Author: Badalian Vardan

EIGHT ARMENIANS AMONG 2012 ELLIS ISLAND MEDAL RECIPIENTS

Published: Thursday June 07, 2012

View of the Ellis Island. Courtesy image.

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Seven Armenian Americans receive Ellis Island medals

New York – Nancy Arabian; Nishan Goudsouzian, MD; Kevork I.
Karajerjian; Dalida Keuroghlian; Papken Megerian; Ohannes A.
Nercessian, MD; Alice Petrossian and Joyce Philibosian Stein are
among this year’s recipients of the Ellis Island awards.

The Medal of Honor award recognizes remarkable Americans who exemplify
outstanding qualities in both their personal and professional lives,
while continuing to preserve the richness of their particular heritage.

Both the United States House of Representatives and Senate officially
recognize the Ellis Island Medals of Honor. Each year’s recipients
are read into the Congressional Record.

Past medalists include six presidents, as well as Nobel Prize winners
and leaders of industry, education, the arts, sports and government.

To date, over 1,800 American citizens have received Ellis Island
Medals of Honor.

Alice Petrossian, Association of California School Administrators
(ACSA) president.

Petrossian is recognized for her lifelong commitment to improving the
lives of California’s students, her focus on diversity and educational
equity, and her support for English language learners and students
from diverse ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Alice is extremely deserving of this national recognition,” said
ACSA Executive Director, Karen Stapf-Walters. “Her unique talents,
her educational expertise and her unwavering commitment and service
to public schools are inspiring. She is a role model to thousands
of school leaders working to recognize and honor diversity and to
improve the lives of students.”

Petrossian recently retired from Pasadena Unified School District as
the Chief Academic Officer/ Deputy Superintendent. Her 42 years of
service to public education includes 31 years in Glendale Unified
School District with 12 years as the Assistant Superintendent of
Educational Services. While in Glendale she held a number of other
administrative positions and spent 11 years as a teacher in both
Glendale and Hayward, California.

Petrossian was appointed to several state boards and commissions by
Governors Jerry Brown, George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Gray Davis.

Just to name a few, she served as Chair of the California Commission
for Teacher Credentialing, President of the California Community
Colleges Board of Governors, and Trustee of the California State
University System. For her service to the community, Petrossian was
honored twice as Legislative Woman of the Year-43rd Assembly District
in 1998 by Assemblyman James Rogan (Rep) and in 2008 by Assemblyman
Paul Krekorian (Dem). She has presented and key noted at numerous
conferences, seminars and banquets. In 2007, Petrossian was recognized
by ACSA with its “Most Outstanding Administrator Award” and in 2011,
she was elected State President to lead the 15,000 member organization.

Petrossian has continuously volunteered in organizations, especially
those involving children’s causes. She has served on the Boards of the
Glendale Healthy Kids, Glendale Community Foundation, YWCA, PTA and
many others. Most recently, she is active in collecting and shipping
school supplies and clothing to orphanages and village schools in
Armenia as well as providing professional development seminars for
educators. For her volunteer work, Petrossian has received numerous
prestigious awards and honors by community organizations, including
California PTA, YWCA, Glendale Chamber of Commerce, American Red
Cross, LA County Human Relations- John Anson Ford Award, Soroptimist
International, Glendale NewsPress, California State University-Hayward,
California State University-Los Angeles, USC, Armenian General
Benevolent Union-Generation Next, Armenian Professional Society,
Armenian Educational Foundation, Armenian National Committee, Armenian
Relief Society, Armenian-American Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

Joyce Philibosian Stein, an ex-officio member of the Armenian
Missionary Association of America (AMAA) Board of Directors.

Co-Chair of the AMAA National Orphan and Child Care Committee, Trustee
of the Stephen Philibosian Foundation and ex-officio member of the
Board of Trustees for Haigazian University, Joyce Philibosian Stein
was honored on May 12 by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations
(NECO), sponsors of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. The Ellis Island
Medal of Honor was presented to Mrs. Stein on Ellis Island, where 12
million immigrants entered the United States from 1892 to 1954.

