Children Of Indigent Families Stay Out Of Kindergarten

CHILDREN OF INDIGENT FAMILIES STAY OUT OF KINDERGARTEN

Azg/arm
17 March 05

There are 225 kindergartens in Yerevan today that are financed out of
the prefectures’ budget. Most of the kindergartens both in Yerevan and
in the regions of Armenia have shortage of kids. Education minister of
Armenia, Sergo Yeritsian, said yesterday to a press conference that
only 30 percent of 5-6year olds and 15 percent of 1-5 year olds in
Armenia attend kindergartens.

The minister said that they are going to open new kindergartens in
marzes (regions) within the framework of Early Child Development
program carried out in cooperation with UNICEF. Kindergartens were
closed mainly in mountainous marzes and today there are no means to
reopen them. Proximate villages of Yerevan, such as Jrvezh, also need
infant schools, as they never had before.

According to figures from Yerevan prefectures, Davitashen borough has
today5 kindergartens against formerly 10, Avan – 7 against 10,
Shengavit has 31, Erebuni – 14. The Center borough has 22
kindergartens.

Numerous collages for 3-7 year olds sprang up lately in Yerevan and
attracted many parents. Judging from conversation with few parents,
the main reason why they prefer taking they children to collages
instead of traditional kindergarten is that kids ail more often in
kindergartens. The minister said that there are many issues concerning
heating the compounds of infant schools, food and the routine of
kindergartens. “The main purpose of our policy should be not forcing
the kid to the kindergarten but working out a free and flexible
routine enabling parents to keep children there as long as they want
and pay for that. I think that the infant school has to adapt to
parents’ working hours and kids ‘ need. The 4-hour routine should
remain, of course, to enable children gain some knowledge. Games
should prevail in the educational program”, minister of education
said.

The state allocates additional sums to the prefectures for solving
issues of early childhood protection. The minister said that the sums
will increase to overcome poverty and open doors of kindergarten to
more children.

Reforms envisaged in the preschool education for 2006 will safeguard
indigent families first of all. In several towns of Armenia – Qajaran
and Nor Hatchn – prefectures cover the expenses of needy families.

By Ruzan Poghosian

Rally Participants in Akhalkalak Bring Demands to Georgian Prez

RALLY PARTICIPANTS IN AKHALKALAK BRING FORWARD DEMANDS TO GEORGIAN
PRESIDENT AND PARLIAMENT

Noyan Tapan
2005-03-15 12:25:00

AKHALKALAK, 15.03.05. A demonstration took place in Akhalkalak
uniting about ten thousand people. The demonstration started at 10:00
AM and lasted till 1:00 PM. After the demonstration the participants
did not dissipate and on the main square a concert with Armenian
national songs took place. After this signatures were collected to be
sent to Mikhail Saakashvili and the Georgian parliament with the
following demands:

– recognition of the Armenian genocide of 1915 by the Georgian
Parliament.

– voting of a law on the protection of National Minorities Rights in
Georgia.

– abandon of the interdiction to teach Armenian history in Armenian
schools and the prohibition of excursions to Armenia for school
children in Armenian schools in Georgia.

– demand not to withdraw the Russian Military Base in Akhalkalak (as
it represents a major stability and economic factor for the region).

– return the administrative services to Akhalkalak (such as the
Passport division).

The Organization of the demonstration requests that their demands be
answered until March 31.

ANKARA: Tycoons Ask Gul About Possibility of Independent Kurdish St.

Zaman, Turkey
March 15 2005

Business Tycons Ask Gul About Possibility of Independent Kurdish
State
By Abdulhamit Bilici
Published: Tuesday 15, 2005
zaman.com

The Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met with businessmen as
part of his London trip that began on Saturday (March 12). Gul was
asked some crucial questions ranging from the Cyprus issue to the
Armenian problem, and from the ruling party Justice and Development
Party’s (AKP) inclination towards the Islamic ideology and to
acquiring a property in Turkey l.

Gul in response to a question regarding the probability of an
independent Kurdish state he said that this situation would lead to
chaos: “Everybody should remember the Iraqi identity. We do not want
a new chaos or anarchy,” he remarked. Reminding that Turks and Kurds
have lived together and have been friends since ancient times up to
the present day, Gul said “It is not right for both parties to
threaten each other,” Gul made the point that Iraq was an Arab
country and said: “What would the Arabs think about such a division?
What would the Iraqis think about this division? Not only Turkey but
all countries in the region are against such a division.” Gul
responded to a question regarding who will is likely to be the chief
negotiator during Turkey’s membership negotiations with the European
Union (EU), with: “The chief negotiator has turned into a tabloid
topic, much like a pop star. Prime minister will announce that soon.
I am the head of the delegation.” Minister Gul also delivered a
speech at one of the UK’s most prestigious universities, the London
School of Economics. Most notably the topic that dominated the
subjects of questions addressed to Gul, were regarding the issue of
“abuse against women”.

