51 authors from Armenia to participate in the all-Armenian conference of writers
ArmRadio.am
31.03.2006 15:20
51 authors from Armenia will participate in the second all-Armenian
conference of writers to be held April 6-9 in Beirut.
Secretary of the Union of Writers of Armenia Hovhannes Grigoryan told
” Armenpress” that the Armenian delegation will include writers from
Artsakh and Javakhk. Authors from Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Egypt,
Cyprus, France, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Australia, Georgia,
USA and Canada have applied for participation in the conference.
The conference titled “Contemporary Armenian Literature and the
International Challenges” has been initiated by the Head of the Union
of Writers Levon Ananyan and Aram A Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilikia. The latter has taken the expenses of organizing the gathering.
According to Hovhannes Grigoryan, exhibitions of books will
be organized in he framework of the conference. Visits to
Lebanese-Armenian community and Armenian schools are also expected.
The two previous all-Armenian conferences were held in Armenia and
Artsakh.

Second Kapan-Meghri highway will be handed over for exploitation at the end
of 2006
ArmRadio.am
31.03.2006 16:18
The second Kapan-Meghri highway of interstate importance will be
handed over for exploitation by the end of 2006. The construction of
the road had started in 2005, 10.9 billion drams were allocated from
state budget for this purpose in 2005 and 2006.
Head of the Information Department of RA Ministry of Transport and
Communication Tamara Ghalechyan informed that Verishen-Tsav sector
of the highway will be built up from the start, existing segments of
the road will be fundamentally renovated.
The highway will have a length of 96.4 kilometers, the highest point
will be 2160 km as compared to the 2483 km of the existing road.
By the way Armenia has two roads of communication with Iran, while
three highways link Armenia with Georgia.

Kazakh region destroys ammunition scrap dumps
Channel 31 TV, Almaty
27 Mar 06
[Presenter] The Ministry of Defence has cleared the artillery scrap
heaps in the outskirts of the town of Balkhash in central Karaganda
Region. In all, locals had illegally extracted 370 tonnes of artillery
scrap from old ammunition depots at Tokrau station. Bullets and
bombs fell into civilian hands after conflagration at army depots
in 2001. There were tens of thousands tonnes of ammunition that were
brought back from Afghanistan and Armenia. The locals used to take them
apart and sell to scrap merchants. The explosive scrap has already
caused several deaths this year. Five locals died in February when
disassembling bombs. A total of 40 tonnes of ammunition parts were
found at a local scrap merchant’s. By the defence minister’s decree,
a working group was sent to Balkhash District to ensure civilians’
safety and to gather up all the scrap.
[Bulat Darbekov, Deputy Minister of Defence, chair of staff commanders’
committee, captioned] Presently all fragments of ammunition have been
taken out to arsenals and later will be destroyed.

Russia to withdraw most of heavy hardware from Georgia to its own territory
NTV Mir, Moscow
31 Mar 06
[Presenter] Russia will withdraw its heavy hardware from Georgia
by the end of 2007. Moscow and Tbilisi signed an agreement in Sochi
today, according to which the Georgian side will take upon itself the
obligation to provide to Russia the use of its air space during this
period. It is also being planned to transport arms by rail.
The Russian military will have to withdraw all property from the
bases of Batumi and Akhalkalaki, subject to weather conditions,
no later than by 31 December 2007.
The document was signed by Georgian deputy defence minister [Mamuka
Kudava] and the commander-in-chief of the Russian Ground Troops
[Aleksey Maslov].
[Maslov 09:0922-09:0954] Most of the hardware and weapons will be
withdrawn to the territory of the Russian Federation. Part of the
hardware will be moved to the territory of Armenia to complete the
sets of hardware there – this is mostly to do with equipment and
vehicles. But I think that everything that was decided in the [1999]
Istanbul agreement, we have fulfilled to the letter.

USA seeks Armenia’s consent to troops deployment in Karabakh – opposition leader
Mediamax news agency
31 Mar 06
Yerevan, 31 March: The allocation of 235m dollars to Armenia by the
US Millennium Challenge Corporation is “a political move”, the leader
of the New Times Party, Aram Karapetyan, has said.
Speaking at a briefing in Yerevan today, Aram Karapetyan said that
the US administration hopes in this way to get Armenia’s agreement on
“the deployment of a US peacekeeping contingent in the buffer zone
around Nagornyy Karabakh close to the Iranian border”.
“The Armenian opposition has learnt that these forces will be deployed
in the region in July-August 2006,” Karapetyan said.
If military operations are launched against Iran, “a catastrophic
situation” will be established in the region, the politician said.

75 dead as a result of the earthquake in Iran
ArmRadio.am
31.03.2006 17:08
75 people died and 1 000 were injured as a result of the strong
earthquake on the territory of Iran.
Seismic Security Service of Armenia has informed that the 5.7 magnitude
shake was registered at 6.37 p.m. 110 kilometers to the South-East
of Arak city. The power of the quake at the epicenter reached 7-8
points. It was preceded by two shakes with the magnitudes of 4.8 and
5.2, followed by another shake of 4.7 magnitudes.

