Author: Kharatian Ani

ARMENIA TO HOST REANIMANIA 2009 INTERNATIONAL ANIMATED FILM FESTIVAL
Sona Hakobyan

"Radiolur"
29.06.2009 18:20

Animania 2009 International Animated Film Festival will be held in
Armenia from October 3 to 6. ReAnimania’s goals are to facilitate
the development of animation art, educate a new generation of world
class animators and provide a forum for presenting works of Armenian
animators on the international arena as well as introduce examples
of the world’s finest animated films to the Armenian audience.

The Festival aims to gather the best animation films and animators in
Armenia once a year and pay special attention to regional cooperation.

"Saying an animation film we do not mean just a cartoon. It’s a film
shot with application of animation technologies," founding director
of the Festival Vrezh Ksuni told a press conference today. According
to him, the festival will promote the development of the animation
art in Armenia and provide a forum for presenting works of Armenian
animators on the international arena.

Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ardabil Provincial TV, Ardabil
June 26 2009

Iran’s Ardabil protests Israeli president’s visit to Azerbaijan

[Presenter] Following Friday prayers today, representatives of various
strata of society staged a rally on the Sarcheshme Square in Ardabil
[city] to condemn a planned visit to Azerbaijan by the head of the
Zionist regime.

[Reporter interviewing protesters in Azari] What is the aim of the
Israeli [president’s] visit to Azerbaijan?

[Unidentified man, in Azari] The aim of Israel is to work against the
Muslims of Azerbaijan, to separate them from the Muslims of Iran and
incite discord among them. We strongly condemn this action.

[Reporter, in Azari] What is the duty of Muslim Azaris?

[Unidentified protester, in Azari] The duty of Azeris is to unite and
condemn the visit by staging rallies.

[Reporter] What is your message for Israel?

[Another man, in Azari] My message for Israel is: Be calm, criminal
Israel. It is enough. They have to understand that they cannot do
anything.

[Reporter, in Azari] What should be the duty of Muslims in Baku in
this regard?

[Unidentified protester, in Azari] They must be vigilant and they must
decide their destiny by themselves.

[Reporter, in Azari] What is your motto against Israel today?

[Protester, in Azari] Our permanent motto is "Death to Israel". Imam
[Khomeyni] said that it [Israel] is like cancer. We will not be able
to live in peace until it is eliminated.

[Unidentified man, in Azari] A man, who is a criminal, a bloodsucker
and a perpetrator of the killings of children and women and a lot of
crimes in Gaza, intends to come to Baku and meet high-ranking
officials. It is the biggest shame for Muslims. We consider this as
the biggest shame and condemn this strongly.

[Presenter] During the rally, the Israeli flag was set on fire and a
six-paragraph statement was read out. This statement condemned the
killings of women and innocent children by the Zionist regime, and
made a suggestion to the government of Azerbaijan about its relations
with the Israeli government. The statement also said that the
invitation of Shimon Peres indicated the ceding of several Azerbaijani
territories to Armenia. It called for respect for holy shrines,
mosques and religious values in Baku. The statement also urged
Azerbaijani Muslims to protest this action, saying that the diligent
people of Ardabil are ready to defend Iran’s northern border.

Shimon Peres,president of the aggressor, Israel, will arrive in Baku
in a few days at the invitation of the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham
Aliyev.

[Video shows protesters chanting "Death to America", "Death to
Israel", and "Death to Britain". Protesters also held a banner reading
"Ilham is worse than an Armenian; Ilham, fall out with Zionists".]

[translated from Persian]

UNDP IN ARMENIA MARKED INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE AND ILLICIT TRAFFICKING

armradio.am
26.06.2009 13:26

On 25-26 June 2009 the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in Armenia organized a national workshop in Tsahkadzor on drug related
legislation for lawyers and legal experts representing all drug related
institutions of Armenia. During the two-day event the participants
exchanged views aimed at improving drug related legislation in Armenia
to conform to the international best practices.

Within the framework of the workshop, the International Day Against
Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was marked on 26 June. This year the
theme is "Do drugs control your life? Your life. Your community. No
place for drugs." The goal of the campaign is to mobilize support
and to inspire people to act against drug abuse and trafficking. The
campaign encourages young people to put their health first and not
to take drugs.

According to 2008 World Drug Report data, nearly 200 million people
are using illicit drugs worldwide. Cannabis (marihuana, hashish)
leads by far with 162 million users. An estimated 16 million people
use opiates, including heroin and some 13 million people use cocaine.

Based on 2005 WHO estimates, the number of Intravenous Drug Users in
Armenia varies from 7000 to 11000 people. According to the official
data from the police, 1084 cases of drug related crimes and 6 cases
of drug20related administrative offences had been reported in 2007,
whereas in 2004 this number was 411. The number of patients admitted
for treatment in Armenia has increased sharply over the last 6 years
from 7 in 2002 to 466 in 2008.

"Despite the major efforts of Armenian authorities and international
organizations, drug abuse still remains a serious problem. It is
alarming that the majority of the victims of drug abuse are young
people, being not able to handle social pressures like peer influence,
unemployment and poverty," said Mr. Dirk Boberg, UNDP Deputy Resident
Representative.

The United Nations has played a central role the fight against
drugs. Since 2001 UNDP in Armenia implements the EU funded South
Caucasus Anti Drug programme (SCAD) with an overall objective of
its fifth phase to reinforce EU good practices in the field of drug
policies.

Within the framework of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and
Illicit Trafficking, SCAD-V programme in Armenia, in close cooperation
with the Government of Armenia, has carried out a series of awareness
raising projects. In particular, parents from 5 schools were trained
on primary drug prevention issues to exchange their knowledge
with other parents from those schools. PSAs on drug prevention,
targeting parents and youngsters, are being broadcasted throughout
the country. Two types of leaflets for parents and youth are being
disseminated through the "Star" supermarket chain. 1000 copies of a
parents’ guidebook "Your kids and drugs; what you can do as a parent"
was developed and published to be distributed among the parents of at
risk youth. Finally, a healthy lifestyle poster devoted to 26 June
was developed and published in 3000 copies to be distributed in all
Armenian schools.

STABILITY AND LASTING PEACE ARE URGENT FOR SOUTH CAUCASUS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
25.06.2009 18:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Few peoples in the world can take pride in deep,
lasting, and friendly relations such as those between the Armenian and
Georgian people," RA president Serzh Sargsyan said at the reception
on occasion of the Georgian president visit to Armenia. Stability
and lasting peace are urgent for all states of the South Caucasus,
president Sargsyan said.

Serzh Srgsyan expressed confidence, that economic relations are
at the core of firm and long-lasting partnership. "I hope we can
raise effectiveness of our bilateral cooperation," RA president said,
stressing that cooperation is particularly important in the conditions
of the global crisis.

Armenian president stressed significance of cooperation in the fringes
of international initiatives. According to him, EU Eastern partnership
offers new opportunities for the two countries.

The visit of Mikhail Sahakashvili will give a new impetus for
strengthening of the Armenian-Georgian relations, Serzh Sargsyan said.

MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI: GEORGIA AND ARMENIA ARE EACH OTHER’S CONTINUATION

Noyan Tapan
June 25, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
at the June 25 meeting with Yerevan State University lecturers and
students held within the framework of his official visit to Armenia
stated that Georgia and Armenia are each other’s continuation and
complement each other, and cooperation between the two countries need
to be deepened and expanded.

Besides, according to him, the Caucasus should become unified and all
conflicts should be solved peacefully, foreign forces should not be
permitted to make "manipulations" in the region.

M. Saakashvili said that large-scale reforms have been carried
out in Georgia during his tenure, as a result of which considerable
progress has been recorded in fighting corruption, crime has decreased
three-fold, two-fold reduction of taxes has had a positive influence,
the business atmosphere has been improved. In his words, Armenia has
also recorded progress in that respect.

Mentioning that many prominent Georgian Armenians, Sayat-Nova,
Sergey Parajanov, Tigran Petrosian, and others are Georgia’s pride,
M. Saakashvili said: "We do not divide Georgia into ethnic groups,
we treat all ethnic groups equally." The Georgian President assured
that the volume of investments made in Javakhk exceeds the same
volume in another territory of Georgia. He said that an important road
construction program is being implemented, which will connect Europe
with China, and that road will lay through Javakhk, and construction
of an electric power plant will involve several thousand people.

