Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Leader of Union Constitutional Rights publicly slapped the party’s
vice-chairman- for the second time over the last year

2008-01-15 20:36:00

ArmInfo. Leader of Union Constitutional Rights Hrant Khachatryan
publicly slapped the party’s vice-chairman-Hayk Babukhanyan, for the
second time over the last year.

To recall, on Tuesday, another overturn took place in the party- the
Power at Union Constitutional Right party is again in the hands of Hayk
Babukhanyan’s supporters. It is not the first power change at the party
over the last 18 months.

To recall, leader of the party Hrant Khachatryan resigned in September
2006 ‘as a sign of protest against party Vice Chairman Hayk
Babukhanyan’s illegal activity’. Later, he changed his mind and
restored his post of the party leader through the court. H. Khachatryan
seized his office and made a public slap in the face of Babukhanyan. As
a result, the party split up into 2 parts. Moreover, the party
newspaper Iravunk is now published in two versions Iravunk and Iskakan
Iravunk.

Today, on January 14, Babukhanyan’s supporters tried to penetrate into
the party office. H. Babukhanyan told ArmInfo the court restored his
post of Vice Chairman. ‘Why cannot I enter my room for already a year?
Why cannot Hovik Galajyan fulfill his duties of Iravunk editor after
the court restored his position? Why Hrant Khachatryan reserves a right
to declare the party’s support to Vazgen Manukyan’s candidature? It is
the party congress that must made such a decision. We are studying all
the contenders except Levon Ter-Petrosyan’, Babukhanyan said.

After H. Khachatryan had defended the office for 5 hours, Babukhanyan’s
supporters with help of police officers and rescuers broke the door.
Babukhanyan with his supporters victoriously went round all the rooms,
opened the safes and made an inventory of property. Khashatrian gave a
short briefing and called the actions by Babukhanyan, police and
rescuers illegal. ‘Head of the Police Central Department sent them here
illegally. Rescuers were told that people inside the office may die if
they fail to open the door. I have applied to the Prosecutor General’s
Office’, Khachatryan said.

Later, during negotiations in the presence of journalists and police
officers Hrant Khachatryan all at once made a public slap in the face
of Babukhanyan-the second over the last year. For the public insult-the
slap received on February 8 2007, Babukhanyan got 150 000 AMD
compensation through the court. It’s interesting what today’s public
humiliation towards his irreconcilable opponent will cost for
Kahachatryan. In any case, the police officers immediately took the
leader of Union Constitutional Right to the police station.

WEEKLY REPORT
The Armenia Fund Rural Development Program
Governmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Hayk Petrosyan
Tel: + (3741) 56 01 06 ext. 107
Fax: +(3741) 52 15 05
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

January 11, 2008

WEEKLY UPDATE OF THE ARMENIA FUND RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

After a short holiday break, it’s business as usual for The Armenia Fund
Rural Development Program. This first report in the New Year concentrates on
the Program’s prospective cluster near Akhurian reservoir in Shirak region
of Armenia. It also focuses on the developments in the library improvement
project in the pilot Khashtarak cluster.

AKHURIAN PROSPECTIVE CLUSTER

On January 10, 2008, The Armenia Fund Executive Director Vahe Aghabegians
and the Rural Development Program staff made a working visit to the
communities near Akhurian reservoir in Shirak region (Jrapi, Isahakyan,
Lusaaghbyur, Yerazgavors). The aim of the visit was to get the overall feel
of the situation on the ground, see the cluster formation possibilities as
well as hear the community members’ views on the most pressing issues in
their villages.

With the temperature in all of Armenia dropping to (the very unusual) -20 to
-25C and the roads frozen over, the 160+km road to Akhurian proved to be
quite a testing experience. The roads were almost empty, as the motorized
public transportation was almost completely absent in the region given the
weather conditions. The one public transport, which in this weather is the
communities’ almost exclusive link to the outside world, is a Soviet era
train, which comes complete with the old Empire’s signature emblem, rusty
carriages, delays and slow speed, making people wait for hours in the
unheated stations.

