Senior Georgian MPs defend Russian base agreement
Imedi TV, Tbilisi
14 Apr 06
[Presenter] The parliamentary majority has responded to opposition’s
allegations about the agreement on the Russian military bases’
pullout.
The majority leader [Maia Nadiradze MP] said that the parliament’s
historic decision to ratify the agreement was another step towards
joining NATO. Nadiradze stressed that the agreement did not contain a
single clause harming Georgia’s national interests. She said that the
parliamentary opposition’s complaints about the agreement lacked any
common sense.
According to [senior pro-government MP] Giga Bokeria, Russia initially
wanted the agreement to include a clause on the need to create a
[joint] antiterrorist centre, which would be followed by the actual
pullout. However, the Georgian side only agreed to sign a clause which
says that Georgia and Russia will decide on the creation of the
antiterrorist centre after the pullout of the bases.
MP Kote Gabashvili [chairman of parliament’s foreign relations
committee] commented on complaints calling for monitoring of the
Gudauta military base [in Abkhazia]. He said that its monitoring would
be unacceptable until the runway in Gudauta was put out of operation.
As regards the clause on transit [from Russia to Armenia], Davit
Bakradze [chairman of parliament’s European integration committee]
said that the Georgian side would control the movement of Russian
military equipment through Georgia.
[Maia Nadiradze] This agreement, legally and at an international
level, made the Georgian people’s 200-year-old dream come
true. Unfortunately, our opponents used incredible epithets when
describing this event. But their attitude once again proves that our
policy is right. It is so right, and we are moving forward so quickly,
that our irritated opponents apparently lose common sense sometimes.
[Giga Bokeria] We are kindly asking the media to do its best and
finally clarify today: Who in fact is trying to stupefy the public?
Who is trying to justify their own political immaturity,
irresponsibility and incomprehensible political actions by lying,
slandering and diminishing Georgia’s victory?
So far, no agreement has been reached on the antiterrorist centre. An
agreement will be reached only if it is acceptable for the Georgian
side. The Russian bases will be withdrawn from Georgia regardless of
this issue.
[Kote Gabashvili] We will not agree to monitoring of the Gudauta base,
whether it is done under the OSCE supervision or by Germany alone,
unless these two conditions are met: The [monitoring] process should
be permanent, and the runway there must be eliminated.
[Davit Bakradze] Every year, the Georgian side will know exactly what
kind and how much freight will travel through Georgia. The types and
volume of cargoes must be coordinated with the Georgian side in
advance.

235 MILLION FOR ELECTORAL FRAUD
Lragir.am
14 April 06

The Millennium Challenge Corporation gave 235 million dollars to
Armenia on a condition. The money will be provided gradually, and if
any of the requirements of the corporation is breached, such as a
regression in human rights or democracy, for instance, the sum will
not be provided. The leader of the National Democratic Union Vazgen
Manukyan thinks this stipulation is favorable for the government, not
for the population. The leader of the NDU spoke to the Americans on
April 14 and explained his standpoint.
`They say the election in 2007 will be fair. Can you understand what
this means? The government does not care, they will falsify the
election if we fail to stop them. But this stipulation means that if
we speak about fraud, the government will tell people: look, because
of the opposition Armenia will not receive the money that was to be
spent on the construction of roads,’ said Vazgen Manukyan to the
Americans, and added, `you are not encouraging fair elections in 2007,
you want the opposition to be ashamed of speaking.’
Vazgen Manukyan thinks after the regression of democracy it is time to
`reconstruct democracy, although the word `democracy’ has lost its
value.’ If power in Armenia belonged to people, in the context of its
strategic interests Russia would have to account to the people of
Armenia. `They are not a fool but they can see that people’s opinion
should not be taken into consideration. And they do: they allow too
much to the government, legitimize, defend the support of Russian
power.’