As to the recent incident of prohibiting RA NA deputy Shirak Torosian
to enter the territory of Georgia, M. Saakashvili said that there
are political figures, whose activity is neither in Armenia’s nor in
Georgia’s interests.

In response to the question of why transit of goods to Armenia is
two-fold more expensive than transit to Azerbaijan, M. Saakashvili
said that the reason is small volumes of commodity circulation, and
when their volume increases, the tariffs will fall. In response to
a question about prospects of Georgian-Russian relations he stated
that Russia should recognize Georgia’s territorial integrity.

YSU Rector Aram Simonian publicized scientific council’s decision,
according to which the Georgian President was given the title of YSU
Honorary Doctor and was awarded University Gold Medal.

The same day the Georgian President accompanied by RA Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian visited Yerevan Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex
and laid a wreath.

DOUBLE TAX AGREEMENT WITH ARMENIA SIGNED

Station
id=24054
June 23 2009
Luxembourg

On Tuesday, 23 June , while the Luxembourg celebrations were still
taking place, the Treasury Minister, Luc Frieden and Ambassador of
the Republic of Armenia in Luxembourg Viguen Tchitetchian, signed an
agreement to avoid double taxation and tax evasion with respect to
taxes on income and wealth between Luxembourg and Armenia.

This agreement with Armenia, one of the oldest civilizations in
the world, serves to strengthen economic relations between the two
countries.

According to the decision of the Government of Luxembourg, 13 March
2009, the agreement is the model of the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD).

PRESS RELEASE
THE SMILE PROJECT
USA contact: Madlene Minassian, [email protected]
(818) 434-1725
Armenia contact: Erik Grigorian, [email protected]
(+374) 99 00 25 30

June 23, 2009
SMILE PROJECT IN ARMENIA ADDRESSES THE SURGICAL NEEDS OF THE
CLEFT LIP & CLEFT PALATE COMMUNITY IN ARMENIA FOR THE NEXT 5 – YEARS

Initiative is a collaborative effort of many non-governmental
organizations and Ministry of Health

The Smile Project is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Health of the
Republic of Armenia, the Smile Network International, Arabkir Medical
Center, Cafesjian Family Foundation and Hope for the City, Fund for Armenian
Relief, Hand in Hand Foundation (Nagorno-Karabakh), the Armenian Gospel
Mission, Ministry of Health of Nagorno- Karabakh, Yerevan State Medical
University, and philanthropists Arthur Ispirian and Madlene
Minassian-Ispirian.

YEREVAN – The Smile Project, a private-public initiative that provides free
reconstructive surgery to Armenian children and young adults with cleft lip
and palate birth defects, launched its second surgical mission in Yerevan
this month.

A team of medical professionals from Smile Network International (SNI), a
nonprofit organization that provides reconstructive surgeries, arrived in
Yerevan to perform the surgeries. One June 20th and 21st, the Smile Project
assessed over 150 surgical candidates and between June 22nd and July 3rd,
the SNI surgical team will perform a second round of fifty to fifty-five
surgeries for patients from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh suffering from
congenital cleft lip and cleft palate deformities.

The Smile Project organized a similar campaign in October of 2008, when the
SNI surgical team operated on 51 patients from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
After the second mission the Smile Project will have addressed the majority
of cleft lip & cleft palate needs in Armenia for the next five years, while
leaving back local expertise and capacity to address those new cases to come
and those patients who have not been selected within these 100 surgeries.

`Like all children, these children are born beautiful, but it is only after
this life changing procedure that the entire world sees their beauty.
Through these life-changing reconstructive surgeries, the children and young
adults undergoing those procedures will now receive a smile, and with a
smile will come new friends, opportunities, and a better life,’ said Tatul
Hakobyan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Health. `We can already see
the
impact of the operations from October 2008, on many of our children’s lives,
and impatiently await the second round of smiles,’ Madlene
Minassian-Ispirian co-founder and director of the Smile Project concluded.

