Author: Zakarian Garnik

PLANNING CONFERENCE OF THE COOPERATIVE LONGBOW /LANCER 08 MILITARY EXERCISES OPENED IN YEREVAN

armradio.am
14.05.2008 12:22

The main planning conference of the "Cooperative Longbow/Lancer and
Bold Lynx" military exercises opened in Yerevan on May 14. Deputy
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia Arshaluys
Paytyan and Chief of Staff of Allied Land Component Command Heidelberg,
Brigadier General Claudio Verchellotti greeted the participants and
offered opening speeches.

About 110 servicemen of 30 nationalities are participating in the
conference. Thirty-seven of them represent different NAT Commands,
the rest are from the 21 states, which have already expressed
readiness to participate in the military exercises. Seven NATO member
states (USA, Poland, Lithuania, Canada, Greece, Hungary and Great
Britain), 13 members of the Partnership for Peace Program, including
Armenia, Albania, Austria, Switzerland, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Chernogoria, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Serbia, Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, Georgia and Ukraine and one country of the Istanbul
Cooperation Initiative (the United Arab Emirates) have delegated
their representatives to Armenia.

During the conference the elaboration of the plan of the conference
will continue, legal issues and the educational training program will
be coordinated.

ROMAN AMOYAN QUALIFIES FOR BEIJING 2008

armradio.am
12.05.2008 17:55

Armenian Greek-Roman style wrestler Roman Amoyan (55 kg) booked an
Olympic berth, celebrating three victories in the Olympic Qualification
Tournament in Rome.

Three Armenian Greek Roma style wrestlers – Roan Amoyan (55 kg), Arman
Adikyan (66 kg) and Yuri Patrikeev (120 kg) have already qualified
for Beijing 2008. All in all, Armenian wrestlers have booked six
Olympic berths.

TEMPERATURE LOWER THAN NORMAL

Panorama.am
16:41 10/05/2008

In the next three days again the temperature in Armenia will be lower,
the weather will be rainy, windy and there will be thunder, reported
Natalia Bisharyan from "Armstatehydromet" service.

According to her on 11 May the weather in mountainous parts will be
-2-+3 at night and 9-14 in the daytime.

"In 12-13 May the temperature will be high by 2-3C in the mountainous
regions, in highlands and the capital," she said.

Tomorrow the temperature in Ararat lowlands will be 3-8 warm at night
and 17-22 in the daytime. In Yerevan the temperature will be 7-10
hot at night and 19-22 in the daytime.

May 9, 2008
Press Release
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

PRELATE TO PRESIDE OVER DIVINE LITURGY AT
HOLY MARTYRS CHURCH

Sunday, May 11th, is the Feast of Pentecost as well as Mother’s Day.
On this occasion, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, will
preside over Divine Liturgy at Holy Martyrs Church and deliver the sermon.
The Prelate will also preside over special prayer services for the
victims of the cyclone in Myanmar. By the ordinance of the Prelate, prayers
will be offered in all Prelacy Churches for the victims.
We urge our faithful to assist in the relief efforts through the Red
Cross or World Vision.

ART EXHIBIT AT THE PRELACY FEATURING THE WORKS OF
RAZMIK HADJIKIAN

The Prelacy Outreach Committee, under the auspices of the Prelate,
has organized an art exhibit/sale to take place at the "Dikran and Zarouhie
Der Ghazarian" Hall. The exhibit will feature the works of artist Razmik
Hadjikian.
Opening night is on Friday, May 16th, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The exhibit will also be open on Saturday, May 17th, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m.

PRELATE TO ATTEND "SASNA YERGIR" PERFORMANCE

On the evening of Sunday, May 11th, a special show, titled "Sasna
Yergir" will be presented at Alex Theatre in Glendale. The show will feature
dance, song, and poetry by a variety of artists.
The Prelate will attend and convey his blessings.

