THE ARMENIAN LANGUAGE AND HERITAGE ARE IN DANGER – PETITION TO SAVE MELKONIAN SCHOOL

Hye Tert
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ey.php?name=Melkonian_Petition
April 30 2009
Turkey

Please sign the petition below in support of the last school in Europe
where young Armenians can get immersed in Western Armenian culture
while completing their secondary education. It will only take a minute.

Western Armenian language, culture and history are in imminent danger
of extinction if measures are not taken to ensure the survival and
progress of Diaspora communities around the world.

The young Republic of Armenia needs a strong Diaspora, without which,
it cannot survive.

The only way to preserve the identity of present and future generations
of Armenians is by opening and maintaining schools where young men
and women will be educated about their heritage and trained to prepare
and develop their communities.

One such school is the Melkonian Educational Institute in Nicosia,
Cyprus, that was unjustly closed by the AGBU Central Board, denying
current and future generations of young Armenians from Europe,
the Middle East and the rest of the world an education about their
heritage in their own language.

Join this international petition calling on the government of the
Republic of Cyprus to persuade the AGBU Central Board to allow the
historic Melkonian Educational Institute to reopen at its present
location in Nicosia with a new vision for the next generation.

For information on the background of this very pressing question,
please refer to the following articles and links.

Melkonian Alumni and Friends International

Vi deos relating the issue

What Wikipedia says about Melkonian
ducational_Institute

The official statement announcing the closure of the school came
as a surprise to everyone in 2004 but failed to justify any of its
statements. .

March 2009

promote this page about Midk.org

The Melkonian Educational Institute was established as an orphanage in
the hospitable land of Cyprus in 1926, providing shelter to hundreds
of survivors of the Genocide. In view of the significance of the
school and its historic mission, the original school buildings are
recognised and protected by the Republic of Cyprus as part of its
national heritage.[1]

The trees planted by the orphans represent the flourishing Armenian
communities around the world, and are preserved as a symbol of survival
and hope.

Thousands of Armenians who have passed through the Melkonian have
excelled in their communities, becoming leaders in their fields and
contributing to the development of the Armenian culture, education,
language and national identity.

Graduates of the Melkonian have made their mark across the world as
leading figures in the literary, artistic, scientific and business
fields.

The Melkonian school has produced thousands of students and teachers
who are ambassadors of goodwill supporting the just struggle of the
people of Cyprus for a fair solution to its protracted problem.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress