Month: August 2008

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF MILLENIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT-ARMENIA SNCO MET, PRESIDED AT BY GC CHAIRMAN, RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN

The Official Website of the Government of the Republic of Armenia
Aug 7 2008

The session discussed and approved the shortlist and the invitation
of bids for the Ararat valley drainage system design and construction
monitoring as part of the MCA-Armenia Irrigated Agriculture Project
Infrastructure Activity, the evaluation results of combined technical
and financial proposals on consulting services for the next stages
of survey of farming activities under the monitoring and evaluation
component of the MCA-Armenia Program. The above-stated shortlist,
the invitation of bids and the results of combined technical and
financial proposals on consulting services will be submitted for the
MCC approval.

The meeting has also reviewed and approved the MCA-Armenia SNCO
staffing plan and organizational structure. The decision on increased
level of staffing was said to stem from the requirements stipulated in
the reference note on the further activities of the MCA-Armenia SNCO
as discussed at the previous Governing Council meeting of July 23,
2008 in connection with the revision of the Irrigated Agriculture
Project Infrastructure Activity. In particular, the MCA-Armenia
is going to recruit design and construction engineers to ensure
implementation efficiency and quality supervision for the Irrigated
Agriculture Project Infrastructure Activity. Also, there will be hired
an organizational strengthening specialist and a number of experts for
environmental and social impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation
activities at the rate of one specialist per each activity. The
Governing Council-approved staffing plan and organizational chart will
subsequently be handed over to the MCC for endorsement. Upon receipt
of such endorsement, they will be forwarded to the Republic of Armenia
Government Staff for approval with the latter being MCA-Armenia SNCO
authorized representative under the compact.

TWO MOTHERS ISSUE PLEA FOR RETURN OF SONS
By Larry Altman

Daily Breeze

Aug 7 2008
CA

Two mothers whose former husbands from Westchester abducted their
sons a month ago tearfully reached out to their children Wednesday,
urging them to pray and stay strong, and telling them they will come
home soon.

Speaking in front of reporters and television cameras outside the
Pacific Division police station in Los Angeles, Zanni Meguerian
pleaded for the men to return their boys.

"George, for once in your life, do the right thing," Meguerian
said. "Please do not keep the kids in harm’s way. Please return them
back to me where they’ll be safe.

"You can hide. You can run. You can do whatever you want. Let the
children go. Drop them off at a fire station, at a police department,
at a hospital, at a church. Somewhere where they’d be safely able to
come back home to me. Please just do the right thing."

Meguerian’s former husband, George Silah, 46, failed to return her
sons, Alex, 12, and Zaven, 8, from a summer visitation that ended
July 6. Silah’s brother, John Silah, 47, who formerly was married to
Christine Jeanbart, is presumed to be with them and her son, Greg, 10.

"John, you know how much my son is attached to me, how much he loves
me. Please do the right thing," Jeanbart said.

"That poor kid is probably asking for his mother. Do the right
thing. Drop him off at a church, at a police station. Let him call me."

Prosecutors have filed arrest warrants for both men, charging each
with three counts of child abduction. A judge also has awarded full
custody to the women in the men’s absence.

During an emotional news conference, each woman talked directly
through the cameras to their sons, holding back tears as they spoke.

"Alex, Zaven, I miss you guys so much," Meguerian said. "I love you
honey. We are all looking for you and we are going to find you. Please
take care of each other."

Meguerian urged her sons to call 911 or ask someone for help.

"Please, please just pray and stay strong," she said."

The women fear their children are in danger because the men skipped
town, abandoning their Westchester house and allegedly embezzling as
much as $6 million from angry investors.

The men, American citizens who are natives of Syria, could be trying to
return to the Middle East, but do not have passports for the children.

The women at first did not believe their sons’ lives were endangered,
but found 44 threatening messages on their former husbands’ telephones
from angry members of the Armenian community who lost money to the men.

Messages include threats to torture and kill them.

"Their background is somewhat scurrilous," said private investigator
John Nazarian, whom the women hired to assist the search. "They scammed
literally over 100 people in what I estimate is over $6 million."

Los Angeles police Lt. Richard Mossler said detectives are working
to find the Silahs, but so far have had no luck.

"We are actively looking anyplace we get hints where they may be,"
Mossler said. "We don’t know where they are right now."

Police believe the men are driving a silver 2008 Infiniti G5.

"Please help these mothers be reunited with their children,"
Mossler said.

Meguerian and Jeanbart have pushed hard for news coverage in the
last few weeks to get their message out. Stories have run locally
and nationally.

"We are getting some great tips in," Nazarian said. "It started as a
snowball fight, and it’s slowly turning into an avalanche, and John
and George better get some boots on."

MATTHEW BRYZA AGAIN REFUTES WORDS, SPREAD ON HIS BEHALF

Today.Az
/46814.html
Aug 7 2008
Azerbaijan

It is already not funny. It is more like a soap opera, which can be
called "The tragedy of a diplomat".

The point is that US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza
again refuted words, spread by journalists on his behalf. Matthew
Bryza seems to add to the history of the world diplomacy as a person,
whose words were constantly "distorted" and which he had to refute.

If previously in Armenia he rebutted the words, spread by Azerbaijani
journalists and in Azerbaijan by Armenians, this time, he trapped
Russian media representatives, if exactly, Interfax news agency. The
point is M.Bryza’s statement, spread by Interfax, according to which
he said "Karabakh residents will decide themselves whether they will
fall under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction or no".

In his interview to BBC Azerbaijan press service, M.Bryza said his
words had been distorted and misinterpreted.

The full text of M.Bryza’s interview to BBC is given below. We do
hope that the US co-chair will not say that journalists of this world
famous radio have distorted his words again.

– People who read just a part of my interview to Interfax, had
drawn wrong conclusions, as it does not contain the details of the
affais. Therefore, they do not take into account some details. People
in Azerbaijan consider that I have said that Nagorno Karabakh residents
will soon determine their fate. In the reality, I have said that there
is a large package of proposals. These are just proposals from the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. These proposals include withdrawal of
Armenian troops from seven regions around Nagorno Karabakh, return
of Azerbaijani IDP, deployment of peacekeeping forces and creation
of a certain kind of communication between Armenia and Karabakh.

It can also include a kind of voting. I can not say it may be a
referendum or a plebiscite or a form of voting to involve Nagorno
Karabakh residents.It may occur in the future, of which we can not
speak now. But it may occur only after IDP return to their homes. It
was also stated by Novruz Mamedov.

The details of this voting have not been defined yet. Voting details
can be defined only in the framework of any major agreement. It
means that nothing has been coordinated before the full package
has been coordinated. We do not force anyone to accept any
version of the resolution, we just make our proposals. Agreement
on the status of Nagorno Karabakh can be reached only between
Azerbaijan and Armenia. The parties should reach the consensus
independently. Otherwise, there is no sense of proposals, made by
the co-chairs.

– Mr.Bryza, Interfax reads quoting on you that "Karabakh residents
should decide whether to fall under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction or
no". But Azerbaijan says that regardless of the form of a peaceful
agreement Nagorno Karabakh must remain part of Azerbaijan. A referendum
or a voting can only define the status of Nagorno Karabakh’s remaining
a part of Azerbaijan. Perhaps, the government of Azerbaijan reacted
so sharply to it, therefore…

– If Interfax has published something, it does not mean that it is
exactly like that. I spend too much time on distorted words and
wrong quotes. In this case we become the witnesses of incorrect
interpretation of my words. The reality is that we base our work on
the territorial integrity and that is all.

– Cannot any referendum change it?

