PRESS RELEASE
MELKONIAN ALUMNI CYPRUS
Contact: Masis der Parthogh
P.O. Box 16077, CY 2085
Nicosia, Cyprus.
Tel. +357 22 678666
Fax. +357 22 678664
Email: meialumnicy@yahoo.com

____________________________

Melkonian issue tops Armenian MP by-election

Cyprus Mail – Wednesday, September 21, 2005

By Staff Reporter

THE small Armenian community goes to the polls in a by-election on
Sunday, October 9, to choose a new Representative for Parliament after
Bedros Kalaydjian, who held the seat for two terms, died on September 1.

Two candidates have already come forward, both young doctors, who are
already campaigning for the support of the 2,600-member community.

Dr. Vahak Atamyan is a graduate of the Melkonian Educational Institute
and Chairman of the governing board of the Nareg Armenian elementary
schools, and his main rival, Dr. Antranik Ashdjian, chairs the
Armenian National Committee in Cyprus that lobbies for Armenian issues
in Europe and on international fora.

In the eyes of the voters, however, the main issue is the struggle to
save the Melkonian school that was shut in June, depriving the local
community, as well as Armenians of Europe and the Middle East, of the
only boarding high-school with a history of 80 years.

“We need to know if either of the candidates will come clear and
declare their unconditional support for the struggle,” that is
spearheaded by the local and worldwide alumni, a parent told the
Cyprus Mail.

Community members argue that the survival and subsequent reopening of
the Melkonian is vital for the future of the religious group, as
defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Armenians, Maronites and Latins have a Representative each who can
only vote in the parliamentary committees on education, culture and
religion. They sit as observers in the plenary of the 56-seat House.

Other issues, such as the Armenian monastery and churches in the
Turkish occupied north, the reconstruction of the 19th century
cemetery near the Ledra Palace, as well as language and culture issues
are seen as insignificant if the community loses the Melkonian
forever.

“We are currently involved in a court battle to wrest control of the
school and its property, while the New York-based AGBU is adamant on
keeping the school shut and disposing of the assets, wiping out a
vital part of our post-Genocide history and identity,” said an Alumni
spokesman in Nicosia.

“The Armenian Patriarch in Constantinople has intervened and claims
the 125,000 square metre property, the listed historic buildings and
the protected forest are rightly his and not the AGBU’s to dispose of
as they like. He is suing the AGBU in the District Court of Nicosia
and in California,” the Alumni official added.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2005