The Prosecutor General’s Office today will submit an appeal to the Court of Cassation against the decision of the Court of Appeals to release 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan from custody, Head of the PR department at the Prosecutor General’s Office Arevik Khachatryan told Armenpress.
The ruling of the Court of Appeals on releasing 2nd President Kocharyan from custody has been received both by the accusatory and defending sides on August 17.
Please find the attached press release of the Ministry of Diaspora. Sincerely, Media and PR Department (+374 10) 585601, internal 805 ---------------------- Հարգանքով` Մամուլի և հասարակայնության հետ կապերի վարչություն (+374 10) 585601, ներքին 805
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:
Contact: Danielle Saroyan
Telephone: (202) 393-3434
Web: www.aaainc.org
ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY COMPLETES EXCEPTIONALLY VIBRANT INTERNSHIP
PROGRAM IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of
America's (Assembly) Washington, D.C. summer internship program ended on a high
note in a year that motivated interns experiencing an unusually rich calendar
of extraordinary events, such as the Centennial Celebration of Armenia's First
Republic and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Featuring "Armenia: Coming
Home." This summer was especially valuable to our community's next
generation of promising leaders. This year's participants interacted with
government officials, policymakers, local leaders from various fields and
organizations, and internship program alumni.
Founded in 1977, the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program
in Washington. D.C. was the first internship program offered by an Armenian
organization in our nation's capital, and has over 1,000 intern alumni. For
eight weeks each summer, the program gives college students of Armenian descent
an opportunity to learn about the policy-making process.
The Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program class of 2018
included:
·
Tamar Barsamian from Sherborn, Massachusetts attending Loyola
University of Maryland, interned at the Smithsonian Institute's Center for
Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
·
Franklin Chelebian from Palos Verdes Estates, California attending
Chapman University, interned with Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA).
·
Catherine Conrow from Ross, California attending University of
California Berkeley, interned with Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA).
·
Ariana Cruickshank from Edgewater, New Jersey attending Ramapo
College, interned with Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ).
·
Artin DerSimonian from Kittery, Maine attending Champlain College,
interned at the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the United States.
·
Robert George from Bethesda, Maryland attending Fairfield
University, interned at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
·
David Karamardian from Newport Coast, California attending Duke
University, interned at Applied Predictive Technologies.
·
Victoria Khederian from Bloomfield Township, Michigan attending
University of Michigan, interned with Congressman Paul Mitchell (R-MI).
·
Alexander Keledjian from Los Angeles, California attending
Southwestern Law School, interned with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI).
·
Aidan Mussalli from Glendale, California attending Glendale
Community College, interned with the Armenian National Institute (ANI).
·
Azniv Nalbandian from Andover, Massachusetts attending
Pennsylvania State University, interned at the Eurasia Foundation.
·
Nick Norian from Corte Madera, CA attending California Polytechnic
University, interned at the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the United
States.
·
Lena Richardson from Shaker Heights, Ohio attending University of
Dayton, interned at the Armenian Assembly of America's Public Affairs
Department.
·
Mireille Samra from Boca Raton, Florida attending Lynn University,
interned with Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL).
·
Gurgen Tadevosyan from Yerevan, Armenia attending New York
University in Abu Dhabi, interned with the Armenian National Institute (ANI).
·
Lincoln Zaleski from Boston, Massachusetts attending the College
of William and Mary, interned with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA).
"As the summer comes to an end, so does my internship for
Armenian Caucus Co-Vice Chair Representative Gus Bilirakis. This internship was
invaluable and truly exceeded all of my expectations. I was able to learn so
much being in a fast-paced environment with an office of Floridians, who made
the office feel like home," stated Mireille Samra.
Through the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program,
participants are offered extensive educational opportunities via the Capital
Ideas program, which provides interns a forum to ask questions to elected
officials about current topics, national and international. This summer's
participants met with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Senator Chris Van Hollen
(D-MD), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Representative Ed Royce
(R-CA), Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Rep.
Jackie Speier (D-CA), House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Ranking
Member and Armenian Caucus Co-Vice Chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Armenian
Caucus Vice Co-Chair Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Rep.
Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), and the office of Rep. Brenda Lawrence
(D-MI).
With the backdrop of recent developments in Armenia, this summer's
class had the unique opportunity to meet with Armenia's President Armen
Sarkissian and First Lady Nouneh Sarkissian. In addition, Armenia's First
Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also met with the Armenian Assembly
summer internship participants and engaged in a conversation about democratic
developments in Armenia and the Velvet Revolution.
The group met and heard directly from Ambassador of Armenia to the
United States Grigor Hovhannissian and Artaskh (Nagorno Karabakh)
Representative to the United States Robert Avetisyan. These Representatives
offered their insights on the development and goals for the future, and held
in-depth conversations with the participants.
"The experience of working in Washington, D.C. this summer
with the Armenian Assembly of America was truly unmatched," stated Lena
Richardson. "The opportunity to learn so much about U.S.-Armenia relations
in the nation's capital through meeting with numerous prominent leaders and
professionals was a very unique experience, especially right after the Velvet
Revolution in Armenia. The Assembly provided us interns with unparalleled
experiences that taught us so much," she added.
The students were in Washington, D.C. for an exceptional year,
including the chance to see Armenia featured on the National Mall as part of
the Smithsonian Institute's 2018 Folklife Festival. They attended the Folklife
Festival's narratives and talks about important topics, participated in traditional
dancing, and enjoyed the cooking demonstrations of food most familiar to them.
"Working at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival was really
touching and special to me. I had the opportunity to introduce Armenian culture
to everybody, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who came to visit Washington,
D.C. It was heartwarming to witness Americans learning about and appreciating
Armenian culture," stated Tamar Barsamian.
As part of the Assembly's Lecture Series, the intern class learned
about U.S. foreign policy toward Armenia and Artsakh. The Armenian Assembly
invites experts and leaders in their fields to review current political issues,
with a focus on the South Caucasus. This year's group met with U.S. Department
of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection Program Manager Noris
Balabanian, Library of Congress Armenian and Georgian Specialist Dr. Levon
Avdoyan, Federal Communications Commission Attorney-Advisor and Armenian
Assembly intern alumna (class of 2002) Lauren Garry-Boggio, Eurasia Foundation
Program Manager Hrach Topalyan, American Jewish Committee (AJC) Political
Outreach Director Julie Fishman Ryman and Assistant Policy Director Benjamin
Rogers, and Armenian National Institute (ANI) Director Dr. Rouben Adalian.
The students explored Washington with special tours of the U.S.
Capitol, the Library of Congress, and the U.S. Department of State. They
attended hearings, briefings, and conferences, including the 22nd Vardanants
Day Lecture at the Library of Congress, the Congressional Briefing to
Commemorate the 44th Anniversary of the Illegal Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, The
Wilson Center's Annual Haleh Esfandiari Forum: Protecting America's Global
Leadership with Senator Chris Van Hollen, and more.
Following the success of last year's week-long high school
internship pilot program, Colette Nishanian from Newport Beach, California and
Tiffany Martirossian from Ashburn, Virginia interned in the Armenian Assembly
of America's office.
"Being interns at the Armenian Assembly of America, we are
provided with many opportunities to get a close look at what is happening in
our world today. We were also fortunate enough to visit the Library of Congress
and attend the 22nd Vardanants Day Armenian Lecture Series," Nishanian and
Martirossian said. "Opportunities like this one, which we would not have
been given without the Armenian Assembly, occur once in a lifetime and are extremely
valuable in building our future careers," they added.
The Armenian Assembly of America Summer Internship Programs – both
in Washington, D.C. and Yerevan, Armenia – have been celebrated and strongly
supported by the Armenian community with major gifts from the Richard Tufenkian
Memorial Fund, the John Hanessian Scholarship Fund, the Armen Astarjian
Scholarship Fund, the Ohanian Memorial Fund, Ann Hintlian, Ann Nahigian, James
and Connie Melikian, the Knights of Vartan, the Estate of Haig J. Boyadjian,
and the Estate of George Judge Karabedian (George Kay), as well as generous
contributions in memory of former Assembly Board Members Dr. Lionel Galstaun,
Peter Kezirian, and John O'Connor. In 2003, the Armenian Assembly's Summer
Internship Program was renamed in honor of Aram and Florence Terjenian and
Annie Thomas after the announcement of their pace-setting $1 million donation to
the program.
"It has been an honor for me to coordinate the Armenian
Assembly of America's Terjenian-Thomas Internship Program this summer. I am
very happy to have witnessed how rich the Armenian American community is with
the next generation of active and inquisitive students, and how passionate they
all are about strengthening U.S.-Armenia relations. These interns proved to be
wonderful young professionals, and all performed wonderfully at their
individual internship placements," stated this summer's internship program
coordinator, Milena Davtyan. She is a Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship
Program alumna (class of 2017) from Salt Lake City, Utah who attends the
University of Utah.
To find out more about the 2018 summer interns' journey in
Washington, D.C., visit the Assembly's Intern Blog, Facebook, Instagram, and
Twitter. Stay tuned for updates on the Armenian Assembly's summer internship
program in Yerevan, Armenia!
Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the
largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding
and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt membership organization.
###
NR#: 2018-037
Photo Caption 1: Some of the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship
Program 2018 participants on Capitol Hill
Photo Caption 2: (Clockwise) Lincoln Zalenski and Senator Ed
Markey (D-MA); Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI) and Victoria Khederian; Ariana
Cruickshank and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ); Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) and
Catherine Conrow; and Franklin Chelebian and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Photo Caption 3: (Clockwise) Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship
Program 2018 participants with Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA),
Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Jamie Raskin
(D-MD), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)
Photo Caption 4: Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program 2018
participants with (top) Armenia's President Armen Sarkissian and First Lady
Nouneh Sarkissian and (bottom) Armenia's First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat
Mirzoyan
Photo Caption 5: Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program 2018
participants enjoying the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall
Photo Caption 6: Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program 2018
participants with (top) Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and (bottom) Rep. Adam Schiff
(D-CA)
at:
By Paul Goble
A new poll shows that Armenians overwhelmingly view the existing parliamentary parties negatively and consider that new parties need to emerge that will more adequately reflect their views, positions that suggest the revolution in Armenia is not slowing down but will have a major impact on the results of the upcoming parliamentary vote.
The Voice of the People Club interviewed 1200 Armenians over the age of 18 in Yerevan and rural Armenia between July 10 and August 10. Sixty-three percent of those sampled rated the existing parliamentary parties in a negative way; only 15 percent had a positive view of them (kavkazoved.info/news/2018/08/18/socopros-grazhdane-armenii-ozhidaut-uchastie-novyh-partij.html).
Respondents were most positive about the Elk bloc and the Tsarukyan bloc, with 64 percent saying they had a positive view of the former and 47 percent of the latter. Only eight percent had a positive view of the Dashnaktsutyun, and only three percent were positive about the long-dominant Republican Party of Armenia.
Perhaps more important, 82 percent of the sample said that participation by new political parties in the upcoming poll is “a necessity.” Six percent said there were enough parties already, with 12 percent saying that they found it difficult to answer that question.
If the elections were held tomorrow, 74 percent said they would vote for Elk if it allied itself with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Many fewer said they would vote for other parties.
What could've happened has already happened. Or what should have happened. The popular host of the American television channel Fox News, Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, called on U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. As is known, the U.S. media is independent. As is also known, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, freedom of _expression_ are sacred there. But at the same time, which is also known, there is a gradation in the U.S. media in the level of convergence of views with the government.
