Author: Kharatian Ani

Radio Prague, Czech Republic
March 20 2009

Rigid Japanese culture like `communism pretending to be capitalism’,
says documentary maker Sean McAllister

[20-03-2009 16:03 UTC] By Ian Willoughby

One of the biggest hits with audiences at the One World film festival,
which came to a close in Prague on Thursday night, was Japan: A Story
of Love and Hate. It is a portrait of a non-conformist,
fifty-something `kept man’ whose much younger girlfriend holds down
three jobs, including being paid to talk to men in bars. While very
funny, the documentary also offers a fascinating insight into Japan’s
rigid culture, including scenes of workers whose day begins with
obligatory exercises and chants about achieving targets. I asked its
English director Sean McAllister if it had been hard as a westerner to
come to grips with Japanese culture.

‘Japan: A Story of Love and Hate’`Very hard, yes. It was like making
a film on the moon.’

Why do you say that?

`Just everything is completely different. I know it’s a cliché
to say that, but¦from the road signs to the way the way they act
and behave. I don’t know, we’re just so different.’

You compare Japan to communism, or you said it was like communism
pretending to be capitalism ` what do you mean by that?

`I suppose that kind of controlled society, where under communism
people weren’t free¦in the same way that this is the most
ultra-capitalist society, that they’re not free, in the pursuit of
making vast amounts of money. The irony is that the characters in the
film have no money!’
Sean McAllisterThe main character in the film, Naoki, seems to be
quite different from other Japanese. He’s non-conformist, he’s very
funny, he uses bad language ` how unusual was he?

`[laughs] That was fundamentally¦you never, ever, ever meet a
Japanese person that swears. He’s exceptionally unusual! I think
that’s what you need to make a film, really¦When you saw the
exercise sequence, that was Japan. That’s what I’m dealing with to try
and make sense of the bloody place.’

You were saying at the screening that people in Japan reacted
negatively to Naoki in the film.

`Yeah. In their eyes he’s not a shining example of what is good about
Japan. He’s a loser in the eyes of the Japanese¦hanging your dirty
washing out for the public to see is disgraceful, its shameful in that
culture, he brought shame on himself and his country and his
people. He’s sponging off a woman. He’s a very negative image of
modern Japan. But I think he’s a hero, of Japan, and they don’t
appreciate him. The sooner they open their eyes and get real, the
better for the lot of them. And maybe they’ll stop killing themselves
a hundred a day.’

Japan: A Story of Love and Hate lost out in the main competition to
Below Sea Level by the Italian director Gianfranco Rosi, who picked up
the best picture award at a closing ceremony in Prague’s Lucerna on
Thursday night. The best director prize went to the Czech Republic’s
Jana Å evÄ?à – ková for Gyumri, about life in an
Armenian city 20 years after it was devastated by an earthquake. The
One World festival of human rights documentaries now moves on to over
two dozen other Czech towns and cities.

SERGE SARGSYAN’S AND TIGRAN SARGSYAN’S SPEECHES AT THE PARTIES’ MEETING

Lragir.am
19:02:24 – 20/03/2009

The press office of the president reports that the Armenian president
Serge Sargsyan convoked his second meeting with the Armenian political
parties, the topic of which was the financial economic crisis. The
topic of the first meeting was the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Opening
the meeting, Serge Sargsyan said that Armenia and its economy are not
isolated from the whole world and, consequently, they feel the impact
of the global economic crisis too. The Armenian political parties
have been expressing their stances, approaches in this connection
and, now, they have a very good opportunity to exchange their views
and discuss them, said the president. In this sate of the crisis, a
lot of highly- developed countries had to take up such measures which
would have seemed unacceptable before. And the Armenian government was
constrained to make substandard solutions too of which the public is
always aware with the help of the Prime Ministr or the president. As
the Armenian president stated, besides the government, everyone else
should deal with the crisis too, and neither the Armenian government
and the residents of Armenia are to blame for it, but at the same
time, he thinks that the government and the authorities have no
right to hide behind the crisis and put all the blame for their own
mistakes on it. As he stated, the Armenian government is holding active
discussions with a wide range of experts and cooperates actively with
financial structures all over the world. Serge Sargsyan believes that
especially the Armenian political parties have great potentials of
struggle against the crisis that is why he attaches great importance
to their meeting. He said that the global crisis is a big challenge
to the political field, evaluation system and morality. The president
asked the political parties whether they are ready to work without
the political dividend, whether they can find answers to the question
unknown before, saying that today they will try to do that together.

