Author: Chakrian Hovsep

ACCORDING TO ARSHAK SADOYAN, PUBLIC COUNCIL CAN PLAY POSITIVE PART IN ISSUE OF RELEASING POLITICAL PRISONERS

NOYAN TAPAN
June 11, 2008

YE REVAN, JUNE 11, NOYAN TAPAN. Being a supervising body, the Public
Council should give wide layers of society a possibility to take
part in discussion of events happening in various spheres of the
country. Arshak Sadoyan, the Chairman of the Union of National
Democrats party, expressed such an opinion ar the June 11 press
conference. In his opinion, the Public Council should be a body of
collective activity, to which at least two hours’ TV air should be
given weekly. According to A. Sadoyan, having levers of mass influence
will give a possibility to normalize the political field.

In A. Sadoyan’s opinion, to postpone the formation of the
Public Council with some demands means to fail the process of its
formation. In that respect he does not consider expedient first RA
President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s demand to release the political
prisoners. "A considerable part of the arrested people is indeed
political prisoners, who should be released. However, it is not
expedient to impede the process of Public Council formation with that
demand," the Chairman of the Union of National Democrats said adding
that the Public Council can have rather a positive role just in the
issue of setting free political prisoners.

ARAZ AZIMOV: "ARMENIA COULD BENEFIT FROM ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES OF AZERBAIJAN BY RETURNING THE OCCUPIED LANDS"

Today.Az
itics/45559.html
June 10 2008
Azerbaijan

"The first meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia was
useful only in the political sense", said deputy Foreign Minister of
Azerbaijan Araz Azimov, Azadlyg radio reports.

At the same time, he noted that the importance of the meeting should
not be underestimated.

"Baku got information about Yerevan’s position by clarifying a number
of unclear issues. Yet the Armenian side should not hope that it will
be able to meet its interests by lingering the process and conducting
such meetings. We will not leave them alone", noted he,

"Azerbaijan will spread information about Armenia’s aggression",
noted Azimov.

"Baku does not intend to trade with Yerevan. Only by releasing the
occupied lands, Armenia will be able to demonstrate real intentions,
as they say, which means guarantee the rights and liberties of the
Nagorno Karabakh Armenians by doing it’, said the deputy Foreign
Minister of Azerbaijan.

Commenting on possible peaceful resolution of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, the deputy minister noted that none of the sides will
manage to get a 100% result. "In order to attain something, the sides
need to make compromises, demonstrating flexibility. Baku is ready to
it. Yet it is not known in which form the talks will continue. Several
important issues are still unsettled.

Azimov noted that Armenia could benefit from economic opportunities
of Azerbaijan by returning the occupied lands, according to ANS
TV channel.

It should be noted that the first meeting of Presidents of Azerbaijan
and Armenia Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkissyan was held in Saint
Petersburg on June 6 in the framework of informal CIS summit.

2007 EXCAVATIONS – SENSATIONAL RESULTS

Panorama.am
19:28 10/06/2008

Today a meeting was held covering Armenian archeology and the problems
in the field presented to the journalists by the director of Institute
of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences Pavel
Avetisyan. "Historical-Cultural heritage of Armenia, in particular
monuments are in danger, and their examination is a major issue. Each
country and society should pay attention and deal with the problem,"
said Avetisyan and added that it has much to do with the tourism also
as there is no tourism if there is no cultural heritage.

According to P. Avetisyan after the collapse of Soviet Union scientific
institutions were broken down but the Institute of Archeology and
Ethnography was one of those few ones which kept its potential and
work. In 2007 the institute received support from the State budget
and manaed to conduct 29 field excavations.

The director of the institute signified working experience with some
international organizations in those excavations. P Avetisyan talked
about the excavations and their results and said that in Artashat
they found out the lost temple of Artashat and bathrooms in it. The
archeologist said that they conducted excavations in Areni and found
a monument there.

60 WORLD LEADING EXPERTS ON HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE STUDIES SIGN A PETITION
FOR THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT

armradio.am
10.06.2008 10:46

On an initiative of Vahagn Avedian, Chairman of the Board of Union
of Armenian Associations in Sweden, a petition published in 10
languages, whose Turkish, is addressed yesterday to the members of
the Swedish Parliament in order to influence on a decision of the
Foreign Affairs’s Commission suggesting at the Parliament and the
government to disallow the proposals for a recognition of Armenian
Genocide of 1915, independent correspondent Jean Eckian informed.

An extract of this text indicates: "Today, Sweden is internationally
regarded as a champion of human rights. It is incumbent on the Swedish
authorities to live up to this reputation and to reject any compromise
with negationism and denial. The Swedish Government should attempt to
assist Turkey to become a better democracy by facing its history and
acknowledging the truth, not by continuing to stagger in the darkness
of self-deception and pretense. Today, the data and information
about the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks are so
extensive that no serious politician can honestly cite insufficient
or inconclusive research as an excuse to avoid recognition. Refusal
to recognize established fact based on qualitative and quantitative
research may be regarded as being tantamount to denial."

"The signatories of this letter do not consider there is any doubt that
the massacres of Christians and other minorities in the Ottoman Empire
during the World War I constituted genocide. Even though research
must and will continue, the existing information is compelling and
must be acknowledged as such," the petition concluded.

TURKEY NEEDS PLAN B IF CONGRESS PASSES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

HYE-TERT
June 5 2008
Turkey

Turkey needs a plan B in the likelihood the U.S. Congress passes a
resolution endorsing Armenian Genocide under a new administration, said
campaign advisers for the presidential candidates of both American
political parties. Richard Burt, campaign advisor to Republican
nominee John McCain, and Philip Gordon, campaign advisor to likely
Democratic nominee Barack Obama, discussed the implications of a
Republican or Democratic victory for Turkish-American relations at
a panel organized by the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s
Association (TUSIAD) and the Brookings Institute. U.S. Sen. Barack
Obama, the Democratic Party’s top presidential candidate, has pledged
to recognize the World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire as Genocide if elected president, as does his competitor Hillary
Clinton. Though not excluding a possibility of a change of heart,
given that politicians act differently in practice than they claim
in their election campaigns, Gordon advised the Turkish government
to have a plan B on the Genocide Resolution issue. Marc Parris,
a former American ambassador to Ankara, argued that Democrats will
become stronger in Congress and said the Turkish government should be
prepared. Whereas Burt argued that both Democrats and Republicans see
Turkey as a traditional ally, Gordon said the new administration will
have to devise a new policy on Turkey and cannot afford to continue
overlooking Turkey in favor of other priorities, the Turkish Daily
News reports.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARKISIAN INVITED TO PAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO RUSSIA

ARMENPRESS
June 4, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS: President Serzh Sarkisian received today
Russian ambassador to Armenia Nikolay Pavlov.

The presidential press service told Armenpress that the ambassador
conveyed to the president the invitation of Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev to pay an official visit to the Russian Federation in the
second half of June.

Nikolay Pavlov also passed to Serzh Sarkisian Dmitry Medvedev~Rs
letter of gratitude in response to Sarkisian~Rs congratulations on
the occasion of taking over as president of Russia.

ARMENIAN DELEGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN GATHERING OF DUTCH GROUP OF IMF AND WB MEMBER-STATES

ARMENPRESS
June 3, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS: Delegation headed by the Armenian Economy
Minister Nerses Yeritsian will leave for Netherlands on June 4 to
participate in the annual gathering of the Dutch Group of the IMF
and World Bank member-states which will be held June 5-8 in Amsterdam.

Armenian Economy Ministry press service told Armenpress that the
delegation will consist of chief consultant of the president on
economic affairs Vahram Nersisyants, member of the Central Bank
Council Vache Gabrielian, deputy finance minister Suren Karayan,
head of financial department of the Central Bank Arthur Nakhshikian,
deputy head of macroeconomic programming department of the staff of
the Finance Ministry Tigran Kostanian.

Within the frameworks of the visit the Armenian delegation is expected
to meet with the general director of IMF Dominique Straus Kan, deputy
director Karlo Kotarelli, Finance Minister of Netherlands Vouter
Boss, Chairman of the Central Bank Nout Velink, representatives of
the World Bank.

THIRD WOMAN MINISTER

KarabakhOpen
04-06-2008 11:25:26

The general information department of the NKR president administration
reports that the minister of urban planning Alexander Mamunts was
dismissed, and Anahit Vardanyan replaced him.

Anahit Vardanyan is the third woman minister of the Karabakh
government.

Narine Azatyan is the minister of social security and Narine Narimanyan
is the minister of justice.

NEWS ARMENIAN STATE CUSTOMS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN APPOINTED

ARKA
June 4, 2008

YEREVAN, June 4. /ARKA/. Armenian President Serge Sargsyan signed a
decree, on June 4, appointing Gagik Khachatryan as Chairman of the
government-affiliated State Customs Committee, presidential press
office reported.

Previously, Gagik Khachatryan was vice-chairman of the same committee
and acting chairman since April 15, 2008, after former chairman Armen
Avetissyan was dismissed.

ARS Youth Connect Program
Armenian Relief Society Eastern United States
80 Bigelow Ave, Suite 200
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel. (617) 926-3801
Fax (617) 924-7238

PRESS RELEASE
May 29, 2008
Contact: Vartouhie Chiloyan
(617) 926-3801
[email protected]

Armenian Relief Society to Kick Off New Summer Youth Program

Watertown MA – From June 8 to 15 youth from the Eastern United States will
gather at Bentley College in Waltham, MA for the Armenian Relief Society
(ARS) Youth Connect Program featuring various presentations, workshops, and
activities.

Organized by the ARS Eastern United States the Youth Connect Program has
attracted various community leaders who will be on hand to lecture to the
youth. The ARS has also extended the invitation to the community at large to
attend these presentations. "This is definitely an excellent way for
college-aged Armenians to come together and share ideas about what they
envision as being important for them," stated Dr. Asbed Kotchikian, director
of the ARS Youth Connect Program, "furthermore the program is aimed at
creating a lifelong and binding networks for Armenian students to not only
help each other advance their academic and professional careers but also to
try to give something back to their communicate and to Armenia."

Below is a schedule of presentations to take place, along with a brief
biography of each lecturer. For more information contact a local ARS chapter
or the ARS office in Watertown.

The Armenian Relief Society (ARS) was established in 1910 in New York City
to provide educational and humanitarian assistance to Armenians throughout
the world. Today, the ARS, Inc. has regions and chapters-at-large all over
the world.

*Tuesday, June 10*

* *

Speaker: Dr. Henry Theriault & Mr. Khatchig Mouradian

Topic: Turkish-Armenian relations

Location: TBD

Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

*Dr. Henry Theriault* is associate professor of philosophy at Worcester
State College, where he has taught since 1998.His research focuses on
genocide and human rights, with particular emphasis on genocide denial and
its epistemological dimensions, the long term impact of genocide and other
mass violence, their ethical and political implications, and mass violence
against women. His teaching includes courses on genocide and human rights,
mass violence against women, the Armenian Genocide, ethics, political
philosophy, the philosophy of history, and
gender/sexuality/race/class/nation.

*Khatchig Mouradian* is a journalist, writer and translator. He was an
editor of the Lebanese-Armenian Aztag Daily from 2000 to 2007, when he moved
to Boston and became the editor of the Armenian Weekly.

His articles, interviews and poems have appeared in many publications
worldwide. Many of his writings have been translated into more than 10
languages. He contributes regularly to a number of U.S. and European
publications.

He has lectured extensively and participated in conferences in Armenia,
Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Austria, Switzerland, Norway and the U.S. He
has presented papers on genocide and the media at several academic
conferences such as the 5th and 6th Workshops on Armenian-Turkish
Scholarship, held at NYU in 2006 and at the Graduate Institute in Geneva in
2008. He is a member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
(IAGS).

*Wednesday, June 11*

Speaker: Tamar Palandjian

Topic: "Hima" or Later? Youth Activism in Armenia

Location: Watertown Public Library

Time: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

*Tamar Palandjian* works at Mercy Corps, a non-profit international
development organization with programs in over 35 countries throughout the
world. Based in the Cambridge office, she is responsible for supporting the
development and implementation of conflict management training programs both
locally and overseas. Prior to joining Mercy Corps, Tamar was a Fulbright
Scholar to Armenia (2005-06) where she conducted research on youth
involvement and participation in capacity building activities in the NGO
sector. Upon completing her year of research, she was hired as a Youth
Program Coordinator at the Civil Society Institute NGO where she continued
to work with Armenian youth. She received her bachelor’s degree in
Political Science from Wheaton College in Norton, MA. Born and raised in
Rhode Island, Tamar has been an active member of the Providence Armenian
community until moving to Boston where she recently became involved with the
Armenian community ever since. She has also recently joined as a Board
member of Aquatics Armenia, a newly established non-profit which seeks to
implement community development projects of building swimming pools
throughout the country.

*Thursday, June 12*

* *

Speaker: Dr. Dikran M Kaligian

Topic: History of the Armenian American Community

Location: St. Stephen’s Church Hall

Time: 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

*Dr. Dikran M Kaligian *has been Visiting Professor of Armenian Genocide
Studies at Clark University and has also taught at Westfield State and
Wheaton Colleges. He is the chairman of the Armenian National
Committee-Eastern US and Associate Editor of the Armenian Review. He
received his doctorate in history from Boston College. He is the author of
Armenian Organization and Ideology under Ottoman Rule: 1908-1914, which will
be published by Transaction Publishers this summer.**