COUNCIL OF EUROPE GROUP PROMOTES MUTUAL EVALUATION AND PEER PRESSURE OF MEMBERS TO CRACK DOWN ON CORRUPTION
YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Senior member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and chairman of the Armenian National Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Affairs Armen Rustamian–said today that Armenia’should join the Council of Europe group known as GRECO.
GRECO–which stands for Group of States [...]

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–President Robert Kocharian–in Tbilisi on a two-day official visit–reaffirmed on Friday Armenia’s strong interest in the reopening of railway connection between Georgia and Russia which is currently discussed by the two neighboring states.
The rail link–which passes through Abkhazia–was disrupted in 1992 with the outbreak of a secessionist war in Georgia’s Black Sea region which [...]

In recent weeks–Turkey’s government–via diplomatic efforts and PR mechanisms–is attempting to create the false impression that it has initiated the normalization of relations with the Armenian people and Armenia–even to the extent of the opening of territorial borders with Armenia.
At the same time–Turkey’s authorities–in their official statemen’s not only continue to deny the reality of [...]

ANKARA (Reuters)–Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Monday he had vetoed some legislation passed by parliament to boost EU membership prospects because it could pose what he called a threat to the state’s existence.
Parliament can override Sezer’s objections to changes to the Anti-Terrorism Law it approved earlier this month–but the veto is a setback [...]

GLENDALE–The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Youth Corps Council has accepted its final applicants for the 2003 AYF Youth Corps program. Over fifteen youth will travel to the war-torn areas of the Mountainous Karabagh Republic to help rebuild destroyed churches–schools–and youth camps. The youth–who depart on July 12–will live with the people of Karabagh and will [...]

RECEPTION PRESENTS ANC ACTIVISTS OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS ISSUES WITH ARMENIAN CAUCUS CO-CHAIR
ENCINO–On Sunday–June 22–the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) hosted a special reception honoring Armenian Issues Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Frank Pallone–Jr. (D-NJ) at the home of ANC activists Steven and Shaghig Dadaian in Encino–California.
Steven Dadaian introduced Congressman Pallone by highlighting [...]

ISTANBUL (Reuters)–Turkey on Friday announced an amnesty law for Kurdish guerrillas in the hope of ending a lingering conflict in its southeast and bolstering its chances of starting membership talks with the European Union in 2004.
More than 30,000 people–mostly Kurds–have died in fighting since 1984 and Turkey feels it has the rebels isolated in a [...]

ISTANBUL–Turkey’s Cumhuriyet daily newspaper–referring to Turkish diplomats’ efforts in the United States–reported yesterday (June 27) that Turkey is–on the one hand–attempting to establish dialogue with the Armenian Diaspora and–on the other–continuing diplomatic efforts to block the passage of an Armenian Genocide resolution in the US Congress.
The daily writes that an official of Turkey’s Foreign Ministry–Ambassador [...]

PARIS (Yerkir)–The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) announced that it will introduce candidates to run in European Parliament (EP) elections on June 13–2004–said ARF Central Committee of Europe representative Murad Papazian at a June 18 gathering in Paris. The ARF will present a platform based on "common European ideas of human rights," and will run with [...]

For 75 years the "Hamazkayin" Armenian Educational and Cultural Association has worked tirelessly within both realms [education and culture] that comprise its mission–and it looks to the future with renewed faith.
In the current hopeful atmosphere–the Central Executive of "Hamazkayin" from 6-8 June convened its third plenary meeting–during which it examined various issues of concern to [...]

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–A report by Mary Daily–"Availability of Social Rights in Europe," was presented on Thursday in Yerevan. Speaking at the presentation–Armenia’s new Social Security Minister Aghvan Vardanian said–"Availability of social rights has become an important issue for European countries–and Armenia–being a member of the Council of Europe (CE)–should act the same way." According to Vardanian–the [...]

STRASBOURG (Armenpress)–The report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan–presented by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights–was referred back to the committee following a proposal by rapporteur Georges Clerfayt (Belgium–LDR)–acting in his capacity as a member of the Assembly.
According to Armen Rustamian–the chairman of Armenian Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee and PACE delegate–the report foresees sanctions [...]

The book "Javakhk in the 19th Century and the First Quarter of the 20th Century" was recently published. The author Ashot Melkonian–PhD in History–is the director of the Institute for History of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences.
The book covers the political–demographic–and cultural events of Northern Armenia and Javakhk from the ancient times to the [...]

PARIS (Combined Sources)–The well-known French artist of Armenian descent Jeansem (Jean Semerdjian) received a "foreign member" title from the Armenian National Academy of Sciences on June 24. The Armenian Ambassador to France Edward Nalbandian presented the honor to the artist in a ceremony organized by the Armenian Embassy in Paris.
Last year–Jeansem donated a series of [...]