PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apost. Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian
Prelate, Western United States
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, 91214
Tel: 818-248-7737/8
Fax: 818-248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
On the 91st Anniversary of the Genocide
THE PRELATE PRESIDES OVER CEREMONIES AND
PARTICIPATES IN MEETINGS
On the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Clergy of
the three denominations of the Armenian Church, along with the Consul
General of the Republic of Armenia, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa,
representatives of Armenian political, benevolent and cultural
organizations, public officials, Prelacy Executive Council members, and
thousands of people commemorated the Genocide with requiem services, Holy
Mass, and public gatherings.
Holy Mass in Glendale’s St. Mary’s Church
In the morning of Monday, April 24, 2006, a special requiem service took
place at Montebello’s Genocide Monument with the participation of H.E.
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, H.E. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,
Primate, Very Rev. Fr. Andon Saroian of the Armenian Catholic Church, Rev.
Joe Matossian of the Armenian Evangelical Church, and members of clergy.
Among the attendees were Honorable Gagik Giragossian, Consul General of the
Republic of Armenia, A.R.F. Bureau representative Dr. Viken Hovsepian, and
representatives of the Armenian political organizations.
Following requiem, Holy Mass took place at Glendale’s St. Mary’s
Church under the auspices of H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate,
with the participation of clergy from the three Armenian denominations.
During the Mass, remarks were made by Rev. Joe Matossian and Very Rev. Fr.
Andon Saroian.
Remarks were then made by Archbishop Mardirossian, who stressed
that the Armenian people, as faithful Christians, remain firm in their
demands and with God’s Will continue on their path towards victory.
At the conclusion of Holy Mass, guests and parishioners joined the
procession of clergy and choir members to the khachkar dedicated to the
memories of our martyrs, where requiem service was conducted.
The service ended with the singing of `Giligia’ and the national
anthem of Armenia `Mer Hayrenik’.
Public Gathering at Montebello’s Genocide Monument
In the afternoon of Saturday, April 23, 2006, a political meeting took place
at the Genocide Monument in Montebello with the participation of the three
Armenian denominations, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a representative of
Califorina Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger, Armenia’s Consul General Gagik
Giragossian, and representatives of various Armenian organizations.
The gathering, organized by the Genocide Recognition Joint
Committee, began at 4:30 p.m. under the auspices of Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Very Rev. Fr. Andon Saroian, and
Rev. Joe Matossian. Also participating in the gathering was Recep Zarakolu,
member of a human rights group in Turkey.
The emcee of the event was Senator Jackie Speier. Remarks were
made by Mayor Villairagos, Governor Schwarzenneger’s representative,
Congressmen Adam Schiff and Jack Scott, City Council member Eric Garcetti,
and others. Mr. Recep Zarakolu also made remarks.
Following the official program, requiem services took place.
Glendale City Council Commemorates Genocide
On Sunday, April 23, at 2:00 p.m. Glendale City Council
commemorated the Genocide at Alex Theatre in Glendale. Representing the
Prelate was Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian, who was joined by Rev. Gomidas
Torossian of Glendale’s St. Mary’s Church.
Opening remarks were made by Glendale City Council member Rafi
Manoukian, followed with remarks by Mayor Dave Weaver, Council member Ara
Najarian, and Congressman Adam Schiff.
During the event, Michael Hagopian’s documentary on the Armenian
Genocide was shown. At the conclusion of the program, students of the
Vartan and Siranoush Kevorkian Dance School performed dances fitting the
solemn occasion.

Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
3325 North Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, Ca 91504
Tel: 818-558-7474
Fax: 818-558-6333
Web:
Invitation to attend
Ecumenical Commemoration of the
Armenian Genocide
Under the auspices of
His Grace Bishop John Bruno, Primate
Episcopal Church, Diocese of Los Angeles
and
His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate
Armenian Church, Western Diocese
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
7:00PM
St. Marks Episcopal Church
1020 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, California
The solemn requiem service is organized by the committee promoting
dialogue between the Episcopal Church and Armenian Church. The choirs
of St. Marks and the St. Peters of Glendale will be participating.
The commemoration begins promptly at 7:00PM
The public is cordially invited to participate in this special
service of remembrance, healing and worship.
More information is available by calling:
Western Diocese: 818.558.7474
St. Peter Armenian Church: 818.244.9696
or visiting hyeyouth.com

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
04/26/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) Two Swedish MPs Honor The Victims of The Armenian Genocide 2) Rice Warns Turkey to Keep Out of Iraq 3) Armenians in Georgia Mark Genocide 4) Azeri Troops Breach Ceasefire, Wound Armenian Servicemen 5) Western Prelacy Organizes Book Presentation Event 1) Two Swedish MPs Honor The Victims of The Armenian Genocide The Armenian community in Sweden held several commemorative events throughout the country to mark the 91st anniversary of the Armenian genocide, during which several Members of Parliament (MP) honored the victims and pledged to raise the issue in the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag). In Uppsala, several Swedish MPs attended an event organized by Armenian organizations including Raffi Cultural Association, Armenian Relief Society, Homenetmen Sweden, and the Armenian Church. Michael Oscarson, a Christian Democrat MP who participated in the Genocide commemoration, said that people are not aware of the terrible suffering and loss of life Armenians experienced 91 years ago. "We need to work together so that this very important humanitarian tragedy is captured by the public," he said. "Together with my colleagues I will raise the question of Armenian genocide in the Riksdag," said Oscarson, promising to "address the Foreign Minister and demand an explanation on what the Swedish government is doing concerning the denial by Turkey." "My party and I supported those resolutions, and continue to recognize them today," he added. Oscarson also spoke of a visit to Turkey last year, saying: "Every time I met my colleagues in the Turkish Parliament I took up the issue of the Armenian genocide, but I was shocked to be met by a wall of silence. And I was even more shocked when one of them replied, 'We the Turks are the victims, we were the ones who were submitted to genocide." Another Swedish MP, Rezene Tesfazion, spoke on behalf of the Social Democrats and said that we must never forget the lessons of history, because "this is our duty as human beings." "I join with you today in remembering the past I encourage you to continue honoring your forefathers," he said. Tesfazion also made a pledge to the Armenian people, saying, "Together with my colleague Miss Tone Tingsgaard I will try to raise the issue in the Riksdag." In March 2000 the Swedish Parliament adopted a motion acknowledging the Armenian genocide. The motion reads: "An official statement and recognition of the Genocide of the Armenians is important and necessary. In 1985 the UN and the European Parliament established the fact that the Ottoman Empire had committed genocide against the Armenian people in the beginning of the 20th century. The Standing Committee [on Foreign Affairs] is of the opinion that the greater openness Turkey demonstrates, the stronger Turkey's democratic identity will be. It is therefore important that unbiased independent and international research on the genocide committed against the Armenian people be carried out. It is of great importance that an increasing openness and historical understanding of the events of 1915 and thereafter be developed. An improvement in this respect would also be of importance for the stability and the development in the whole Caucasus region." 2) Rice Warns Turkey to Keep Out of Iraq ANKARA (International Herald Tribune)--Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice assured Turkish leaders on Tuesday that the United States would step up efforts to stop the infiltration of Kurdish insurgents from Iraq into Turkey, but she warned the Turkish government not to send troops into Iraq to do the job. Addressing what has become a new irritant in relations with Turkey, Rice acknowledged that the problem of infiltration by Kurdish rebels into Turkey from Kurdish regions in northern Iraq had been allowed to grow. The Turkish foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, said there had been a surge in such infiltration in recent weeks. The country's press has been filled with reports of thousands of Turkish troops massing on the border of Iraq, and there has been speculation that Turkey might intervene in Iraq. Rice, without speaking directly to that threat, clearly sought to discourage the Turks from doing anything on their own. "Of course we want anything that we do to contribute to stability in Iraq, not to threaten that stability or to make a difficult situation worse," Rice said, referring to the presence of Turkish troops. "That is why a cooperative approach on this problem--cooperation between Iraq and Turkey and the coalition forces--is very important." Gul spoke of the Kurdish rebel situation in blunt terms, saying that the Kurdish Workers Party, which is known as the PKK, had turned Iraq into "a training ground" and that "like every country, Turkey will take her own precautions" to deal with the problem. He said, however, that Turkey had "no claim on anybody's soil or any neighborly country's soil." Rice spoke during her trip through the region, starting in the morning with meetings in Athens, where a few thousand anti-American protesters thronged the streets downtown. A couple of dozen protesters turned violent, throwing Molotov cocktails and burning storefronts and bus stops. 