Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
65 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472 USA
Tel: (617) 926-TREE
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
June 24, 2008

ATP Establishes New Michael and Virginia Ohanian Environmental Center in
Northern Armenia

— New $150,000 Commitment Allows ATP to Expand Environmental Initiatives in
Area of Tremendous Need

WATERTOWN, MA–Mrs. Virginia Ohanian is one of Armenia Tree Project’s most
active ambassadors. Whenever a birthday or holiday comes around, she asks
friends and family to direct gifts to ATP to plant trees in Armenia. They
often make such gifts, and do so in her honor too. In fact, Mrs. Ohanian has
more trees planted in her honor than any other person in the ATP community.

Ginny, as she is known by her many friends, has been involved with ATP since
its founding in 1994. Late last year, while looking at photographs of the
hundreds of students participating in ATP’s environmental education program
in Armenia, she announced that she was thinking about doing something
significant for the organization.

Years ago, she helped ATP take a major step in expanding its education
programs by donating $100,000 to establish the Michael and Virginia Ohanian
Environmental Education Center at the site of the ATP nursery in Karin
Village.

ATP’s tree planting efforts have grown exponentially over the past several
years and its environmental education curriculum is taught to hundreds of
students each year at the Ohanian Center. The site is ideal for education
because ATP staff is growing dozens of varieties of fruit and decorative
trees in the nearby fields for outplanting across the country.

Ginny is happy with the success, but believes the need is great and that ATP
could do more. Last fall, she issued a challenge for ATP to bring its
educational work to the next level. She wanted to know how such quality
programs could reach even more students and professionals, so that the trees
being planted today are protected in the future. She backed her challenge
with a commitment to fund a second education center in another part of the
country where ATP is expanding its strategic reforestation operations.

With a new $150,000 gift, Ginny is enabling ATP to establish a new northern
outpost in Margahovit, Lori Marz, which will be named the Michael and
Virginia Ohanian Environmental Center. The new center will become an
integral part of the region, where ATP has focused its reforestation efforts
to combat the huge losses to the forests.

In recent years ATP established the Mirak Family Reforestation Nursery in
the area, which will allow up to one million trees per year to be planted in
this heavily deforested area. In addition, the Critical Ecosystem
Partnership Fund has financed ATP’s collaboration with the Yale University
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, to produce a sustainable
forestry manual for use by professionals in Armenia.

"The new Michael and Virginia Ohanian Environmental Center will play a key
role in allowing us to train students and professionals in forestry best
practices and conduct environmental education lessons with students in the
northern parts of the country, which has been hit hard by deforestation,"
stated ATP Executive Director Jeff Masarjian. "On behalf of our founder
Carolyn Mugar, our thanks go out to Ginny and the rest of her family for
their leadership and dedication to ATP and our work in restoring Armenia’s
environment for future generations."

"My husband Michael was an inseparable friend to Carolyn’s father Stephen
Mugar, and at a certain point we decided to start giving back as much as we
can, so we got involved with charitable causes and philanthropy," recounted
Ginny. "When Carolyn told us about ATP and how it produces fruit trees,
clean air, and a healthy environment for Armenia, this was something we
could all appreciate and get behind and support in a big way."

Ginny attended the inauguration with her family of the Michael and Virginia
Ohanian Environmental Education Center in Karin Village in 2004, and she
recalls the pleasure of visiting and seeing how much of a difference the
facility makes in the life of the region for Armenians of all generations.

"I am thankful that ATP got involved in environmental education, and
especially that they gave me the opportunity to support such a wonderful
facility, where students and visitors can learn about the science and other
aspects of Armenia’s unique natural heritage," explained Ginny. "I’m also
proud that the organization has grown and we are able to create a new
educational establishment in another part of the country."

"Our family is very pleased to be involved in a project this fulfilling, and
we are proud to contribute to a Green Armenia, where people have food in
their backyards thanks to the fruit trees being planted by ATP," stated
Ginny. "It is a pleasure to be helping people live a good life in Armenia,
and everyone should give something back to the land of their heritage."

Most of all, Ginny would like her gift to inspire others to give, for
themselves, for ATP, and for Armenia’s future. "I hope other people can
experience the sense of joy our family has felt in being able to give
something back to Armenia," she emphasized. "Our support of ATP has been
very rewarding and we know it is making an impact in the country, so I would
like to issue a new challenge, and ask other diasporans to also think about
doing more and showing even more support for ATP’s critical work."

