Category: News

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
December 8, 2004
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Issues Statement on Church Bombings
in Iraq
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is greatly troubled to learn from
the Armenian Diocese of Damascus, that Armenian and Chaldean churches
were attacked and bombed yesterday in Mosul, Iraq.
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, condemns these terrorist attacks on the churches in Iraq
and their endangerment of the peaceful centuries-old coexistence of
Christian and Muslim peoples. Regarding Iraq’s political crisis,
His Holiness appeals to the country’s Christian and Muslim leaders and
people to display willingness and understanding in halting the danger
of the conflict being categorized as a religious one. The Catholicos
of All Armenians calls upon spiritual leaders and faithful to work
together in brotherly love to reestablish the natural inter-faith
and social life of Iraq.
##

PRESS RELEASE
December 8, 2004
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:
Ambassador Arman Kirakossian Visits San Francisco Bay Area Armenian American
Community
On November 28, 2004, Armenian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman Kirakossian
visited San Francisco to participate in an event hosted by the Irene
Gyulnazarian Educational Fund for Armenia (IGEFA), a recently founded
charitable organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. IGEFA
presented its report on the activities during its first year of existence.
The mission of IGEFA is to support academic and cultural institutions and to
help improve the quality of education in Armenia. IGEFA officially announced
its founding in February of 2004 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California,
a ceremony attended by the Rector of Yerevan State University Dr. Radik
Martirossian. Last October, the IGEFA held its first official ceremony of
scholarship awards in the Scientific Council Auditorium of YSU in Yerevan.
IGEFA Board members and representatives introduced the fund and its plans to
the university administration, faculty, students and other guests of the
ceremony.
Having set its mission to support academic and cultural institutions and to
help improve the quality of education in Armenia, the Irene Gyulnazarian
Educational Fund has awarded seven student scholarships, conducted
professional training, helped to enhance the professional library, and
donated equipment to the Psychology Department of the preeminent institution
of higher education in Armenia, the Yerevan State University. The choice of
Yerevan State University was not accidental as many of IGEFA’s Directors are
YSU alumni, and some of them previously worked at this university.
IGEFA’s Chairperson, Dr. Ruzanna Ohanjanian is a former Associate Professor
of Psychology at YSU and currently practicing psychotherapist in California.
In collaboration with the faculty and administration, she is developing an
advanced curriculum for the Psychology Department and organizing a
Psychology Training Center for graduate and undergraduate students, with
integrated training experiences in variety of topical areas as well as
student peer counseling services. In addition, IGEFA is working with
several Armenian and U.S. high-tech companies to provide research grants for
the Computer Science Department at YSU. IGEFA further plans to expand its
activities to other Departments of YSU in the near future.
Addressing the participants of the event, Ambassador Arman Kirakossian
praised the organizers and supporters of the Irene Gyulnazarian Educational
Fund for Armenia for the significant headway they had been able to make
during such a short period of time.
The November 28 event was attended by representatives of the Bay Area
Armenian-American community, academics, as well as by Russia’s Consul
General in San Francisco Victor Lizun, Consul General in New York Sergey V.
Garmonin, and Deputy Consul General in San Francisco Yuri Bedjanian.
For more information on the Irene Gyulnazarian Educational Fund for Armenia,
please visit

13,000 DRAMS FOR NORMAL NOURISHMENT?
A1 Plus | 19:18:11 | 08-12-2004 | Social |
Armenian officials adopted the law on the minimum basket of goods and
is convinced that it makes 13,000 drams in Armenia. One is estimated
to need 7,000 for food.
European organizations’ representatives shared their experience with
the republic officials at a seminar held Wednesday in Marriott-Armenia
hotel in Yerevan.
After looking through the calculations Europeans came to conclusion
that political, not economic approach prevail in calculating minimal
basket of goods in Armenia.
Armenian health ministry has worked out its own version of the minimal
basket that differs from the existing one, according to which 30,000
drams are needed for normal nourishment.
However, it is clear this amount is too scant for that.