3) Armenians in Georgia Mark Genocide (A-Info/Civil Georgia)--The southern Georgian region of Javakhk commemorated on April 23 and 24 the 91st anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Members of the community marched on Sunday through the streets of Akhaltsikhe and Ninotsminda, in an event organized by the Zori Zoryan youth association. The next morning, on April 24, Javakhk's churches held a requiem mass for the 1.5 million victims of the Genocide. Representatives of the community, local officials, and several organizations placed wreaths in honors of the victims at a memorial dedicated to the Armenian genocide. Representatives of the Armenian community in Georgia also gathered outside the Turkish Embassy in Tbilisi on April 24 to demand recognition of the Genocide. 4) Azeri Troops Breach Ceasefire, Wound Armenian Servicemen YEREVAN (RFE/RL/Armenpress)The Armenian Defense Ministry reported Wednesday new ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan along their border, which have left at least three Armenian soldiers seriously wounded. According to the Defense Ministry in Yerevan, one of the soldiers came under automatic gunfire from Azeri army positions in Nakhichevan, bordering Armenia's southeastern Syunik province on Wednesday. The two other servicemen were shot and hospitalized late Tuesday along the westernmost section of the Armenian-Azeri border, in Ijevan. "The condition of the servicemen is satisfactory," said a statement released by the Ministry. "In both instances, the Armenian side did not return fire." Seyran Shahsuvarian, a spokesman for the Ministry, said that Armenians did not violate the ceasefire. He said the Armenian party did not return fire and added that Azeri media reports claiming that Armenians violated the truce were a lie. The mountainous area adjacent to Georgia as well as the main Armenian-Azeri line of contact east of Karabagh has seen an upsurge in ceasefire violations starting in February. 5) Western Prelacy Organizes Book Presentation Event The Western Prelacy Public Relations Committee, under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, has organized a book presentation event to be held at 6:00 PM on Sunday, April 30, at the Armenak Der Bedrossian Hall of St. Mary's Church in Glendale. The book, "From the Book of One Thousand Tales: Stories of Armenia and its People, 1892-1922," was a lost manuscript of Diana Apcar, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Japan during the first Armenian Republic (1918-1920). Besides her diplomatic career, Diana Apcar was a renowned writer and author of several books. In the 1920's, the building she lived in collapsed in an earthquake and the manuscript for the aforementioned book was lost in the rubble. Many years later, the manuscript was found and published by her granddaughter Lucille Apcar. The Western Prelacy Public Relations Committee has invited Lucille Apcar to Los Angeles to present her grandmother's recovered manuscript and to tell the public more about her grandmother's role in and service to the Armenian community from the far away land of Japan. Following the official program there will be a reception and book signing. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

PRESS RELEASE
APRIL 25, 2006
Western Diocese of
the Armenian Church of North America
3325 N. Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91504
(818) 558-7474
FUNDRAISER FOR MOTHER CATHEDRAL TO BE HELD MAY 20TH
Los Angeles, CA — Excitement reigns high as the Mother Cathedral
Fundraising and Celebration Gala of May 20th nears. This significant
event is an opportunity for all the Armenian faithful to participate
in this historic occasion. Under the Chairmanship of Antranik
Zorayan, the members of the committee comprised of distinguished
faithful members of the Armenian community, have been working for
approximately two years to meet the formidable challenge of raising
funds for the Mother Cathedral.
The primary objective of the May 20th fundraiser is bring the amount
collected thus far to a level that will enable the Diocese to launch
the construction of the Mother Cathedral.
The committee is proud to announce that Hovig Krikorian’s wonderful
voice and songs will ensure the night to be an evening of
celebration. Dr. Varoujan Altebarmakian, Chair of the Diocesan
Council, will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the gala.
The construction of the first and only Mother Cathedral of the
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America will soon
become a reality since its inception 107 years ago. The Mother
Cathedral will further strengthen the bridge between the Diaspora and
our Motherland Armenia and Etchmiadzin.
As `Together We Build’ the foundation of our community and instill
wisdom and pride within our youth, we also continue the work of the
late Catholicos Khrimian Hayrig which began in 1898. At that time
with his Encyclical he called upon a handful of immigrants to
organize this Diocese.
