Author: Andres-Papazian

NEW TURN OF EVENTS IN CASE ON PEDOPHILE FROM NUBARASHEN: PRINCIPAL OF BOARDING SCHOOL NO11 DISMISSED

ArmInfo
2010-06-01 11:53:00

ArmInfo. Armenian Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan has
dismissed Principal of the Nubarashen Boarding School No11 Meruzhan
Yengibaryan.

To recall, in April-June 2008 a number of public activists participated
in the UN Project “Ten Best Schools” when the Boarding School No.11
was monitored as well. Monitoring revealed a series of shortcomings:
poor quality of catering, poor sanitation, and brutal treatment to
children. In addition, some students were forced to carry out hard
work in the land lots and houses of the school leadership.

The cases of sexual harassment of minors by their teacher Levon Avagyan
received wide public response. Pupils who suffered sexual abuse say
they had repeatedly complained to the Principal but the latter did
nothing to help them. On May 24 Levon Avagyan was sentenced to 2 years
of imprisonment (Article 142 part 2 – sexual abuse of minors). At
once 5 girls at the age of 12-14 suffered from Avagyan’s actions.

“What has happened was inevitable” Mariam Sukhudyan, a witness in the
case, told ArmInfo when commenting on M. Yengibaryan’s dismissal. To
recall, on Nov 13 2008 the Armenian Public Television program “Haylur”
reported of sexual abuse of certain D.A., a pupil of the Nubarashen
special school No.11, by her teacher Levon Avagyan. After the report,
the Erebuni Investigation Department accused Marian Sukhudyan,
participant in the monitoring of the given school, the well-known
activist of the green Movement, instead of the actual guilty party.

She was charged with Article 135 part 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia
(slander), then with Article 333 part 2 point 3 (false denunciation
for illicit gain) and then again with Article 135. Later all these
charged were removed.

“Yengibaryan had been forging documents for several years making
children with normal mental abilities study at his special school.

This is not just corruption, but a crime. Now thanks to Minister
Armen Ashotyan’s order, the pupils having no problems with mental
development will no longer study at Nubarashen school,” she said.

She highlighted that the girls who had suffered sexual abuse by L.

Avagyan uselessly asked M. Yengibaryan for help in the period of 20
years. Yengibaryan seems to be a silent complicit in the crime. We
condemn his position and demand the law-enforcement authorities to
initiate criminal proceedings on the existing documents,” Mariam
Sukhudyan said.

She recalled that Yengibaryan gave false testimonies during the
proceedings launched against her earlier. He told the court that she
made allegations against Levon Avagyan after failing to get a bribe
in the amount of one million drams.

“He slandered and made pupils give false testimonies against me. All
this makes me think that a criminal group operated in the school from
the very beginning and did its best to conceal the truth. The law-
enforcement must exert maximum efforts to find the members of that
group and bring them responsible. Soft punishments or impunity will
give birth to new crimes,” she said.

From: A. Papazian

DEFENDERS OF STUDENT GARDEN MARK THE CHILD PROTECTION DAY

ArmInfo
2010-06-01 20:28:00

ArmInfo.Activities dedicated to the Child Protection Day were held
in the Student Garden, Tuesday. It is noteworthy that the organizer
was the “We are Our City’s Owners” group created in Facebook. The
group participants have been trying to save the Student Garden from
construction of a cafe for over a month.

“The fact that despite the public protest the construction
still continues means that the mayor’s office ignores the Yerevan
population’s opinion. If the urban authorities listened to the public
opinion, the construction would be immediately suspended until a
consensus decision was taken”,- Head of EcoLur NGO Inga Zarafyan said
to ArmInfo correspondent. “We see that the public use territories
are rejected, and against this background one should consider in
another aspect Mayor of Yerevan Gagik Beglaryan’s statements that in
case of suspension of the construction, the owners should receive
compensation. It would more logical to suppose that one should
pay compensation to the public that has been deprived of the given
territory”,- she stressed.

“Unfortunately, today the green zones of public use are still
being built-up, and in this respect the Student Garden is quite
illustrative. It was very unexpected for us that such fundamental
construction might be launched here”,- said Chairwoman of “For the
sake of stable development” Association Karine Danielyan. At the same
time, she expressed hope that the project of construction will be
revised. “This problem caused a wide public response. I am happy that
the youth has taken the relay and started an active fight. I think
this is a guarantee of some results of our efforts”,- said Danielyan.