Addressing the meeting after Serge Sargsyan, the Armenian prime
minister said that there is no country which does not feel the impact
of the global economic crisis and each of them has its own ways of
overcoming it. The program of the government of overcoming the crisis
submitted to the National assemble on November 14, 2008 is very simple
and has three branches. The three branches are: accomplishment of
infrastructural projects, assistance to those enterprises which have
difficulties, and encouragement of small and midsize businesses. Within
the framework of the infrastructural projects, the government is
going to construct 800-1000 km of roads and highways from 2009-2012
with 110 billion of financing, building constructions in the disaster
zone with 75 billion dram, renovation of the drinking and irrigation
water systems- 100 billion dram, construction of a new nuclear power
plant and railway which needs very big investments. He added, that
different enterprises will get the governmental assistance, the aim of
which is to create new work spots, foster the replacement of imported
product by home product, increase the exporting, broaden the use of
local materials, and encourage the exploitation of innovation programs.

The prime minister said the small and midsize businesses’ financial
assistance will be increased with the help of the World Bank, European
Development Bank and the Asian Bank. The taxes for the small and
midsize businesses will be diminished.

The Prime minister noted that the Armenian government made a transition
to strict saving regime. At the same the pensions, social payments
have been increased.

The Armenian government has worked out a series of mechanisms which
will repress the price rising. All the measures, the Armenian
government will take up have been discussed with enterprisers,
businessmen. He noted that they are ready to get new proposals and
constructive criticism.

After the Prime Minister’s speech the discussion went on and lasted
5 hours.

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
March 17, 2008
Phone: 610-642-6633
[email protected]

BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA SUPPORTS SPRING BREAK ALTERNATIVES

A five-person team of students from Boston College is back on campus in
Massachusetts, absorbing all that just transpired during their whirlwind
spring break. This year, instead of going on the cliché tropical vacation
to Florida with college friends, or just going home for a relaxing break
from school, the group opted for a service trip to Armenia. What started
out, or so they thought, as an impossible concept to pull off, actually
resulted in one of the most rewarding experiences of their lives. Brittany
Kademian, the leader of the team and President of the Boston College
Armenian Club, admits, `At the end of the day, there are no words to
describe our experience in Armenia. We all went on this trip more excited
about traveling to Armenia and experiencing the culture than the service
component, but we left with such richer experiences than we could have ever
imagined.’

Planning and organizing this trip took a great deal of time and hard work,
but their persistence paid off. Kademian spread the word to both Armenian
and non-Armenian members of the ,Armenian Students Association, who were
interested in service trips and in the region, rounded up four more fellow
students who were committed to the trip, and they started to actively
fundraise the money required to afford the trip. In addition to Ms.
Kademian, group members included: Mark Buttweiler, Andrea Zeytoonian,
Brandon Spears, and Lucia Benavides.

Everything from bake sales to letter writing campaigns, fundraiser dinners
and more were organized – and the group was constantly coming up with new
ways to pay for their trip. However, they faced a challenge when it came to
the issue of what organization to work with once in Armenia and what type of
service to do. Kademian reports, `Our group was open to everything, but we
were having a hard time finding a worthwhile group with whom to volunteer.’

Luckily the group was put in touch with Birthright Armenia, who welcomed the
group’s spring break initiative with open arms. `We commend Brittany and
her Boston College colleagues for being pioneers. I am sure that this
experience will open the gates to many other groups of students and ASA
teams to choose Armenia as a spring break destination.” says Sevan
Kabakian, country director for the organization in Armenia. `It’s all about
imagining a wider set of possibilities, expanding the boundaries, thinking
beyond the cliché destinations, and redefining what having fun can mean,’ he
added.

The Birthright Armenia staff was more than amenable to assist with
logistics, arrange homestays, and organize a detailed itinerary of
day-to-day activities and community service to offer the group a taste of
both city and rural life, combined with cultural and historical sites, and a
look at how the people live. SOS Children’s Village in Abovian and Our Lady
of Armenia orphanage in Gyumri were just two sites where the group members
worked, teaching English and initiating other learning activities with
children. In addition, to round out their trip, they were invited to join
in on Armenian language classes, attend Armenian dance class, and socialize
with the group of Birthright Armenia volunteers already living and working
in Armenia.

`Going on this trip not only gave us a better understanding of another
culture and its people, but inspired us all to want to do more service in
the future. A spring break such as ours which was utilized to help others
not only helped the local people, but also allowed us to experience others’
perspectives and culture, helping us to grow from this trip and make us into
better people for the future,’ Kademian added.
Birthright Armenia’s mission is to strengthen ties between the homeland and
diasporan youth by affording them an opportunity to be a part of Armenia’s
daily life and to contribute to Armenia’s development through work, study
and volunteer experiences, while developing a renewed sense of Armenian
identity. For more information, or to make an online donation, please visit
our web site at .

72

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 12:30:03 PM

Liberate Southern Azerbaijan – Save the Life of the Azeri Activist
Yunis Aghayan

Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

March 17, 2009

In a previous article entitled "Southern Azerbaijan to Secede from
Iran – Middle East´s Most Influential and Most Unknown Factor"
( icles/view/94772), I offered an
introduction to the critical issue of Southern Azerbaijan, denouncing
the theocratic Shia Islamist tyranny carried out against more than 20
millions of Azeris in today´s Iran.

The issue "Southern Azerbaijan" has been kept secret and hidden, far
from the focus of the world´s mass media – because of iniquitous plots
and inhuman conspiracies carried out by the colonialist elites of
England and France against all the Turkic Nations.

In the present article, I republish an Appeal to save the life of an
Azeri Human Rights activist, Mr. Yunis Aghayan, and a report on the
unbearable Iranian tyranny that should be eliminated, as the Southern
Azeris deserve – like every other nation – a national home, which in
their case will entail a full merge with the already independent part
of Azerbaijan.

I will come up with further articles of various contents (historical –
political – cultural – Human Rights) pertaining to Southern Azerbaijan
– which is today´s most critical issue of the Middle East.

Appeal for Saving the Life of Mr. Yunis Aghayan

tm

The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva

Please circulate this to the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial,
Summary, or Arbitrary Executions; it is also of relevance to:

Working Group on arbitrary detention

Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges

Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance

The Independent Expert on Minority Issues

CC Mr Dyke and Mrs. Harrison, Amnesty International, London

Also: Human Rights Watch; Human Rights Server; and Helsinki Human Rights

Dear Sir/Madam,

Update 1 – Mr.Yunis Aghayan in Imminent Danger of Execution

Further to our earlier Communication (Ref: 349/2006 on 16 July 2006;
Ref:365/2006 on 19 August 2006 and also Ref: 485/2008 on 28 January
2008), now Mr. Yunis Aghayan, a national of Southern Azerbaijan and
therefore a citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is on death row
and in imminent danger of execution by the Iranian authorities. It is
within your mandates to intervene when capital punishment is imposed
after an unfair trial and this is the case for the reasons presented
in this Update. Your action is needed urgently as another Southern
Azerbaijani national, Mr. Mehdi Qasimzade (please refer to349/2006 on
16 July 2006 for our collective information on both victims), was
executed on 3 March 2009 by the Iranian authorities, who was exactly
in a similar situation.

The details for the arbitrary treatment of Mr Aghayan by the Iranian
authorities are presented in Table 1 and summarized below:

In winter 2003, a number of youth in the village of Uch-Tepe , the
birthplace of Mr. Aghayan, published a pamphlet explaining the
desolate conditions of the village in terms of their religion (the
Elevi sect of Islam) and their Azerbaijani nationality. This led to
the detention of five youth from the village.

