THE HONORABLE RICHARD G. STEARNS, US FEDERAL DISTRICT JUDGE, VISITS ARMENIA
ArmRadio.am
22.06.2006 11:08
The Honorable Richard G. Stearns, a U.S. Federal Judge, accompanied
by US Department of Justice Prosecutor Michael Yoon, visited Armenia
June 17 through 23. In Armenia at the invitation of the US Embassy
and the US Department of Justice, Judge Stearns met with several of
Armenia’s leading judges and with Justice Minister David Harutyunyan,
who chairs Armenia’s Judicial Reform Council. Judge Stearns also
conducted training sessions for Armenian judges, the Prosecutor
General’s Office, and the Armenian Police Department. The training
sessions focused on human trafficking issues, and specifically on
the victims’ rights and the protection of witnesses.
From: Baghdasarian

ROBERT KOCHARYAN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RECURRENT CSTO SESSION
ArmRadio.am
22.06.2006 12:37
June 23 President Robert Kocharyan will leave for Minsk to participate
in the recurrent session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO).
The session will be preceded by sittings of the Councils of Foreign
and Defense Ministers and the Security Council Secretaries.
The session will open with the meeting of leaders of countries, during
which views will be exchanged on the military-political situation
over the CSTO territory. Later the Foreign and Defense Ministers,
as well as the Security Council Secretaries will join the Presidents.
The discussions will focus on the primary directions of CSTO
activity. It is expected that a memorandum on further improvement of
the organization’s activity and rise of efficiency will be adopted.
A number of documents will be signed during the session, which will
expand the normative-legal basis of political and military cooperation
between CSTO member states.
As an observer, RA President will participate also in the sitting of
the Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community.
The same day the delegation headed by RA President will return
to Armenia.

MARC PERRIN DE BRICHAMBAUT:THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO RESOLVE THE KARABAKH ISSUE IN A PEACEFUL WAY
ArmRadio.am
22.06.2006 13:11
There are still opportunities to resolve the Karabakh issue in a
peaceful way, OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut.
It is important to continue the dialogue after the Bucharest talks, he
declared reminding that today in Vienna the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs
will report to the Permanent Council of the Organization. “Therefore,
no one can say that the process has been suspended. I think the
international community is interested in the resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Various ways of resolution of the
issue will be discussed. We can only hope that everything will proceed
well. At the same time it is hard to predict whether the conflict will
be resolved in the current year or not,” the OSCE Secretary General
said. Simultaneously, Brichambaut expressed his appreciation for the
activity f the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
To remind, today Mattew Bryza will be presented to the OSCE Permanent
Council as new Co-Chair of the Minsk Group.

BAHAIS’ STRUGGLE FOR RECOGNITION REVEALS A LESS TOLERANT FACE OF EGYPT
Mariam Fam
AP Worldstream
Jun 22, 2006
Tucked away in Labib Iskandar’s pocket is a neatly folded slip of
paper with fraying edges that tells the story of a community fighting
for recognition.
It’s a receipt Iskandar got when he applied for the computer-based
identification card Egypt had just then begun issuing _ more than
five years ago.
Iskandar is a Bahai, a member of a religious community that regards
a19th century Persian nobleman, Baha’u’llah, as its prophet _ a
challenge to the Muslim belief that Mohammed is the last prophet. Given
the pivotal role of Islam in Egyptian life, the government will
not issue an ID card to a Bahai, but only to members of the major
monotheistic faiths: Islam, Christianity or Judaism.
The issue broke into the news in April when a court ruled members of
Egypt’s little-known Bahai community had the right to have their faith
listed on official documents, sparking an outcry. The Interior Ministry
quickly filed an appeal, and last month another court froze the case.
It’s still a controversy, however. Some Muslim clerics openly declare
the Bahai faith is a heresy, and civil rights advocates complain
this heavy-handed approach threatens to set off clashes like those
that erupted recently between Muslims and minority Christians in the
northern city of Alexandria.
