MosJan

ARMENIA MUST SPEAK FROM THE POSITION OF A "STRONG COUNTRY" IN THE Artsax CONFLICT SETTLEMENT 22.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 22. /Mediamax/. Leader of the parliamentary faction of "Dashnaktsutiun" party, Aghvan Vardanian named today senseless the talks on new proposals for the Artsax issue settlement. Vardanian didn't exclude at the same time that the settlement variants, proposed earlier, will be included in the renewed packet. According to him, Armenia must approach the moment of Artsax dispute settlement from the position of a strong country, preserving its domestic political stability. Otherwise, a variant contradicting Armenia's interests will be accepted, Vardanian thinks. --0--

22 February 2001 NEWS BRIEFS Kocharian Downplays Disclosed Peace Proposals On Artsax President Robert Kocharian on Thursday denied any far-reaching motives behind the publication in Armenia and Azerbaijan of all proposals to end the Nagorno-Artsax conflict, made by international mediators from the OSCE over the past four years. Kocharian said Azerbaijan's decision to officially publicize the three different peace plans on Wednesday took him by surprise. "This was sudden and unexpected for me," he told reporters after chairing a cabinet meeting in Yerevan. The most recent of the proposals, presented to the conflicting parties in late 1998 by the Russian, US and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, was leaked to the Armenian media on Monday. The virtually simultaneous disclosure of the confidential information has fueled speculations that Yerevan and Baku seek to gauge their domestic public opinions before sealing a long-awaited settlement. Leading opposition parties in Azerbaijan were on Thursday preparing to hold mass rallies to thwart what they said is an imminent "defeatist" deal with Armenia. But Kocharian downplayed the significance of the unveiled Minsk Group documents, saying that they are part of the "history but not the present day of the issue's settlement." "We have not discussed any of those variants for at least one-and-a-half years," Kocharian said, referring to his direct contacts with Azerbaijan's President Heydar Aliev. The two leaders have met 14 times in nearly two years to discuss ways of resolving the Artsax dispute. They are due to hold another meeting in Paris early next month. The previous talks, described as "quite constructive and interesting," were also held in the French capital under the sponsorship of President Jacques Chirac. The Armenian leader also said that the American, French and Russian mediators are cooperating with each other in a "very constructive and united way." "Russia is an active participant of the Nagorno-Artsax peace process," he added. In Baku, representatives of over 50 Azerbaijani parties vowed to block any peace deal which would not lead to the restoration of Baku's direct control of Artsax, the Azerbaijani Turan news agency reported. Dismissing all three Minsk Group documents as unacceptable, they accused the Aliev government of preparing the domestic public to accept the idea of a "common state" between Artsax and Azerbaijan, which is at the heart of the 1998 plan. Baku rejected the plan at the time. The Azerbaijani parliament is scheduled to discuss the issue at an extraordinary session on Friday. (Emil Danielyan) http://www.rferl.org/bd/ar/reports/today.html

Russian Foreign Minister Hopes For Solution To Artsax Conflict Answering a question from an RFE/RL correspondent at a press conference in Moscow on 22 February, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that Russia as always is interested in a political solution to the Nagorno-Artsax conflict. "We have supported that in the past and we continue to support it now", he said. Further emphasizing Russia's interest, Ivanov continued; "For a number or reasons, Russia has not withdrawn and cannot withdraw from the conflict resolution process. I think there is no need to explain that Russia is more interested in resolving this conflict than anyone else." Concerning the mode of negotiations, Ivanov once again lent support to direct negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. "We welcome direct negotiations between the parties, since we believe that a lasting and stable solution can be achieved only through direct agreements," he said. However, he also recalled that a conflict resolution process is also at work within the OSCE Minsk Group, of which the US, France and Russia are co-chairs. France's President Jacques Chirac has assumed an active role as a mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent months, hosting a number of meetings between Presidents Robert Kocharian and Haidar Aliev. Asked to comment on this, Ivanov did not display any irritation. "It is not important which one of the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group is more active at any given time, especially since Russia and the states of the region can benefit from any progress made", he said. (Arthur Teryan in Moscow) Hunanian Pleads Not Guilty As Trial Resumes Court hearings in the trial on the 1999 terrorist attack on the Armenian parliament resumed in Yerevan on Thursday with Nairi Hunanian, the leader of the armed group that gunned down eight senior officials, pleading not guilty to all nine counts of accusations. Hunanian and his brother Karen rejected the charges -- including terrorism, high treason and attempted coup - contained in a brief introductory presentation by the prosecution. The three other members of the gang partially admitted their guilt. The politically sensitive trial adjourned one week ago, less than two hours after its long-awaited start. Thursday's proceedings saw the completion of all procedural formalities preceding the questioning of defendants and witnesses. The judge hearing the case, Samvel Uzunian, seconded several important petitions filed by lawyers representing relatives of Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, parliament speaker Karen Demirchian and the six other victims of the carnage. The lawyers requested additional information about Hunanian's past activities, including details of his journalistic trip to Turkey in late 1998. The prosecutors will have to present all transcripts of his phone conversations between March and October 1999. The judge also agreed to the presence of a psychologist in the court hall during the testimony to be given by the gang members. It was announced that two other defendants, police officers prosecuted for allowing the gunmen to smuggle weapons into the parliament, have gone on a hunger strike in protest against Uzunian's refusal to set them free pending sentence. One of the policemen, Avetik Minasian, did not appear in the court because of deteriorating health. Hundreds of supporters of the assassinated leaders again gathered outside the court building to demand a tough punishment for the attackers. "Death sentence," the crowd chanted repeatedly. The slain prime minister's brother and successor, Aram Sarkisian, and his allies were again among the protesters. He said Hunanian's self-confident behavior is another sign that "there are people or forces outside [the court building] upon whom he relies." "Those forces have power," Sarkisian said without elaborating. In a stern rebuke to Robert Kocharian, he further claimed that the Armenian president still believes that there were no other influential forces behind Hunanian's group. Kocharian, meanwhile, on Thursday effectively denounced the regular gatherings outside the court, saying that their organizers are keen to exploit the case to advance their political agenda. "I think that the opposition and disaffected persons will try to take every opportunity to exploit [the case] for their political aims. I think this is immoral," he told reporters. "Very few criminal cases can boast so many available materials." (Karine Kalantarian, Hrach Melkumian, Atom Markarian) Jailed Pro-Opposition Businessman Released Arkady Vartanian, a Moscow-based millionaire businessman who last year campaigned for the change of Armenia's present leadership, was set free on Thursday after a four-month pre-trial detention. The decision was taken by state prosecutors two weeks after a Yerevan court agreed to their request to keep him under arrest for another month. No official reasons for the decision were announced. Vartanian is charged with publicly calling for a "violent overthrow" of the government during a series of anti-government rallies last fall. His supporters have dismissed the charges as politically motivated. The businessman was moved to a Yerevan clinic on January 20 with high blood pressure and serious heart problems and has stayed there ever since. His lawyer, Samvel Jaghinian, said Vartanian will not leave the hospital for the time being. His wife, Yelena Vartanian, claimed earlier that the businessman's condition is "deteriorating day by day" and that his life will be in jeopardy unless the authorities release him from jail for the rest of the criminal investigation. (Anush Dashtents) PRESS REVIEW Vahan Shirkhanian, one of Robert Kocharian's most influential foes in last year's power struggle, tells "Aravot" why he has "kept silent" since being ousted from the government in May. He denies making any secret deals with the president at the time. Shirkhanian complains about a "terrible epidemic of rifts, animosity and poison" which has plagued Armenia in recent years. He says many of his former longtime colleagues are now scared to meet with him for fear of dire consequences. Harutiun Harutiunian, the deputy director of Armenian state television and a former suspect in the parliament attack case, gives a rare interview to "Hayots Ashkhar." "October 27 continues and will continue as long as the organizers [of the assassinations] are not arrested," he says. "Are we looking for the organizers? Here they are. They've unmasked their face, and if appropriate bodies were more attentive they would understand everything." Harutiunian does not name anybody. In a separate commentary on the topic, "Hayots Ashkhar" attacks supporters of the slain leaders grouped around ex-premier Aram Sarkisian. "For some people, the verdict has already been delivered, the guilty have been determined and the punishment set." Any court ruling that would fall short of their expectations would be dismissed as injustice. For some unspecified forces, the October 27 is a handy tool to destabilize the situation, discredit the authorities and "divert" Armenia from the path of reforms, the pro-Kocharian paper says. "Azg" claims that the former prosecutor-general, Boris Nazarian, did not anticipate that his resignation will be accepted by Kocharian. "But his calculations proved wrong. The president of the republic didn't hesitate to accept the resignation." The paper thinks highly of the new prosecutor, Aram Tamazian, saying that he has a "clean professional background." "Haykakan Zhamanak" reports that Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian and Nagorno-Artsax President Arkady Ghukasian met in Stepanakert on Wednesday. The paper says the two men have never maintained friendly rapport and are now forced to become allies of convenience in the face of a growing threat from Dashnaktsutyun. "The warming in their relations takes place sooner than expected. And this is natural. Both in Artsax and Armenia, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation is preparing to attack the authorities. Robert Kocharian is in no way alarmed at the prospect of such an assault." "Yerkir" carries a an official Dashnaktsutyun statement about Wednesday's meeting between Kocharian and members of the nationalist party's ruling Bureau. Recent developments in the Nagorno-Artsax peace process were high on its agenda. The statement says Dashnak leaders described as "unacceptable" the remarks on the Armenian Genocide "attributed" to the Armenian leader by Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Birand. "Hayots Ashkhar" publishes the full text of all three peace plans put forward by the OSCE Minsk Group since 1997. The paper says the Armenian side is no longer obliged to keep the information confidential after it was made public the Azerbaijani foreign ministry, which it says has "violated" earlier agreements to that effect. (Vache Sarkisian)

