Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIA ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OF RACISM, SLAMS AZERI PRESIDENT

Interfax
May 10 2012
Russia

Armenia lashed out against Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on
Saturday, accusing him of vicious anti-Armenian propaganda.

“Instead of reaffirming the loyalty of his country to the processes
of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Azeri
president abused the influential platform of the UN Security Council to
repeat hackneyed postulates of the anti-Armenian propaganda of Baku,
except that he forgot to mention the well-known racist thesis of the
Azeri leadership that ‘the world Armenian community is the number one
enemy of Azerbaijan,'” Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement
made available to Interfax.

“At the meeting of the UN Security Council that discussed action
against terrorism, the president made an unsuccessful attempt to
shift responsibility for ties with terrorist organizations to others,
meanwhile being head of a state that, during the Nagorno-Karabakh war,
used thousands of mercenaries who were closely linked to well-known
international terrorist networks,” the ministry said.

The ministry accused Azerbaijan of posing a permanent threat to
regional stability and security and of provocative statements. This
threatens to undermine the prestige of the UN Security Council,
the ministry said.

Earlier, Aliyev told the Security Council that Azerbaijan had been
a target of foreign-sponsored terrorism.

“Armenia has perpetrated dozens of terrorist acts against the
population and infrastructure of Azerbaijan, in which thousands of
Azeris were killed. In the course of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
Armenia has used terrorist acts against Azeri civilians with the aim
of wide-scale ethnic cleansing,” he said.

POLAND TO SHARE EMBASSY WITH CZECHS IN YEREVAN – FOREIGN MINISTRY

PAP News Wire
May 10, 2012 Thursday
Poland

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Poland and the Czech Republic on
May 9, 2012 signed an agreement under which Poland will lease part
of its embassy building in Yerevan, Armenia to the newly created
diplomatic post of the Czech Republic in Armenia.

It will be the first example of sharing a building between Polish
and Czech diplomatic posts. It also confirms the advanced level of
political cooperation between Warsaw and Prague, Poland’s Foreign
Ministry said in a statement issued Thursday.

Signing this agreement is in line with Polish Foreign Ministry’s
policy of sharing posts in third countries. A tangible dimension
of this cooperation is joint leasing of buildings for diplomatic and
consular purposes (reduction of security, administration and – partly –
personnel costs) and delegating consuls and other diplomats to perform
their functions in partner states’ posts. In the face of the necessity
for fiscal consolidation, the possibility of long-term operating
cost reduction of foreign posts is a tangible benefit which provides
measurable savings while guaranteeing the desirable political effect.

FASHION SHOW AND CONCERT TO CELEBRATE EUROPE DAY IN ARMENIA

news.am
May 11, 2012 | 15:18

YEREVAN. – Within the framework of Europe Day on Saturday British new
hits will be voiced and fashion show will be held in downtown Yerevan,
the British Council Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The fashion show will be held by the ~QFashion Road~R participants,
while in the evening DJ Vakcina will present the best hits of the
British contemporary music from the Selector Radio showcase.

Armenia celebrates the Europe Day for several years, which officially
is marked on May 9.

I HAVE BEEN EDUCATED ON ARMENIAN MUSIC – SERJ TANKIAN

news.am
May 12, 2012 | 00:09

Serj Tankian, the front-man of the world famous System of A Down,
announced that while growing up he was educated on Armenian music
and never heard metal or hard rock.

“The first type of music I was exposed to was cultural Armenian music.

My parents were both in this cultural institution where my mom would
dance and my dad would sing.

I was also exposed to Arabic music as a child and French music
because we lived in Lebanon and that used to be an old French colony,”
Tankian told American website Noisecreep.

To note, Tankian’s third solo album Harakiri is to be released on
July 10.

THE STREAM OF IRANIAN STUDENTS TO ARMENIAN UNIVERSITIES HAS INCREASED

ARMENPRESS
MAY 11, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS: Minister of education and science of
Armenia Armen Ashotyan held a farewell meeting with Iranian ambassador
to Armenia Seyed Ali Saghayian who finishes his diplomatic mission
in Armenia. Armenpress was informed from Ministry of education
and science that Minister thanked the ambassador mentioning that
the traditionally good Armenian-Iranian relations in the sphere of
education and science due to the personnel efforts of the ambassador
received new perspectives and developments. “My visit to Iran
left unforgettable impressions on me in the point of development of
civilization, nation and country. The religious differences can never
be obstacles for nations who have same values. I want to express the
appreciation on behalf of our countrymen who being Iranian citizens
had the opportunity to have education in Armenian language and not
to lose national identity” mentioned Ashotyan and wished two nations
peace and welfare.

The ambassador summarizing the four years of his work mentioned
that during the previous years basis for effective cooperation
several visits, bilateral treaties had been made, in result of
which the stream of Iranian students to Armenian universities had
increased. The ambassador highlighted that he would never forget
warmth and hospitality of Armenian nation and hoped that all the
planned programs would be continued.

THE ELECTORAL CODE TO BE AMENDED AGAIN
Artak Barseghyan

“Radiolur”
11.05.2012 18:31

The first sitting of the National Assembly of 5th convocation will take
place on May 31, Chairman of the National Assembly of 4th convocation
Samvel Nikoyan said today. According to him, the legislative body will
amend the Electoral Code to eliminate the shortcomings and violations
registered during the past parliamentary elections.

Nikoyan made the statement during the sitting of the Monitoring
Group adjunct to the Speaker of the National Assembly. The meeting
featured representatives of the NGOs and international organizations,
who observed the parliamentary elections. Unlike the previous times,
most of the political forces did not send their representatives.

Samvel Nikoyan proposed the participants of the meeting to prepare and
submit proposals on the amendment of the Electoral Code. According to
him, the remarks included in the final reports of the international
observation missions will be taken into account.

K ACHEMYAN: PERSISTENT EFFORT FOR NKR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

Panorama.am
11/05/2012

“The Armenian side has never made military statements, unlike official
Baku; we have repeatedly stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
must have a peaceful settlement,” Republican MP Karine Achemyan said.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement accusing the Armenian
side of making military statements and misleading the international
community.

Speaking to Panorama.am Mrs Achemyan said the people of Artsakh has
got its right for self-determination in line with the principles of
international law and that persistent efforts are being made for the
international recognition of NKR.

Karaberd community in Armenia’s Lori lacks elementary life standards (PHOTO)

May 12, 2012 | 22:09

VANADZOR. – Karaberd community in Armenia’s Lori Region has nearly 200
residents, and overwhelming majority of them are old. At the same
time, the village lacks elementary life standards, including school,
kindergarten, means of communication and roads.

The community is the poorest in the region. In addition, almost no
young people live in the village, the community head Yurik Shalyan
told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

People in Karaberd are mainly work on cattle breeding; besides, the
village is frequently attacked by wolves.

Among many problems, the major according to Shalyan, is the issue of
destructed roads, as well as transportation.

Election Monitors Make Statement About May 6 Vote

asbarez
Saturday, May 12th, 2012

On election day in Armenia (photo by Nanore Barsoumian)

YEREVAN – A group of independent non-governmental organizations tasked
with monitoring last week’s parliamentary elections in Armenia issued
a statement on the May 6 vote. Below is the text of the statement:

The parliamentary elections that took place in the Republic of Armenia
on May 6, 2012 unfortunately did not help the process of genuine
democratization of the country and do reflect the lack of political
will of the authorities to reform elections institutionally.

