Author: Zakarian Garnik

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

ACUSA HONORS GHASSAN RAHBANI

The Armenian Church University Students Association (ACUSA) organized an
event on December 8 to honor Lebanese musician and composer Ghassan Rahbani.
The event was held in the "Gulbenkian" Hall of the Catholicosate of Cilicia
under the auspices of Bishop Kegham Khatcherian, Primate of the Diocese of
Lebanon. Attending the event were the representative of the Armenian
Evangelical Church Rev. Soghomon Kilabian, former minister Alain Tabourian,
Armenian university students and guests.

Maral Choloyan delivered the opening remarks on behalf of ACUSA,
highlighting the historical ties of the Rahbani family with Armenian
musicians and the Armenian community. She underlined the important
contribution of the Rahbani family to the art of music in Lebanon. Choloyan
invited the guest of honor to talk about his recent production of the song
dedicated to the Armenian community of Lebanon and entitled "We Live Here".

Ghassan Rahbani thanked the ACUSA committee for organizing the event and
thanked all those individuals who encouraged him to launch this project. He
spoke about his cooperation and friendly relations with Armenian musicians,
remembering that his first friends and music teacher was an Armenian.
Rahbani assured attendants that this will not be his last work dedicated to
the Armenian people and declared his intention to produce other works in the
future.

In his closing remarks, Bishop Kegham Khatcherian thanked the musician. "In
Ghassan we saw an exemplary patriot, who conveys different messages to
everyone through music," he said. The Primate stressed the Lebanese musician’s
love for the Armenian nation that had led him to compose such a song. On
behalf of ACUSA he then honored the musician with a special souvenir.

The event ended with the song "We Live Here".

##
View the photos here:
tos/Photos61.htm
******
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Youth
activities 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.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Dec 5 2007

Work over Basic Principles of Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Resolution to
continue early 2008: Lavrov
05.12.07 16:46

Work over the document on basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict resolution will be continued at the beginning of 2008,
Sergey Lavrov, the Russian ForiegnMInister, said as a result of talks
with his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian, ITAR-TASS reports.

`Periodically there rises issue on the necessity of ensuring progress
in the resolution of the conflict and unsettlement of the conflict
maintains risks and threats, he said. The conflict has no military
solution. All efforts of the world community on behalf of the Minsk
Group are directed at assisting the sides in search of mutually
acceptable solution to the conflict and ruling out military solution
to the problem, he said.

The minister said that it was confirmed at an important meeting in
Madrid within the framework of OSCE. "The co-chairs informed the
sides about their unified position, which assumes impossibility of
military resolution and calls to avoiding any actions and statements
which allow such opportunity,’ Lavrov said.

Day.Az, Azerbaijan
Dec 4 2007

Azeri pressure group urges authorities to reject mediators’ peace
proposals

Baku, 4 December: A number of reports on the [recent] meeting of the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen and the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign
ministers in Madrid causes concern, says a statement issued by the
Karabakh Liberation Organization [KLO] today, Day.az has learnt from
the KLO press service.

"The submission by the co-chairmen of a document which contains the
key principles of the [Nagornyy Karabakh] conflict resolution, the
concealing from the Azerbaijani people of the contents of the
document, as well as of information issued by some sources concerning
the presence in the document of a provision on a referendum,
demonstrate that international organizations are not going to
approach the issue objectively and do not want to take measures to
punish the occupier Armenia. The co-chairmen have once again
demonstrated that they are pro-Armenian and protect the interests of
the countries they represent," the statement says.

The KLO believes that mediation by countries and international
organizations that cannot objectively assess the actions of Armenia,
which has occupied [part of] Azerbaijan, cannot yield a positive
result. The authors of the statement believe that the co-chairmen’s
proposals, including the key principles of conflict resolution, are
aimed at forcing Azerbaijan into accepting a defeatist peace.

"The co-chairing countries are trying to solve the problem ahead of
the presidential election in Armenia [19 February 2008] in order to
ease the work of the forces that will come to power in that country.
The states interested are trying to achieve a durable peace in the
region in order to have a more favourable situation to appropriate
natural resources in the region. The Azerbaijani authorities should
not take an anti-national stance and should by no means agree to the
defeatist proposals," the KLO statement says.

The authors of the statement believe that agreement to the proposals
of the Minsk Group co-chairmen, who are pro-Armenian, is a blow to
national interests.

"Azerbaijan should definitely reject the services of the Minsk Group.
The KLO does not consider the proposals of the Minsk Group to be
expedient and will do its best so the [Azerbaijani] people do not
accept the document signed by the authorities that will make a
concession on this issue," the KLO concludes.

