Author: Boshkezenian Garik

NEW CAMPAIGN TO RE-OPEN MELKONIAN
Claudia Konyalian

Cyprus Mail
April 23 2009

A RENEWED campaign to save and reopen the Melkonian Educational
Institute (MEI) has been launched in the form of an international
petition through an on-line facility, , and is running
until the middle of May.

"This petition is published not only in Cyprus, but also in newspapers
in the US, Canada, Armenia, Lebanon, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, and
is not limited to Armenians, but to anyone who supports the cause,"
said Masis der Parthogh, a Melkonian alumnus and one of the main
protagonists in the movement to save the troubled, historic school.

"We are hoping to collect at least 8,000-10,000 signatures. Once we
have a significant number, we will form a delegation to see President
Christofias about the future of the school," der Parthogh said.

On the timing of these actions, der Parthogh explained that the
two-year lease between the the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU)
and the Ministry of Education to house the Aglandjia Gymnasium at the
Melkonian facilities – while the Gymnasium was undergoing repairs –
is expiring this summer. The Ministry has requested an extension,
according to der Parthogh, to remain at Melkonian further. Meanwhile,
however, the current AGBU chairman visited Cyprus in January to meet
President Christofias and House President Garoyian.

"Our fear was that he was here to settle the issue of the estate once
and for all," der Parthogh said. "Obviously they [AGBU] aspired to
have the preservation orders removed, hence the high-level meetings,"
he added.

This rent-free agreement made by the AGBU, whose Central Board in
New York decided on the closure of the Melkonian school in 2005, amid
rampant allegations that the land was to be sold off for profit, was
seen by many as a ‘good PR stunt’ in building relations with the local
authorities. The AGBU had been entrusted with the administration of
the MEI by the founding Melkonian brothers. Legal proceedings ensued
against the AGBU, leading only to a "legal stalemate" – the judges in
Nicosia deciding there were no grounds to proceed – while a similar
case is still "lingering in court" in the US, der Parthogh said.

Students, parents, teachers, and members of the Armenian community
in Cyprus and across the diaspora were outraged at the decision that
brought an end to the only Armenian secondary school in the European
Union with a unique boarding facility that attracted students from
around the world for nearly eight decades, giving young diaspora
members the opportunity to study together and maintain their language,
culture and history. The lease deal nevertheless came as a welcome
delay in the proceedings that threatened the selling off of the real
estate in a prime area of Nicosia, where the 83 year old school stands.

Established in 1926, the Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI)
first operated as an orphanage that housed hundreds of Genocide
survivors. The trees making up the mature forest in front of the school
were planted by the orphans themselves to represent those Armenians
that survived around the world, and this land is part of the 60 per
cent of the total 125,000 sq.m. plot that is under preservation order
by the Cyprus Government. A memorial to the founding Melkonian brothers
stands on the school’s grounds.

"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," the petition website states.

"The government has some obligations toward the Melkonian," der
Parthogh said, pointing out that the MEI is mentioned in the Council of
Europe Charter on Minority Languages, to which Cyprus is subscribed,
as well as to maintain the preservation order that is in currently
in place.

Along with the petition, the group will present revised plans for
the reopening of the school that have been developed by educational
experts from outside Cyprus, taking into consideration future trends
in education, der Parthogh said. The school is important not only
historically, he explained, but to preserve the community’s heritage,
language and culture, that is threatened by the closure of the MEI.

"With no option for continued Armenian education, many parents are
choosing not to send their children to the Nareg elementary schools
either, which potentially threatens those schools’ future also," der
Parthogh said, while referring to a similar situation developing in
Greece. He added that the movement to reopen the MEI is supported in
full by the Armenian Representative in Parliament, Vartkes Mahdessian,
and has the backing of DISY MP Dr. Eleni Theocharous and Green Party
Spokesman, George Perdikis.

‘IT’S SAD THAT THEY’RE UNKNOWN’
Amy Passaretti

The Breeze
%99s-sad-that-they%E2%80%99re-unknown%E2%80%99/
Ap ril 23 2009

HARRISONBURG, Va. — They were human bones with clothes still attached
to them after 10 years; bones of the more than one million lives
taken in cold blood.

Lane Montgomery saw these lasting reminders of a genocide that happened
during the lifetimes of current college students. It was a harrowing
site for the photographer, despite knowing the history before arriving
in Rwanda in 2004.

"It was a terrible shock," Montgomery said. "I didn’t realize how
ignorant I was."

But count this as just one of the many experiences the photographer
and author of "Never Again, Again, Again" has encountered throughout
her years of work in genocide awareness.

Montgomery spoke Monday night to a group of about 25 students
concerning six of the world’s largest genocides, starting with Armenia
in 1914 and ending with the ongoing massacre in Sudan’s western region
of Darfur.

"I think it’ll be your generation that’s going to have some sway in
the issue," Montgomery said. "It’s going back to a period that’s more
like the ’70s where young people are less aware of making $3 million
working on Wall Street, and you know, they’re doing some good."

Ali Shah was particularly impacted by the presentation and kissed
Montgomery’s hand before speaking of how impressed and touched he
was by the work she’s doing.

"She’s doing something great for humanity," said Shah, a junior
transfer student from Pakistan. "We are all creations of God… it’s
pretty hurting when young people are dying. There’s cruelty all
over. It’s hurting."

Other students enjoyed the presentation as well, and feel there is
not enough awareness around JMU’s campus on issues such as genocide.

"I didn’t know much about all of them; it’s sad that they’re unknown,"
said Julia Childers, a sophomore and health sciences major.

Sophomore Jenna Cohn, treasurer of Jewish organization Hillel,
feels there wasn’t a big turnout because people are "sheltered" and
"so focused on their own lives" that they don’t make the effort to
learn about world issues.

Prevention

Montgomery emphasized action at the first sign of genocide within
a country, through diplomatic response. She proposes, in her book,
creating a genocide international prevention corps of as many countries
as possible to be located in the European Union with easy access to
places such as Africa.

"We have to stop it before it starts," Montgomery said. "Once heads
are rolling there’s not much we can do."

Montgomery defined genocide as not concerning faith and prayer, but
about the four ‘Ps’: power, politics, property and perpetration. She
also said it’s a planned thing and isn’t stopped until a set number
of people are killed by those intending to murder.

"Never Again, Again, Again" contains pictures she took in various
countries involved in genocides and also contains archived pictures
of past events she was not there to capture.

The photographs range from starving children in Armenia, dead bodies
being pulled on sleds from the Holocaust, children staring into fields
of human skulls in Cambodia and a picture of a Janjaweed in Darfur. (A
Janjaweed is a person paid by the government to kill people.)

"It’s a different perspective than a student’s because of her
experience," said Beth Mannella, a freshman finance major and
membership chair for Hillel. "She’s seen it first hand; been there,
done it."

EARLY AWARENESS

Montgomery’s interest in human rights stems from her childhood as
a Caucasian who grew up in the small town of Kinston, N.C., where
immigration and segregation were prevalent. Her father was a strong
advocate of black rights and some of her most vivid, earliest memories
involve what she witnessed as a result.

One anecdote Montgomery recalled was when she was about 5 years old
in a store where a black man was handling merchandise. A white sales
woman proceeded to slap his hands and Montgomery went crying to her
father, who reprimanded the woman and got her fired. She said that
her father told the sales woman, "My children are not gonna be brought
up that way."

This was only about the third time Montgomery has spoken to a college
student audience and she hopes to have her book published by University
Press at a cheaper price for students to buy.

Sophomore Anna Owens, an anthropology major, feels that college
students are probably more aware than other people since they "tend
to get more passionate about issues" and there are more diverse crowds
to share ideas.

Holocaust Remembrance Week also included a Tuesday showing of the
documentary "Paperclips," about a middle school class that attempts
to collect six million paperclips to illustrate the six million Jews
killed in the Holocaust. This was followed by a discussion led by
Kevin Apple, a JMU psychology professor. The week concludes today
with Holocaust survivor Jay Ipson, 74, speaking about his experience,
at 7 p.m. in Festival Ballroom.

Cohn said that when a survivor spoke last year, audience members
filled all the seats in Health and Human Services lecture room and
even filled the steps.

"We’re the last generation to be able to hear them," Cohn said. "If
people realize the impact they have, they’ll come."

RICHARD HOVHANNISYAN EXPECTS A HARSH SPEECH WITHOUT THE WORD GENOCIDE
Nvard Davtyan

"Radiolur"
22.04.2009 18:06

UCLA Professor Richard Hovhannisyan told a press conference today that
like the previous years, the pressure on the President of the United
States has considerably grown in April. He hopes Barack Obama will
fulfill his pre-election pledge and will come forth with a stronger
speech on April 24.