PRELATE TO BE REPRESENTED AT UCLA BANQUET

The 10th anniversary banquet of the Friends of the UCLA Armenian
Language and Culture Studies is scheduled to take place on the evening of
Saturday, May 10th.
Very Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian will represent the Prelate at the
banquet.

WESTERN PRELACY CLERGY CONFERENCE

On the eve of the 36th Prelacy Representative Assembly, the annual
clergy conference was held on Wednesday, May 7th, at the "Armenag Der
Bedrossian" Hall of St. Mary’s Church in Glendale. The conference was
presided over by H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, with the
participation of the clergy order. Former Prelate H.E. Archbishop Yeprem
Tabakian and retired clergy members also participated.
The day began with church services followed by a spiritual
meditation by the Prelate in which the he stressed the importance of prayer
and trust in God.
The conference convened with remarks by the Prelate who commended
the devotion and service of the clergy members, and wished for the day’s
proceedings to progress smoothly. He then presented a comprehensive report
of the Prelacy’s endeavors, including religious ceremonies, youth and Sunday
School activities, construction projects of our parishes and churches, the
establishment of a new high school, the need for new clergy members, the
spiritual needs of our parishioners, and adding new elements to the
Prelacy’s weekly television programming. The Prelate also spoke of the
organizing of joint events by the three Prelacies of North America and
Canada to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of a Prelacy
in North America, as well as the 35th anniversary of the Western Prelacy.
Archbishop Tabakian then thanked the Prelate for the invitation to
attend the conference and wished the participants success, stressing the
importance of collaboration. Following the election of Very Rev. Fr. Muron
Aznikian as Chair of the meeting and Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian as
secretary, the annual report of the Religious Council was presented and
subsequent changes made.
Very Rev. Fr. Aznikian presented a draft of the events planned for
the "Year of Christian Education" which includes a lecture series to take
place at each church in the coming months.
The second session convened after lunch with Very Rev. Fr. Barthev
Gulumian presenting the clergy guidebook for review, which was later adopted
by the members and by the approval of the Prelate will be published and
implemented. The Prelacy by-laws was then presented by the Prelate,
followed by the election of religious delegates for the Representative
Assembly and the outlining of proposals to present to the Assembly. The
conference concluded with a discussion of future endeavors including the
General Assembly, the blessing of Holy Muron, and youth group activities.
The conference concluded in the evening with the Prelate’s closing
remarks and benediction.

PRELACY YOUTH PARTICIPATE IN
ORTHODOX DAY OF PRAISE

On the morning of Saturday, May 3rd, Prelacy youth, under the
direction of H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, participated in
an Orthodox Day of Praise held under the auspices of the Coptic Orthodox
Diocese of Southern California and Hawaii. The event was organized and
hosted by St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Church in Santa Monica.
Among the participants were the Coptic, Syriac, Antiochian, Ethiopian, and
Russian Orthodox Churches. The Prelacy youth delegation was headed by
Christian Education Department Directors Very Rev. Fathers Muron Aznikian
and Barthev Gulumian.
The day began at 8:30 a.m. with the celebration of Divine Liturgy in
the Coptic Orthodox rite. At the conclusion of the Liturgy all participants
received Holy Communion, after which they headed to the adjoining hall for
brunch and a meet and greet with members of the sister churches.
The official program consisted of the singing of hymns by the choirs
of the ten participating churches. The program began with the Lord’s Prayer
and welcoming remarks by Pastor of the host church Fr. Paul Megally, who
acknowledged and thanked the members of all the churches for sharing in the
special day. Subsequently, a brief background was given on each church as
the choirs were invited up to offer their songs.
Closing remarks were offered by Fr. Paul who once again thanked all
the choirs for attending and for the preparation they undertook to make the
event a success. He exclaimed that there were eight languages represented
but one heart, one Lord, and one purpose, which was praise for our Lord
Jesus Christ. He then thanked the organizers and coordinators for their
diligent work in preparation for the event. The program concluded with the
Lord’s Prayer and the benediction by Fr. Paul.

