HE DOES NOT MIX SEPARATE CASES OF CRUELTY WITH MASS ACCIDENTS
Lragir.am
21 June 06
Miklos Haraszti, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, in
Yerevan for a two-day visit, stated June 21 that recently no cases of
violence or physical assault against journalists have been reported
in Armenia. He said it is very important because the evaluation of
the rights of journalists and absence of self-critique is based on
this. His statement that there is no violence aroused laughter among
journalists, and they reminded Haraszti that two years ago on April
5 bodyguards broke a camera, on April 12 the police beat several
journalists, then in Tsaghkadzor the photographers taking pictures
of the villas of government officials and oligarchs were attacked by
bodyguards. Miklos Haraszti says he knows separate cases and he does
not mean that there is no violence at all. He means that there are
no systematic and mass accidents involving journalists.
By the way, Miklos Haraszti also wondered why the government, accused
by the majority of Armenian journalists of violation of the freedom
of media, does not apply the article on libel, which provides for
accountability of journalists. Being against this article, Miklos
Haraszti, nevertheless, wanted to know why it is not applied by the
government if it is against freedom of speech. Discerning an assertion
in the words of Miklos Haraszti that the government of Armenia is not
up for violation of freedom of the media, otherwise they would use the
article on libel, we will make an attempt at explaining Mr. Haraszti
why the article on libel is not applied in Armenia. This article is
not applied for the simple reason that it is impossible to libel the
government of Armenia, for whatever is written is true. But there
is another, a more forceful reason for not applying this article. By
applying this article the government will, in fact, create a precedent
of application of law in Armenia. And in order to prevent a precedent
of application of law, the government is ready to bear libel.

THERE ARE SEVERAL WONDERFUL LAWS IN ARMENIA
Lragir.am
21 June 06
Considerable progress was reported with regard to the legislation
on freedom of the media in Armenia, and the state of the media does
not use all the possibilities and is limited to some extent. Miklos
Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media came to this
conclusion during the two days spent in Armenia. On June 21 he met with
Armenian journalists and told about his impressions from his visit.
It is interesting that Miklos Haraszti was invited to Armenia by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, but the program of his visit
was worked by the OSCE. In accordance with the program, Haraszti met
with the representatives of the government and the non-governmental
sector of Armenia. He also met with the president of Armenia. During
the news conference Miklos Haraszti announced that despite his
meetings, they learn about the state of freedom of the media in
Armenia from statistics, publications, the OSCE Yerevan Office.
Haraszti’s impression is that only press is free in Armenia. He said
he found out that there is perfect pluralism of opinions.
However, he says, pluralism in press is not observed in such
influential media as TV companies. According to him, public events
are not covered objectively.
Miklos Haraszti says the main cause of this state is legislation,
and only legislative improvements will enable having independent TV
channels. Haraszti also mentions the fact that monopoly of air should
be battled as well. It should be set down in the law that the same
group of owners cannot have more than one TV company.
On the other hand, however, he says the law is not enough to guarantee
freedom of press. He said there are several excellent laws and
emphasized the law on freedom of information. But according to him,
it needs to be applied. Nevertheless, he considers upgrading of
legislative mechanisms as a key issue. With this regard, Haraszti
emphasized the bill on distribution of press, which has already
been introduced to the National Assembly. The bill provides for
licensing companies for distribution of press. Haraszti disapproves
this approach. According to him, it is very important that the
parliamentarians recognize the importance of free competition
in distribution of press. According to the OSCE representative,
distribution should be as free and competitive as press itself.