While the dispute directly affects only the country’s Bahais _
perhaps 2,000 of the 72 million Egyptians _ it provides a glimpse
into how a once cosmopolitan society has sunk into a culture where
fanaticism outweighs theoretical protections of religious freedom.
“Before, everything was simpler and everyone knew I was a Bahai and
had no problem with that,” said Iskandar, a 59-year-old engineering
professor. “There were no biases. Fanaticism started to surface
only now.”
The family whose suit led to the court ruling on the Bahai faith has
refused to speak with reporters. But the Bahais’ experience in Egypt
can be seen through Iskandar and his family.
His birth certificate and original government ID card list him as
a Bahai.
His sons have similar birth certificates. But when his oldest son,
Ragi, 24, applied for his ID card, officials would only agree to
drawing a line _ to indicate a blank _ in the religion section.
Later when 19-year-old Hady applied for an ID, he was told he
must identify himself as a follower of one of the three officially
recognized religions and never got his papers, Iskandar said.
“We worry sick about them when they stay out late, especially the
youngest son, since he has no ID, which could land him in trouble,”
said Iskandar.
“Because they’re young, they get upset and may say ‘let’s leave Egypt'”
_ an option the elder Iskandar rejects.
“I am an Egyptian. I was born in Egypt … and I won’t leave Egypt,”
he said.
The elder Iskandar was allowed to apply for the new computerized ID but
never got one. His two sons’ applications for the new documents were
not even accepted. At the end of the year, Egypt will not recognize
the old, paper IDs, replacing them with the computerized ones.
Iskandar recalled attending Bahai activities until a 1960 presidential
decree dissolved Bahai assemblies. Last October, he said, his sister
died and the family couldn’t obtain a death certificate because of
her faith.
“They don’t want to recognize the Bahai faith. Fine, no problem. But
as an Egyptian citizen, is it my right or not to have a birth
certificate and an ID card?” he said. “Why do you want me to change
my religion? Why do you want me to be a hypocrite? I refuse to lie.”
Abdel Moeti Bayoumi, a Muslim scholar, said the Bahais demand for
recognition on official documents would cement a sectarian system
that could fracture the country.
“Believe in whatever you want to believe in, you and your children,
as long as you do so at home behind closed doors,” he said. “Do not
undermine the public order.”
Bayoumi is a member of the Al-Azhar Center of Islamic Research,
a leading institution of Sunni Muslim learning. Like many Muslim
scholars, he believes Bahaism is a splinter of Islam and not a religion
in its own right. He said the Bahais’ beliefs and practices _ including
considering Baha’u’llah as a prophet _ offend Muslims.
He added Bahais were lucky the Interior Ministry appealed the April
verdict because otherwise extremists could have attacked them.
A statement from Al-Azhar urged Egypt “to firmly stand against this
group which hurts the religion of God.” It urged the government
to outlaw the Bahai faith, and another statement from Al-Azhar’s
research center, playing on the region’s anti-Israeli sentiments,
argued that Bahaism “serves the interests of Zionism.”
Bahais say their holy sites in Israel are used to discredit their
community.
Baha’u’llah died in 1892 in Akko in what was then the Ottoman Empire _
and is now in Israel. The international headquarters for the world’s
5 million Bahais are in Haifa, Israel, and they have other holy places
in Turkey and Iran.
Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights,
which has monitored the Bahais’ case, said Egyptians’ ignorance of
the faith has fueled a “smear campaign.”
“It is another manifestation of the narrow and heavy-handed approach
with which the Interior Ministry tackles religious affairs. There
are strong similarities between these events and the clashes in
Alexandria in terms of lack of tolerance,” he said, referring to
clashes between Muslims and Christians that left two people dead and
40 wounded in April.
Political sociologist Hoda Zakareya said Egypt_ which until the 1950s
was home to significant numbers of Jews, Armenians, Greeks and other
foreigners_ has grown less tolerant.
“The religious rhetoric in the mosque and the church has become
harsher and more conservative,” said Zakareya, who is against listing
religions on IDs at all. “People don’t feel secure and don’t feel that
the future is safe. When people are insecure they … seek refuge in
their religious identities as a Muslim or a Christian.”
She said the growing influence of Islamic groups, such as the Muslim
Brotherhood, which aim to galvanize people through religion, not
nationalism, contributed to the change. “The brotherhood said it
would reconstruct the fractured collective conscience on religious
basis. But people are dividing, not uniting, around Islam.”
Iskandar said many Egyptians were dangerously mixing the religious
and secular.
“Everyone is acting as if they were God’s envoy to the world, labeling
people believers and nonbelievers. This is not our job,” he said. “If
you think we are nonbelievers, leave it for God to punish us.”

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Bangkok Post – Thailand
Jun 22, 2006
One of the most prolific, and commercially successful, artists in
Bangkok is Danish-Armenian Elizabeth Romhild.
Since 1996, she has been staging exhibitions here almost every year,
her most recent being “Cynosure” at H Gallery; and for this Romhild
has taken a step in a new direction: She has juxtaposed a recurring
motif in her work – sensual ladies in a vivid livery of oils who
emanate the power and joy of womanhood – with images of wild animals
from the African continent.
Her Savannah series comprises three double-panelled paintings depicting
a gnu, a lion and an elephant in tandem with hypnotically compelling
African women in exotic costumes (or scarcely any) and magnificent
headgear. The beasts seem tame by comparison.
The series proved an instant success and was quickly sold, with
Savannah I going to a certain Thai gentleman, and Savannah II and
Savannah III to a collector in Singapore.
“I really enjoyed working on the three Savannah diptychs, which were
inspired by our Kenya safari trip last April,” the artist remarked.
“I’ve played with the resemblance between the female and animal
heads. I also find there’s a strong contact between them.
“The buffalo being the most dangerous animal in Africa, despite being
vegetarian they tend to kill just for the sake of it, and the proud and
powerful Masai warrior woman is fearless.” In this painting Romhild has
contrasted the woman’s curly hairdo with the buffalo’s curled horns.
“The lion, proud of his mane, and the woman, with her turban and that
proud look in her eyes, also resemble each other.
“The medicine woman’s headdress and the elephant’s ears are aligned
in the way they seem to move together.”
“Cynosure” was on view for one day only. Afterwards the exhibits
were immediately packed away for air-freighting to Denmark where
Romhild opened her “Temptress” exhibition at the Galerie Knud Grothe
Charlottenlund in Copenhagen on June 17.

‘WE HAVE GOT TO CALL A SPADE A SPADE AND WE ARE NOT’
By Jean Christou
Cyprus Mail
22 June 06
International journalist says West’s good intentions are misfiring
THE WAR on Terror is a sham and America’s “peacemaking” is producing
neither peace nor democracy in the Middle East, award-winning
journalist and author Robert Fisk said in Nicosia yesterday.
Beirut-based Fisk, who was on the island to take part in a conference
on mediation and conflict resolution, took time out to talk about
his epic 1,366-page new book The Great War for Civilisation : The
Conquest of the Middle East.
Love him or hate him – and it’s heard in equal measure – Fisk,
who writes for Britain’s Independent newspaper nothing if not
outspoken. He said his book aims at correcting Western misconceptions
of the Middle East. The purpose to tell those who read it not to accept
the narratives of history as told by presidents, prime ministers and
journalists, he said.
“Writing the book was a depressing experience. The book is hell,”
he told the audience at Cyprus College. “The people of the Middle
East have endured years of consistent injustice and war, mostly at
our hands. I am amazed at how restrained Muslims have been.
We are always arriving to liberate the Arabs. We are always offering
the Muslims democracy. I think what they want is freedom from us.”
Fisk lashed out, not only at Western governments but also at the
mainstream US media and their continuing compliance with the official
agenda. He said journalists today were in denial when it comes to
the question of “why” terrorism exists.
He said the Western attitude towards the Middle East over the past
century, with its support of police states and dictators was part of
that “why”. “There is no hope for peace in the Middle East when what
the people there want is justice,” he said.
In interview with the Cyprus Mail earlier yesterday, Fisk said one
of the great tragedies of what was going on in the region was that
the Arabs would probably like to see some of the democracy the West
says it wants to give them.
“And they’d like some packets of human rights off our western
supermarket shelves. But I think they would also like another kind
of freedom, which is freedom from us, and that, we are not going to
give them,” he said.
“We are always arriving in the Arab world with our tanks and
helicopters and our swords offering them liberation but they never
seem to get that liberation.”
Fisk said the West keeps apologising for the mistakes they have made
in Iraq but qualify it by saying they are not as bad as Saddam was.
However he said if that was the benchmark that was being used to
measure the behaviour of the occupying forces, there were likely to
be a lot more Hadithas in the future.
“We have got to call a spade a spade and we are not. Western policy
is filled with lies like never before,” said Fisk.
“The word terrorism is a plague on our vocabulary. The war on terror
is a war against America’s enemies. It has nothing to do with terrorism
at all.”
Fisk, who spends quite a bit of time in the Baghdad morgue while some
of his colleagues hole up in hotels in safe areas, said the current
rate of deaths of civilians does make him angry, even after more than
30 years covering conflicts in the region.
“The deaths of civilians makes me very, very angry. It didn’t used
to trouble me as much as it does now. But now I see young women
with their hands tied together shot in the head, babies shot in the
face. It’s outrageous and we journalists should say it is,” he said.
“I can’t see any obvious signs for hope at the moment.
America’s “peacemaking” is not producing peace. It was a terrible
mistake to invade Iraq. The whole American project is dead.
The schools are not being rebuilt. The electricity is not on. There is
no democracy. The only thing the government controls is the Green Zone,
which is about three acres of grass at the side of the Tigris River.”
The Iraq invasion was probably part of the bigger plan to redraw the
Middle East but Fisk said it obviously hasn’t worked. He said Bush
and British Prime Minister Tony Blair and their war cabinets knew
very little about wars, unlike their World War II predecessors.
“Their experience today is Hollywood and TV. They don’t see the reality
that war is effectively total failure of the human spirit. It’s about
death,” said Fisk.
Asked his opinion of the Cyprus issue, Fisk said he thought a lot of
people in the world had grown tired of the Cyprus problem.
“There are genuine issues that need to be resolved. My feeling is that
to get into the European Union the Turks have a number of hurdles
to get over and the first and primary one for me is to acknowledge
that the Armenian genocide happened. Continued denial would be like
accepting Germany into the European Union if it denied the Jewish
holocaust. Germany acknowledges it. Turkey should do the same,”
he said.
“You have very intelligent Cypriots on both sides of the Green
Line. You may lack the sensible people but you don’t lack intelligent
people and I think Cyprus could be resolved.”
Fisk said he believes the bottom line in Cyprus is the same as it is
for the Iraqis, the Palestinians and the Israelis.
“People want security. They want to feel they are safe. Turkish
Cypriots want to feel they’re safe and Greek Cypriots want to feel
they’re safe even before talking about property, land territory.
“It’s about security. Just like Israel and Palestine is about
security. Just like Iraq is about security. Do Cypriots want to
live together? Do they? That’s the question. We believed that the
Bosnian Muslims and Christians wanted to live together and we were
wrong. It’s very easy to be wishful thinking and modern and trendy
and liberal and say that all people are the same but they’re clearly
not the same are they?”

ARTSAKH STATE UNIVERSITY AWARDED LERMONTOV MEDAL
ArmRadio.am
22.06.2006 14:47
The Administration of the Lermontov Center of Russia decided to
award a medal after outstanding Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov to
Artsakh State University, said Vladimir Zakharov, Coordinator of
the Caucasus Research Center of the State International Relations
Institute of Moscow, Co-Chair of the Lermontov Center. The latter
is participating in the international scientific conference on
“Nagorno-Karabakh Republic: Past, Present, Future” held in Stepanakert.
He noted also that the “Union of All Saints of the Russian Orthodox
Church” public-religious orga nization has decided to award a number
of figures of Nagorno-Karabakh. “Alexey Enlightener” medal was awarded
to Head of the Artsakh Prelacy Pargev Archbishop Martirosyan.
“Alexander Nevski” medal was awarded to President of the “Russian
Community of NKR” NGO Galina Simova.

ARMEN HOVNANIAN DIES AT 76
AZG Armenian Daily
22/06/2006
On June 2, pharmacist Armen Hovnanian from Farmington Hills, Detroit,
died at the William Beaumont Hospital at 76.
Born in Akron, Ohio, Hovnanian moved to Detroit with his family
while still a child. While working at a drug store as 13-year-old
boy, he firmly decided to become a pharmacist. After graduating high
school in 1947, he attended the Detroit Institute of Technology and
graduated in 1951 with a pharmacy degree. He used that knowledge to
become a leader in one of Michigan’s largest drugstore chains during
the 1970s. He was promoted to executive vice president of the company
in 1971 and was responsible for sales. He helped the store develop
the concept of a one-stop drugstore, which sold pharmacy items along
with other merchandise.
Armen Hovnanian served in the US Army during the World War II for two
years as a lab technician. He loved classical music and was a Detroit
Tigers baseball fan, the Armenian Mirror Spectator weekly reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Press Release
From: Mira Yardemian
Public Relations Director
Haigazian University
Rue Mexique – Kantari
P.O. Box 11-1748
Riad El-Solh 1107 2090
Beirut – Lebanon
Haigazian University Recognizes 10 Graduating Students
On June the 21st, 2006, the Haigazian University Student Life Office
recognized 10 graduating students, for being the best contributors
to the culture of the university, represented in its motto of Truth,
freedom and Service, in the presence of the University President,
deans, and parents.
These students have been aware of the moral values of the University
motto, during their 4 years of study, and were very instrumental in
applying them in their everyday life.
Michel Majdalani (Student of the Year), Roubina Karaminassian,
Raffi Feghali, Sami Heneine, Rami Massoud, Karen Abou Ammo,
Mohammad Fakhoury, Mohammad Khaled Kassem, Garen Darakjian, and
Michael Vahejian, all shared the following common characteristics:
Endurance: They have been supportive, active, and contributing to
the University culture from the very first day of their enrollment.
Giving: These students have learned that it~Rs only by giving that
they can take, and grow. Receptive and eager to change: These students
have undergone a process of natural socialization which widened their
horizon and broadened their perception of the world.
In his word, the Director of Student Life, Mr. Antranig Dakessian
expressed his gratitude and satisfaction to the parents: ~SIndeed, dear
parents, we have seen their very first steps into this university, and
have followed their steps into experience, building up social skills,
and self-confidence. We have seen them change, develop and excel. Their
excellence has made us feel accomplished~T, said Dakessian.
The president of the University, Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian thanked the
parents and families for sharing their children~Rs gifts, noting that
most of these gifts young ones should owe their parents. ~SParents are
very much in the picture and behind the scenes. Through the years
of emotional, physical, financial, social sacrifice, and investment,
they have been there since the birth of these young people. Now what
parents want to have is a sense of fulfillment~T, said Haidostian.
Afterwards, the Students Resource Coordinator, Ms Peggy Bedoyan,
and the Assistant Student Life Director, Mr. Alan Keyrouz, presented
the aforementioned students and their activities through the aid of
a slide show.
Towards the end, recognition tokens were distributed to honored
students, and a reception followed.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

33RD SESSION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FMS ADOPTS BAKU DECELERATION
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 21 2006
The 33rd Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (June
19-21) in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, was over today (APA). The
session adopted 27-item Baku Deceleration:
“The challenges facing the humanity in the 21st century, in particular
recent threats confronting Islam compel us to further unite around
our values and to display solidarity, and we reiterate our devotion
to the noble ideas of humanism, racial and religious tolerance.
We support the continuation of reforms in the economic, social
and cultural areas, as well as in the spheres of democratization,
transparency and strengthening the role of civil society in the
OIC member states and consider it important to protect cultural,
religious and racial diversity. The diversity must not be a source
of conflict but rather a source of mutual enrichment and dialogue
among religions and civilizations.
We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,
express deep sympathy with and support for the countries that feel
victims to terrorist attacks, and denounce as groundless any attempts
to link terrorism with any religion, culture ands people as this
global scourge does not have any religious or national affiliation,”
the declaration reads.
It was also stated in the document that current new global threats
and challenges demand strengthening of international cooperation.
“In this connection, in order to jointly fight against international
terrorism, transnational crimes, illicit weapons and drug trafficking
and illegal migration in a more active way we propose to establish
the Conference of Heads of Law-Enforcement Agencies of OIC member
states and welcome the offer of Azerbaijan to host the first meeting
at the level of experts in Baku,” the Declaration continues.
It is also stated in the Declaration that regarding the cooperation
programmes on exploitation and transportation of energy resources of
the OIC member states as an essential factor in the social and economic
development of the OIC states, it welcomes the commissioning of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline which has taken place on the eve of
the session, as a result of the strategic cooperation in the region,
and look forward to speedy completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum
gas pipeline.
“We also note the importance of inter-regional transport corridors,
including the restoration of the Great Silk Road, which runs through
the OIC member states, and the East-West and North-South transport
corridors projects. We also welcome other regional initiatives,
including transportation of energy resources between Iran and
Kazakhstan, gas pipelines projects involving Afghanistan, India,
Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
We welcome the establishment of the OIC Group in Vienna with the
purpose to discus issues of common interest for the OIC member
states. For the improvement of the process of political consultations
and decision making mechanisms in the OIC we consider it expedient
to establish permanent missions of the members states to the OIC
Headquarters.
We once again bring to the attention of international community our
demands for speedy peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israel conflict
which is a principal objective of our Organization.
We once again strongly condemn the aggression of the Republic of
Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan and urge immediate, complete
and unconditional withdrawal pf Armenian occupying forces from the
occupied territories of Azerbaijan. We consider the illegal transfer of
Armenian population into the occupied Azerbaijani territories, illegal
economic activities and exploitation of natural resources in the
occupied territories detrimental to the peace process. We condemn the
continued destruction of Azerbaijani cultural and historical monuments
and demand from Armenia to compensate Azerbaijan in accordance with
international law for the material damage inflicted by Armenia. We
express our deep concern over recent massive fires in the occupied
territories and demand the occupying forces to take urgent measures
to prevent ecological disaster. We appeal to international community
to undertake all necessary measures for the peaceful resolution of
the conflict. We urge the OIC member states to support Azerbaijan
on the issue of full restoration of its territorial integrity and
sovereignty,” the Declaration reads.
It is also stated that the OIC member states support the process of
settlement of the Cyprus problem and reaffirm their solidarity with
Muslim brothers and sisters in Northern Cyprus.
“We appeal to international community, including the OIC member
states to make all necessary efforts to put an end to isolation of
the Turkish Cypriots and to build cooperation in economic, cultural,
scientific, technological and other fields,” the document continues.
It was also decided at the session to hold the 34th session of the
Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad, Pakistan.