Christian Today, UK
May 8 2008

Armenian leader condemns ‘genocide’ before Pope

Posted: Thursday, May 8, 2008, 10:11 (BST)

Armenia’s Orthodox leader on Wednesday used the pulpit of the Vatican
to condemn the 1915 killing of 1.5 million ethnic Armenians by Ottoman
Turks, saying the whole world should recognise it as a genocide.

"We Armenians are a people who have survived genocide, and we know
well the value of love, brotherhood, friendship and a secure life,"
Karekin II said in a public address during Pope Benedict’s general
audience in St Peter’s Square.

"Today, many countries of the world recognise and condemn the genocide
committed against the Armenian people by Ottoman Turkey…" the head
of Armenia’s Apostolic Church added, speaking in English before tens
of thousands of people.

Karekin, who like the pope has the title "His Holiness," said he
wanted to "appeal to all nations and lands to universally condemn all
genocides that have occurred throughout history and those that
continue to the present day…"

Turkey strongly denies Armenian claims, saying that Muslim Turks also
died in inter-ethnic conflict as the Ottoman Empire crumbled during
World War One.

Western historians have backed Armenian claims that the killings
amounted to a genocide.

In his address to Karekin before the crowd, Pope Benedict spoke of
"the severe persecutions suffered by Armenian Christians, especially
during the last century", but did not use the word genocide.

Karekin, in his address broadcast live on many religious television
stations around the world, said "the denial of these crimes is an
injustice that equals the commission of the same".

France’s lower house of parliament infuriated Turkey in 2006 by
backing a bill that would make it a crime to deny that mass killings
of Armenians amounted to genocide. France’s Senate never ratified the
bill.

Last year legislators in the US House of Representatives proposed a
resolution to formally name the massacre a genocide but the move
faltered under stiff opposition by President George W Bush and Turkey,
a key NATO ally.

The word "genocide" appeared in a joint statement when Karekin visited
the late Pope John Paul in 2000. But the Vatican, which has diplomatic
relations with both Armenia and Turkey, has never formally recognised
the killings as such.

John Paul visited Armenia in 2001 and prayed at a monument to the dead
in the capital, Yerevan.

NEGOTIATION PROCESS – UNDER WAY
VARDAN GRIGORYAN

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 08, 2008
Armenia

The meeting between Eduard Nalbandyan and Elmar Mamedyarov, organized
in Strasburg on May 7, was the first practical step undertaken by the
Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group following the presidential elections
of Armenia. The initiative was aimed at clarifying the issue of
resuming the Karabakh settlement talks.

Both the political and the personal motives of first meeting of the
Foreign Ministers are conceivable in context of resuming the talks. The
fact that after the February 19 presidential elections and the
subsequent formation of the new government the official Yerevan met the
international community’s demand to follow the principle of succession
in the process of the Karabakh peace talks was strictly important in
political terms.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Azerbaijan which tried to
take advantage of the temporary suspension of the talks with the
purpose of having a pro-Azerbaijani resolution passed by the UN General
Assembly and transferring the further talks to the plane of unilateral
principles.

As shown by the March 14 voting, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
do not approve of official Baku’s endeavors of bringing their
negotiation partner and the international community face-to-face with
the accomplished fact.

This means that Azerbaijan can no longer approach the negotiation table
with the outcomes of its `independent activities’ of the past months,
since the international community anticipates the parties to express a
clear-cut attitude towards the basic principles introduced by the
Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group on November 29, 2007. And despite the
Azerbaijani diplomats’ recent attempts of blackmailing the
international community and assuring their society that the talks will
continue based on the ill-famed Resolution of the General Assembly, it
is actually the basic principles introduced by the Co-Chairs that serve
as a basis for proceeding with the talks.

