Author: Karagyozian Lena

IRANIAN PLANE CRASHES AFTER FIRE, KILLING 168 Module Body
Zahra Hosseinian and Fredrik Dahl

Reuters
July 15 2009

TEHRAN (Reuters) – A Tupolev aircraft crashed in Iran on Wednesday
on its way to Armenia killing all 168 people on board and one senior
Iranian official said the plane had caught fire in the air after
suffering technical problems.

In the worst crash in Iran for six years, the Russian-built Caspian
Airlines plane plowed into farmland with 153 passengers and 15 crew
on board, gouging a deep smoking crater in the ground.

The aircraft, traveling to Armenia’s capital Yerevan from Tehran,
crashed near the northwestern city of Qazvin shortly before noon
(0730 GMT) after about 16 minutes in the air.

Eight members of Iran’s national junior judo team and two coaches
were among the dead as well as a former Iranian MP representing Iran’s
Armenian minority and, reportedly, the wife of the head of Georgia’s
diplomatic mission in Iran.

Weeping relatives and friends gathered at Yerevan airport where a
notice on a wall listed people who were on board. Iran is home to
thousands of ethnic Armenians. Doctors treated relatives for shock
and heart problems.

Fina Karapetian, an Armenian in her 30s, said her sister and two
nephews, 11 and 6, were on board the crashed plane. "I heard everyone
in the aircraft has died. What will I do without Armen and Vahe,"
she said, before fainting.

"The Tupolev plane has been totally destroyed and the corpses,
unfortunately, have been totally burned and destroyed," Qazvin police
commander Massoud Jafarinasab told the semi-official Fars News Agency.

Iranian television showed footage of debris and body parts and a
smoking trench with mangled pieces of metal scattered around. Smoke
rose from the site as police and bystanders gathered around.

Senior Iranian provincial official, Sirous Saberi, said the
aircraft had had technical problems and tried to make an emergency
landing. "Unfortunately the plane caught fire in the air and it
crashed," he told Fars.

A witness said he had seen the plane’s left engine on fire in the air,
state broadcaster IRIB said.

But state radio said the pilot had made no mention of any technical
problem in a taped conversation with a control tower.

"On board the plane there were 151 adults, 2 children and 15 crew
members," Caspian Airline’s representative in Yerevan Arlen Davudyan
told Reuters at the airport.

"Fifteen or sixteen minutes after take-off the plane fell near the
Iranian city Qazvin about 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of Tehran,"
he said, adding it was a Tu-154 and the cause of the crash was not
clear nor had the black box been found.

MAJOR DISASTER

"It’s been a major disaster with pieces of aircraft spread over an
area of 200 sq meters," a fire brigade official said.

"There was an explosion which left an indentation 10 meters deep in
the ground. There was nothing we could do. We tried to put out the
fire as best we could," he told state television.

Caspian Airline’s Davudyan said around 20-25 passengers were Armenian
citizens. Iran is home to some 100,000 ethnic Armenians, many of
whom frequently use the flights between Tehran and Yerevan to visit
relatives in Armenia.

An official from Georgia’s embassy in Yerevan was on board and the wife
of the head of its diplomatic mission in Tehran, Gocha Gvaramadze,
was also believed to be on the plane, an official from Georgia’s
Embassy in Armenia told Rustavi-2 TV.

A boarding card belonging to a Japanese citizen was found at the
crash site, IRNA said.

Air safety experts have said Iran has a poor record, with a string
of crashes in the past few decades — many involving Russian-made
aircraft.

U.S. sanctions against Iran have prevented it from buying new aircraft
or spares from the West, forcing it to supplement its aging fleet of
Boeing and Airbus planes with aircraft from the former Soviet Union.

It was the third deadly crash of a Tupolev Tu-154 in Iran since
2002 and the deadliest crash since 2003 when an Ilyushin Il-76,
also Russian built, crashed into an Iranian mountain.

In September 2006, 29 people were killed when an Iran Air Tour Tupolev
154 passenger plane caught fire on landing in the northeastern city
of Mashhad. In 2002, all 118 people aboard were killed when an Iran
Air Tours Tupolev 154 crashed near the western city of Khorramabad.

In February 2003, an Iranian Ilyushin-76 troop carrier crashes in
southeastern Iran killing all 276 Revolutionary Guard soldiers and
crew aboard.

Tehran-based Caspian Airlines was set up in 1993 and flies an
all-Tupolev fleet linking Iranian cities and also routes to the United
Arab Emirates, Ukraine and Armenia.