Karabakh Tensions Part of New Great Game

Karabakh Tensions Part of New Great Game
By John Antranig Kasbarian

Moscow Times, Russia
March 14 2005

As the United States and Russia continue their uneasy struggle for
influence across the CIS, a remote corner of the southern Caucasus is
gaining prominence once again, part of a series of regional subplots
that could aid or impede any grand designs for power. The corner in
question is Nagorny Karabakh, a tiny mountainous enclave inhabited
predominantly by Armenians, which was the scene of a brutal armed
struggle in the 1990s when local separatists successfully ended
Azerbaijan’s rule. Since that time, Karabakh’s Armenians have
controlled the enclave and its borderlands, having fashioned their
own republic, which enjoys significant support from neighboring
Armenia. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan refuses to acknowledge any change,
instead seeking Karabakh’s return to its full control.

Emerging in 1988, the Karabakh struggle was once heralded as a
test case for Soviet nationalities policy under Mikhail Gorbachev.
Karabakh’s Armenians, with the support of Armenia, initially sought
to secede from Azerbaijan, citing their constitutional right to
self-determination. However, when these demands met with violent
reprisals against Armenians across Azerbaijan, peaceful rallies and
petitions were replaced by low-intensity conflict pitting Armenian
partisans against Azerbaijan’s special forces, amid the rapid demise
of Soviet power.

With the fall of the Soviet Union, the Karabakh struggle quickly
spiraled into all-out war. By 1994, it had left tens of thousands
dead and hundreds of thousands uprooted on both sides. The conflict
also drew in a host of regional actors — Armenia and Azerbaijan, of
course, but also neighboring Turkey and Iran, as well as Russia and
eventually the United States. This made for a complex geopolitical
equation. Indeed, depending on whom you speak to, the Karabakh
issue is framed differently. For native Karabakhtsis, it is a
pure-and-simple national liberation struggle that seeks to remove
foreign occupation. For politicians in Yerevan and Baku, Karabakh
is an apple of discord vied over by competing states. For regional
powers, it is a political playing card, through which ethnic tensions
can be stoked, suppressed or otherwise manipulated depending on the
interests at stake. The problem, of course, is that all four levels
operate simultaneously within a hierarchical nest of power relations.

Following a 1994 cease-fire, the Karabakh conflict has subsided
to a large extent. True, border skirmishes continue, and military
preparedness remains a priority for Armenians and Azeris alike. Yet
all concede that a tenuous “not-war, not-peace” environment has
slowly set in. The war on the ground has been largely replaced by
a war of words, as all sides press for advantage at the negotiating
table. Meanwhile, these sides seek to create new facts-on-the-ground
that will bolster their positions in the future. For example, the
self-declared Nagorny Karabakh Republic has consolidated its de facto
independence by establishing firm links to Armenia, on which it now
relies for substantial economic and political support. At the same
time, Azerbaijan has skillfully parlayed its trump card — massive
Caspian energy reserves — into a strong multilateral foreign policy
that has steered away from dependence on Russia and toward friendly
ties with Turkey and the United States, thus creating a favorable
mix of anxiety and dependence among those who seek favor with Baku.
Diplomacy aside, there are also concerns that oil and gas money now
entering Baku may contribute to its remilitarization, thus leading
to renewed hostilities.

In this war of maneuver, uneasy coexistence has been the norm for the
last decade or so. In Baku, Soviet strongman and former President
Haidar Aliyev made some noise occasionally, but generally remained
low-key, as he favored negotiated solutions and steered clear of any
destabilizing developments that might upset investors. In Yerevan,
the dovish President Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his successor, the
slightly more hawkish Robert Kocharyan, have been even less prone to
belligerence, given the ongoing pressures they face from neighboring
Turkey and the United States, which have scarcely concealed their
support for Azerbaijan. Perhaps most compelling has been the rivalry
between the United States and Russia, as the two have evinced markedly
different approaches to the region. The former seeks a negotiated
settlement within an East-West integrated sphere of influence that
would extend from Turkey to Central Asia, effectively cutting off
Iran from Russia. The latter has sought permanent instability in
Karabakh and elsewhere that would ensure the Caucasus’ continuance
as its primary zone of influence.