Fox News is among the leaders here. Up to the point that being a free TV channel, usually its reports on acute topics are beneficial to the authorities, up to the camouflaged retransmission of messages from the U.S. administration. But, yes, no one will dispute that the private opinion of the leading TV channels only coincides with the line of authorities, and is not the fulfillment of a task or an order from above.
Liza Kennedy, commenting on the U.S.-Turkish relations, decided that Ankara can no longer be considered a strategic partner of Washington, since there is a "corrupt, murderous regime" on coast of Bosporus and Turkey should be kicked out of NATO for violating human rights. According to Kennedy, Donald Trump must once and for all formally recognize the "Armenian genocide", which in reality was "a cold-blooded slaughter of 1.5 million people whose memory will not be erased," and which can not be interpreted "as a series of unfortunate events," like Turkey offers to describe it.
First of all, Turkey offers nothing on this issue. During the short-lived thaw in its relations with Yerevan, Ankara continued to insist on establishing a joint commission to study the tragic events of the first quarter of the 20th century during the so-called "football diplomacy" of the Armenian and Turkish presidents, which led to the signing of the Zurich protocols. This is the maximum that Ankara is willing to do. More precisely, it was ready, because the improvement of the Armenian-Turkish relations has not taken place, and neighboring states continue to coexist with a locked border without diplomatic relations.
For Yerevan, this issue is clear with the opposite sign, and you better not be doubting the answer. Its reaction will be no less severe than that of Ankara, when it is accused of purposefully killing its own subjects of non-titular nationality. And, on the contrary, any recognition of those tragic events as a genocide even by the impoverished territorial administrative unit of a certain state or by the municipality of a distant city, which cannot be found on the map at the first attempt, caused great enthusiasm in this South Caucasian state. However, there were always sober heads in Armenia that did not succumb to euphoria and said that the situation with the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire on a planetary scale would change dramatically only if Washington officially recognizes it, which may not happen, even if it is recognized by all US states.
The recommendation of the Fox News host was, of course, noticed by Armenia. It was on the news, but "without applause", which would accompany such news in past years. Apparently, they have gotten used to the fact that the West start to exploit the topic, which is extremely sensitive for both Armenians and Turks, when they need to. Usually it happens during election campaigns of different levels, up to presidential ones. When candidates need to enlist the support of the Armenian diaspora in the United States.
The issue of genocide was used by Reagan, by both Bush presidents, and especially Obama. The latter firmly promised that if he wins, he will recognize "the Armenian genocide" in the first place. He won, but dismissed reminders of this promise, and when it was impossible to remain silent, he publicly stammered out the Armenian name of the events of that time. By doing this, the American president decided he had kept his word.
Donald Trump is more stingy with such promises. It seems that he said nothing at all, not even mentioning promises. Having a general idea of his knowledge, one can probably assume that he has no idea about one of the deepest Turkish-Armenian contradictions. Or knows it for hearsay. But there is a situation when Washington, following the political and economic pressure on Ankara, is ready to rely on historical and civilizational levers. As it was done, for example, by Germany, when Bundestag recognized the Armenian Genocide during Berlin's recent clinch with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While turning a blind eye to the fact that Germany was Turkey's closest ally in those years, and, according to neutral sources, some punitive operations were led by German military advisers.
Now the question is how bad does Armenia need such a U.S. recognition? After all, Washington's actions will be caused not by its desire to restore historical justice or something like that, but solely from its intentions to punish Erdogan and Turkey. Fine, let's also add Washington's desire to encourage Yerevan for its attempt to at least slightly counterbalance Moscow's incredibly strong influence, by strengthening its ties with the West. Although, it is more likely that the "recommendation" of Fox News was just a product of aggravated US-Turkish relations.