ANC Pasadena Chapter Announces Endorsements For Upcoming Elections PASADENA--The Pasadena chapter of the Armenian National Committee announced its endorsement for the upcoming election to be held on March 6th. There were over 18 candidates running, for three city council seats and five school board seats. The committee endorsed the following candidates. Council District 3, Chris Holden is running unopposed and he has long been a friend of the community. For district 5, Victor Gordo, who has a long working relationship with the community, and District 7 Ciran Marie Hadjian. "We are very happy to endorse Ciran, because she comes to us with a very impressive background and a strong commitment for the Armenian community's voice on the city council. She is well qualified to be the next councilperson for her district," stated Aida Dimejian ANC Pasadena Chair. For Pasadena Unified School District, seat 1 the committee is endorsing incumbent Alex Aghajanian, qualified person to represent the voice of this community on the PUSD board," noted Apo Chorbajian, ANC member. The other endorsements went to, seat 3, Dr. Gregor Edwards, seat 5, Esteban Lizardo, seat 6, Ken Chawkins, and seat 7, Jeff Hammill. The ANC Pasadena chapter has already started it grass roots efforts to help these candidates get elected. "We urge every Armenian voter, to get out and vote in this upcoming election. By electing the above individuals, we will strengthen the voice of the Armenian community in Pasadena," said Dimejian.