On the way to Jrapi community, which is one of the villages on the bank of
Akhurian reservoir and our first destination, we passed by an abandoned
village. Nested in the middle of two small mountains it no longer had a name
and its empty, broken down houses were a potent reminder of the urgency of
the task at hand.

Jrapi is a village of around 1100 people. At this time of the year, the
setting of the community changes drastically, as Akhurian reservoir is empty
in wintertime. But even when it’s full, it does not provide the communities
of the region with easily reached irrigation water or dependable income.
This is a border area between Armenia and Turkey, with the divisive line
passing through the middle of the reservoir and the banks on both sides
under strong control. Even to be able to fish in the waters of the
reservoir, the community members need to get a special license, which places
strict limitations on the number of fish that can be caught, making this
kind of occupation little more than a hobby. Any endeavor of scale related
with Akhurian reservoir needs to go through the scrutiny of a two state
committee.

With the reservoir’s resources almost out of the financial equation, the
community members of Jrapi and other communities of the region concentrate
on land based agriculture instead. The basic problem here is the total lack
or the unsatisfactory state of the irrigation water networks. Much of the
water for the communities comes from underground springs via wells going
down as low as 125 meters. The pumps in place are out of date and expensive
to exploit and maintain, thus the farmers rely on natural irrigation. This
strongly reduces the amount of harvested crops and limits the range of
cultivable produce. The lack of available water also makes it hard to expand
the cattle breeding practice, as the water is scarce for the animals to
drink, as simple as that.

In the community of Isahakyan, the water issue extends to drinking water as
well. The single well that serves the whole village is too small and the
community receives drinking water once in three days for only one hour. Our
visit coincided with one of those days. At -20C degrees, there were clothes
hanging outside. With the wind constantly blowing from one direction, the
wet clothes had frozen stiff bended at a bizarre angle, making a strong
statement on the issue and underlining the fact that none of the communities
have access to natural gas to heat their homes and at least dry their
clothes inside. For the past fifteen years, these are the conditions people
bear day after day, everyday.

In the community of Lusaghbyur, people tried to solve the water issue by
digging individual wells. These wells are only used to irrigate a very small
plot of land near the house and provide the family with drinking water.
These kinds of conditions hinder the normal development of the farming
households, limiting them to sustenance farming.

At the same time, the communities have the potential and capacity to develop
feasible cattle breeding practice and improve agriculture. The key here is
solving the universal access to markets issue. In this sense, the railroad
that passes through all the communities can become a strong uniting factor
and a lifeline for the communities. It can be used to re-establish the now
severed trading links both within the communities and with the rest of the
country. The area would also be suitable for establishing a milk collection
unit, as most communities have 500-800 cows, which is an above average
statistic for Armenia’s border villages.

With the abundant snow not concealing but instead emphasizing the problems
of the communities, it also underlined the determination of the community
members’ to carry on. All they ask for are the very basic conditions and an
environment where they can help themselves, an environment we will do
everything and anything possible to create together.

LIBRARY IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVE

After a period of research and preparations, the Azatamut community library
improvement initiative is close to becoming a reality. With the process of
acquiring the needed books now in progress, it is now time to focus on the
renovation of the library space itself. Our approach here is guaranteeing
maximum participation and involvement of students and other community
members in the renovation process.

This way, each and every member of the community involved will develop the
sense of ownership and belonging. Even the youngest members of the community
will have the opportunity to contribute as they will have a huge wall and a
door to paint and let their imagination fly. All this is necessary to
breathe a new life into a place, which in the last fifteen years has become
little more than an annoying chore and a painfully dull extension to the
school curriculum. This needs to change. They say that the change starts at
heart; it sure is true for this project as despite the cold weather, the
community is very eager to start the renovation process as soon as possible.

The Rural Development Program staff will visit the community early next week
to discuss the details of the renovation process.

AS A RESULT OF CLARIFICATION OF RA VOTERS’ REGISTER, NUMBER OF VOTERS
REDUCES AND MAKES 2M 311 THOUSAND 665

YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. On January 9, the Passport and Visa
Department of the RA Police presented the register of RA voters to the
Central Electoral Commission according to districts. According to the
preliminary data, it included 2m 311 thousand 917 voters. As NT
correspondent was informed by Tatev Ohanian, the CEC Spokesperson, as a
result of lists’ clarification, the number of voters reduced and as of
January 11, made 2m 311 thousand 665.

AMIC’s Newsletter, Montreal, Canada
AMIC’s Info-Flash
2340 Chemin Lucerne # 30
Ville Mont-Royal, Quebec
H3R 2J8, Canada
Tel: (514) 739 8950
Web:
Email: [email protected]

December 2007

1. Article 1: Message from AMIC’s President: 2007 Realizations and
Future Perspectives.

2. Article 2: The State of Paediatric Epilepsy Care in the Republic of
Nagorno Karabagh (NKR)

3. Article 3: News from the "Fighting Infectious Diseases in Emerging
Countries" (FIDEC) Foundation

4. Article 4: What is AMIC?

*****************************************

I – Message from AMIC’s President: 2007 Realizations and Future

Perspectives

Dear Friends,

2007 has been quite a busy year for AMIC. I would like to share with you
some of my thoughts and inform you of what AMIC has accomplished during the
past year.

Karabagh now has a new President and a new health minister. Also, Dr.
Kushkian is the new health minister of Armenia. We worked with both
ministers and President Bako Sahakian. I am pleased to inform you that for
the first time since its foundation, AMIC has been recognized as partner and
primary contact for medical issues in the diaspora by the Ministry of Health
and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.

We accepted to work in partnership with "Hayastan Himnatram" (Armenia Fund)
in the Poverty Eradication Program spearheaded by Minister Oskanian. The
program consists of a poverty eradication and repopulation project for 144
villages surrounding Armenia. AMIC will look into the feasibility of
planning to build or remodel medical and dental facilities operating in
those villages. Although our involvement will be strategic and not
financial, AMIC will need your utmost help in the planning of such an
important project.

I would like to acknowledge and praise the work done by my predecessors
throughout the years to bring AMIC to date and become recognized as an
Armenian Medical International Committee representing all Armenian Medical
Associations throughout the world.

I will ask for your continuing support for AMIC. Without it, AMIC will not
survive. I have already begun visiting medical associations in Europe and
holding meetings with them to strengthen our relations. Together we will
make the difference; the smile on the faces of our sisters and brothers in
our motherland will depend on our efforts.

We are having a General Assembly in New York in May 2008. I invite you all
to attend so that we can meet and set our goals; your input in AMIC
activities is very important.

I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Finally, let there be peace and prosperity in our beautiful homeland,
Armenia.

Dr. A. Bogosyan,

President, AMIC

***********************************

II – The State of Paediatric Epilepsy Care in the Republic of Nagorno

Karabagh (NKR)

Report by Berge A. Minassian, MD. Contact: [email protected]

On behalf of the delegation of the Neurology Division of the Armenian
Medical International Committee (AMIC)

Members of the delegation:

Gaspar Israelian MD, Adult Neurologist, Toronto, Canada

Berge A. Minassian MD, Pediatric Neurologist, Toronto, Canada

Arthur Partikian MD, Pediatric Neurologist, Los Angeles, USA

Arousiak Varpetian MD, Adult Neurologist, Los Angeles, USA

Accompanying the group:

Varsine Jaladyan MD, Pediatric Neurologist, Yerevan, Armenia

The delegation visited NKR from July 1 to 5, 2007.

Half to one percent of people worldwide have epilepsy. Precise numbers for
NKR are not available. We estimate that approximately 200 children in NKR
have epilepsy.

The Neurologist

NKR has a number of physicians who participate in the care of children with
epilepsy in the capital of Stepanakert and in the regions. These health
care professionals each possess a varying degree and quality of training in
neurology and psychiatry. However, there is only one properly specialized
neurologist who works through the Stepanakert Pediatric Hospital. The
visiting group spent one day seeing ~30 patients with her. Though she has
adequate basic training in Pediatric epilepsy and can easily take care of
routine cases, she is somewhat lacking in depth and breadth in the field.
She is however highly motivated and more than capable of garnering the
missing knowledge base. This can be achieved through further training at
the Arabkir Pediatric Centre in Yerevan.

There, students of Dr. Vahagn Darbinyan, the father of modern epilepsy care
in Armenia, and the head of the hospital, Dr. Ara Babloyan, have established
a world-class Pediatric epilepsy centre, world-class in terms of knowledge,
though lacking in some equipment. Prominent in the team at Arabkir are Drs.
Biayna Sukhhudyan and Varsine Jaladyan. The Stepanakert neurologist should
spend three to six months, preferably the latter, consecutively or not, at
Arabkir, so that she becomes fully qualified. To gain additional
perspective, she should also rotate through the Erebuni Hospital Epilepsy
Centre where other students of V. Darbinyan (Gayane Melikyan, Nune
Yaghiazaryan) provide outstanding care of adult epilepsy patients.

Although NKR patients from distant regions could find it hard to access the
Stepanakert centre for care, for the moment additional specialized Pediatric
epileptologists in the regions are not needed. Instead, our delegation
recommends that epilepsy courses for general practitioners of the regions be
organized so that such physicians can gain basic knowledge regarding the
management of uncomplicated epilepsy and learn when to refer difficult cases
to Stepanakert. Incidentally, the Armenian League Against Epilepsy, in
collaboration with the AMIC Neurology Division and the International League
Against Epilepsy, are organizing a one-week epilepsy course in August 2008.
NKR physicians are strongly encouraged to attend this course.

Over the longer term, preparation of a second Pediatric epilepsy specialist
for NKR would be desirable.

Medications

Epilepsy is generally divided into focal-onset epilepsy versus primarily
generalized epilepsy, with each group requiring a certain class of
medications. Several medications from each class are available in NKR or
via Yerevan. Some important medications, e.g. ethosuximide for Childhood
Absence Epilepsy, are not available but can be replaced by available
medications, in this example, valproic acid.

An extremely positive aspect is that in NKR, the government covers the costs
of all medication for children until age 16. This immense advantage is not
present in Yerevan and in the Republic of Armenia, where many children
cannot afford their medications.

Testing for medication levels is not available. We are aware that a
diagnostic centre is being constructed in Stepanakert, and this testing can
be made available through this centre. However, availability of this
resource is only useful in expert hands or following adequate training of
general practitioners. It is also expensive. Finally, while it is needed
in many cases, it should not be needed in the majority. In Yerevan, the
Arabkir and Erebouni teams have access to this type of testing and rightly
use it sparingly and selectively. For the present, it is eminently possible
to send selected samples to Yerevan for testing. The medications are
extremely stable in blood and there is transport between Stepanakert and
Yerevan many times each day. Results could then be conveyed back to
Stepanakert within 24 hours, which in most cases is adequate. It is
envisaged that a close partnering of Arabkir and the Stepanakert children’s
hospital would easily solve this particular issue, and many other issues in
epilepsy care and general Pediatric care. A partnering of this type between
these two centres would be highly desirable.

Other epilepsy treatment modalities, such as the ketogenic diet or epilepsy
surgery, are not available, and not realistic for the moment in NKR.

Equipment

Two pieces of equipment are essential in epilepsy diagnosis and care. One
is the electroencephalogram (EEG), and the other is some modality of brain
imaging. Neither of these is available in NKR.

Our delegation will endeavour to obtain an EEG machine for Stepanakert.

Diasporan recipients of this report should kindly try to help us in this
respect.

There is no MRI in NKR. In Yerevan, there is one machine, and a second one
coming on line soon.

There is a CT scanner in NKR. However, for reasons that are unclear, it
remains non-functioning. It has been there for a number of years, is
apparently in excellent condition, or so it was when it was first obtained.
There may be issues with unavailability of technologists to run the machine
and radiologists to read the results. It is imperative that the government
of NKR either gets this machine up and running, or obtains a new one. If
they cannot, for reasons of finance or otherwise, they should approach
authorities in Armenia or AMIC for coordination of the necessary assistance
in this regard. It is unacceptable (to all interested Armenians not just
the local government) that a country of that size, especially one still at
war, does not have a CT scanner.

Conclusions and review of recommendations

Pediatric epilepsy care in NKR has the necessary foundations, a
specialist, a network of regional physicians, medication cost coverage,
potentially a strong support from Arabkir and Erebouni centre in Yerevan,
and a dedicated government and Ministry of Health (Dr. Zoya Lazaryan,
outgoing minister of health (MOH), keenly assisted this delegation and
expressly asked for its recommendations). We recommend:

1- Further training of the specialist at Arabkir under Dr. Sukhhudyan,
and at Erebouni, at least three to preferably six months.

2- Attendance of the Dzaghgatsor epilepsy course in Aug. 2008 by NKR
physicians.

3- Establishment of a system for therapeutic blood level testing by
shipping to Yerevan.

4- Obtaining an EEG machine. The AMIC neurology division should initiate
this. Once found and delivered there will need to be training of the
neurologist, or preferably a technologist, in the use of the machine. This
can be done at Arabkir or Erebouni medical centre in Yerevan, where EEG’s
are available and used routinely.

5- Ensure a functional CT scanner in Stepanakert.

**************************

III – News from the "Fighting Infectious Diseases in Emerging Countries"

(FIDEC) Foundation

In its previous issues (see the April 2006 issue, for instance), Info-Flash
has reported on the FIDEC Foundation (founded in 2001 by Dr. Daniel
Stamboulian from Argentina). In 2006, FIDEC appointed Dr. Liana Hagopian as
its representative in Armenia. Dr. Hagopian made a presentation about FIDEC
activities in Armenia during the Second International Medical Congress of
Armenia last June.

-Vaccination

-In October 2007 FIDEC organized a vaccination campaign (MMR) in Armenia.
According to the Ministry of Health data 1,130 physicians and 1,474
vaccinators participated to vaccinate 776, 451 individuals. The campaign was
very well organized and the social mobilization was strong. Billboards
showing famous singers with members of their families were used to publicize
the whole operation.

-In the coming months a similar campaign will be organized in Karabagh
targeting around 36, 000 individuals. FIDEC Argentina informed Info-Flash
that there was an outbreak of Hepatitis A in four villages, 3 of them in
Armavir and Vayots-Dzor marzes and in Nairi village. Necessary vaccine doses
will be sent to limit the outbreak. FIDEC Argentina informed Info-Flash that
there was an outbreak of Hepatitis A in four villages, 3 of them in Armavir
and Vayots-Dzor marzes and in Nairi village. Necessary vaccine doses will be
sent to limit the outbreak.

-Education

In 2004 FIDEC published 4 booklets in Armenian (translated from their
Spanish original version) to be distributed in schools outside Yerevan and
in an Argentinean funded school, in Yerevan, that has 400 school children.
With colourful drawings, these comic books explain with simple narratives
how to be aware of germs and how to learn simple rules of hygiene. "Clean
hands", "War against lice", "Let’s be Friends with Vacc (vaccine)", "Our
Super teeth".

A fifth booklet ("The Winning Team") will be out soon.

******************************

IV- What is AMIC?

The Armenian Medical International Committee was created 17 years ago. It is
an umbrella organization that unites and promotes Armenian medical
associations throughout the Diaspora, creating thus a large network through
which information and data are exchanged.

AMIC organizes Armenian Medical Congresses. So far nine have been held in
different cities of the Diaspora. In 2007, the "Second International Medical
Congress of Armenia" organized by Armenia was held in Yerevan (June 28 to
June 30).

Since 1998 AMIC has published an online newsletter which is sent free of
charge to all Armenian Health Care Professionals. If you are a health care
professional and are interested in receiving Info-Flash, please send us your

email address ([email protected]). To all those who already receive the Info,
please do not forget to send us your new e-mail address when you change it.
For further information, visit our website:
<;

As of 2005, AMIC in collaboration with Regimedia, publishes a scientific
journal, the "Armenian Medical Review". The third issue was published in
July 2007. To subscribe please contact [email protected]

Useful information to remember: You can send free of charge from wherever
you are located, medical equipment/medicine through the services of the
United Armenian Fund: Contact: President Mr. Harout Sassounian

([email protected])

IFAD TO PROVIDE 11.9 MILLION DOLLARS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ARMENIAN RURAL SETTLEMENTS

Noyan Tapan
Jan 10, 2008

ROME, JANUARY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian ambassador to Italy
Ruben Shugarian and the president of the UN International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) Lennard Bage on January 8 signed an
agreement on financing the program "Market Opportunity to Farmers"
between the Republic of Armenia and the IFAD. NT was informed by the RA
MFA Press and Information Department that under the agreement Armenia
will receive 11.9 million dollars, in particular, for development of
rural settlements and small enterprises in these settlements.

MACVF RECEIVES $ 10,000 DONATION FROM GERAGOS & GERAGOS TO BRING LIFE-SAVING VACCINES TO ARMENIA’S CHILDREN

armradio.am
10.01.2008 13:36

Getting into the Christmas spirit and garnering further support to
alleviate Armenia’s vulnerability to vaccine shortages, the Millennium
Armenian Children’s Vaccine Fund (MACVF) received a $10,000 donation
from the Law offices of Geragos & Geragos to purchase life-saving
vaccines for Armenia’s children. The donation is derived from a
law suit settlement, which was filed against insurance companies
on behalf Armenian Americans who purchased insurance policies when
they immigrated to the United States during the Armenian genocide but
were originally denied the right to collect on their policies. Part
of the settlement was also earmarked for Armenian charities.

Mark Geragos, an Armenian- American prominent trial attorney was one
of four lawyers in a federal class action lawsuit against New York
Life Insurance for policies for victims of the Armenian Genocide of
1915 in which 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered by Ottoman Turks.

The gift from Mark Geragos’s firm demonstrates the growing support
for the MACVF children’s immunization campaign, which has brought
together an impressive network of donors in the Armenian Diaspora,
health experts and advisors dedicated to strengthening the National
Immunization Program of Armenia. "Mark Geragos understands the
challenges faced by Armenia’s children and we greatly appreciate
his contribution toward securing life-saving vaccines" stated
Raffy Ardhaldjian, chairman of the Ani & Narod Memorial Foundation,
the organization spearheading the Armenian children’s immunization
activities.

Mr. Geragos is an active member of the large Armenian community
of Los Angeles and serves on the advisory committee of Birthright
Armenia. He’s also a chairman of Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry,
and a member of the Armenia Fund International board of trustees.

Besides providing funds towards Armenia’s national immunization
program since the turn of the century, the MACVF – as part of
a large consortium of public health donors- has in 2007 October
actively participated in Measles and Rubella mass immunization
campaign providing financial, logistical, and technical support. The
mass immunization campaign against measles and rubella targeted all
individuals aged 6 – 27 years, a total of approximately 1.2 million
people.

ARMAN MELIKIAN CALLS FOR GIVING RA CITIZENS ABROAD POSSIBILITY TO TAKE PART IN ELECTIONS

Noyan Tapan
Jan 9, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. Arman Melikian, a candidate
for presidency in the forthcoming presidential elections in RA,
calls RA authorities for reconsidering the legislation and giving RA
citizens living abroad a possibility to take part in the elections. As
A. Melikian said at the January 9 press conference, if no one responds
to his appeal in the coming days, he will apply to the Constitutional
Court with that issue.

He said that according to the current legislation, elections are held
only in the territory of Armenia, "no electoral districts are formed
abroad, and several hundreds of thousands of RA citizens are deprived
of the possibility to use their constitutional law." Whereas, according
to him, a diplomatic representation of any country is the territory
of the given country, therefore elections should be organized in all
RA Embassies.

According to the candidate for presidency, depriving RA citizens
living abroad of the possibility to vote contributes to electoral
falsifications, as the latters are included in the electoral rolls.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL
Jan 6 2007

A heartfelt mother-daughter story

By SUSAN L. RIFE

Margaret Ajemian Ahnert had never heard of the Armenians when she was
first pushed around by bullies on the schoolyard who shouted that
they hated her.

Why did they hate her? Because their parents cited the "starving
Armenians" as a reason to make their children eat vegetables.

As it turns out, Ahnert’s mother, Ester, was one of those "starving
Armenians." In 1915, when she was 15, Ester was separated from her
family as they were forced from their home in Amasi, Turkey, along
with hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians. More than a
million Armenians perished.

Ahnert recounts her mother’s story in "The Knock at the Door: A
Journey Through the Darkness of the Armenian Genocide" (Beaufort
Books, $24.95), a book that has had surprising repercussions in
Ahnert’s life. A reading last May at a Barnes & Noble store in New
York City was disrupted by five Turkish men who started passing out
literature denying the Armenian genocide. One man was arrested after
he and the others refused to leave the store.

"Five men jumped up, shouting, ‘Margaret Ahnert is a liar,’" she
recalled in a telephone interview from her home in Fort Lauderdale.
"I was scared to death."

Earlier appearances had generated no such controversy, she said, so
she was caught unaware. Her audience that evening included former New
York Gov. Hugh Carey and Manhattan District Attorney Robert
Morgenthau.

"The governor was sitting in the front row, and he’s used to these
sorts of outbursts," she said. "He sort of focused me. We left there
and went to Elaine’s, where all good authors go off to for dinner. I
couldn’t even talk. I didn’t anticipate this. I have children and
grandchildren."

Ahnert wrote "The Knock at the Door" as her master’s thesis for her
degree from Goucher College. She combined her mother’s memories with
extensive research.

Her mother spent her last years living at an Armenian home in New
York City. Ahnert would visit frequently, always taking flowers,
which often triggered memories in Ester. Once, Ahnert took a
phallic-shaped cactus plant, which Ester looked at and then remarked,
"He took me in as a daughter and then he raped me."

The comment shocked Ahnert, who later got the full story from Ester,
of how she was taken in as a refugee, only to be sexually assaulted
by her protector.

But Ahnert did not write the book as a detailed exploration of the
Armenian genocide.

"I meant this to be a mother-daughter story for my children and
grandchildren to know what their great-grandmother had lived
through," she said.

ATURES/801060730/-1/newssitemap

Canberra Times (Australia)
January 6, 2008 Sunday
Final Edition

A blend of two cultures

Alarge painting dominates the foyer of the Iranian ambassador’s
residence in O’Malley. In Persian script it says, "In the name of
God", and it hangs beside the Iranian flag.

Delicious exotic smells waft through the home that the ambassador,
Mahmoud Movahhedi, and his wife Iran share with three of their four
children.

The couple’s Iranian chef is responsible for the delicious smells and
the family eats traditional Iranian food and sits down to meals in
the formal dining room every day.

The two-storey home has six bedrooms and three bathrooms upstairs.
Downstairs is a foyer, a formal sitting room, which opens to the
formal dining room, a kitchen, the lounge room, where the family
watch television, and a guest bathroom.

Set on a steep 1706sqm block, long timber stairs lead from the back
door down 5m to the backyard.

Hand-made Persian carpets lie in every room. The intricate silk rugs
in the formal sitting room are small and have more than 100 knots per
square centimetre. These rugs are not on the floor, but are displayed
as art.

On the wall hang photographs of Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei and former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini.

Above the marble fireplace, reproductions of Armenian archers from
500BC sit alongside silver candelabras.

In the lounge, the family watch Iranian television courtesy of a
large satellite dish in the backyard. On the walls hang reproductions
of works by one of Iran’s most famous artists, Mahmoud Farshchian.

The dining table can seat 12 and was made in Iran. The chairs are
carved in a traditional design.

The ambassador’s last posting was in Brazil, where the family was
forced to leave their pet dogs. The ambassador’s wife misses her
pets.

"With quarantine and costs it was impossible to bring them with us.
The children miss them, especially my youngest Shahab," she said.

The home is being rented by the Iranian Government while discussions
about building an Iranian-style residence and chancellery are
finalised.

While decorated in typical Iranian style, the home also boasts an
Australian feel visitors are greeted by a front garden with plenty of
native shrubs, which attract birds, and the recent rains have
rejuvenated the lawn.

Glendale News Press, CA
Jan 4 2008

Not-guilty plea for Grigoryan

Man is charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter and
felony hit-and-run.

By Jason Wells

PASADENA – Ara Grigoryan – the Glendale man accused in the July 10
hit-and-run death of 24-year-old pedestrian Elizabeth Sandoval –
pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree murder in Pasadena
Superior Court.

Grigoryan, handcuffed and wearing a blue county jail jumpsuit, also
pleaded not guilty during his arraignment to one count each of
vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run involving a death.

Before settling on the next pretrial date, Grigoryan’s attorney, Fred
Minassian, assured the judge that he was engaged in active
discussions with the district attorney’s office for a `possible
resolution to this case.’

Deputy District Atty. Robert Knowles confirmed that a plea agreement
is always a possibility, but said there was no offer on the table.

`There’s been no actual discussion,’ he said. advertisement

Grigoryan’s arraignment comes more than six months after he was
arrested in Mexico City reportedly trying to board a flight to Spain
a week and a half after Sandoval was killed.

Grigoryan is accused of driving the black Mercedes-Benz S430 sedan
that struck and killed Sandoval at 9:40 p.m. as she and a friend
jaywalked across South Glendale Avenue just south of East Windsor
Road.

Witnesses for the prosecution at his preliminary hearing testified
that the sedan sped away from the scene after flinging Sandoval more
than 70 feet. She died at the scene.

After a massive manhunt, police found the Mercedes abandoned in Van
Nuys, with body work recently performed on its hood and grill. A few
days later, Grigoryan was found.

On Dec. 20, a Superior Court judge ruled that there was enough
evidence to pursue a second-degree murder charge against Grigoryan
for the hit-and-run death and sent the case to trial.

So far, prosecutors are taking an almost identical path set for
Andranik Atshemyan, who was convicted Dec. 14 on all three of the
charges that Grigoryan is facing. Atshemyan faces 23 years to life in
prison for slamming his Land Rover SUV into a parked Nissan car on
Columbus Avenue near Riverdale Drive in November 2005, killing one
teenager and seriously injuring another.

Prosecutors in that case used his high speed and poor driving record
to justify the murder charge, a tactic Grigoryan’s defense must now
contend with.

Minassian said he intended to file a motion that would force Pasadena
Superior Court Judge Dorothy Shubin, who is presiding over the case,
to review the transcripts of Grigoryan’s preliminary hearing to
affirm that the prosecution’s evidence warranted the murder charge.

During Grigoryan’s preliminary hearing, Minassian argued that skid
marks at the scene of the collision proved his client had braked and
swerved to avoid Sandoval, and so he should not be prosecuted for
having a wanton disregard for human life – an argument Knowles had
used to push for the murder charge.

After Grigoryan entered his pleas Thursday, Shubin scheduled a
pretrial hearing for Feb. 13, at which point attorneys will have 45
days to prepare for the opening arguments.