FIFA RATING SAYS ARMENIA AT 104TH PLACE
Panorama.am
15:49 17/08/06
According to the recently announced rating of FIFA, Armenia is at
104th position, which is one point above as compared with last year
indicator.
Brazil heads the list, followed by Italy and Argentina. France,
England, Netherlands, Germany and Check Republic are at the 4th to
10th places respectively.
Russia is at 28th position whereas Turkey and Georgia are at 28th
and 84th places, respectively.

KAREKIN II AWARDED “PRIDE OF RUSSIA” GOLD MEDAL
Armenpress
Aug 17 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS: Russian “Pride of the Homeland”
charity foundation has awarded Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin
II with “Pride of Russia” gold medal.
Russian Armenian newspaper Yerkramas reports that the Catholicos will
receive the medal on August 21, on the day of his birthday.
The newspaper reports that the Armenian Catholicos has been awarded the
medal for his contribution to the consolidation of Armenian-Russian
friendly relations and for his efforts directed towards preventing
inter-national and inter-religious hatred.

PAPAL ENVOY’S FINAL STATEMENT IN LEBANON
Zenit News Agency, Italy
Aug. 17, 2006
“Only Submission to God Will Enable Us to Break the Logic of Evil”
BEIRUT, Lebanon, AUG. 17, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation
of the statement issued Wednesday by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray at
the end of his visit to Lebanon as Benedict XVI’s special peace envoy.
On Monday, the cardinal met with the president of Lebanon, the
president of the Council of Ministers, the vice president of the
Shiite Higher Council, the mufti of the republic, and the patriarch
of the Maronite Christians, and also visited the main headquarters
of Caritas-Lebanon.
On Tuesday morning, on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin
Mary, Cardinal Etchegaray presided over a Mass at the Shrine of Our
Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, with the participation of Cardinal Pierre
Nasrallah Sfeir, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites.
In the afternoon, he visited a refugee center in Haret Sakher, and
met with Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenians.
* * *
I came to Lebanon to celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary,
praying in the name of Pope Benedict XVI for peace in Lebanon and
the Middle East.
My visit coincides with the first hours of the cease-fire, something
that has taken much time and energy and which we hope will be frank
and massive. The cease-fire must allow for the deployment of all
the forces of peace. We must thank those who, at different national
and international levels, devised a way to open with tenacity a path,
applicable in the measure in which all, hand in hand, commit themselves
to it: No one can remain to one side.
This path, long and abrupt, is also and above all a spiritual path.
No effort will last if it is not supported by the peace of spirits
and hearts. We have prayed for this to Our Lady of Harissa and the
Lebanese people have understood it well, having come in such large
numbers despite the difficulties.
Only submission to God will enable us to break the logic of evil
in which man is caught, marked by blind and suicidal violence. From
my contacts with religious and political authorities, I can attest
that Christians and Muslims are prepared to do everything possible
to rebuild together their wounded country. Peace is not simply the
asphyxiation of those who have fought. It is the pure encouragement
of a family which truly believes that all its members are brothers,
as they are loved by God in the same way.
I think very much of the displaced in the south of Lebanon, who try
— often with tears in their eyes — to find their homes and land
again. I ask all governmental and nongovernmental institutions not to
cease but to intensify the aid that will be necessary for a long time.
I can assure that the Pope continues to pay much attention to the
sufferings and needs, both spiritual and material, of all the Lebanese.
Now that the arms are silenced, Lebanon will be able to make it better
felt that its heart beats always for the unity of the homeland and
for peace among peoples.
[Translation of French original by ZENIT]

FOUR EX-SOVIET STATES MULL NEW REGIONAL FORCE IN GUAM UNION
RIA Novosti
17 08 2006
17/08/2006 13:26 TBILISI, August 17 (RIA Novosti) – Senior officials
from four ex-Soviet republics will discuss the formation of a joint
military force at closed-doors meeting Thursday in Georgia’s capital, a
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan,
and Moldova are members of GUAM, an organization originally designed
as a political, economic, and strategic alliance to “strengthen the
independence of these former Soviet republics” and widely seen as a
counterbalance to Russian influence on former allies.
“The meeting of representatives of the GUAM countries is devoted to
the further development of military cooperation,” Viktor Matko said.
“The creation of a joint military force, which will comprise a
contingent from each member-state, is being discussed.”
The organization was known as GUUAM until Uzbekistan withdrew in
May 2005.
On Thursday, the Central Asian state was admitted to another
regional group, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which
also comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia
and Tajikistan.