In spring 2004, the detainees were released on bail but later armed
officers raided the village to re-arrest them, as the authorities held
that their animal farming centre was also a centre of blasphemy. This
led to a confrontation, during which the armed officers shot dead 6
Azerbaijani-Elevi villagers including three of those released on bail
but also the armed officers killed two of their own in their friendly
cross-fire.

In 2005, Mr Qasimzade was then rounded up in this process and this may
include Mr. Aghayan, who were innocent but they were condemned to
death penalty by the Soyuqbulaq (Mahabad) court.

In 2006, the appeal court in Tehran confirmed this arbitrary sentence
but Mr. Aghayan was promised with a commutation of his death sentence
if he repented from his Elevi faith. Mr. Qasimzade suffered the death
penalty 3 March 2009 but Mr. Aghayan is now confirmed to be in death
row.

The deplorable death sentence by the Iranian authorities is a
violation of the right to life of Mr. Yunis Aghayan. This right is
enshrined in article 3 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of
Human Rights () and in article 6
of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stating
that "Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right
shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his
life".

( w/ccpr.htm) We believe this right is
a legally enforceable right in every United Nations member state and
therefore we appeal to you to campaign on behalf of Mr. Aghayan to
save his life and safeguard his human rights. Thank you in advance for
your care.

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Eli Tashkent

Chairperson of the Committee for the Defence of the Rights of World
Azerbaijanis

Background Story

Name: Mr. Yunis Aghayan

Village: Uch-Tepe

City: Qoshachay (translated to Farsi as Miyandoab)

Province: West Azerbaijan, as one of one seven Southern Azerbaijani
provinces ruled by Iran

Religion: This is unfortunately an issue as the victim is affiliated
to the Elevi sect of Islam but the Iranian authorities do not tolerate
any religion in Iran other than Shia and Armenians and they also do
not tolerate any nationalities other than Farsi-speakers and
Armenians. This means that, Mr. Aghayan has been a victim of his
religion and nationality. But more details are given below.

Population: There is no exact information but the numbers of Elevi-s
in Azerbaijan may be about 200,000.

Spread: They are spread all over Azerbaijan and have no distinguished
feature other than their moustache.

The Roots of the Case:

As Elevi-s are disadvantaged in Iran for both being non-Shia and for
being Azerbaijanis, the Iranian authorities have repressed them for a
variety of reasons. A number of youth in the village of Uch-Tepe
published a pamphlet in 2003 expressing their concern on the ongoing
critical situation and distributed the pamphlet among the villagers
and also in Qoshachay.

It is understood that in the winter 2003, the authorities arrested and
detained five individuals from the village of Uch-Tepe as responsible
for the pamphlet. Their names are Seyfeli Shiri (50 years old),
Sultaneli Mehemmedi (50 years old) and Huseyin Mehemmedi (18-19 years
old), Sehendeli Mehemmedi and another individual and were detained in
Urmu at the detention unit of the Ministry of Information. These were
released on bail after a few months.

After the release of the above individuals, armed officers raid the
village, seemingly according to a prepared plan, and aim to arrest
more individuals, as the authorities held that their animal farming
centre was also a centre of blasphemy. This led to a confrontation
when the villagers aimed to diffuse the situation and prevent innocent
people being arbitrarily arrested. The provocation of the armed
officers got out of hand and they shot dead 6 innocent villagers but
two officers also lost their lives. Experts have confirmed that the
loss of the armed officers was solely by the friendly fire of their
fellow officers and the villagers did not play any role in it. The
villagers have confirmed that the above named three individuals
(Seyfeli Shiri, Sultaneli Mehemmedi and Huseyin Mehemmedi) were among
the victims shot dead and another name is known to be Firidun
Mehemmedi.

The armed officers incited with their act of terror, rounded up more
individuals and these included Mehdi Qasimzade (the victim who was
executed on 3 March 2009) and Yunis Aghayan. The Iranian authorities
are reportedly tricked the families to hand over their sons for
interrogations and these included Sehendeli Mehemmedi, Bakhshali
Mehemmedi and Ibadulla Qasimzade. An Iranian court condemnsed these
five individuals and passed a death penalty against all five of them
in 2005 in the Soyuqbulaq (Mahabad) court.

After the appeal of these victims, the cases of appeal were dealt with
in Tehran in a higher court in 2006, which confirmed the death penalty
against Mehdi Qasimzade and Yunis Aghayan and commuted the sentence on
Sehendeli Mehemmedi, Bakhshali Mehemmedi and Ibadulla Qasimzade to 13
years of imprisonment and banishment into exile. These three
individuals are now in a prison in Yazd , some 2000Km from Azerbaijan
and they are on a hunger strike protesting against their inhumane
treatments.

Unfortunately Mr. Mehdi Qasimzade was executed on 3 March 2009 in Urmu
prison and this happened rather unexpectedly and therefore there was
little opportunity to campaign for him. His body has not yet been
handed to his family. After his execution, Iranian and Kurdish media
tried to misinform the public and falsely claimed a Kurdish identity
to Mr. Mehdi Qasimzade. This is utterly deplorable and tantamount to
rubbing the grave. We hope that you regard such dishonesty as an
incitement of tension in the region.

Mr. Yunis Aghayan is now on death row in Urmu prison. Voice of America
broadcasted the situation and Amnesty International has also
campaigned for both of these victims.

Azeri-Iranians Under Pressure

%20%20under%20pressur.htm

Human rights monitors say members of Iran’s Azeri ethnic community are
under increasing pressure from Iranian authorities.

Amnesty International reports that more than 30 Sunni Azeris were
arrested on January 14th in the village of Khanegah-e Sork near
Oroumiye in west Azerbaijan province. They were protesting the
diversion of their water supply when police forcibly dispersed them.

Some demonstrators were reportedly injured during arrest; others were
reportedly tortured or mistreated during detention. At least 21 of
those arrested were tried February 1 before a court in Nazlu. Those
convicted received sentences that included up to a year in prison,
fines, flogging, and enforced residency in south-eastern Iran, far
from their homes.

On February 2, 5 ethnic Azeri activists were sentenced to 5 years
imprisonment in Ardebil for supporting Azeri-language schools in Iran.
On February 4, 5 Azeri students were sentenced to one-year prison
terms for running a blog that advocates language rights for Iranian
Azeris. And Abdullah Abbasi Javan, a professor at Tehran’s Shahid
Raja’I University, remains in detention.

Arrested on November 13 following the annual celebration of Sattar
Khan, a leading figure in the 1906 Constitutional Revolution in Iran,
Mr. Javan has been denied access to a lawyer or family members.
According to Amnesty International, Mr. Javan spent 130 days in
detention in 2007, on charges of so-called "pan-Turkism" and
"propaganda against the system." He was reportedly tortured during his
incarceration.

Fakhteh Zamani, Director of the Canada-based Association for the
Defense of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners, says Iran has stepped up
its repression:

"The situation has been [was] bad in 2008, but since the start of 2009
pressure on minorities is increasing. For Azerbaijanis, since the
start of 2009, we have had the harshest prison sentences in several
years."

Ms. Zamani says Iran’s Azeri community is asking for the rights
guaranteed by Iran’s constitution to all Iranians:

"They are asking for their basic human rights, one of them being
language rights. Also there are many discriminatory policies –
economic, cultural, linguistic, and religious."

The United States, together with its international partners, urges the
government of Iran to respect the fundamental rights of all Iranian
citizens.

Note

Picture: This map reflects a reunification between independent
(Northern Azerbaijan) and only a part of the occupied Southern
Azerbaijan. It is quite indicative that even after a South Azeri
secession takes place as depicted in the map, in the rest of Iran,
there will still be a sizeable Azeri – Turkish minority amounting to
more than 10 million people.
[Image]Print [Image]Share [Image]Email
Your Name
Recipient’s Name
Recipient’s Email
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
[Image]

Orientalist, Historian, Political Scientist, Dr. Megalommatis, 52, is
the author of 12 books, dozens of scholarly articles, hundreds of
encyclopedia entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads and
writes more than 15, modern and ancient, languages. He refuted Greek
nationalism, supported Martin Bernal´s Black Athena, and rejected the
Greco-Romano-centric version of History. He pleaded for the European
History by J. B. Duroselle, and defended the rights of the Turkish,
Pomak, Macedonian, Vlachian, Arvanitic, Latin Catholic, and Jewish
minorities of Greece.

Born Christian Orthodox, he adhered to Islam when 36, devoted to ideas
of Muhyieldin Ibn al Arabi. Greek citizen of Turkish origin, Prof.
Megalommatis studied and/or worked in Turkey, Greece, France, England,
Belgium, Germany, Syria, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Russia, and
carried out research trips throughout the Middle East, Northeastern
Africa and Central Asia. His career extended from Research &
Education, Journalism, Publications, Photography, and Translation to
Website Development, Human Rights Advocacy, Marketing, Sales &
Brokerage. He traveled in more than 80 countries in 5 continents.

He defends the Human and Civil Rights of Yazidis, Aramaeans, Turkmen,
Oromos, Ogadenis, Sidamas, Berbers, Afars, Anuak, Furis (Darfur),
Bejas, Balochs, Tibetans, and their Right to National Independence,
demands international recognition for Kosovo, Abkhazia, South Ossetia,
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and Transnistria, calls for
National Unity in Somalia, and denounces Islamic Terrorism.

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

Monday, March 16, 2009

YPGNY Kicks off New Year with Record Attendance at Silent Auction in
Manhattan, Raises $15,000 for AGBU Children’s Centers in Armenia

On January 24, 2009, 250 Armenian Americans from New York to San
Francisco gathered in a private loft overlooking midtown Manhattan for
an evening hosted by AGBU’s Young Professionals of Greater New York
(YPGNY). The evening included a silent auction and social reception and
raised $15,000 to benefit AGBU’s Children’s Centers in Armenia.

"It was so inspiring to see such community support at the auction for
the Children’s Centers," said Aline Markarian, YPGNY Co-Chair. "Even
during this time of economic trouble in the world, we were still able to
bring in more guests than ever before for an unforgettable evening of
success which helps our motherland."

Loft 11 in midtown Manhattan sparkled with the sights and sounds of
friends, old and new, enjoying an evening of socializing and networking.
Since 2000, YPGNY has hosted an Armenian Christmas reception as an
enjoyable and unique way to raise funds.

Silent auction items included restaurant gift certificates at New York
city hotspots Cipriani, Ilili, Asia de Cuba and Dos Caminos, roundtrip
airfare from New York to Los Angeles, an HP mini notebook laptop
computer, a Louis Vuitton silk scarf, sports and Broadway show tickets,
items from designer Michael Aram’s Coral Reef and Africana collections,
several pieces of fine jewelry and art works created by students at the
AGBU Children’s Centers in Armenia. Additional raffle prizes, including
more restaurant gift certificates, tableware and a personal oil painting
studio portrait, were also offered to guests eager to donate to the
cause.

Catering for the evening’s festivities was provided by local food
emporiums, including Anahid Catering, Arek Mediterranean Groceries,
Babylon Mediterranean Restaurant and Olympia Foods of All Nations. Wine
and spirits were very generously donated from a number of venues,
including Clovis Point Winery and Manhattan Beer Distribution. DJ Joe
Kasparian donated his time and equipment to provide music throughout the
evening. A number of individuals and community supporters contributed
their time and services to the Armenian Christmas event, as well.

"We owe special thanks to all of our generous donors and to Onnig
Djinguezian, from the AGBU New York office, who year after year has
donated a great deal of his time and contacts to orchestrate the
evening’s donations and preparations," added Danny Abajian, YPGNY
Co-Chair.

At the end of the evening, Kim Yacoubian, AGBU’s Young Professionals
liaison, presented the YPGNY chapter with a very special award on behalf
of the AGBU Central Board of Directors for 10 years of outstanding
service to the local Armenian community. The presentation was the first
time the Central Board had officially acknowledged the invaluable
contribution of a Young Professional committee.

"AGBU was compelled to recognize YPGNY for one simple reason alone,"
Yacoubian said during the Armenian Christmas event. "From the day it
began, until this very night, this group embraces and personifies the
true spirit and meaning of the word ‘service.’"

Since 1999, YPGNY has raised over $93,000 for AGBU programs worldwide,
the most of any Young Professional committee, which was accomplished
through a mix of traditional fundraisers and novel initiatives.
Co-chairs Danny Abajian and Aline Markarian accepted the award for the
entire YPGNY community past, present and future.

"Being honored for our work in the AGBU family and community only made a
special evening even more special for us," said YPGNY member Tamar
Nahabedian. "It is an amazing feeling not only to see everyone enjoying
themselves at this event, but to know that we will make a difference at
the Children’s Centers for yet another year."

In addition to the evening’s donations, YPGNY also organized their
annual holiday card fundraiser called "HALO" or "Helping Armenia’s
Little Ones." HALO allows people to make a small donation in someone
else’s name as a gift; each recipient of the charity donation receives a
card indicating that a gift has been made in their name.

AGBU YPGNY is part of a growing network of YP Groups and supporters
around the world who are committed to preserving and promoting the
Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural, and
humanitarian programs. For more information on YPGNY, email
[email protected].

For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit

A1+

Photojournalist beaten up
[02:31 pm] 13 March, 2009

Photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan was beaten up at the entrance of
Yerevan State Linguistic University on March 13. Presently, Gagik
Shamshyan is undergoing medical examination at the Nairi Medical
Centre. He is in the resuscitation department.

The photojournalist is said to have been beaten up by the University
security men when taking a photograph of the building.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenian, Azeri Presidents may meet in Prague May 7
12.03.2009 15:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
settlement is considering the possibility of Sargsyan /Aliyev meeting,
May 7, Prague at EU summit on `Eastern Partnership’ program.

According to `Komersant,’ in Baku, Sergey Lavrov, head of RF Foreign
Affairs Minister will propose to Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijani President
the meeting date on the territory of RF Embassy in the Prague. `If
this proposal is accepted, the Russian party will have another chance
to speak about its constructive contribution in Nagorno-Karabakh
problem settlement,’ the newspaper says.

At the previous visit to the region the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen
succeeded in obtaining the support of Armenian and Azerbaijani
Presidents regarding the negotiations on Karabakh conflict settlement
on top level.

Press release

Information Centre
CAUCASUS ` EASTERN EUROPE, Tibetska 2, Prague 6, Czech Republic
Tel. +420/724 938 783, +420/775 581 100, +420/603 317 078

Email: [email protected] ; [email protected]

For immediate release

Czech Constitutional Court Is Asked to Question Hillary Clinton

(Prague) ` Hillary Clinton who as the serving Secretary of State sits
on the Board of Directors of the Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty (RFE/RL), might be asked to testify before Constitutional Court
on employment practices of that U.S.-funded radio station in Czech
Republic.

Petition to question Hillary Clinton is submitted to Constitutional
Court by Snjezana Pelivan, Croatian citizen suing in that court U.S.
Congress-funded RFE/RL for infringement of her labor and human rights
resulting from violation by RFE/RL the legislative sovereignty of the
Czech Republic, its host country.

Armenian citizen Anna Karapetyan brought similar lawsuit against RFE/RL
earlier this month in Supreme Court. The plaintiffs, former employees
of RFE/RL, which is subordinate to Broadcasting Board of Governors in
Washington, a governmental agency overseeing all U.S. nonmilitary
international broadcasting, are suing RFE/RL for practicing national
discrimination in labor relations with its non-American and non-Czech
employees.

Broadcasting in 28 languages, the nationals of 20 RFE/RL target
countries ` Afghanistan, Armenia, fm. Yugoslavia, Iraq, Iran, R
ussia,
states of Central Asia, etc. ` compose the bulk of RFE/RL total
personnel in the Czech Republic. Their uniform employment agreements
with RFE/RL effectively deny them any protection of U.S. and Czech
labor laws. Official Policies of RFE/RL allow unmotivated terminations
of such foreign employees at any time for any reason without informing
them why the employment was terminated.

Czech newspaper Lidove noviny, Prague, wrote in editorial commentary
titled `Equality With Precondition. Practice of Free Europe Contradicts
Its Ideals’: `Employees are divided in three castes¦ That situation, as
it seems, is brutally abused by the management of the radio station.
With foreign employees from the third caste the propagators of
democracy deal as colonial power with rightless aborigines.’

Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is appointed by the President
`with the advice and consent of the Senate’. Secretary of State is BBG
member ex officio. By law, BBG collectively serves as RFE/RL Board of
Directors and `makes all major policy determinations governing the
operations of RFE/RL.’ Also by law, `United States international
broadcasting ¦ shall be consistent with the broad foreign policy
objectives of the United States.’

Petitioning

Constitutional Court
to question Hillary Clinton, Snjezana Pelivan notes that after Mrs.
Clinton became on January 22, 2009, the member of BBG and RFE/RL Board
of Directors, RFE/RL’s `discriminative to foreigners Policies and
practices remain the same’. Hillary Clinton’s testimony should clarify
if RFE/RL Policies, `which violate labor (employment protection) and
human rights (national equality) of RFE/RL foreign workers in the Czech
Republic and, thus, contradict Czech labor laws, are dictated by the
`broad foreign policy objectives of the United States’.’

Commenting on lawsuits against RFE/RL in Czech Republic, an Armenian
daily AZG (`People’), Yerevan, wrote recently: `These legal cases are a
stamp of shame, a stigma on the history of well-respected Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty, which has supported democracy for decades.’ The
article was titled `Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Betrays Its Ideals’

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are
expected on April 4th and 5th to be in Czech Republic holding presently
rotating presidency in the Council of European Union.

PanARMENIAN.Net

RA Healthcare Minister tops Prosperous Armenia’s list of candidates
for Yerevan Council of Deans
11.03.2009 12:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Prosperous Armenia party has decided that Minister
of Healthcare Harutyun Kushkyan will head its list of candidates for
the Yerevan Council of Deans.

Acting Mayor of Yerevan Gagik Beglaryan tops the list of the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia.

Head of HSBC bank approves reverting to floating exchange rate policy

YEREVAN, March 10. /ARKA/. HSBC Bank Armenia Chief Executive Officer
Tim Slater believes floating exchange rate policy will have a positive
influence on the country’s economy.

On March 3, the Central Bank of Armenia announced the decision of the
CBA Board to revert to floating exchange rate policy due to worsening
trade conditions under the global financial and economic crisis, as
well as due to slowing down capital inflow. CBA experts believe that
the USD average exchange rate will be 360-380 AMD/$1 this year.

He told reporters this will facilitate recovery of the country’s
economy. Touching upon the influence of devaluation of the Armenian
dram on HSBC Bank Armenia, he said that it will certainly lead to more
expenses, but it is the result of the bank’s policy to create most
favorable conditions for its clients.

Slater noted the clients of HSBC Bank were able to convert their means
to dollars at any time and use them. He stated these are the expenses
the banks is ready to make for creating more favorable conditions for
its clients for enjoying the services of the banking system.

HSBC Bank Armenia closed joint stock company ` a daughter bank of HSBC
Banl plc ` was registered on September 25 1995. HSBC Bank plc holds 70%
of the shares of HSBC Bank Armenia with the remaining 30% belonging to
foreign Armenian investors.

By the end of December 2008, the bank’s assets had totaled 121.8bln
drams, capital 15.5bln drams. The bank’s pretax profit was 5bln drams
in January-December 2008 and balance sheet profit was 12.7bln drams.
Credit investments by the bank were 74bln drams on December 31 2008 as
compared with 51.7bln drams in the beginning of 2008. Currently the
bank has ten branches.

According to the information of ARKA Agency, HSBC Bank Armenia is among
the leaders in terms of basic banking activity indicators.
Particularly, the bank has the second largest assets and is the leader
in terms of liabilities and aggregate deposits from clients. The bank
ranks fifth in terms of total capital and has the third largest profit
among Armenia’s banks in January-September 2008. ($1 ` 360.67AMD). G.
S. `0–