HAY DAT COMMITTEE OF TEHRAN ORGANIZES SERIES OF EVENTS DEDICATED TO 91st ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 12 2006
TEHRAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Within the framework
of events dedicated to the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
the Hay Dat Committee of Tehran envisaged to send a corresponding
package of documentary data concerning to the Armenian Genocide to
foreign embassies accredited in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Swiss
Lawyer Alfred de Zayas’ books in English and French are also included
in the package. The theme of the Genocide under the light of the
international legal reasonings is touched upon in the books.
Within the framework of publication and propaganda works, an
information package concerning the Armenian Genocide will be sent to
Iranian mass media and deputies of the Islamic Parliament. During the
last year, the Hay Dat Committee was engaged in works of gathering
and translating researches concerning the Genocide implemented by
the Armenian, Iranian and European sources, with the initiative of
preparing documentary films. The Armenian Issues Research Center
(AIRC) undertook works of Persian translation and publication of
three books on the theme of the Genocide. Within the framework of
events dedicated to the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
the center will organize on April 18 an event of spiritism, with the
participation of Persian intellectuals, writers and deputies of the
Islamic Parliament. Doctor Afrough, a deputy of the Islamic Parliament
will be the speaker of the day. As the Tehran “Alik” daily informs,
the Hay Dat Committee also organizes a people’s public event of
spiritism of Armenians of Tehran on April 24.

RUSSIA CAN DEPRIVE ARMENIA OF ITS ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, ECONOMIST EDUARD AGHAJANOV STATES
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia has sold 27% of its
45% holding of ArmRusgasprom company to Russia, as a result of
which Gasprom company (Russia) has become the owner of 82% of
ArmRusgasprom. Independent economist Eduard Aghajanov said during
the April 12 press conference that he was informed about it from the
Russian press and Gasprom’s website. According to him, Russia has
also bought the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, which means that Russia
is likely to form a rigid integrated structure in this sector and
completely deprive Armenia of its energy independence or security. In
the opinion of E. Aghajanov, after all this it is funny to speak
about Armenia’s energy independence, since the country, in his words,
has received status of a Russian region and has been transformed from
an outpost into an appendage. He noted that Russia is conducting a
colonial policy with respect to Armenia. According to E. Aghajanov,
it is a nonsense to give everything to one state, since there is
another player in the energy sector of the region – Iran.

PATRIARCHS AND HEADS OF CHURCHES IN JERUSALEM CALL FOR ENDING SUFFERING
WAFA – Palestine News Agency, Palestine
April 12 2006
Emerged because of Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
JERUSALEM, April 12, 2006 (WAFA) -Patriarchs and Heads of Churches
in Jerusalem called on the international community to put an end for
the suffering emerged because of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In a message issued Wednesday on the occasion of the Easter Falls
2006, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem said “it is
not permitted to boycott a people on whom oppressions and injustices
were and are imposed, while the international community remained so
far paralysed in putting an end to these oppressions, and therefore
this paralysis gave birth to violence, terrorism and the humiliation
of the human person.
They revealed that instead of boycotting, “we appeal to the
international community to seize the opportunity of this phase in
history of the conflict in order to try seriously to put an end to
the suffering of our land and of all its inhabitants”.
They called upon international community to transform “our land in
a land in which shines the glory of the human being liberated from
all kind of oppression and fear, where the glory and the voice of
God appeared to man”.
“We appeal to our leaders, knowing they are facing difficult decisions.
If a sincere will exists, there will be capacity and power to overcome
all obstacles, in order to reach security, peace and justice to all,
Palestinians and Israelis alike,” the added.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches also called upon the Israeli
Authorities so to see that unilateral measures are another aspect of
the conflict and the permanence of the sufferings for both peoples.
“Therefore, we urge them to take the right measures to liberate the
human being, Israeli or Palestinian, and to see in the Palestinian
Authority a help and a partner to construct a peace, for which the
building is not something impossible”.
The message was signed by: Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem,
Patriarch Michel Sabbah, R.C. Latin, Patriarch Torkom I Manooghian,
Armenian Orthodox, Fr. Pierbattista Pizziballa, ofm, Custos of the
Holy Land, Archbishop Anba Abraham, Coptic Orthodox, Archbishop
Swerios Malki Murad, Syrian-Orthodox, Archbishop Abouna Grima,
Ethiopian Orthodox, Archbishop Paul Sayyah, Maronite, Bishop Riah Abu
el-Assal, Anglican, Bishop Mounib Younan, Lutheran, Bishop Pierre
Malki, Syrian-Catholic, Rev. Raphael Minassian, Armenian Catholic
and Archimandrite Mtanios Haddad, Greek Catholic.

