Author: Zakarian Garnik

CYPRIOT ARMENIANS VISIT THEIR DILAPIDATED MONASTERY

Cyprus Press and Information Office, Occupied Northern Cyprus
May 7 2007

Turkish Cypriot daily ORTAM (07.05.07) newspaper reports under banner
headlines in its front page Harisa Day and writes that a group of
Armenians from the Armenian community in Cyprus visited yesterday the
Surp Magar Armenian Monastery in the occupied area and celebrated the
Harisa Day. Since 1974 for the first time the Armenians visit their
now dilapidated monastery, writes ORTAM

(Tr. note Harisa is an Armenian dish prepared with whole wheat and
lamb meat)

ARMENIAN AND AZERI FOREIGN MINISTERS TO MEET SEPARATELY WITH MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMEN

ARMENPRESS
May 09 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 9, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign minister Vartan Oskanian
said today he and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov will
hold separate talks with the Minsk Group co-chairs in Strasbourg on
May 11. Oskanian told reporters in Yerevan that he will discuss with
the cochairmen from Russia, France and the USA the details of his
next meeting with Mamedyarov.

Oskanian denounced the Azerbaijani side for disclosing the details
of negotiations over the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh, saying
it has a negative effect on the process, but added that the process
will not stop.

Oskanian meant the remarks by Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev,
who claimed on May 3 that ‘Armenia had agreed to liberate all seven
Azerbaijani districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a peace
accord discussed presently by the conflicting parties."

Oskanian said today that Armenia refrains from disclosing the details
of the talks with Baku and is being guided by a document on the basic
principles of the conflict resolution which is on the table.

In a related news Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister Araz Azimov
was quoted by Azeri media as saying that ‘Armenia and Azerbaijan
are as close to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as never
before." Araz Azimov made the statement while speaking at the Carnegie
Center in Moscow.

Meantime the OSCE Minsk group cochairmen are meeting tomorrow in
Madrid to discuss chances of organizing a fresh meeting of Armenian
and Azeri presidents on June 10 in the Russian Saint Petersburg.

PARLIAMENTARY CAMPAIGNING ENDS TODAY NIGHT

ARMENPRESS
May 10 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 10, ARMENPRESS: Armenia’s political parties and
individual candidates contesting the May 12 parliamentary elections by
proportional (party lists) and in single-mandate constituencies will
have to finish their election campaigns today at 12 pm as required
by its legislation.

The official start to election campaign was given on April 8. The
Armenian election law bans campaigning on the voting day and a day
prior to it.

According to a time-table of actions, developed by the Central Election
Commission, chairmen of all territorial election commissions will
receive today the finalized voter lists and copies of these lists
will have to be fixed on available places in all polling stations.

Tomorrow, on May 11, the Central Election Commission will announce
the final number of eligible voters in voter lists, while territorial
election commissions will hand out ballots, special envelopes in which
the voted ballots must be placed before going into ballot boxes and
stamps to chairmen of all precinct election commissions.

The voting will begin on May 12 at 8 am and end at 9 pm of the same
day across the country.

Twenty-two parties and one alliance will be fighting for 90 seats
in the National Assembly, contested under the proportional election
system and 119 individual candidates will be contesting for 41 seats
under the majoritarian system in single-mandate constituencies. Seven
of the latter, including several wealthy businessmen , will be voted
for unopposed.

PUBLIC TV OF ARMENIA COVERED THE PRE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN A MORE BALANCED MANNER, THAN THE PRIVATE TV-CHANNELS, THE DATA OF THE MONITORING EVIDENCE

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
May 10 2007

Yerevan, May 10. /Mediamax/. The "TIM" Research Center and the Yerevan
Press Club (YPC) presented today the regular intermediate report on
the results of the monitoring of the coverage of pre-election campaign
by the Armenian media in the period starting from April 24 and up to
May 5.

Mediamax reports that the Chairman of the YPC Boris Navasardian stated
that during the 12 days of study the audience of the Armenian media had
the opportunity to receive information on the majority of political
forces, participating in the election campaign. At the same time,
he stated, the given statement concerns mostly the citizens of the
capital, which has a larger choice of channels.

Boris Navasardian stated that from the four channels, which devoted
most of the time to the coverage of the activities of political
parties /ALM, Second Armenian TV-Channel, Yerkir Media and Kentron/,
only two of them broadcast in the regions of the country.

At that, 35% of the broadcast time of ALM, devoted to the parties,
fell on the share of the People’s Party, 28% – the Republican Party
of Armenia (RPA). 83% of the broadcast time of the Second Armenian
TV-Channel fell on the share of four parties – "Dashnaktsutiun",
"United Liberal-National Party", RPA and "Prosperous Armenia" Party.

Boris Navasardian noted that relatively more balanced was the coverage
of the pre-election campaign by the Public TV and the Public Radio
of Armenia. He expressed an opinion that this is conditioned by the
greater attention of the international observers to the activity of
the Public TV and Radio Company.

BRAND OF ARMENIAN BOTTLED WATER BANNED

Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
May 10 2007

Dubai: Jermuk bottled water imported from Armenia has been withdrawn
and banned from the markets, according to a decision by the General
Secretariat of UAE Municipalities.

Obaid Bin Eisa Ahmad Al Ameen, Assistant Undersecretary of UAE
Municipalities, said the decision banning the sale of this brand of
bottled water was issued after tests conducted found that it contained
excessive amounts of arsenic, a toxic substance that can cause cancer.

A circular to this effect has been sent to all municipalities and
the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority to put this ban into effect.

RAU RECTOR ILL-DISPOSED TOWARDS CANCELLATION OF CONTRACT OF ‘MATENADARAN’ INSTITUTE-MUSEUM AND AMERICAN COMPANY

Arminfo News Agency
2007-05-10 18:49:00

Rector of Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University, ex- prime minister
of Armenia, Armen Dartbunyan, is ill-disposed towards cancellation
of the contract with an American company that aimed to digitize
the manuscripts stored at "Matenadaran" Institute-Museum of Ancient
Manuscripts.

Delivering a public lecture at RAU on Thursday, Rector Darbinyan
mentioned that if digitized, the library would become a distributor
of the information stored at "Matenadaran." The digitization cost
dozens of millions of dollars, including 10 million dollars were
required immediately to start the process.

After the contract was made, it has been criticized for three
weeks. Armen Darbinyan called groundless the arguments that Armenia
would transfer its national heritage to the USA and will lose monopoly
of the manuscripts. The criticism made academician Sen Arevshatyan,
head of "Matenadaran," to annul the contract. Americans could not
understand the motives of such avid turn-down of so progressive
initiative, he said.

He believes that the Armenian people and the country must inform the
world of the Armenian culture as profoundly as possible in order to
change the attitude to the Armenian people as a victim of the genocide
of 1915 and as the people that succeeded in trade and not so much in
intellectual initiatives, RAU Rector said.

CONGRESS CONSIDERS CUTTING MISSILE DEFENSE

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.05.2007 17:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The U.S. Congress was considering cutting funding
to the White House’s plan to build a missile defense system in
Eastern Europe.

Democrats said the high-tech system, which has strained relations
with Russia, is unproven, The New York Times reported.

But the White House said it is necessary to move ahead with
construction in Poland and the Czech Republican soon to prepare for
long-range missiles that could come from Iran.

A House subcommittee was considering legislation that would cut
$160 million in funding from the missile defense program, delaying
construction on interceptor silos in Poland. A similar bill was in
the works in the Senate.

The Government Accountability Office reported in March an anti-missile
program "cannot yet be fully assessed because there have been too
few flight tests conducted to anchor the models and simulations that
predict overall system performance," the newspaper reported.

But the director of the Missile Defense Agency, Lt. Gen. Henry
A. Obering III, disagreed, telling the newspaper, "I do believe we
are on the right path."

PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Media Relations Specialist
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

May 10, 2007
___________________

DIOCESE HOST REGIONAL WORKSHOP OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS DURING ASSEMBLY
WEEKEND

It wasn’t all budgets, proposals, and ballots during the 105th Diocesan
Annual Assembly in Nashua, New Hampshire. On Saturday, May 5, 2007, more
than 30 Sunday School teachers and superintendents from throughout New
England gathered for a Diocesan workshop focused on "Creating an Environment
of Excellence."

"We had a truly inspiring Saturday gathering," said Elise Antreassian,
coordinator of Christian education for the Diocese who organized the
gathering. "I have nothing but superlatives about the people who came and
the positive energy they radiated."

The meeting was a direct result of a request from the newly revitalized New
England Region Superintendents’ Association at its last meeting. The
Armenian Sunday School educators wanted to gather again for more networking
and group learning.

PRAYERS OF ST. GREGORY

The educators heard from Tom Samuelian, an American-born lawyer practicing
in Armenia who also has his doctorate degree in linguistics from University
of Pennsylvania. A noted academic, he completed the first full English
translation of the prayers of St. Gregory of Narek and was bestowed the Sts
Sahag and Mesrob Medal from His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians.

Samuelian spoke about St. Gregory’s life, identifying specific prayers,
themes, and methods for presenting the Narek in the classroom.

"The prayers of this world-class Christian poet have been compared with
Augustine’s Confessions and the Psalms, among other works," Samuelian noted.
"The Narek, although often referred to as ‘lamentations,’ is actually not a
lamentation by genre. Rather, it is a uniquely designed spiritual handbook
that uses striking word pictures to guide us in developing our relationship
with God through the practice of prayer."

CONNECTING TO LIFE

Following the discussion of St. Gregory of Narek, the teachers focused on
ways to create an environment of academic excellence in their classrooms.
The goal of the session was to show how teachers can connect real life with
faith an inseparable theme. It is a theme that Diocesan Christian education
staff will take on the road this fall in a series of regional workshops.

During one exercise, a pop culture quiz, teachers were left stunned at how
little they knew about the world of children and middle schoolers. Though
the questions were trivial, asking about TV shows and video games, they
pointed to an issue of larger importance.

"This understanding is important because advertisers, media promoters, and
substance pushers go to great lengths to learn about this world in order to
get our children’s attention," Antreassian said. "Also, think of how Jesus
taught. When he wanted to describe God’s boundless joy at finding a lost
sinner, he didn’t ask anyone to ‘imagine’ it. He told them to relive that
very feeling by thinking of lost sheep and lost coins, the very stuff of
their lives. That’s what we have to reclaim to be effective Christian
educators."

Teachers also explored how to use games and activities to help students
apply their faith to everyday situations.

The gathering included a healthy mix of experienced veteran educators and
new comers to Christian education. Many thought such a meeting should become
a regular feature of future Diocesan Assemblies.

"Getting together was an uplifting experience," said Mark Kashgegian, a
Sunday School educator from the Church of the Holy Translators in
Framingham, Massachusetts. "We spend many hours preparing lesson plans that
hopefully will deliver the message that we are trying to convey to the kids
each week. That’s the biggest challenge! To be able to come together and
share thoughts, ideas and experiences is most helpful."

— 5/10/07

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): More than 30 parish Christian educators gather during
the 105th Diocesan Annual Assembly in Nashua, New Hampshire, for a special
regional workshop on creating an environment of excellence in the classroom.

MAY 9 IS EUROPE DAY

ArmRadio.am
08.05.2007 16:39

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations
and Neighbourhood Policy issued a message on the Europe Day, which
says, in part:

"9 May, or "Europe Day," is the anniversary of the Schumann
Declaration.

Speaking in Paris in 1950, Robert Schumann, then Foreign Minister
of France, proposed a new form of political arrangement for Europe,
whose aim was to make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable.

His vision and foresight were confirmed earlier this year when we
celebrated the 50th anniversary of the European Union, the body
created as a result of that famous Declaration.

It has undoubtedly been a tremendous success. For fifty years its
members have enjoyed unprecedented levels of peace, prosperity and
stability.

Over the years it has evolved to be much more than a simple
trading bloc coordinating members’ trade policy and setting common
tariffs. Today the European Union is a political and economic project
bringing together 27 European countries and over 490 million people.

Its citizens can study, work or live in another EU country with a
minimum of red tape and they can enjoy health and social benefits
everywhere. Travel across Europe is increasingly passport-free and
the majority of its citizens share a single currency.

The EU is active in all the areas that pose the greatest challenges to
society in the 21st century. We are a strategic partner for countries
around the world on issues as varied as international terrorism,
climate change, HIV/AIDS, and resolving the world’s most entrenched
conflicts.

Our prosperity has grown out of a particular form of regional
cooperation which has developed hand in hand with a deeper commitment
to democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It is this experience,
the secret of our own success, which we seek to offer to others.

We are still developing our common European foreign policy. But we
are already the world’s largest donor, providing 60% of the world’s
official development assistance. The European Commission alone gives
over â~B¬7 billion every year.

We aim to tackle poverty and provide humanitarian assistance wherever
it is required. We build up trading and investment partnerships. And
we deploy our unique set of skills in assisting countries in transition
to ensure others benefit from our own prosperity and stability.

We believe that it’s only through partnership that solutions to the
world’s problems can be found. That’s why we put so much value on
our relations with our partners around the globe and it’s also why
we are so committed to multilateralism.

The European Union has launched the European Neighborhood policy with
the objective of further intensifying relations with his new neighbors,
and sharing with them the benefits of enlargement.

In this framework, the EU has signed with Armenia an Action Plan in
November 2006. The reform priorities identified in the Action Plan
are strengthening of democratic structures, human rights and the
rule of law, as well as further support for economic development and
poverty reduction, regional cooperation and contribution to a peaceful
solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Currently, the European Union is providing concrete support to Armenia
in fighting poverty and in promoting administrative and regulatory
reforms, by giving technical assistance in the field of education,
and budgetary support for agricultural reform, public financial
management and social sector reform.

The European Union is also developing police and military missions. We
have deployed over 60,000 military personnel and civilians around
the world delivering support in crisis situations in the Middle East,
Africa and post-tsunami Indonesia.

In the years ahead we will continue to work with our friends and
partners on the major issues confronting us all: climate change,
energy security, conflict resolution and managing the forces of
globalization. We will also work to promote the values we hold dear
and which we believe hold the key to our own prosperity – respect
for human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

On this symbolic day we reaffirm the objective we set ourselves for
the next 50 years: using the achievements of the last 50 years – our
wealth, peace and experience – not only to maintain our own standard
of living, but also for the benefit of others."

–Boundary_(ID_JTtXWH77qjIhixd+dBmy 3g)–

RESTORED MEDICAL CENTER OF VILLAGE OF PROSHIAN OPENS ON MAY 5

YEREVAN, MAY 7, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The medical center of
the village of Proshian, the marz of Kotayk, was restored on the
initiative and with the financial assistance of Canadian Armenian
benefactor Nikol Abrahamian and the Schaffhausen Assistance Armenia
charity organization.

As Norayr Davidian, the RA Minister of Health Care stated at the May 5
solemn opening of the medical center, reconstruction works of more
than 100 ambulances were done in all the marzes of Armenia from 2003
till now. In the Minister’s words, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation did numerous works in the direction of improvement of the
sphere of health care during the last years: particularly, works aimed
to improvement of the family doctor institute, including training of
family doctors and nurses, raising of medical employees’ salaries,
etc. The Minister assured that those works will continue.

In Nikol Abrahamian’s words, 80 thousand U.D. dollars were spent on
restoration of the medical center. Modern equipment envisaged for
researches will be placed here soon. In his words, works of
restoration of the kindergarten and school of the village of Proshian
will also start soon. 80 thousand dollars as well will be given for
those works. It is also envisaged to fundamentally restore the sports
school of the village with 60 thousand U.S. dollars assistance of the
Schaffhousen Assistance Armenia charity organization and Nikol
Abrahamian. And with the assistance of the Abrahamians family, a
memorial is being built in the village pantheon to died freedom
fighters.

To recap, the Canadian Armenian Abrahamians family settled in the
village of Proshian 1.5 year ago implements different charity programs
in Armenia.