Author: Topchian Jane

PRESS RELEASE
AYF WR
Contact: Vache Thomassian
Tel: 949-331-5486

2007-01-19

AYF ANNUAL CONVENTION SETS GOALS AND DIRECTION; ELECTS NEW CENTRAL EXECUTIVE

Delegates from across the Western Region gather to discuss new fiscal year.

*Glendale**, CA-** *The AYF Garo Madenlian Public Affairs Office is please
to report on the successful completion of the thirty-fourth annual
Convention of the Armenian Youth Federation Western Region. Delegates from
the AYF’s 12 chapters convened at AYF Camp, during Labor Day weekend, for a
four-day conference to review events of the past year and to set the
groundwork for the activities of the new fiscal year.

Joined by representatives from the ARF Badanegan Central Council, AYF Camp
Management Board, as well as ARF Western Region Central Committee member
Aram Kaloustian and ARF Bureau representative Vicken Hovsepian, the
Convention discussed topics of interest including, increasing member and
community activism, establishing new means of outreach to a wider Armenian
community, coalition building with other human rights organizations and
increasing ties of assistance to our homeland. Lisa Baltajian, from the
Phoenix "Kedashen" Chapter, stated that, "Coming to Convention allows the
AYF membership to actively participate in guiding the new fiscal year." She
further noted that, "Exchanging ideas and constructive dialogue with AYF
members from all the chapters allows us to brainstorm and plan strategically
what we will put our efforts towards."

The Convention concluded with the election of the 2007-2008 AYF Central
Executive. The seven person body consists of members from across
Californiaand will serve to govern the administrative and
organizational aspects of
the AYF. The body will consist of the following members: Caspar Jivalagian,
Vache Thomassian, Shant Melkonian, Knar Kitabjian, Ara Malakian, Tro
Krikorian and Harout Jarchafjian. Speaking on behalf of the newly elected
body, Caspar Jivalagian said, "We are excited and reinvigorated to get back
to work and look forward to a very fruitful and rewarding year."

Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) has grown to become the
largest and most influential Armenian American youth organization; with
chapters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around
the world. Inspired by our past and motivated by the needs of the future,
the AYF actively strives to advance the social, political, educational and
cultural awareness of all Armenian youth.

#####

Saturday 8 September 2007

The Czech Republic began their 2009 UEFA European
Under-21 Championship qualifying campaign with a draw
as Tomá? Pekhart’s equaliser earned a point in
Armenia.

Armenia ahead
Armenia, who had beaten Liechtenstein at home in their
opening Group 2 game before losing in Ukraine, started
in lively fashion and Henrik Mkhitaryan went close
twice early on. Ondøej Kúdela and Pekhart then had
chances of their own but just before half-time Armenia
went ahead – Vardan Petrosyan connecting with Vahe
Mehrabyan’s free-kick.

Czechs level
However, it took the visitors only two minutes of the
second half to level through Pekhart’s header. The
Tottenham Hotspur FC forward, who helped the Czechs to
both the 2006 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and
the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup finals, nearly won the
game late on but the match finished all-square. On
Tuesday the Czech Republic welcome Liechtenstein and
the next day Armenia entertain Ukraine.

©uefa.com 1998-2007

VANADZOR MAYOR’S NEPHEW DETAINED

A1+
[04:11 pm] 07 September, 2007

On September 6, Arman Darbinyan, the nephew of the Vanadzor Mayor
Samvel Darbinyan, was called to the Prosecutor’s Office in connection
with the Lori prosecutor’s assassination. After three hours’
interrogation Arman Darbinyan was taken into custody.

A few cartridges were found in Darbinyan’s car.

"The real criminal is in freedom while my son is detained without any
warrants," Narine Manukyan, Arman Darbinyan’s mother, told A1+. The
latter states that the law-enforcement bodies put the cartridges into
the car.

"As a mother I declare that the rusty cartridges were thrown into a
spare tyre in the car," she said. The car was parked in front of the
Prosecutor’s Office.

Meanwhile the keys were with the investigators. "Our telephone talks
are eavesdropped and our family members are watched. Only a fool
could go to a prosecutor’s office with cartridges hidden in the car."

According to Ms Narine, the Prosecutor’s Office employees paid them
a visit just after the murder of the Prosecutor Albert Ghazaryan.

"An hour latter they came after my sons. As they were out my
husband Seyran Darbinyan went to the police station with Samvel
Darbinyan. We didn’t pay attention to their visit and thought it was
connected with the preliminary investigation. On the same day, over
20 people searched the Mayor’s house. Then they came on September 1
and continued their search. Afterwards they compiled a protocol and
retired," said Narine Manukyan.

A few days ago her son’s car was stopped and searched at a police
post on Yerevan-Spitak highway.

Narine Manukyan says that the search is instigated by the press
which disseminated news about the Mayor’s embezzlements which do not
correspond to the reality.

I wonder why the Mayor hasn’t ever been interrogated.

Why should he be suspected in the prosecutor’s assassination?

By the way, two legal guns were found in Samvel Darbinyan’s home and
the cartridges turned out to belong to none of them.