WHO LEGALIZES CORRUPTION

Lragir.am
14 April 06

During the past four-day meeting the parliament finally killed the
struggle against corruption, for the strategy of which the World Bank
allocated 300 thousand dollars to Armenia five years ago. How could
the World Bank know that in five years the National Assembly would
adopt a report on a program of privatization, confirming the donation
of state property that the government made to separate sons of the
nation. However, it is possible to understand the political forces,
which voted for the program of privatization. After all, the problem
was the struggle of two ideas: save the struggle against corruption
from formalities or save the national tradition of offering presents
from the wind of time. And it is difficult to accuse, for instance,
the Republican Party, which chose preservation of `national
traditions’ and proved by vote that the prospect of existence of the
Armenian people is preservation of national traditions, sometimes
shutting eyes to corruption.
The case of Dashnaktsutiun (the Armenian Revolutionary Federation) is
different, since one of its leaders Vahan Harutiunyan, on the day of
the massacres in Sumgait, announced in front of the house of
government that our foe is not Turks or Azerbaijanis but corruption. I
believe that who did not see the outcome of vote of Dashnaktsutiun to
the report on privatization is still excited about the bravery of
Vahan Hovanisyan when he revealed the new foe of the nation. Vahan
Hovanisyan and his fellow party members vote for a report on a program
of privatization, including companies which were sold several times
cheaper than these had been assessed. They should have phoned the
house of the president and consulted Bagrat Yesayan, the adviser to
president on anti-corruption affairs. He would honestly explain what
corruption is to his fellow party members.
HAKOB BADALYAN

KARABAKH WILL TRAIN ITS ARMY TILL LATE APRIL
Lragir.am
14 April 06
Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia, Armed Forces Headquarters
Chief, Lieutenant-General Michael Harutiunyan highly appreciated the
training of the defense army of Nagorno Karabakh during his meeting
with the NKR president. The press service of the NKR president
informed the news agency ARKA. `What I saw was impressive, however the
final assessment will be given after summing up the results of the
training,’ said Michael Harutiunyan. The defense minister of NKR
Seyran Ohanyan also participated in the meeting. The training of the
Karabakh army will last till late April.

PBS HOPES THAT ITS PROGRAM ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WILL HELP AMERICAN
PUBLIC WILL GAIN A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THIS EVENT
Yerevan, April 14. ArmInfo. Our sincere hope is that the American
public will gain a greater understanding of these important events in
world history, Jan McNamara, PBS Corporate Communications Director,
says in an interview to ArmInfo speaking about THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
documentary film and the follow-up panel, THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE:
EXPLORING THE ISSUES to be telecast on PBS Apr 17.
It is part of the mission of public television to engender responsible
discussion and illuminate complex issues.
We have received numerous messages from across the country protesting
and praising THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE and the follow-up panel, THE
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: EXPLORING THE ISSUES. We are committed to offering
both programs, which we sincerely hope will help more Americans
understand this important chapter in world history. Both programs were
fed last month to PBS stations.
The final decision about what programs air in a specific market are
made individually by local stations. Implicit in PBS’ decision to
accept THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE for distribution is its recognition that
the overwhelming majority of historians have concluded that a genocide
took place.

ARMENIAN DEPUTIES BELEIVE RAMIL SAFAROV DESERVES LIFE IMPRISONMENT VERDICT
Yerevan, April 14. ArmInfo. The Armenian parliamentarians think
extradition will hardly be applied towards Ramil Safarov sentenced to
life imprisonment for murder of the Armenian officer Gourgen Margarian
in Budapest.
Gourgen Arsenian, leader of United Labour party, said that Safarov
deserved the verdict. He emphasized that extradition will hardly be
applied towards Safarov, as this issue concerns not only Azerbaijan,
but also Hungary and NATO.
While Aleksan Karapetian, member of “National Unity” party, expressed
gratitude to the Court of Hungary for fair verdict. As for extradition
of Safarov, he expressed hope that will not happen, as that would mean
Safarov is released, in fact.
Levon Mkrtchian, leader of “ARF Dashnaktsiutiun,” emphasized that the
fair verdict for Safarov is important for Armenian from both moral and
political viewpoint.
Victor Dallakian, Secretary of “Justice” faction, said that the
supreme court bodies of Hungary will not change the verdict taken by
the first instance court. At the same time, Dallakian expressed hope
that sooner or later the Armenians, Azeries and turks will leave in
peace and agreement.
While Galoust Sahakian, leader of the Republican party, said that the
verdict of the Hungarian court is even more severe than the Armenian
side expected.

ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
57/5 Arshakunyats Street
Yerevan, Armenia 0026
Tel: (37410) 44-74-01
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
April 13, 2006
PHOTO STORY: ATP Greens More Than 75 Community Sites in Armenia This Spring
The photos for this story are available here:
1306.htm
YEREVAN–Since the early 1990s, Armenia Tree Project (ATP) has been
successfully collaborating with local communities and institutions to plant
hundreds of thousands of trees through its Community Tree Planting (CTP)
program.
The CTP program begins by surveying the appropriateness of the site and the
community to receive trees. The program uses criteria such as the
availability of irrigation water, soil quality, caretakers, and residents’
enthusiasm for planting and growing trees. With this flagship program, ATP
has collaborated with people at over 500 sites in Yerevan and every region
throughout Armenia, including Artsakh.
On a daily basis, three ATP monitors–Navasard Dadyan, Arthur Harutunyan,
and Seyran Hovhannisyan–evaluate potential planting sites and visit sites
that were planted in previous years to check growth rates and provide
technical assistance. By the end of March, ATP selected 77 community sites
that were eligible to receive seedlings, and had begun the process of
helping residents plant nearly 25,000 new trees at schools, senior centers,
orphanages, hospitals, kindergartens, and other non-profit institutions.
To ensure a high survival rate at CTP sites, ATP publishes training material
on tree planting and tree care. Prior to planting, ATP distributes this
information to local residents and trains them on topics such as the proper
depth for planting new seedlings, how often to irrigate seedlings, and how
to monitor the growth of the trees. ATP also distributes hoses, shovels, and
other supplies and equipment as needed.
Sites in eight regions of Armenia–Armavir, Aragatsotn, Vayots Dzor, Shirak,
Ararat, Kotayk, Syunik, and Lori–received fruit and decorative trees from
ATP for village orchards, backyards, gardens, and common spaces.
`In a few years, the people in these villages will be able to reap fruitful
harvests and be in a position to receive great benefits from these trees,’
emphasized CTP Program Manager Anahit Gharibyan. Last year alone, ATP’s
trees in various communities had a harvest of over 250,000 pounds of
apricots, apples, peaches, plums, and cherries.
ATP’s nurseries in the refugee villages of Karin and Khachpar produce all of
the seedlings that are planted by the CTP program each year. Some of the
neighborhoods in Yerevan that received trees include Malatia Sebastia,
Davitashen, Achapniak, and Zeytun Kanaker, and ATP planted trees at the
State Medical University, European Regional Academy, and Genocide Memorial
Park. The CTP program is planning to plant an additional 125,000 seedlings
from one of ATP’s other nurseries this spring.
ATP was founded in 1994 with the vision of securing Armenia’s future by
protecting its environment and restoring its degraded forests. ATP advances
Armenia’s socio-economic development by mobilizing resources for large-scale
reforestation, community-based tree planting, environmental education and
advocacy, and rural development through job creation. ATP uses trees to
improve the standard of living of Armenians, promoting self-sufficiency and
aiding those with fewest resources first.
Over the past 12 years, ATP has planted and rejuvenated over 750,000 trees.
With the establishment of the new Mirak Family reforestation nursery in
Margahovit and expansion of the backyard nursery program in the Getik River
Valley, ATP’s Rural and Mountainous Development (RMD) program is working
toward the goal of planting over one million trees in 2006. For additional
information about the RMD program and to support ATP, visit the Web site
PHOTO CAPTIONS
1. ATP Diaconia Settlement of Hope.jpg
Armenia Tree Project worked with families at the Settlement of Hope, which
was established by the Diaconia Charitable Fund to assist vulnerable
families; close to 400 fruit and decorative trees were planted by residents
with ATP on March 27, 2006
2. ATP Nor Nork planting training.jpg
On March 29, Nor Nork residents and the Habitat for Humanity youth group
participated in trainings with Armenia Tree Project and planted nearly 1,000
decorative and fruit trees; since 1997, ATP has planted over 10,000 trees in
the Nor Nork community
3. ATP Parakar village school.jpg
After receiving lessons on tree planting and tree care from Armenia Tree
Project staff, over 40 students from grades 6-7 in Parakar Village near
Yerevan planted close to 100 trees on the grounds of their school on March
23, 2006
4. ATP SOS Kinderdorf training.jpg
Armenia Tree Project worked with children at the SOS Village in Kotayk,
which was established by SOS Kinderdorf International after the 1988
earthquake; over 300 fruit and decorative trees were planted by the children
with ATP on March 27 and April 12
5. ATP Voskehat village school.jpg
After receiving lessons on tree planting and tree care from Armenia Tree
Project staff, over 40 students from grades 6-8 in Voskehat Village near
Etchmiadzin planted more than 100 trees on the grounds of their school on
March 28, 2006

WHERE MONEY OF HRAZDAN 5 GOES
Lragir.am
14 April 06
For the leader of the Armenian Christian Democratic Party Khosrov
Harutiunyan it is not clear why the money from the sale of the fifth
generating unit of Hrazdan to Russia should be transferred to the
balance of the Ministry of Defense. According to the leader of the
National Democratic Union Vazgen Manukyan, this means that `they do
whatever they want, so far they have got away with it, and they will
do whatever they want,’ says Vazgen Manukyan, hinting at the country’s
leadership.

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
Friday, April 14, 2006
Contact: Armen Carapetian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
SOUTHERN NEVADA ARMENIANS TO COMMEMORATE THE 91ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
LAS VEGAS, NV – The Armenian American community of the Greater Las
Vegas Area will commemorate the 91st anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide of 1915-1923 on Sunday, April 23, 2006 at the Christ Lutheran
Church in Las Vegas.
`The Armenian Genocide – the first genocide of the twentieth century –
was a systematic, premeditated extermination of over 1.5 million
Armenian men, women and children beginning on April 24, 1915,’ stated
Hriyr Dadaian, Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Las
Vegas. `We honor the memory of the victims of this crime against
humanity every year to remind the world of the lessons of what
happened to prevent future genocides from taking place.’
Joining the Las Vegas Armenian American community in commemorating the
Armenian Genocide will be Senator John Ensign (R-NV), Congresswoman
Shelley Berkley (NV-1), Congressman Jim Gibbons (NV-2), Las Vegas
Mayor Oscar Goodman, among other distinguished guests. The Armenian
Apostolic Churches of the Western Prelacy and Diocese, the Armenian
Evangelical Church – Las Vegas, the Armenian-American Cultural Society
of Las Vegas, the Armenian National Committee of Las Vegas, the
Armenian Relief Society – Las Vegas Shoushi Chapter, the Homenetmen –
Las Vegas Artsakh Chapter, and the UNLV Armenian Students Association
will be participating in the commemoration. Armenian National
Committee of America Board Member Raffi Hamparian will be the keynote
speaker of the commemoration.
The official program will begin at 1:30 pm on Sunday, April 23, 2006
at the Christ Lutheran Church located at 111 North Torrey Pines Drive
in Las Vegas. Requiem services will be conducted by clergy from the
Armenian Apostolic Churches of the Western Prelacy and Diocese and the
Armenian Evangelical Church of Las Vegas.
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.

Boston Globe
April 14, 2006
Obituary
Arthur Davidian
Of Watertown formerly of Worcester age 98 died Monday, April 10, 2006 at the
Armenian Nursing Home in Jamaica Plain. Mr. Davidian was born in the Village
of Shentil, Province of Harpert in Historic Armenia. His parents Astur and
Shooshan (Najarian) Davidian and his two sisters Mari and Aghavni perished
in the Armenian Genocide. He was predeceased by his wife Rose (Der
Harootunian) and three brothers, Baghdasar of Worcester, Hovannes and Aghasi
of Marseilles, France. He leaves his 3 sons, Father Dajad Davidian, the
former Pastor of Saint James Armenian Apostolic Church of Watertown, Raymond
with whom he lived and Albert who resides in Portland, Oregon. Also survived
by seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Funeral service at
Saint James Armenian Church, 465 Mount Auburn St, Watertown on Wednesday,
April 19 at 11 a.m. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend.
Visiting hours at the Aram Bedrosian Funeral Home, 558 Mount Auburn Street,
WATERTOWN on Tuesday from 4-8 p.m. Prayer services Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Saint James Armenian
Church or the Shentil Foundation Of Armenia, 74 Grove Street, Belmont, MA
02478. As a young boy he spent 10 years in an Armenian Orphanage in Beirut,
Lebanon where he learned tailoring. He came to America in 1928 and owned and
operated Arthurs Tailor Shop in Worcester, MA for fifty years. His business
was located in a predominantly Irish neighborhood and he was affectionately
referred to as “Murphy” by his many neighborhood friends. His store was a
drop in center where neighborhood cronies would meet and exchange stories.
He and his late wife Rose were very active in the Armenian Apostolic Church
of our Savior in Worcester, MA. He moved to Watertown, MA in 1987 and was
employed as a tailor at School Street Cleaners in Belmont. Interment will be
in the family plot at Ridgelawn Cemetery in Watertown.
Published in the Boston Globe on 4/14/2006.
From: Baghdasarian