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 10) 517 163
Fax: (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
March 31, 2006
Mother See Announces Holy Week Schedule
Every year the Mother See receives numerous inquiries from pilgrims
throughout the world who plan to travel to Armenia and Holy Etchmiadzin
to participate in the services leading up to the Glorious Resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ. In response to the growing number of
requests, the Mother See is pleased to announce this year’s schedule
of Holy Week and Easter Services. All services will be held in the
Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin.
Saturday, April 8, 2006
COMMEMORATION OF THE RAISING OF LAZARUS
Divine Liturgy – 11:00 AM
Sunday, April 9, 2006
PALM SUNDAY
Morning Services – 8:00 AM
Divine Liturgy – 11:00 AM
Opening of the Doors Service – 5:30 PM
Tuesday, April, 11, 2006
COMMEMORATION OF THE TEN VIRGINS
Evening Services – 5:30 PM
Thursday, April 13, 2006
HOLY THURSDAY
Divine Liturgy – 11:00 AM
Washing of the Feet Service – 4:00 PM
Betrayal Service – 7:00 PM
Friday, April 14, 2006
HOLY FRIDAY
Crucifixion Service – 12:00 Noon
Burial Service – 5:30 PM
Saturday, April 15, 2006
EASTER EVE
Evening Services – 5:30 PM
“Jrakaluyts” (Lucernarium) Divine Liturgy – 7:00 PM
Sunday, April 16, 2006
FEAST OF THE GLORIOUS RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
Morning Services – 7:30 AM
Pontifical Divine Liturgy – 10:30 AM
Celebrant – His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos of All Armenians
Monday, April 17, 2006
MEMORIAL DAY
Divine Liturgy – 11:00 AM
Repose of Souls Service – 1:00 PM
##

Russia not to join Romanian Black Sea Euro-region project – Romanian report
Rompres news agency
31 Mar 06
Bucharest, 31 March: The representative of the Russian Federation at
the Conference for the launch of the Black Sea Euro-region project,
director with the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry Vladimir Lebedenko,
expressed Russia’s stand in this issue, which distances itself from
the adoption of the Political Statement regarding the establishment
of this body.
Government representatives from the other riparian countries of the
extended Black Sea area – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Georgia,
Greece, Turkey, the Republic of Moldova and Bulgaria – expressed
their support for the project proposed by Romania and the Congress
of the Local and Regional Authorities (CLRA) of the Council of Europe.
Vladimir Lebedenko specified that Russia did not take part in the
preparation of this document and does not consider itself bound to
express support.
The Russian diplomat also voiced reserves regarding this initiative,
pointing out that such ideas are fine and interesting, but for the
time being, his country cannot commit to supporting them because it
is yet unclear if the new body would not overlap with the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation Organization (BSECO).
President of the Congress of the Local and Regional Authorities
Giovanni di Stasi voiced confidence that, in the end, Russia will
join the Black Sea Euro-region project, the more so as the Russian
authorities have proven openness to the cross-border cooperation
methods initiated by CLRA, as they offered support for CLRA’s opening,
in the coming months, in St Petersburg, of a centre that will offer
assistance with the establishment of a similar project in the Baltic
Sea region.
“We will continue the dialogue with our partners from Russia and I
believe we will succeed in persuading them to join us,” said Giovanni
di Stasi.
In his turn, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Terry Davis,
underscored that this initiative is not “binding” for all the Black
Sea riparian countries, but that their own will was at the basis of
the project. However, he insisted on the utility of the Euro-region
project, pointing out that a climate of cooperation needs to be
established between the local authorities in the area, aimed at
eradicating pollution, corruption and the trafficking of humans
and weapons.
Romanian Foreign Minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu expressed his opinion
that the initiative of the Black Sea Euro-region does not overlap
with BSECO’s activity object, underscoring that cooperation is very
frail in the Pontic area, so that this body’s coming into being would
be beneficial.
In the end of the Conference on regional cooperation, the
representatives of the Novorossiysk region joined the final common
statement assumed by the participants that represented the local
authorities from Black Sea riparian countries and CLRA.
The statement sets 2007 as the deadline for the establishment of the
Euro-region, as a concrete dialogue body between the local elects
from the mentioned countries, and also provides the establishment of
a standing technical secretariat that will facilitate the dialogue
until 2007. According to Giovanni di Stasi, the technical secretariat
will be probably based in the Romanian city of Constanta and will be
staffed with Romanian experts.
The next Black Sea inter-regional cooperation meting will take place
in the Turkish city of Samsun.
The Black Sea Euro-region is the first form of regional partnership
accomplished with the support and contribution of European institutions
– the Council of Europe and the European Union – that will represent
the main funding sources for the concrete projects that will be drawn
up by the local authorities from the coast areas of the Pontic basin.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

French Parliament Socialist Faction to Introduce Bill against Denial of Armenian Genocide
PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2006 21:46 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Socialist faction of the French Parliament took
a decision on March 29 to introduce a bill in the Parliament against
the denial of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation’s Western Europe Central Committee has issued a statement
welcoming the decision that is the result of many petitions sent by
the ARF to the Socialist Party leader Francois Holland. “This is the
second time that the Socialist faction is using the Parliament for
the benefit of Armenians,” the statement says. “After May 29, 1998,
which was dedicated to the Armenian Genocide law, the Socialist Party
could use May 18, 2006 to pass a law that would outlaw the denial of
the Armenian Genocide.” If passed, the law will make it a crime to deny
the Armenian Genocide and the deniers would be automatically convicted.

Arthur Baghdasaryan met the Speaker of the Parliament of Valencia
ArmRadio.am
31.03.2006 17:53
Today Chairman of the National Assembly Arthur Baghdasaryan met the
Speaker of the Parliament of Valencia State Julio de Espania. The
meeting focused on the issues of establishment of interparliamentary
ties.
Public Relations Department of the National Assembly informs that
Arthur Baghdasaryan’s meeting with the Secretary General of the
Federation of Cities and City Halls of Valencia Francisco Miko an
agreement was reached to hold a forum dedicated to the issues of
interregional cooperation with participation of 20 Mayors.