monday.
There has so far been no official word on the possible cause of
the crash.

TIGRAN TOROSIAN AND ROBERT SIMMONS DISCUSS ISSUES OF DEEPENING ARMENIA-NATO COOPERATION
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 24 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Within the framework of
the Individual Partnership Actions Plan (IPAP), issues of cooperation
of the NATO and Armenia were discussed at the May 23 meeting of
RA National Assembly Deputy Speaker Tigran Tororsian with the
delegation headed by Robert Simmons, the NATO Secretary’s General
Special Representative.
As for prospects of the cooperation, the NA Deputy Speaker mentioned
that it will continue both in the NATO PA and in a wide sense as
it is one of the main components of securing the security system of
Armenia. Attaching importance to meaning of constitutional amendments
from the viewpoint of deepening democracy, protecting the human rights,
formation of a complete complex of counterbalances and suppressions
of the state government system as well as solution of the securiy
problems of the country, Tigran Torosian considered natural presence
of political components at the IPAP and expressed a hope that the
cooperation with the NATO may assist successful solution of the
Eurointegration problems and improvement of regional relations,
overcoming conflicts.
Holding of the coming state elections in correspondence with the
democratic standards, future widening of the Individual Partnership
Actions Plan were mutually attached importance to. R.Simmons attached
importance to the role and meaning of the Parliament in the issue
of relations with the North Atlantic Alliance, mentioning both
work of the Armenian delegation at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
and important role of people’s diplomacy. He is here to give an
intermediate estimation to the IPAP, and finds that the program has
positive developments, and the Parliament may have an active role in
its continuous character. According to Simmons, the IPAP is a document
that may be completed and developed as it has protection of democratic
values in the basis. In the opinion of the NATO Secretary’s General
Special Representative, the alliance may assist development of the
Armenia-Turkey relations.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the NA Public Relations Department,
as for the state created at the Parliament of Armenia, Tigran Torosian
mentioned that re-arrangement of political forces will not influence
in any way on the foreign policy of Armenia and mutual relations
with the NATO, issues of implementation of the IPAP. It was also
mentioned that to deepen the cooperation, a commission headed by the
President of the republic on coordinating cooperation of the Republic
of Armenia with European structures has been created recently what
will considerably assist implementation of the IPAP.