Confidence of the Armenian public in the electoral process has
gradually diminished starting from 1995. All elections were marred by
widespread harassment, threats, and vote buying, and in 2008, the
elections were followed by tragic events resulting in casualties. The
need to conduct proper elections and to restore public trust in the
electoral processes has become a core issue in the relationship of
Armenia vis-à-vis other states and various international
organizations; it has been, in particular, reflected in resolutions of
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the
Association Agreement talks of Armenia with the European Union.
Despite these factors and the repeated public promises of the Armenian
authorities to hold `exemplary’ elections, the Armenian public could
not witness democratic elections in May 2012, either, and both our and
the international community’s expectations were not met.

Besides certain positive improvements in comparison to the previous
general election (such as the mass media securing a `level playing
field’ for the political forces during the campaign, the regulation of
the distribution of printed campaign materials, the clear assignment
of polling stations for voters on the voting day, and others), major
steps have not been implemented to secure fair elections reflecting
the free will of the voters. Vote buying, abuse of administrative
resources, political imposition and harassment of employees by the
public sector and private employers, and the use of numerous other
illegal `techniques’ have affected the voting process and the election
result to an unprecedented scale. The law-enforcement agencies have,
as a rule, failed to act in prevention of irregularities and holding
the guilty ones responsible. Numerous cases of these practices were
reported by civil society organizations and individual voters.

Disappearing ink in the passport stamps that were introduced to
preclude the fraud further exacerbated concerns over inflated voter
lists.

The validity of the electoral process was strongly affected by
widespread poverty – unemployment, lack of protection for individual
citizens, and impunity for others have deprived scores of citizens of
the possibility to make a free, informed, and conscious choice. The
formation of this moral and psychological atmosphere was largely due
to the fact that the Armenian authorities have so far failed to exert
sufficient efforts to identify and punish those in charge of
organizing and carrying out the 1 March 2008 bloodshed, as well as
those responsible for the fraud in the 2008 and following elections.
On the eve of the 2012 May election, the National Assembly adopted a
contentious Law on the Legal Regime of the State of Emergency, which
allows the interference of the armed forces in the domestic political
process and was, as such, perceived by many as a threat.

As civil society representatives engaged in the promotion of human
rights and democracy, we are profoundly concerned over perpetual
sophistication and `improvement’ of election fraud mechanisms, as well
as the impunity of those implementing the fraud. We believe that both
local and international organizations should draw appropriate
conclusions from yet another failure of Armenia to honor her
international commitments of implementing democratic reforms.

We find that the list of voters that participated in the 6 May 2012
elections must be published in order for democratic elections to
become institutionalized in Armenia. It is the primary step that can
demonstrate the will of the Armenian authorities to reconstruct the
real outcome of the election and to dispel the public skepticism
regarding the results of the vote.

Armenian Helsinki Committee
Protection of Rights Without Borders NGO
Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center
Journalists’ Club `Asparez’ NGO
Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor Office
Open Society Foundations – Armenia
Menk Plus NGO
Arena of Education NGO
Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression
Collaboration for Democracy Center
Journalists for the Future

Burbank Community Honors Rep. Adam Schiff

asbarez
Saturday, May 12th, 2012

ANCA Burbank members with Rep. Adam Schiff

Rep. Schiff, Burbank Mayor Join Local Officials and Armenian Americans
to Honor City Clerk Margarita Campos, Sarkis Nikogosian, Zareh
Sinanyan, Talar Kossakian

BURBANK – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and a host of state and local
legislators and their staff joined more than 300 Armenian American
community members from throughout the area to celebrate Armenian
National Committee of America Burbank successes and recommit to
expanding the role of the local ANCA in all aspects of civic and
community life.

The May 4th gala reception, held at the beautiful Arbat Hall,
attracted veteran community leaders and more recent ANCA Burbank
activists, with proceeds to benefit the youth and civic education
programs of the ANCA Endowment Fund. Throughout the evening, speakers
and participants hailed the achievements of the local ANCA to broaden
Armenian American participation in Burbank civic life along with
campaigns on the state and federal level to advance the views and
values of the Armenian nation.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Burbank Mayor Dave Golonski are joined by
ANCA Burbank Secretary Annette Kargodorian, Banquet Mistress of
Ceremonies Nanneh Chehras, ANCA Burbank Chairwoman Silva Kechichian
and Banquet Chairwoman Souzy Ohanian.

There was no shortage of local legislators and candidates joining in
the gala celebration in support of ANCA Burbank efforts, including
Burbank Mayor Dave Golonski, Vice Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy, Burbank
City Councilmembers Dr. David Gordon and Jess Telamantess, Glendale
City Councilman Ara Najarian, and Glendale City Clerk Ardashes
Kassakhian. They were joined by a number of Glendale and Burbank
School Board members, including Ted Bunch, Dave Kemp, Debbie Kukta,
Roberta Reynolds, Larry Applebaum, and Nairi Nahabedian. Burbank
Policy Chief Scott LaChasse, Captain Denis Cremins, and Burbank city
representatives were also on hand, along with State Assembly
candidates Adrin Nazarian and Greg Krikorian, who currently serves as
chairman of the Glendale School Board. Also on hand for the
celebration were ANCA Western Region Chairwoman Nora Hovsepian, ANCA
Western Region Board members and staff including Executive Director
William Bairamian, ANCA Telethon 2012 Executive Director Armen
Carapetian, ANCA Hollywood Chairman Paul Seradarian, ANCA Glendale
Chairman Berj Karapetian, CAAD Executive Board member Zanku Armenian,
SCAD President Armond Aghakhanian, and representatives from a host of
Armenian American organizations including the ACF, ARS, and AYF.

Congressman Adam Schiff; ANCA’s Elizabeth Chouldjian Offer Washington
DC perspectives on Politics and Community Activism

Rep. Adam Schiff with ANCA Burbank honorees Sarkis Nikogosian, Zareh
Sinanyan, Esq., City Clerk Margarita Campos, and Talar Kossakian.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a favorite with the local Armenian American
community for his leadership on efforts to secure Congressional
affirmation of the Armenian Genocide and promote high levels of U.S.
aid to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, was eloquent in his remarks
detailing Congressional efforts to address the difficult economic
times facing the nation. He then outlined a series of Congressional
initiatives and strategies addressing U.S. affirmation of the Armenian
Genocide, and the December, 2011, passage of House legislation, H.
Res. 306 which calls on Turkey to return the thousands of confiscated
Christian churches to the Armenian, Greek, Assyrian and Aramean
(Syriac) communities. On the foreign aid front, Rep. Schiff discussed
an expanded focus on U.S. assistance to the Armenian community in the
Republic of Georgia, citing his recent discussion of the plight of the
Samtskhe-Javakheti Armenian populations with Republic of Georgia
President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Rep. Schiff spoke of the important and effective role groups like the
ANCA play in Burbank’s civic life. `Through your grassroots activism,
we have made great progress on issues, and we have a lot more work to
do. But without an incredible ANCA staff in Washington, and
incredible ANCA organizations throughout the Western Region and around
the country, all we have accomplished would have been absolutely
impossible,’ explained Rep. Schiff.

Watch Rep. Schiff’s complete remarks.

ANCA Communications Director Elizabeth Chouldjian, who had travelled
from Washington, DC to join in ANCA Burbank’s gala celebration,
touched on, what she termed, the `3 C’s’ necessary to successfully
advocate issues in the nation’s capital – a just Cause; Courage to
pursue that cause; and the Capital – both human and financial – to
advance the community’s key concerns. To that end, Chouldjian
discussed the vital role of ANCA Endowment supported programs
including the Capital Gateway Program and the Leo Sarkisian Internship
program, which assist university students and recent graduates in
their exploration of careers in public policy, as well as the Hyevotes
regional initiative () to increase Armenian
American participation in the electoral process.

Watch Chouldjian’s remarks.

In appreciation of their participation and presentations, Rep. Schiff
and Chouldjian received beautifully framed images of Armenian churches
and religious relics, confiscated by the Turkish government –
illustrating the Armenian American community’s commitment to secure
the return of these historic treasures in the ongoing campaign of
justice for the Armenian Genocide.

City Clerk Margarita Campos, Sarkis Nikogosian, Zareh Sinanyan, Talar
Kossakian Honored

The ANCA Burbank continued its tradition of honoring local leaders in
government, business, grassroots activism and youth issues with
Burbank City Clerk Margarita Campos, local business owner Sarkis
Nikogosian, ANCA Western Region Board Member Zareh J. Sinanyan, Esq.
and AYF leader Talar Kossakian given top honors for 2012, in
recognition of their years of selfless service to the Burbank
community in each of their categories.

Burbank City Clerk Margarita Campos received the `William Saroyan’
Legislator of the Year Award for her years of service to the local
community, working tirelessly to facilitate broader voter registration
and participation, particularly among those who recently became U.S.
citizens.

The owner and proprietor of the beautiful Arbat Banquet Hall, Sarkis
Nikogosian, received the `Levon Shant’ Businessman of the Year Award
for his active participation in Burbank’s busy business life and his
ongoing support for Armenian community efforts in Southern California
and projects in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh over the past 30 years.

ANCA Western Region Board member Zareh J. Sinanyan, Esq. received the
`Vahan Cardashian’ Community Leader of the Year Award for his
consistent and dedicated leadership within both the Armenian American
community and Burbank civic life.

Local AYF member Talar Kossakian received the `Karekin Njdeh’ Youth
Activist of the Year Award for her work with the AYF and ANC in
reaching out to local Armenian youth groups, including the Burbank
High School Armenian Club, which presented an Armenian Genocide
awareness video during the April 24th Burbank City Council
commemoration.

Steadfastly Serving the Burbank Community
A consistent theme throughout the gala banquet was the critical role
of grassroots participation in the success of the local ANCA. This
was particularly true in the ANCA Burbank video, prepared by Horizon
Armenian Television’s Vartan Esmaielian, which spotlighted the diverse
programs undertaken by the local chapter. Watch the complete video.

Banquet Chairwoman Souzy Ohanian reflected on the extensive support
and respect the local ANCA receives from community leaders and
activists alike. `The Burbank ANC chapter has experienced a period of
remarkable growth over the past few years. This growth can be
attributed to the ANCA’s role as an effective grassroots organization
serving the city’s Armenian-American community. The Burbank ANC
Chapter strives to bring the people of its city together to work
towards the common goal of making Burbank a better place to live and
work.’

The evening’s Mistress of Ceremonies, Nanneh Chehras concurred, noting
`I’ve been a member of ANCA Burbank for several years, and there is
never a shortage of work. It seems as if the second you’re done with
one project, you already have 10 e-mails for the next. A few flyers,
press releases, and several meetings later that project is done and
the cycle continues. But this is the beautiful thing about the entire
ANC organization. We don’t run out of ideas.’

ANCA Burbank Chairwoman Silva Kechichian thanked attendees for their
`wholehearted and unwavering support for the ANCA,’ observing that it
is a `testament to the powerful and unifying mission and message of
our organization – a mission to defend the rights of the Armenian
nation in the halls of Congress, in the CA State Capitol and here in
our fair city of Burbank; a message of community pride, of community
power and of community progress – relayed by the most vibrant and
effective spokespeople of the Armenian Cause – you. Each and every
one of you.’

Watch Kechichian’s remarks.

×8

The ANCA Burbank placed special focus on the talent of local youth
with the opening of the festivities by the Homenetmen `Sipan’ Chapter
Scouts, followed by the national anthems sung by Nairi Balian. During
the course of the evening, students from Lilia’s Dance Studio
performed a series of beautiful Armenian traditional dances.

Following the presentations and awards ceremony, singing sensation
Koko Hayitian entertained the audience with American standards and
Armenian dance and patriotic songs.