(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Tehran, Hasmik Lazarian in
Yerevan, Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi and Jon Hemming, Jason Neely
in London; Writing by Fredrik Dahl and Peter Millership; Editing by
Louise Ireland)

MADRID PRINCIPLES LEAD TO WAR

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
14.07.2009 19:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Madrid principles are leading to a war, Armenian
bloggers stated at the news conference.

According to Hayk Balanyan, during all these years MG OSCE mission
consisted in conflict settlement in the region. Current status quo
was suitable both to conflicting parties and mediators. At present the
situation has changed: no one is comfortable with status quo, and even
less so, USA and Russia, as both states are interested in expanding
their influence to Caucasus. "Yet, their interests aren’t similar, so
a need arises to introduce changes. The only way to change the status
quo mechanism is the war," Balanyan said, adding in recent years MG
OSCE has been watching the course of negotiations. By approving of
Madrid principles, MG OSCE doesn’t exclude the possibility of war.

In the joint statement, issued by MG OSCE Co-Chairs on July 10,
209 at the L’Aquila Summit, Basic Principles for settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are finally specified.

In their declaration, Armenian bloggers announced Madrid principles
to be disastrous for RA, Artsakh and the Armenian nation. "Ceding
territories, which are a part of NKR and the only real safety guarantee
for NKR and RA, return of so called Azeri refugees to Artsakh, as well
as allocation of any military force besides RA Armed Forces in NKR,
radically contradict the interests of Armenian nation and threaten
the future of Armenian statehood," the statement said.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: THE REFERENDUM IN THE NKR WILL BE HELD IN THE PROPORTIONS OF 1998 WHEN ARMENIAN POPULATION OF KARABAKH WAS 80%

ArmInfo
2009-07-14 14:45:00

ArmInfo. The referendum on determination of Nagornyy Karabakh
status will be held in the ethic proportions of 1998 when Armenian
population of Karabakh was 80%, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister,
Shavarsh Kocharyan, said in an interview with Armenian Public TV.

‘I hope on quick joining of the NKR the negotiating process. The
points published at the OSCE web site are regarding just the NKR,
and here a question may rise why the heads of the Minsk Group co-chair
states when applying to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, did
not apply to the president of Nagornyy Karabakh Republic, since such
an application would mean recognition of the NKR subjectiveness. But
the published points already contain fixing of such subjectiveness
after which it will be possible for the NKR to join the negotiating
process as a participant’, – Kocharyan said.

e also added that there are problems which are first of all regarding
the NKR and the challenge of the presidents of Russia, the USA and
France may promote its becoming a participant in the negotiating
process.

US Fed News
July 11, 2009 Saturday 8:42 AM EST

PAMBOOKIAN AMONG FIRST-GENERATION IMMIGRANTS HONORED BY GOVERNOR TED
STRICKLAND

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio, July 10 — Shawnee State University issued the
following news release:

Dr. Hagop S. Pambookian, professor emeritus of psychology at Shawnee
State University, Portsmouth, Ohio, was among several first-generation
immigrants honored by Governor Ted Strickland for significant
contributions made to the state of Ohio. The honorees were hosted at a
reception recently in Cincinnati. "This celebration was especially
meaningful for me," Pambookian said, "because it was about ways that
we, as immigrants, have contributed to the diversity of Ohio and have
worked to bring about a greater awareness of international cultures
and issues. That has been important to me my entire life. I believe
the more we learn about other cultures, the more we see that we are
all the same – and the more we appreciate the world in which we live."

Pambookian, the son of Armenian genocide survivors, came to the United
States from Lebanon in August 1961 for his advanced degrees in
psychology, after earning his undergraduate degree from the American
University of Beirut (AUB). In the U.S., he received a master’s degree
from Columbia University Teachers College, New York City, and a
doctorate degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His
contributions to the state of Ohio began in 1987 when he moved to
Portsmouth to serve as associate professor of psychology at Shawnee
State University. He developed the psychology degree program and began
contributing to the internationalization of the University. He
initiated the annual "International Awareness Week" celebration;
organized and hosted visiting Fulbright scholars from Hungary,
Romania, South Korea, Russia, the People’s Republic of China, and
Armenia; and played a leadership role in the establishment and
operation of the Ohio International Consortium. Following Pambookian’s
year-long Ohio Humanities Council grant on "Perestroika, Changes, and
Developments in the USSR: What Next?" project, he played a key role in
establishing the first international exchange program at SSU with the
University of Nizhny Novgorod in Russia. In May 1997, the Ohio
Education Association honored him with the "Paul Swaddling Award" for
his contributions to international understanding and peace. In
addition to his contributions to Shawnee State University, Pambookian
has contributed to life and culture of Ohio statewide and globally. He
has promoted the state of Ohio, as well as the U.S., around the world
in more than 20 countries, as international conference presenter and
guest lecturer at universities. Recently, he gave a keynote address on
"Psychology around the World: The Asian Experience" at the 2nd Asian
Psychological Association Convention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and,
earlier, on the "International Dimensions of Psychology for a New
Century" at the 56th Annual Convention of the International Council of
Psychologists in Melbourne, Australia. For his U.S. and international
involvement and contributions, Pambookian has been honored by various
professional and civic organizations. He is a Fellow of the American
Psychological Association and an Emeritus Member of the Phi Delta
Kappa, an international association for educators. He has been elected
a foreign member of the International Academy of Psychological
Sciences in Yaroslavl, Russia; the Armenian Philosophical Academy in
Yerevan, Armenia; and the Academy of Pedagogical-Psychological
Sciences in Yerevan, Armenia. Pambookian has been a Senior Fulbright
Fellow, 1978-79, in the USSR and taught psychology at the Yerevan
State University in Yerevan, Armenia. He was the first U.S. scholar to
receive a nine-month long Fulbright Award for the Soviet Union and the
first Fulbright Fellow to teach psychology in the Republic of
Armenia. As part of his ongoing donations and commitment to
scholarship, the "Pambookian Foundation" was initiated and the
Fundamental Library of the Armenian Academy of Sciences, the Republic
of Armenia, now has more than 3,300 English language psychology books
and various psychology journals Pambookian donated. "Just as I believe
we learn from other cultures, I also believe people and social
scientists in other countries can learn from the western point of
view," Pambookian said. "By sharing knowledge, experiences, and
cultures, the world becomes a better place."

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: "CHANCES FOR SOLUTION OF NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT ARE NOT SO BAD"

APA
July 10 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says that chances for
solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict are not so bad, APA reports
quoting RIA Novosti. Medvedev said there was a progress in solution
of Nagorno Karabakh conflict in comparison with others.

According to him, Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents listen and
understand each other: "The points the sides should reach an agreement
are gradually reducing. I think the positions may be coordinated. This
is not a process to last for decades. I think the sides can achieve
a result. We are committed to assisting our partners in the Minsk
Group, to be honest we ourselves will work on this issue. The main
point is that the sides should demonstrate their wills to reach an
agreement. I still observe this will".

AREXIMBANK – GAZPROMBANK GROUP OFFERS SUMMER DISCOUNTS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
09.07.2009 18:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During summer holidays from July 1 to August 1 of
2009 Areximbank – Gazprombank Group will provide international plastic
cards Visa Classic and Mastercard Standard free of charge, with no
balance and service annual fee, press-office of the bank reports.

Visa Gold and Mastercard Gold will be provided without a balance at
a 50 percent discount.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Over 4,000 People Attend AGBU Ardavazt Theater’s "Who Is My Father?"
Performances

The AGBU Ardavazt Theater Company of Southern California presented the
two-act comedy "Who Is My Father?" at Pasadena’s AGBU Alex Manoogian
Center for eleven performances between February 7 and March 15, 2009,
with an average attendance of 300 per performance. The production’s
success created the need for additional presentations on May 9 and 10,
and an encore performance was presented weeks later for the Montreal
community at the city’s AGBU Center on May 23.

The impetus for Ardavazt’s latest production began in 2003, when
Ardavazt enjoyed great success with an Armenian production of "Yergu
Gnig, Meg Erig" (Two Wives, One Husband) by British dramatist Ray
Cooney. This prompted Ardavazt director Krikor Satamian to translate
another Cooney play, "It Runs in the Family," which he adapted to
contemporary California-Armenian life, making it more immediate and
comical, and in the process changed its name to "Who Is My Father?"

The setting of this fast-moving farce, full of twists and turns, is the
doctors’ lounge of Glendale’s St. Matthew Hospital, where preparations
are being made for Christmas celebrations. The main event is an
international medical convention, at which Dr. David Ezajian is the
principal speaker. Suddenly, Hasmig Sarian, a former head nurse at the
hospital, appears and announces that Dr. Ezajian is the father of her
18-year-old son, named Sevag. Dr. Ezajian becomes flustered over this
unexpected news, particularly since his newly discovered son is arrested
by the police while driving without a license. A truly comical
atmosphere is created in this chaotic situation, as one lie after
another is revealed.

An instant classic, the Armenian-language production has garnered
critical acclaim from Armenian publications across California and
Montreal, including Kevork Bedigian for Asbarez (February 26, 2009),
D.A. Vanadour for Massis (February 28, 2009), Sarkis Majarian for Nor
Hayastan (March 6, 2009), Khachig Janoyan for Nor Or (March 7, 2009), K.
Dertadian Kouyoumdjian for Abaka (June 22, 2009) and an anonymous review
in Nor Gyank (March 12, 2009).

Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually serving some
400,000 Armenians on six continents.

"ARMENIAN SPIRIT" AT VIENNA JAZZ FESTIVAL

Noyan Tapan
July 6, 2009

VIENNA, JULY 6, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Azg daily, citing
the Austrian Klayne Tsajtung newspaper’s June 30 publication, reported
that the 19th Festival of Jazz with Armenian national music and Korean
rhythm was launched on June 29 in Vienna.

The audience could listen to Austria-based Karen Asatrian’s "Armenian
Spirit" group’s national music with jazz elements, as well as the
performances of the "Red Sun" and "Samul Nori" groups at the beginning
of the the open-air concert in Rathausplats of Vienna. The concert
continued under the cover of the Rathaus because of the rain.

The 19th Vienna Jazz Festival will be closed on July 9. 63 concerts
with participation of musicians from 20 countries are included in
festival’s program.

Iran-Armenia gas main to expand annual supply to 2.3 billion cubic
meters from 2011

YEREVAN, July 3. /ARKA/. Iran-Armenia gas main’s annual supply will
reach 2.3bln cubic meters in 2011, said Ashot Hovsepyan, deputy
director general of Armenia’s gas supply monopoly ArmRusGasProm.

Citing a relevant agreement between the Yerevan-based heat station and
Iran’s gas exports company, Hovsepyan said annual supplies of the
Iranian gas would increase from 1.1bln cubic meters to 2.3bln cubic
meters starting from 2011.

The Yerevan-based heat station daily needs about 300,000 cubic meters
of gas (1mln cubic meters on particular days), the ArmRusGasProm deputy
director general said. `If the heat station demands an increase in gas
supplies, we will expand the deliveries,’ he added.

With the gas main being ready for operations, the working pressure
needs to be amplified in order to increase gas imports, according to
Hovsepyan.

`We must get ready to put the gas main into operation in case of a
serious accidental fault. We are carrying out activities to expand
Iranian gas imports,’ he said.

Iran launched gas flows to Armenia on May 15, 2009, as part of the
agreement gas in return of electricity. Iran is to supply Armenia with
1 cubic meter of natural gas in exchange for 3kWh electricity.

The Armenian government initiated Iran-Armenia gas main construction in
2004. The project aims=2
0at boosting gas imports to Armenia.

The Yerevan-based heat station was established between 1963 and 1967.
The station’s nominal capacity is 550MW, with only one of the seven
aggregates (50 MW) operating at present. The new combines-cycle power
unit of the heat station will launch operations in 2010. Z. Sh.’0–

SUNDAY SCHOOLS’ TEACHERS OF ARMENIAN DIOCESES OF ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH HAVE RETRAINING IN TSAKHKADZOR

Noyan Tapan
July 3, 2009

TSAKHKADZOR, JULY 3, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. With the
consecration of His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II, about 80 teachers
of more than 50 sunday schools of Armenian dioceses of Armenian
Apostolic Church had a retraining in Tsakhkadzor last week. According
to the Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin,
the lectures passed on the initiative of Christian Bringing-up Center
of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin and World Vision international
benevolent organization’s Armenian office.

The lectures on the themes of holy-writings, religion, the system of
Armenian church’s ceremonies, symbols, piety traditions, as well as
on the methodical themes were held during the retrainings. The group
discussions followed the day’s discussions, during which the teachers
offered methods for carrying out the teacher-pupil, teacher-parent,
teacher-church cooperation.

Within the framework of the lectures the teachers were given spiritual
literature and certificates.

A conference was held on June 29, which was attended by 20 active
priests promoting activity in one-day schools, who directly supervise
the whole work done at the schools. A discussion on the theme "The
ways of improving the activity of one-day schools" also took place.