She also pointed out the plans on building up the Main Avenue among the
arising problems of the city. “Here the matter concerns underground
urbanization, but in this case trees are out of question, as they
will be unable to grow”, she said.

To recall, an open letter with a demand to stop the construction in
the Student Garden was addressed to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
in May 2010. Almost 20 thsd people signed the letter.

From: A. Papazian

RUSSIA’S PRESIDENT TO VISIT ARMENIA IN AUGUST

armradio.am
01.06.2010 19:08

Presidents of Armenia and Russia Serzh Sargsyan and Dmitry Medvedev
met in Rostov-on-Don today to discuss economic and regional issues.

“Right now we are holding meetings to exchange views on the current
situation, especially because it requires this from us. There are, of
course, economic issues, which are always discussed during your visits
(to Russia) and my visits to you ( Armenia ) “, said Dmitriy Medvedev.

He also said that he intends to share the results of some of his
meetings with European colleagues, including the situation around
the Armenian-Turkish settlement. “There is something to tell and
something to share,” said Dmitriy Medvedev.

He thanked S. Sargsyan for participation in the celebrations of the
65th anniversary of Victory in Moscow. According to Dmitriy Medvedev,
it shows the “degree of closeness of our countries and the progressive
development of strategic relations.”

Serzh Sargsyan, in turn, noted the importance of working meetings
between the two presidents and stressed that he was proud to take
part in the celebrations of the 65th anniversary of victory.

“I was proud. And the grand parade is a wonderful reminder of our
common history and our military brotherhood,” President of Armenia
said.

During the meeting the parties reached an agreement on Dmitry
Medvedev’s upcoming visit to Armenia in August.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC HOLY CHURCH CELEBRATES THE FEAST DAY OF ST. HRIPSIME

armradio.am
01.06.2010 18:53

The Armenian Apostolic Holy Church celebrated the feast day of St.

Hripsime the martyr.

On this festive day a pilgrimage was made to the Monastery of St.

Hripsime from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. In accordance with
tradition, the reliquary of the Right Hand of the Holy Virgin Hripsime
was taken by ecclesiastical procession to the monastery.

The procession comprised of 95 Members of the Brotherhood of Holy
Etchmiadzin (many who have traveled to the Mother See to participate in
a Conference), Diocesan Primates, students of the Gevorkian Theological
Seminary, and youth from the Etchmiadzin Church Youth Center, walked
through the main streets of Vagharshapat from the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin to the Monastery of St. Hripsime, inspiring the residents.

During the procession, the faithful who had lined the streets, were
blessed with the relic of the martyred virgin, which was at various
times carried by His Holiness Karekin II, Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian
and Bishop Artak Tigranian.

Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Monastery of St. Hripsime, where
many faithful from different communities had gathered to commemorate
the occasion. The celebrant of the Liturgy was Rev. Fr. Mateos
Poghosian, the abbot of the Monastery of St. Hripsime.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy the service of the blessing
of the four corners of the world (Andastan) was held. Following the
services, pupils from the Etchmiadzin Youth center put on a small
performance in honor of the occasion.

From: A. Papazian

VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN: BALANCE IN THE MINSK GROUP SHOULD NOT BE CHANGED
Siranush Muradyan

“Radiolur”
01.06.2010 18:39

Head of the ARF faction Vahan Hovhannisyan participated in a conference
dedicated to the EU Eastern Partnership Program in Sofia.

On the sidelines of the conference he had a meeting with Bulgarian
MP Evgeny Krilov, co-author of the famous Resolution 2216.

According to Vahan Hovhannisyan, attempts are being made to change
the balance in the Minsk Group.” “This should be prevented. The
mandate of France in the Minsk Group should not be replaced by that
of the European Union. This is what our diplomatic efforts should be
targeted at,” Vahan Hovhannisyan said.

Vahan Hovhannisian also pointed at the proposal to establish a Black
Sea Union with Russia and Turkey on the key positions. “We are aware
of historical examples of consequences of rapprochement between Russia
and Turkey,” he said pointing that Armenian authorities should be
careful and refuse to participate in the Black Sea Union.

According to Vahan Hovhannisyan, the pressures on Armenia have
increased, and this is the fault of the authorities. He proposes two
solutions for the situation – to recall the protocols or listen to
the opposition (ARF Dashnaktsutyun).

