Author: Chalian Meline

UNICEF (press release), NY
Oct 2 2007

UNICEF Armenia calls for more investment in early childhood learning

© UNICEF/Armenia 2007/Igor Dashevskiy

Photo: October 2007. Armenia. A kindergarten in Dilijan, Tavoush
region. Number of children attending preschools in Armenia has
drastically dropped since independence as well as the number of
preschools.

YEREVAN, 2 October 2007 – Representatives from ministries,
parliament, governors, international organizations and members of
non-governmental organizations gathered today to discuss challenges
of early childhood learning and pre-school education in Armenia.

The roundtable on `Education Reforms and Pre-school Priorities’,
organized by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNICEF,
served as a forum to discuss current programmes for early childhood
education and development and mechanisms to increase investments in
education for young children.

`Decades of research have proven the importance of early childhood
learning and shown that pre-school is a sound public investment,’
UNICEF Representative in Armenia Sheldon Yett said. `Investments in
improving pre-school system will pay tremendous dividends down the
road.’

For every $1 spent on early childhood care, there is a $7 return
through cost savings. This figure is derived from studies showing
that participants in pre-school and day care are less likely to
suffer illnesses, repeat grades, drop out of school, or require
remedial services later in life. Moreover, by shifting money within
budgets, nations can create comprehensive programmes for their
youngest citizens without adding large sums of money or further
depleting their budgets.

In Armenia the care and education for young children does not receive
the budgetary resources required. The situation in Armenia is fairly
typical to many countries in the region. Pre-school attendance levels
have fallen with the dismantling of earlier centralized institutions
and structures, accompanied by cutbacks in social spending, without
complementary efforts to build local capacity and to ensure resources
at the local level are identified. The percentage of children
enrolled in pre-school dropped from 47 per cent in 1989 to just over
21 per cent in 2006.

`This means that today, most children start school at a significant
and progressive disadvantage. Most children, who are new entrants to
primary school, arrive unprepared for formal education. The result
is a shaky foundation – students risk being unable to meet their full
potential, reducing their eventual contributions to their
communities,’ Sheldon Yett emphasized.

This roundtable was an opportunity to carry out a comprehensive
review of existing pre-school activities in the larger context of the
ongoing education reforms, share experience on the importance of
pre-school education, review existing legislation that affects young
children, as well as discuss the possibility of increased budget
allocations for pre-schools. In addition, the event provided a forum
to bring up and analyze alternative pre-school models that have
already been successfully implemented in Armenia.

About UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help
children survive and thrive, from early childhood through
adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing
countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and
sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the
protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF
is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals,
businesses, foundations and governments.

For further information, please contact:
Emil Sahakyan, UNICEF Armenia, Tel: (374 1) 523-546, 566-497,580-174
E-mail: [email protected]

/media_41046.html

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
October 2, 2007
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

House Foreign Affairs Committee to Consider the Armenian Genocide
Resolution
Armenian Assembly Mobilizes Community Support

Washington, DC – As part of the Armenian Assembly’s ongoing effort to
secure passage of H. Res. 106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, the
Assembly issued a "call to action" yesterday as the House Foreign
Affairs Committee announced its decision to consider the resolution on
Wednesday, October 10th. The resolution is identical to legislation
adopted by the Committee in 2005 by a vote of 40 to 7, which included
the support of the Chairman and Ranking Member.

The legislation, introduced in January of this year by Congressman Adam
Schiff (D-CA), along with his colleagues Congressmen George Radanovich
(R-CA), Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI), as well as Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA), Thaddeus
McCotter (R-MI) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), garnered over 150 supporters on
the day of introduction, and has now grown to a majority in the House of
Representatives with over 220 cosponsors. H. Res. 106 also enjoys the
support of millions of Americans as evidenced by the broad-based support
of more than 50 organizations. [See list below]

"Passage of this bipartisan human rights legislation will send a
powerful message to those who continue, despite the incontestable truth,
to deny the Armenian Genocide," said Assembly Executive Director Bryan
Ardouny. "Now is the time to ensure a resounding victory. We must put
an end to denial and the vicious cycle of genocide."