SERGE SARGSIAN CONSIDERS SALE OF HRAZDAN TPP 5th UNIT TO RUSSIA TO BE SUCCESSFUL
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Defence Minister Serge Sargsian
consideres the sale of the 5th power unit of Hrazdan Thermal Power
Plant to Russia to be a successful and favorable deal. He expressed
this opinion in an interview to Radio Liberty on April 11. In repsonse
to the criticism that only 150 mln USD was needed for repairs of the
5th unit and there was no necessity to sell it, S. Sargsian said
that at least 180 mln USD was to be spend and the return on these
investments would come in 10 years at best. “That is, we would have
a enterprise operating at a profit in 2017 at best. And how much
would this profit be, how much would the gas price increase?… As
they say, only Nostradamus can answer these questions,” the minister
added. S. Sargsian does not subscribe to the opinion that all energy
capacities of Armenia have been given to one state. “First, not all
capacities. Second, if we think more carufully about it, we’ll see
there is no difference here, Not a difference at all.
And third, when economic deals and politics are being mixed, one gets
neither politics nor economy as a result,” S. Sargsian noted.

5th UNIT OF HRAZDAN TPP TO BE SOLD TO ARMRUSGASPROM RATHER THAN TO GASPROM
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Contrary to the previously made
statements, the 5th unit of Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant will be sold
not to Gasprom company (Russia) but to its Armenian subsidiary –
ArmRusgasprom, which follows from new reports of Gasprom. There was
a press release on Gasprom’s website on April 11 about a meeting
between Chairman of Gasprom board Alexei Miller and Director General
of ArmRusgasprom Karen Karapetian. The press release in particular
reads: “Gasprom OJSC and the Armenian government on April 6 signed
a 25-year agreenment that specifies the strategical principles of
cooperation in gas energy projects in the territory of the Republic
of Armenia. The document envisages that ArmRusagasprom will take
over the 5th unit of Hrazdan TPP (Hrazdan-5), as well as some
facilities of Armenia’s gas sector from the Armenian government. The
preliminary sale agreements shall be signed until April 14, 2006,
while the transfer of property rights with respect to the indicated
facilities shall take place until January 1, 2007. By the end of
the deal, Gasprom’s stake in ArmRusgasprom’s capital will make a
qualified majority.” Thus, the main mechanism of the deal between
the RA government and Gasprom may be as follows. ArmRusgasprom’s
capital increases to at least 248 mln USD, and the new shares are
acquired by Gasprom. As a result, Gasprom’s stake in ArmRusgasprom
will make a “qualified majority”. (At the moment it is not yet clear
what percentage it will constitute). Gasprom and the RA governemnt
currently have a 45% stake each. With this sum, ArmRusgasprom will
purchase the 5th power unit and other “gas facilities” from the RA
government. It is not also clear what “facilities” are meant, but
it is almost obvious that it may be the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline,
the construction of which is not completed at the present time and,
according to RA Energy Minister Armen Movsisian, it may not be sold,
but it is envisaged to complete its construction by late 2006. NT
failed to receive any comments on the above mentioned press release
of Gasprom from official Armenian bodies.

CHURCH LEADERS IN JERUSALEM OPPOSE PALESTINIAN BOYCOTT
Catholic World News
April 12 2006
Jerusalem, Apr. 12 (AsiaNews) – In a joint Easter message, the 13
patriarchs and heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem have made
a powerful appeal for reconciliation between Israel and Palestine,
the AsiaNews service reports. The Christian leaders also called on
the international community not to boycott the Palestinian people by
stopping aid.
The leaders of the Christian communities in the Holy Land– Orthodox,
Armenian, Latin Catholic, Copt, Syriac, Anglican, and Lutheran–
call on their faithful to practice a “clear challenging love to all
with whom we come in contact.” In a message directed to Israeli and
Palestinian political leaders, they say: “If a sincere will exists,
there will be capacity and power to overcome all obstacles, in order
to reach security, peace and justice to all, Palestinians and Israelis
alike.”
In their appeal to the international community, the Christian leaders
argue that “it is not permitted to boycott a people on whom oppressions
and injustices were and are imposed.” Rather than withdrawing aid
to the Palestinian people, the Church officials ask world leaders to
“try seriously to put an end to the suffering of our land and of all
its inhabitants.”