"As a mother I hope that the prosecutor will administer justice,"
she said.

To remind, the Vanadzor Mayor’s sons Argishti and Aghasi were also
invited to interrogation. The Mayor is confident that real criminals
will be found and they will bear full responsibility for defaming
others.

ALLEGED CASE OF AFRICAN SWINE FEVER IN YEREVAN NOT CONFIRMED

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 6 2007

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. The alleged case of African swine fever
in Yerevan has not got confirmation, Chief of the State Inspection
for Veterinary and Food Safety of the Armenian Ministry of Agriculture
Grigor Baghian said at the government briefing.

The diseased animals were found in one of pig-breeding farm in
the outskirts of the city. Yet, the initial diagnosis has not been
confirmed," he said.

Baghian pointed out that the virus of the African swine fever is not
dangerous for humans.

"It should be noted that a strict veterinary control is being
implemented in all the markets and appearance of infected meat on
the counters is not possible," Baghian said.

The first case of African swine fever was recorded on August 7 in
Dilijan. At the end of August the fact of disease among the pigs was
confirmed by the Russian specialists. Armenian regions having border
with Georgia are defined to form the risk zone: there the number of
died pigs reached 21,000.

SEMNEBY’S PLANS TO VISIT NAGORNO KARABAKH REMAIN IN FORCE

armradio.am
05.09.2007 17:24

"My plans to visit Nagorno Karabakh remain in force," EU Special
Envoy for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby told APA.

Underlining that he had non-official meetings with the Foreign
Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in Brussels, Semneby
informed that the question of his visit to Nagorno Karabakh was
discussed. However, the terms of the visit have not been fixed so
far. It’s not clear either through which state the EU Special Envoy
will enter Nagorno Karabakh.

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
September 4, 2007
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY MEETS WITH HIGH-LEVEL UNITED NATIONS OFFICIALS

Washington, DC – An Armenian Assembly delegation met with the United
Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public
Information Kiyo Akasaka this month in New York, to exchange views on a
broad scope of issues, including international peace and security,
regional development, democracy and civil society-building, and human
rights as it pertains to the South Caucasus, and Central and Eastern
Europe.

The Under-Secretary-General noted how impressed he is of Armenia’s
progress towards social and economic development since independence, and
how important the Armenian Diaspora’s contribution has been to that
effort.

The Assembly delegation, led by Board of Trustees Member Jirair
Haratunian, Executive Director Bryan Ardouny, and Director of Research
and Analysis Armen Kharazian, reiterated its interest in sharing
knowledge and expertise, within the broader UN framework, regarding the
methodology and practice of development advocacy, in benefit of historic
homelands.

"Armenia may be a small country, but the Armenian Diaspora, with its
geographic reach and organizational capacity, imparts a global dimension
to the Armenian people – a tremendous value in today’s globalized
world," said Kharazian, the Assembly’s Main Representative to the United
Nations. "The Assembly intends to utilize that potential in full, to
the benefit of Armenia and its region, as well as the international
community as a whole."

The Assembly delegation also met with Shamina de Gonzaga, Special
Advisor on NGO Relations of the Office of the President of the General
Assembly. Both meetings were requested by the Assembly, to discuss
issues of interest or concern to the Armenian-American community,
including universal affirmation of the Armenian Genocide in the light of
the growing global focus on genocide prevention and other crimes against
humanity.

The UN meetings were followed by a session with Ambassador Armen
Martirosian, Armenia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, to discuss
strengthened collaboration between the Assembly and the Mission of
Armenia to the UN.

The meetings in New York provided an important stimulus to the
Assembly’s efforts to further develop its United Nations outreach and
advocacy strategy. The Armenian Assembly is an NGO in Special
Consultative Status with ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social
Council) since 1999.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding
and awareness of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
membership organization.

###

NR#2007-098

Photograph available on the Assembly Web site at the following links:

ges/PRESS_RELEASES_2007/Sep._4
_NR_098_1.jpg

Caption: L to R: Assembly Board of Trustees Member Jirair Haratunian,
UN Under-Secretary-General Kiyo Akasaka, Executive Director Bryan
Ardouny, and Director of Research and Analysis Armen Kharazian at the
United Nations.

mages/PRESS_RELEASES_2007/Sep._4
_NR_098_2.jpg

Caption: L to R: Assembly Board of Trustees Member Jirair Haratunuian,
Armenia’s Ambassador to the UN Armen Martirosian, Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny and Director of Research and Analysis Armen Kharazian.

ON INITIATIVE OF DUTCH MANAGER OF "HAYPOST", COLLABORATORS OF COMPANY ARE DISMISSED FROM WORK

Noyan Tapan
Sep 3, 2007

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Facts of mass dismissal of
collaborators have recently been registered in the "HayPost"
company. According to the information provided to a Noyan Tapan
correspondent by a reliable source, dismissal applications are
forced upon the collaborators by the Dutch manager of the "HayPost"
company. Gevorg Nalbandian, the Deputy Head of the company, heads
of three administrations and one department, eight collaborators of
guard service have already been dismissed from work.

The coordinator of the provision of communication of "HayPost" did not
deny the fact of the dismissals of the collaborators, but mentioned,
at the same time, that it is not of mass character and is being done
following the interests of the company.

It should be mentioned that according to the statement spread by
the manager of "HayPost", that is, the "HayPost Trust Management"
company, as a result of inner researches it was found out that the
company has incurred a loss of 2 billion drams (approximately 5.9
million U.S. dollars) on account of systematic violations of traffic
exploitation and management in the previous years. Serious violations
of working processes by a number of collaborators and heads have
been revealed. The above-mentioned materials have been sent to law
enforcement bodies.

GLOBAL GOLD CORPORATION REBUILDS SCHOOL IN BORDERING VILLAGE OF AREVIS

arminfo
2007-09-02 10:29:00

ArmInfo. The new educational year in the remote bordering village of
Arevis, Sisian region, Armenia, has started in a rebuilt school. The
school is the only educational and public facility in the village,
Arenis School Director Rita Grigoryan told ArmInfo.

She said the school has 6 pupils. This year, there is also a
first-grader.

The director and a teacher together try to teach the pupils all
the subjects they know. Director thanked GGC for rebuilding and
equipping the school, and for stationery. For his part, GGC Chief
Geologist Henrik Lazarian said the company is exploring Marjan gold
and poly-metallic deposit not far from the village and feels itself
responsible for the social and living conditions of the villagers. The
company is ready to finance also the higher education of the pupils.

Village headman Sasun Sahakyan told ArmInfo that it would be good
if GGC created jobs in the village and invested in Marjan deposit
to help the 25 families (142 people) who live on the insignificant
profit from cattle-breeding and plantation.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

NESIB LAHOUD VISITS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

Former Lebanese deputy and a prominent figure within the "March 14" Nesib
Lahoud visited His Holiness Aram I in Bikfaya yesterday. The Pontiff and his
guest met for over an hour and discussed the challenges facing Lebanon and
the upcoming presidential elections in the country.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

TURKEY TO BE FINALLY SPLIT UP
Haroutyun Gevorkyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily News, Armenia
Aug 30 2007

Interview with Kiro Manoyan, person in charge of "Hay Dat" and
political affairs office of the ARFD Bureau

"Mr. Manoyan, what changes can the election of Abdullah Gyul,
representative of the Islamic ‘Justice and Development’ party,
introduce in the country’s foreign and domestic policy?"

"Even though Mr. Gyul was elected in the third stage, the election
was in conformity with the Turkish laws. I think he would have
been elected in April if the Parliamentary factions opposing the
pro-Islamists had not applied to the Constitutional Court.

It is impossible to draw final conclusions now; instead, we should
wait and see what the end of this story will be. We already know that
the Army was not present at Mr. Gyul’s oath-taking ceremony, refusing
to be in the same atmosphere with his wife who wears a headscarf. It
is well-known that the Generals were against Mr. Gyul’s candidacy.

And today, it is a fact that President Gyul is also the
Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish armed forces.

The tension between the Army and the Government may dissipate in the
near future; however, it is not ruled out that civil control over
the Army may intensify. Whereas the right to pronounce the last word
belongs to the Army under the Turkish laws as well. At the same time,
the victory of "Justice and Development" party makes it obvious that
Turkey will pursue its efforts towards the EU membership. And this
implies a range of legislative reforms."

"It turns out that the Turkish-Islamists are striving to form
part of Europe, while the pro-Western-conservatives avoid such
developments. What logical bases does this Turkish puzzle have?"

"In comparison with the former authorities, the most significant
steps aimed at introducing fundamental changes in some Turkish laws,
at least on paper, were made by Mr. Erdoghan’s party which is currently
in power. It was necessary to do this in order to start negotiations
around the EU membership. ‘Justice and Development’ party does not
pursue a pro-Western or European ideology; it is just trying to solve
a problem of becoming an EU member.

The wife of the Turkish Prime Minister Erdoghan, for example, has
never participated in any official event because she wears a headscarf
– something that is banned by Turkish laws. The two daughters of
Mr. Erdoghan study in the United States because headscarves are
banned in Turkish Universities. And it is on the way towards the
European Union that the Turkish Government will try to eliminate the
ban on headscarves. The headscarf is viewed as a symbol of freedom,
and the political level of this particular state is this.

Whereas the so-called progressive elite, which is the supporter of
a secular and non-religious Turkey, is against the EU membership,
as it sees the restriction of its own opportunities on that way. The
Army is also in this camp. And there are real grounds for concern,
because the National Security Council of Turkey, for instance, has
ceased to be a military structure as a result of a change introduced
in the law. The Security Council is now a political structure whose
head is the country’s Prime Minister vs. the President.

Although there are substantial concerns in Turkey that the country
may move towards Islamic fundamentalism, there is also an apparent
tendency to present the ruling government as one consisting of Islamist
democrats, following the pattern of Christian-Democrats. As to how
long this ambiguity will continue and when the Army will feel that
its positions are jeopardized and the foundations of the state are
becoming looser, it is difficult to say. But the threat of the Army’s
intervention is always present."