Mrs. Stein is the daughter of the late Sirpuhe Philibosian Conte and
Stephen Philibosian, a philanthropist, entrepreneur and a co-founder
of Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon. Both having crossed the
Ellis Island threshold, would be amazed to know their daughter was
awarded this medal of honor. They were true Americans who in that
spirit encouraged the very American pursuits of giving of oneself.

Mrs. Stein was born in New York City and attended Colby/Sawyer College,
Southern Methodist University and graduated from the University
of Pennsylvania. She also holds an honorary degree from Haigazian
University (LLD). She lived in St. Andrew’s Scotland while her husband,
Joe, attended St. Mary’s College. She now resides with her husband in
Indian Wells, CA. In keeping with her father’s legacy, Mrs. Stein
has wholeheartedly supported the AMAA and Haigazian University
in leadership positions. Among her many other contributions to
philanthropic causes, she served as a volunteer and major fundraiser
for the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and as Chair of the
“Daisy Day” Fund, when President Dwight Eisenhower was the Honorary
Chairman. She has also served as a member of the Support Committee
of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Her husband, Joe, represents AMAA in the United Armenian Fund and is
involved in numerous other Armenian organizations and projects. Her
daughter, Stephanie Landes, is a current member of the AMAA Board
of Directors and her daughter, Tina Segel, is a member of Haigazian
University Board of Directors. She also actively serves on the LA
Child and Orphan Committee and has sponsored the annual Luncheon and
Fashion Show. Mrs. Stein is actively involved in the lives of her
six grandchildren.

“The AMAA congratulates Joyce on this very prestigious award,” said
Levon Filian, Executive Director of the AMAA. “Joyce is a true leader
who puts her heart and soul into each and every project to make the
world a little better than how she found it.”

The Medal of Honor is granted by the National Ethnic Coalition of
Organizations. Its mission is to honor and preserve diversity and to
foster tolerance, respect and understanding among religious and ethnic
groups. NECO sponsors a broad range of programs, events, educational
initiatives and materials designed to cultivate understanding among
individuals and groups. Additionally, NECO continues the commitment
to the restoration and maintenance of Ellis Island, a living tribute
to the courage and hope of all immigrants who have built America.

RUSSIA CONCERNED OVER ESCALATING TENSIONS IN KARABAKH, FM LUKASHEVICH SAID

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 7, 2012 – 18:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russia is concerned over escalated tensions on
the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, Russian
Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

“Russia considers further escalation unacceptable and will continue
assisting the parties to achieve peaceful settlement,” Alexander
Lukashevich said.

“As an OSCE MG co-chair and Karabakh settlement mediator, Russia
urges the parties against the use of force,” Lukashevich said.

He said Russia hopes that the meeting of foreign ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan in Paris will help relieve tensions.

As he noted, Russia calls on conflicting parties to adhere to Sochi
statement, which stresses the necessity of continuing peaceful talks
for Karabakh conflict settlement.

Sources say that 21-25 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in Azeri
subversive actions in recent days in Tavush- Ghazakh zone of
Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

On June 5 night, attempt was made by Azerbaijani soldiers to infiltrate
one of the positions of Artsakh defense army. Armenian side, however,
managed to hinder Azeri attack, with NKR army units pushing Azeri
forces back to the original positions.

Azerbaijani authorities try hard to concoct reasons behind the
deaths and injuries on its side. In fact, these are saboteurs,
killed or wounded by Armenian armed forces who were trying to hinder
Azeri subversive acts. Thus, according to Azerbaijani authorities,
Azeri soldiers commit mass suicide, get blown up by mine, and die in
an accident.

For instance, today, June 6, Azerbaijani media reported that a soldier,
19, was “blown up by mine.” He was hospitalized, with doctors assessing
his state as moderate.

Sometimes, even a concrete slab kills an Azerbaijani soldier. For
instance, it was reported that two Azeri servicemen were killed in
Agstafa region, with another having been “injured during collapse of
concrete slab.”

Emin Guliyev and Orkhan Huseynov died, while Elnur Kechalov is still at
hospital. Meanwhile, according to Miacum.am website, 21 Azerbaijani
soldiers were killed in Azeri subversive acts in recent days in
Tavush- Kazakh zone of Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Today, June 7,
Azerbaijani media reported that another Azeri soldier Cabrayilov
Ramil Dilavar drowned in Kur River.

SERZH SARGSYAN MET JAPANESE EMPEROR AKIHITO

ARMENPRESS
7 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS: President of the Republic of Armenia
Serzh Sargsyan on June 7 in Tokyo held a meeting with Japanese Emperor
Akihito. During the talk with Japanese Emperor issues relating to
Armenian-Japanese friendship and cooperation have been discussed.

Armenpress was informed about this from President’s press office.

On June 6 Serzh Sargsyan met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

Armenian President and Japanese PM envisaged the possibilities of
bilateral cooperation development and the enlargement of those ties in
the various fields. The sides both stated the since the establishment
of diplomatic relations Armenian-Japanese relations have developed
in the atmosphere of mutual trust and friendship.

The issues referring to the region conflicts were also dicussed by
high ranking officials, recording the common approaches of the states
on the peaceful settlement of the conflicts.

ARMENIAN BOOK EXHIBITION IN BELARUS

armradio.am
07.06.2012 14:51

An Armenian book exhibition was opened at the branch of the
Presidential Library of Belarus from May 28 to June 6 on the occasion
of the Republic Day. The visitors had an opportunity to watch the
books, articles, photos related to the Armenian history kept in the
archive of the Presidential Library and the Library of the Armenian
Embassy.

Armenian Ambassador Armen Khachatryan presented the most remarkable
episodes of Armenian history and culture, the religious treasury of
Matenadaran and referred to the proclamation of Yerevan as World Book
Capital 2012.

The Ambassador attached importance to the battles of Sardarapat,
Bash-Aparan and Gharakilisa and their role in the establishment and
revival of the Armenian statehood.

SHARMAZANOV RESPONDED TO “EPOCH-MAKING” STATEMENT OF TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER

ARMENPRESS
7 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS: Vice President of Armenian National
Assembly reacted to the statement of Turkish foreign Minister:
another “epoch-making” statement made Ahmet Davotoglu who had said:
“when Armenia leaves the occupied territories it will be possible
to establish relations with that country”. Armenpress reports that
reacting to Davutoglu’s speech Vise President of Armenian National
Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov said:

“Turkey stubbornly is going on ignoring his international
responsibilities and distorts reality. It proves one more time that
today concepts Turkey and Euro integration can not be synonyms. To
consent of leaders of countries west from Armenia and east from
Artsakh I would like to state one more time that of course there
are occupied territories and from that territories must get out
Turks and Azerbaijanis. Refreshing the memory of Turkish foreign
ministry leader I would like to inform that his country has occupied
the northern part of Cyprus and Azerbaijan has occupied Shahumyan,
Getashen, Martunashen which are territories of Artsakh Republic…

I consider unacceptable Turkey’s practice to speak with ultimatums
and confirm once again that we are determined to achieve our national
goals”.

STEPAN SAFARYAN – “IS THE U.S. INTERESTED IN ARMENIANS OR OUR STRATEGIC POSITION IN THE REGION”
Narek Alexanyan

hetq
14:22, June 7, 2012

Former Heritage Party MP Stepan Safaryan sounded a note of suspicion
when commenting on the recent one day visit of U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton to Armenia.

“This is the second visit of a U.S. Secretary of State to Armenia
since 2010. Before that it none did. We have to ask ourselves whether
the U.S. is interested in us or our geographic position.”

Safaryan added that on this point Armenia presents a strategic
importance in any Iran related matter.

“Azerbaijan has recently been trying to resolve a psychological
problem, i.e. to show its people that the country is able to do
things regionally and that it has power,” Safaryan said at a press
conference today.

The Heritage Party secretary said that Azerbaijan has also trying
to gauge the reaction of the international community to its recent
military adventures.

Safaryan is convinced that the systematic Armenian responses to
Azerbaijani military moves (killing 5 of their soldiers to our 3
killed) might break their resolve but that it’s not a solution.

It’s not enough, he said, to answer military adventurism with military
moves and that what is needed is to craft a definite geo-political
response strategy and to utilize all possible international levers.

Narek Aleksanyan

Safaryan concluded that if the presence of Hillary Clinton in the
region cannot serve to reign in the actions of Baku, then it means
that either Ilham Aliyev doesn’t give a damn about the West or that
the West itself isn’t all that concerned about how the sides to the
conflict will emerge as a result against the backdrop of developments
in the wider Middle East picture.

ARMENIA MUST RESPOND EQUIVALENTLY TO PREVENT AZERBAIJAN’S DREAMS – FORMER FM

news.am
June 06, 2012 | 21:00

YEREVAN. – The recent events on the Armenian – Azerbaijani border
line are rather concerning, especially given the fact that the
representative of one of the mediator countries on the Karabakh
conflict – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the region,
Armenian former FM Vardan Oskanyan wrote on his Facebook page.

According to him, two factors contributed to the preservation of the
cease fire regime from 1994 until now. The first was the perspective
of settling the conflict through peaceful negotiations. The second
was the military balance between the two parties.

“The biggest concern of today is that Azerbaijan loses faith in
the perspective of peaceful settlement of the conflict due to its
none-realistic maximalist demands and as a result of its bellicose
statements and large expenditures on military equipment Azerbaijan
begins to believe in military advantage,” Oskanyan said.

According to him, the danger lies in the combination of these two
factors. As Oskanyan has stated, Armenia must come up with equivalent
military and political response in order for Azerbaijan to stop
dreaming.

BAKU ACCUSES ARMENIA OF KILLING 5 AZERI SOLDIERS

Today’s Zaman
June 5 2012
Turkey

Azerbaijan accused arch rival Armenia on Tuesday of killing five
soldiers near the two countries’ shared border in the second day of
violence that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned could
spiral into a broader regional conflict.

The violence comes the day after a skirmish on the Azeri-Armenian
border which killed three Armenian soldiers and wounded others on
both sides. Clinton, on a trip to the South Caucasus, voiced concern
that violence could lead to a “broader conflict”.

Tuesday’s skirmish occurred around 06:30 a.m. (0130 GMT). Another
clash killed one more Azeri soldier.

“A group of saboteurs from Armenia undertook an attempt to infiltrate
a position of the Azeri armed forces … In the course of battle
four Azeri soldiers died,” the Defence Ministry of the Muslim oil
producing country’s said in a statement.

Clinton, who visited Armenia on Monday, is due to make a half-day
trip to Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

War between ethnic Azeris and Armenians erupted in 1991 over the
mostly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh region, which broke away from Muslim
Azerbaijan with the backing of Christian Armenia as the Soviet Union
collapsed two decades ago.

The latest incidents, however, took place more than 400 kms (250
miles) away from Nagorno-Karabakh, where sporadic violence still
flares along a ceasefire line negotiated in 1994.

Some 30,000 people were killed and about 1 million became refugees,
the majority in Azerbaijan.

Recent years have seen skirmishes around the Nagorno-Karabakh frontline
and the two countries’ shared border, raising fears of a return to
full-blown conflict in the South Caucasus, a vital route for oil and
natural gas from the Caspian region to Europe.

Efforts at reaching a permanent settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict have failed, despite mediation led by France, Russia and
the United States.

CLINTON WARNS OF ‘DISASTROUS’ AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA CLASHES

Kuwait Times
June 6 2012

BAKU: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday warned of
possible “disastrous consequences” after a flare-up of deadly violence
between ex-Soviet enemies Azerbaijan and Armenia. Clinton held talks
with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku as the reported death
toll in gunbattles between the two neighbors this week rose to nine
amid the worst clashes since 2010. After the talks, she said she was
“deeply concerned about the danger of escalating tension, which could
have unpredictable and disastrous consequences.”

“This cycle of violence and retaliation must end,” she said. Baku and
Yerevan are locked in a bitter unresolved conflict over the disputed
region of Nagorny Karabakh, which Armenia-backed separatists seized
from Azerbaijan in a bloody war in the 1990s. An Armenian soldier was
killed in a firefight in Karabakh yesterday, separatist officials
in the region said-an incident that followed the deaths of five
Azerbaijani troops and three Armenians in clashes on their mutual
border on Monday and Tuesday.

The United States is a co-chair with Russia and France of the OSCE
Minsk Group, which was set up after the 1994 Karabakh ceasefire to
help bring a resolution to the conflict. But no peace deal has yet been
signed and the conflict remains unresolved, leaving Armenia suffering
economically from closed borders with Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey,
while Baku has grown richer on its Caspian Sea oil deposits. The United
States has sought to balance its relationship with both countries,
pressed on one side by the large American Armenian community and
Washington’s strategic interests in the Caspian basin on the other.

Clinton visited an oil and gas trade exposition being held in Baku,
highlighting the $8 billion that US energy companies have invested
in Azerbaijan since independence following the break-up of the
Soviet Union. She said later she appreciated “the central role that
Azerbaijan plays in efforts to diversify supplies of oil and gas as
well as the routes over which they are transported.” Azerbaijan sits
astride pipelines that carry oil from the Caspian Sea through Georgia
and Turkey to the Mediterranean, offering a southern alternative to
a northern route through Russia.

Clinton said the United States also supports a proposed new pipeline
that would transport natural gas to Europe, which currently depends
heavily on Russia for gas supplies. During her five-hour stay,
she also met with representatives of civil society groups-a show of
concern for rights and democracy in a country that has been accused
of clamping down on dissent and muzzling free speech. She said she
told Aliyev that fostering a vibrant civil society and democracy was
“essential to the long-term success and prosperity of Azerbaijan.”

“The United States remains strongly committed to working with
the government and people to advance respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms,” she said. “We, as we always do, urge the
government to respect their citizens’ rights to express their views
peacefully and to release those who have been detained for doing so,
in print or on the streets, or for defending human rights.”-AFP

AZERBAIJAN, REBELS TRADE BLAME OVER VIOLENCE, 1 DEAD.

EuroNews

June 6 2012

YEREVAN/BAKU (Reuters) – Azerbaijan and Armenian-backed rebels traded
accusations on Wednesday over cross border violence that killed one
person, just days after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned
it could lead to regional conflict.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have accused each other of triggering clashes
that have now killed a total of nine people on both sides, prompting
the worries over a resumption of fighting in a region criss-crossed
by energy pipelines to Europe.

Mainly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh, which broke away from Muslim
Azerbaijan with the help of Christian Armenia as the Soviet Union
collapsed, accused Baku of trying to infiltrate three rebel military
positions, prompting the skirmish in which one soldier died.

“Subdivisions of the Nagorno-Karabakh army entered into a defensive
battle and threw the enemy back to their original position. As a
result of the battle on the Armenian side one sergeant died and two
men were injured,” the statement from the rebel military said.

Oil-producing Azerbaijan, host to oil majors including BP, Chevron
and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take the mountain enclave
back by force, and is spending heavily on its armed forces.

Clinton, who visited Armenia on Monday, voiced concern that the
violence between Azerbaijan and Armenia could lead to a “much broader
conflict”.

Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said Armenian forces had violated
a ceasefire along their shared border on two occasions since late
Tuesday, but its forces suffered no losses.

War between ethnic Azeris and Armenians erupted in 1991 over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region. A ceasefire was signed in 1994, but sporadic
violence still flares along Azerbaijan’s borders with Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh has run its own affairs with the heavy military and
financial backing of Armenia since the war, when Armenian-backed
forces seized control of the enclave and seven surrounding Azeri
districts forming a land corridor with Armenia.

(Reporting By Hasmik Lazarian and Lada Yevgrashina, Writing by
Thomas Grove)