The construction of the Mother Cathedral will be a new momentum in
the history of the Western Diocese. This can only be achieved with
the active participation of the Armenian faithful as `Together We
Build’ this sacred mission and project of Armenian life. The success
of this mission will give the new generation a vivid reflection of
our Christian faith and national pride, encouraging them to live a
meaningful life and to cherish the legacy of the faith of our
forefathers.
On Saturday, May 20, 2006 the Western Diocese, under the auspices of
His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, will host an
evening of celebration that will strengthen our faith, enrich our
hearts with joy, and fill us with pride for the long and rich history
of the Armenian Church. `Together We Build’ and together we shall
celebrate.
The evening’s festivities will be held at the Arshag and Eleanor
Dickranian Complex of the Western Diocese in Burbank, beginning with
a reception at 7:00 p.m. in the Galleria, followed by dinner in the
Nazareth and Sima Kalaydjian Banquet Hall.
Attendance to the banquet is by invitation only. For your
invitation, please contact your local church or the Diocesan Office
at 818-558-7474.
For more information regarding the construction project, please
visit the Diocesan website at

From: Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
Subject: ANCA: LA Commemorates Armenian Genocide
Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Contact: Maral Habeshian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
LOS ANGELES COMMEMORATES 91st ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the
Los Angeles City Council commemorated the 91st anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide in separate sessions during the week leading up to
April 24th, reported the Armenian National Committee of America –
Western Region (ANCA-WR).
On Tuesday, April 18, 2006, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Mayor Michael Antonovich presented scrolls to leaders of the Armenian
American community in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. The
Board of Supervisors proclaimed April 24, 2006 as the `Day of
Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 through 1923.’ Among
those present were ANCA-WR board chairman Steven Dadaian and ANCA-WR
director Armen Carapetian.
Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti invited Armenian
American community leaders to Council Chambers on Friday, April 21,
2006, to present the City Council’s resolution on the anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide. Councilmembers Tony Cardenas, Wendy Greuel,
Bill Rosendahl, and Dennis Zine made comments in honor of the
1,500,000 Armenian men, women, and children who perished at the hands
of Ottoman Turks.
Council President Garcetti, in his introduction of the resolution,
stated `The only way to heal – not only for Armenians, but indeed the
Turks and the whole world – is to embrace that it happened.’
ANCA-WR board member Souzi Zerounian joined the Consul General of
Armenia in Los Angeles Gagik Kirakossian in thanking the Los Angeles
City Council for commemorating the Armenian Genocide.
`We gather today not to speak about the denial of truth, but the
denial of justice,’ said Zerounian.
A special reception was held following the official ceremony in City
Hall. Council President Garcetti and Dadaian spoke extensively on the
need fight against Turkey’s shameful denial of the Armenian
Genocide. The event was broadcast on television station LA 35.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and
most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the
concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues.

EUROPEAN TOP OFFICIAL URGES ARMENIANS, AZERIS TO COMPROMISE OVER KARABAKH
Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
25 Apr 06
Both Armenians and Azerbaijanis will benefit from the resolution of
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, Council of Europe Secretary-General
Terry Davis has said. In an interview with Armenian Mediamax news
agency, he said that the parties’ “biggest motive” for compromise
should be the welfare of the people in Armenia and Azerbaijan. He
added that the Council of Europe would send a fact-finding mission
to the region to verify reports about destroyed historical monuments.
The following is the text of interview of Council of Europe
Secretary-General Terry Davis to Armenian Mediamax news agency;
subheadings as published:
The biggest motive for compromise should be the welfare of the people
of Armenia and Azerbaijan
[Correspondent] Are you following the Nagornyy Karabakh peace talks?
[Terry Davis] Of course, I take close interest in what is happening
over the problem of Nagornyy Karabakh. Whenever I meet the foreign
ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan I discuss it with them. I regret
that it is taking such a long time to settle this issue because I
am sure that it is in the interests of the people in Armenia and
Azerbaijan and especially people in Nagornyy Karabakh for this issue
to be settled.
[Correspondent] Do you think regional cooperation in the South Caucasus
is possible before the resolution of existing conflicts?
[Davis] Well, unfortunately there are many conflicts in the South
Caucasus and I regret all of them – the conflicts in Abkhazia, South
Ossetia and Nagornyy Karabakh. My view is that cooperation is always
possible, but there is a limit to how much cooperation you may have
when you have these very serious conflicts.