–Boundary_(ID_uQNxm8CCm+cNK31qNuIEUA)–

Armenian medical body blasts government for drafting doctors into army
A1+ web site
7 Dec 04
Members of the public organization called the Armenian medical
association have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Armenian
government’s decision to call up reserve officers from the first
group of medical personnel for military service. Incidentally, the
decision applies even to those holding an academic degree (PhD or
doctor) and have three or more children.
“We doubt the correctness of such decisions because it is not clear to
us how the Armenian armed forces can experience a shortage of medical
specialists. The ranks of the Armenian armed forces have been joined
by graduates of the medical-military department of Yerevan Medical
Institute for 10 years,” the statement said.
The problem of the lack of medical personnel should have already been
resolved, but the Armenian Defence Ministry says every year that it
needs 70 doctors. A question arises where the ministry’s personnel
are disappearing.
Under these circumstances, doctors are ready to cooperate and if
necessary help the Armenian government and the Defence Ministry
by submitting constructive suggestions on ways out of the current
situation. Members of the Armenian medical association have sent an
open letter to the Armenian president, the prime minister and the
speaker of the National Assembly.

Armenian Constitutional Court approves memorandum on sending troops to Iraq
Mediamax news agency
8 Dec 04
Yerevan, 8 December: Armenia’s Constitutional Court said today
that the memorandum “On sending a multinational division as part of
stabilizing forces to Iraq and on solving other issues of this kind”
is in line with the republic’s basic law [constitution].
This means that the memorandum will be submitted to parliament for
ratification in the near future, Mediamax reports. After the memorandum
is ratified, Armenia plans to send to Iraq up to 50 military doctors,
drivers and sappers who will be handpicked among military contractors.
Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan said that Armenian troops
will be used exclusively for humanitarian purposes in Iraq.
“This position is dictated by the interests of Iraq’s Armenian
community and their scientific, cultural and historical centres,”
Sarkisyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Deputy speaker says Russia impeding Armenia’s independent foreign policy
Noyan Tapan news agency
8 Dec 04
Yerevan, 8 December: The recent meeting of the Armenian-Russian
commission on interparliamentary cooperation held in Moscow discussed,
among other issues, the possible deployment of an Armenian military
contingent in Iraq. The deputy speaker of the Armenian National
Assembly and co-chairman of the Armenian-Russian interparliamentary
commission, Vaan Ovanesyan, said that the Russian side voiced its
concern over such a prospect.
The Armenian delegation, in turn, asked whether the fact that Russia
has written off Iraq’s multi-billion debt to Russia meant economic
support for the government of this country installed by the “occupier”,
the United States. Vaan Ovanesyan stressed that at the same time,
Russia has not cancelled Armenia’s much smaller debt.
“We told our Russian counterparts that their conduct in the
international arena does not encourage free and independent
decision-making on the part of Armenia,” he said.
The deputy speaker said the Russian side had displayed certain
“jealousy” over Armenia’s relations with NATO.
“We made it clear to our counterparts that this is one of the
directions in our independent foreign policy and we have no intention
of backing down on it,” he said. At the same time, the head of the
delegation noted that an agreement had been reached with the Russian
side to conduct preliminary interparliamentary consultations on
NATO-related issues.

Iraqi TV reports anger by Mosul residents over church attacks
Al-Sharqiyah, Baghdad
8 Dec 04
Al-Sharqiyah correspondent in Mosul reported that Mosul city today woke
up to a strong wave of anger and condemnation following the criminal
attack against the Chaldean and Armenian churches last evening.
The correspondent said that there was sadness and anger among the
Muslim and Christian residents of Mosul, adding that the residents
expressed denunciation of this criminal act, which was strange to
the Iraqi people’s ethics and brotherly coexistence. The residents
of the city stressed that only external parties would carry out such
an act because they hated Iraq and were trying through such criminal
acts to sabotage the country and its strong national structure.