Richard Hovhannisyan does not doubt that the pressures from the
Pentagon, Turkey and Armenia have increased ahead of April 24. The
Turkish Government now understands that the dialogue with Armenia
may be endangered if the US recognizes the Armenian Genocide. On the
other hand, Turkey applies an economic pressure: Turkey is a large
consumer of American weapons. There is also the factor of Iraq. Turkey
may refuse to provide its airspace to American planes.

"Turkey is very flexible. It can declare any moment that it’s a
member of the Islamic, Asian or African world, or it can declare it
belongs to Europe. They have an easy way to escape, saying that they
wanted to normalize the relations, but Armenians did not make any
concessions. This is a primitive policy, but sometimes it works,"
Richard Hovhannisyan said.

The Professor does not understand or is not aware of Armenia’s
policy in its relations with Turkey. According to him, the Armenian
President’s initiative of inviti ng the Turkish President to Armenia
was a daring and amazing step, but he would like to see a program
behind it. "I don’t know about the secret programs, but I hope they
exist. We often start on a journey without programs. For example,
let’s say Turkey recognizes the genocide. What are we going to demand
afterwards? Some Armenians say let Turkey simply accept the history,
others speak about the return of the lands of their ancestors. We
have no common national plan."

Professor Hovhannisyan hopes that on April 24 the US President will
fulfill the promise to Armenians. "If Obama uttered the word genocide,
it would be a great moral victory for Armenia. It would pave the way
for many countries to recognize the genocide, thus increasing the
pressure on Turkey," Mr. Hovhannisyan said.

The historian disagrees with the opinion that the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide by Obama will mean the end of the Armenian
Diaspora. On the contrary, the human and financial potential will be
directed towards the development of the Armenian culture. "We cannot
live only morning the crimes of the past," the historian says.

"Even if Obama fails to recognize the genocide on April 24, it won’t
be a tragedy. We have struggled for years and we will continue the
struggle.

At last, the historical fact has already been proven. The problem is
only a political one," Richard Hovhannisyan concluded.

TURKEY, ARMENIA AGREE ‘ROADMAP’ ON NORMALISING TIES

Agence France Presse
April 22 2009

47 minutes ago

ANKARA (AFP) — Turkey and Armenia, troubled neighbours with no
diplomatic ties, have agreed a "roadmap" on normalising relations
in ongoing reconciliation talks, the Turkish foreign ministry said
Wednesday.

The talks, mediated by Switzerland and held away from public eye,
had produced "concrete progress and mutual understanding," said
the statement.

"The two countries… have agreed on a comprehensive framework for
the normalisation of bilateral ties in a way that will satisfy both
sides. A roadmap has been determined in this context," it said.

The progress achieved so far "provides a positive perspective for
the ongoing process," it added, without elaborating on details of
the agreement.

Rare talks between the two neighbours, whose relations have been
marred by a bloody history, gathered steam in September when President
Abdullah Gul paid a landmark visit to Yerevan to watch a football
match.

It was the first such visit by a Turkish leader.

A major issue on the agenda of the talks was the bitter dispute over
whether the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World
War I constituted a genocide.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia because
of Yerevan’s international campaign to have the killings recognized
as genocide.

Wednesday’s statement came just ahead of April 24, the day on which
Armenians remember their dead.

In 1993, Turkey shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity
with close ally Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh conflict,
dealing a heavy economic blow to the impoverished Caucasian nation.

Ankara has ruled out a deal with Armenia unless Yerevan resolves its
conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh.

ARMENIAN STUDENTS WERE GIVEN A CHANCE TO RECEIVE ACADEMIC EDUCATION ABROAD

PanArmenian News
April 20 2009
Armenia

Due to the efforts of Armenian Association for Academic Partnership
and Support (ARMACAD) President Khachik Gevorgyan, a number of famous
universities agreed to assist Armenian students from the whole world
with academic education issues.

Armenian Societies of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard
and Oxford Universities, responding to the call of ARMACAD President,
expressed their readiness to use all the resources available to help
Armenian students wishing to enter foreign universities, starting from
preparation of applications to searching for scholarships and grants.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Armenian Society President Tigran
Sloyan; Armenian Society Representatives at Harvard, Mathew Ghazaryan
and Oxford, Mihran Vardanyan call on Armenian students of other
foreign universities to show more initiative by joining the movement.