But the recognition of the "Armenian genocide" is likely to remain a topic that is not mandatory for execution. Just like the topic of excluding Turkey from NATO – it is impossible by the charter of the alliance.
Washington will not use this trump card. It will not deprive itself of the opportunity to tug Ankara for such a sensitive thread, when it has not even used a half of the opportunities of economic pressure, as experts say. After all, the recognition of any fact – the same "Armenian genocide" – is a one-time act, which will undoubtedly aggravate the current state of U.S.-Turkish relations. But it's not the end, the crisis between Washington and Ankara will not be eternal or the only one. That is why this recognition, or more precisely the warning to the Turkish side – to recognize the Armenian Genocide, may be needed more than once. But you can warn many times.
Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia in close cooperation with the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) launches Neruzh programme for young entrepreneurs of Armenian descent who wish to bring their startup ideas and projects to Armenia.
People eligible to apply are Armenians aged 18-35 residing in Armenia for a period of 6 months maximum before submitting application. At least one (co)founder should be of Armenian descent. The target sectors of the programme will be agriculture, tourism, innovative technologies.
The details are available here. The application deadline is September 13.
It is noted that the screening committee will choose up to 100 best applications according to the eligibility requirements and selection criteria listed on the programme website. The participants will be introduced to Armenia and its business environment.
2 members from each selected startup/team will be invited to participate in the startup programme, which will take place on December 16-21 2018 at UWC, Dilijan. At the end of the startup programme a pitching event will be held, where up to 10 best teams will receive Innovation Grants and Ecosystem Awards once they settle in Armenia or Artsakh.
Each winning team will receive a grant of up to AMD 15 million, as well as legal and taxation consulting, membership in FAST Startup Studio for 4 months with full coaching programme and co-working space, 8-month Fellowship programme at Impact Hub Yerevan.
The Tchalo forest fire prevention poster
YEREVAN–Last summer, after a major fire broke out in Khosrov Forest, Armenia Tree Project (ATP) jumped into action to educate and inform the public about their role in the survival of Armenia’s delicate forests. Similar to California and Europe, Armenia has been affected by drought and more extreme weather events caused by climate change.
Understanding the human role in the creation and the prevention of forest fires and knowing the importance of education, ATP created a poster campaign about the role people play in starting fires. Posters were handed out to students throughout Armenia to hang in schools and community areas, as well as to partner schools in the diaspora.
Tchalo, the gampr dog created by Alik Arzoumanian for ATP’s Building Bridges education campaign, speaks on behalf of the trees. The Tchalo character has been teaching about forest fire prevention including the impact of parking in dry and high grass, appropriate cigarette disposal procedures, and proper fire and campfire protocols.
This summer, in partnership with the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, ATP also released a public service announcement (PSA) created by Tumo students featuring Tchalo. The short animated video is available on ATP’s website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page.
“We’re all about partnerships and when we decided to create an educational clip about forest fires, we thought Tumo would be an excellent partner,” explained ATP Executive Director Jeanmarie Papelian.
Tumo was hosting a two week animation workshop led by Russian animator and illustrator Max Litvinov, and ATP sponsored the workshop in exchange for the PSA. The project was funded as part of the Building Bridges environmental education program sponsored by the Thomas Kooyumjian Family Foundation.
During the workshop, Max taught animation skills to a group of 16 students, ages 14 to 17, who were participating in Tumo’s free educational programs. Under Max’s guidance, the teenagers created the ATP PSA featuring the Tchalo animation.
“Education is high on our list of priorities,” said Papelian, “so we hope this PSA is seen by young people and adults all over Armenia and the diaspora since people are facing the threat of forest fires more and more. We plan to show the video on television, at eco clubs, at film festivals. Anywhere we can help to spread the message about how to prevent fires and protect the trees we are planting today. In fact, if people have ideas about where we can show the video, I encourage you to contact us in Armenia or in the US so we can help to solve this problem.”