Author: Badalian Vardan

VIVACELL ACQUAINTS YOUTH OF THE DIASPORA WITH THEIR MOTHERLAND

ArmInfo
2008-10-06 11:43:00

ArmInfo. VivaCell-MTS has donated AMD 20 mln to "Depi Hayk" Foundation
to realize comprehensive project which includes inviting to Armenia the
youth of the Diaspora for communication with their peers and engaging
them with their Motherland. As the Company told ArmInfo, VivaCell-MTS
staff together with volunteers of "Depi Hayk" Foundation realized
construction-renovation works in the secondary school of Norgyugh
village, Kotayk marz. In particular, 7 classrooms were redecorated
and the walls recolored.

Considering the preservation of national identity and culture as the
mission of every socially- responsible company, VivaCell-MTS takes
tangible steps to integrate the youth of the Armenian people divided
into two parts. In this respect, joint work and volunteering for public
good help foster effective communication between the Diasporan and
local Armenian youth. Young Armenians from all over the world gathered
in Norgyugh have got a chance to develop personal relationship with
their peers in Armenia, to become connected to their homeland, and
to get back in touch with their roots not only through TV programs,
internet or books about the native-soil but also as a result of
face-to-face communication.

Nothing unites people like joint work. Especially when they believe
their work is aimed at creating public good – reconstruction of
schools in rural areas where national traditions are stronger then
somewhere else, and all this for the sake of upbringing of children for
them to become educated and useful citizens for the motherland. It
is not by chance that the school was chosen as a place of joint
works by the staff of VivaCell-MTS and the volunteers of "Depi Hayk"
Foundation. The point is that VivaCell-MTS, being a corporate citizen,
pays huge attention to the school-building as the well-educated
younger generation is the greatest asset of our country and the key
to its prosperity.

As noted by Ralph Yirikian: "Being a corporate citizen means
always thinking for the future. And renovating a school is a real
long-term investment in our society, aiming at higher quality of
education and raising interest toward education, especially in rural
communities. Among Armenians, both in the Diaspora and Armenia,
high-quality education has been a very important part of life. We
must always keep our traditions awake. After all, national community
is characterized by such features as a common homeland and common
responsibility for the future."

160 schoolchildren of the village of Nor Geghi in Kotayk marz couldn’t
help waiting for the renovators. Soon they will be learning in clean,
renovated and luminous rooms. And 25 teachers are delighted as the
children are already more than ever interested in education.

These kinds of projects give opportunity to the youth of the Diaspora
to reconnect with their roots helping them to take part in Armenia’s
everyday life and invest into the development of their homeland
by volunteering, studying and at the same creating long-lasting
relations in the country of origin, eventually resulting in heightened
consciousness of national identity.

Armenian National Committee of Canada
Comité National Arménien du Canada
130 Albert St., Suite/Bureau 1007
Ottawa, ON
KIP 5G4
Tel./Tél. (613) 235-2622 Fax/Téléc. (613) 238-2622
E-mail/courriel:national.office@anc-canad a.com

PRESS RELEASE

Oct 3, 2008
Contact: Roupen Kouyoumjian

ANCC Participates in a Roundtable Dialogue with the Prime Minister

Toronto–The Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Hon. Stephen Harper,
joined 16 multicultural community leaders in a roundtable meeting on
September 18 to discuss issues of concern to these groups. Among the
participants were representatives of the Ahmadi, Armenian, Chinese,
Jewish, Korean, Polish, Somali, Ukrainian and Vietnamese
communities. Aris Babikian, executive director of the Armenian
National Committee of Canada (ANCC), represented the Canadian-Armenian
community.

In addition to the Prime Minister, Jason Kenney, Minister of
Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, and Conservative candidates
Richard Lorello, Melissa Bhagat, and Chungsen Leung attended the
90-minute meeting. Hon. Kenney welcomed the attendees and explained
the purpose of the meeting. Following his remarks, the Prime Minister
delivered a short speech. The prime minister talked about
multiculturalism, foreign accreditations, family values, economic
policy and other current issues.

Following his speech, the prime minister conducted a
question-and-answer session with the community leaders. After talking
about issues of concern to the Canadian-Armenian community,
Mr. Babikian commended the prime minister for his moral leadership on
human rights issues, on the opening of a Canadian embassy in Armenia,
and Canadian International Development Agency’s (CIDA) participation
in Armenia’s Rural Poverty Eradication program. Mr. Babikian said that
ANCC supported the government decision not to participate in the
Durban II Conference.

The prime minister said that he appreciated the comments and the
active participation of the attendees in the roundtable and in the
Canadian political and civil society life.

After the meeting, Mr. Babikian commended the PM and Hon. Kenney for
`initiating a constructive, frank and open dialogue between the
executive branch of the government and an important segment of our
civil society such as the multicultural community.’ The ANCC
representative said, `By holding such meetings we will help eliminate
many misconceptions, unjust accusations, and build a more tolerant
society.’