With the purpose of continuing the discussion of those principles, the
mediators of the Minsk Group are trying to organize the first meeting
between the two countries’ presidents during the month of June. In this
connection, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov has made the
following statement, `We’ll let the Presidents know about the outcomes
of our meeting, and they will make a decision on organizing a meeting
on their level.’

The Azerbaijani diplomat also mentioned that after the May 7 discussion
the leaders of the two countries may find it necessary to organize a
new meeting between the Foreign Ministers. It turns out that apart from
the Foreign Ministers, it is also necessary to obtain the consent of
the Presidents in order to organize the high level meeting between
Serge Sargsyan and Ilham Aliev during the month of June.

Clearly, the Azeri diplomat’s ambiguous hint implies the possible
disagreement of the Azerbaijani rather than the Armenian President,
because the Armenian party needed a temporary suspension of the talks
before the February 19 elections, while the Azerbaijani leadership is
facing that problem now.

It is now the Azerbaijani leadership that needs a time-out; therefore,
it is quite possible that after receiving the Foreign Ministry’s report
on the outcomes of the meeting with E. Nalbandyan, E. Mamedyarov may
try to find some pretext for avoiding the negotiations.

During the presidential campaign of Armenia, the settlement of the
Karabakh conflict was just one of the numerous issues of the country’s
political agenda, whereas for the Azerbaijani opposition, it may become
a key factor prior to the October 15 elections. Therefore, Baku is
currently arriving at the conclusion that the meeting between the two
countries’ presidents (if organized at all), will be a formal,
demonstrative event.

It’s clear that Armenia also realizes the possibility of a time-out
during the coming months, but the question is whether the Co-Chairs of
the Minsk Group think the same way. Judging by the statements, they are
almost sure that unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan will not have a new leader
on October 15, so they do not see the necessity of suspending the talks
for an additional period of 6 months.

After the Foreign Ministers’ meeting which heralded the fact of
resuming the talks, the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group are unlikely to
have an `understanding approach’ towards the possibility of the
`time-out’ anticipated before October 15. They would rather organize a
purely formal, demonstrative meeting between the two countries’
presidents for confirming the fact of resuming the talks on a higher
level than allow the Azeri President to use the coming month for
pronouncing bombastic speeches and questioning the progress attained in
the negotiation process during the past years.

To avoid the threat of `colored technologies’ (to be imposed on
Azerbaijan by the West and first of all, the United States) and serious
internal political instabilities, Ilham Aliev will probably choose to
participate in the upcoming high-level talks, acting behind the mask of
a lamb on the international arena and behaving like a wolf inside his
own country.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Catholicos of All Armenians calls for condemnation and
recognition of Armenian Genocide
08.05.2008 13:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During a visit to Vatican,
Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Garegin II
called for recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

`Denial of these crimes is tantamount to perpetration.
Many countries have recognized the Armenian Genocide
in the Ottoman Empire,’ His Holiness said at the
Pope’s weekly meeting with the faithful.

Pope Benedict XVI mentioned of the `ordeals that
befell Armenian Christians in the beginning of the
last century,’ FRE/RL reports.

His Holiness Garegin II and Pope Benedict XVI will
hold another meeting on May 9.