The correspondent added that nobody stopped the thieves who stole the
contents of the Armenian church this morning following yesterday’s
explosion. He added that no Iraqi police forces or US troops were
present to protect the two churches after they were blown up.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agency looks at pros and cons of Armenia stay in Moscow’s orbit
Mediamax news agency
6 Dec 04
A news agency has said that Armenia should conduct a more flexible
foreign policy and decide whether to become a NATO member or remain
“a small vassal” of Russia India and China, which “pursue their
own interests and will easily sacrifice Armenia in any convenient
political moment”. Mediamax questioned the Armenian leadership’s
ability “to adapt its complementary foreign policy to the realities of
contemporary international policy”. It added that Armenia “swiftly”
yields the role of regional leader to western-leaning Georgia. The
following is an excerpt from report in English by Armenian news agency
Mediamax entitled “Armenia will have to make a choice in the light
of Ukrainian developments”; subheadings have been inserted editorially:
Today, when it became clear that the Ukraine would hold re-elections,
the decision of Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, who congratulated
Viktor Yanukovych on “victory”, acquires an especially alarming
character. If we trace the reaction of foreign leaders to the
appropriate decision of the Ukrainian Supreme Court, it becomes
obvious that Armenia remained in the company of countries (Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China), which can hardly be considered as
the bearers of European values, the adherence to which is so often
stated by the Armenian leaders.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan calls on not to dramatize the
situation and says that official Yerevan’s decision to congratulate
Yanukovych was exclusively “juridical” and was made on the basis of
the appropriate decision of the Ukrainian Central Electoral Committee
(CEC). However, the matter does not concern the fact that the Armenian
leadership sympathized with one of the two presidential contenders. We
can say with confidence that after coming to power of one or another
presidential contender in Kiev, Armenian-Ukrainian relations will
not undergo serious changes.
The case in point is that during the Ukrainian election we witnessed
one of the recent biggest “clashes” between the West and Russia. This
is indirectly stated by Vardan Oskanyan as well, who says that the
leaders of the countries that did not congratulate any of the Ukrainian
candidates made a “political decision”. What prevented Armenia from
making this “political decision”? Especially as the matter concerned
the Ukraine, the authorities of which had many times undersigned
the anti-Armenian resolutions within the framework of different
international organizations, and President [Leonid] Kuchma had openly
accused Armenia of the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories.
We are not disposed at all to idealize the Euro-Atlantic community
on the whole and its behaviour during the Ukrainian elections
in particular. Nobody can give an answer to the question – who in
reality won at the second stage of elections in the Ukraine, as it is
obvious that Viktor Yushchenko’s supporters did their best to by hook
or by crook ensure his victory in the western part of the country,
and Yanukovich’s supporters in the eastern part.
Double standards
It is also obvious that in reality the West is abided by double
standards when its political interests demand it. For instance, from
time to time the West criticizes the very Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
for violating the human rights and lack of democratic freedoms,
however the matter never comes up to real sanctions and threats as
in case with Lukashenka whose style of government does not greatly
differ from [Nursultan] Nazarbayev’s or [Askar] Akaev’s style.
Robert Kocharyan knows about these double standards not through
hearsay. Still in March 2003, we drew parallels between the final
reports of the OSCE missions, having observed the elections in Armenia
and Turkey. We would like to remind that both the missions were headed
by the same person – US diplomat Peter Eicher. The mission’s report,
released in Warsaw on 4 December 2002 reads that “led by Peter Eicher
(USA), a five-person ODIHR team was in Turkey for one week to carry
out a limited assessment of the legislative and organizational aspects
of the election process”.
The OSCE official report stated that “because of the short duration of
the mission and its small size, it was not in a position to assess all
aspects of the electoral process or to verify independently many of
the issues, comments and allegations brought to its attention”. “The
election assessment mission received a number of credible reports of
harassment of candidates and parties in various parts of the country,
particularly in the southeast, but it was not able to independently
verify the reports”. Despite this, the elections in Turkey were
recognized as corresponding to international standards.
About 200 observers monitored the elections in Armenia, this is 40
times more than in Turkey, and the assessments were rather harsh,
though it was noted in the preliminary report by Eicher’s mission that
“in general, technical procedures were correctly followed and the
OSCE and CoE representatives assessed the process positively in 87
per cent of the polling stations visited”. And the number of polling
stations visited by the OSCE observers in Turkey hardly made 1 per
cent of the overall number.
We think that it is not a secret for Robert Kocharyan any more that
there is no so-called “common standard” of election assessment, which
is stated by the OSCE representatives. Otherwise, the recent elections
in Afghanistan would not have been recognized as corresponding to
these standards.