Patients with cleft lip or cleft palate have difficulty eating, drinking,
and speaking. As a result, they suffer from malnourishment, stunted
development, and lethargy. `We are proud that within two years with the
massive support of our partner organizations we will have addressed the need
for a majority of Armenia’s congenital cleft lip & cleft palate population’
says Arabkir Medical Center Plastic Surgeon Hrachya Arshakyan, who has been
instrumental in implementing the project.

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia along with Arabkir
Medical Center hosts the surgeries at their center, covering costs related
to the hospital stay, Smile Network International covers transportation and
lodging costs as well as many costs related to the surgeries, the volunteers
are hosted by efforts of the Cafesjian Family Foundation and Hope for the
City who provides on ground transportation and meals, while patient expenses
such as transportation, food and lodging are covered by the Fund for
Armenian Relief. Yerevan State Medical University organizes lectures by SNI
surgeons and sends residents to train with Smile Network Surgeons and
medical staff so that their expertise may be passed to aspiring plastic
surgeons, maxilla-facial surgeons and anesthesiologists, while the
Minassan-Ispirian family has taken over many additional costs to make the
mission a reality. `We appreciate our partners and their support, care, and
gestures of goodwill,’ Madlene Minassian-Ispirian said, and applauded the
collaborative participation of these organizations.

HUNDREDS OF MOUSSAVI’S SUPPORTERS ARRESTED IN IRAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
22.06.2009 15:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Hundreds of Mir-Hossein Moussavi’s supporters
were arrested in the weekend’s protests against the disputed Iranian
presidential election. It emerged on Monday, as the opposition leader
urged people not to be intimidated and to keep up their peaceful
protests.

State radio said 457 were detained on Saturday – the bloodiest day
of protests against the results of the June 12 poll which declared
a landslide victory for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the fundamentalist
president.

At least 10 people were killed on Saturday, according to official
reports.

There have been demonstrations in support of the Iranian opposition
held throughout Europe. In Berlin, Iranian emigres took to the streets
carrying banners that read "Together for Iran" and "Stop the Killing".

Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel sent a message to Iran’s
government. She said for confidence in Iran to grow, there must be
a complete recount of the votes.

"I call upon the Iranian leaders to allow peaceful demonstration,
freedom of media reporting, to refrain from using force against
demonstrators and to free opponents in detention," she said.

In Paris, thousands of demonstrators from an exiled opposition group
called for the EU to put pressure on the Iranian authorities to have
a new election.

Spain’s foreign ministry issued a statement supporting its European
partners, accused by Tehran of interfering in internal Iranian affairs.

And Italy called on Tehran to avoid further bloodshed, saying violence
is the enemy of Iran, its history and its ancient tradition.

Fund for Armenian Relief
PRESS RELEASE
Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)
Press Office
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 889-5150; Fax: (212) 889-4849
email: [email protected]
web:

"The Best for Our Children" Event in Yerevan Supports FAR’s Homeless
Children’s Center Yerevan’s Victory Park on June 2 was packed with
business people, activists, politicians and big name celebrities,
volunteers and hundreds of others all gathered in support of one
common cause – child protection.

The event, called The Best for Our Children, which was held in honor
of International Children’s Day, raised proceeds to support the Fund
for Armenian Relief’s Homeless Children’s Center (HCC).

It was only the second year, but participation skyrocketed. More than
15,000 people attended. The event was organized by a group of
committed volunteers led by First Lady Rita Sargsyan and former First
Lady Bella Kocharian, who is also the head of the HCC’s Friends
Advocacy Council.

Philanthropy is a relatively novel concept in Armenia, and to
strengthen its significance organizers coordinated meetings between
celebrities, businesses and artists for their support. By doing this
HCC Director Dr. Mira Antonyan noted that the Center has also helped
to establish and unify a broad charity culture in Armenia.

"Almost all stakeholders in Armenia – public celebrities, businessmen,
art and show business representatives and specialists working with the
children in difficult and risky conditions – gathered in one crossroad
to promote child rights protection.

I hope our benefactors from the Diaspora are going to be encouraged to
see that their peers in Armenia are stepping up too, and will continue
to support us – Armenia’s children are in dire need," she said.

The day was indeed a testimony to the Armenian community’s commitment
to help its children. It was not only a rare event when a nation
united in a grassroots effort, it was also a day when class boundaries
were set aside. All Armenians – rich, poor and middle class – were
united and engaged in a single vision of hope to improve the
protection and education of their children.

Representatives from some of Armenia’s largest companies, including
Coca Cola, Grand Candy, Tamara and Noyan Juice, sold their products at
the event, raising more than 1.3 million AMD ($4,000 USD) for the
Center’s programs. Just five companies donated their time and products
in 2008. This year 11 took a stand to better the lives of their
nation’s children.

For some, like dairy producer Ashtarak-Kat, which has traditionally
supported needy children in its own way, this was the first time the
company had collaborated with others for this cause. This newfound
partnership will make their impact even stronger.

Nearly 70 art and culture representatives, celebrities and government
leaders also attended. So did national assembly members and
representatives from Yerevan government.

Specialists who work with at-risk children were also in attendance and
media companies like Shoghakat TV, Ardzagank Radio and Radio Van
helped to sponsor the event.

Celebrities, including singers Arsen Grigoryan, Alla Levonyan and
Gayane Hovhannisyan participated, as did comedian Ashot Ghazaryan and
actress Nazeni Hovhannisyan.

Through the HCC, FAR’s work on child welfare and protection has been
extensive, and groundbreaking, and all made possible through its
supporters. The Center has provided homeless and abused children a
safe haven since it opened in 2000. Initially started as a temporary
shelter that offered crisis intervention and rehabilitation, the
Center is now a full-service facility where abused and abandoned
children can access shelter, counseling, outreach services, healthcare
and legal assistance 24 hours a day. Since 2000, FAR has opened more
branches of the Center to serve even more of Armenia’s families. More
than 4,500 have been helped through its services and the number of
beneficiaries increases each year. In 2008, the Center served 924
children, the highest number ever.

Working in cooperation with the government and with local and
international organizations, the HCC has also addressed the complex
needs of at-risk children in other ways, including establishing the
nation’s foster care system. FAR’s staff has also played an integral
role in setting the national standard for childcare by assisting in
writing child welfare legislation and greatly influencing the
government’s approach to child protection.

Yet, while FAR’s work has expanded in the last few years, the need is
still great and it has been compounded by the global economic
crisis. Thousands of Armenian children still fall prey to abuse,
neglect and abandonment every year. With more households stretched
thin, more parents are leaving their children in the care of grossly
under-resourced state institutions. There, opportunity to better one’s
life is slim. The number of institutionalized children in Armenia
reached 12,000 in 2008 – a dramatic increase from roughly 15 years
before when there were none.

When they are forced to leave these orphanages, children are often
left with no other option than to live on the streets surrounded by
drugs, begging and prostitution.

The Best for our Children called together all facets of Armenian
society to combat these circumstances. Together, they took a
concentrated step forward in the development of their nation. And
through the HCC, this support will help the entire Armenian community
further ensure proper care of its children.

# # #

About FAR
Since its founding in response to the 1988 earthquake, FAR has served
hundreds of thousands of people through more than 220 relief and
development programs in Armenia and Karabagh. It has channeled more
than $265 million in humanitarian assistance by implementing a wide
range of projects including emergency relief, construction, education,
medical aid, and economic development.

For more information on FAR or to send donations, contact us at 630
Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016; telephone (212) 889-5150; fax (212)
889-4849; ; e-mail [email protected].

Fund for Armenian Relief | 630 Second Avenue | New York | NY | 10016

ARMENIA MAY NO LONGER FOLLOW U.S. LEAD ON SOME ISSUES AFTER AID CUT-OFF
By Harut Sassounian

AZG Armenian Daily
19/06/2009

International

For more than a year, Armenia’s leaders have been operating under the
false impression that accommodating Washington on some issues would
provide economic and political benefits, shield them from accusations
of democratic shortcomings, and convince the West not to support
their domestic opponents.

Based on such wishful thinking, the Armenian government made repeated
efforts to please the United States. For example, last year, when
Marie Yovanovitch was nominated by Pres. Bush to become the next
Ambassador to Armenia, State Department officials asked Armenia to use
its contacts in Washington in order to facilitate her confirmation by
the U.S. Senate. They feared that she would suffer the same fate as
her predecessor, Richard Hoagland, whose nomination had been blocked
by the Senate at the urging of the Armenian-American community. The
Armenian government obliged, probably hoping that the new Ambassador
and the United States would reciprocate by showing goodwill towards
Yerevan on certain critical issues.

Another issue on which Armenia went to great lengths to accommodate
Washington was engaging in negotiations with its historic arch-enemy
Turkey in order to open the border and establish diplomatic
relations. While Yerevan believed that doing so was also in its own
best interest, U.S. officials were the driving force behind these
negotiations, particularly after it became apparent that the Turkish
government had no interest in carrying out honest discussions with
Armenia and no intention of opening the border. Both Turkey and the
United States benefited greatly from the false impression created
by these negotiations. Turkey managed to undermine Pres. Obama’s
campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide on April 24. In
return, Washington was able to secure Turkey’s commitment to support
U.S. policies in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Armenia, on the other hand, received no tangible benefits. In fact,
its repeated optimistic pronouncements regarding the progress of the
negotiations helped both Turkey and the United States to look good
in the eyes of the world. Besides not gaining anything, the Armenian
government jeopardized the support of its powerful Diaspora and large
segments of its own population. Furthermore, the ARF — one of the
four parties constituting the Armenian government — left the ruling
coalition following a joint public announcement by Armenia and Turkey
on the eve of April 24. Pres. Obama cited the supposed progress made
in Armenian-Turkish negotiations in his April 24 statement in order
to avoid making an explicit reference to the Armenian Genocide.

It is now clear to the Armenian government that Washington had no
intention of accommodating Armenia either on economic and political
matters or on its democratic shortcomings. The amount of foreign
aid recently proposed by the Obama Administration for Armenia is
38% less than last year’s. Another U.S. aid program, provided by
the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), was reduced by almost
one third — $67 million — citing the country’s failure to comply
with its eligibility criteria. The MCC bases its aid decision on 16
different indicators which recipient countries are committed to uphold.

It is distressing that such standards have to be imposed on Armenia
by a foreign country. Raising the living standards of the population
is in the Armenian people’s own interest. It is the obligation of
the Armenian government to make such improvements, without waiting
to do so, under the threat of losing foreign aid.

The most immediate impact of the cancellation of the MCC’s rural
road program will be felt by Armenia’s destitute farmers who need an
improved infrastructure to grow, transport and sell their produce.

It is not known what direction Armenia’s leaders will follow as
a result of the above setbacks. Will they strive to improve their
compliance with the MCC criteria or will they completely give up on
that program?

This latest development may have far reaching and unintended
consequences beyond Armenia’s farmers. Armenia’s leaders may conclude
that catering to the U.S. is going to neither provide a cover for
the regime’s shortcomings in the area of democratic governance nor
result in any tangible benefits to the country in terms of opening
the border with Turkey.

The negotiations with Turkey, already stalled due to unacceptable
pre-conditions advanced by Ankara, may now be completely disrupted.

The Armenian government may formally abandon its nominal policy of
complementarity between east and west and rely more heavily than ever
before on Russia and Iran.

Finally, it is unfortunate that the MCC decision comes on the eve
of Amb. Yovanovitch’s first trip to Armenian communities in the
United States, later this month. During her visit, she is likely to
encounter public resentment that the U.S. government is practicing a
double-standard by lowering proposed foreign aid levels to Armenia
and increasing those of Azerbaijan which enjoys huge oil revenues
and is in no need of U.S. handouts. There is also a double-standard
vis-a-vis Georgia, as the latter remains the recipient of MCC aid
despite its lack of compliance with several MCC criteria.

Amb. Yovanovitch may also face criticism from large segments of the
Armenian-American community, given Pres. Obama’s failure to keep
his campaign promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide. This is not
the Ambassador’s fault. However, given the fact that she represents
the United States, she will automatically become the target of all
criticism directed at the Obama Administration.