1) Kocharian Meets With ARF Bureau Delegation YEREVAN--President Robert Kocharian received ARF Bureau representative Hrant Markarian and Bureau member Vahan Hovhannesian on February 21. Armenia's internal and foreign affairs were discussed during the one and a half hour meeting. Issues regarding the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the peaceful resolution of the Artsakh conflict were also discussed. Hrant Markarian told the President his statements in Strasbourg and in the interview with Le Figaro newspaper were understandable. However, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation considers the viewpoints expressed by Kocharian in his interview with Turkish journalist Mehmed Ali Birand unacceptable. The President had made controversial comments regarding territorial demands that may arise with the recognition of the Genocide. 2) Assemblymember Frommer Introduces Legislation To Recognize Armenian Genocide SACRAMENTO--Assemblymember Daro Frommer (D-Glendale) today introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 22 calling on the State of California to recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1924 by designating April 24th as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku Riots of 1990.” “This legislation remembers the victims and honors the survivors of the Forgotten Genocide,” said Frommer of the proposed legislation. “Governments throughout the world must work diligently to keep this new millennium free of the hatred, bigotry, and cruelty which was at the heart of the Armenian Genocide and the other crimes against humanity that marred the 20th century. The Armenian people living in their historic homeland in Asia Minor were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the twentieth century, culminating with what is known as the “Forgotten Genocide.” From April 24, 1915, through 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children were murdered by the Young Turk regime in control of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and many more were starved, tortured, led on death marches into the Syrian desert, and exiled from their homeland. Armenian in Azerbaijan fell victim again to the Sumgait Pogroms in 1988, resulting in 72 deaths, and the Baku anti-Armenian riots in 1990, resulting in 68 Armenian death and the mass deportation of 350,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan. Frommer’s legislation calls upon the State of California to designate April 24, 2001, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku riots of 1990.” California joins a list of many groups and governments that have admitted the abuses and crimes committed by the Young Turk regime against the Armenian people. The Republic of Turkey continues to deny the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Young Turk rulers. 3) Turkish MPs Draft Bill Rejecting Genocide Accusations ANKARA (AFP)--Turkish legislators agreed Tuesday on a bill rejecting accusations that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenians, while highlighting massacres of Turks and other Muslims, Anatolia news agency reported. The draft bill, a joint initiative by the five parties in parliament, was triggered by the French assembly's adoption last month of a bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Members of the parliament's foreign affairs commission adopted the wording of the draft, which the general assembly will vote on at a yet undetermined date. "Turkey rejects claims of an Armenian genocide, which has not been recorded and accepted in history, and considers persistent accusations on the issue as hostility," read the text. It also condemned the killings and the brutality of France, Britain and Greece and other countries, who occupied Istanbul and Anatolia following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I and its subsequent dissolution. The draft also said that European countries had a "moral responsibility" in more recent massacres of Muslims in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Nagorno-Artsax. The deputies, however, scrapped proposals that Turkey recognizes as genocide the massacres France committed in Algeria during the country's war of independence. 4) EU Calls For Cooperation In Southern Caucasus STOCKHOLM (Reuters)--Foreign Minister Anna Lindh of Sweden, which holds the European Union presidency, on Wednesday called for Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia to cooperate to resolve simmering regional conflicts. In a statement released on the Swedish presidency's website, Lindh pledged continued EU support for regional projects ``on condition that each country agrees to take part together with its two neighboring countries.'' Lindh was in Azerbaijan on Wednesday on a tour of the southern Caucasus with EU foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana and external affairs commissioner Chris Patten. She urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to step up efforts to achieve a solution for Nagorno-Artsax, a conflict-torn enclave in Azerbaijan where an ethnic Armenian majority tried to secede in 1998. "The EU supports the direct dialogue on the conflict in Nagorno-Artsax between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia to find breakthrough in negotiations as soon as possible,'' Lindh said. Speaking in Georgia's capital Tbilisi earlier on Wednesday, Lindh stressed the EU's continued support for negotiations to solve conflicts in its breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. She also expressed concern over pressure being exerted on Georgia by Russia, which has cut natural gas supplies, imposing severe hardships, due to differences over the war in Russia's separatist Chechnya republic, which borders Georgia. 5) Aram Tamazian Appointed Prosecutor General YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)--President Robert Kocharian issued a decree appointing Aram Tamazian Prosecutor General of Armenia and relieving him of the post of Public Prosecutor of Yerevan. On February 21, the President introduced the newly appointed prosecutor general to the board of the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia. Kocharian stressed that the law-enforcement system must serve exclusively the law and state. According to him, the newly appointed prosecutor general has worked in the legal system for many years and is well acquainted with its activities and problems. The President expressed optimism that under the direction of the new prosecutor general the system will continue its normal work.

AnEta jan Nax@ntrum em Hayuhinerin

Levon jan i'l pray for you--<>-- pray for me - price of gold has been dawn - $258.00pr Oz. http://kitconet.com/images/sp_en_6.gif

this is only the 10% of the document -> Armenia and Nagorno Artsax accepted the proposal <- ??? i wonder if this hed somthing to do with oct-27 and samvel babayan - i hope i'm wrong -

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT APPOINTED NEW PROSECUTOR GENERAL 21.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 21. /Mediamax/. The President of Armenia Robert Kocharian signed on Feb. 20 the decree of appointing Aram Tamazian at the post of the Prosecutor General of Armenia, Mediamax was informed in the press office of the president. Robert Kocharyan also signed the decree of releasing Aram Tamazian from the post of the Prosecutor of Yerevan. The President of Armenia signed on Feb. 12 the decree of releasing Boris Nazarian from the post of the Prosecutor General of Armenia in accord with the latter's own application. --0--

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ENTITLED "CHURCH, STATE, SOCIETY AND CRISIS OF LIBERAL DOCTRINE OF WORLD RECONSTRUCTION" TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN TODAY 21.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 21. /Mediamax/. International conference, entitled "The church, state, society and crisis of liberal doctrine of world reconstruction", will begin its work today in the National Assembly of Armenia. The conference is organized by the National Assembly of Armenia, the European inter-parliamentary orthodox assembly and the International fund of union of orthodox people. The speaker of the Armenian parliament Armen Khachatrian and the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II will speak at the conference. The messages of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexiy II and of the speaker of Russian State Duma, Gennady Seleznov will also be read out. The European inter-parliamentary orthodox assembly was established at the Constituent Assembly in the Athens in 1993 on the initiative of Russia and Greece. The full members of the organization are Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Yugoslavia, Greece, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldavia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Czech and Finland. --0--

DETAILS OF THE "COMMON STATE" CONCEPT PUBLISHED IN YEREVAN 21.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 21. /Mediamax/. Today Yerevan "Aravot" paper published the details of the "common state" concept, suggested by the OSCE Minsk Group in 1998 for the Artsax issue settlement. Armenia and Nagorno Artsax accepted the proposal as a basis for negotiations, while Azerbaijan rejected it. The mediators note that this proposal, among others, still remains on the agenda. Armenian officials don't exclude that talks can continue within the frames of the "common state" concept. "Nagorno Artsax is a state and territorial formation as a republic, which forms a common state with Azerbaijan within the internationally recognized borders of the latter", the document says. To coordinate joint efforts, the OSCE Minsk Group proposes establishing representation offices of Nagorno Artsax and Azerbaijan in Stepanakert and Baku. While discussing issues, which are of interest for Stepanakert, Nagorno Artsax participates in carrying out Azerbaijan's foreign policy, the document says. "Decisions concerning such questions may be taken without the consent of both parties", the mediators propose. The document, published today in "Aravot" paper, states that the borders of Nagorno Artsax will correspond to the borders of Nagorno Artsax Autonomous District (NKAD), and possible boundary changes can become a subject of separate agreements between Nagorno Artsax and Azerbaijan. According to the "common state" concept, NKR will have its own Constitution, passed by referendum. Citizens of Nagorno Artsax will get Azeri passports with a special note "Nagorno Artsax". The document says that Nagorno Artsax will have its own national guards (security forces), formed on a voluntary basis, and police. At the same time these forces can't operate outside NKR borders without Azerbaijan's consent. The "common state" concept presupposes that after the peace agreement is signed, troops will be withdrawn and buffer zone will be formed along the Nagorno Artsax boundaries. The document also determines the right of Azeri and Armenian refugees to return freely to the towns of Shushi and Shahumian. --0--

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT INTRODUCES THE NEW PROSECUTOR GENERAL 21.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 21. /Mediamax/. The President of Armenia Robert Kocharian introduced today the newly appointed Prosecutor General Aram Tamazian to the members of the Board of the Prosecutor's Office, Mediamax was informed in the press office of the president. Stating that a priority for the Prosecutor's Office is to preserve lawfulness in the country, Armenian President stressed that PO officials "must serve only to the law and state". Robert Kocharian noted that the new Prosecutor has worked in the Prosecutor's Office for a long time and is well familiar with the activity of the system and its problems. --0--

WINNERS OF THE TENDER FOR PRIVATIZATION OF DISTRIBUTIVE POWER NETWORKS OF ARMENIA WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY THE END OF THIS MONTH 21.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 21. /Mediamax/. Armenian Energy Minister Karen Galustian told today the journalists that the winners of the international tender for privatization of 4 distributive power networks of Armenia will be announced by the end of this month. The Minister said in the near future the legal advisers will submit the final variant of the contract to the tender commission, after which the document will be presented to the participants of the tender - the American AES Silk Road company, the Spanish Union Fenosa and the Swiss-Swedish ABB concern. Karen Galustian said the Energy Law, which is discussed today in the National Assembly, will promote the process of the networks privatization and will become a legislative basis for the formation of a civilized energy market. --0--

43 DEPUTIES SUGGEST THE QUESTION OF ARMENIA'S JOINING TO RUSSIA-BELARUS UNION BE CONSIDERED 21.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 21. /Mediamax/. Deputy of the Armenian parliament Aghasi Arshakian said at today's briefing that 43 deputies of the National Assembly suggest convoking a special parliamentary session in order to consider the possibilities of Armenia's joining to Russia-Belarus Union. Armenian President Robert Kocharian has repeatedly declared that the question of joining to Russia-Belarus Union "is not on the foreign agenda of the country". The initiative group needs at least 66 deputy signatures to convoke the special parliamentary session. --0--

TURKEY "ASTONISHED" AT ARMENIA'S REJECTION OF ARMENIAN-AZERI-TURKISH TALKS 21.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 21. /Mediamax/. Ankara is "astonished" at Armenia's negative reaction to Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's proposal to hold a trilateral Armenian-Azeri-Turkish meeting on Artsax issue settlement. As the Turkish NTV reported, the Foreign Ministry of Turkey believes that either Armenia misunderstood Cem's proposal or it is doing this to force Turkey to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia. Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Dzyunik Aghajanian, commenting on Cem's proposal, told Mediamax on Feb. 17 that considering the absence of diplomatic ties between Armenia and Turkey, as well as Turkey's biased position in the Artsax peace process, Ankara cannot be a mediator in this process. --0--

EUROPEAN INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ORTHODOX ASSEMBLY HAS PROVED ITS VITALITY, SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT THINKS 21.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 21. /Mediamax/. The chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia Armen Khachatrian, speaking at the international conference entitled "The church, state, society and crisis of liberal doctrine of world reconstruction", which began today in Yerevan, stated that the European Inter-parliamentary Orthodox Assembly has proved its urgency and vitality in the course of years of its activity. The speaker of the Armenian parliament noted in his greeting speech that the European Inter-parliamentary Orthodox Assembly "has become a guarantor of consolidation of common spiritual, political and economic space of coreligionist people and sovereign states, historically developing within the frames of oriental-Christian traditional heritage". The organizers of this international conference are the National Assembly of Armenia, the European Inter-parliamentary Orthodox Assembly and the International fund of orthodox people's union. The European Inter-parliamentary Orthodox Assembly was established at the constituent assembly in the Athens in 1993 on the initiative of Russia and Greece. The full members of the organization are Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Yugoslavia, Greece, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldavia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Czech and Finland. --0--

KOCHARIAN'S VISIT TO KIEV WILL GIVE A NEW IMPULSE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF BILATERAL RELATIONS 21.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 21. /Mediamax/. President of Armenia Robert Kocharian and the co-chairman of the Armenian-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation issues, Vladimir Novitsky stressed at today's meeting in Yerevan that the visit of the Armenian President to Kiev will give a new impulse to the development of bilateral relations. As Mediamax was informed in the presidential press office, V. Novitsky presented to the Armenian President the results of the work of the second meeting of the Armenian-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation, held in Yerevan on Feb. 20-21. The interlocutors singled out energy, industry, tourism and agricultural products processing as prior directions of the bilateral cooperation. Novitsky informed the President that the commission approved at the session the whole packet of documents, to be signed by the Armenian and Ukrainian leaders during the official visit of Robert Kocharian to Kiev on March 1-2. --0--

ham el yes Nor HAyerin chem sirum -

es vor mekna yes chem hisum inchvor ???

hmm - if not Armenian than atlis Abarantsy or Karabaghtsy

images/smiles/converted/icon_razz.gif

Shnorhakal em Bolor Xorhurdneri hamar k@portsem bolorn el Hogachap shnorhakal em .

Searching for support YMCA hopes to raise awareness, encourage financial assistance among local Armenians with fund-raising dinner. By CLAUDIA PESCHIUTTA GLENDALE -- A call for support from the YMCA of Glendale to the local Armenian community is already generating response, officials said Friday. Nearly all 300 tickets for a Feb. 23 fund-raising dinner targeted at local Armenians had been sold by Friday, said Craig Yaussi, an organizer of the YMCA event. About 40% of the YMCA's 5,000 members are Armenian, as are 90% of the 300 young people in the facility's swimming programs, Yaussi said. Jonathan Sagherian said he and other members of the YMCA's board of directors realized more financial support was needed from the area's Armenian community. "We saw that the Armenian community is benefiting greatly from the Y services," he said. "We were not helping and doing our fair share in contributing to the general budget of the Y ... on the fund-raising end. "There are so many Armenian organizations right now that are ... vying for the same dollars," Sagherian said. "We felt that if we did this function, we could bring [the YMCA] more to the forefront." The support of the area's Armenian community could help keep kids in YMCA programs, Yaussi said. "We are supporting the Armenian community," he said. "It's important that somebody who can afford it ... give back to the Y so we can keep these kids coming through the doors." Sagherian said the dinner has attracted much support from local Armenian business owners, who will donate the food and provide their services for the event. IF YOU GO * WHAT: YMCA fund-raising dinner for the area's Armenian community. * WHEN: The event will begin at 7 p.m. Friday. * WHERE: YMCA of Glendale, 130 N. Louise St. * INFO: Proceeds from the event will benefit the YMCA. The Hayrenik Dance Ensemble and children in YMCA programs will perform. * COST: Tickets are $30. Reservations are requested. * CALL: For reservations or more information, call 240-4130