Armenian president
However, being a pragmatic politician, the Armenian president
understands that all the above-mentioned is only the emotional part
of the issue even if it is rather insulting. In contemporary politics
the rigidity and hard-edged struggle for defending own interests come
to the fore, and the Armenian leader is abided by these factors in
the country’s domestic policy. It is natural that at heart Robert
Kocharyan was displeased with the harsh-worded criticism by the
United States, the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe (CoE)
and the OSCE after the presidential elections of 2003. Most likely,
this became the reason why Robert Kocharyan coldly approached the “rose
revolution” in Georgia, which inspired the Armenian opposition and made
the authorities apply force to disperse the demonstrators this April.
However, these are also emotions. The practical policy was the recent
statement by the British ambassador to Armenia, Thorda Abbot-Watt, that
the West did not doubt Robert Kocharyan’s legitimacy. The practical
steps are Armenia’s inclusion into the European Neighbourhood Policy
and the qualification for getting multimillion funds from the US
Millennium Challenge Account, the abrogation of Jackson-Vanick
amendment in relation to Armenia, etc. It seemed that following the
developments in the Ukraine, the Armenian leadership must have made a
choice in favour of the listed and other practical steps rather than
being guided by emotional remembrances. Moreover, if we take into
account the fact that Armenia does not have and will not have in the
next three and half years such opposition leaders as Saakashvili and
Yushenko, who could threaten Robert Kocharyan’s power.
[Passage omitted: recaps statement from the CIS leaders, which
contained criticism of the OSCE and the Armenian foreign minister’s
remarks at 1 December 2003 OSCE meeting in Maastricht]
Time to make a choice
The congratulation of Yanukovych on “victory”, which did not promise
any benefits to Yerevan, gave additional trump cards to the opponents
of Robert Kocharyan’s politics. [Passage omitted: an excerpt from
an article entitled “A new dividing line drawn by Moscow” published
in the Swiss Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper and President Putin
congratulates Yanukovych]
We do not agree with the point of view, that Yushenko should win in the
elections in the Ukraine as the West is not going to recognize anybody
else as a winner. However, one thing is to disagree, and quite another
thing – to build one’s own policy on this disagreement. Especially
for Armenia, which does not have the necessary political, territorial,
human and financial resources to openly express its disagreement with
the policy pursued by the West.
Last week, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan addressed an appeal to
the leaders of all EU member-states to discuss the fact of Armenia’s
blockade by Turkey at the EU forthcoming summit on 17 December. It
is not necessary to be a big strategist to draw a conclusion that
if Armenia urges the EU to force Turkey to observe the common rules,
it should do it itself, even if the matter concerns the “unwritten”
rules of the game.
We are not going to artificially heat up passions around
the congratulatory message sent to Victor Yanukovych by Robert
Kocharyan. But the matter is that this seemingly trifle event exposes
a much more serious problem – the Armenian leadership’s ability to
adapt its complementary foreign policy to the realities of contemporary
international policy.
We think that George Bush’s second term as the US president and
his administration’s conventional formula – “with us or against
us” may ruin the Armenian complementarism in the form it exists
today. On the other hand, Russia in the person of Vladimir Putin
calls on to give up the heritage of the “cold war” and puts forward
its own formula. Speaking in New Delhi on 3 December, the Russian
president said that the “attempts to rebuild the many-sided and
diverse modern civilization created by God by barracks principles of
unipolar world seem rather dangerous to me”. Vladimir Putin said that
“out-of-the-block cooperation of Russia, India and China” can hamper
the creation of “unipolar world”.
It is clear that Armenia and its leadership won’t like either of these
formulas. However, apparently, there comes a time to make a choice: to
be “with them” and to become a full NATO member in five to 10 years,
acquiring the right of veto in this powerful military-political
alliance, or to try “to prevent” the creation of unipolar world
as a small vassal of Russia, India and China, which pursue their
own interests and will easily sacrifice Armenia in any convenient
political moment.