"We’re very optimistic about this initiative and hope to be able to
fulfill our ideas and assist Armenian students to receive quality
academic education abroad," ARMACAD President Khachik Gevorgyan told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Armenian dram to fall VS us dollar by end-Q2

YEREVAN, April 18. /ARKA/. The Armenian dram (AMD) vs. US dollar (USD)
rate is expected to total 353 drams per $1 by end-Q2, Cascade
Investments says in its March review of local market.

According to the source, the AMD vs. USD rate is expected to range from
345 drams to 348 drams per $1 between Q3 and Q4.

A shift towards a floating exchange rate put the dram within the range
of AMD 360- 375 for 1 dollar throughout the whole month, Cascade
Investments says.

The pros and cons of this shift have been still debated, however one
thing is clear – the new established rate has put under the ringer the
import conditions and resulted in hoisting prices for consumers’ goods.
Meanwhile, in February, the volume of the dram in circulation shrank
17% compared to January. This may result in abrupt changes of the rate
in case the increased demand for the dram, the specialists of Cascade
Investments say.

According to their forecasts, the AMD vs. USD rate is expected to range
from 350 drams to 355 drams per $1 between Q1 and Q2 2010.

On March 3, the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) officially returned to
the floating national currency exchange rate. According to CBA experts,
the Armenian dram /U.S. dollar exchange rate is expected to range from
AMD 360 to AMD 380 per $1.

From March 4 to April 18, AMD/USD rate showed no drastic ups and downs,

with the lowest and highest levels being recorded on March 9 (359.37
drams per $1) and April 16 (375.92 drams per $1) respectively.

On April 18, the Armenian dram dropped 0.68pct against the US dollar to
372.84 drams per $1. Z. Sh. `0–

Kyiv Post, Ukraine
April 18 2009

Armenia to ‘definitely take part’ in NATO exercise in Georgia

Today, 16:14 | Interfax-Ukraine

Armenia’s Defense Ministry said Armenia "will definitely take part" in
a planned NATO military exercise in Georgia on May 6-June 1, an
exercise Russia has been protesting at.

"After the conference on planning the exercise we will be able to say
definitively what will be the composition [of our forces that] will
take part in this exercise. But we will definitely take part,"
ministry spokesman Seiran Shakhsuvarian told Interfax.

The planned Cooperative Longbow 2009 exercise, announced by NATO on
Wednesday, would bring 1,300 troops from 19 countries some of which
are NATO members and some are not but are involved in the alliance’s
Partnership for Peace program.

The first phase of the exercise would take place in Georgia’s capital,
Tbilisi. The second will be field maneuvers at the Vaziani military
base on May 18-June 1.

On Friday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev described the planned
exercise as a "shortsighted" move that "doesn’t help strengthen
Russia’s contacts with NATO."

The day before, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters
in Yerevan that Cooperative Longbow 2009 would not be conducive to
stability in the Caucasus.

Russian permanent envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin told Interfax: "On
Wednesday we sent an official appeal to the NATO secretary general,
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, with a proposal for putting off the NATO
military exercise that is due to take place in Georgia shortly or for
canceling it altogether."

SERZH SARGSYAN: KARABAKH CANNOT BE GIVEN TO AZERBAIJAN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES

TEHRAN
APRIL 16,
NOYAN TAPAN

On the second day of his official visit to IRI, on April 14, RA
President Serzh Sargsyan met with nearly 3000 representatives of the
Iranian Armenian community at the Ararat sports and concert complex.

"There are, on the one hand, warm human and, on the other hand,
practical, mutually beneficial relations between the friendly peoples
and countries of Armenia and Iran," the RA President said assessing
the negotiations within the framework of his visit as "successful." He
thanked his Iranian colleagues for thier constructive position and
readiness for all-round development of Armenian-Iranian relations. He
also expressed gratitude to Iranian Armenians. "It is not accidental
that the emphasized positive attitude to Iranian Armenians is even
stipulated by the IRI Constitution today," the RA President said.

S. Sargsyan also emphasized that Armenian churches, schools and
libraries, many public and spiritual centers, large Armenian literary
heritage prospered in the Iranian land and became an integral part
of Iranian spiritual-cultural heritage. It is not accidental that
in 2008 UNESCO recognized the Armenian magnificent monuments, Saint
Tadevos Apostle, Tade Church (which is perhaps the oldest monument
of early Christian world) part of Iranian world historic heritage.