http://www.latimes.com/photos/20010221/g8z1oike.gif Wednesday, February 21, 2001 | Print this story Matild Manukyan; Turkish Brothels Made Her Wealthy By AMBERIN ZAMAN, Special to The Times ANKARA, Turkey--Matild Manukyan, the queen of Turkish brothels and one of the country's wealthiest women, died of heart failure Saturday in her palatial Istanbul apartment. She was 84. Descended from an aristocratic Armenian family, Manukyan attended Istanbul's posh Notre Dame de Sion school, run by French nuns, before launching her first career as a haute couture seamstress for the city's Westernized high society. When a customer offered her one of his brothels to settle an unpaid debt, Manukyan found herself in the murky world of prostitution, which is a legal business in Turkey as long as it is carried out in brothels registered with local governments. A shrewd businesswoman, she proved tougher than her all-male competitors, building up a chain of 32 brothels. During an interview in 1994, she said she prided herself on having "the healthiest, best behaved and most beautiful girls in all Istanbul." So great was her fortune that in the early 1990s she was Istanbul's top taxpayer for five years running. Her fiscal probity earned her considerable official praise. Framed letters from Turkey's top politicians, including the late President Turgut Ozal, thanking her for her sense of civic duty, adorned the walls of her home. The onetime beauty was widely hailed for her philanthropy. She donated tens of thousands of dollars from her multimillion-dollar fortune to hospitals and other charities. Eventually, she became an establishment figure in this predominantly Muslim country. But her vast wealth, which she invested in real estate, made her prey to gangsters operating protection rackets in Istanbul. They are believed to have been responsible for a car bomb attack in 1995 in which Manukyan nearly died. She had to be operated on 12 times and never fully recovered from her injuries. In 1996, Manukyan fell from public grace when she was detained for employing underage girls in her parlors. That year she also announced she had converted to Islam, and she provoked public furor by seeking permission to build a mosque. Turkey's government-appointed top cleric, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, sided with Manukyan, citing an edict from the prophet Muhammad that anyone who declares himself Muslim is purged of all previous sins. Therefore, he argued, it was all right for her to use her earnings to put up a place of worship. Manukyan is survived by a son, Kerope Cilingir. [ February 21, 2001: Message edited by: MosJan ]

Program brings new source of hope Bone marrow donor recruitment center opens with donors, visit from Armenian first lady. By CLAUDIA PESCHIUTTA SOUTHWEST GLENDALE -- With the prick of a syringe in her right arm, Anait Papikyan on Tuesday became the first visitor of a local recruitment center for the world's only Armenian bone marrow donor registry. First Lady of Armenia Bella Kocharyan and a crowd of officials and registry supporters gathered at Glendale Memorial Hospital to celebrate the opening of a second recruitment center for the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry Charitable Trust. "It is very important for our nation to have our own registry," Kocharyan said through a translator. "This is to save children and, also, adults." The project was co-founded by Dr. Frieda Jordan of Glendale in 1999 to help find bone-marrow donors to meet the specific needs of Armenians suffering from leukemia and other blood-related diseases. Space for the Glendale recruitment center was donated by Glendale Memorial, a supporter of the project. The first recruitment center opened in December in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. For Jordan, the opening of a recruitment center in Glendale was "the realization of a dream." "My mission has just started," she said. "Now, we can do the real work." Kocharyan marked the event by presenting hospital President Arnold Schaffer and Dr. Bruce Finstead, chairman of the Glendale Memorial Board of Directors, with a painting depicting the Annunciation of the birth of Christ. Papikyan, a Glendale Memorial employee, was happy to be the local center's first donor. "This is a very good program," she said. "I would like to support it." This project can join Armenians in the homeland and abroad, Kocharyan said. "This is another opportunity to link all Armenians together and act as a bridge," she said. HOW TO HELP * WHAT: Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry Charitable Trust. * DONATIONS: Checks should be made out to the Armenian Bone Marrow Project and sent to the trust at 347 W. Stocker St., No. 208, Glendale, CA 91202. * CONTACT: For more information, e-mails can be sent to: frieda.jordan@att.net.