Author: Ekmekjian Janet

PRESS RELEASE
ARMENIAN AUTISM OUTREACH
c/o P.O. Box 10193
Glendale, CA 91209
Tel: 818-662-8847
Email: [email protected]

02-15-2007

ARMENIAN AUTISM OUTREACH PROJECT IS FORMED IN CALIFORNIA

GLENDALE, CA – The Armenian Autism Outreach Project (AAOP) consists of a
group of dedicated, volunteer Armenian professionals devoted to informing
and educating the Armenian community about the complex neurodevelopmental
disorder known as Autism. (See Attached brochure Armenian / English).

Today, Autism is considered an epidemic with 1 in 150 children affected by
it. Armenian children, as all children in the world, are not immune to this
disorder and more and more Armenian families are having children born with
this disorder or have children in their families with this disorder.

Having a child with Autism creates a multitude of challenges for families
and all those whom the families may need to turn to for information, advice,
services, treatment, or support. While information about this disorder and
the potential treatment options have been rapidly increasing over the past
decade, the most critical issue continues to be Early Identification,
followed by appropriate Early Intervention. Since Autism is not diagnosed
at birth, it falls on parents, early childhood educators, or pediatricians
to recognize its symptoms and seek appropriate management.

The mission of AAOP is to raise awareness about Autism in the Armenian
community; to inform parents and educators about what Autism is and how it
is diagnosed; and to provide information to parents, teachers,
administrators, and service providers about best practices in Autism
treatment.

AAOP, formed in August of 2006, has been an effort in the making for the
past several years, through the desire and efforts for outreach by the
Foothill Autism Alliance, Inc., (FAA), a parent-professional volunteer,
non-profit entity that has been providing Autism informational programs in
the Los Angeles area for the past nine years.

AAOP is seeking the assistance from Armenians who, like you, are considered
stakeholders — parents, educators, school administrators, or professional
service providers– on the issue of outreach to those in the Armenian
community affected by Autism.

Please contact us at [email protected] to hear your
thoughts and suggestions on how best to proceed towards accomplishing our
mission to raise awareness and to disseminate information about Autism
through culturally competent approaches. Your input is highly valuable to us
and will guide us in our efforts.

We thank you in advance for your valuable time and dedication to participate
in this important endeavor.

Sincerely,

The Founding Members of AAOP:
Sonia Konialian Aller, Ph.D, CCC
Houry Sosikian, M.A.
Taline Ashekian, B.S.
Nora Chitilian-Kalachian, M.S., IMFT
Mariam Tsaturyan, Psy. D.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SEEKS IRELAND’S HELP

Irish Examiner, Ireland
Feb 28 2007

Armenia will today seek Ireland’s help in achieving closer co-operation
with the European Union.

The former Soviet state’s foreign minister , Vartan Oskanian, is
expected to raise the issue during an address to the European Affairs
Committee in Leinster House.

The Armenian government is seeking bilateral cooperation with all EU
members as part of the EU Neighbourhood Policy.

Germany, which holds the EU presidency, recently sent its foreign
minister on a factfinding mission to Armenia.

Mr Oskanian, who recently visited The Netherlands, also received the
Polish foreign minister in Armenian capital Yerevan this month.

The European Affairs Committee includes TDs and Senators from all
parties and is chaired by Fine Gael TD, John Deasy.

ARF BUREAU MEETS WITH NKR PRESIDENT

Yerkir
27.02.2007 13:24

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau
members met on February 26 with Nagorno Karabakh Republic President
Arkady Ghukasian. NKR Foreign Minister Georgy Petrosian was also
present at the meeting.

At the two-hour-long meeting, the parties discussed issues related to
the Karabakh conflict settlement and cooperation in the international
arena. The parties agreed to make such meetings regular.

The ARF delegation was headed by ARF Bureau representative Hrant
Margarian.

Bureau members Karo Armenian, Albert Achemian, Mario Nalbandian and
Vigen Hovsepian as well as Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affair.

TURKISH PARLIAMENT REJECTS PM PROBE MOTION

Agence France Presse — English
February 27, 2007 Tuesday 4:31 PM GMT

The Turkish parliament on Tuesday rejected a motion to launch
an investigation into Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his
Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu for alleged poor management of the
security forces.

