Author: Basmajian Ani

Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
3111 Los Feliz Avenue, #206, Los Angeles, CA 90039
Contact person: Dr. Frieda Jordan
Phone: (323) 663-3609
Email:[email protected]

ABMDR tenth-anniversary celebrations kick off with major event in Artsakh

`Save a Life’ concert and recruitment drive nets 160 new stem cell donors

Los Angeles, January 20, 2010 – On January 8 the Armenian Bone Marrow

Donor Registry (ABMDR) held an extraordinary concert and donor
recruitment drive in Artsakh. The much-anticipated event, titled
`Save a Life,’ marked the first of a series of functions that will
take place throughout this year in celebration of the ABMDR’s tenth
anniversary.

`Save a Life,’ which was held at the Spayi Tun hall in Stepanakert,
featured an extensive program of musical performances by prominent
artists from Artsakh as well as Armenia. The six-hour event was
attended by hundreds of concertgoers and ABMDR supporters, including
a roster of Artsakh dignitaries.

`It was just a wonderfully festive occasion, and the outpouring of
grassroots support made it all the more worthwhile,’ said Dr. Frieda
Jordan, president of the ABMDR Board of Directors. `Today, as we
celebrate the tenth anniversary of the ABMDR, we are as much proud of
the registry’s achievements as we are enthusiastic about its ongoing
growth and community outreach.’

Dr. Sevak Avagyan, executive director of the ABMDR, added that there
was symbolic significance in the choice of the Artsakh concert-
recruitment date, as January 8 has been declared `Donor Day’ by the
government of Armenia. `We picked January 8 to further emphasize the
critically important role that stem cell donors can have in helping
save lives,’ Dr. Avagyan said.

The `Save a Life’ event was organized jointly by the ABMDR, the
Artsakh Ministry of Health, and the republic’s Ministry of Youth and
Cultural Affairs. Prior to the concert, on January 8, ABMDR staff
members and several supporters, among them Artsakh government
officials, visited the War Victims’ Memorial, also in Stepanakert,
where they laid a wreath.

As with recruitment drives held across Armenia, the United States,
and elsewhere, the ABMDR’s Artsakh concert gave dozens of volunteers
the opportunity to educate attendees about the life-saving work of
the registry as well as recruit potential bone marrow stem cell
donors. The effort resulted in 160 new recruits, including Artsakh
National Assembly member Ashot Ghulyan, Health Minister Armen
Khachatryan, Youth and Cultural Affairs Minister Narine Aghabalyan,
and Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, Prelate of the Artsakh Diocese of
the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Dr. Jordan said that Artsakh’s people and government alike continue
to be extremely supportive of the ABMDR’s work. Yet another
indication of their solidarity came in the form of a Certificate of
Recognition, which the government of Artsakh bestowed on the ABMDR
during the January 8 concert.

Previously the registry has held two recruitment drives in Artsakh,
in 2002 and 2004, led by ABMDR Honorary President and former First
Lady of Armenia Bella Kocharyan. The two campaigns resulted in the
recruitment of a total of 805 stem cell donors.

Last year the ABMDR reached a key milestone when it opened a Stem
Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan. The only one of its kind in the
Caucasus region, the center can store and harvest stem cells provided
by healthy bone marrow donors. The stem cells subsequently can be
utilized in transplants for patients suffering from life-threatening
blood-related diseases such as leukemia and other cancers.

In 2010 the ABMDR’s tenth-anniversary events – including recruitment
drives, concerts, and presentations – will seek to both recruit bone
marrow donors and garner support for the registry’s next major goal,
the establishment of a dedicated stem cell transplantation center in
Armenia. `This will be the next logical step in the evolution of the
ABMDR,’ Dr. Jordan explained. `A full-fledged transplantation center
will give thousands of Armenian patients access to affordable, life-
saving stem cell transplants.’

About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999,
the ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians worldwide
survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and
matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants.

To date, the registry has recruited over 15,000 donors across three
continents, identified 1,305 patients, found 1,033 potential matches,
and facilitated nine bone marrow transplants.

For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.

# # #

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN: "GORBACHOV IS ALIVE, HE SHOULD BE JUDGED EVEN IF HE DIES"

APA
Jan 19 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov – APA. Azerbaijani Commission on International
Humanitarian Aid, Azerbaijani representation of Istanbul International
Brotherhood and Solidarity Association and 20 January Foundation
organized an event on the theme "January 20 – national mourning day",
APA reports.