[Correspondent] Do you think the Council of Europe could play a more
active role in the Nagornyy Karabakh peace process?
[Davis] Of course, the OSCE Minsk Group plays a leading role. I truly
wish luck to Russian, US and French co-chairmen with this difficult
work that they are trying to do. It is in the interest not only of
the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan, but in the interest of the
people everywhere in the world. But the OSCE is leading on it, not
the Council of Europe.
And, what I am always trying to do in both Armenia and Azerbaijan is
to persuade people that there are men and women in the other country
who also suffer, who have very similar feelings. And anything that can
get this across, the people in both Armenia and Azerbaijan, I think is
bound to help to the resolution of this conflict. And that is what I am
interested to encourage. But in the end of the day the responsibility
to resolve the conflict is with the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis.
[Correspondent] Do you think is it still possible to resolve the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict this year?
[Davis] I do not know. I think you will have to ask the foreign
ministers or perhaps, even more important, the presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan. They are the people who have the responsibility talking
to each other. How optimistic or pessimistic they are, I do not know.
[Correspondent] Can the process of European integration secure a
stronger motive for compromise for Armenia and Azerbaijan?
[Davis] To my mind, the biggest motive for compromise should be the
welfare of the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
No big problems between the Council of Europe and Armenia
[Correspondent] Do you see any big problems in relations between
Armenia and the Council of Europe?
[Davis] Well, I do not see any problems. Sometimes, I am surprised that
we are constantly searching for problems. Of course, there are some
things in Armenia that we would like to see changed. We certainly
encourage Armenia to do all sorts of things to catch up with the
rest of Europe. From time to time we have to say to our friends in
Armenia that we are still waiting for you to do this or that which
you promised to do. That is intended to be helpful. So, I do not see
any big problems between the Council of Europe and Armenia.
I think Armenia is making a contribution to European discussions on
the whole, but I must tell you frankly – I believe Armenia could make
a bigger contribution, and the reason Armenia does not make as bigger
contributions as I would like is because you do have this problem
with Nagornyy Karabakh.
And as soon as you get that settled, it is going to affect the
contribution made by Armenia and Azerbaijan to the rest of Europe. I
think you could make a very valuable contribution – from particular
point of view, the Armenian point of view – based on the history,
traditions and culture of the Armenian people.
Fact finding mission
[Correspondent] What steps may the Council of Europe take regarding the
destruction of Armenian monuments in Azerbaijani territory of Naxcivan?
[Davis] We are trying to organize a fact-finding mission to visit not
only the places you have mentioned but other places too, where there
are allegations about memorials or monuments or religious things
having been damaged. It does not matter whether these are Armenian
or Azerbaijani. As civilized people, we should be concerned about
anybody’s memorials or monuments being damaged. So, the important thing
is to get people to work together on this. The fact finding mission,
we hope, will have Armenians and Azerbaijanis working together to
find a better way to improve general cooperation for the people to
realize that we all have to respect each other’s believes, each other’s
culture and to protect other peoples’ religious believes and culture.
Let’s go to the heart of the problem, not doing things around it
[Correspondent] The closed border between Armenia and Turkey remains
one of the most complicated problems in the region. Don’t you think
the Council of Europe could play a role in improving Turkish-Armenian
relations?
[Davis] This is really a very important issue. But it is peripheral,
it is only edge. The important thing is to deal with the central
problem, and we all know what the central problem is. It is the future
of Nagornyy Karabakh.
Upcoming elections
[Correspondent] Will the Council of Europe observe parliamentary
elections in Armenia next year?
[Davis] I will expect the Council of Europe to be invited to observe
the elections in Armenia. The Council of Europe has been invited and
has observed recent elections in Armenia. And I shall be surprised
if the Council of Europe is not invited next year.
What do I expect from them? What I expect of better elections [than]
that have been held before. I expect real progress to be made in
making sure that these elections are free and fair elections.
Everyone has opportunity to be a candidate and not to be harassed,
to have no suppression, to have freedom of expression, freedom to
explain one’s point of view, to try to persuade other people to vote
for your point of view. In other words, what I expect is a better
democracy in Armenia.

