Pan Armenian News
FINLAND PRESIDENT TO PAY FORMAL VISIT TO ARMENIA
23.09.2005 03:16
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ By invitation of Armenian leader Robert Kocharian
President of Finland Tarja Halonen and her husband Dr. Pentti Arajarvi will
pay a formal visit to Armenia September 26-28, RA President’s press service
reported. The purpose of the visit is the development of bilateral ties and
economic cooperation. The state leaders will also touch upon the EU-Armenia
cooperation and some regional problems. On September 27 Robert Kocharian and
Tarja Halonen will hold a tete-a-tete meeting followed by negotiations in
expanded composition. During the visit the Mrs. Halonen will also meet with
RA National Assembly Chairman Artur Baghdassyan and Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan. In Holy Echmiadzin she will meet with Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II. Besides, the Finn delegation will attend the Memorial complex of
Tsitsernakaberd and lay a wreath to the Armenian Genocide victims. Tarja
Halonen is also expected to meet with the students and teaching staff of the
Yerevan State University. To note, the delegation is scheduled to visit
Georgia and Azerbaijan as well.

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| 18:25:45 | 22-09-2005 | Politics |
ARMEN RUSTAMYAN COMMENTING ON UPCOMING REFERENDUM
`I am not against the stepwise settlement if Nagorno Karabakh’s status will
be determined at the initial stage’, Chairman of the Parliamentary
Commission for Foreign Issues Armen Rustamyan stated today in the National
Press Club.
Armen Rustamyan shares the position Armenia holds. If the Karabakh issue is
included in the UN agenda, Armenia will abandon the negotiation process,
which, in his words, does not exist at present. `All we have is meetings and
consultations’, he noted.
When asked whether the failure of the referendum on constitutional
amendments can tell on the Karabakh settlement Armen Rustamyan said, `We
should not mix the referendum with the authorities-opposition relations.’
When commenting on the possible postponement of the referendum he said, `If
we come to conclusion that the atmosphere is not proper for conducting a
referendum we can postpone it.’
At the same time he considers `not a bad document is awaiting the
referendum.’ `If some political forces wish to use the referendum as an
instrument to change the power their attempts will be doomed to failure,
since no European structure will approve such a transformation’, he resumed.

Pan Armenian News
INDIAN VICE-PRESIDENT TO VISIT ARMENIA IN OCTOBER
23.09.2005 03:42
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Ambassador to India Ashot Kocharian met with Vice
President Bharion Singh Shekhawat to discuss the Armenian-Indian relations
and the details of Vice President’s upcoming visit to Armenia, RA MFA press
office reported. The RA Ambassador informed the interlocutor of the economic
development of Armenia, constitutional reform process and possibilities of
tourism stimulation. The parties voiced hope that the visit of Bharion Singh
Shekhawat to Armenia will contribute to the consolidation of the
Armenia-Indian relationships in various fields.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

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| 20:19:54 | 22-09-2005 | Official |
CILICIA RETURNING
Today Secretary of the Security Council at the RA President, Defense
Minister Serge Sargsyan received the crew of Cilicia vessel.
During the meeting the parties discussed a number of issues referring to the
returning of the vessel to Armenia.

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| 19:38:01 | 22-09-2005 | Official |
GOVERNMENT – NA
98 million 715 thousand AMD was allocated to the National Assembly. The
funds will be spent on the organization of events dedicated to the 15-th
anniversary of the parliament of the Third Republic of Armenia (60 million
166 thousand) and the conduction of Rose Roth NATO PA seminar(32million 549
thousand).
COMBATING SMOKING
On Thursday the Armenian government approved the state program anti-smoking
for 2005-2009. The program includes measures targeted at eliminating the
pernicious habit among the population.

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| 20:05:53 | 22-09-2005 | Official |
CALIFORNIA TRADE CENTER TO OPEN IN ARMENIA
Today Armenian parliament speaker Artur Baghdassaryan received California
Senator Jack Scott.
The Senator informed that in October California Regional Trade Center will
open in Armenia under the aegis of the International Trade section of the
Department of Enterprise, Construction and Transportation of California. The
Senator reminded that a Memorandum of Understanding was already signed
between Armenia and California in 2001. He also noted California will share
experience in IT, agriculture, biotechnics, while Armenia can export
agricultural products.
The parties also noted the importance of establishing direct ties between
the Californian and Armenian parliaments.