Georgia replaces Armenia as regional leader
If we turn from global to local we can see another danger: being more
advanced economically and politically, Armenia swiftly yields the role
of regional leader to Georgia. Although Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev, whose election last year was far from being irreproachable,
makes no effective gestures like Mikheil Saakashvili, he also
slowly drifts towards the West. Armenia finds itself in an absurd
and insulting situation. [Passage omitted: quote from co-author of
Poland’s economic reforms Leszek Balcerowicz and Georgian background]
The Armenian leaders, who more often urge the EU “to explain the
essence” of the European Neighbourhood Policy, should themselves fill
this initiative with concrete content, operate quickly and bravely.
As to the problem of global choice, there are facts testifying that
the Armenian leadership was ready for this still several years ago.
Five years ago on 13 December 1999, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan declared:
“The contradictions between the United States and Russia today are
aggravated as never. In case of new escalation of relations between
the United States and Russia we will be forced, against our will,
to refuse the complementarity principle and sooner or later we will
have to make a choice between the States and Russia.”
The question is what Armenia’s choice will be if the Armenian
leadership faces the problem of choice?

Pope prays for Iraqi people after bomb attacks on churches
AP Worldstream
Dec 08, 2004
Pope John Paul II said Wednesday he was praying for the Iraqi people
after militants bombed two churches in Mosul, the latest anti-Christian
violence in the country.
“I express my spiritual closeness to the faithful, shocked by the
attacks,” John Paul said, speaking from his apartment window above
St. Peter’s Square on the Roman Catholic feast of the Immaculate
Conception.
He said he was praying that Iraqis “may finally know a time of
reconciliation and peace.”
In coordinated attacks Tuesday, militants bombed an Armenian Catholic
and a Chaldean church in Mosul, injuring three people. Islamic
militants have regularly targeted Iraq’s various ethnic communities,
including the minority Christians.

Pope Keeps Up Tradition of Spanish Steps
AP Online
Dec 08, 2004
Waving from his white popemobile, Pope John Paul II blessed shoppers
and tourists at the foot of the Spanish Steps on Wednesday as he
began his busy holiday schedule with a traditional visit to the
popular square in the heart of historic Rome.
He rode in an open-sided vehicle down narrow Via Condotti, a street
lined with some of Rome’s swankiest shops. John Paul, dressed in a
white robe and a red embroidered stole, sat in an upholstered chair
on a wheeled platform, and in a hoarse voice read a prayer in honor
of the Virgin Mary.
Dec. 8 is the church and Italian national holiday of the Immaculate
Conception, which marks the Roman Catholic dogma that the mother
of Jesus was conceived without original sin. In the morning, he
presided at a two-hour Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the
150th anniversary of the declaration of the dogma.
The pope prayed that Mary would “help us to build a world where the
life of man is always loved and defended, every form of violence is
banned, peace is tenaciously sought by all.”
Thousands of Romans and out-of-towners took a break from gift-buying
on the first official day of the city’s Christmas shopping season to
catch a glimpse of the pope in the square with its towering column
topped by a statue of Mary.
They cheered as the pontiff arrived during an afternoon break in the
rain that had drenched Rome earlier. Mayor Walter Veltroni watched
as John Paul blessed a basket brimming with pink roses that were then
placed at the foot of the column.
Ailing with Parkinson’s disease and hip and knee problems, John Paul
no longer walks or stands during his many public appearances. But
the Vatican’s official schedule of papal ceremonies indicates the
84-year-old pontiff is sticking to the heavy Christmas season schedule
of the last several years.
On Christmas Eve, he will preside over a solemn midnight Mass in
St. Peter’s Basilica. Several years ago he stopped celebrating a late
morning Mass on Christmas Day, but he is scheduled to deliver his
traditional message “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and to the world”)
at noon on Dec. 25. He will also lead a service of thanksgiving for
the blessing of 2004 on New Year’s Eve in the basilica.
Earlier Wednesday, the pope said he was praying for the Iraqi people
after militants bombed two churches in Mosul, the latest anti-Christian
violence in the country.
“I express my spiritual closeness to the faithful, shocked by the
attacks,” John Paul said, speaking from his apartment window above
St. Peter’s Square.
He said he was praying that Iraqis “may finally know a time of
reconciliation and peace.”
In coordinated attacks Tuesday, militants bombed an Armenian Catholic
and a Chaldean church in Mosul, injuring three people. Islamic
militants have regularly targeted Iraq’s various ethnic communities,
including the minority Christians.