UNDERSTANDING ISLAM
by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Denver, Colorado
Yorktown Patriot, CO
Aug. 17, 2006
Over the past few decades, studies have shown again and again that
Americans tend to have a poor grasp of history. In fact, the scholar
Christopher Lasch once wrote that Americans love nostalgia, because
we see it as a form of entertainment. But we dislike real history,
because real historical facts are inconvenient. Yesterday helps
shape today. Real history places annoying obligations of truth on
our present and future, and gets in the way of re-inventing ourselves.
As a result, quipped a teacher friend, “history is whatever we say
it is, as long as we can get away with it.”
I remembered her words recently as I read a news story. The story
reported an Islamic leader as suggesting that it was European
Christians, never Muslims, who tried to root out those who didn’t
agree with them.
Perhaps the reporter misunderstood the speaker. Perhaps the speaker
made an honest mistake. Both Muslims and Christians have committed
many sins against each other over the centuries. In the United States,
we have an opportunity to overcome that difficult history and learn
to live with each other in mutual acceptance. But respect can’t emerge
from falsehood.
Catholics who do know history may remember the following: Islam has
embraced armed military expansion for religious purposes since its
earliest decades. In contrast, Christianity struggled in its divided
attitudes toward military force and state power for its first 300
years. No “theology of Crusade” existed in Western Christian thought
until the 11th century. In fact, the Christian Byzantine Empire had
already been resisting Muslim expansion in the East for 400 years
before Pope Urban II called the First Crusade – as a defensive response
to generations of armed jihad.
Much of the modern Middle East was once heavily Christian. Muslim
armies changed that by imposing Islamic rule. Surviving Christian
communities have endured centuries of marginalization, discrimination,
violence, slavery and outright persecution – not always and not
everywhere; but as a constant, recurring and central theme of Muslim
domination.
That same Christian suffering continues down to the present. In the
early years of the 20th century, the Muslim Ottoman Empire murdered
more than 1 million Armenian Christians for ethnic, economic, but also
religious reasons. Many Turks and other Muslims continue to deny that
massive crime even today. Coptic Christians in Egypt – who, even after
13 centuries of Muslim prejudice and harassment, cling to the faith –
continue to experience systematic discrimination and violence at the
hands of Islamic militants.
Harassment and violence against Christians continue in many places
throughout the Islamic world, from Bangladesh, Iran, Sudan, Pakistan
and Iraq, to Nigeria, Indonesia and even Muslim-dominated areas of the
heavily Catholic Philippines. In Saudi Arabia, all public expressions
of Christian faith are forbidden. The on-going Christian flight from
Lebanon has helped to transform it, in just half a century, from a
majority Christian Arab nation to a majority Muslim population.
These are facts. The Muslim-Christian conflict is a very long one,
rooted in deep religious differences, and Muslims have their own long
list of real and perceived grievances. But especially in an era of
religiously inspired terrorism and war in the Middle East, peace is
not served by ignoring, subverting or rewriting history, but rather
by facing it humbly as it really happened and healing its wounds.
That requires honesty and repentance from both Christians and
Muslims. Comments like those reported in the recent news story I read –
claiming that historically, it was European Christians, never Muslims,
who tried to root out those who disagreed with them – are both false
and do nothing to help.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RUSSIA TRIES TO DRAW EX-SOVIET STATES CLOSER
By Sergei Blagov
CNSNews.com Correspondent
August 17, 2006
Moscow (CNSNews.com) – At a summit of former Soviet states, Russia
has agreed to settle a dispute with neighboring Ukraine over natural
gas prices, which contributed to a split between the two former allies.
Moscow also used the event to further strengthen its economic relations
with countries in its neighborhood, where some ex-Soviet states have
moved away from its influence and towards the West.
A damaging disagreement over prices for gas supplies from Russia to
Ukraine early this year saw Russia cut off gas, a move that also had
a ripple effect on European countries whose gas supplies from Russia
travel across Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine’s new, pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich told
journalists Wednesday that the two countries had now agreed on prices
for Russian gas until the beginning of 2007.
Agreement came during talks between Yanukovich and his Russian
counterpart, Mikhail Fradkov, who said Russia would pump 24.5 billion
cubic meters of natural gas into Ukraine’s storage facilities by the
end of the year.
Many observers saw the dispute as part of an attempt by Russia to
punish its neighbor for drifting out of its orbit and towards the
West under President Viktor Yushchenko.
The president was forced recently to offer the premiership to his
rival, Yanukovich, to end a long-running political crisis in Ukraine.
Yanukovich met with Fradkov at the Black Sea resort of Sochi,
on the sidelines of a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Community
(EEC), an organization formed in 2001 whose aim is to boost economic
cooperation between Russia and its neighbors that was lost when the
Soviet Union disintegrated.
It comprises Russia, Belarus and the Central Asian states of
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Ukraine, Armenia
and Moldova attended are currently observers.
President Vladimir Putin and other leaders discussed plans to create
a customs union that would unite all of the EEC states.
Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev told a news conference
that by October or November, a fledgling customs union would be in
place, comprising a core of three nations – Russia, Kazakhstan and
Belarus. Others are expected to follow later.
Moscow wants to see the EEC continue to expand. Last January it
gained its sixth full member, Uzbekistan, the most populous of the
four Central Asian republics.
As with other post-Soviet blocs, Russia dominates the EEC. It has a 40
percent vote in the grouping, and also funds 40 percent of its budget.
In another important development Wednesday, Uzbekistan confirmed
its return to another post-Soviet grouping, the Collective Security
Treaty. Uzbekistan was a member of the CST, but withdrew in 1999 when
its relations with the West were improving.
After strong U.S. and European criticism of a 2005 clampdown in
the city of Andijan, President Islam Karimov ended his short-lived
dalliance with the West and moved back towards Moscow.
The CST links Russia with the Central Asian “stans” as well as Belarus
and Armenia.