Since 1994, Armenia Tree Project has planted and restored more than
2,000,000 trees and created hundreds of jobs for impoverished Armenians in
tree-regeneration programs. The organization’s three tiered initiatives are
tree planting, community development to reduce poverty and promote
self-sufficiency, and environmental education to protect Armenia’s precious
natural resources. For additional information, visit the web site

PHOTO CAPTION: Mrs. Virginia Ohanian, pictured with her late husband
Michael, has made a new $150,000 gift that will allow ATP to expand its
environmental education and sustainable forestry programs in northern
Armenia

ARMENTEL ANNOUNCES NETWORK ENHANCEMENTS IN 2008

Global Insight
June 23, 2008

World Markets Research Centre

Armentel, the Armenian incumbent, has said that it plans to complete
the digitalisation of local telephone exchanges by the end of 2008 as
well as finalising the deployment of a nationwide backbone network. On
the operational side, the operator also has said that it will not
cut mobile prices after the introduction of a third mobile operator
in Armenia, but will focus on quality of services, including data.

Significance: Armentel’s acquisition by VimpelCom has hastened the
enhancement of its network and has also brought about an improvement
in the operator’s mobile ARPU, which has risen from $14US.5 in the
first quarter of 2007 to $18US.4 in the first quarter of 2008. The
enhancement of Armentel’s network will better place it to offset
increased competition from the MTS-owned VivaCell as well as emerging
competitors in the WiMAX space (seeArmenia: 16 June 2008:)

Work begins to restore old Armenian cemetery
By Rula Aweidah

21 June 08
Cyprus Mail

WORK for the reconstruction of the derelict old Armenian cemetery near
the Ledra Palace is to begin in earnest next week.

A contract has been granted complete the renovation and construction of
the cemetery, the tombs, the exterior wall as well as the chapel in the
cemetery.

Back in 2006, the Armenian Prelature had started digging up graves in
order to put remains together in a new communal grave in the new
Armenian cemetery on the outskirts of the capital. But the workers
simply started breaking up old historic tombs, damaging headstones and
exposing bones, sparking outrage among the community.

Soon after the municipality delivered a court order stopping the work,
and instructing those responsible to restore the site, but nothing was
done and the cemetery fell into even greater disrepair.

Finally after two years, renovations are now ready to take place.

`The preliminary work is complete, all the permissions are in place,
and the work will be done by architects who are all professionals,’
explained the Armenian representative at the House, Vartkes Mahdessian.
The project was awarded two weeks ago. `They will start work 100 per
cent next week,’ he said.

The whole project was made possible by a subsidy that was received from
the Cyprus government, as well as a big amount contributed by the
Armenian Church. It is foreseen that the completion of the cemetery
will be complete in about twelve months.

Mahdessian said: `The boundary wall will be restored again, the small
church will be renovated, all the graves will be back in their original
places and the ones that are unidentified will all be placed in a
common grave, which will have all their names inscribed.’

`This will be something we as Armenians and Cypriots will be proud of,’
Mahdessian added.

TURKEY ACQUITS CHOIRBOYS CHARGED FOR SINGING KURDISH REBEL SONG

CBC News
June 19, 2008 Thursday 12:03 PM GMT
Canada

A Turkish court in Ankara has acquitted three teenage schoolboys of
"spreading separatist propaganda" after they sang a Kurdish song
during a U.S. tour.

Six younger members of the chorus who face the same charges are to
be tried in a juvenile court.

Prosecutors charged them for singing Ey Raqip, translated as Hey
Guard or Hey Enemy, which they say is a rebel song that promotes the
separatist agenda of the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK.

The United States and the European Union consider the PKK, which
has been fighting for independence in Kurdish areas of Turkey,
a terrorist organization.

The children’s lawyer, Baran Pamuk, said a court ruled Thursday that
his clients, aged 15 to 18, did not intentionally spread Kurdish
propaganda.

He also said it was likely that charges against the younger children
would be dismissed.

In court, Pamuk argued that it was unlikely the children even
understood the words of the song.

The choir, which comes from Diyarbakir, the largest city in the
predominantly Kurdish southeast, performed folk songs in eight
different languages – Assyrian, Armenian, Arabic, English, German,
Hebrew, Turkish and Kurdish – during the World Music Festival in San
Francisco last October.

The choir master claims the chorus sang Ey Raqip at the request of
the audience.

The song predates the PKK, having been written by the Kurdish poet
Dildar (1917-48) in 1938 while he was in prison in Iraq.

However, it is sometimes referred to as the Kurdish national anthem.

The lyrics say, in part, "the Kurdish nation is alive with its
language, cannot be defeated by the weapons of any time. Let no one
say Kurds are dead, Kurds are living."

Prosecutors continue to investigate the director of the children’s
chorus.

Amnesty International and the group Freemuse took up the cause of
the choir, saying the case was an effort to suppress free expression.

Turkey has come under intense criticism in the EU over its court cases
against writers and artists, many under laws that make it a crime to
"insult Turkishness."

CZECH AMBASSADOR PRESENTS HIS CREDENTIALS TO PRESIDENTS SARGSYAN

armradio.am
19.06.2008 13:02

The newly appointed Ambassador of the Czech Republic Ivan Estrab (seat
in Tbilisi) presented his credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan.

Congratulating the Ambassador on appointment, the Armenian President
said: "We attach great importance to the development of bilateral
relations with Czechia and collaboration within European organizations
and added, "Armenia considers itself part of the European family and
European integration is one of our foreign policy priorities."

Underlining the high level of political relations between the two
countries, the President noted, at the same time, that the economic
ties still yield to political ones, and the volume of commodity
turnover is still small. The parties attached importance to the
activation of contacts, exchange of information, which is important
for finding common edges of cooperation.

Ambassador Estrab noted that his country is interested in the
South Caucasus region, especially Armenia. According to him, the
Czech side attaches great importance to the forthcoming official
visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Karel
Schwarzenberg to Armenia from the perspective of further development
of cooperation. The diplomat informed that from January 2009 the Czech
Republic will assume the presidency of the European Union and has the
wish to further expand the cooperation with the countries included
in the European Neighborhood Policy. Noting that Poland and Sweden
have already come forth with an initiative to develop relations with
eastern neighbors, the Ambassador said it can serve as a good basis
for active collaboration.

Ivan Estrab informed also that the President of the Senate of Czechia
is expected to arrive in Armenia for an official visit.

PUPILS’ SPORTING EFFORTS WILL HELP SCHOOL IN ARMENIA
By Leanna MacLarty

Press and Journal
spx/695570?UserKey=0
June 18 2008
UK

Money raised will buy toys, books and paints for children in former
soviet republic

RAISING FUNDS: Angie Mutch will be taking supplies to Armenia after
cash was raised by pupils at Dunnottar Primary School. Kami Thomson
More Pictures

CHILDREN at a Mearns primary school took part in two days of sporting
events to raise money for equipment and toys for a school in Armenia.

More than 250 children at Stonehaven’s Dunnottar Primary have been
playing basketball, practising their dribbling and clearing hurdles
to raise funds for basic equipment.

The money will be used to buy books, toys and paints for the school.

The former Soviet republic has been trying to rebuild itself since
an earthquake in 1988 which left 45,000 dead.

The goods are being taken by Stonehaven nurse Angie Mutch, 41, who is
leading a team of medically-trained people on a two-week expedition
in October.

Ms Mutch, who has a nine-year-old son at the school, has been raising
funds for her trip to buy as much equipment as possible.

Last month she completed a sponsored swim, despite having broken her
back following a fall eight years earlier.

The money from Dunnottar School will provide 18 months’ worth of
equipment for the school, she said.

The two-day event was run as an enterprise project, organised by the
children in primary six.

They were tasked with coming up with ideas for activities, sending
out letters, organising sponsorship forms and arranging a bus to pick
up nursery children from Carronhill School.

Primary six teacher Emma Fraser said: "The pupils have done a brilliant
job, everything has run very smoothly. Other pupils have said they
would like to do it when they are in primary six."

CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXHIBITION CENTER IN ARMENIA TO TAKE AT LEAST $10 TO 12 MILLION

ARKA
June 16, 2008

YEREVAN, June 16. /ARKA/. Construction of an exhibition center in
Armenia is to take at least $10 to 12 million, LOGOS EXPO Centre
Executive Director Ara Stepanyan said at Novosti International Press
Centre on Monday.

He said the company can’t afford the construction, since it works on
the local market at minimal prices, which three or four times lower
than prices in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Stepantan said that in 2006,
the problem was presented even to the president.

He said that the soviet-era 35-hectare exhibition center has had 12
exhibition halls.

"These areas would be used as an exhibition center after developing
relevant infrastructures, however, it has been sold, and Armenia is
now left with no exhibition centers", Stepanyan said.

He said that state support is needed for the construction, since
private investors won’t inject money in such an initiative because
of tardy repayment.

Martin Sargsyan said that preliminary design of the exhibition center
is ready and the site is already chosen in Shengavit district.

The project was planned to be launched yet in 2006 and even an
agreement was signed with Russian exhibition center. However, the
center has not been constructed.

Day.Az, Azerbaijan
June 3 2008

Azeri minister urges Armenia to withdraw troops from occupied lands

3 June: Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev today met the US
co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza, the press service
of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has told Day.az.

The meeting focused on the military and political situation in the
region and the resolution of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

Minister Abiyev said that the situation might get out of control if
Armenia did not unconditionally withdraw its troops from the occupied
territories soon.

Armenian National Committee of Canada
Comité National Arménien du Canada
130 Albert St., Suite/Bureau 1007
Ottawa, ON
KIP 5G4
Tel./Tél. (613) 235-2622 Fax/Téléc. (613) 238-2622
E-mail/courriel:national.office@anc-canad a.com

PRESS RELEASE
June 13, 2008
Contact: Roupen Kouyoumjian

Armenian Genocide Teaching Gets Final Approval

Toronto-The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), at a special meeting
on June 12, unanimously approved the teaching of optional Genocide and
Human Rights Curriculum to Grade 11 students. The curriculum includes
the Armenian Genocide module, in addition to the Holocaust and the
Rwandan Genocide.

The decision was the final step in the ratification of the curriculum
which TDSB has been developing for the past three years. The vote
followed the unanimous recommendation (June 2) of the Program and
School Services Committee to adopt the curriculum.

Some 50 members of the Turkish community, carrying Turkish and Azeri
flags, protested the inclusion of the Armenian module in the TDSB
curriculum.

In the past six months the Council of Turkish Canadians and the
Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations have mounted a
well-orchestrated and relentless campaign of misinformation, innuendo,
intimidation and dishonest tactics to pressure the TDSB to drop the
Armenian Genocide as one of the three case studies in the curriculum.

The TDSB offered two hearings to Turkish representatives to air their
concerns and register their objections. Furthermore, the TDSB created
a special review committee of experts to review the curriculum and
address the concerns of the Turkish and Ukrainian communities. The
latter objected to the absence of the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) in
the curriculum.

After careful examination of historical documentation, experts’
research, oral deputations of the stakeholders and their written
arguments for and against the curriculum, the review committee, the
TDSB staff and trustees reaffirmed that the Armenian massacres of 1915
were genocide and should be taught as such.

The Board said the Ukrainian Famine should be addressed by different
means during the scholastic year, but not as a unit on its
own. Trustee Mari Rutka recommended that a curriculum guide on the
Holodomor should be developed for use in all high schools in 2009 and
that there should be an annual recognition of the event.

The Genocide and Human Rights curriculum will be taught in Toronto
high schools starting this September. Already, 12 schools have listed
the curriculum as part of their next school year’s programs.

The media–print and electronic–provided extensive coverage to
yesterday’s meeting and to the approval of the curriculum.

Dr. Girair Basmadjian, president of Armenian National Committee of
Canada (ANCC), credited the vigilance and the leadership of ANCC and
its -cooperation and co-ordination with the Zoryan Institute, and many
other Armenian community organizations and churches,- for upholding
the truth and for rendering justice to victims of the Armenian
Genocide.

Aris Babikian, executive director, ANCC, said he was delighted to see
-Turkish government’s and Turkish ultra-nationalists’ heavy-handed
modus operandi did not succeed in undermining the credibility of our
educational institutions. Once again, as in many other jurisdictions,
the denialists’ bankrupt arguments and revisionist history failed to
persuade the TDSB. The Board should be proud of its achievement and
its pioneering work.-

********

The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian
grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a
network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and
affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances
the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of
issues.
——
Le CNAC est l’organisation politique canadienne-arménienne la plus
large et influentielle. Collaborant avec une série de bureaux,
chapitres et souteneurs à travers le Canada et des organisations
affiliées à travers le monde, le CNAC s’occupe activement des
inquiétudes de la communauté canadienne-arménienne.

Regional Chapters/Sections régionales
Montréal – Laval – Ottawa – Toronto – Hamilton – Cambridge –
St. Catharines – Windsor – Vancouver

A1+

COURT MADE A POLITICAL DECISION
[03:07 pm] 13 June, 2008

On June 13 the Court of General Jurisdiction of
Shirak Marz found Ashot Zakarian, Petros Makeyan and
Shota Saghatelian guilty under Article 2 of the RoA
Criminal Court / -Interference in the fulfillment of
the right to vote, in the activities of election
commissions or in the duties of the persons
participating in the election/.

The court sentenced Makeyan to 3 years’ and the other
two to 2.6 years’ imprisonment.

The court decided to put Shota Saghatelian on
probation for two years, and set him free from the
courtroom in accordance with Article 70 of the
Criminal Code