HEAD OF ARMENIAN DELEGATION REACTS TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE DISCUSSIONS
Hayots Ashkarh, Yerevan
29 Apr 04
Yesterday, late in the evening PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe) finished discussions on the domestic political
situation in Armenia. The deputy chairman of the National Assembly,
head of the Armenian delegation, Tigran Torosyan, comments on this by
telephone.
(Hayots Ashkarh correspondent) Mr Torosyan, how did the discussions
finish? Was a negative decision adopted on Armenia?
(Tigran Torosyan) I think on the contrary. A very good decision for
Armenia was adopted that gave an answer to all the questions. It was
in connection with the so-called vote of confidence as well as the
presidential and parliamentary elections. In fact, it is the second
time that they have made more detailed assessments. So some people
should be able to understand, at least for the second time, what PACE
is saying.
(Correspondent) Can we say that all the information submitted by the
opposition was rejected by PACE? Who made a speech from the
opposition?
(Torosyan) Shavarsh Kocharyan (National Democratic Party, part of the
Justice bloc) made a speech against our proposals and, in his turn,
presented their proposals. As for the rejection of their information,
it is incorrect to put it this way, as the voting has finished,
decisions have been adopted and, of course, answers have been given to
all the questions.
(Correspondent) How did the PACE leadership respond to the information
presented in your report?
(Torosyan) PACE first of all makes assessments by voting. It was
obvious that the majority supported all our proposals.
The voting gave a strict assessment to the results of the two
elections as well as to the so-called vote of confidence. This is the
most significant.
(Correspondent) What were the results of the voting?
(Torosyan) I think it is not so important, as about four times as many
people were in favour as against. In fact, more than 40 deputies
supported views favourable for us, and only 10-12 were against. Simply
this figure was different during different votes.

ARMENIAN DEFENCE MINISTER SLAMS OPPOSITION
Hayots Ashkarh, Yerevan
29 Apr 04
Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan has commented on the
domestic political situation in the country and other
issues. Following is the text of a report by the Armenian newspaper
Hayots Ashkarh on 29 April headlined “They are justifying their own
inaction”:
(Hayots Ashkarh correspondent) How do you assess the failure of the
coalition-opposition dialogue?
(Serzh Sarkisyan) I think this is first of all a problem of the
parties which form the coalition. As the defence minister I refrain
from expressing any view, so that tomorrow you have no reason to say
that I am interfering in political problems. Though this problem is in
some way connected with national security as well. But I have not
studied the details of the political consultations initiated by the
president.
(Correspondent) The opposition has submitted political proposals that
consist of 10 points. They are demanding that political persecution be
stopped and free movement of citizens be ensured.
(Sarkisyan) Do you think that there is political persecution in our
country? I do not agree with this view of the opposition. The latest
provocation that they have disseminated is that armoured personnel
carriers closed the streets to block the way of rally-goers. This is a
simple means for the opposition to justify their own inaction. Why do
those journalists, who are so active and have become a microphone for
the opposition, not go and take a photo of at least one armoured
personnel carrier? Why do they not tell the truth? When the agressive
political forces publicly announce that they are going to change power
by violence, the police is simply obliged to make the relevant checks
to ensure public security.
(Correspondent) How possible do you think it is that, after studying
our country’s domestic political situation, they will raise the issue
of Armenia leaving the Council of Europe?
(Sarkisyan) I am sure this will not happen. Azerbaijan and Turkey do
not have enough force to do this.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“TIME WILL TELL” SAYS AZERI LEADER ON PROSPECTS FOR KARABAKH TALKS
Turan news agency, Baku
29 Apr 04
Strasbourg, 29 April: During today’s press conference in Strasbourg,
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev did not speak in Azerbaijani. All
journalists, including those from Azerbaijan, were told to ask
questions in English. Nobody explained the reason for such a strange
conduct of Ilham Aliyev.
Asked whether the political prisoners, including participants in the
October events (those arrested for post-election riots in 2003), might
be pardoned in near future, Aliyev said that this issue needs to be
“closed” soon.
As for the participants in the October events, a line has to be drawn
between those who “expressed their will and those who threw stones at
the police”. The trial is not over yet and it would be premature to
count them as political prisoners, Aliyev said.
On possibility of dialogue with the opposition, Aliyev said that he
proposed such a dialogue three times but received no response. “But if
the opposition displays its willingness, then this can be considered,”
he said.
Asked why the president’s press service invites to official events
only the pro-government mass media and journalists, Aliyev said that
it is up to them to decide who to invite and where. “It is impossible
to obtain an invitation to the president’s events by pressure.”
Armenian journalists asked Aliyev whether he will recognize Turkish
Cypriots’ independence as he promised. Aliyev said that Azerbaijan
will be in the first ranks of those countries which will do this when
the issue of recognition arises.
Responding to a question on prospects for settling the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict, Aliyev said that there are no agreements and “time
will tell” how and from which point the talks will continue.
Asked to comment on the killing of the Armenian officer in Budapest by
Azerbaijani serviceman Ramil Safarov, Aliyev said that this case
should not be turned into a “show”. In 2003 alone, Armenian snipers
killed 20 civilians in Azerbaijan, he said.