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 5 2008

ARTHUR BAGHDASARIAN APPOINTED SECRETARY OF NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

YEREVAN, 05.05.08. DE FACTO. According to a decree the RA President
Serge Sargsian signed on May 4 Arthur Baghdasarian has been appointed
Secretary of the RA National Security Council, the RA President’s
Press Office reports.
A biographical note:
Arthur Baghdasarian was born on November 8, 1968, in Yerevan.
In 1992 he graduated from the Law Department of the Yerevan State
University.
In 1988-1989 he served at the army.
In 1989-1993 Baghdasarian was a correspondent, head of section, deputy
editor at the Avangard newspaper’s editorial office. In November,
1993, he was elected Deputy Chair of the Shengavit Community Council,
Executive Committee.
1994-1997 ` Baghdasarian studied and graduated from State Service
Academy under the RF President with honors degree.
In 1995 he maintained candidate thesis receiving a scientific degree
of candidate of juridical science.
In 1995-1999 ` a deputy of the NA (electoral district ¹ 5)
In 1995 he was elected Chair of the RA Union of Lawyers and Political
Scientists.
In 1997 he maintained a Doctor’s thesis in Moscow receiving scientific
degree of Doctor of Juridical Science.
In June, 1998 Baghdasarian was elected Chair of Orinats Yerkir (The
Country of Law) Party.
In 1999-2003 Arthur Baghdasarian was elected a deputy of the NA
(electoral district ¹ 21) and headed Orinats Yerkir faction.
In 2000 he was elected the Chair of Board of Trustees of the RA French
University; in 2002 the Chair of Board of Trustees of the European
Regional Academy in Caucasus.
In 2001-2003 Baghdasarian was a member of the NA Permanent Commission
for External Relations.
In 2003-2007 he was a member of the NA (proportional electoral system,
Orinats Yerkir Party).
June 12, 2003-May 29, 2006 Arthur Baghdasarian was the Chair of the RA
NA.
On May 12, 2007, Baghdasarian was elected a deputy of the NA by the
proportional electoral system from Orinats Yerkir (The Country of Law)
Party.
Arthur Baghdasarian is the author of a number of scientific
monographs, over 100 scientific and journalistic articles.

Alpha Sphere team to represent Armenia in international finals of
Imagine Cup

2008-05-05 20:11:00

ArmInfo. The Alpha Sphere team will represent Armenia in the finals of
the international students’ competition Imagine Cup 2008, which will
take place in Paris in June 2008. Armenian Economy Minister Nerses
Yeritsyan handed a certificate to this team consisting of 5 young
specialists who passed the third stage of the contest and worked out a
project on recovery of waste by means of innovations.

Grigor Barseghyan, Microsoft RA Country Manager, expressed content with
the work of all the teams and noted that Imagine Cup is a wonderful
chance for Armenia to present its serious potential in IT sphere. "This
is a good opportunity for young people to present their ideas, projects
to large international companies", he stressed. Barseghyan promised
that from now on Armenia will annually participate in Imagine Cup.
"Though it is a new aspect of life for Armenia, we’ll exert every type
of effort to turn our participation in the competition into a pleasant
tradition, annually involving more and more young people", he said.

The director of the Enterprises Incubator Foundation Bagrat Yengibaryan
said that the main selection criteria were innovativeness and technical
potential. "All the works were excellent and deserved victory. We were
amazed that the guys had managed to prepare so serious products in just
six months," Yengibaryan said. Besides the trip to Paris, the winners
have been granted 450,000 AMD. The second and third place winners have
got certificates and 450,000 AMD each. To recall, the subject of the
competition is "Imagine a world where technologies help improve the
environment". The local contests were held in Armenia in three stages,
starting from December 20, 2007. At that time a total of 9 teams were
formed, with four members in each of them.

To note, this project is implemented in Armenia with the support of Bi
Line, Synopsis Armenia, Unicomp and the Union of Informational
Technology Enterprises. The competition Imagine CUP supported and
organized in Armenia by the Competitive Armenian Private Sector Project
(CAPS) is a large international technology competition for students. It
gives them a chance to present their ideas and works in IT sphere. The
project demonstrates the capabilities of the software in settlement of
real problems.

NGV-refuelling compressor stations gamble on a rise of tariffs for
liquid gas

2008-05-04 14:36:00

ArmInfo. Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia (PSRC)
registered a fact of gambling on a rise of tariffs for liquid gas in
Armenia for the last 2-3 days by NGV-refuelling compressor stations due
to the stoppage of state subsidizing of internal gas tariffs on May 1.
By preliminary data, the sale price is much higher than the purchase
price.

There are 207 NGV-fuelling compressor stations in Armenia. The total
annual sale of liquid gas exceeds 285 million cubic meters.