OSCE Office and Armenian Foreign Ministry promote culture of tolerance in Armenia

YEREVAN, 30 September 2005 - The OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia organized a thematic concert in the Armenian National Opera House to promote tolerance in society.

The event, entitled 'Through culture to tolerance', underlined the importance of tolerance education and an open society, both are cornerstones of democratic development.

Armenia, which is home to a small number of very old minority communities, attaches great importance to the open character of its society.

"Tolerance is harmony in diversity, the foundation of democratic societies," said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, at the opening of the concert. "Tolerance is an active attitude prompted by recognition of the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of others. It is not only a moral duty, but also a political and legal requirement."

Armenian Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanian, stated, "In Armenia, none of us - Armenians, Russians, Yezidis, Greeks, Ukrainians, Jews, Iranians, Arabs - are outsiders. We are all citizens of Armenia, living together, working together, creating together."

The music of the well-known Armenian composer, Willi Weiner, whose works are based on the cultural traditions of several nations, was performed by a number of leading Armenian soloists and the Sympho-Jazz Orchestra of the Armenian Public TV and Radio.

A special brochure listing OSCE commitments on tolerance in a number of documents, such as the Helsinki Final Act 1975, the Copenhagen Document 1990, the Cordoba Declaration 2005, and the Paris Charter for a New Europe 1990, was published and distributed to the guests at the event.