DIASPORA MINISTER MEETS WITH MELKONIAN ALUMNI MEMBERS
Gibrahayer
Dec 08
Nicosia
Communique from the Association of Melkonian Alumni and Friends
Los Angeles, California – – On November
25, 2008, Armenia’s Minister of the Diaspora, Dr Hranush Hakobyan,
met with the representatives of the Association of Melkonian Alumni
and Friends in the offices of Dr Harout Mesrobian in Glendale. The
meeting lasted approximately one hour. The minister was accompanied
by Mr Armen Liloyan, Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles.
Representing the Association of Melkonian Alumni and Friends at the
meeting were Chairman Raffi Zinzalian and members of the Administrative
Board Harout Mesrobian, Zohrab Shammasian, Vahakn Gharibian, and Garo
Kasabian. The Melkonian alumni brought to the minister’s attention a
number of issues related to the closure of the Melkonian Educational
Institute (MEI) in Cyprus.
The closure of MEI by a decision of the Central Board of the Armenian
General Benevolent Union (AGBU) in June 2005 is no doubt one of the
most pressing issues of the Diaspora by virtue of its broader adverse
consequences. Consequently, it would be appropriate for Armenia’s
Ministry of the Diaspora to take up this issue with high priority.
Legal and other actions undertaken in Los Angeles and Cyprus in the
last few years with the leadership of the Armenian Patriarchate of
Istanbul and the joint efforts of Melkonian alumni20organizations
across the world to halt the closure of MEI have not produced any
positive results. All legal rulings in these actions have favoured
the AGBU.
In late 2006, the Supreme Court of Cyprus ruled and affirmed that the
AGBU has full ownership rights over the MEI properties and that it
can dispose of them as it wishes. This ruling cleared the way for the
immediate sale of the Melkonian properties, which would have happened
had it not been for the intervention of the alumni in Cyprus.
In response to an appeal by the Cyprus alumni, the Cyprus Ministry
of Interior declared the original MEI buildings and 60 percent of
its campus of approximately 40 acres as a historic and architectural
heritage site and the adjoining grove of trees a "green zone." Although
this regulation reduces the monetary value of the Melkonian properties,
it makes the sale of the properties more difficult because it imposes
tough restrictions on any modifications on existing structures and
construction of new buildings in green areas.