"Our duty is to establish the Armenian-Iranian wisdom of stability
and peace in the whole region," the RA President said. He emphasized
that tolerance, peace, and cooperation are not merely ideas for the
two peoples, the peoples’ wisdom made those ideas reality. According
to S. Sargsyan, Armenian people’s mission to the world is clear,
an Armenian should be a good citizen of his country wherever he lives.

"We are firm in the issue of solving the problems faced by
our country," the RA President assured stating that Armenia’s
position in the issue of Nagorno Karabakh peaceful settlement
is unchanged: Karabakh cannot be given to Azerbaijan under any
curcumstances. "Azerbaijan’s claims to Artsakh have neither legal
nor historic and moral ground. And Nagorno Karabakh cannot be part of
Azerbaijan: in this issue Azerbaijan long ago exhausted all supplies
of confidence," S. Sargsyan stated.

Touching upon the Armenian-Turkish relations, the RA President said:
"The truth is the following: we are ready to establish normal relations
with Turkey without preconditions. Turkey has not been ready for it
so far. Now it seems that prerequisites are created for coming out
of this inadmissible condition when the neighboring states do not
have even diplomatic relations.

However, here, in this hall I should reiterate that to establish
relations with Turkey does not mean at all to call into question the
Armenian Genocide.

At the end of the meeting S. Sargsyan gave the Ararat center the
cross-paper authored by Ararat Sargsian, which is the copy of one of
Jugha cross-stones destroyed by Azeris.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: NO DEAL YET IN TURKEY BORDER TALKS

Agence France Presse
April 16 2009

Talks between Armenia and Turkey on establishing diplomatic ties and
opening their border are making progress but no deal has been reached,
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said Thursday.

"There is no intention today for us to sign an agreement with
the Turkish side. Negotiations continue," Nalbandian told a news
conference. "There is progress and we think that we really may be
very close to resolving this question in the near future," he said
during a meeting of Black Sea region countries seeking closer economic
cooperation. Media reports had speculated the two feuding countries
may sign an agreement during Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan’s
visit to Armenia Thursday for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
meeting. Babacan didn’t take part in the press conference and wasn’t
available for comment. His trip coincides with stepped-up efforts
between Turkey and Armenia to resolve disputes stemming from a bloody
history. Reconciliation talks between the countries, held away from
public eye, gathered steam in September when President Abdullah Gul
paid a landmark visit to Armenia, the first by a Turkish leader,
to watch a football match. But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan last week ruled out a deal with Armenia unless Yerevan
resolved its conflict with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorny
Karabakh region. Azerbaijan has expressed concern Turkey may be
setting aside the Karabakh question in its talks with Armenia.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia because
of Yerevan’s international campaign to have the mass killings of
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire recognized as genocide. In 1993,
Turkey also shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity with
close ally Azerbaijan over the Karabakh conflict, dealing a serious
economic blow to the impoverished Caucasian nation. During a visit to
Turkey this month, U.S. President Barack Obama urged both countries to
"move forward" in their talks and signaled he wouldn’t interfere in
their dispute over Armenia’s genocide claims.

ARMENIAN LEADER URGES POLICE TO BOOST PUBLIC TRUST

Public Television of Armenia
April 16 2009

President Serzh Sargsyan has signed a decree on awarding a group
of police employees for their input in law-enforcement activities
and bravery expressed while carrying out their duties before the
motherland on the occasion of the Day of Police.

Serzh Sargsyan personally presented the high state awards. The
president congratulated the awardees, saying that the preservation
of a newly-established state was the evidence of numerous sacrifices
of policemen. We are proud of all the people who were involved in the
fight against crime along with protecting the borders of our motherland
in the first days of independence. These people voluntarily doubled
risks and work [for themselves], devotedly protecting the independence
and reputation of Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh, security, rights,
honour and dignity of our citizens, the president of the country said.

[Sargsyan] I am happy that those people who chose the path of serving
our public and state and who have their input in the establishment of
the police system and strengthening of law, order and legality in our
country, are being presented with high state awards. My requirement
to you has not changed – I already said once that if the public trusts
law-enforcers, then, at large, it trusts the state as well. You are the
entity which continuously communicates with people. This is one of the
most complicated types of work, and the trust of an Armenian citizen
in the law-enforcement system and the state is shaped as a result of
it. I understand that requesting results is easy, it is more difficult
to achieve them, and especially maintain and multiply these results. In
this regard, the state has things to do and the number of these things
will continuously increase along with the state’s capacities.