The government officials, representatives of Turkish embassy in
Azerbaijan, families of January 20 martyrs and parliamentarians
attended the event.

President of Youth Assistance Foundation Ahmet Tecim underlined
that January 20 happenings played important role in Azerbaijan’s
independence. He noted that January 20 was both tragedy and the day
of pride of the state.

Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov said January 20 was a tragedy,
example of heroism. He said the then leadership of USSR was the
culprit of those happenings.

"Head of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachov stirred up the tragedy
and Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. I said in 1999 when I was a
parliamentarian and say now that Gorbachov should be sued in the
International Court of Justice. He is alive, he should be judged even
if he dies," he said.

First deputy ambassador of Turkey to Azerbaijan Nihat Civaner, MP
Fuad Muradov, poet Mammad Aslan and others addressed the event. Aids
were distributed among the families of martyrs.

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS CONSIDER POSSIBILITIES OF RESOLVING KARABAKH CONFLICT

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.01.2010 20:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian and Armenian Presidents Dmitry Medvedev
and Serzh Sargsyan consider possibilities of developing bilateral
ties and settling Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

At the start of the meeting with his Armenian counterpart, Russian
leader said, "We will discuss issues included in economic and foreign
policy agenda. We’ll also dwell on global problems and current serious
projects, not leaving aside, of course, the Karabakh settlement
process.

Armenian President noted for his part that this is Mr. Medvedev’s first
visit during the current year. "This is an appropriate time for summing
up the results of our joint work and determining plans for 2010."

"I do believe we have grounds for achieving serious progress in 2010.

We must do our utmost to have more and more serious achievements by
every year," Armenian President said.

Mr. Sargsyan also expressed his gratitude to Russia for its assistance
in the strengthening of peace and security in the region. "We are
interested in resolving all conflicts through peaceful methods. In
this regard, we are not only strategic allies but also co-thinkers,"
he added.

Agreeing with his Armenian colleague, Russian leader said the two
countries are developing ties quite actively.

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 as result of the
ethnic cleansing launched by Azerbaijan in the final years of the
Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since
the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions
of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control
of Nagorno Karabakh defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan have since
been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.

SOME QUOTES OF MINISTER NALBANDIAN ON GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

Aysor
Jan 18 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s government in its relations with Turkey isn’t going to resign
process of international recognition of Genocide, said in an interview
with the Radio Liberty Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

"This position was repeatedly voiced by Armenian President, Foreign
Ministry, and by me at the press conference in Istanbul. Armenia
doesn’t and won’t question Genocide and importance of the process of
recognition," said minister.

Minister Nalbandian said only bilateral-relation-related items were
discussed with Turkey’s government. "The agenda with Turkey doesn’t
include anything else. Armenian government doesn’t act behind people’s
back. We declare only real and actual things," he said.

"One clear thing is that Armenia and Turkey have reached an agreement
to hold talks without preconditions. Otherwise we wouldn’t involve in
negotiations. Prime Minister of Turkey as well confirms there were
not preconditions in Armenia-Turkey relations. But at the same time
he says that some preconditions may appear at the backstage. Russian,
the US, and French mediators responded to this.

"We’ve taken responsibility to ratify the protocols. However, if one
of the sides prevents the process, this just means that it will be
responsible for voting down the process.

"If Turkey steps back, this will be not only the violation of the
treaty with Armenia, but this will show Turkey’s slighting behavior
towards international community, so it will lose creditability,"
said minister Nalbandian.

ARMENIA’S CIVIL SERVANTS TO LEARN FRENCH

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.01.2010 15:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A program aimed at raising Armenian civil servants’
proficiency in the French language was launched on January 18.

The program is implemented in the framework of memorandum of
understanding signed on June 9, 2009 between the International
Organization of la Francophonie, governments of France, Luxembourg
and the French community of Belgium.

As the press office Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported,
the program implemented by the Alliance Francaise-Armenie, will enable
70 civil servants working in ministries, parliament and Yerevan city
administration to learn French.

Alliance Francaise-Armenie is a cultural and educational organization,
operating in Yerevan. Founded in 2002, Alliance Francaise-Armenie
holds French language courses and TCF, TE tests. In addition, Alliance
Francaise-Armenie organizes various exhibitions, conferences and
festivals.

Francophonie is an international organization of polities and
governments with French as the mother or customary language, wherein
a significant proportion of people are francophones (French speakers)
or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language
or culture. Formally known as the Organisation internationale de
la Francophonie (OIF) or the International Organization of the
Francophonie, the organization comprises 56 member states and
governments, 3 associate members, and 14 observers. Francophonie
may also refer, particularly in French, to the global community of
French-speaking peoples, comprising a network of private and public
organizations promoting special ties among all Francophones. The
prerequisite for admission to the Francophonie is not the degree of
French usage in the member countries, but a prevalent presence of
French culture and language in the member country’s identity, usually
stemming from France’s colonial ambitions with other nations in its
history. Few of the member states are majority French-speaking, aside
from France and its overseas possessions. The modern organization was
created in 1970. Its motto is egalite, complementarite, solidarite,
alluding to France’s motto. Started as a small club of northern
French-speaking countries, the Francophonie has since evolved into a
global organization whose numerous branches cooperate with its member
states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace.

Interfax, Russia
Jan 14 2010

No link between Karabakh, Armenia-Turkey normalization – Lavrov

YEREVAN Jan 14

There is no link between the Karabakh settlement process and
Armenian-Turkish normalization, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
told a Thursday press conference in Yerevan, following negotiations
with his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian.

"We see no relation between normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations and the Karabakh settlement process," he said.

Russia supports the attempts of Armenia and Turkey to normalize
bilateral relations, he said.

"We are interested in that normalization," Lavrov said.

Russia is ready to assist the normalization process with joint
electric power and railroad projects, he said.

"The sooner relations are normalized, the better it will be for the
region," he said.

Lavrov denied claims that his Yerevan trip was allegedly related to
the recent Moscow visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.

"This visit [to Yerevan] was planned a long time ago. The agreement
was reached over a month ago, and the Turkish premier expressed his
wish to visit Moscow only several days ago," he said.

"It is unrelated to the [Haiti] quake as well," the minister joked.

The Armenian defense minister is paying a visit to Moscow now. I must
say that this is also unrelated to the Russian visit of Prime Minister
Erdogan," he said.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Jan 15 2010

Putin’s Karabakh stance may hurt Turk-Armenian deal

Friday, January 15, 2010
Ã`mit ENGÄ°NSOY
ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an’s recent visit to the Russian
capital, Moscow, is largely seen as successful in terms of bilateral
energy deals. Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s public remarks on
the territorial dispute of Nagorno-Karabakh effectively means a hurdle
for the Turkish-Armenian normalization efforts, analysts say.

Putin told ErdoÄ?an during Wednesday’s talks that Turkey should not
link the Nagorno-Karabakh problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan to
the normalization of its bilateral relations with Armenia.

"Both the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and the Turkish-Armenian problem
are very complicated by nature. I do not think it is right to tie them
into one package," Putin told a news conference after his talks with
the Turkish prime minister.

"It is unwise from both tactical and strategic points of view to
package these problems," he said.

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed a set of agreements on
Oct. 10 under which Ankara and Yerevan should set up normal diplomatic
relations and reopen their land border, effectively putting an end to
a century of hostile relations.

But there are signs that the reconciliation process is now facing an
uphill battle. The Turkey-Armenia accord needs to be ratified by
parliaments of the two neighbors before being implemented, but there
is no indication of when both nations may bring the deal to their
parliaments.

The issue that lies at the root of the problem is the unresolved
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkey’s
close friend and ally.

No end in sight for Karabakh

Turkey first wants to see progress toward the solution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict before opening its border with Armenia. And
the Armenians are hinting no sign of this.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly Armenian-populated enclave inside
Azerbaijan, and parts of Azerbaijan proper has been under Armenian
occupation since a war in the early 1990s. As a result of this war,
Turkey has refused to set up normal diplomatic relations with Yerevan
and has been keeping the land border with Armenia closed since 1993.

Like Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has also been
urging Turkey to unconditionally put into effect the deal with
Yerevan.

Putin’s remarks make it clear that Russia has no intention to press
the Karabakh Armenians and Yerevan for an urgent reconciliation on the
enclave’s future. And without strong Russian or U.S. pressure, the
Armenians will see little reason to compromise on this matter.

As a result, the Turkish parliament, for its part, will see little
reason to ratify the normalization deal with Yerevan, which
effectively could mean the collapse or suspension of the
reconciliation process.

"In fact, a real reconciliation involving Turkey and Azerbaijan on the
one side and Armenia on the other is one of the last things Putin’s
Russia would want to see, because such a deal may pave the way for the
construction of new pipelines carrying Eurasian oil and natural gas to
the West, bypassing Russian territory," said a former senior Turkish
diplomat.

"Russia is very jealous about its present monopoly in transporting
Eurasia’s energy resources to the West, and doesn’t want to see new
and U.S.-backed rivals in an area which it still continues to view as
its backyard," said the former diplomat. "So, the status quo is in
Russia’s benefit."

US front

The potential collapse of the Ankara-Yerevan deal would mean more
problems for Turkey in its relationship with the United States, and
this plays into the hands of Armenian-American groups.

Despite the possibility of normalized ties between Ankara and Yerevan,
Armenian-Americans’ top priority is to obtain Washington’s recognition
of World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as
`genocide."

"In the face of Turkey’s ongoing campaign of denial, we must redouble
our efforts to secure U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian genocide and
urge the swift passage of the Armenian genocide resolutions in
Congress," said Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian
Assembly of America, a major Armenian-American group, last weekend.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with representatives
of major American Armenian groups next month. "The Republic of Armenia
through its president, has taken bold steps, yet the Republic of
Turkey continues its counterproductive actions with respect to
normalizing relations with Armenia," said Ardouny. "As such, this
meeting [with Clinton] offers an important opportunity to discuss the
U.S. administration’s efforts to hold Turkey accountable," he said.

Turkey has strongly warned that any formal U.S. genocide recognition
would lead to a major and lasting deterioration of bilateral ties.

SERZH SARGSYAN EXTENDED CONDOLENCES TO HIS HAITIAN COUNTERPART

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2010 15:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ President Serzh Sargsyan has extended condolences
to his Haitian counterpart Rene Garcia Preval in connection with the
recent earthquake, Armenian leader’s press service reported.

"Armenia is ready to assist the survivors of Haiti earthquake which
caused great losses, leaving lots of people dead," RA President says
in his address.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0
Mw earthquake centred approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from
Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, which struck at 16:53:09 local
time (21:53:09 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The earthquake
centred approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Port-au-Prince, the
capital of Haiti. The disaster occurred at a depth of 13 kilometres
(8.1 mi). The first shake was followed by a series of aftershocks,
fourteen of them between magnitudes 5.0 and 5.9. The exact number of
victims is not specified.

POPE BENEDICT 16 SUPPORTS TURKISH-ARMENIAN RAPPROCHEMENT

armradio.am
15.01.2010 15:19

Pope Benedict XVI voiced support to the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement
during the traditional New Year speech before the ambassadors in
Vatican.

The event was also attended by the Turkish ambassador in Vatican,
doctor Kenan Gursoy. The pope touched upon several issues during his
speech saying he is happy with the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement that
will promote healthy relations between the South Caucasus countries.

RA FOREIGN MINISTER: NO STAGNATION IN KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.01.2010 15:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said
positive dynamics can be observed in the Karabakh conflict settlement
process.

"There’s no stagnation in the process," he said during a joint news
conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. "In 2009,
6 bilateral and 3 trilateral meetings were held at the level of
Armenian and Azeri presidents. The number of meetings is in itself
a proof of positive dynamics."

"Armenia stands for peaceful talks, as the only way to resolve
the Karabakh conflict. Meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani
officials will be continued in near future in case the parities
manage to preserve last year’s positive dynamics and to expedite the
settlement process," Minister Nalbandian said.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic
located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north
and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west.

After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923
it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the
Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan
launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that
was fought from 1991 to 1994.

Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several
regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the
control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated
by the OSCE Minsk Group.

Foreign ministers from the 56 OSCE participating states charted the way
ahead for the OSCE-anchored debate on the future of European security
known as the Corfu Process in a decision and a Ministerial Declaration
adopted on December 2, 2009 at the Ministerial Council in Athens.

The ministers said they remained seriously concerned that the
principles of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and subsequent OSCE
commitments are not fully respected and implemented.

"Our highest priority remains to re-establish our trust and confidence,
as well as to recapture the sense of common purpose that brought
together our predecessors in Helsinki almost 35 years ago," the
statement said.

In the declaration, the ministers said they were concerned "that
the use of force has not ceased to be considered as an option in
settling disputes; that the danger of conflicts between states has
not been eliminated, and armed conflicts have occurred even in the
last decades".

They also adopted a statement urging the Minsk Group Co-Chair countries
to sustain the positive dynamic of negotiations of the negotiations
and aiming to finalize the Basic Principles on the peaceful settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

"We are convinced there is today a real opportunity to build a
future of peace, stability and prosperity for the entire region,"
the statement said.