ISTANBUL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW MEETS GAREGIN, URGES SOLIDARITY
By Benjamin Harvey, Associated Press
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 21 2006
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I urged the world’s Orthodox churches
to minimize differences and seek solidarity as he met with the head
of Armenian Apostolic Church on Wednesday.
Deep divisions are prevalent throughout the Orthodox Church. Although
Bartholomew controls several Greek Orthodox churches around the
world, including the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and is
considered the spiritual leader of some 250 million Orthodox worldwide,
relations with two of the largest churches, in Russia and Greece,
remain tense. The Armenian Apostolic Church also operates independently
and is not under his jurisdiction.
The two spiritual leaders met under heavy security and after a
brief religious ceremony in Istanbul, the formerly Greek Byzantine
city of Constantinople that is the seat of Bartholomew’s Orthodox
Patriarchate. Garegin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, was accompanied
by clerics wearing long black robes and black hats. His hat bore a
jeweled cross and he held a staff with a golden handle.
“We must always keep in mind that we aim only for the glory of God,”
Bartholomew said in a speech to Garegin II in which he touched on the
ancient split between the two churches. “He himself taught us this:
‘May they all be one.’ It is a sacred goal.” Bartholomew praised what
he called the ongoing “unofficial theological meetings” between the two
churches, saying the dialogue between them began in the fifth century.
Armenian Christians pride themselves on being descendants of the first
people to adopt Christianity as their official national religion. The
Armenian national church was established in A.D. 301.
That predates the Roman Empire’s edict of A.D. 313 tolerating
Christianity, which was previously illegal, and was 94 years before
it became the official religion of Rome and the Orthodox lands of
the East.
Garegin arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday for a weeklong visit to the
Armenian community here and to hold talks with Bartholomew. He is
expected to visit several Armenian churches in Istanbul, as well as
Armenian graveyards and other religious sites including the Haghia
Sophia. Both Armenians and Greeks had huge roles in the history of
the city, though their numbers have dwindled to just a few thousand
combined.
Police tightened security to protect the visiting cleric from
Turkish nationalists who protested his arrival on Tuesday night,
prompting the police to accompany Garegin out of the airport through a
separate entrance. Garegin has angered Turks by saying their ancestors
committed genocide against Armenians around the time of World War I,
an allegation vehemently denied by Turkey.
Turkey, which has no diplomatic relations with Armenia, denies that
Turks committed genocide, saying Armenians who lived under the Ottoman
Empire were killed in internal fighting among ethnic groups as the
empire collapsed.

ARMENIAN SPIRITUAL LEADER IN ISTANBUL
Zaman, Turkey
June 21 2006
Head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Karekin II, came to Istanbul
Tuesday as a guest of Turkey’s Armenians Patriarch Mesrop II and
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew.
Karekin II, welcomed by Bartholomew, will hold week-long meetings
with several leaders.
Karekin II, who traveled from Erivan on Armenian Airlines, was expected
to leave the airport via the VIP Hall at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport,
but left instead in a vehicle convoy for security reasons.
A crowd of nearly 50 gathered at the airport protested the arrival
of Karekin II.

COOPERATION IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS HIGHLIGHTED
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
June 21 2006
On June 20, the members of the NA Standing Committee of Defence,
National Security and Internal Affairs met the delegation of the
Committee of Foreign Relations, Defence and Security Affairs of the
Senate of the Czech Republic.
Aramayis Grigoryan, Committee Chairman expressed conviction that the
visit is an important step in the development of the Armenian-Czech
relations. He considered important the cooperation between the
parliaments, relevant committees of tow countries. The cooperation was
considered useful in the international organizations in particular,
within the framework of CE and NATO, the experience of the Czech
Republic in the integration to the European structures and experience
exchange in the legislative field was highlighted. Mr. Grigoryan
introduced the activity of the committee, the current level of
Armenia-NATO relations. The cooperation in the spheres of defense
reforms, fight against terrorism, improvement of the legal field was
considered important with NATO. Mr. Grigoryan noted that Armenia joined
the process of planning and reviewing Partnership for Peace, as well
as the agreement on the status of the Armed Forces NATO-Partnership
for Peace.
Rostislav Slavotinek, Vice President of the Committee on Foreign
Relations, Defence and Security Affairs of the Senate of the
Czech Republic, expressed conviction that the visit will boost the
friendship and cooperation of two countries. The cooperation at the
level of committees in the sphere of inter-parliamentary cooperation
was highlighted. Mr. Slavotinek briefly presented the structure of the
Czech parliament, the committee’s functions, spheres, and touched upon
the peculiarities of the Czech army, reforms of the police system. It
was noted that the Czech parliament is bi-cameral and consists of
Deputies Chamber and Senate. The Senate is shaped by the principle
of majority electoral system, 81 MPs. The Czech army is professional
from January 1, 2005, and it has 30000 soldiers. Mr. Slavotinek noted
that in the Czech Republic a military university of having high quality
and proposed the Armenian side to send officers there for training.
During the meeting the sides touched upon the problems of regional
cooperation, highlighted the activation of parliamentary cooperation.
Other issues of bilateral interest were also discussed, the directions
of further cooperation were pointed out.

ISLAMIC CONF ORG DEMANDS ARMENIAN FORCES PULLOUT FROM AZERBAIJAN
ITAR-TASS, Russia
June 21 2006
BAKU, June 21 (Itar-Tass) – Member-states of the Organization of
the Islamic Conference (OIC) have issued a demand to Armenia to
immediately, unconditionally and irrevocably withdraw its armed units
from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
The demand is formulated in the Baku declaration — the final document
of the 33rd session of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers.
OIC urged the international community to take all the necessary
measures towards achieving a peace agreement on the dragged-out
conflict in Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan having a predominantly
Armenian population.
The declaration says the Foreign Ministers urge OIC member-states
to support Azerbaijan’s efforts to restore its territorial integrity
and sovereignty.

CANADIAN PM HARPER APPOINTS NEW AMBASSADORS
Embassy Magazine, Canada
June 21 2006
In what is the largest appointment of heads of missions since the
Conservative government came to power in January, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper selected 26 new ambassadors to serve in destinations
around the world. Most of the new ambassadors are career foreign
service officers with years of experience behind them. Here are the
names of the new envoys and the destinations they will be heading to.
[parts deleted]
Libya
Haig Sarafian takes over from David Viveash as Ambassador to Libya. A
career diplomat, over the past 22 years Mr. Sarafian has worked in
Lima, Baghdad, Sao Paulo, Tunis, Damascus and Paris. He served as
Ambassador to Lebanon from 1998 to 2002. He has worked extensively on
Middle Eastern issues and was director general of the International
Trade Centre in Montreal from 1990 to 1993.
Russia
Ralph Lysyshyn succeeds Christopher Westdal as Ambassador to Russia
and Armenia. Mr. Lysyshyn has served in Lagos, Moscow, Washington
and Brussels and was Minister Counsellor at the Canadian Mission to
NATO from 1990 to 1994. He has also worked on arms control issues
and served as Ambassador to Poland Belarus from 2002 to 2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

33 FILMS PRESENTED IN THE “GOLDEN APRICOT” FESTIVAL
ArmRadio.am
21.06.2006 15:33
11 full-length films, 6 short films and 16 documentaries of Armenian
cinematographers are presented in the “Armenian Panorama” program of
the “Golden Apricot” international film festival.
President of the festival Harutyun Khachatryan told the journalists
today that there was a wish to include many more films in the program
to provide the opportunity to have a better notion what Armenian
directors in and outside Armenia produce. The election commission,
however, did not include some films in the program. Organizers say
that according to the rules of the festival no explanations are
given in case the films are rejected. These are solely not included
in the festival in case they do not correspond to the standards of
the festival.
According to the member of the creative council of the festival
Arthur Bakhtamyan, the palette of the “Armenian Panorama” is rather
multicolored and diverse this year. The only common thing is that
all the movies were filmed by Armenians.

ARMENIAN ALL-NATIONAL MOVEMENT PREPARING FOR 2007 ELECTIONS
ArmRadio.am
21.06.2006 16:07
Member of the Republican Party of Armenia Samvel Nikolyan declared
today that Armenia does not participate in regional processes,
since the return of Karabakh has been set as a precondition. As for
the Deputy President of the Armenian All-National Movement Andranik
Hovakimyan, he has found out that Levon Ter-Petrosyan was joking when
saying he would return if the whole nation asked.
“The Armenian All-National Movement is preparing for 2007 parliamentary
elections. However, it is preparing not in the classical sense, but
in an Armenian way. We model the existing situation and search for
the weak points of the authorities in power,” said Andranik Hovakimyan.
The Deputy President of the Movement found it difficult to predict what
kind of Parliament we shall have after the 2007 elections. However, in
case the events continue to develop according to the existing logics,
it is senseless to speak about a political representative body. We
shall have an appointed Parliament, and the ideology of the Parties
will not be important.
For member of the Republican Party faction Samvel Nikolyan everything
is completely predictable in the political field. He refutes the
information that the republicans are holding talks with “Prosperous
Armenia” Party over the 2007 elections. “You confuse the desired with
the reality,” he said.
Andranik Hovakimyan repeated once again that the Armenian All-National
Movement is against dual citizenship and predicted that this provision
of the Constitution will cause a mess. In Samvel Nikolyan’s opinion,
the arguable questions connected with dual citizenship, i.e. military
service, participation in elections and possession of land, will
become matters of dispute in the future.

MHER SHAHGELDYAN IS NO MORE THE HEAD OF THE ARMENIAN DELEGATION TO NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
ArmRadio.am
21.06.2006 17:50
Today Head of the Armenian delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Mher Shahgeldyan submitted his resignation to NA Speaker Tigran
Torosyan.
According to well-informed sources, this position will be entrusted
to Head of the NA Standing Committee on Defense, Internal Affairs
and National security Aramayis Grigoryan, who was appointed to the
position after Mher Shahgeldyan resigned from the position of the
Head of the same Committee.
To note, Mher Shahgeldyan refused to answer the question of “Radiolur”
correspondent about the issue of resignation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress