Author: Hunanian Jack

PRESS RELEASE

Armenian National Committee – San Francisco Bay Area
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, California 94118
Phone: (415)387-3433
Fax: (415)751-0617
[email protected]

Februa ry 12, 2007

Contact: Matyous Senekerimian
Telephone: (650)504-1111

SAN FRANCISCO ELECTED OFFICIALS, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMUNITY CONDEMN DINK
ASSASSINATION

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – In response to the assassination of Armenian
newspaper editor Hrant Dink, San Francisco city officials and Bay Area
human rights organizations joined the Armenian Bay Area ANC in
condemning the murder and calling on the United States government to
reaffirm the Armenian Genocide.

"Sadly, Hrant Dink’s murder does not come as a surprise to us," said
Roxanne Makasdjian, chairwoman of the Bay Area ANC, at the press
conference on January 25th on the steps of San Francisco City Hall. "The
ultra-nationalist and authoritarian forces which have created this
atmosphere of fear, intolerance and hatred in Turkey, paved the way for
Dink’s assassination. These are the same forces which led to the
Armenian Genocide, and that currently fuel the government’s vast
campaign of denial of the Armenian Genocide."

Participating in the press conference were representatives from the
offices of California State Senator Carol Migden and San Francisco Mayor
Gavin Newsom, San Francisco City and County Board of Supervisors
President Aaron Peskin and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco City
Attorney Dennis Herrera, representatives from the city’s Human Rights
Commission, Amnesty International, The Genocide Education Project, the
Holocaust Center of Northern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area
Darfur Coalition, and San Francisco Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman.

"The United States State Department is speaking ironically with two
heads," said Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin. "On the one
hand, they are once again working to prevent the United States Congress
from acknowledging the genocide of over a million and a half people…and
at the same time…they’re making these calls to virtually every
municipality in the United States of America to pass a local resolution
condemning holocaust denial in other countries."

Dink was shot dead in front of his "Agos" newspaper office on January
19. Thousands of people demonstrated in Istanbul for days following the
tragedy chanting "we are all Hrant Dink we are all Armenians," and over
100,000 mourners marched in Dink’s funeral procession. However, reports
of the police officers who arrested the youth alleged to have murdered
Dink posing for photographs and a national trend to purchase white caps
like the one the youth was wearing at the time of the murder also
emerged, pointing to the deep-seeded anti-Armenian ultra-nationalist
sentiment that pervades much of Turkish society to this day.

"It’s a tragedy that as a result of his death we’ve seen a voice
silenced that was trying to bring truth to those that want to ignore
history and deny what we all know occurred 90 years ago where 1.5
million Armenians were exterminated [in] a senseless and brutal series
of acts," noted San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera. On behalf of
the City of San Francisco, Herrera pledged to those attending the press
conference: "We won’t stand idly by and ignore history and promote
intolerance and that we’ll stand by you to ensure that the truth is
told, that the work that Hrant Dink did is not in vein and we’ll
continue to spread that message to ensure that history and civility and
tolerance is something that is promoted."

Dink had faced multiple prosecutions under a Turkish law prohibiting
"insulting Turkishness" for statements he made affirming the Armenian
Genocide. His murder came amid a growing tide of official Turkish
government pressure to silence him and on the eve of a renewed drive by
the US State Department to block Congress from commemorating this crime
against humanity.

"Turkey should be held to answer," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.
"Their application to any kind of contemporary, to any kind of modern
relationship economically, environmentally, and socially, should also be
predicated in the fact that they recognize what occurred in 1915."

The executive director of the Holocaust Center of Northern California,
Leslie Kane remarked, "Hatred and intolerance are unacceptable. The
denial of the Armenian genocide is unacceptable. Indifference is
unacceptable. It is our duty to learn about the Armenian genocide and to
confront denial wherever it exists. And it is our duty to educate our
youth so that the Armenian genocide is never forgotten, and that
genocides the world over are permanently halted."

EU CONTINUES ITS EFFORTS TO ENSURE PARTICIPATION OF ALL REGIONAL
COUNTRIES IN PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, NOYAN TAPAN. The Special Representative of the
European Union Peter Semneby was received on March 2 by the Armenian
Prime Minister Andranik Margarian. During the meeting, the head of the
Armenian government and the EU special representative spoke about
Armenia-EU relations, the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia,
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, as well as about issues
related to Armenia’s relations with neighboring countries, and the
regional cooperation. Underlining the importance of adoption of
EU-Armenia Action Plan in terms of further deepening of our country’s
Eurointegration process, the prime minister assured that both at the
plan’s development stage and after its adoption in late 2007, the
Armenian government has been prepared to make efforts for its
efficient implementation. A. Margarian attached importance to the EU
special representative’s visit within the framework of the EU policy
on extension and strengthening of the European Neighborhood
Program. It is also envisaged to further deepen the economic
component, taking into account the fact that EU is one of Armenia’s
biggest trade partners. A. Margarian and P. Semneby were unanimous in
the opinion that after adoption of Eu-Armenia Action Plan, the
parliamentary elections to be held in Armenia will have a decisive
importance for democratization of Armenia and its further cooperation
with the EU. Holding elections in line with international standards is
considered important not only for Armenia but also for the South
Caucasus within the European Neighborhood Policy. A. Margarian said
that the political will of both the authorities and the opposition is
important in this issue so that the political force to receive a vote
of confidence will be able to implement its programs without
difficulty. He said that the authorities and the political forces
responsible for them have such a desire and will, being aware that
this is first of all necessary for our people and state in order to
ensure stable democratic development. Pointing out the significance of
EU’s role in development of the regional cooperation and welcoming its
approach which does not favor bypassing any country, in the given case
– Armenia, in implemention of regional programs in the South Caucasus,
A. Margarian in this connection expressed concern, in particular,
over the Kars-Akhalkalak railway construction project, saying that
full regional cooperation is possible only in case of involvement of
all countries of the region. Mr. Semneby in his turn assured that the
EU is continuing to make efforts for opening borders of regional
countries, including the Turkish-Armenian border, ensuring the
participation of all regional countries in projects implemented in the
South Caucasus, which is also, according to him, a priority of the
European Neighborhood Policy. Peter Semneby expressed a hope that
thanks to joint efforts it will be possible to develop the EU-Armenia
Action Plan at the regional cooperation level as well. Acoording to
the RA Government Information and PR Department, during the meeting
the sides also addressed the Nagorno Karabakh problem. In this
connection the EU representative expressed a hope that negotiation
process aimed at the conflict settlement will be crowned with success
due to efforts of all the parties.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
March 2, 2007 Friday 5:03 PM EST

Caucasus nations deny speculation about US missile shield

DPA POLITICS Russia Defence Caucasus USA Caucasus nations deny
speculation about US missile shield Moscow
Officials in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia on
Friday denied any existing plans to house elements of a proposed US
missile shield, after a US general said Washington "would like" to
place a radar station in the Caucasus.

In Moscow, meanwhile, despite the denials from the Caucasus
republics, US Lieutenant General Henry Obering’s comment that a radar

facility in the Caucasus would be "very useful" sparked outcry.

Following Obering’s remarks Thursday in Brussels, the Azeri
Defence Ministry said plans to house the US radar system on its
territory "do not correspond to reality."

In Yerevan, a defence spokesman said Armenia had not received any
official requests from Washington, according to Russian media.
Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili ruled out the idea
Washington had spoken to Tbilisi about the matter.

Georgian lawmakers, though, left open the question of housing a
facility in future, with parliamentarian Nika Rurua telling
reporters, "If the United States needs to place the system in
Georgia, the Georgian leadership will look into that question."

Moscow has become vigorously opposed to Washington’s missile-
shield plans in the last month, with military officials threatening
to aim rockets at possible facilities in Poland and the Czech
Republic.

The US has maintained that the shield would be targeted at so-
called rogue states like Iran and North Korea and would be
ineffective at stopping a Russian attack.

The spectre of radar facilities in the Caucasus, however, a
formerly Soviet area that Russia considers part of its historical
sphere of influence, prompted stiff reactions from lawmakers and
military officials Friday in Moscow.

"We already have everything necessary to adequately answer to
these facilities,"Russian Air Force Commander General Vladimir
Mikhailov was quoted by Itar-Tass as saying. "They have a lot of
money. Let them waste it,"the general added.

Vladimir Pekhtin, a deputy speaker of Russia’s lower house of
parliament, said the shield would alter the military balance in
Europe and "not aid the strengthening of strategic and partnerly
relations between Moscow and Washington,"Interfax news agency
reported.

US President George W Bush has spoken for years about installing a
missile-defence shield across Europe and the US.

The decision to house elements of the shield in former Eastern
bloc nations, Poland and the Czech Republic, however, has caused
Moscow to bristle recently saying among others that it had not been
consulted by Washington.

During a meeting with NATOallies in Brussels Friday, Obering said
he was surprised by Moscow’s reaction, Interfax reported.

"We have been conducting regular consultations with Moscow for
about a year, and such a harsh reaction from the Russians was
unexpected,"the report quoted him as saying.

"We’re counting on cooperating with Russia in the creation of our
entire missile-defence shield,"he added.
Mar 0207 1703 GMT

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

Wednesday, February 28, 2006

AGBU Camp Nubar Welcomes Registration for Summer 2007 Sessions

As the summer of 2007 draws closer, AGBU’s Camp Nubar is gearing up
for another fun and stimulating season in the breathtaking Catskill
Mountains of upstate New York. Registration is now open to Armenian
youth, ages 8 to 15, and AGBU encourages new and returning campers to
come take advantage of the recently renovated facilities and enjoy all
the exciting activities Camp Nubar has to offer.

Situated on 365 acres of unspoiled forestland with its own spring-fed
lake, Lake Arax, Camp Nubar provides a diverse summer program for
young Armenians from around the world with cultural, social and
recreational activities. Campers can choose from an incredible variety
of activities, including archery, Armenian language and cooking
classes, arts and crafts, basketball, boating, computer classes,
horseback riding, photography, sailing, softball, swimming, tennis,
volleyball and water skiing.

With newly renovated and expanded facilities for both campers and
staff, Camp Nubar has kept pace with the growing demand for modern and
spacious accommodations. Just last year, construction was completed on
numerous camper cabins, the staff lounge and a new Almuni
House. Ranked by the American Camp Association (ACA), the American Red
Cross and the American Academy of Pediatrics as a first-rate modern
facility, Camp Nubar is unique among Armenian camps in its ability to
ensure a high-quality program that meets or exceeds the most rigorous
safety supervision and competency standards in the industry.

Registration for Camp Nubar’s summer 2007 season is now open and this
year’s sessions run from July 7 – August 18. Campers can choose
between a trial-, two-, four- or six-week session. Applications are
available online and parents are encouraged to register their children
early in order to ensure placement in what promises to be an exciting
43rd summer season at Camp Nubar.

First Session: July 7-21, Trial Session: July 21-29, Second Session:
July 21-August 4, Third Session: August 4-18, Four-week Session: July
21-August 18, Six-week Session: July 7-August 18.

Accredited by ACA (), AGBU Camp Nubar was founded in
1963 and continues to be a summer haven for Armenian youth from all
around the world. For more information on Camp Nubar, please call
(212) 319-6383, visit or email
[email protected].

For more information on AGBU and its youth programs, please visit

SUMGAYIT IS CONTINUATION OF GENOCIDE TOWARDS ARMENIAN NATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.03.2007 18:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "A tragedy in Sumgayit became the continuation of
genocide policy in relation to Armenian people," NKR Prime Minister
Anoushavan Daniyelian stated to journalists during the events,
dedicated to the 19th anniversary of Armenian massacre in Sumgayit. He
said, Karabakh conflict was imposed to Armenian people at the time,
when the nation was weak and has been rehabilitating from wounds. The
Premier noted that Karabakh national-liberation struggle was the
first response to the unjust things after the genocide relating
Nagorno Karabakh people.

Answering the questions on refugee problems, the Head of Karabakh
Government said, according to the decision of the government the
given category of citizens is in the center of attention the executive
body, and second year up compensation and dwelling have been given to
refugees from Sumgayit and whole Azerbaijan. The first large program
will be realized this year. "Presently 15 houses were built, which
will be put in commission in the near future. "Similar programs were
realized in the NKR regions as well", – Anoushavan Daniyelian noted.

On February 27, 1988 Armenian pogroms in Azerbaijani town of Sumgayit
were launched. During three days dozens of Armenians were killed,
exact number of victims is still unknown. Official sources informed
about 32 killed. Sumgayit events became the response to the decision
of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast from February 20, 1998 "On
petition before the Supreme Council of Azerbaijani SSR and Armenian
SSR to pass NKAO from the Azerbaijani SSR into the Armenian SSR".

NEW ORGANAIZATION AND ANOTHER CASE IN STRASBURG

A1+
[01:22 pm] 01 March, 2007

A new organization was founded in Armenia. It is called "No to
Self-Will" after a social department. A number of NGOs and public
figures are involved in the organization. They all bear the same
ideology, i.e. illegitimacy prevention about city construction and
environmental issues.

The representatives of the department believe they can implement and
fulfill their objectives through RA Constitutional Court and Human
Rights Protection adopted by European convention.

In fact, their patriot case is already known as protection right
of the residents living in Teryan 56 and Aghayan 19 buildings. The
residents have undergone the whole RA Judicial system and applied to
Human Rights EU court.

To note, the founders are Larisa Alaverdyan (First Defender of
Human Rights ), Sona Ayvazyan (Transparency International-Armenia),
Karine Danielyan ( Doctor of Geography),Ruben Torosyan (Chairman
of "Supreme Council" club), Hakob Sanasaryan (RA Chairman of Green
Association), Anahit Sargsyan (Chairwoman of "Business Woman" NGO),
and other figures.

RA STATE BUDGET FULFILLED WITH 21.8 BILLION DRAM SURPLUS IN JANUARY 2007

Noyan Tapan
Mar 02 2007

YREVAN, MARCH 2, NOYAN TAPAN. In January 2007, the RA state budget was
fulfilled with a 21.8 bln dram surplus (without inflow of financial
resources by credit programs financed from external sources). The
domestic sources of surplus financing made about 21.7 bln drams,
external sources – 137.5 mln drams.

According to the RA Ministry of Finance and Economy, the state budget’s
financing at the expense of treasury bonds amounted to 2.6 bln drams
(issue made 3 bln drams, redemption – 5.6 bln drams). 88.2 mln drams
from the domestic sources of deficit financing was allocted for bill
payment. Free budgetary resources increased by about 19 bln drams.

SECOND SEMINAR UNDER TITLE ELECTORAL DISPUTES TO BE HELD ON MARCH 1-2 IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Feb 28 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, NOYAN TAPAN. Second seminar from the series
Support to Free and Fair Elections under the title Electoral Disputes
will be held on March 1-2 in Yerevan. It is organized within the
framework of Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Actions Plan (IPAP).

The seminar is held by RA Foreign Ministry, Cassation Court and Greek
Center for European Public Law with the support of Foreign Ministry
of Greece. As Noyan Tapan was informed from RA Foreign Ministry Press
and Information Department, eight international experts of electoral
legislation and electoral disputes will take part in the seminar.

ARMENIA ALLOWS DUAL CITIZENSHIP AMID CONTROVERSY
Emil Danielyan

EurasiaNet, NY
Feb 26 2007

Armenia’s parliament approved a package of amendments February 26
that give millions of ethnic Armenians around the world the chance
to obtain Armenian citizenship without abandoning their current
nationality. The vote came after weeks of heated debate that exposed
major differences on the issue within the country’s leadership.

Prime Minister Andranik Markarian’s Republican Party, which boasts
the largest parliament faction, joined opposition parties in voicing
serious misgivings about the proposed amendments. They particularly
objected to a clause giving dual citizens a virtually unrestricted
right to vote in Armenian elections. In the end, Republican Party
lawmakers reluctantly voted for the government-drafted bill, apparently
under strong pressure from President Robert Kocharian, who had pledged
to introduce dual citizenship when he came to power in 1998. The idea
has also been championed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF, also known as the Dashnak Party), another member of Kocharian’s
governing coalition. The nationalist party, which has many chapters and
adherents in Armenian Diaspora communities, is the only parliamentary
force that unconditionally backed the legislative package.

"Allowing dual citizenship means strengthening Armenia," said Hrayr
Karapetian, an ARF leader, at a February 16 news briefing. "It means
increasing our population [of 3 million,] reinforcing our army,
spurring investments in our economy, and, in general, utilizing the
potential of the entire Armenian nation for the benefit of Armenia."

Karapetian and other ARF leaders cite the example of Israel, which
readily grants Israeli citizenship to Jews from around the world.

Just like the non-Israeli Jews, the Diaspora Armenians, mainly living
in the United States, Russia, Europe and the Middle East, greatly
outnumber the population of their historical homeland. Estimates of
their total number vary from 5 million to 6 million. Most of them are
descendants of the survivors of the 1915 mass killings and deportations
of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. [For additional information see the
Eurasia Insight archive].

The administration of Armenia’s first post-Soviet president, Levon
Ter-Petrosian, opposed the concept of dual citizenship, prohibiting it
through an article of the country’s post-Soviet constitution adopted
in 1995. (The ban was repealed as part of constitutional amendments
enacted by the Kocharian administration in a disputed November 2005
referendum.) Ter-Petrosian and his allies asserted that Armenia’s
national security and independence would be jeopardized if its
citizens were allowed to have allegiance to other states. They were
also believed to have feared that dual nationality would translate
into a significant increase in the ARF electoral clout. At the time,
the ARF was at loggerheads with Ter-Petrosian’s administration.

The major opposition parties currently represented in parliament
likewise see ulterior motives behind the ARF’s strong support for the
politically sensitive idea. They have demanded that a final decision
on dual citizenship be postponed until after the May 2007 parliamentary
elections and presidential ballot due early next year.

Kocharian, however, is expected to sign the bill probably next month.

ARF leaders have vociferously denied any connection between the bill
in question and the polls. In particular, they point to one of the
amendments stipulating that voters would be able to vote in elections
only within Armenia. This means that there will no longer be polling
stations at Armenian diplomatic missions abroad.

Still, the Republican Party appeared to share the opposition’s
concerns; it insisted that residents of Armenia and its future
citizens living abroad must not enjoy equal political rights. "The
fate of the Republic of Armenia must be primarily decided by the
people who are aware of and affected by its problems," Parliamentary
Speaker Tigran Torosian, a leading member of the governing party,
told fellow deputies on February 22.

Under an opposition-backed amendment proposed by the Republican Party,
a Diaspora-based dual citizen can vote in an Armenian election only
if they have lived in Armenia during at least one of the preceding
five years. Justice Minister David Harutiunian, who presented
the bill on behalf of the government, rejected the amendment as
unconstitutional. The only restriction the government agreed to place
on dual citizens is that they cannot run for president and parliament.

The final version of the bill says that such citizens shall otherwise
have all the rights and obligations of regular Armenian nationals.

The most significant of those obligations applies to men. They must
report for military duty in case of a war or mass mobilization. Those
dual citizens who are under 28 years old and have not served in the
armed forces of their native countries for at least 12 months must
complete a two-year military service in Armenia.

Whether many foreign nationals of Armenian descent are actually keen
to get Armenian passports remains to be seen. They have for years
been eligible for special 10-year residency permits that allow them
to live, work and, unlike other foreigners, own land in Armenia.

Quite a few of them already have such permits.

Alex Sardar, an Armenian-American who has lived in Yerevan for almost
five years, welcomes the legalization of dual citizenship, saying
that it will give Diaspora Armenians a "very specific and tangible
connection to their homeland." Asked by EurasiaNet whether he himself
will apply for Armenian citizenship, Sardar said, "If I were to speak
emotionally, I would probably say yes. If I am speaking rationally,
my answer would be that I have to think long and hard about that."

"I’m quite happy with my 10-year residency visa and don’t need Armenian
citizenship," said another Diaspora Armenian who moved to Armenia
from the United Kingdom in the late 1990s. "Actually, I am afforded
more rights here being foreign than I am being an Armenian citizen."

Having an Armenian passport should seem more attractive to hundreds
and possibly thousands of ethnic Armenians that have repatriated in
recent years from neighboring Iran and Arab states like Syria and
Lebanon. But ultimately, it is natives of Armenia that might emerge as
the main beneficiaries of dual citizenship. Hundreds of thousands of
them emigrated to Russia and other countries following the economic
slump of the early 1990s. Many of them have since become citizens of
those countries without surrendering their Armenian passports. They
will now not have to hide that from the Armenian authorities anymore.

Editor’s Note: Emil Danielyan is a Yerevan-based journalist and
political analyst.

DOESN’T ARMENIA NEED CHOREOGRAPHY?

A1+
[08:03 pm] 26 February, 2007

"If there is no evident progress in art, it means the country is on
the verge of collapse. Many events we organized have failed because
of shortage of financial means", Vilen Galstyan, head of Choreography
College, claims.

Today the college got an invitation to an international festival but
probably the pupils will not participate.

"Unfortunately we have no sponsors. In foreign countries, for instance,
in Brazil, banks sponsor art.

In my opinion, in case each bank allots a small amount it won’t go
bankrupt. But in our country cultural values are not properly valued"
he says.

In his words the issue must be transferred to the state level. "I
have said many times that the US "Metropoliten" Opera exists due to
financial assistance of Coca Cola, General Motors, Pepsy Cola.

Whereas in Armenia we face quite different picture.

Mr. Galstyan claims that they have applied to various organizations,
the municipality, manufacturers in hope that they will render
assistance but all their efforts have failed.

The money given by the State budget can hardly keep a college of 403
pupils and 80 teachers. Besides, the building needs repairing.

In his words, the RA Government has promised to help them in this
respect.

"I hope that one day our pupils will appear in the international
arena. We have many laureate of international festivals, among them
my son David Galstyan. The college has high reputation overseas".

By the way, Mr. Galstyan attaches great importance to the events
celebrating the 80th anniversary of the college. Over 150 new dresses
were made for the event.