The Assembly will continue to mount an aggressive campaign, which also
includes raising international awareness of other genocides and
combating denial. Last week, as part of the Assembly’s ongoing
commitment to increase awareness of past and current genocides and end
the atrocities in Darfur, the Assembly joined His Holiness Karekin II,
Catholicos of All Armenians, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan
Williams, Armenian Genocide survivors and other human rights activists
for a symbolic torch lighting ceremony honoring genocide victims and
survivors worldwide. Also, last week, the Assembly challenged the
morally bankrupt letter by eight former U.S. Secretaries of State
calling their letter to prevent consideration of H. Res.106
"inconsistent with the fundamental tenets of American values."

H. Res. 106 must pass the House Foreign Affairs Committee before it can
be considered for a vote on the House floor.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding
and awareness of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
membership organization.

NR#2007-114

Editor’s Note: Attached please find a list of more than 50 civic,
religious, human rights, and ethnic organizations that support H.Res.106
and the identical Senate Resolution, S. Res. 106.

American Federation of Jews from Central Europe (New York, NY),
Americans for Peace Now (Washington, DC), American Hellenic Council of
CA (Los Angeles, CA), American Hellenic Institute (Washington, DC),
American Hungarian Federation (Washington, DC), American Jewish World
Service (New York, NY), American Latvian Association in the U.S.
(Rockville, MD), American Values (Washington, DC), Arab American
Institute (Washington, DC), Belarusan-American Association (Jamaica,
NY), Bulgarian Institute for Research and Analysis (Bethesda, MD),
Center for Russian Jewry with Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (New
York, NY), Center for World Indigenous Studies (Olympia, WA), Christian
Solidarity International (Washington, DC), Congress of Romanian
Americans (McLean, VA), Council for the Development of French in
Louisiana (Lafayette, LA), Estonian American National Council
(Rockville, MD), Genocide Intervention Network (Washington, DC), Global
Rights (Washington, DC), Hmong National Development, Inc. (Washington,
DC), Hungarian American Coalition (Washington, DC), Institute on
Religion and Public Policy (Washington, DC), International Association
of Genocide Scholars (New York, NY), Jewish Social Policy Action Network
(Philadelphia, PA), Jewish War Veterans of the USA (Washington, DC),
Jewish World Watch (Encino, CA), Joint Baltic American National
Committee (Rockville, MD), Leadership Council for Human Rights
(Washington, DC), Lithuanian American Community (Philadelphia, PA),
Lithuanian American Council (Rockville, MD), National Ethnic Coalition
of Organizations (New York, NY), National Council of Churches USA (New
York, NY), National Federation of American Hungarians (Washington, DC),
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (Washington, DC),
National Lawyers Guild (New York, NY), Polish American Congress
(Chicago, IL), Progressive Jewish Alliance (Los Angeles, CA),
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (Wyncote, PA), Slovak League of
America (Passaic, New Jersey), The Georgian Association in the USA
(Washington, DC), The Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring (New York, NY), U.S.
Baltic Foundation (Washington, DC), Ukrainian Congress Committee of
America (New York, NY), Ukrainian National Association (Parsippany, NJ),
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (Washington, DC),
United Hellenic American Congress (Chicago, IL), Washington Chapter
Czechoslovak National Council of America (Washington, DC), the Women’s
International League for Peace and Freedom (Philadelphia, PA), and the
Zionist Organization of America (New York, NY).

A NEW LOBBYING STYLE

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 1 2007

NEW YORK – Turkey has for decades had a serious image problem in the
world. The Armenian diaspora’s claims about the alleged genocide being
taken seriously in the international community and turning into an
all-out campaign, and the wounds that were opened by the portrayal of
Turks in films such as "Midnight Express" and "Lawrence of Arabia" and
which remain unhealed, have once again shown how vital lobbying is. By
spending myriad sums for years to meet this lobbying need, Turkey
sought to give its own theses to its counterparts with the support
of professional lobbyists and to respond to counter campaigns. It
is well known that some professional lobbying companies such as the
Livingston Group and DLA Piper have been serving Turkish aims in
Washington for years in return for very large sums of money.

At times, when it is forced through bottlenecks in the international
arena, Turkey obligatorily seeks the support of groups that it
sees as relatively friendly, such as the Jewish lobby. Of course,
both the service provided by professional lobbyists in return for a
payment and the support given by Jewish groups in return for support
of certain interests fall short of countering the Greek and Armenian
campaigns or the lobbying activities of the pro-Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK) Kurdish diaspora. For this reason both the American and
European publics always take contrary positions on the sensitive
issues of Turkey, in which case we are supposed to be dumbstruck.

In recent years, Turkey has not disregarded efforts to make Turkish
communities abroad take a more active role in lobbying activities.

However, it is still impossible to say that these efforts,
materially and spiritually supported by the state, are producing
any noticeable results as of yet. In fact experience shows that the
lobbying activities carried out by reliable independent civil society
organizations are more effective and fruitful than state-supported
lobbying activities.

Currently, the activities of a civil initiative, which have increased
substantially in recent years and can be considered a type of lobbying,
are drawing attention. A movement that has been developing relations
with active segments in all corners of the world by always starting
from the base has been trying to fulfill the mass lobbying mission
that Turkey has needed for decades. Associations and foundations from
the Gulen Movement, considered the smiling face of the Islamic world,
have been carrying out lobbying activities, which could never be
achieved otherwise, for hundreds of millions of dollars.

If we attempt to write just about the effective activities held during
Ramadan, we would far exceed the limits of this column. The dialogue
iftars given in Germany, Austria, Canada, Australia and many states
in America have managed to bring together the Turkish communities
with high-ranking officials of the respective countries or states.

Even enumerating the guests that attended the Second Friendship Dinner
(iftar) held in New York by the Turkish Cultural Center on Friday night
would be enough to show at what level such activities are held. Coming
across organizations similar to the one that brought together Senator
Hillary Clinton and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has almost
become an ordinary thing.

During the years I worked in New York, I was surprised to find out
that the annual Turkish Day Parade, held for the last 25 years by the
Federation of Turkish-American Associations, had never been attended
by either a New York mayor or any senator. Later, I attended a dinner
organization by the Hudson Turkish-American Cultural Association
(HUTACA) which operates at the local level in New Jersey, and I was
surprised once again there — this time to see the New Jersey senators,
local administrators and police chiefs at the dinner. A young lawyer,
Guvenc Kulen, maybe still in his twenties then, was at the head of
HUTACA. However, Kulen, with his friends even younger than him,
managed to unite the Turks and bring them together with the top
administrative representatives of the region through various events.

Pondering the many associations in the United States similar to HUTACA,
and the hundreds of them in the world, which carry out very influential
lobbying activities and represent the real and lovely face of Turks,
the Turkish culture and Islam, I couldn’t help thinking to myself,
"This is the lobbying that should be done." The iftar dinner held
by the Rumi Forum in Washington in the US Congress attended by many
US deputies, the one attended by Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula
Plasnik in Vienna and all other events held, for instance, in Germay
and Canada, which local administrators, officials and ministers can
no longer approach indifferently, all point out that a new rising
Turkish lobby is progressively becoming more and more prominent.

I applaud the services done to Turkey, the Islamic world and world
peace by the Gulen Movement, which takes its power from its own values
and turns this into a "soft power" that serves world peace all around
the world on the grounds of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect.

–Boundary_(ID_MfHCfnt1yUOW5ea41cw7gw)–

THE DECREE OF THE NKR PRESIDENT FOR GOVERNMENT…
B. Sahakian, September 25th, Stepanakert

Azat Artsakh Tert, Nagorno Karabakh Republic
Sept 27 2007

The Decree of the NKR President about establishing the NKR Government’s
Structure Being guided by the 4th point of the 99th clause and the
2nd point of the 140th clause, I d e c i d e

1. to establish the following structure of the NKR Government
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Agriculture ·
Minister-Leader of the Government’s Stuff
Ministry of Education and Science
Ministry of Questions of Culture and Youth
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Social Maintenance
Ministry of Social Development
Ministry of Urban Planning
Ministry of Finance

2. to establish, that to act the following bodies of the state
governing attached to the NKR Government
National Security Service
State Committee of Real Estate ·
Administartion of archival works
Tax State Service
Administration of Migration, Refugees and Immigration
Administration of Natural Resources and Surroundings
NKR Police
State Committee of Water Economy
Sport’s State Committee
Rescue Service

3. to the NKR Government – to carry corresponding resolutions period of
two months issued from this decree.

4. the decree of the NKR President "About establishing the NKR
Government’s Structure" of October 9th,2002 to admit as lost its
strength.

5. this decree comes into effect from the moment of signing.

–Boundary_(ID_7JAgPO47OOhDtV8BnpkKsw)–

TURKEY’S LOBBYISTS ENLIST FORMER US SECRETARIES OF STATE TO KILL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

ArmRadio – Public Radio, Armenia
Sept 27 2007

Fearing an imminent vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution
(H.Res.106), Turkey’s multi-million dollar lobbyists have solicited
the assistance of eight former US Secretaries of State in seeking to
derail this human rights legislation, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA.).

"Facing a growing bipartisan Congressional majority demanding
passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, Turkey’s lobbyists –
out of desperation and a never ending desire to squeeze more billing
dollars out of Ankara – have turned to the very architects of our
government’s failed policy of appeasing Turkey," said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA. "Sadly, successive US administrations
have found themselves lacking the moral courage to end the cycle of
genocide – from Cambodia, to Rwanda and, today in Darfur – precisely
because of their legacy of caving in to, rather than confronting
genocidal regimes."

"We are, as Americans, especially troubled that, in warning Congress
not to make a simple anti-genocide statement for fear of upsetting
Turkey, these officials would outsource our nation’s moral conscience
to a foreign government," added Hamparian.

In their September 25th jointly-signed letter, former Secretaries of
State Madeleine Albright, James Baker III, Warren Christopher, Laurence
Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Jr., Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell,
and George Schultz, urged Speaker Pelosi to, "prevent the resolution
from reaching the House Floor," thereby denying House Members an
opportunity to vote their conscience on the Armenian Genocide. The
former State Department officials expressed concern that passage of
the resolution "could endanger our national security interests in
the region, including our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and damage
efforts to promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey."

ARMENIAN PM DESCRIBES HIS DIALOGUE WITH NEW RF GOVT AS POSITIVE

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
September 27, 2007 Thursday 6:32 PM EST

Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan said the dialogue with Russia’s
new government "was positive".

Meeting members of the government on Thursday, Sarkisyan said,
"The dialogue with Russia’s new government was positive."

The prime minister informed government members about the results
of his first official visit to Russia that ended on Wednesday, the
government press service told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

The prime minister instructed the ministers to continue close
cooperation with their Russian colleagues and "establish contacts
with new Russian ministers".

In compliance with the Russian-Armenian agreements, trade turnover
"should exceed one billion U.S. dollars next year". "It is necessary
to work in this direction," Sarkisyan stressed.

Sarkisyan was the first foreign prime minister who met Russian Prime
Minister Viktor Zubkov after he was appointed to this post.

MAN ARRESTED IN ARMENIA SENTENCED IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD SLAYING

City News Service
September 26, 2007 Wednesday 4:30 PM PST

VAN NUYS

A man who was returned from his native Armenia in 2005 in connection
with a slaying five years earlier in North Hollywood was sentenced
today to 21 years in state prison.

Akop Akopyan, who was sentenced by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge
Barry Taylor, pleaded guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter and
admitted personally using a gun.

Akopyan, now 34, was arrested in August 2005 in Yerevan and turned
over to the FBI to be extradited to the United States.

Authorities believe he and the victim, Garnik Madoyan, had a long-
standing dispute.

ARMENIA TO PARTICIPATE IN SOCHI-2014 OLYMPICS SITE CONSTRUCTION

Panorama.am
21:09 25/09/2007

Russia will likely use Armenian building materials in the construction
work for the Olympics games to take place in Sochi in 2014. As
reported by Interfax, Russian prime minister Viktor Zubkov relayed
this decision to his Armenian counterpart, Serge Sargsyan, during
their recent meeting.

"It isn’t ruled out that Armenian builders will take part in the
construction efforts for the Sochi-2014 Olympic games," Zubkov said.

In his opinion, cooperation in the field of construction plays
an important part in the two countries’ general plan of economic
cooperation.

"You know that Armenia has always been known for possessing good
building materials and that it has experts able to use these materials
in carrying out the building tasks," Zubkov said. In his opinion,
the use of Armenian building materials in the construction of the
site buildings in Sochi can play an important part in the expansion
of economic cooperation between Russia and Armenia.

SERZH SARKISYAN: "ARMENIA DOES NOT NEED NAGORNO KARABAKH’S RECOGNITION AT PRESENT"

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 25 2007

"Armenia does not need Nagorno Karabakh’s recognition right now",
Armenian premier Serzh Sarkisyan said, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

He added the government thinks the same: "Nagorno Karabakh’s
recognition does not seem expedient for Armenia at present and I
share this position as well. We can take such a step tomorrow or 10
days later, maybe there will be no need to do it at all. Talks over
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continue. Recognition of
Nagorno Karabakh would be a very radical step, it is even hard to
think of its consequences. I have no idea what could force us into
taking such a step".

NATO NOT INTERESTED IN ARMED CONFRONTATION FOR THE SAKE OF AZERBAIJAN’S UNSATISFIED TERRITORIAL AMBITIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.09.2007 14:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "I don’t think deployment of Turkish troops in
Nakhichevan will be possible in the near future, since it will
transform a local conflict into global war. Modern Turkey is not an
independent military state. It’s bound by commitments with NATO,"
political scientist Levon Melik Shahnazaryan said in an interview
with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"I do not think that NATO is interested in an armed confrontation for
the sake of Azerbaijan’s unsatisfied territorial ambitions," he added.

"Azerbaijan is dreaming to be carried back to the times when
all domestic and foreign tasks were settled under Turkey’s
supervision. CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha furnished a
worthy comment on the issue. When asked about current threats, Mr
Bordyuzha said, "These are militant statements by representatives of
various countries to resolve the so-called frozen conflicts by use
of force. It refers to escalation of military activities, boost of
defense budget and personnel number in Georgia and Azerbaijan."

However, our history records that in 1918 the Turkish army led
by Nuri intervened in the Caucasus. As result, the Azerbaijani
Republic was formed. At that time Turkish ascetics and recruits
from Caucasian Tatars (future Azeris) slaughtered not only Armenian
peasants but also Russian soldiers who were returning to Russia from
the Caucasian front. Over 3 thousand Russian soldiers were killed
in Shamkhor. Massacre of Russian soldiers took place in Ghazakh,
Gyandja and even in Baku suburbs – Baladjary and Surakhany.

Simply, Azerbaijan had high hopes for Turkey then.

Presently, it worships the United States and NATO," he said.

The other day Azeri political scientist Vafa Guluzade said "Azerbaijan
had better deploy a couple of divisions in Nakhichevan and aim them
at Yerevan and Russian bases in Armenia."

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