ISTANBUL PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE BRINGs CRIMINAL ACTION AGAINST CATHOLICOS
OF ALL ARMENIANS
Istanbul, June 30. ArmInfo. The prosecutor’s office of Istanbul has
brought criminal action against Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II
for “encroaching on the dignity of the Turks,” Trends news agency
(Baku) reports with reference to Turkish media.
The prosecutor’s office says that during his last visit to Istanbul
Garegin II called for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. In
response, a group of lawyers filed a complaint to the prosecutor’s
office. Garegin II cannot testify as Armenia and Turkey has no
agreement on cooperation in the sphere of justice. However, if the
prosecutor’s office deems necessary it can instruct all customs points
to detain Garegin II if he enters the Turkish territory.

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT PEOPLE IN ARMENIA AND
AZERBAIJAN THINK ABOUT THEIR PROPOSALS
Yerevan, June 30. ArmInfo. What OSCE MG US co-chair Matthew Bryza said
was in no way some sensational information leak. His statement and the
following statement by the three OSCE MG co-chairs were just aimed at
seeing how people in Armenia and Azerbaijan would react, says the
leader of the parliamentary faction of the Republican Party of Armenia
Galust Sahakyan.
However, if the co-chairs really want to know the public opinion in
the conflicting states they should make public all the documents
discussed by the Armenian and Azeri presidents. Bryza’s statement says
nothing whether Armenia has accepted the promulgated elements or
not. In Armenia only the president and the FMs actually know the
details of the talks. Concerning the co-chairs’ statement that they
are running out of fantasy, Sahakyan says that they will hardly stop
their mediation even if they fail the next round.
Sahakyan says that despite promises of a breakthrough there will be no
serious progress in the peace process this year. He condemns those
local forces who are trying to speculate on the Karabakh problem for
their own purposes.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
June 30, 2006
___________________
DIOCESAN LEGATE, CLERGY REPRESENT CHURCH AT CONSULTATION
The annual United States Oriental Orthodox and Roman Catholic Consultation
took place May 30 and 31, 2006, at the Cardinal Spellman Retreat Center in
Riverdale, NY.
Leading a delegation from the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern) was Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate and ecumenical
officer. Other members of the delegation included Fr. Papken Anoushian,
pastor of the St. Thomas Church of Tenafly, NJ; Fr. Shnork Souin of the St.
Mary Church of Livingston, NJ; and Fr. Tateos Abdalian, pastor of the Holy
Trinity Church of Cheltenham, PA.
The consultation was among leading members of both the Roman Catholic and
Oriental Orthodox Churches, including His Eminence Metropolitan Mor Cyril
Aphrem Karim of the Syrian Orthodox Church and Bishop David of the Coptic
Orthodox Church.
During the two-day consultation, the 25 clergy discussed the general
relationship between the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches. During
the meeting they discussed many subjects including the Armenian Church’s
support in the newly formed Christian Churches Together, the activities of
the World Council of Churches General Council, and the dire situation in
Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Also during part of the session, Fr. Souin read a paper about marriage and
annulment in Oriental Orthodox churches to further understanding of that
area among the Roman Catholic community.
“It was important that we attend because the Armenian Church has been
playing a leading role in the ecumenical movement in United States,” Bishop
Aykazian said.
— 6/30/06

SERGE SARGSYAN’S NOMINATION WAS NOT DISCUSSED
Lragir.am
30 June 06
The problem of Karabakh will bring back 1998, stated Vahram
Baghdasaryan, one of the founders of the Union for Armenia Party June
30. He said at the Pastark Club he is so convinced that a change of
power because of the Karabakh issue is unlikely, that it did not even
occur to him that Serge Sargsyan will become president in this
context. Vahram Baghdasaryan describes Mathew Bryza’s statements as a
`symptom of stress.’
`And I think that if there were confidence that the problem would be
solved this year or in the upcoming one or two years, it would not be
stated so openly. And I think a new round of talks will follow, and
everything will be put off again,’ says Vahram Baghdasaryan, adding
that the Union for Armenia Party has not discussed the Karabakh issue
yet. MP Vahram Baghdasaryan thinks that even if they were hopeful to
settle the conflict, now it is certain that it will not happen and the
issue will be suspended.