This slow-motion dance has faltered only twice: once in early 1998
when Ter-Petrosyan was ousted after becoming too conciliatory in
his talks with Aliyev and again in 2001 when Kocharyan and Aliyev
agreed to a tentative compromise that blew up when Aliyev returned
to Baku and apparently changed his mind. Today, however, things
appear to be changing: Ilham Aliyev, recent successor to Haidar, has
retained his father’s authoritarian habits at home while demonstrating
increasing belligerence abroad, both in his pronouncements and concrete
initiatives. He is emboldened by Russia’s seeming retreat, coupled with
the United State’s recent involvement in the region, as well as its
present attempts to court Baku in the campaign to isolate Iran. Thus,
with wind in his sails, Aliyev has combined periodic threats to retake
Karabakh by force with diplomatic offensives designed to paint Armenia
as the conflict’s aggressor. The most recent initiative is a proposed
UN resolution decrying Karabakh’s hold over “occupied territories”
surrounding the enclave, in which Baku demands that Armenians evacuate
these lands before negotiating anything regarding Karabakh’s status.

Armenians reply that these are buffer zones, required as a cushion
against possible future attacks — a claim supported by the occasional
war cries that still emanate from Baku. Moreover, Karabakh’s
authorities report that their “occupation” hardly resembles the West
Bank or Baghdad; rather, Karabakh’s borderlands have been settled
sporadically and unevenly, in many cases by itinerant refugees driven
from Azerbaijan during the war years. These claims, too, have been
borne out, most recently by French mediator Bernard Fassier, who was
in Karabakh as part of an OSCE monitoring team in January. Fassier
notes in part, “In many areas there is no electricity and poverty
predominates. I wouldn’t say people live. Rather, they are surviving
in half-destroyed walls topped by a tin roof.”

Not surprisingly, Armenians have rejected Baku’s territorial
preconditions for a settlement, saying that the central issues —
guarantees of Karabakh’s security and, ultimately, its political
status — must remain at the forefront of any negotiating process.
Azerbaijan replies by stressing Karabakh’s illegitimacy as a party in
negotiations, insisting it will only deal in state-to-state scenarios
involving Armenia.

So what is to be done? Having spent a good deal of the past decade
in Karabakh, I know first-hand that native Armenians are stubbornly
distrustful of Azeri authorities, and would sooner die than return
to the pre-1988 status quo. Accordingly, Azerbaijan must take the
fundamental steps of acknowledging Karabakh’s right to exist and
allowing its inclusion as a side to the negotiations. No solution —
no matter how clever — can work without local involvement.

A second issue, however, is perhaps even more thorny: It involves the
regional balance of power and, specifically, how Russia intends to
react to growing U.S. aggressiveness in and around the Caucasus. If
Russia retreats, leaving matters in the hands of U.S.-led interests,
more blood may be spilled before a solution is reached. On the other
hand, Russia must acknowledge that it cannot use the blunt instruments
and blatant manipulations of its recent past, if it is to maintain
influence. Rather, Moscow’s intentions must become more transparent,
aiming to build trust within a framework of regional cooperation
rather than by perpetuating instability among vassal states. Otherwise,
the stalemate will continue well into the next decade.

John Antranig Kasbarian holds a Ph.D. in geography from Rutgers
University and serves as Nagorny Karabakh program director for the
New York-based Tufenkian Foundation. He contributed this comment to
The Moscow Times.

Religion Digest

telegram.com
Saturday, March 12, 2005

Religion Digest

Annual Lenten dinner at Armenian church

WORCESTER – The Nor Serunt of the Armenian Congregational Church of the
Martyrs, 22 Ormond St., will present the church’s annual Lenten dinner at 1
p.m. tomorrow in the church. The menu will feature traditional Armenian
Lenten dishes, including Vospov Kheyma, a lentil and bulghur patty, and
Yalanchi, grape leaves stuffed with rice. Tickets, to be sold at the door,
cost $10 for adults and $5 for children. For reservations, call Crystal at
(508) 792-2539.

Christian music artist to perform in Hudson

HUDSON – Nancy Tutunjian of Watertown will perform at 7 p.m. March 19 at The
Higher Ground Coffee House in First United Methodist Church, 34 Felton St.
She has been writing and recording contemporary Christian music for 15
years. A donation will be collected at intermission.

Armenian president not worried about peaceful settlement of Karabakh

Armenian president not worried about peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict

Arminfo
11 Mar 05

Yerevan, 11 March: At present, Armenia has no reason to worry about
the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan told journalists today.

He said that the current format of recognized international mediation,
which has been formed with aim of settling the Karabakh conflict,
is doing its job. The president warned against drawing far-reaching
conclusions about various statements and reports on Karabakh.

“The process is taking place within the framework of mediation
recognized by the international community, and I have no slightest
reason to worry – everything is normal,” Kocharyan said.

AAA: Sen. Allen Challenges Senate Hearing Witness On Armenian Genoci

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]

SENATOR ALLEN CHALLENGES SENATE HEARING WITNESS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly today commended longtime
Armenian issues supporter Senator George Allen (R-VA) for challenging
the assertions made by a panelist who testified before a Senate
Foreign Relations Subcommittee that passage of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution would harm U.S.-Turkish relations.

During a hearing on “The Future of Democracy in the Black Sea Area,”
on March 8, Zeyno Baran, Director of International Security and
Energy Programs for the Nixon Center, voiced her opposition to the
genocide resolution, saying that congressional passage of the bill
would further impair relations between Washington and Ankara.

“Given the prevalent Turkish view that the U.S. is running a campaign
against Turkey, it would be very damaging if the Armenian Genocide
resolution passed Congress this year,” Baran said. “This year
is the 90th anniversary of the tragic 1915 massacre and certainly
Armenian diaspora groups would like to get recognition. However,
such a resolution would play right into the hands of the growing set
of anti-Americans and ultra-nationalists in Turkey.”

Allen, who chaired the hearing before the Subcommittee on European
Affairs, countered that although the U.S. wants good relations with
Turkey, Washington is not “willing to sweep history under the rug.”

In a conversation with Assembly leaders today, Allen said he is deeply
troubled by this type of rhetoric which undercuts the U.S.-Turkey,
as well as the U.S.-Armenia relationships.

“The basis of a truly enduring and reliable U.S.-Turkey relationship
is the truth,” Allen said. “It is past time for America to affirm
the historical record and recognize the Armenian Genocide.”

In a similar vein, Bruce Jackson, President of the Project on
Transitional Democracies, testified at the same hearing and declared
in a statement for the record: “Just because Turkish officials become
indignant at the mention of a genocide campaign conducted by Ottoman
authorities against Armenian civilians in the early years of the last
century does not mean that coming to terms with history should not
be discussed between democratic allies. If we are to succeed where
democracy is at risk, we must be clear in what we say and do.”

Allen, who has co-sponsored previous Armenian Genocide Resolutions
during his tenure in the Senate, has joined calls to urge President
Bush to properly characterize the events of 1915 in his annual
statement of remembrance next month. Recently, U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia John Evans repeatedly evoked the Armenian Genocide during
his first stateside visit to Armenian communities across the country.
During a series of public exchanges with Armenians late last month,
Evans said “The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the
twentieth century.”

Following Evans’ public declarations, the Assembly mobilized its
nationwide network of activists to respond, by urging President Bush to
also properly characterize the attempted annihilation of the Armenians
as Genocide.

The Assembly campaign for reaffirmation was bolstered last week by
former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Harry Gilmore, who acknowledged the
Armenian Genocide and called for international recognition during an
interview with Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.

The retired diplomat told the U.S.-funded news organizations that,
“There is no doubt that the Armenian events were genocide.”

For information on how to get involved in the Assembly campaign for
U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide, log onto the Assembly
Web site at or email the Assembly’s grassroots branch,
ARAMAC, at [email protected].

The Armenian Assembly of America 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#2005-025

–Boundary_(ID_2ZiyuaDkM3pn41+eIrtRxw)–

www.armenianassembly.org
www.aaainc.org

U.S. Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce :: :: President Approves Budget

USACC, DC
8 Mar 2005

U.S. Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce :: :: President Approves Budget
of State Oil Fund

President Approves Budget of State Oil Fund

03/11/2005

On March 2, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev approved the
State Oil Fund’s (SOFAZ) budget for 2005 with revenues estimated at
1.078 trillion manat ($220 million) and expenditures of 1.073
trillion manat ($219 million).

SOFAZ along with the National Bank of Azerbaijan holds the currency
reserves of Azerbaijan, which exceeded $1.7 billion in January 2005,
of which $970.5 million were at SOFAZ, some $155 million higher than
at the beginning of 2004.

In 2004, the fund’s revenues were $329.6 million against expenditures
of $174.7 million.

In 2005, SOFAZ plans to receive 849.6 billion manat ($173.4 million)
from sales of Azerbaijan’s quota of profit oil from the
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore fields, 43.4 billion manat ($8.8
million) from acreage payments, 73.9 billion manat ($16.2 million)
from oil transit through the Baku-Supsa pipeline, and 110.7 billion
($22.5 million) from asset management.

Within its expenditures, 202 billion manat ($41.2 million) will be
allocated to refugees and IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons)
affected by the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with Armenia, 105 billion
manat ($21.4 million) will go towards financing Azerbaijan’s stake in
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and 750 billion manat ($153
million) will be transferred to the state coffers.

Source: Caspian Business News

ANKARA: ‘It seems we’re waking up’

Turkish Daily News
Friday, March 11 2005

>>From the Columns:

‘It seems we’re waking up’

Hürriyet’s Oktay Ekºi commented on the Armenian issue and said that
Parliament has launched a campaign against the last three items
supporting the Armenian genocide claims.

After congratulating the CHP and the AKP on their move, Ekºi says
that one of the items used to support the claim is a telegraph
message that allegedly belonged to Gen. Talat Paºa. Talat Paºa was a
military official in charge of one of the regions where the Armenians
lived. This message was proven to have been spurious.

The second item is a memorandum from Hans J. Morgenthau (a
prominent German-born American scientist) who was the U.S. ambassador
to the Ottoman Empire when the alleged genocide is claimed to have
taken place. Contradictions between official reports Morgenthau sent
to Washington and a memorandum, typed by his assistant of Armenian
origin, proves that the memorandum is invalid, said Ekºi.

Now Turkey is aiming to disprove the validity of a 1916 publication
from the British Parliament called “The Treatment of Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916,” otherwise known as the “Blue Book,” said
Ekºi, adding, the book was published as an act of propaganda by the
British propaganda bureau.

–Boundary_(ID_XMr//hEXmlVI32LB7AQLhw)–

Assembly Board Of Trustees Convene For Annual Meeting In Florida

ASSEMBLY BOARD OF TRUSTEES CONVENE FOR ANNUAL MEETING IN FLORIDA

YEREVAN, MARCH 10. ARMINFO. The Armenian Assembly of America held
its annual national meeting in Boca Raton, Florida last week to
review operations in Washington, Los Angeles and Yerevan, launch new
initiatives and honor those who have served the Armenian cause with
distinction. ARMINFO was informed in the press office of AAA, the
33rd annual Board of Trustees meeting was held March 4-5 at the Boca
Raton Resort and Club and included two full days of business meetings.

As the first order of business, Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair
Hovnanian welcomed participants and thanked them for their involvement
in the meeting. Reflecting on the standard for the Assembly’s
three decades of service to the Armenian people, Hovnanian said
it was imperative to continually “strive for perfection in all the
Assembly does.” He also challenged each member to grow the Assembly
exponentially, so that the organization can better support the citizens
of Armenia and Karabakh to face the enormous challenges ahead. Looking
ahead, participants reviewed the Assembly’s legislative priorities
which include: maintaining robust assistance to Armenia and Karabakh,
maintaining U.S. military assistance parity for Armenia and Azerbaijan,
further promoting U.S.-Armenia trade relations, confronting Turkish
and Azerbaijani blockades and reasserting the basis for Nagorno
Karabakh’s self-determination. In addition, the Assembly reiterated
its pledge to secure U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide
and actively participate in community-wide commemorations of the 90th
anniversary. To achieve these goals and others, including assisting
Armenian communities in war-torn Iraq, Assembly leaders said they will
need to rely more strongly on members and activists across the country.

Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chair Frank Pallone, Jr.
(D-NJ), who attended and participated in the events, addressed
supporters during the Friday night welcoming reception. Pallone
discussed the recent public declarations by U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia John Evans, who candidly affirmed the Armenian Genocide
during his visit with Armenian communities across the U.S. Pallone
said Evans’ remarks did not contradict U.S. policy, but rather
articulated the same message that the Bush Administration has set
forth in the President’s annual April 24 proclamations. Pallone again
pledged to pursue U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide. Also
during the meeting, the following Trustees Officers were re-elected
for 2005: Chairman Hirair Hovnanian, President Carolyn Mugar, Vice
President Gerard L. Cafesjian, Vice President Robert A. Kaloosdian,
Vice President Noubar Afeyan, Vice President Joyce Stein, Secretary
Peter Vosbikian, Counselor Robert A. Kaloosdian and Solicitor Albert
Momjian. Edele Hovnanian was elected Treasurer, a position previously
held by Afeyan. Assembly officials also welcomed two new members to
the Board of Directors – Associate Trustee Lu Ann Ohanian of Belmont,
Massachusetts and former Director John