From: A. Papazian

PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN VISITS THE FOLK ART MUSEUM OF ARMENIA

armradio.am
01.06.2010 16:52

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan today attended the opening of a folk art
exhibition at the Folk Art Museum of Armenia dedicated to International
Children Protection Day.

The exhibition is held under the high patronage of the Prime Minister.

It has been organized with the support of the Armenian Ministry of
Culture, the Folk Art Museum of Armenia, the Union of World Armenian
Artists, the Araratian Patriarchal Diocese and the sponsorship of
ArmenTel” CJSC.

Tigran Sargsyan walked about the exhibition halls and watched the
items displayed.

From: A. Papazian

NEW SCHOOL OF MOTHERHOOD OPENS DOORS TO HRAZDAN WOMEN

armradio.am
01.06.2010 16:06

In observation of International Child Protection Day, celebrated
worldwide each June 1, USAID’s Maternal and Child Health Improvement
Project (NOVA 2) marked the opening of the new School of Motherhood
(SOM) at the Hrazdan Medical Center in Kotayk. The initiative builds
on the success of the USAID-funded Project NOVA which established 13
similar schools across Armenia between 2008-2009. Since then, SOMs
have become popular not only among pregnant women eager to learn about
their pregnancy and childbirth, but also among healthcare workers
who use the schools to better prepare mothers-to-be for childbirth
and newborn care.

The SOM offers five classes free of charge, as part of the Armenian
Government’s Basic Benefits Package, to provide women with counseling,
physical and psychological instruction on childbirth, information on
the delivery process, and a wealth of information on the importance of
a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Future
fathers are also encouraged to participate in the classes in order to
better understand pregnancy and childbirth and learn how to support
their partners.

USAID/NOVA 2 is assisting the Government of Armenia in its efforts to
advance the quality of maternal and child health, reproductive health
and family planning services by enhancing the knowledge and skills
of health care workers; improving the physical infrastructure of
health care facilities; strengthening the quality assurance system;
enhancing overall management and supervision of health providers;
and educating and mobilizing rural communities for prevention and
appropriate care-seeking practices. The project works simultaneously
at the community and health care service delivery levels to improve
quality and accessibility of services and to ensure the sustainability
of the marked improvements. Project interventions cover Stepanavan,
Akhuryan, Ijevan, Martuni and Hrazdan regions of Armenia.

From: A. Papazian

RUBEN MELKONYAN: TURKISH-ISRAELI TENSION CREATES A NEW SITUATION
Anna Nazaryan

“Radiolur”
01.06.2010 14:45

“The strained Turkish-Israeli relations create a new situation,”
Tukologist Ruben Melkonyan told a pres conference today. He says the
Turkish-Israeli relations will not grow into large-scale military
actions, but pose a serious danger.

If there is a Turkish-Israeli conflict, it will be directed against
Armenia, Ruben Melkonyan says, adding that we should be more cautious.

The Turkologist believes that Turkey’s rating is expected to rise in
Iran as a result of Turkish-Israeli tension.

Armenia should not expect the Knesset to adopt an Armenian Genocide
Resolution as a result of strained relations with Turkey, according
to Ruben Melkonyan.

From: A. Papazian

CANADA WELCOMES ALL EFFORTS THAT WILL RESULT IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NORMAL RELATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY

Armradio.am
01.06.2010 12:10

“The process of establishment of Armenian-Turkish relations will move
forward, when the Turkish side is ready to respect the agreements to
ratify and implement the protocols without preconditions,” Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian declared during the meeting with
the Canadian Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
Lawrence Cannon.

Minister Cannon noted, in turn, that “Canada welcomes all efforts
that will result in the establishment of normal relations between
Armenia and Turkey and opening of the shared border.

The interlocutors talked about issues related to the further deepening
and reinforcement of bilateral relations.

During the meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Peter Milliken, the interlocutors discussed the current state of
Armenian-Canadian relations and the opportunities for their expansion,
interparliamentary cooperation and the role of parliaments in the
development of bilateral ties.

Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude for the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide by the Canadian Parliament.

From: A. Papazian

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN LEAVING FOR ROSTOV-ON-DON

armradio.am
01.06.2010 10:34

Upon the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry
Medvedev, President Serzh Sargsyan is leaving for Rostov-on-Don
for a two-day visit to attend the annual horse race for the Russian
Presidential Cup.

The President of Armenia will also meet with the regional
administration of Rostov and representatives of the Armenian
communities of the Russian South region.

From: A. Papazian