ANNUAL EXHIBITION OF WORKS OF JEWELLERS AND DIAMOND MANUFACTURERS OF
ARMENIA TO OPEN ON SEPTEMBER 29

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The annual exhibition of works of
jewellers and diamond manufacturers of Armenia will open in Yerevan on
September 29. As Artur Gyulnazarian, the Executive Director of the
Association of Jewellers and Diamond Manufacturers of Armenia informed
during the interview to the Noyan Tapan correspondent, gold
adornments, jewels and poli-precious stones and subjects made of them,
souvenirs as well as instruments and equipments used in jewellery and
diamond manufacture will be exhibited.

According to A.Gyulnazarian, about 3 dozens of companies and more than
20 individual businessmen placed orders for participation in the
exhibition. According to him, during such exhibitions, meetings of
jewellers and representatives of companies standing near to the
sphere, exchange of experience support development of jewellery and
diamond manufacturing in Armenia.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL GALLERY REPLENISHED WITH WORKS OF 24 RUSSIAN
PAINTERS

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The delegation headed by Valentina
Matvienko, St Petersburg Governor, that arrived in Yerevan on the
occasion of the Year of Russia in Armenia, donated works of 24 Russian
painters to the Armenian National Gallery. Valentina Matvienko
declared this at the opening of the exhibition of these works on
September 14 at the gallery. Mrs Matvienko expressed hope that these
works will find their deserved place in gallery’s department of
Russian painters. She also mentioned that many Armenian painters got
education at St Petersburg Academy of Art and were fostered by the
traditions of Russian painting.

According to Mrs Matvienko, the first Armenians settled in St
Petersburg already since 1708 (St Petersburg was founded in 1703) and
had an impact on city’s establishment and development with their
practical, scientific and cultural activity.

In the affirmation of Gagik Gyurjian, RA Deputy Minister of Culture
and Youth ASffairs, this visit will become a kind of a bridge
restoring the traditional scientific-cultural and educational
cooperation already formed between the 2 peoples.

“Last I was in Armenia 18 years ago. We arrived at night but it was
pleasant to see that the city was illuminated, of course, it wasn’t so
light as in New York and there is no such need. Yerevan is Yerevan
with its peculiar attraction, its mystery and secrets,” V.Burov,
Chairman of St Petersburg Committee of Culture, mentioned.

RA PRIME MINISTER’S SPEECH AT 60TH SESSION OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ENVISAGED ON SEPTEMBER 16

NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A high-level
plenary meeting of the 60th session of the United Nations General
Assembly started in New York on September 14. More than 170 heads of
states and governments, including Andranik Margarian, the Prime
Minister of the Republic of Armenia, participate in the summit of this
authoritative organization. RA Prime Minister arrived in New York on
September 12.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the Government’s Information and Public
Relations Department, at this jubilee session of the UN General
Assembly, which is chaired by Jan Eliason, the former Permanent
Representative of Sweden at the UN, such themes as anti-terrorism
struggle, the world and security, protection of the human rights,
Millennium Challenges, issues connected with the international right,
necessity of reforms of the UN governance system, issues of education,
accessibility of health care, poverty, atomic energy, refugees,
problems of women and children, issues of climate change and
environment, drinking water and other issues the world community is
anxious about are envisaged to be discussed. Before the opening of the
session, the delegates discussed for a rather long time the draft
document of the three-day summing up summit to be presented to the
participants, that’s why the opening was held a few hours later than
it was envisaged. RA Prime Minister’s speech is also envisaged at the
UN session on September 16.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MILLENNIUM CHALLENGES CORPORATION SATISFIED WITH ECONOMIC CRITERIA
SUBSTANTIATION PRESENTED IN ARMENIA’S DRAFT PROGRAM

NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the RA Government
Information and PR Department, the RA Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian, who is taking part in the high-level plenary meeting of the
UN General Assembly 60th session, met in New York on September 13 with
the leadership of the Millennium Challenges Corporation (MCC) – the
Acting General Executive Official Charles Setnes and the Corporation’s
Deputy Chairman John Huko.

Issues related to cooperation with MCC were discussed at the
meeting. The MCC delegation noted with satisfaction that the
representatives of the US Congress were positively impressed during
their recent visit to Armenia. Both sides pointed out that the context
of their cooperation with the framework of MCC is acceptable and work
on specifying the mechanisms is currently underway. For this purpose
an Armenian delegation will soon arrive in Washington. The sides
expressed their contentment at the cooperation of the working
groups. MCC was satisfied with the substantiation of the economic
criteria presented in Armenia’s draft program by the Armenian
government.

A. Margarian said that special attention should be given to
agriculture, especially to farms. The MCC representative attached
importance to transparency of the work carried out by the MCC
Administrative Board, which requires that representatives of various
NGOs and the civil society be included in the Board. In this
connection the Armenian Prime Minister noted the RA government is in
favor of transparency and elections to the above mentioned
organizations may be held by a concerted effort of the MCC and
representatives of NGOs and the civil society.