****

The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian
grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a
network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and
affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances
the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of
issues.

——

Le CNAC est l’organisation politique canadienne-arménienne la plus
large et influentielle. Collaborant avec une série de bureaux,
chapitres et souteneurs à travers le Canada et des organisations
affiliées à travers le monde, le CNAC s’occupe activement des
inquiétudes de la communauté canadienne-arménienne.

Regional Chapters/Sections régionales
Montréal – Laval – Ottawa – Toronto – Hamilton – Cambridge –
St. Catharines – Windsor – Vancouver

ARMEN ASHOTYAN’S CONGRATULATION ON TEACHER’S DAY

armradio.am
03.10.2008 17:00

Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Science,
Education, Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs Armen Ashotyan issued
a congratulatory message on the occasion of the Teacher’s Day. The
message states:

"Dear teachers,

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Science, Education,
Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs and myself, I render the warmest
congratulations and good wishes on the occasion of the Teacher’s Day.

Continuing the best national traditions in the field of education,
with your everyday honest and hard work you bring your deserving
contribution to the shaping of the future citizens of our state.

Schooling has been the firm basis of our existence in all times. With
the bright ideas of Mashtots, the Armenian teacher has passed through
trials of centuries, has enjoyed the joy of invention of letters,
has felt proud for the restoration of independence.

Teacher is not just a profession, but a high and responsible
mission. The hard and responsible mission of educating and bringing
up the younger generation is entrusted to you.

We are assured that Armenia should strengthen, and you, dear friends,
will continue participating in this responsible and sacred work of
supporting our state and statehood.

Full of that belief, I wish all of you good health, firm will in your
work and happiness20in your personal life."

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT CONFERS HONORS ON TEACHERS

ARKA
Oct 3, 2008

YEREVAN, October 3. /ARKA/. On the occasion of Teacher’s Day, RA
President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree conferring the title of
Honored Teacher on a number of Armenian teachers.

The RA presidential press service reports that the teachers will also
be awarded the Movses Khorenatsi Medal.

The first Saturday of October is the traditional date for Teacher’s
Day in Armenia.

STRANGE INSTRUCTIONS FROM EUROPE
Kima Yeghiazaryan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
01 Oct 2008
Armenia

Some days after March 1-2 developments, when even the General
Prosecutor’s and the special investigative service didn’t imagine what
volumes will the case have, beginning from March 5 the Europeans were
very concerned about the destiny of the detained.

>From that day on, till now they continuously appear with announcements,
calling the authorities "to release those who didn’t commit serious
crime or those who are detained because of their political views,
as soon as possible."

Undoubtedly the before mentioned instructions coming from Europe
are quite understandable for us. The members of more than 60 parties
registered in our country have quite different "political views". Which
means all of them can organize a coup, to prove their loyalty to their
"political views." And no punishment.

And after all who said that the attempts of takeover, by means of
organizing massive disorder is not considered a serious crime

And of course those who are concerned about the problems of the
"political prisoners" have no time to listen to similar questions or
moreover to ground their appeals and demands.

The most important thing for them is to see the "fighters for
liberty" released. Whereas the process of the court procedure and
the already accomplished=2 0verdicts demonstrate that everything is
clear – 42 persons have been released immediately from the court,
they are on probation, and 39 persons have been sentenced to 3 –
3,5 years imprisonment.

But it turned out that PACE is not satisfied with these data. In its
conclusion published the day before Council of Europe Human Rights
Commissioner Tomas Hammarberg over again called the authorities
to release the revolutionaries, meanwhile he underscored that he
considers the continuation of the court procedures unacceptable. "The
continuation of the court procedures which are based on the person’s
political views or their detention for not violent actions, are
unacceptable."

This not very clear explanation brings to one conclusion, the law
enforcers must stop the questioning of the ex chief warder Mushegh
Saghatelyan, who, on March 1 fled the Theatrical Square and acted
violently towards the policeman who caught him.

They must also change all the verdicts taken by now and justify the
"freedom fighters". It is impossible to give another interpretation
to the ideas of the Human Rights Commissioner. By the way we must
underscore that Hammarberg has pointed out article 300 of the
Criminal Code, he has used certain judicial language, but he didn’t
say a word about why this criminal case has been instituted. In his
report you will not find the words "massive disorder followed by
m urders". Which means according to Hammarberg’s conclusion one can
think that the "incident" that took place on March 1-2 in the heart of
our capital city was a "significant event". The next idea expressed
by the commissioner is not less noteworthy: "The interlocutors of
the commissioner believe the competencies of the parties before the
court have been violated."

What does the commissioner mean, when the court procedures were very
rarely held in peaceful atmosphere. The Commissioner, who paid a two
days visit to Yerevan in July, naturally couldn’t participate in the
court procedures that reminded of a bullfight. But he could at least
go through the reports made by the press belonging to Armenian Pan
National Movement. When the furious activists used to capture the
halls of the court, attack the court managers, and drive the judge
presiding over the procedure, away from the hall.