HAIRIKIAN SUPPORTS KASPAROV

A1+
[04:37 pm] 27 November, 2007

The Chairman of the "Union for National Self-Determination"
party Paruyr Hairikiak condemns the arrest of the leader of the
oppositional United Civil Front Garry Kasparov. "We were good friends
with Garry Kasparov, he was the member of "Democracy and Independence"
organization and wanted to see Russia improved", said Paruyr Hairikian
to "A1+" and added: "If you are the citizen of the Russian Federation,
you should share the difficulties and bitterness".

The Chairman of the "Union for National Self-Determination" party is
going to write an open letter to Garry Kasparov, since he remembers the
years of their cooperation: "I wish him good luck and staunchness. In
1991 he appealed to the Armenian nation to vote for me".

Paruyr Hairikian does not exclude that the same scenario may be
imitated in Armenia. On 24 November the leader of the United Civil
Front Garry Kasparov was detained in Moscow. He was detained for 5
days for the participation in a prohibited action.

The executive director of United Civil Front Denis Belunov announced
that the famous chessman was beaten violently before the arrest. "But
we fear for the worst: he has to eat and drink what.

PEOPLE IN SYUNIK VILLAGE FEAR WOLVES ATTACKS

ARMENPRESS
Nov 27 2007

KAPAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS: People in the village of Nerkin Hand
in the southern province of Syunik are getting increasingly concerned
about how to protect their herds from wolves and jackals.

The village is located near Shikahogh natural reserve where hunting
is banned. Farmers reported over a dozen attacks on their sheep,
cattle and even horses over the last week.

Samvel Mkrtchian, head of the reserve, told Armenpress that local
authorities looked into the problem and will ask the nature protection
ministry’s permission for shooting some of the wolves and jackals.

Local experts say the abundance of wolves and jackals in the reserve
has resulted in dramatic decline of hares and other small animals. They
also fear that in spring when many animals give birth to their babies
the latter may become an easy prey to the predators.

LEVON TER-PETROSIAN MET WITH THE SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

Mediamax
November 28, 2007

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Ex-President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosian met
with the the Special Envoy of the German Foreign Ministry for Eastern
Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus Hans-Dieter Lucas.

As Mediamax was told in the press service of the Ex-President,
during the meeting, they discussed issues, related to the upcoming
presidential elections of 2008 in Armenia, the prospects of cooperation
between the South Caucasus states, the relations between the South
Caucasus and the European Union.

Ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Aleksandr Arzumanian also
participated in the meeting, which took place in the residence of
the German Ambassador in Armenia Andrea Viktorin on November 27.

NEXT OSCE MONITORING OF ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI FRONTLINE COMMENCES

Trend News Agency
Nov 28 2007
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend I.Alizade / The next monitoring of
frontline troops near the village of Ashagi Eskipara in the Azerbaijan
district of Gazakh commenced on 28 November, in compliance with a
mandate from the special representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan reports.

Jaslan Nurtazin and Peter Key, field assistants to the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office’s special envoy, are in charge of monitoring the
Azerbaijani side of the frontline. Field assistants Imre Palatinus and
Antal Herdiks will carry out the monitoring on the Armenian side of the
front, in the territory internationally recognized as Azerbaijani land.

Gazakh is located 520km west of Baku.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in
1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992,
Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan, including the
Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994,
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement, at which time
active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
(Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.

NO MILITARY BASES, JUST PEACEKEEPERS
by Igor Plugatarev, translated by A. Ignatkin

DEFENSE and SECURITY
Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye
November 28, 2007 Wednesday
Russia

Tbilisi blames Moscow for aggressive intent, Baku for fomenting new
threats in the region

RUSSIA’S WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA INCURRED THE WRATH OF TBILISI AND
BAKU; The Russian military presence in Georgia over, Moscow is still
castigated for alleged aggressive intent and fomenting new threats
in the already restive region of the Caucasus.

Moscow honored commitments to Tbilisi and withdrew military bases
from Georgia. Russian Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief, General of the
Army Aleksei Maslov, announced on November 15 that the last echelons
with belongings of the former 12th Military Base was on its way from
Batumi. Russian Army Group in the Caucasus Commander, Major General
Andrei Popov and Georgian Defense Minister, Batu Kutelia, signed the
transfer protocol. The Republic of Georgia accepted the territory of
the base. The 62nd Military Base in Akhalkalaki had been disbanded
and turned over to Georgia in June. The withdrawal of the Russian
troops from Georgia fomented new military-political collisions in
this part of the Caucasus.

Exit and entry

The 137th (Tbilisi outskirt Vaziani) and 50th (Gudauta, Abkhazia)
Russian military bases were withdrawn from Georgia in summer 2001 in
accordance with the 1999 Istanbul Accords. The withdrawal of the two
remaining bases was executed 13.5 months ahead of schedule. It would
have been perfectly all right for the troops and military hardware
to remain in Georgia until the end of 2008.