ARMENIA HOLDS MILITARY EXERCISES ON OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Lider TV, Baku
29 Apr 04
Armenians today held military exercises on the occupied Azerbaijani
territories. Lider TV’s special correspondent in the Karabakh region
reports that shooting from cannons, tanks and heavy-caliber weapons
was heard this morning in the occupied area of Agdam
(District). Azerbaijani military confirmed that the Armenians were
holding the exercises. Truce violation was not registered during the
exercises.
According to the head of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry press
service, Ramiz Malikov, these exercises have been monitored.

UCLA Today
APRIL 28, 2004

Welcoming 800 international guests annually
Visitors bureau rolls out red carpet
BY ANNE BURKE
UCLA Today Staff
Gohar Grigorian stands at the ready as a charter bus rolls to a stop
at UCLA’s Westholme entrance. She is straight-backed, dark-suited and
nicely coiffed, with a cell phone clipped to her waist and a stack of
documents in the crook of her arm.
The bus is carrying a delegation of 11 Europeans who are meeting with
UCLA administrators and academics as part of a U.S. State
Department-sponsored visit to America. The passengers alight, among
them a police officer from Norway, a German politician and a
journalist from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Grigorian welcomes each with a
wide, warm smile and a `Hello, I’m Gohar, so nice to meet you.’
Grigorian knows better than most that you don’t get a second chance to
make a first impression. For the past decade, she has worked for
UCLA’s International Visitors Bureau, which each year brings more than
800 international guests to campus, eager to forge bonds with
professional counterparts and to learn about America from the vantage
point of one of its most storied academic institutions.
Recent visitors have spanned the globe, ranging from Afghan judges
learning about U.S. jurisprudence and Tunisian opposition politicians
studying grassroots democracy to Italian Ambassador Sergio Vento, who
took in the Young Research Library’s collection of works by the
Italian Renaissance book printer Aldus Manuzio.
`If they’re in Los Angeles, they usually want to come to UCLA,’ said
Grigorian, the program officer for the visitors bureau since 2002. The
bureau traces its history to 1966, when it was part of the
now-disbanded UCLA Visitors Center. The bureau later moved to Special
Events and Protocol and in 2001 became part of the International
Institute.
As UCLA’s unofficial hostess, Grigorian makes sure that visitors get
face time with a faculty member or administrator in their area of
specialization. The European delegation, for example, was interested
in diversity, so Grigorian arranged a meeting with a leading campus
expert on that subject, Assistant Vice Chancellor Thomas
E. Lifka. From a small office on the 11th floor of Bunche Hall, she
works the phones, arranging the tiniest details, down to side dishes
on the lunch menu. Her only staff is a part-time student assistant.
`Gohar does an excellent job,’ said Napah Phyakul Quach, director of
exchange programs for the International Visitors Council of Los
Angeles, with which Grigorian works closely.
The protocol business is laden with land mines, but Grigorian has so
far managed to sidestep them. She keeps a book on multicultural
manners nearby and is a keen reader of body language who can `tell if
someone is going to shake my hand or not.’ For Muslim visitors who are
so inclined, she sets aside prayer time. When picking a menu, she
usually bypasses meat and poultry in favor of salmon.
Snafus are inevitable, though. When a professor couldn’t meet with a
delegation at the last minute, she frantically knocked on faculty
doors until she found someone who agreed to substitute. `The visitors
didn’t even notice what happened,’ she said.
But Grigorian’s hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. In February, UCLA’s
work promoting citizen diplomacy won the bureau a commendation from
the State Department, which each year brings thousands of
international visitors to the United States for professional exchanges
and study.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Karabakh sceptical about Azeri pressure group’s peace march
Arminfo, Yerevan
26 Apr 04

STEPANAKERT
People in the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] are very sceptical
about the Azerbaijani Karabakh Liberation Organization’s intention to
march to Nagornyy Karabakh and to end it in the town of Susa
[Armenian-occupied Shushi] on 8 May.
David Babayan, an employee of the NKR presidential office, told
Arminfo news agency that this action is mainly aimed at fermenting
public opinion and drawing attention to the Karabakh problem against
the background of diminishing interest on the part of ordinary
Azerbaijanis who are now more concerned about social and domestic
issues. By this escapade the organizers of the action aim to divert
the attention of the people from the domestic problems. At the same
time they intend to draw attention to themselves and to show their
political importance.
For his part, the deputy of the NKR National Assembly, Maxim Mirzoyan,
said that the Azerbaijani organization’s intention is pure adventurism
and political intrigue. There are many other ways of attracting the
attention of the international community to the Karabakh problem. “If
Baku really strives for a peaceful settlement of the problem, I am
sure the optimum way would have been found ,” Maxim Mirzoyan said.
Member of the board of the youth organization [?Ayk Generation]
Yervand Gadzhiyan said that this action is a populist one. It aims to
revive the flagging spirit of military [as published] patriotism of
Azerbaijani society ahead of new peaceful efforts aimed at settling
the Karabakh issue and to make the Azerbaijanis less flexible on the
issue.

Attack on Armenian politician aimed to escalate tension, president says
Arminfo
26 Apr 04

YEREVAN
“I think that there is a certain third player in power-opposition
relations whose name we do not know yet,” Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan has said in an interview with Armenian Public TV, commenting
on the recent attack on Ashot Manucharyan. Manucharyan is a member of
the political council of the Armenian Socialist Forces and the former
Armenian interior minister and advisor on national security under
Armenian ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan.
Robert Kocharyan noted that nobody doubts that today the country’s
authorities especially need peace and political stability. Nobody
doubts that what happened to Ashot Manucharyan by no means facilitates
the abovementioned goals. A question arises – Who benefited from this?
The head of the state asked the question and answered it immediately –
Definitely, not the authorities. The incident that involved Ashot
Manucharyan was a good reason for the opposition to once again accuse
the authorities. Moreover, Ashot Manucharyan did not play an active
role in the recent domestic political events, he was not among the
radical opposition. On the contrary, he considered himself to be a
restrained politician, he met writer Zoriy Balayan and presidential
advisor Garnik Isagulyan and even “as far as I know, the president of
the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic, Arkadiy Gukasyan. All the
abovementioned well-known people informed me that Ashot Manucharyan
played the role of a restrictive factor among the opposition of the
country. Hence, another question arises – Who needs this?” Robert
Kocharyan repeated his question.
He said that there was an impression that someone had organized the
incident during an interval between [opposition] rallies to kick up a
fuss and escalate the tension. That was the goal of the incident, the
Armenian president noted.