So it turns out that if the halls of the court were small for
the demonstrations it means their rights have been violated. Very
ridiculous.

Another court procedure is in store, on October 7. Do the law enforcers
have the right to clarify, why Sasun Mikaelyan hid arms in his personal
small lake? Or why he supplied food to the demonstrators?

Or do they have the right to clarify why after descending from the
barricades Myasnik Malkhasyan ran away with an iron stick in his
=0 Apocket. What about Alik Arzumanyan’s telephone conversations,
where he announced that there is no other option except an armed coup.

After all it was Hakob Hakobyan’s personal desire to be detained
"to have everything clarified", which he announced in the parliament.

So if the law enforcers release these people, what will the process
of the investigation be like? Most probably it will be quashed because
of the absence of the corpus delicti.

TWO MPS CLAIM FOR SPEAKER POST

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.09.2008 14:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Heritage opposition party nominated Larisa Alaverdyan
for the post of Armenian National Assembly Speaker.

Earlier, the ruling Republican Party of Armenia nominated former head
of presidential administration Hovik Abrahamyan.

Tigran Torosyan sent in his resignation on September 19 and announced
that he stops his membership of the RPA. His resignation was accepted
on September 26, after a second confirmation.

Vice speaker Hrayr Karapetyan will act as chairman of the parliament
until the NA elects a new speaker during a four-day session that
started today.

THE REGULAR LIE REFUTED

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
27 Sep 2008
Armenia

During the recent times they speak too much about editing the
recordings about March 1-2 developments.

Particularly they speculate the episodes taken near the "Fish Store",
where allegedly pieces of chin, tongue, and cheekbones have been
"found", which allegedly prove that there have been 11 victims and
not 10. The identity of the 11th victims has not been identified.

Yesterday head of the Center of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry
of Health Shota Vardanyan officially informed that due to the
investigation of the Republic’s best specialists: "The detailed
study of those pieces have shown that the bones belong to animals –
pigs and sheep and far not human beings."

REMEMBERING ADANA 1909
A Hundred Year Perspective

Gibrahayer
24 September, 2008
Nicosia

To mark the centenary of the Adana Massacres of 1909 a one-day
symposium will be held at the London School of Economics on 28
March 2009.

The meeting will look back at Adana 1909 to evaluate the humanitarian
activity in the aftermath of the 1909 massacres and to explore the
response, imagery and meaning ascribed to those events.

Since 1909, Adana has continued to resonate as an evocative historic
community in the consciousness of the Armenian Diaspora, and it has
commanded artistic responses in literature, art and film.

Possible subjects might include, but are not limited to, the following:
* the response to Adana 1909 by observers, survivors, humanitarian
organizations and writers; * analysis of or new approaches to the
classic texts by authors such as Zabel Yesayian, Souren Bartevian,
Siamanto, Arshagouhi Teotig or Hagop Terzian; * analysis of texts by
foreign observers on Adana 1909; * Adana in oral narratives or song;
* the relationship between art, violence and mourning; * literary
texts or film or artwork exploring Adana as lost (or ancestral) home,
images of Adana, memory or Diasporan identity.

Those wishing to participate should send the titles of their proposed
papers with a 300 word summary to the organising committee. Entries
should include the names of presenters, their institutional
affiliations, as well as contact details. Once accepted the final
drafts of each paper should be sent to the organisers by February
1, 2009 for distribution amongst discussants prior to the seminar
meeting. The seminar will be in English.

For more details please email adana at gomidas dot org Organised by
the Gomidas Institute, 42 Blythe Rd., London, W14 0HA, England

SITTING OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY COMMISSION OF CSTO INTERPALIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN ON SEPTEMBER 24

Noyan Tapan

Se p 23, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. A sitting of the Commission
for Defence and Security Issues of the Interparliamentary Assembly
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will be held
at the RA National Assembly on September 24. NT correspondent was
informed by the organizers that the main issue on the agenda is the
military-political situation in the Caucasian region.

RA PRIME MINISTER ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIAN AND GERMAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS

Noyan Tapan

Se p 23, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. On September 23, RA Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsian met with Hans-Jurgen Papier, the Chairman
of the Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany, who
has arrived in Yerevan on a visit. The RA Prime Minister attached
importance to cooperation of Armenia’s Constitutional Court with
Germany’s Constitutional Court, which has experience and traditions
of nearly 60 years.

The Prime Minister briefly presented the significance of foundation of
the Constitutional Court and the role of that important institution in
Armenia’s life. "Creation of proper legislative grounds was important
in the first years of establishment of the independent state, while
preservation of adopted laws and constitutional norms has already
become important today," T. Sargsyan emphasized.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA government’s Information and
Public Relations Department, Hans-Jurgen Papier expressed readiness
to convey the experience of Germany’s Constitutional Court to the
Republic of Armenia.