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN WASHINGTON
Aida Sultanova
AP Worldstream
Apr 26, 2006
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev arrived late Tuesday in Washington,
where Iran, energy supplies and the nearly two-decade-old conflict
over his country’s ethnic Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh enclave
were expected to top the agenda during his visit.
Azerbaijan has sought to carefully balance its aspirations for closer
cooperation with the United States with Russia and its volatile
neighbor Iran. Now the nation of 7.9 million faces the question of
whether it should join in pressuring Tehran to abandon its alleged
nuclear arms program _ a topic certain to come up in Aliev’s White
House meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush later in the week.
For his part, Aliev will be looking for the United States to pledge to
put more pressure on Armenia to make concessions in the 18-year-old
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. At least 30,000 people were killed and
1 million made refugees during six years of war that ended with a
shaky cease-fire in 1994. Ethnic Armenian forces occupy the enclave
inside Azerbaijan.
The United States, together with Russia and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, is trying to mediate a resolution.
U.S. criticism of Aliev’s domestic policies has been muted, due in
large part to Baku’s role in supplying the West with Caspian Sea oil
through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. The first shipments are due
this June, and in the fall the new Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline
will provide a new source of energy for the Turkish market.
Azerbaijani opposition leaders worried that the Iran issue, too,
had pushed rights concerns further down the U.S. list of priorities.
Foreign observers said last fall’s parliamentary elections, as well
as the 2003 election that cemented Aliev’s grip on power after the
death of his father Geidar Aliev, did not meet international standards.
“We understand that today, the question of Iran is more important than
the problem of Azerbaijan’s democratization,” said Sardar Jamaloglu,
deputy head of the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan.
But there is palpable ambivalence at home about how to handle the
crisis roiling around Iran, its huge Caspian Sea neighbor.
“We maintain relations with both the United States and with Iran,”
said Ali Hasanov, a senior Aliev aide. “The citizens of our country
support close ties with Iran.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESIDENT OF LITHUANIA PAID TRIBUTE TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
ArmRadio.am
26.04.2006 15:05
Today the President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus and his wife attended
the memorial to the Armenian Genocide. The President observed the
paintings, facts and memorandums presented at the Museum-Institute
of Genocide, which evidence about the massacres carried out against
Armenians of Osman Empire in 1915.
The Lithuanian President wrote in the guest book, “It is hard to
express the feelings, seeing human cruelty against humans. There are
no words in any language to justify these actions.”

THREE YEAR-OLD ABRAHAM KARAPETYAN NEEDS HELP
ArmRadio.am
26.04.2006 15:30
Three year-old Abraham Karapetyan suffers retina cancer. To save the
child’s life, one of his eyes was ablated two years ago. To keep the
second eye, the child needs to be operated on in large hospitals
abroad, particularly France and England. Through “Radiolur” the
child’s mother applies all charity organizations to help the child.
Diana Karapetyan is an unmarried mother. She lives in terrible, to be
more exact, unbearable conditions. She takes care for her handicapped,
ill father and three-year-old son. She knew about the child’s illness
when he was one-year-old. Then she addressed Armenian specialists. The
latter advised to take the child to Moscow for surgery, where his eye
was ablated. The second eye can be saved only in case of replacing
it with a donor one, which can be done only in France and England.
Those who are concerned about the fate of little Abraham and can
help the child can address “Radiolur.” We shall help you contact the
child’s relatives.

ARMENIAN PREMIER, LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSS COOPERATION
Mediamax news agency
26 Apr 06
Yerevan, 26 April: Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said in Yerevan
today that the development of relations with the South Caucasus
countries, which have chosen the European way of development, is
among the foreign policy priorities of Vilnius.
The Lithuanian president said this at a meeting with Armenian Prime
Minister Andranik Markaryan, Mediamax has reported.
Stressing the importance of the international regional initiatives and
long-term cooperation in this direction, Adamkus said that a summit
of heads of state from Baltic and Black Sea countries would be held
in Vilnius on 4-5 May 2006 with the participation of high-ranking
officials from the USA, European Union and NATO.
At the meeting, Andranik Markaryan spoke about the successful
expansion of Armenia’s cooperation with NATO. He said that Armenia
considered this cooperation as one of the key components of its
European integration policy.
Markaryan went on to say that Armenia intended to use Individual
Partnership Action Plan between Armenia and NATO as effective as
possible and hoped for Lithuania’s assistance in this context.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress