Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

SYRIAN ARMENIANS TO LEARN RUSSIAN FOR FREE

18:37, 6 February, 2013

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS: Free lessons of Russian language
will be organized for children of Syrian Armenian refugees in Armenia.

According to Gayane Soghomonyan, head of Staff of the Department of
General Education of Yerevan municipality, already 320 pupils were
included in the list of N14 School. “Children from Syrian Armenian
families are always at the center of attention of municipality,”
she noted.

Referring to the teaching of chess in schools which was included
recently Soghomonyan highlighted that the subject was rather
efficient. She also mentioned there were special classes with needed
boards and equipment for chess teaching in schools.

>From now on Department of General Education of Yerevan municipality
is provided with opportunity to get aquatinted with marks of any
pupil from any school just visiting dasaran.am web site. “dasaran.am
is really efficient as it creates link between teachers and parents
as parent can get acquainted with child’s progress and attendance
online,” Gayane Soghomony informed.

From: Baghdasarian

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER

15:30 06/02/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Dear Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister:

On February 18, 2013, the republic of Armenia will hold its fourth
presidential election since its 1991 independence.

Having Armenia’s best interest in mind and holding to a deep belief in
certain universal and inalienable rights, among which is the people’s
right to self-governance through a representative and legitimate
political system, I appeal to you, Mr. President and Mr. Prime
Minister, to deliver to the Armenian citizenry its constitutional
right to free, fair and democratic elections.

We call on you, Mr. President, to see to it that the tragic and
abhorrent shooting incident involving presidential candidate Paruir
Hayrikyan is fully investigated, the culprits brought to justice,
and that no efforts be spared to secure the safety of all presidential
candidates.

We welcome President Sargsyan’s repeated commitments before
the Armenian people and the international community to hold the
“best elections since 1991.” We concur with President Sargsyan’s
characterization that free, fair and democratic elections are vital
for Armenia’s national security and its ability to prosper.

Since the beginning of the presidential campaign period, we have
observed-through press reports, videos and records of eyewitness
accounts-apparent improper pressures exerted on members of the public
and private sectors compelling them to fall in line, in the absence
of free will, and to join in artifices of support, if not to submit to
candidate-specific vote-casting directives, in favor of the incumbent
Executive leadership.

As has previously been widely reported and accepted in part,
both by the opposition and ruling adherents, three types of flows
have negatively marked every Armenian election since 1991. While we
appreciate the current administration’s commitments, made and announced
before its people and the international community, to ensure that the
campaign process will be evenhanded and that the election results will
be free from manipulation, the specter of past irregularities continues
to resonate today in the current election climate and landscape.

We respectfully request that you publicly and clearly instruct
and hold accountable all officials and others responsible for
organizing, supporting and conducting the upcoming presidential
election in a fair, free and democratic manner with the requisite
checks and balances. These instructions should unequivocally prohibit
irregularities and illegal acts, and the appearances of them, which
can only serve to bring discredit and illegitimacy to all of Armenian’s
other laudable and positive achievements.

We look forward to working with Armenia’s freely-elected President, as
well as with all those in different places along Armenia’s political,
professional, and socioeconomic spectrums, in service to our One
Nation and One People.

Respectfully,

Garo B. Ghazarian

Chairman

Armenian Bar Association

From: Baghdasarian

“MOM, I’LL BE BACK IN THREE DAYS”; BOOK DEDICATED TO FALLEN ARTSAKH FREEDOM FIGHTER
Mаry Mamyan

;-book-dedicated-to-fallen-artsakh-freedom-fighter.html
15:04, February 6, 2013

Yesterday in Yerevan, there was a book reception for a work by Larisa
Gevorgyan entitled, “Mom, I’ll be back in three days”.

The book is dedicated to Vaghinak Zakaryan, who fought in the Artsakh
War and died in Berdzor.

Gevorgyan vividly recounts how Vaghinak and Samvel (another fighter
in the special unit) were sent to reconnoiter and fell into an enemy
trap. The two continued to resist till the bitter end.

“Lightning Vagho, with his fierce resistance, had so enraged the enemy,
that they began shooting him at point blank range. His body revealed
traces of seventy-two bullet wounds.”

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA RECORDS 2,026 CASES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN 2012

NEWS.AM
February 06, 2013 | 15:33

YEREVAN.- Armenia registered 2,026 cases of violence against women in
2012, representative of chief criminal investigation department said.

Colonel Nelli Duryan told reporters four murders and one case of
incitement to suicide were registered during this period.

Domestic violence makes one third of all cases, she said, adding that
often women are unwilling to report about the cases considering it
a family affair.

During the same period, 216 cases of violence against minors were
registered, 15 of them domestic violence cases.

From: Baghdasarian

REGIONAL GUIDE TRAINING CENTER TO OPEN IN ARMENIA

February 6, 2013 – 16:07 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The president of the World Federation of Tourist
Guide Associations (WFTGA) Rosalind Newlands, accompanied by her
deputy, will visit Armenia in March 2013 to discuss creation of a
regional center for guide training.

In 2012, Armenia hosted 2 international seminars on tourism, which
became a major precondition for opening of the center.

As Deputy Economy Minister Ara Petrosyan stated, a similar center
is operating in Cyprus. “A guide training center will greatly boost
Armenia’s position in the region,” the official said.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA’S TRADE BANKS TO PROVIDE STUDENT LOANS WITH NEW SOCIAL PROGRAM

TERT.AM
15:26 ~U 06.02.13

A new social program is being implemented in Armenia with which trade
banks will provide loans to the students of non-private and private
universities.

Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan and chairman of the
Armenian Banks Union NGO Ashot Osipyan told the reporters today
that the initiative will be implemented by the government and the
Union jointly. They stressed that the initiative is agreed with
public demand.

Different trade banks are implementing such services but not in the
pre-context of social programs. These are short-term loans while this
program for the first time will provide long-term loans.

“We assure you that it is unprecedented model and is more of social
philosophy nature than commercial,” Armen Ashotyan said.

The minister said the program makes students loans more available and
gives the Armenian students an opportunity to get higher education,
but it is aimed at getting knowledge and not diplomas.

The loan will be provided by the Armenian currency with the guarantee
of parents with 10 year term. During the studying years the interest
rates will be paid back and after the graduation the main sum.

The maximum sum of the loan will be 1 million 800,000 drams, with
four tranches 450,000 drams for each portion.

The loan is being provided with pawn, the money will not be provided to
the student but will be transferred to the educational establishment.

Ashot Osipyan said as far as the pay back risk is mainly on banks, the
bank history of students will be studied and the students’ advancing.

Those studying bad will be denied.

Fourteen out of 21 Armenia’s trade banks will provide the loans.

From: Baghdasarian

LETTER ABOUT ARMENIA’S PLAN TO RE-OPEN KHOJALY AIRPORT SENT TO EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT

6 February 2013, 15:34 (GMT+04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.6 / Trend /

The European Azerbaijan Society’s Brussels representation has sent a
letter about Armenia’s plan to re-open Khojaly airport, to President
of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, and the chairs of the
European Peoples’ Party (EPP), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists
and Democrats (S&D), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
(ALDE), the Greens-European Free Alliance (Greens-EFA) and the European
Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) in the European Parliament.

In the letter The European Azerbaijan Society strongly condemn the
steps being taken to commission Khojaly Airport in Nagorno-Karabakh,
an Azerbaijani region occupied by Armenian armed forces since 1990.

“The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, tasked with achieving a negotiated
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, had previously issued
a statement in which they expressed their concern that the planned
opening of the airport could lead to further increased tension. H.E
Richard Morningstar, US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, subsequently
commented: “The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs said that the parties need
to abstain from steps that may affect the peace process. The opening
of the airport in Khojaly may create tensions in the peace talks,”
the letter says.

According to the letter, Khojaly Airport was closed on 25
February 1992, after being occupied by Armenian forces during the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The airport was rebuilt during 2010-11,
but its opening has already been delayed for over a year. This
action, supported by Armenia and the self proclaimed ‘Republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh’, harms a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, and violates international law and four UN Security Council
Resolutions.

“We appreciate that the European Parliament has given increased
attention to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict over the past months,
but we consider this action by Armenian authorities to be contrary
to ongoing EU efforts to achieve a negotiated peace. It is also
inconsistent with the views expressed by the European Parliament in
the report on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the
EU and Azerbaijan adopted in 2012,” the letter says.

The appeal ends by asking for a public denouncement of the airport
proposal as it is a further infringement of Azerbaijani territorial
sovereignty, its airspace, and a most unhelpful development at this
crucial time as both sides seek, via the Minsk Group, to end the
stalemate in negotiations.

A copy of the appeal has also been presented to Catherine Ashton,
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy.

The Brussels representation of The European Azerbaijan Society has
also addressed letters to Jagland ThorbjØrn, Secretary General of the
Council of Europe and Jean Claude Mignon, President of the Parliament
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), about Armenia’s exploitation
of Khojaly airport.

From: Baghdasarian

DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF ARMENIA TO SUPPORT INCUMBENT PRESIDENT IF THE LATTER FIGHTS OLIGARCHY

ARMINFO
Wednesday, February 6, 14:18

Democratic Party of Armenia has come forward with a statement in
which it presented its position regarding the forthcoming
presidential election in Armenia. When assessing social and economic
as well as moral and psychological situation in the country, the party
thinks the reforms made in the country for the last 5 years did not
affect life level of population, enhancing of social justice and did
not prevent polarization of the society. As a result, 160 thsd
citizens of Armenia left it.

As the leader of the party Aram Sargsyan told journalists today, in
such conditions the party thinks it is necessary to put forward strict
requirements to the authorities – to fully resolve all the accumulated
problems. At the same time, as he said, the approaches of the party
coincide with the positions of the leadership of the country in some
sense, and are in line with the policy conducted by the incumbent
president of Armenia, a candidate for president Serzh Sargsyan, in
the context of foreign political choice and the choice of security
system. At the same time, Democratic Party of Armenia thinks that the
authorities should take the following measures – liquidate shadow,
criminal and oligarchic system, withdraw monopolies, be accountable to
the society about the state debt, how foreign credits are spent, and
return the stolen funds to the state budget as well as revise
functions of the All-Armenian Bank.

Sargsyan added that his party is ready to support the policy conducted
by the incumbent president in case of his reelection if the latter
resolves the above mentioned problems. Otherwise, Democratic Party of
Armenia will occupy harsh position regarding the authorities.

From: Baghdasarian

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

February 6, 2013
_______________________________________________

Archbishop Aykazian to Lead Christian Churches Together

Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, the Diocese’s Ecumenical Director, was elected
president of Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A.-a nationwide
ecumenical association of church leaders-on Wednesday, January 30, during
the organization’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas.

“Christian Churches Together has become one of the most important Christian
organizations in the United States,” Archbishop Aykazian said. “In the
coming years, I look forward to working together with fellow church leaders
to promote the common good for our society.”

Participants in the annual meeting, from January 28 to February 1, focused
on immigration reform, and heard from immigrants and advocates, including
representatives of the Hispanic Christian community and Catholic Relief
Services of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In a statement released after the meeting, Christian Churches Together calls
on “people of faith, people of good will, elected officials in Congress and
the President of the United States to work together to enact just and humane
immigration reform legislation in 2013.”

“The 11 million individuals now in the U.S. without authorization should be
given an opportunity to earn citizenship, if the individual chooses,” the
statement reads. The organization also calls for family reunification
options, just enforcement measures, and special protection for refugees and
asylum seekers.

Some 100 church leaders attended the annual meeting in Austin. Also
representing the Armenian Church were the Very Rev. Fr. Aren Jebejian and
seminarian Eric Vozzy.

Archbishop Aykazian will serve a four-year term as the head of Christian
Churches Together. He previously served as President of the National Council
of Churches, from 2007 to 2009. He is also a member of the Central Committee
and the Executive Council of the World Council of Churches.

Established in 2001, Christian Churches Together is comprised of more than
40 churches and organizations, including Evangelical, Pentecostal, Orthodox,
Roman Catholic, historic Protestant, Racial and African American churches.
Archbishop Aykazian was among the founding members of the organization. He
is also the first to serve as president of both the National Council of
Churches and Christian Churches Together.

###

Photo attached: Archbishop Vicken Aykazian speaks at the Diocesan Assembly.

From: Baghdasarian

ABSENT VOTERS ARE PRESIDENT’S MOST POWERFUL RESOURCE, SAYS ARMENIAN EXPERT

13:34 ~U 07.02.13

The Armenian citizens not residing in the country appear to be the
most powerful resource increasing the incumbent president’s re-election
chances, according Armen Badalyan, a political engineer.

At a news conference on Thursday, the expert said that Serzh Sargsyan
can be already considered elected thanks to such a resource.

“Those who are absent from the country are his biggest resource because
their votes will be rigged in the president’s favor. That makes up
about 300,000-400,000 ballots,” he said. “His supporters and the part
of the society which always votes for the authorities, include about
200,000 people. In case the Rule of Law party’s electorate and some
from Prosperous Armenia vote [in the president’s favor], the number
will amount to 1 million votes. So the others won’t catch up with
the figure, no matter their votes,” he said.

The expert noted that a candidate’s political platform is just one
component of the campaign, which should enable him to do everything
possible to sound convincing to the voter.

From: Baghdasarian