Hellenic Resources Network
Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 04-04-29
Ankara is planning to apply the “Armenian model” in its relations with the
Republic of Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRIS newspaper (29.04.04) reports that in its future
relations with the Republic of Cyprus, Turkey will take as example the model
it applies in its relations with Armenia. According to the paper, Ankara
recognizes Armenia as state, but it has not established diplomatic relations
with it. Therefore, Armenia has not an embassy in the Turkish capital.
According to KIBRIS, even if Turkey recognizes the Republic of Cyprus in the
future, it will not permit it to open an embassy in Ankara. In case of such
a demand on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus, Turkey “will show as address”
the so-called embassy of the pseudostate.
Ankara is determining its strategy on the issue as it expects international
pressure on it in the direction of the recognition of the Republic of
Cyprus. Ankara is planning on delaying as much as possible the political
recognition, but it could make some “openings” towards the Republic of
Cyprus, to the extend the European Union establishes relations with the
Turkish Cypriots.
Furthermore, Turkey will have contacts with the Republic of Cyprus within
the framework of its relations with organizations which have many members,
one of which is the Republic of Cyprus. The first contact will be on 16 May
at the meeting of the Partnership Council between Turkey and the EU,
concludes KIBRIS.

Metro West
Arts & Lifestyle
CD reviews: Prince;
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Shoghaken Ensemble: “Traditional Dances of Armenia” (Traditional Crossroads)
Hasmik Harutyunyan with the Shoghaken Ensemble: “Armenian Lullabies”
(Traditional Crossroads)
Drawing on the musical traditions of the Middle East, Europe and Asia,
Armenian music is at once seductively familiar and thrillingly exotic. On
“Traditional Dances of Armenia,” the Shoghaken Ensemble does more than
preserve fading rural artifacts — the band gives them eternal life though
interpretations that are stunning in their drive, beauty and mystery. While
there’s no denying the marvelous voice of the great Armenian folk singer
Hasmik Harutyunyan, the stark “Armenian Lullabies” does its work a bit too
well. Better to start with the fully caffeinated “Traditional Dances.”
— KEVIN R. CONVEY
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
April 30, 2004
Newest Priest and Member of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin
On April 24 and 25, Deacon Aren Jebejian was ordained and consecrated a
celibate priest in Saint Vartan Armenian Cathedral of New York by His
Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern).
On Tuesday, April 27, Rev. Father Aren Jebejian arrived in the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin to receive his cowl (veghar) and begin his forty days of
seclusion in preparation for the celebration of his first Divine Liturgy.
During Evening Services, His Grace Bishop Navasard Kjoyan, Vicar of the
Araratian Pontifical Diocese, presided during Father Aren’s recitation of
his oath to remain faithful to Jesus Christ, the teachings, canons and
traditions of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, and to remain a loyal and
devoted servant of the Catholicosate of All Armenians and the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin. In reciting and signing this oath before the Main Altar
of the Mother Cathedral of All Armenians, Father Aren became the newest
member of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin.
Bishop Navasard then offered the service of “Granting of the Cowl”, whereby
Father Aren became the newest “abegha” (monk) of the Armenian Church. The
cowl is the black hood worn by celibate priests in the Armenian Church,
signifying their renunciation of the secular world and its pleasures, and as
a visible symbol of their devotion to service and sacrifice.
With the addition of Father Aren, the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin
currently consists of 49 bishops, 83 celibate priests (archimandrites and
monks) and 54 deacons who bring their spiritual service to the Dioceses of
the Armenian Church dispersed throughout the world. Following the
celebration of his first Divine Liturgy, Rev. Father Aren Jebejian will
return to the Eastern Diocese to continue his service to the faithful of the
United States.
##
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress