Author: Tashjian Arbi

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
May 1, 2004 Saturday

Int’l teams of doctors to give 25 heart surgeries to Belarus kids

By Larissa Klyuchnikova

MINSK

A traditional charity action The Children’s Hearts begins here Sunday.

Its co-organizers are the Belarussian Children’s Fund and the Public
Health Ministry, with the support of the Minsk Rotary Club.

Assistance to it has also come from the Irish charity organization The
Chernobyl Children’s Project and the international charity group
Sophia.

As part of the action, an international team of cardiac surgeons will
give extremely complicated open heart surgeries to 25 Belarussian
children having congenital heart diseases.

The team made up of 13 surgeons with Dr William Novic in the lead will
be working for a period of two weeks at the Belarussian Republican
Center for Cardiology.

All the surgeries will be gratuitous and the doctors are committed to
observing the highest world surgical standards, spokespeople for the
Cardiology Center said.

The Children’s Hearts program has helped save the lives of 311
children, who have been given surgeries in the best clinics of Russia,
the U.S., Armenia, and Germany.

Official statistic data indicates that about 800 children with
congenital heart and blood vessel dysfunctions are born in Belarus
every year.

On the whole, about 10,000 Belarussian children need surgical treatment
of cardiovascular problems at the moment.

PRESS RELEASE
May 4, 2004
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:

Armenian Programming Contest and Summer School

Background

Enterprise Incubator Fund has been established in the framework of the World
Bank Enterprise Incubator project. The key role of the Incubator is
developing a more coherent and effective framework for IT business support,
as part of the Government’s commitment to raise productivity, increase
competitiveness and support the creation of a modern IT cluster in Armenian
economy.
One of the primary roles of Enterprise Incubator Foundation is to create
Institution – Employer link models which would ensure a sustainable and
permanent supply of qualified technicians and managers for companies as well
as to provide extensive knowledge support to newly emerging business
entities.

Based on the successful implementation of Armenian Programming Contest (APC)
in May 2002, which was planned to be held on a regular basis, as well as
acknowledging the extreme interest in the IT community toward such kind of
competitions, the organization of the second Armenian Open Programming
competition is proposed.

The main objective of the Contest will be to determine the professional
level and skills of ICT young professionals both in the country and Diaspora
for distinguishing the training and educational needs to be addressed in the
future to insure the provision of extensive knowledge support to newly
emerging business entities and specialists.

The competition will provide young IT specialists both form Armenia and
Diaspora with an opportunity to demonstrate and sharpen their
problem-solving and programming. The contest will foster creativity
innovation in building new software programs, and will enable the
participants to test their ability to perform under pressure. It will gather
the best programming talent in Armenia and provide a platform for ICT
Industry and academia to encourage and focus attention on the next
generation of computing professionals as they pursue excellence.

Competition Structure

The event will be comprised of three stages:
–Individual Competition
–Summer School
–Final Contest

The first phase will be organized as on-site competition in Armenia
(Yerevan) and Diaspora centers worldwide (see Annex 1) to allow local and
Diaspora young professionals to resolve a number of programming tasks.
The contest is individual based. Eligibility to participate in the contest
will be restricted only to age limitations: all participants should be under
30. The language of the Contest is Armenian and English.

Special Professional Board, comprised of leading ICT specialists and faculty
will develop a set of tasks to be delivered to each of the contest locations
one hour before the contest beginning. Contests in all locations (with
possible deviations due to time differences) will be organized on the same
date and time to secure equal conditions for all participants. Special
Professional Board will also define assignment duration and evaluation
criteria. The same Board will complete winners’ selection.

At the second stage, winners will get an opportunity to participate for free
in 5-days Summer School organized jointly with one of world leading
IT/High-Tech companies (such as Lycos, Sun, Cisco, Ericsson, etc.) with
advanced curricula. Upon completion of the School, participants will get
certificate of attendance. Summer School will allow local and Diaspora young
professionals to study and to work together on the group assignments, which
will provide excellent networking opportunities as well as sharing
experience and competence. The Summer School is to be located at one of the
country’s resorts.

At the third stage, by the end of the Summer School, final competition is to
be held. The final contest is team-based. Each team should be comprised up
to three people.

Contest Timetable

Event Date
Individual Competition June 1
Summer School June14-18
Group Competition June 18

Annex 1. Organization of Programming Contest in Diaspora Centers

1. Participants

The contest is designed for young IT professionals under 30 years old. As
the contest tasks are to be in the area of programming (see attached samples
of tasks to be solved during the contest, which were developed for the first
programming contest), the participants should be prominent in the area of
programming and software development.

2. Contest Procedure

It is expected that the embassies will identify IT professional company
which will organize the contest and will work directly with the relevant
organization in Armenia to get instructions of contest tasks, procedure,
evaluation criteria, other professional issues.

The tasks will be developed in Armenia by a group of experts. The tasks will
be delivered to the company responsible for organization of the contest at
the Diaspora location one day ahead the actual date of the contest via
e-mail. All contest participants are to be invited to the premises, where
the contest is to be held, and delivered with tasks, which have to be solved
within several hours (the duration of contest will be identified by the
group of experts in advance).
Local Evaluation Committee, comprised of IT professionals, should select up
2 winners.
Before the day of Contest, 1-week preparation work on the identification of
IT company/organization responsible for administration and implementation of
the contest as well as for forming Evaluation Committee should be completed.
The preparation work should also include:
–contest announcement
–identification of location equipped with computers
–organization of applications procedure
–formation of Evaluation Committee
–identification of winners to be sent to Armenia to participate in Summer
School and the final contest together with Armenian winners.

3. Summer School

Winners will be invited to take part in Summer School to be held in one of
Armenian resorts, where they will get a chance to meet with their Armenian
colleagues and to learn together during a week. By the end of the Summer
School, all the participants will grouped in teams (up to 3 persons per
team) and participate in the final contest (the same structure: programming
tasks to be solved within several hours).

The costs of winners round trip to Armenia will not be covered by EIF
resources.

AGBU PRESS OFFICE
55 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone (212) 319-6383
Fax (212) 319-6507
Email [email protected]
Webpage

Monday, April 19, 2004

AGBU PRESIDENT BERGE SETRAKIAN’S REMARKS AT THE 2004 ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY
NATIONAL CONFERENCE

AGBU, along with the Eastern and Western Dioceses of the Armenian
Church, joined the Armenian Assembly of America in the organization of
the National Conference and Banquet, which was held in Washington
D.C. from April 18-20, 2004.

AGBU President Berge Setrakian addressed the convention during the
Gala event and below is the full text of his speech.

* * *

It is a sincere and rewarding pleasure to be here this evening with a
most outstanding and dedicated audience. The Armenian Assembly has put
much effort into arranging this important and worthwhile event. It is
an event that allows dedicated Armenians such as yourselves to become
advocates for the issues of importance to all Armenians. As President
of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, I am particularly proud that
our organization is a cooperating partner in the conference, along
with both the Eastern and Western branches of the Armenian Church of
America. Armenian organizations worldwide must establish vital
relationships with one another, and this conference serves as a great
example of how we can work together closely to create a momentum of
improvement in our community. In fact, at the AGBU worldwide
convention in New York two years ago, I called on our own membership
to begin a strategic process of working hand in hand to facilitate
cooperation-not competition-among A! rmenian organizations. This
spirit of cooperation must be encouraged and expanded, as it has the
potential to be one of our greatest sources of strength.

In the complex and changing world we live in today, it is even more
imperative for us to unite and strengthen our voices as we express our
concerns within the American political arena. Widespread understanding
and awareness of Armenian issues among our fellow Americans is an
important goal for each and every one of us. We must do all we can to
tell people about such issues and the need for their support from the
American government. The way we do that best is by remaining united
and remaining active, as we have been over the course of this
conference.

I would like to take this opportunity to share another major goal of
the AGBU at this moment, a goal with which I hope you can agree. More
and more at our organization, we are renewing our commitment to
serving the community by coming up with new ways to address its
needs. There is so much need in our community that we must constantly
reevaluate how to put our resources to their best and most effective
use. As we push to preserve our Armenian identity through cultural,
educational, and humanitarian efforts, we come to the conclusion that,
so to speak, doing ‘business as usual’ will no longer work. We face
new challenges, new conditions, and new parameters. We exist in a
world that is constantly changing, and we must adapt accordingly to
ensure our strength and survival indefinitely. To every challenge we
face in every program we run, we must design new responses that can
more effectively achieve our mission of serving the Armenian
people. This requires from us a certain vigila! nce-a promise that we
will create new programs and institutions to fulfill our urgent needs,
and dedicate our existing resources to that fulfillment.