`Naturally, we cannot approve this, because it is not in the interests
of the Armenian side, the winner. I think this question must be
decided by the people of Karabakh. Both the Azerbaijani and Armenian
sides must be more passive and let Karabakh be active. The question
should be put to popular voting.
There was a referendum once, it could be held twice,’ states Vahram
Baghdasaryan. For him, the independence of Karabakh involving the
liberated areas is the best settlement.
`Independence is guaranteed by both Azerbaijan and Armenia. Because,
if you follow attentively, if we take only Karabakh, and we say O.K.,
we take only Karabakh, they have nothing to do, we see the tie between
Karabakh and Kelbadjar, in terms of communication, water, energy. I
think speaking about Karabakh alone would not work, it means
isolation,’ thinks Vahram Baghdasaryan. He believes that it is not
worthwhile to change the format of the talks because frontal
controversies between Armenia and Azerbaijan are so intensive thata
new format will may not even enable finding a common approach.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GAZPROM IS LIKELY TO BUY IRAN-ARMENIA PIPELINE
Lragir.am
30 June 06
Alexander Ryazanov, Vice President of Gazprom, presently the only
supplier of gas to Armenia, stated June 30 that Gazprom is likely to
buy the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, reports the news agency ARKA.
According to Ryazanov, the operation of Iran-Armenia will guarantee
supply of gas to Armenia. `There are problems connected with transit
of gas to Armenia via Georgia because Georgia uses gas without
permission,’ stated Alexander Ryazanov.

MP SAYS THERE IS NO REAL POWER IN ARMENIA
Lragir.am
30 June 06
`If a person announces that he has nothing to do, if a political
figure announces that personal connections are not related to
political connection, I think it is useless to touch upon this issue
again,’ stated Vahram Baghdasaryan, one of the founders of the Union
for Armenia Party June 30 about Attorney General Aghvan Hovsepyan.
Member of Parliament Baghdasaryan announced thatthe rumors about the
relation between the political party and the Attorney General have
been refuted for a number of times, and there is no need to refute it
again. In the meantime, despite refutations, everyone except Vahram
Baghdasaryan believes that the Attorney General is related to the
Union for Armenia Party. There is even an opinion that the building of
the political party slowed down because of the same Attorney General,
who is facing problems.
Vahram Baghdasaryan refutes rumors about accidents in party building,
adding that everything goes on in accordance with the plan. There is
no suspension, every political force has its strategy, style of
work. In other words, harmonious advance. `It is not clear yet who
reaches on time, a fast runner or a slow runner,’ states Vahram
Baghdasaryan ambiguously.
He even says that this is a good period for setting up a political
party.` Hence, in taking a step they should wait until there are
favorable conditions.
Frankly speaking, I haven’t seen such a political vacuum throughout my
political career as in the past few months. I can also open the
brackets. There is no real government, the coalition was, in other
words, the sphere is empty.
There was no real opposition, ideological. Personified opposition
forces, opposition forces connected with certain personal problems
formed. In other words, the powerful opposition force, which could act
as a locomotive, is absent, the sphere is vacant. There were also
pre-election conditions. In other words, there were all the
preconditions to set up a political force. In other words, there were
no political forces which had real control of the situation.
In other words, there was a public demand for a new voice, for a new
force,’ says Vahram Baghdasaryan. According to him, in 2003 it was
early to set up a political party, for the efforts could fail.
Vahram Baghdasaryan says the Union for Armenia Party is
right-centrist, and is going to act under the same principle as the
People’s Deputy Group. Vahram Baghdasaryan disagrees, he thinks that
they will not just criticize, because people are tired of an
opposition which does nothing but criticizing. The Union for Armenia
Party has 30 thousand members, who are against swearing,or 30 thousand
members, who are for the union. At least, Vahram Baghdasaryan says at
the moment they have 30 thousand registered members. In the election
they aspire to a serious place to form a government. However, Vahram
Baghdasaryan does not hurry to specify percentages, because the
political party is still being set up.
`After the assembly in fall, when a decision will have been made that
we must run for the parliament at full speed, and there will already
be a decision whether we will be running for parliament alone or in
alliance, we will be able to give a full answer,’ says Vahram
Baghdasaryan. As for the assembly, they are not in a hurry.
`We cannot just hold an assembly although we can fill any hall. There
are problems we need to settle, not only for the members of the party
but alsofor our supporters. There are also styles of performance, what
statement we must make on such an important occasion,’ says Vahram
Baghdasaryan. According to him, the reason for delaying the assembly
is the time rather than political intrigues. Vahram Baghdasaryan says
they need time to work out a region al policy, find support in the
regions, and understand the psychology of every region.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NGOs FOR REFUGEES
Lragir.am
30 June 06
The NGOs protecting the interests of Armenian refugees from Soviet
Azerbaijan and Nakhidjevan made a statement June 30 on joining in an
effort to protect the rights of the Armenian refugees and recovering
moral and material losses. The authors of the statement signed an
agreement on establishing acivil society network `Refugees and the
International Law’.
The organizations inside the network report that the international
community ignores the rights of 500 thousand Armenian refugees from
Soviet Azerbaijan and Nakhidjevan. There is no adequate assistance
from the Armenian government either.
Considering that the talks for Karabakh are considering the return of
some regions controlled by the NKR Defense Army and resettlement of
Azerbaijanis in this region, the NGOs invite the Armenian and the
international community to include the question of refugees from
Soviet Azerbaijan and Nakhidjevan in the talks. Moreover, considering
the fact that Armenians comprised about 8 percent of the population of
Soviet Azerbaijan (excluding the Armenians ofNKR), the founders of the
new civil network think 8 percent of the territory of the Azerbaijani
Republic should be given to them as compensation for their
homes. Hence, the members of the network are against returning the
territories.
Adding that since 1988 400 thousand Armenian refugees from Soviet
Azerbaijan and Nakhidjevan have been sheltered in Armenia and NKR, in
the parliamentary election 2007 they are going to support the parties,
which will uphold the interests of refugees from Soviet Azerbaijan and
Nakhidjevan.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
June 30, 2006
___________________
BISHOP AYKAZIAN ATTENDS PEACE PARLEY
Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern), was in historic Florence, Italy, from
May 13 to 16, 2006, to attend an international conference devoted to talk of
peace.
International religious leaders, including His All Holiness Bartholomew I,
Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, attended the event,
organized by the Galileo 2000 Foundation.
“People from different religions and from different continents gathered in
Italy guided by the spirit of peace to pray and to dialogue,” Bishop
Aykazian said.
One panel included representatives of various Christian churches, Jewish
leaders, and Muslims. Included on that panel was Bishop Aykazian, who spoke
on how it is possible to bring peace to the world while reading a paper
titled “The contribution of religion to peace and understanding.”
“It is from the New Testament that our Lord Christ says ‘Blessed are the
peace makers.’ So we are the peace makers of this world, we have to stop
violence. Religions have the power to stop atrocities and crimes committed
in the name of religion,” he said.
“The role of religion is to bring justice, peace, and to stop war, violence,
war, genocides, massacres, etc.”
As president-elect of the National Council of Churches, Bishop Aykazian
spoke about the activities and the achievements of the organization in
social, moral, medical, spiritual, environmental, and other areas. Bishop
Aykazian spoke about injustices being committed against innocent people
around the world, which the National Council of Churches is trying to end.
Thousands of religious and civic leaders attended the conference, including
the Queen of Denmark, the Princess of Florence, and a high-level
representative of the Vatican. The conference was highly publicized in the
European media.
“It is important that among all these religions the Armenians were given
prominence and invited to the gathering,” said Bishop Aykazian. “This
conference definitely brings a contribution to peace in the world.”
— 6/30/06
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer
for the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), left, joins His
All Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical
Patriarch, and the Roman Catholic Cardinal of Florence, Italy, during a
panel discussion at the peace conference organized by the Galileo 2000
Foundation.

PRESS RELEASE
Two Cats Productions
Contact: Joy F. Noel
(212) 929 2085
[email protected]
TH E ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO AIR ON FRENCH TV
New York, NY (June, 2006) — The Armenian Genocide, by Andrew
Goldberg, which received international critical acclaim and aired
nationally on PBS in the US has been licensed to PLANETE Television in
France () for national broadcast. It was also
licensed to Swedish Television. Airdates for both networks have not
yet been announced.
The film received extraordinary reviews and coverage in almost every
major newspaper in the US including The New York Times where it was
described as powerful adding that it honors the victims of the
Genocide. It was also covered in the Wall Street Journal, The LA
Times, The Boston Globe and countless others. The NJ Star Ledger
called it serious, literate and ultimately heartbreaking. The Weekly
Standard described it as evocative and visually rich. In addition the
film has sold internationally to major networks in Canada, Australia,
Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Finland and other countries. Narrated
by Julianna Margulies, the film features additional narrations from Ed
Harris, Natalie Portman, Orlando Bloom, Laura Linney, Paul Rudd, Jared
Leto and others.
The Armenian Genocide is the story of the first Genocide of the 20th
century when over a million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman
Turks during World War I. This unprecedented and powerful one-hour
documentary, scheduled to air April 17th on PBS, was written, directed
and produced by Emmy Award-winning producer Andrew Goldberg of Two
Cats Productions, in association with Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Featuring interviews with the leading experts in the field such as
Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Samantha Power, and New York Times
best-selling author, Peter Balakian, this film features
never-before-seen historical footage of the events and key players of
one of the greatest untold stories of the 20th century.
Filmed in the US, France, Germany, Belgium, Turkey and Syria, the
program features discussions with Kurdish and Turkish citizens in
modern-day Turkey who speak openly about the stories told to them by
their parents and grandparents.
Two Cats Productions is a documentary production company in New York
City led by Andrew Goldberg. His television credits include PBS, ABC
News, E!, CNN, and countless others. In addition to documentaries, he
has also written and produced commercials for such companies as Bell
South, Sephora/Louis Vuitton, AT&T and PetSmart. Goldberg and Two Cats
recent documentary productions include, A Yiddish World Remembered for
PBS which won an Emmy in 2002, and The Armenians, A Story of Survival,
which aired on PBS stations nationally in 2002 and was awarded the
CINE Golden Eagle.
Major Underwriters: John and Judy Bedrosian, The Avanessians Family
Foundation, and The Manoogian-Simone Foundation.
Home Video Available: DVD or VHS at
Photos for The Armenian Genocide are available online at
pressroom.pbs.org and
##

PRESS RELEASE
American University of Armenia
300 Lakeside Drive, 5th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Contact: Maggie Mead
Tel: 510-987-9125
Fax: 510-208-3576
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
WebFeat & American University of Armenia Launch First Demonstration of
Federated Search Services in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Yerevan- The first demonstration of a customized federated search service in
the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an alliance of 11 former
Soviet Republics, has been launched by WebFeat, developer of the WEBFEATT
and WebFeat ExpressT Search Prisms, and the Papazian Library at the American
University of Armenia (AUA). Library users can now simultaneously search
the Library’s catalog and selected popular databases from a quick search
box.
WebFeat is used by over 5,000 leading public, academic, government, ‘Global
1000’ libraries, and information centers-including over half of the 20
largest U.S. public libraries, 9 statewide library systems, and one out of
every 10 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions.
“WebFeat is pleased to team with the American University of Armenia (AUA)
and SEFLIN, the Southeast Florida Library Information Network, to
demonstrate federated search services for the AUA community. (SEFLIN is a
membership organization of libraries dedicated to working cooperatively to
advance library services). WebFeat is used by over 5,000 leading libraries
and we are delighted to contribute our services to this demonstration
project at the Papazian Library,” stated Todd Miller, President of WebFeat.
“We are grateful to Todd Miller, Founder & CEO WebFeat, and to SEFLIN, the
Southeast Florida Library Information Network, for partnering with the
American University of Armenia (AUA) in providing this valuable service,”
stated Satenik Avakian, AUA Library Director. “WebFeat enables patrons to
search the online database resources and the library catalog simultaneously
with a single search interface,” said Avakian.
“WebFeat has already become an indispensable topic-oriented tool for AUA
students. “It provides us with a unique opportunity to search the library’s
entire collection alongside many other articles and catalogs in a very
organized manner” says Lena Hovivyan, 2nd year student in the AUA Political
Science and International Relations graduate program.
“Through the generous support of Todd Miller and WebFeat, federated search
services are being demonstrated for the first time in Armenia and the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),” said Tom Sloan, SEFLIN Executive
Director. “We are pleased to have brought these partners together and
congratulate WebFeat and the American University of Armenia in demonstrating
innovative technology to search digital content,” stated Sloan.
**************************************** **********
AUA’s Papazian Library currently holds 30,000 volumes and serves over 10,000
library patrons. What began as a single library facility has now evolved to
include the Legal Research Center and the Krikor Soghikian Public Health
Reference Room.The Library’s WebFeat search service is located at