The proposal filed by the main opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP), was easily defeated in the parliament where Erdogan’s Justice
and Development Party (AKP) holds a comfortable two-thirds majority.

The CHP alleged that Erdogan failed to ensure the efficient functioning
of the interior ministry.

It accused Aksu of tolerating the appointments and arbitrary actions of
political cronies in the police force and of mismanaging the security
forces, allegedly resulting in a series of violent incidents over
the past four years.

The murders of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in January and
Italian Roman Catholic priest Andrea Santoro last year, as well as
four suicide bombings in Istanbul in 2003, blamed on al-Qaeda, were
among the incidents mentioned.

Tensions between the AKP and the CHP have shot up ahead of presidential
elections in April and parliamentary elections in November.

ARMENIA TO PARTICIPATE IN NATO’S "MEDCEUR- 2007" EXERCISE IN MOLDOVA

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.02.2007 18:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Medceur-2007" multinational military-medical
trainings in the framework of Partnership for Peace NATO program will
be carried out in Moldova in "Bulboaca" training ground from July
28 till August 10. Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Moldavian
National Army Ion Savchuk said that representatives of U.S. Armed
Forces in Europe, troops of a number of NATO member-countries and
"partnership" program members will participate in the trainings.

Among those are servicemen from Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Holland,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Ukraine and Croatia.

During the trainings "skills of quick response by mobile medical
groups for liquidating results of natural disasters" will be worked
out," Savchuk said.

Moldova holds multinational trainings for the second time in NATO
framework. First trainings-" Cooperative Lancer – Longbow"- took place
on September of 2006 with participation of thousands of servicemen
from 21 countries, ITAR-TASS reports.

NDP HAS FORMED AN ALLIANCE ON POLITICAL CONCORD

A1+
[07:11 pm] 26 February, 2007

The proportional list of the NDP will involve 72-members; the decision
was made in the party’s sitting. The list is headed by Loreta Adamyan.

To note, 20 members of the list are female representatives.

Shavarsh Kocharyan, head of the party’s board, is in the 71st place in
the list. "The list has an alphabetical order. The board is entitled
to introduce changes in the list, alter the order and make a list of
majority candidates", says Shavarsh Kocharyan.

He assures that there are female and young candidates in their list
as it is a must. "Time is pressing. We shall participate in the
elections alone. This isn’t the full list of the party. I can call
it an "alliance on political concord". The list involves the names of
well-known people, representatives of "Loyalty" Political Initiative".

Mr. Kocharyan assumes that political alliances must be based on common
shared features and goals.

During the sitting the NDP dwelt on the following issues;
complex program enhancing decentralization of political, economic,
educational and cultural spheres, new job opportunities in rural
areas, availability of higher education for the poor, integration of
the Armenian refugees displaced form Azerbaijan, housing problems,
maintenance of cultural heritage, etc.

It is upon the NDP board to decide whether Shavarsh Kocharyan will
be nominated by proportional or majority system.

National Assembly of RA, Armenia
Feb 22 2007

Five Dozen Issues on the Agenda of the Special Session

On February 20 on the initiative of the Government of the Republic of
Armenia, the National Assembly convened a special session, the agenda
of which comprised more than five dozen issues.

The parliament by voting adopted four legislative packages,
discussed during the first four-day sittings of the spring session,
as well as the draft law of amendments and addenda to the law on the
RA Citizenship.

After that the agenda issues introduced by the government were
discussed.

Making amendments and addenda to the law on Local Self-Government,
the executive power transferred the provision of the road traffic
security to the local self-government bodies, increasing the latter’s
authorities.

Mr. Suren Gharayan, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy informed
that the government intends to invest criteria for the extension of
the terms for the goods to be drawn down on customs temporary
regimes. In the opinion of Mr. Gagik Minasyan, Chairman of the
Standing Committee on Financial-Credit, Budgetary and Economic
Affairs, in the result of this event equal conditions will be
created for the economic entities. In his words this is the next step
directed to improve customs legislation. The Committee has endorsed
the draft law. The Deputy Minister introduced to the MPs the
suggestion of making amendments to the law on the Control Chamber.

Highlighting the Chamber’s activities publicity, Mr. Gagik Minasyan,
Chairman of the committee finds that during a year problems often
rise and cause necessity of operative action. As to him, the
publicity can be provided by parliamentary debates, as well as by the
help of mass media.

The government proposes the parliament to make amendments to the law
on the Protection of Economic Competition and the laws on Organizing
and Holding Check-ups in the Republic of Armenia. If the draft law is
adopted, the talks about not having the chance to prevent levers and
abuse sounded on the committee of the protection of economic
competition will stop.

The government’s proposal to make amendments and addenda to the law
on Judicial Service concerns the mechanisms of conferring higher
degrees in this structure of state services and determining necessary
conditions for some specialists. Mr. David Harutyunyan, Justice
Minister introduced the issue. Making amendments to the law on Funds,
the government clarifies the classification of fund expenditures, the
duties and rights of the council of trusties, as well the order of
introducing accounts of the fund.

According Mr. Gevorg Malkhasyan, Deputy Justice Minister, the
necessity of making amendments and addenda to the laws on Television
and Radio and on the Regulations of the National Committee on
Television and Radio stems from constitutional amendments.

By the legislative package on Licensing the Government reduces the
list of kinds of activities subject to licensing, removing a number
of fields.

Mr. Aghvan Vardanyan, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs introduced
the legislative package of the amendments to the law on Social
Security Cards.

For the adoption in the second reading the MPs were introduced the
draft laws on Coming into Force of the Judicial Code of the Republic
of Armenia, on Prosecutor’s Office (55th article in the first
reading), on Aviation, On Establishment of Tax Privileges Towards the
Construction Works of Meghri-Kajaran pipeline and the draft laws on
the amendments and addenda to the laws on RA International Treaties,
on Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, On Road Trafficking
Security, On Body Regulating the Public Services, aswell as the draft
laws on making amendments and addenda to the RA Criminal Procedure
Code, RA Civil Code and the RA Judicial Code to adopt in the third
reading.

The special session will continue on February 21.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
February 22, 2007 Thursday 2:12 PM EST

Hungarian court turns down Azerbaijani axe murderer appeal

Budapest

DPA x Hungary Justice Hungarian court turns down Azerbaijani axe
murderer appeal Budapest
A Budapest court Thursday rejected an Azerbaijani
soldier’s appeal against a life sentence for the 2004 axe murder of
an Armenian soldier at a NATO Partnership for Peace training course
in Budapest.

The appeal court ruled that the decision brought last April by
Budapest District Court against 30-year-old Lieutenant Ramil Safarov,
should stand.

Safarov was convicted of killing Armenian Lieutenant Gurgen
Markarian, 26 at the time of the murder, with an axe and a knife.

At the first trial, Budapest District Court Judge Andras Vaskuti
ruled that Safarov killed his victim in a "premeditated, malicious
and cruel" manner.

Safarov hacked Markarian to death with a knife and an axe in the
early hours of the morning while he slept in the same room as another
soldier.

Safarov, whose attempt to murder a second Armenian officer was
foiled when he bumped into another classmate in the corridor after
the first killing, said he regretted his act.

"I didn’t go to his room to kill him. I don’t know how it
happened. I regret what I did," news website index.hu quoted Safarov
as saying after Thursday’s judgement.

Safarov’s lawyer claimed that his client was not in full
possession of his faculties at the time of the murder.

Relations between the two former Soviet Republics have been tense
since Armenian-backed forces drove Azerbaijan’s army out of the
ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s.
Feb 2207 1412 GMT

Office of the Mayor
City of Los Angeles
200 N. Spring St. Room 303
Los Angeles, CA 90012

ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA

PRESS RELEASE
February 23, 2007

Contact: Areen Ibranossian
213-922-9781

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA ANNOUNCES YEREVAN, ARMENIA AS LOS ANGELES’ NEWEST
SISTER CITY

(Los Angeles)-Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and Mayor Yervand
Zakharyan were joined by members of the Los Angeles City Council as
Mayor Villaraigosa signed the agreement making the City of Yerevan,
Armenia the newest sister city of Los Angeles.

`I know I am speaking on behalf of L.A. residents when I express my
deep admiration for the Armenian people, here and abroad, who have a
strong sense of national identity and have contributed greatly to the
economy and cultural fabric of this City,’ said Mayor Villaraigosa.
`I look forward to working with the Mayor of Yerevan to explore
opportunities that will promise social, economic, and cultural
benefits for both cities.’

Los Angeles is home to the largest Armenian population outside of
Armenia.

Over the years, Villaraigosa has demonstrated his support for the
Armenian people and their efforts to gain official recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. As Speaker of the California Assembly, he
supported resolutions putting the State of California on record
officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide. As Mayor, he recently
sent a letter to the U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi expressing
his support for the Congressional resolution that would ensure that
U.S. foreign policy reflect appropriate recognition, understanding,
and sensitivity of the Armenian Genocide and asking her to bring it to
a vote on the House floor. Over the past 10 years, he has
consistently attended and spoken at the annual Armenian Genocide
commemoration event that takes place on April 24.

The Sister City agreement signing ceremony took place in Council
Chambers after the mayors held a private meeting to discuss ways that
the two cities can work together.

Information on Yerevan, Armenia

Yerevan is the capital and largest city in Armenia. It is the
administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country.
Manufactures include chemicals, primary metals, machinery, rubber
products, plastics, textiles, and processed food. Yerevan is the
headquarters of major Armenian and international companies. Yerevan
is also the country’s financial hub, home to the Armenian National
Bank, the Armenian Stock Exchange, as well as some of the country’s
largest commercial banks. As the center for Armenian culture, Yerevan
is the site of Yerevan State University, the Armenian Academy of
Sciences, a historical museum, an opera house, a music conservatory
and several technical institutes. Its major tourist attractions are
the ruins of an Urartu and a Roman fortress.

The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC.

###

Areen Ibranossian
Policy Analyst
Office of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa

[email protected]
(213) 922-9781

ARMENIAN COALITION DIVIDED OVER DUAL CITIZENSHIP
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 22 2007

Armenia’s governing coalition remained divided on Thursday over key
provisions of draft legislation allowing foreign nationals of Armenian
descent to become Armenian citizens.

A package of bills endorsed by the government and championed by the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) regulates practical
modalities of dual citizenship, which was effectively introduced in
Armenia in November 2005 as part of a controversial constitutional
reform.

The National Assembly passed them in the first reading earlier this
week amid serious misgivings voiced by lawmakers representing virtually
all other parliamentary parties, including Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian’s Republican Party (HHK). They are particularly unhappy with
a provision that gives dual citizens living outside Armenia voting
rights. Some of them have also accused Dashnaktsutyun, which has many
supporters in the worldwide Armenian Diaspora, of seeking additional
votes ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

But leaders of the nationalist party have denied any ulterior motives
behind their strong support for dual citizenship. They say it will
boost Armenia’s small population and strengthen its security. "By
failing to introduce dual citizenship we lost a major source of our
security," one of them, Armen Rustamian told reporters.

Still, parliament speaker Tigran Torosian and other HHK lawmakers
insisted Thursday on their draft amendments to the legislative package
that would enable dual citizens from the Diaspora to vote in Armenian
elections if they have resided and paid taxes in Armenia during at
least one of the pervious five years. "People whose fate hinges on
developments in other countries must not decide the fate of people
living in Armenia," Torosian said at the end of heated parliament
debates on the issue.

Opposition deputies made similar arguments. "People living abroad must
not have the right to predetermine the fate of the people living in
Armenia," said Grigor Harutiunian of the Artarutyun alliance.

For its part, the pro-government United Labor Party (MAK) said its
five parliamentarians continue to oppose the bills because they
stipulate that members of Armenia’s government can be dual citizens.

The latter would only be barred from running for president and
parliament. "That would mean a partial loss of Armenia’s sovereignty,"
said MAK leader Gurgen Arsenian.

Justice Harutiunian David Harutiunian, who presented the bill on behalf
of the government, rejected the amendments proposed by both the HHK and
the MAK. Harutiunian pointed to a constitutional clause which gives
equal rights to all Armenian citizens. "Besides, we can’t check who
has or has not lived in our country for more than 183 days," he said.

While voicing strong objections, HHK leaders did not say whether
they their faction, the largest in the National Assembly, will vote
for the draft laws in the second reading. The vote is scheduled
for Monday. Markarian and other HHK ministers have not yet publicly
commented on the debate.