A SONG FOR PEACE IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
Waleg.com, Tunisia
Aug. 17, 2006
~U Under the management of director Gilbert Al Ghabri, Lebanese
singer Karina completed the recording of her new song ‘Alsalam’
-peace-. The lyrics of the song are in different languages; Arabic,
English, French, Spanish, Armenian & Wuluf, the African Language of
the country where Karina was born.
The song calls for peace, unity & the respect of human rights.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN INVASION INFLICTS DAMAGE TO AZERBAIJAN IN THE COST OF OVER $60 BLN
Today, Azerbaijan
.html
Aug. 17, 2006
Armenia’s invasion of Azerbaijani territories inflicted damaged in
the cost of over $60 bln to Azerbaijan, Ali Hasanov, State Committee
for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons told journalists.
The cost of the damage is expected to be more. In the past thirteen
years, aids in the cost of $663 mln were granted for Azerbaijani IDPs
and $73 mln of which is shared by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), APA reports.
The committee chief also informed about the measures implemented for
preparing the Great Returning Program.
“The government involves international financial institutions and
humanitarian organizations to implement this program. The cost of
the program is being calculated,” he said.

ARF CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF LEBANON ISSUES STATEMENT
Yerkir
17.08.2006 14:26
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
Central Committee of Lebanon discussed at its August 16 meeting the
developments following the adoption of the United Nations Resolution
1701 and issued a relevant statement.
The participants of the meeting underscored the human and material
damage caused by the recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the spirit
of unity of the Lebanese in defending their lands, rights and dignity.
The party welcomed the heroism in resisting the adversary.
The CC of Lebanon also welcomed the UN Resolution 1701.
Regarding the presence of international forces to be deployed in the
region, the CC confirmed that inclusion of troops of any country should
be approved by all the Lebanese and political forces of the country.
The CC reiterated the Lebanese Armenian community’s opposition to
inclusion of Turkish troops in the forces to be deployed in southern
Lebanon, expressing hope that the Lebanese government too would resist
the idea of the presence of the Turkish army in Lebanon. Turkey,
during its black history, has been an enemy of many nations, including
the annexation of a part of Cyprus.
Turkey has had a bloody past with many massacres, and among them
the Armenian Genocide, still denied by the Turkish government. Not
mentioning the military agreement with Israel that constitutes a
threat to the peace process in the region.
Everybody knows that Lebanon did not stay away from the Ottoman
Empire’s tyranny facing Turkish violence; exploitation, starvation and
slaughter when Turkey opposed everyone who wished to live in freedom
and independence. Turkey applied to measures that have nothing to do
with humanity.
Turkey should revise its past before sending peacekeepers.
The approval of a UN resolution that envisages a presence of the
Turkish army in the international forces to be deployed in Lebanon
is a step that offences the collective memory of the Armenian people.
ARF Central Committee of Lebanon August 16, 2006 Beirut

LEBANESE ARMENIANS OPPOSE INCLUSION OF TURKEY IN PEACEKEEPING FORCES
Yerkir
17.08.2006 14:55
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Under the United Nations Security Council Resolution
1701, international forces are to be deployed along with the Lebanese
army in the south of the country.
Consultations are held on the composition of the international troops.
Turkey has also expressed its readiness to assume peacekeeping mission
in Lebanon.
Turkey’s participation in the peacekeeping forces should be deemed
unacceptable as Turkey has an extensive record of violating human
rights and international law, and it is at least odd for Turkey
to present itself with a mask of a country implementing peace and
justice. The continuing occupation of northern Cyprus, the denial
of the Armenian Genocide, the violation of the rights of Kurds
are just some of the issues revealing the real face of the Turkish
government. Lebanon too has had its part of the Turkish tyranny.
The current Turkish-Israeli military agreement does not allow Turkey
to be a neutral peacekeeper.
Therefore, we, the religious leaders of the Lebanese Armenians,
call on the Lebanese government to turn down Turkey’s participation
in the peacekeeping forces.
Rev. Soghomon Kilaghpian Bishop Vardan Ashgarian Lebanese Armenian
Catholic Church Bishop Gegham Khacherian Religious leader of Lebanese
Armenians