–Boundary_(ID_HTmPr+AS8usNtNFCJv/Piw)
Content-typ e: message/rfc822
From: Sebouh Z Tashjian
Subject: Hayfest at the Expense of Others
MIME-version: 1.0
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Content-transfer-encoding: 8BIT
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| 20:49:53 | 22-09-2005 | Culture |
HAYFEST AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS
September 28- October 6 the third theater festival Hayfest will be held in
Yerevan. Theater groups from 40 countries including UK, Sweden, France will
take part in the festival.
During today’s press conference festival president Arthur Ghukasyan stated
that the performances will be given not only in Yerevan but also in the
regions. Besides, discussions and seminars with the participation of foreign
specialists will be held.
About 50 performances on various genres will be presented to the audience.
The festival initiators are convinced that the event will stimulate the
development of culture and tourism in Armenia. Producer Levon Abrahamyan
informed that the Ministry of Culture rendered no support to the
organization of the festival. `We addressed the ministries od culture of
other states and received some assistance. The other expenses were covered
with our own funds’, he said.
The solemn opening ceremony will be held in the National Academic Theater
after G. Sundukyan. The closing ceremony will take place in the Puppet
Theater after H. Tumanyan.
–Boundary_(ID_HTmPr+AS8usNtNFCJv/Piw)–

Ecumenical News International / 22 September 2005
Armenians mull sainthood for victims of Ottoman-era massacres
By Clive Leviev-Sawyer
Sofia, Bulgaria, 22 September (ENI)–A committee of the Armenian
Apostolic Church is studying the question of sainthood for
victims of what Armenia says was a genocide carried out between
1915 and 1917 by the Ottoman Empire, which became Turkey after
the First World War.
Armenia says about one and a half million people died as a result
of a systematic genocide as the Ottoman Empire undertook forced
removals of Armenians.
Turkey, however, rejects the term “Armenian genocide” and says
mass removals were intended to clear people from a war zone. It
acknowledges that people died, but holds that the number was far
less than that given by Armenia, and that there was no deliberate
intention to kill.
The Armenian Apostolic Church, to which about 90 per cent of
Armenians are said to belong, said the first meeting of the
committee studying sainthood took place from 3 to 6 September.
Proceedings were blessed by church leader Catholicos Karekin II.
The six-member committee is made up of senior leaders from the
two branches of the church, the Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin,
based in Armenia, and the Catholicosate of Cilicia, based in
Lebanon.
In 2004, the Evangelical Church in Germany, which groups most of
the country’s Protestants, said the issue of how Turkey dealt
with its past was an important pre-condition for whether it could
enter the European Union.
“Only an honest examination of the past makes future development
possible, borne by the spirit of reconciliation and the striving
for justice and freedom,” the German church said, noting in
particular “the problem of dealing with the genocide on
Armenians”.
Meanwhile, Karekin II issued a statement to mark 21 September,
the day that commemorates Armenia’s 1991 declaration of
independence from the Soviet Union. He said that Armenians had
not yielded to the difficulties of recent years including war and
the 1988 earthquake in which tens of thousands of people died.
“We have passed through a difficult yet ascending pathway on the
journey to create our new life and new statehood, a course which
will become broader and brighter through the united efforts,
faith, devotion and love of our people,” Karekin said.
Armenia became the world’s first nation officially to adopt
Christianity as a state religion in AD 301.

Pan Armenian News
YURI MERZLYAKOV: OSCE INTERESTED IN COOPERATION WITH PACE
23.09.2005 04:09
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The OSCE Minsk Group and the PACE Subcommittee on Nagorno
Karabakh can cooperate on a number of issues, OSCE MG Russian Co-Chair Yuri
Merzlyakov stated when commenting on the Subcommittee sitting held in Paris
last week. `The OSCE MG Co-Chairs mediate and advance proposals while PACE
can mobilize public opinion in both states for achieving a compromise
essential for the settlement of the conflict. PACE can also encourage the
conflicting parting to honor the commitments to the CoE, one of them being
the resolution of the Karabakh conflict,’ the Russian diplomat said. Yuri
Merzlyakov voiced opinion that the CoE and PACE can take the control over
the ceasefire and urge the states to fulfill the obligations. In his words,
`frequent militaristic statements do not promote the settlement of the
conflict.’ `We are ready to share authority with PACE to prevent statements
of the kind’, he noted adding that the OSCE MG Co-Chairs are concerned over
the increase of the military budget of Armenia and Azerbaijan, since it can
have a negative impact upon the peaceful settlement process, Mediamax
reported.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenpress
FINLAND’S PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN ARMENIA ON SEPTEMBER 26
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS: At the invitation of Armenian
president Robert Kocharian the president of Finland, Mrs. Tarja Hallonen,
will arrive in Armenia on September 26 on a three day visit in the first leg
of a regional trip. She will also visit the neighboring Georgia and Armenia.
According to Kocharian’s press service, the aim of the visit is to deepen
bilateral relations and outline areas of possible cooperation. The two
presidents will discuss also Armenia-EU cooperation, regional problems, as
well as exchange opinions on a vast range of issues of mutual interest.
Finland’s president itinerary includes a private conversation with Kocharian
to be followed by enlarged discussions and the presidents will have a news
conference for the media.
Mrs. Tarja Hallonen is also scheduled to meet with parliament chairman,
prime minister, she will visit Sergey Parajanov Museum, the Mother See of
Etchmiadzin. She will also commemorate the victims of the 1915 Armenian
genocide and meet with students of Yerevan State University.