“ALL OF US RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED,” ARMENIAN DEPUTY OF IRANIAN
PARLIAMENT SAYS

TEHRAN, SEPTEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The funeral of
Miro Begijanian, an Iranian Armenian young man killed during a dispute
with Persians late on Friday, took place on September 12. The funeral
was held at the Nor Burastan cemetery of Tehran, near graves of
Armenian victims.

Presence of a dense crowd at the graveyard witnessed the community’s
indignation concerning the happened. Archbishop Sepuh Sargsian, Vardan
Vardanian and Gevorg Vardanian, the former and present Deputies of the
North Iranian Armenians at the IRI Parliament, clergymen,
representatives of the Diocesan Council, national bodies and unions as
well as of the central administration of the Armenian cultural
organization “Ararat” and of the “Alik” institution and a great number
of sportsmen were present.

According to the Tehran “Alik” daily, Archbishop Sepuh Sargsian
chaired the religious ceremony, who, then, addressed a speech of his
fatherly consolation to those gathered.

Then a receiption of condolence took place at the “Raffi” complex
where the diocesan primate, deputies, representatives of the national
bodies and unions were present as well.

“I’m sure that all of us feel ourselves punished, I’m sure that
everybody feels responsibility for the happened and everyone
condoles. But nobody can protest louder, be a demander as Miro’s
family protests and demands by their silence,” Gevorg Vardanian
particularly said.

“Miro’s sad death must be a lesson for each of us how we can secure
the individuality of our Armenian youth, the appearance of our
national and Christian individuality,” Archbishop Sepuh Sargsian
mentioned.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LEGAL BODIES OF TEHRAN ASSURE THAT THOSE KILLED IRANIAN ARMENIAN YOUNG
MAN TO BE PUNISHED

TEHRAN, SEPTEMBER 15, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On September 13,
sardar Eslami, the general responsible for police stations of the
eastern region of Tehran, and those responsible for the police station
of the district of Narmak, and clergymen paid a visit of condolence to
parents and relatives of Miro Begijanian, an Iranian Armenian young
man killed during a despute with three Persians late on September
9. According to the “Alik” daily of Tehran, they passed the precept of
sardar Talayi, the chief police officer of the city, and assured that
they will pursue that the criminals were punished.

CATHOLICOS OF GREAT HOUSE OF CILICIA LEAVES FOR GENEVA

ANTELIAS, SEPTEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia left for Geneva early on
September 12. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the Press Service of the
Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I, as
the Chairman of the World Coucil of Churches (WCC), will chair the
sittings of the WCC Chairmanship, the executive administration and
special commissions one after the other.

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Sept 16 2005

Armenian genocide labeled fact
By Lisa Friedman, Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – In a victory for Southern California’s sizable Armenian
communities, a House panel voted overwhelmingly Thursday to declare
the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire a genocide.
It was the first time in five years that the House International
Relations Committee took up the internationally controversial issue,
approving separate resolutions by Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, and
George Radanovich, R-Fresno.

The resolutions still face several hurdles, including fierce
opposition from the State Department and House Speaker Dennis
Hastert. Diplomats and Hastert have argued that such a declaration
will rupture U.S.-Turkish relations.

But Armenians hailed the move, saying that, by voting 35-11 for
Schiff’s bill and 40-7 for Radanovich’s, the panel sent a strong
message that Congress should not equivocate on recognizing crimes
against humanity.

“If the United States does not step up and acknowledge this history
and show moral backbone and clarity on these sorts of issues, people
are going to be disappointed in us. We believe in this country
because it does the right thing,” said Armen Carapetian, Glendale
spokesman for the Armenian National Committee of America.

The committee’s votes came after more than three hours of tense
debate in which lawmakers invoked the Holocaust, slavery, Darfur and
American Indians.

Armenians estimate more than 1.5 million died and hundreds of
thousands of others were displaced in a planned genocide campaign
between 1915 and 1923.

They say the U.S. and Turkey are covering up a historical wrong and
sending an immoral message by not acknowledging it as a genocide.

Turkey maintains there was no plan for systematic extermination, that
only about 300,000 Armenians were killed, and that Armenians also
killed thousands of Turks in the tumultuous last years of the Ottoman
Empire.

Schiff, who represents many of Los Angeles County’s estimated 400,000
Armenians, said approving the resolution “is a sacred obligation to
ensure our country honors the past; there is no dispute that what
happened to the Armenian people constitutes genocide.”

Every Californian on the committee voted in favor of the resolutions.
Among those supporting the resolutions were Reps. Howard Berman,
D-Van Nuys; Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks; Dianne Watson, D-Los
Angeles; Grace Napolitano, D-Santa

Fe Springs; Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach; Darrell Issa,
R-Vista; and Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks.

San Francisco Democrat Rep. Tom Lantos and House International
Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., stunned onlookers by
supporting the measure.

As did many other supporters of the resolutions, they praised
Turkey’s long-standing alliance with the U.S., but said acknowledging
a historical wrong should not damage that relationship.

Rep. Dan Burton, D-Ind., who led the debate against the resolutions,
argued that historians disagree whether evidence of genocide exists
and said the fact that Armenians today live peaceably in Turkey is
“proof that the genocide standard cannot be met.”

He argued that rather than alienate a key ally, Congress should allow
Turkey and Armenia to work out the conflict over their history on
their own.

Nursen Mazici, a Turkish visiting professor at Georgetown University
who came to watch the proceedings, said she was disappointed by the
vote and thinks most U.S. lawmakers don’t know the full history of
the Ottoman Empire after World War I.

“Many Armenians were killed, but at the time many Turks were killed
by Armenian terrorists. I am so sorry for them, for both sides,”
Mazici said.

Tsoghig Margossian, 26, an Armenian-American who moved to the
Washington, D.C., area from Northridge three years ago, said her
relatives escaped death by fleeing what was then Anatolia.

She called Thursday’s votes “an affirmative commitment by the U.S.
government to recognize the mistake it has made by denying the
genocide for so long.”

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Sept 16 2005

Victims’ telethon collects $92,000
By Alex Dobuzinskis, Staff Writer

GLENDALE – A telethon on an Armenian-American cable channel netted
more than $92,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief, with the money going
to the Glendale-Crescenta Valley chapter of the American Red Cross.
Armenian-Americans packed the alley behind the studio of the Armenian
Media Group of America’s studio at 1520 Glenoaks Blvd., bearing
checks and money orders to help victims of the hurricane. Most
donations were between $50 and $100, and $3,000 was the biggest
single check.

“This was from the people,” said broadcaster Chahe Keuroghelian, 48,
who led the telethon effort. “That is (more) important, in my
opinion, than necessarily the amount itself.

“It (being) collected from the regular citizens with limited income,
that needs to be appreciated.”

Wednesday, Keuroghelian presented more than $92,000 in donations to
the Glendale-Crescenta Valley chapter of the American Red Cross.
Including the money from the telethon, the Red Cross chapter has
collected $210,000 for hurricane relief.

Many donors remembered American generosity after Armenia was rocked
by a disastrous earthquake in 1988. The quake killed 25,000 people
and left 500,000 homeless, according to U.S. government Web sites.

“We were overwhelmed with the generosity that the people have shown,”
said Ron Farina, executive director of the Glendale-Crescenta Valley
chapter of the American Red Cross. “They, I believe, understand how
disasters can devastate a community because they were so badly hit
back in the Armenian community in ’88. So they can relate to this.”

The telethon started Monday evening and went until 2 a.m. Tuesday on
Channel 26 in Glendale. Broadcasters on the channel continued issuing
pleas for donations on the days after the initial telethon.

Keuroghelian, who has a show on Channel 26 but also works as an
immigration attorney, said he expects additional donations that will
bring the total to at least $100,000.

Meanwhile, the Glendale-Crescenta Valley chapter of the Red Cross has
35 volunteers working in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to
help hurricane and flood victims. Another 50 volunteers are waiting
to go.

“The thing that’s holding us back is sometimes flights are not
available from California to the area,” Farina said.

Revo Coffee and Cigarette Cafe will hold a jazz concert today from 8
to 10 p.m. at 1022 E. Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale, to raise money for
Hurricane Katrina relief, with donations going to the Salvation Army.
For information, call (818) 549-0809.

UEFA.com
Sept 16 2005

FOOTBALL EUROPE: Pyunik close in on Armenian title

League split
The return to action saw the league split in two, with the top six
sides competing in the championship pool and retaining the points
they had accumulated from playing one other, while the remainder
battle it out in the relegation group.

Pyunik prevail
Championship leaders FC Pyunik have increased their advantage from
five to ten points in just two matches after their rivals slipped up.
Pyunik began with a 5-0 triumph against FC Dinamo-Zenit Yerevan
before winning 2-1 against second-placed FC MIKA. MIKA could only
draw their previous game against FC Kilikia thanks to two penalties
from Aghvan Mkrtchian.

Trio missing
However, it was not all good news for Pyunik. Armenia Under-21
goalkeeper Apoula Edima, midfielder Karl Lombe and forward Mamadou
Diawara failed to return after the holidays, and it is unclear when –
indeed if – they will return to the Pyunik fold.

Danaev signs
Third-placed FC Banants have also struggled after the restart, a
goalless draw against FC Kotayk preceding a 3-1 home defeat by
Kilikia which only strengthened Pyunik’s title challenge. Banants
have released Moldovan forward Dumitriu Gusila while signing Andrei
Danaev on loan from Ukrainian club FC Stal Alchevsk.

Triple capture
Kotayk, now within one point of third position after a 2-0 victory
against Dinamo-Zenit, resumed their campaign with three new players.
Arkadij Chilingaryan and Karen Navoyan joined from FC Lernayin
Artsakh along with midfielder Nikolay Agasyan whose Dinamo-Zenit
contract had expired.

Relegation issue
In the relegation section, FC Ararat Yerevan and FC Shirak drew 1-1
in the first leg of their play-off. Gor Atabekyan’s early goal for
Ararat was cancelled out on 68 minutes by Karen Khachatryan’s penalty
for the hosts. The losing side will face another play-off against the
team finishing second in the first division to determine whether they
preserve top-flight status.