– We recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. This
international principle has a high diplomatic status. At the same
time, there are political, not jural, but political principles,
important for the Armenian side. If an agreement is reached, it means
both parties should sign it. The parties should reach an agreement
on the previously confirmed platform that is on the basis of the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. But this agreement should also
envision political agreements important for the other party. We are
currently working on this agreement.

– Perhaps, this event shows the difference in positions of the parties
during the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Which progress
has been attained as compared to the last year?

– It is a founded question. We have not reached any serious
achievements through the past year, as this year was full of
cataclysms. Elections in Armenia, ending in tragic violence,
were shocking. It caused the need to establish familiarization
contacts between Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents and the Foreign
Ministers. And it really took place.

The Presidents called the meeting in Saint Petersburg constructive. It
is now possible to say that the process has returned to its normal
course. But it can still be said that no significant progress has
been attained on fundamental issues through the past year. Now it
is possible to hold serious discussions between the leaders of the
two countries.

– Mr.Bryza, have you contacted the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan
regarding the interview in the Interfax and given any explanation?

– Certainly, I have.

– Why wasn’t your answer made public?

– This question should be addressed to them. But I am sure that
Azerbaijan is aware of our position. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
is familiarized with these proposals and they are aware of my position
and trust me. I am satisfied with it. The most important is that the
citizens of the two countries, officials of the Foreign Ministry or
simply citizens, concerned with this issue, should realize the only
thing: resolution is impossible without compromise.

Therefore, in both countries the debates should be more open. The
realities should be widely taken into account. Both parties should
get used to the idea of conceding and getting something. Yet the
concessions and obtainment should be based on the principles of the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

– Mr.Bryza, Azerbaijani press often publishes critical articles,
addressed to you. According to them, M.Bryza says one thing in Armenia
and different things in Azerbaijan and then complains that his words
have been distorted. Do you plan to take any explanations on it?

– I think the main problem is the interpretation of my words. In some
cases I sent my remarks to Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists in
English. They mistranslated my words. I think my words are initially
translated from one language into another and then into a third
one. After it my words are interpreted either by translators or
journalists. At the same time, wrong and distorted variants of my
words are published. It is only left to correct them.

I am quite consistent in what I say. I have been the co-chair
for already two years and through this period I have always been
consistent in my statements. Therefore, I can only ask journalists to
do their work. If they have questions they may address to me again
and I can clarify the questions. I understand that both journalists
and translators can make mistakes. We all can make mistakes.

If there is a mistake, it is my duty to correct it. But I am consistent
in my statements and I am well aware of proposals, aimed at the
resolution of the conflict. I am also one of the authors of these
proposals. In the end I want to say that these issues may create a
stir, both politically and emotionally. Sometimes, some translators
and journalists hear only the moments, they want to hear. The current
case is an example of it.

I read the first article regarding this interview on Friday, upon my
return from the meeting in Moscow. It reads: "Bryza says referendum
on Karabakh will be held". These words do not reflect what I said. I
spoke of the voting process. We do not know which form the voting
will have and whether it will be held at all.

As terminology is unclear, it should be defined. We do not know the
possible terms of possible voting. Therefore, some people hear about
the concept of voting and say that we want it to occur. Therefore,
they interpret it as "referendum".

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WEAVER’S REMARKS SLAMMED
By Jeremy Oberstein

Glendale News Press
08/08/07/politics/gnp-article07.txt
Aug 7 2008
CA

Article sparks outrage when councilman hints Armenians oppose
smoking ban.

GLENDALE — A small but irate contingent of Glendale residents
admonished Councilman Dave Weaver during Tuesday night’s City Council
meeting for comments he made to a local publication last week that
seemed directed against the city’s sizable Armenian population.

In the June 26 edition of the Pasadena Weekly, Weaver was asked about
a possible ban on smoking in Glendale, to which he said: "I don’t care
if it’s popular. It’s the right thing to do. But there will be a lot
of opposition from one segment of the population that loves to smoke,"
a veiled reference to many of the city’s Armenians.

Due to an editing error, the quote was attributed to Mayor John
Drayman, and the article was eventually amended to reflect Weaver’s
sentiment.

The Glendale chapter of the Armenian National Committee immediately
seized on Weaver’s comments, issuing an alert to its more than 7,000
members to contact Drayman and the four other councilmen to "condemn
Councilmember Weaver’s continuous unethical behavior on the dias
[sic] and to request a public apology from the councilmember."

On Tuesday, residents called for Weaver’s censure, his resignation
and expressed outrage that an elected official was behind comments
perceived to be directed against Glendale’s largest minority.

"I am dismayed in the year 2008, anyone would stereotype a segment
of an entire community on any single issue," Glendale ANC chairman
Artin Manoukian said. "It is even more shocking when the person
doing that is an elected official. When someone is elected to office,
it is their responsibility to demand equality and justice."

Missing from Tuesday night’s meeting was Councilman Bob Yousefian
and Weaver, who said a family matter precluded his attendance at
the meeting.

Weaver declined to comment about Tuesday night’s reaction, saying:
"I’ll be there next week."

Not all of the meeting’s attendees berated Weaver for his comments.

Glendale resident Evelyn Hanson sought to cool the heels of outraged
reaction by recognizing what she felt unified those in the chamber
instead of what divided the group.

"People just need to let go of the anger," Hanson said. "Sometimes
people say things they wouldn’t have said otherwise, but we need to
let go of the anger and forget the prejudice and forget perpetuating
prejudice. They really need to let go of the divisiveness."

But others in the chamber, including Councilman Ara Najarian,
said Weaver’s comments represented a chance for the city to combat
prejudice and that people should be encouraged to stand up for what
they believe to be a racial slight.

"I think it is an important thing to stand up [against] racial
prejudice wherever it’s seen, especially someone on the council,"
Najarian said. "Should we tell Rosa Parks to chill out, that the back
of the bus wasn’t so bad? No. We’ve got to bring this up. We’ve got
to confront it with the hope that we improve the situation and people
realize they can’t make stereotypical comments and racial comments."

That sentiment was shared by the ANC, which has seen a sharp increase
in membership since Weaver’s comments were first circulated.

Officials with the group have recorded 127 new contacts and said they
have received about 760 letters and more than 60 calls a day since
the article was published.

ANC leaders were quick to say Wednesday that though they had benefited
in the form of increased membership from Weaver’s comments, the focus
should remain on the issue at hand.

"I don’t want any one to turn this into an Armenian, non-Armenian
issue," Glendale ANC Executive Director Elen Asatryan said. "It really
is not about the smoking issue or the Armenian-American community. It’s
deeper than that. I was happy to get phone calls from non-Armenians who
said Councilman Weaver has always taken an extreme stance on things and
his reaction to any minority is open and ugly. It’s one thing to hear
it from Armenians, it’s another thing to hear it from non-Armenians."

The ANC also took umbrage at the portrayal of Armenian smoking habits
in the Pasadena Weekly article in which reporter Carl Kozlowski wrote
that Weaver was referring to "the city’s substantial and politically
influential Armenian community, where smoking tobacco — both in
cigarette form and from hookahs — is a widely enjoyed after-dinner
cultural tradition."

Asatryan strongly dismissed that contention and said support and
opposition for the proposed ban against smoking is divided among many
of Glendale’s Armenians.

"[Smoking] is not an after-dinner tradition, I promise you," Asatryan
said. "Something like this should have never been published."

A survey that the ANC recently conducted showed that 45% of the 740
people asked supported the proposed ban while 61% of survey takers
claimed to be nonsmokers.

Kozlowski and editor Kevin Uhrich appeared at the meeting and expressed
regret for the misattribution — which they corrected after the error
was found — and met with ANC leaders July 31 to sooth relations.

To assuage their concerns, officials with the Pasadena Weekly agreed to
let Asatryan write a guest column in a future issue breaking down the
tenets of the survey and listing some of the ANC’s primary grievances.

"We try really hard, but we make mistakes — we’re human," Uhrich
said. "This is just one of those unfortunate occurrences where we’ve
taken, I think, appropriate action to correct."

RUSSIA THREATENS NEW DEPLOYMENTS TO OFFSET US MISSILE SHIELD
Andrzej Poczobut

Gazeta Wyborcza
,86871,5562840,Russia _Threatens_New_Deployments_to_Offset_US_Missile.ht ml
Aug 7 2008
Poland

Moscow has again threatened Poland and the Czech Republic. The
Russian ambassador in Minsk warned yesterday Russia would deploy new
missiles and bomber squadrons to Belarus and the Kaliningrad enclave
in response to the two countries’ consent to host elements of the US
missile defence system

‘If the US and Poland ultimately reach an agreement on the installation
of the missile defence system, Russia will need to consider what
steps to undertake and what decisions to make’, Alexander Surikov,
the Russian ambassador to Belarus, said in Minsk yesterday.

According to Mr Surikov, such a response could be for Russia to
deploy to Belarus and the Kaliningrad enclave its ground-ground
Iskander-M missiles with which the Russian armed forces are currently
being equipped. The Iskanders-M in the Kaliningrad enclave would be
aimed at the Polish missile defence base, and those in Belarus – at
the radar base the Czechs have already agreed to host. Russia would
also move strategic bombers to bases in Belarus and around the city
of Kaliningrad.

This time the ambassador reserved that the ‘installation of nuclear
weapons’ was not being considered as an option. This marks a progress,
since a year ago the very same Mr Surikov spoke of Russia’s plans
to deploy such weapons to Belarus in response to the missile defence
project. Later, under pressure from his superiors, he backed out on
those combative pledges.

Russian generals made similar threats as Mr Surikov last year. In
August, Col Gen Nikolai Bordyuzha, Secretary General of the Collective
Security Treaty Organisation (a military pact of the CIS, with
members including Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
and Uzbekistan), said that the US missile defence project should be
responded to with a ‘new international military structure resembling
Soviet military structures’.

The prospect of close military cooperation with Russia suits
Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko, who has reacted equally
angrily to the US plans. Russia operates in Belarus a radiolocation
base called Volga in the town of Gantsevichi, and a navy remote
control centre in Vileika, Mink region.

Mr Lukashenko likes to remind the Russians, ‘You have no manpower
between Moscow and the West except the 65,000-strong, well-equipped
and well-trained Belarussian army’.

And he has benefited from that – two years ago, Russia sold Belarus
the advanced S-300 ground-to-air missile defence systems, which were
deployed with the 115th Air Defence Brigade stationed right near the
Polish border. Mt Lukashenko also hopes for Russia to sell oil and gas
to Belarus at preferential prices as a means of returning the favour.

Mr Lukashenko would gladly hand over to the Russians the former Soviet
strategic bomber base in Machulishchi near Minsk and would like to
have the Iskander-M missiles, whose range of over 400 km would cover
most of Poland’s territory.

But Russian military experts interviewed by Gazeta criticised Mr
Surikov’s ideas.

According to Ruslan Pukhov, Director of the Moscow-based Centre for
Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Mr Surikov had succumbed to
the tendency, currently fashionable in Russia, for sabre rattling.

‘A couple of days ago we heard about our armed forces returning
to Cuba. Now the bombers and Iskanders to Belarus. We have enough
flight-worthy strategic members to send them from time to time on
ostentatious flights along Nato borders. The Iskanders are few too,
too few to have them in place where they are really needed: near
the border with Georgia and near Nagorno-Karabakh, where tension is
growing between Armenia and Azerbaijan’, said Mr Pukhov.

According to Alexander Khramchin at the Institute for Political
and Military Analysis in Moscow too deploying strategic bombers and
missiles to Belarus would be ‘utter stupidity and mismanagement’.

‘The reasons why the Americans want to build the missile defence in
Poland don’t convince me. But some Russian generals’ and politicians’
propositions are even more amazing’, said Mr Khramchin.

‘As part of standard mutual deterioration procedures, the missile
shield will be put on the list of our missile forces’ targets. This is
not any particularly hostile gesture – after all, the anti-air system
around Moscow is on the list of US targets. We don’t have mid-range
missiles, so either one of the intercontinental missiles stationed in
Russia will be retargeted on the missile shield base, or the military
will designate aircraft with cruise missiles that will be responsible
for destroying the base in case of conflict’, said Mr Khramchin.

KYRGYZ PRESIDENT TO VISIT AZERBAIJAN: FOREIGN MINISTER

Trend News Agency
Aug 7 2008
Azerbaijan

Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, 6 August / corr. Trend News R.Meshadihasanli / The
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev intends to visit Azerbaijan, Ednan
Karabayev, the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister, told Trend News on 6 August.

"An exact date of this visit is still to be fixed and preparations
are being conducted in this direction," the Minister said. He hopes
that an exact date of President Bakiyev’s visit will be fixed at a
bilateral meeting between the Azerbaijani and Kyrgyz Presidents at
the summit of heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
countries to be held in Bishkek in autumn.

Taking into consideration the potential of relations between Kyrgyzstan
and Azerbaijan and economic growth, Karabayev is sure that interaction
of two countries is still at an initial stage. "We appraised opening
of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Bishkek, which will enable bilateral
integration," he said. He considers trade and economic cooperation
as the most important element in these relations and it should
begin with the opening of airlines and formation of other transport
communications.

According to Karabayev, Kyrgyzstan intends to draw a maximum attention
to energy field, mining, refining industry and tourism from 2008
to 2011 under Development Strategy of the country, adopted by the
Kyrgyz President. "Respectively, these can become the fields of the
cooperation between our countries," he said.

The Kyrgyz Foreign Minster stressed that readiness of Bishkek to
support fair settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. " Kyrgyzstan supports Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,"
he said.

BENEFACTOR TO FUND COLLEGE FOR TEEN FACING DEPORTATION

Sacramento Bee
Fresno Bee
Aug 7 2008
CA

FRESNO – A generous benefactor has made a Bullard High School
valedictorian’s university hopes a reality.

Arthur Mkoyan, 17, said Wednesday that he’ll be attending the
University of California, Davis, thanks to a Danville woman who read
about his plight and decided to help him in a big way.

Mkoyan, whose college dream was nearly destroyed by deportation to
Armenia, will attend his first college choice after all.

A month ago, Mkoyan decided to go to Fresno City College because his
family couldn’t afford UC Davis and he didn’t qualify for state and
federal financial aid because he’s neither a U.S. citizen nor a legal
permanent resident.

Mkoyan’s benefactor, Sherry Heacox, was touched by his story and
decided to pay for his four years at UC Davis. Heacox operates a
food-import business from home. Her husband, Hank, is an engineer.

Mkoyan and his parents, who all faced deportation, were allowed to
stay in the United States after Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,
introduced a private bill on Mkoyan’s behalf in June.

BULLARD HIGH VALEDICTORIAN HEADS TO COLLEGE

ABC30.com
Aug 7 2008
CA

By Graciela MorenoFresno, CA, USA (KFSN) — Just two months ago Arthur
Mkoyan was days away from deportation & Today he’s getting ready to
head off to college.

A stranger has stepped forward to help the Bullard High School Graduate
pay for four years at UC Davis. Arthur Mkoyan, Fresno resident:
"At first I didn’t really believe it I thought it was one of those
jokes or something."

But it was no joke. A northern California woman Arthur Mkoyan had
never met … Is making his dream of going to UC Davis a reality.

Arthur Mkoyan: "This is probably the nicest thing anybody has ever
done for me."

Just days before Arthur and his family were to be deported back to
Armenia– Senator Diane Feinstein introduced a bill that allows the
family to stay until their immigration status is resolved. But Arthur a
4.0 student at Bullard High– would not be eligible for financial aid.

Sherry Heacox: "It just seemed like an injustice. I thought about it
for a couple of days and suddenly it was –do something about it if
you’re unhappy about it."

Sherry Heacox lives in northern California. She read about the Mkoyan’s
plight in the newspaper … And contacted Arthur’s mom.

Sherry Heacox: "I think the first words out of her mouth were ‘Oh my
God’ and I think there was some crying immediately."

Arthur’s father Reuben says he can’t find the words to say thank you to
Heacox … But he still worries about his family’s future in the U.S.

Reuben Mkoian, Arthur’s Father: "Some people say like okay– you’re
done. But it’s not okay– we have to wait, nobody knows what will
happen next."

For now Arthur looks forward to visiting the UC campus for the first
time this weekend.

Arthur Mkoyan: "I’m feeling excited–I get to move out and start a
new life and I get to continue my education at the school I wanted
to go to."

Heacox’s own daughter just graduated from UC Santa Barbara. Now, she’ll
begin to pay for Arthur’s education. Tuition alone is 25-thousand
dollars a year. Heacox says she has only one stipulation– quitting
is not an option. And she has one small request & Sherry Heacox:
"Maybe 4 years down the road I’ll get a graduation invitation … and
be standing at Davis watching as he strolls across the stage into a
new life."

Sherry says she and her husband are not wealthy by any means, but feel
fortunate to be able to help. She’ll join Arthur and his parents this
weekend for orientation at UC Davis.

ACCORDING TO DAVID SHAHNAZARIAN, ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY DISTORTS FACTS

Noyan Tapan

Au g 7, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Representative of People’s Movement
(PM) David Shahnazarian accused the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of lying.

During the August 7 press conference, he presented to reporters a
document that the RA MFA had sent to a number of mass media outlets,
recommending that the information in that document be added at the
bottom of their publications on the Karabakh conflict. According to
the document, the Karabakh conflict began in 1991 when under the
pretext of checking the passport regime, Azerbaijan together with
the Soviet KGB committed ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population,
which resulted in deaths and material losses.

D. Shahnazarian considered this information spread by the RA MFA as
illiteracy. In his words, the conflict started in 1988 when Azerbaijan
responded to the well-known decision of the Supreme Council of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region by committing violence, while the
war started in 1991. D. Shahnazarian said that the above mentioned
document of the RA MFA does not mention the decision taken at the OSCE
Budapest Summit in 1994, by which Karabakh is recognized as a full
and equal party in the negotiations on the conflict. D. Shahnazarian
advised the mass media not to use this document.

As for appointment of Shavarsh Kocharian as deputy foreign minister,
D. Shahnazarian said that the authorities still expect that being
familiar with European structures, S. Kocharian may help cover up
the authorities’ crimes there.

DAVID SHAHNAZARIAN: MOST IMPORTANT TASK OF PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT IS TO HOLD EARLY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan

Au g 7, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 7, NOYAN TAPAN. The most imprtant task of People’s
Movement (PM) and the currently forming Armenian National Congress
(ANC) is to remove Serzh Sargsyan from his post and hold early
presidential elections, representative of the PM center David
Shahnazarian stated at the August 7 press conference, adding that it
is necessary to establish legal power through elections and restore
the constitutional order in Armenia.

Speaking about activities of the National Assembly, D. Shahnazarian
said that in itself, such a stable, obedient parliament is a source
of serious destabilization. "If a parliament is stable, the society
starts to become unstable. We need a normal parliament, in which
various parliamentary forces will present their views," he noted.

As regards political prisoners, the representative of the PM center
expressed an opinion that if the authorities do not release the
political prisoners of their own free will or at the request of the
PACE, they will be set free under pressure of the people.