Our need to evolve as a community and as individual organizations is
part of our responsibility to the Armenian youth, the new generation
who may not be as tightly linked to the traditional forms of identity
and heritage. Today, we serve a generation of young Armenian-Americans
who are more, if not fully integrated in American society. These are
young people who, even more than those of us who arrived as
immigrants, have an allegiance and loyalty to their native United
States. If a dedication to the Armenian homeland of their ancestors is
to exist, it will exist alongside an equal dedication to their
American homeland. Being Armenian-Americans does not mean that they
are 50% Armenian and 50% American. No-it means that they are 100%
Americans, who feel a strong and full commitment to their Armenian
identity. Therefore, as we work together in the future, we must take
into account that the next generation feels and lives its Armenian
identity in ways that are different from those! of our older
community. Our programs must understand this and take it as a premise
of how they operate and what they hope to achieve. We must commit
ourselves to building programs that make not only great Armenians, but
great Americans.

I believe that this conference has been an activity of that
nature-here, we have come together as full and active Americans
dedicated to the causes of Armenian concern. We have honored the goal
of unity, of service, and of being good American citizens and loyal
Armenians.

In closing, let me again express my gratitude and that of the AGBU to
the participants and supporters of this landmark event. We are proud
and grateful to have been part of this Conference in Washington and
look forward to moving together into a bright and prosperous future.

Armenian opposition holds consultations with ruling coalition

Interfax news agency, Moscow
26 Apr 04

YEREVAN

A dialogue between the Armenian opposition and the coalition of three
pro-government parties began in the Armenian parliament on Monday [26
April].

The meeting was held at the initiative of parliament Speaker Artur
Bagdasaryan, Interfax was told.

Among the parties taking part in the consultations are the opposition
Justice faction and the heads of the parliamentary factions of three
pro-government parties (the Republican Party of Armenia, Orinats
Yerkir [Law-Governed Country Party] and Dashnaktsutyun).

Viktor Dallakyan, a representative of the Justice faction, told
reporters before the meeting: “The opposition has provided the
coalition with a package of demands which include halting political
persecution and violence against opposition activists, releasing all
opposition activists who are currently in prison, suspending the
criminal case against the opposition Justice bloc, ensuring the
security of peaceful rally participants, and providing live air time
on Armenian Public TV to opposition leaders.”

The opposition is also demanding that “all those who were involved in
the rigging of the presidential and parliamentary elections held in
Armenia in 2003 and those involved in the dispersion of the rally held
in front of the Armenian parliament on 13 April [2004]” be punished,
Dallakyan said. In addition, they are demanding that the parliament
adopt the opposition’s initiative to hold a referendum on confidence
in the republic’s authorities, he said.

Dallakyan believes that if these demands are fulfilled, the tension
will be defused in Armenia. The opposition will not object if its
demands are fulfilled step by step, he stressed.

[Passage omitted: reported details]

Armenian speaker urges more powers to parliament, rejects opposition charges

Arminfo,
23 Apr 04

YEREVAN

The fact that during the 12 April opposition rally police deployed its
units in the building of the National Assembly and also surrounded it
by barbed wire showed that someone aimed at making “the opposition
direct its anger” at the speaker of parliament. This was announced by
Armenian Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan at a news conference today.

He said that the subtext of the action was political and was a result
of his statement at a recent press conference denouncing the arrests
on political grounds in the republic. “Despite that I will stick to my
earlier remarks,” he said.

He said that power wielding posts should be political. The speaker
told the news conference several times that the Armenian parliament
and its chairman have limited powers. They have no levers to control
the law-enforcement agencies. There is no political control over the
latter. Therefore, he said the National Assembly should be given more
powers.

Commenting on accusations made by the opposition that he had turned
the parliament building into barracks by allowing the deployment of
the police units who dispersed the opposition rally on 12 April ,
Bagdasaryan gave an emotionally charged reply: “The speaker has no
control over police units which ensure the security of the National
Assembly.”

[Passage omitted: reiterates the point]

The Detroit News
Thursday, April 22, 2004

Armenians will mark the anniversary Saturday night at St. Sarkis Armenian
Apostolic Church.

Memorial events

Detroit: Prof. Hubert C. Locke, former provost at Wayne State University,
will speak at a free luncheon at noon Friday in the McGregor Memorial
Conference Center on the WSU campus. The presentation, titled “An
African-American Perspective on the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide,” is
sponsored by the Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies at WSU. Call (313)
577-2679

Dearborn: St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church of Dearborn, St. Vartan
Armenian Catholic Church of Detroit and the Armenian Congregational Church
of Southfield will hold a “Martyr’s Day Commemoration” starting at 7 p.m.
Saturday at St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church, 19300 Ford Road west of
Southfield, in Dearborn. Call (313) 336-6828.

Southfield: The Detroit United Committee for the Commemoration of the
Armenian Genocide has scheduled “89 Years of Denial & Injustice” from 2-4
p.m. Sunday at the Cultural Hall of St. John Armenian Church, 22001
Northwestern, in Southfield. Ken Hachikian, chair of the Armenian National
Committee of America is keynote speaker. Arman Kirakossian, ambassador to
the United States from the Republic of Armenia also will speak. Call (248)
569-3405.

Birmingham: Arman Kirakossian, ambassador to the United States from the
Republic of Armenia, is to sign copies of his new book, “The Armenian
Massacres, 1894-1896: U.S. Media Testimony,” from 6-7:30 p.m. Sunday at
Border’s Books on Woodward near Maple in Birmingham. Afterglow to follow in
Hagopian World of Rugs showroom. Call (248) 569-3405.

Source: Detroit News research

Canada Lawmakers Recognize Armenian Genocide

RFE/RL Feature Article

22 April 2004 — Canada’s parliament yesterday backed a motion declaring
that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenians during World War I.

Yesterday’s vote in the House of Commons was 153 “for” and 68 “against.”

Armenians say a 1915-23 campaign to drive them out of eastern Turkey
amounted to genocide and some 1.5 million Armenians were killed. Turks
officially deny this, saying the Armenians were among the many victims
of a partisan war during World War I.

Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham had urged legislators not to
aggravate NATO ally Turkey by voting in favor of the motion.

After the vote, Graham issued a statement saying the motion will not
alter the official Canadian government position that while the events in
question at the start of the 20th century were a tragedy, they did not
constitute genocide.

A backer of the motion and a member of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party,
Sarkis Assadourian, dismissed Foreign Ministry warnings of a possible
Turkish backlash.

A counselor at the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, Fazli Corman, had told the
Reuters news agency that bilateral relations would “suffer” if the
motion were adopted.

The French parliament passed a similar motion in 2001.

(RFE/RL and wire reports)

BoxingScene.com
April 21 2004

ART SIMONYAN VS FASAN 3K BATTERY

Topic: Breaking News
HEADLINES FIGHT CARD AT THE BELVEDERE IN ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. ON
MAY 21, TELEVISED ON ESPN2

Promoter Art Pelullo/Banner Promotions and Bobby Hitz Boxing
Promotions will present a sensational fight card on May 21, 2004, at
the Belvedere, located at 1170 West Devon Avenue in Elk Grove
Village, Illinois. The fights will be televised on ESPN2’s “Friday
Night Fights.”

In the main event, Art Simonyan, 13-0-1, with 7 knockouts, of
Glendale, California, will fight Fasan 3K Battery, aka Narongrit
Pirang, 18-0, with 10 knockouts, of Ubon, Thailand. The fight,
scheduled for 12 rounds, will be an eliminator for the IBF’s No. 1
ranking in the jr. featherweight division and will determine the
mandatory challenger for the world title.

Now 28 years old, Simonyan is a native of Armenia. He stepped up in
class of opposition in his last three fights and scored three of his
career-best wins against former world title challenger Carlos
Contreras (19-6-3), Ablorh Sowah (17-3-1), and former world title
challenger Radford Beasley (22-1). Simonyan currently holds the USBA
jr. featherweight title and is ranked No. 7 by the IBF in the world
ratings.

29-year old Fasan is ranked No. 8 in the world by the IBF. A
five-year pro, he is making his U.S. debut and fighting outside of
Thailand for the first time.

The co-featured bout, scheduled for 10-rounds, will feature 24-year
old lightweight prospect Juliano Ramos, 13-0, with 11 knockouts,
fighting an opponent to be announced. Ramos, a native of Sao Paulo,
Brazil, has relocated to the U.S. to pursue his boxing career and is
now living in Corpus Christi, Texas.

More exciting bouts featuring Chicago’s top boxing talent will
complete the card.

Art “The Polish Warrior” Binkowski, 11-0, 8 KOs, of Chicago, will
fight in an eight-round heavyweight bout, Vitaliy “The Doctor”
Kopytko, 23-6, 9 KOs, of Chicago, will be featured in an eight-round
super middleweight bout, and Mike Mollo, 11-0, 6 KOs, of Chicago,
will fight in a four-round heavyweight bout. Their opponents are to
be announced.

All bouts are subject to change without notice.

Doors open at 7:00 P.M., first fight at 8:00 P.M. Central Time.

Ticket prices: $35 – general admission, $50 – reserved ringside, and
$100 – VIP reserved ringside.

Tickets can be purchased by telephone at Hitz Boxing – 630-295-9800,
or online at

ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
Yerevan 375025, Aygestan 9th Str., #6
Tel./Fax (374 1) 569910
Internet:
E-mail: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
20.04.2004

US Ambassador, Armenia Tree Project and Jinishian Memorial Foundation to
Celebrate Earth Day in Mountainous Village of Dzoravank

On Friday, April 23, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Ordway, and Mrs.
Maryjo Ordway will mark Earthday in a joint Armenia Tree Project/Jinishian
Memorial Foundation tree planting to establish a large (0.8 hectare) fruit
and nut orchard for the refugee community of Dzoravank in Gegharkounik Marz.

This joint endeavor is being made possible thanks to the organization and
outreach efforts of the Armenia Tree Project (ATP) and a donation by
Jinishian Memorial Foundation. In cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in
Armenia, IREX and ACTR/ACCELS, 20 alumni from U.S.government exchange
programs will travel as volunteers to Dzoravank to help with the tree
planting. The date of the event is chosen to coincide with the celebration
of Earth Day (celebrated globally on April 22 every year).

ATP Founder Carolyn Mugar, Executive Director Jeff Masarjian and Country
Director Susan Yacubian Klein will be in Dzoravank for this important event.
Other high ranked guests have also been invited.

This marks the second year Ambassador Ordway is celebrating Earth Day with
ATP in the Getik River valley. Dzoravank is the second village in the area
where ATP is implementing a combined long term reforestation-poverty
reduction program. The program was initiated in 2002 in the village of
Aygut, situated approximately 10 kilometers distance from Dzoravank. ATP
intends to expand to all 13 villages located in the picturesque Getik River
valley. In this program of sustainable mountainous development, ATP partners
with the villagers and with other international and local organizations to
combat the linked problems of poverty and natural resource degradation.
Among the contributors to date are USDA/MAP, World Food Program, Heifer
International,Project Harmony,ORRAN, Boghosian Education Center, and
Satsil..

For further information, please contact Karen Sarkavagyan at the Armenia
Tree Project, phone numbers 569910 and 553069, E-mail [email protected]

The Armenia Tree Project was founded in 1994 during Armenia’s darkest and
coldest years with the vision of securing Armenia’s future by protecting
Armenia’s environment. Funded by contributions from Diasporan Armenians,
ATP has planted and rejuvenated over 500,000 trees at more than 450 sites
ranging from Gumri to Goris.

Radio-Canada, Montreal
19 Avril 2004

Un homme est blessé par balle à Montréal

Un homme de 47 ans a été atteint par balle dans la nuit de dimanche à
lundi, à Montréal.

Le coup de feu a été tiré en face d’un bar du boulevard
Saint-Laurent, à l’intersection de la rue Milton.

L’homme, d’origine arménienne, a été impliqué dans une dispute avec
cinq ou six autres individus.

Il a été transporté à l’hôpital, mais on ne craint pas pour sa vie.

Personne n’a été arrêté. Les témoins refusent de collaborer avec les
policiers.