Aware of the worsening political crisis in Georgia, Moscow made a
point to withdraw the troops and hardware ahead of schedule. Popov
and Base Commander Major General Anatoly Danilov both took the last
echelon, accompanied by 150 servicemen of the Russian Army Group in
the Caucasus and 40 family members.

Azerbaijani-Armenian factor

Baku gritted its collective teeth viewing the Russians’ withdrawal
from Georgia. It was particularly upset by the fact that some railroad
echelons left the former site of the 12th Military Base for Armenia,
namely the 102nd Military Base of the Russian Army Group in the
Caucasus in Gyumri.

The last echelon from Georgia arrived in Gyumri on November 16 with
nearly 200 tons of military load. Its arrival elicited a waspish
comment from Baku that sending military hardware to Armenia, Moscow
fomented additional dangers in the Caucasus already restive to
begin with. Colonel General Eldar Safarov of the Press Service of
the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry even said that "Russia deployed
some military hardware withdrawn from Georgia on the territory of
Azerbaijan – in Nezavisimaya Gazeta."

According to Baku, 70% of the military hardware withdrawn from Georgia
ended up in the lagers of the 102nd Military Base. Azerbaijan and
Armenia remaining in the state of a permanent confrontation as they
are, deployment of the Russian military hardware in Gyumri increased
the risk of the onset of the hostilities.

Not being a diplomat, Safarov openly announced that Moscow’s behavior
was anything but a facilitating settlement of the Azerbaijani-Armenian
conflict. The officer said that Moscow was establishing a new powerful
military base in Armenia, branded its policy in the Caucasus as
"double standards", and warned that "the Azerbaijani regular army
would liberate the occupied lands by other means" sooner or later.

This is not the first time the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry insinuates
that Russia is establishing a second military base in Armenia. Ilgar
Verdiyev of the Press Service of the Defense Ministry made this
"sudden" announcement on the eve of Russian Defense Minister
Anatoly Serdyukov with a military delegation to Armenia in late
September. The implication was that establishment of the base was
to be discussed at the Russian-Armenian talks in Yerevan. Russian
Ambassador in Azerbaijan, Vasily Istratov, denounced the rumors then
and said that Russia had no plans "to establish new military bases in
Armenia." Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanjan, however, couldn’t
resist and said he saw "no reason to confirm or deny anything" since
"anything in connection with security of Armenia is our own sovereign
affair and does not have anything to do with Azerbaijan." "It is our
policy," Oskanjan said," one we will keep promoting."

Anatoly Tsyganok of the Military Analysis Center is convinced that
"the Russian Defense Ministry could be less tight-lipped than it
was on what it meant by equipping the 102nd Base fully." "After all,
it was only several years ago that the then Defense Minister, Sergei
Ivanov, said in Yerevan that the 102nd Military Base was fully staffed
and equipped," Tsyganok said. "In the meantime, there is no need for
Moscow – either strategically or from the standpoint of the potential
theater of operations – to buttress its military positions in the
Caucasus. The establishment of another military base in Armenia will
require some valid political arguments."

The 102nd Military Base was established near Gyumri in 1995. It is
equipped with S-300 air defense complexes and MIG-29 fighters and
manned by 5,000 personnel. Its territorial expansion was announced
in the wake of the signing of some bilateral documents by Moscow and
Yerevan in December 2005.

WATERTOWN: PROGRAM ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Christina Pazzanese

Boston Globe, MA
Nov 15 2007

To help sort out the Armenian genocide controversy that has been
widely debated in recent months, the World in Watertown, the town’s
former No Place for Hate Committee, the Wayside Youth Coalition,
and the Armenian National Committee of America will join to host a
program for the public on Nov. 28. The presentation and discussion
will focus on the history of the mass killings, in which up to 1.5
million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923,
and its impact around the world, with Turkey disputing the death
toll and its characterization as genocide. A short film featuring
survivors will be shown. George Aghjayan and Sharistan Melkonian,
with the Armenian National Committee, as well as professor Henry
Theriault, director of the Human Rights Center at Worcester State
College, will speak. The free program will be held in the Watertown
High School auditorium from 7 to 9 p.m.

07/11/15/schools_outline_goals/

ARMAMENT SUPPLIED TO PKK THROUGH TERRITORY OF ARMENIA, TURKISH SOURCES ALLEGE

Noyan Tapan
Nov 15 2007

ANKARA, NOVEMBER 15, NOYAN TAPAN. During 2006, armament of 1.8
million dollars was supplied to PKK through the territories of Iraq
and Armenia. The Dogan Agency reports this quoting the reports on
the activity of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) presented by the
country’s intelligence structures.

According to the intelligence data, arms and ammunition of American,
Russian, English, Hungarian and Bulgarian production was mainly
supplied to PKK. PKK currently has 24 camps in the territories of
Iran and Iraq. This year the organization’s gross profit received
from narco-business made 15 million drams.