TURKISH TV TO AIR EGOYAN’S “ARARAT” ON ARMENIAN KILLINGS
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
April 12 2006
A private television station will broadcast a controversial movie
on the massacres of Armenians during World War I for the first time
in Turkey where the subject still arouses nationalist feelings,
a spokesman for the channel said Wednesday.
Kanalturk decided to show “Ararat” by Canadian director Atom Egoyan,
an ethnic Armenian, after a survey of viewers revealed that 72 percent
of the participants wanted to see the film, the spokesman said. “We
will show the movie with no cuts or censoring,” he added.
The film’s showing, at prime time on Thursday, will be followed by
a roundtable discussion by Turkish and Armenian intellectuals and
historians on the killings during the last years of the Ottoman Empire,
the predecessor of Turkey.
Even though the Turkish government gave the go-ahead for the showing of
the film, which was released in 2002, an Istanbul company was forced in
2004 to drop plans to screen the movie because of potential protests
that would have required police presence in theatres. Turks have only
recently begun to discuss the Armenian massacres between 1915 and 1917,
one of the most controversial episodes in Turkish history.
Egoyan’s film deals with the estranged members of a contemporary
Armenian family, who are faced with both Turkey’s denial of genocide
and their own individual plight.

COOPERATION TO DEVELOP THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES ARMENIAN OFFICE IN EUROPE
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The primary task of the Information
Technologies (IT) Armenian Office in Europe, which has been functioning
since February 16, 2006, is to sign agreements of a total of 200-300
thousand dollars between the Armenian and European companies in the
intitial period. Director of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation
(EIF) Bagrat Engibarian stated this on April 11 during a joint press
conference with Robert Trausnig, Representative of Armenian IT in
Europe. B. Engibarian said that 10% of Armenian IT enterprises is
currently cooperating with European companies, while 70% of the
sector’s production is exported to the US. According to him, the
IT Armenian Office in Europe will assist Armenian IT companies with
participation in international exhibitions and forums. Some Armenian
companies have already been provided assistance in taking part in the
CeBIT exhibition (Hannover). The Office also aims to hold discussions
with the participation of representatives of the Armenian and European
companies of the IT sector, as well as government representatives for
the purpose of clarifying long-term cooperation problems. R. Trausnig
noted that the Office may be useful both in terms of setting up
joint ventures and selling production of Armenian IT companies in
Europe. The Office will organize business trips of Armenian IT experts
to Europe and assist the Armenian companies with introduction of CMMI
international programming procedure management standards. He pointed
out good prospects of selling in Europe Armenian softwares developed
for such spheres as health, communication and telecommunication,
and map-based information systems. B. Engibarian attached importance
to activities of the IT Armenian offices in other countries from
the viewpoint of enhancing the opportunities for selling softwares
and software-related services abroad. It is envisaged to open an IT
Armenian Office in the US in the near future.

FIRST VOLUME OF “WHO IS WHO: ARMENIANS” BIOGRAPHIC ENCYCLOPEDIA PUBLISHED
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The editorial staff of the
Armenian encyclopedia published the first volume of the “Who is
Who: Armenians” biographic encyclopedia. It involves biographies
of all those famous Armenians from the pagan times till our days,
who have had significant achievements in different spheres: science,
culture, policy, etc. Famous figures of the recent 20-25 years who
have founded or developed separate directions of science, culture
and other spheres, have a scientific degree of doctor of sciences,
drafted and built buildings, were honoured with the title of USSR and
RA People’s and Honourary Artist, as well as with highest military
titles, RA President’s state, literary and other prizes, confered
state and other orders, are presented in the encyclopedia. According
to people forming the volume, particularly, separate participants of
the national-liberating movement, Diasporan Armenian public-political
figures were not involved in the “Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia” for
the first time published in Armenian during the years of Soviet power,
what was provided by ideology and policy of time. This omission was
partly completed in the “Armenian Brief Encyclopedia” (in 1991-2003),
but while preparing the “Who is Who: Armenians” encyclopedia, the
publishing house made an attempt to complete all the omissions.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF YOUNG ECOLOGISTS TO TAKE PLACE IN NOYEMBERIAN IN JUNE
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
NOYEMBERIAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The international conference
of young ecologists will take place in the city of Noyemberiam,
the marz of Tavush, on June 28-30. Sahak Atanesian, the Chairman of
the ecological “UniEcofor” company, the initiator of the conference
informed the Noyan Tapan correspondent about this. Show of ecological
films and organization of a competition are envisaged within the
framework of the conference. By the way, still in 1994, S.Atanesian
found out Asian Minor tritons in the “jil gol” reservoir of the
village of Hagvi. According to him, it was considered till that,
that those amphibians live only in mountains of the Western Caucasus
and Asia Minor.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress