Author: Kalashian Nyrie

LINCY FOUNDATION DONATES $250,000 FOR ARMENIAN AMERICAN WELLNESS CENTER

AZG DAILY
20-03-2009

Diaspora-Motherland

The Lincy Foundation, based in Beverly Hills, California, has
donated $250,000 to the Armenian American Cultural Association
(AACA) to be used toward completion of the renovation, expansion,
and seismic reinforcement of its humanitarian project in Yerevan,
the Armenian American Wellness Center.

This gift is the latest by the Lincy Foundation – a supporter of the
Wellness Center project since its establishment in April 1997 . In
March 2008, Donna Evans, chair of the AACA Board (and wife of former
U.S. ambassador to Armenia John Evans), and Maria Princi, secretary of
the AACA Board, conveyed the AACA’s appreciation for the support that
Lincy has provided and discussed the importance of additional funds
to continue the work being done. As Mrs. Evans explains: "The Lincy
Foundation has played a key role in Armenia’s rise from the ruins
of the Soviet Union to become a country that now has a future. I am
so pleased that the foundation has recognized the importance of the
work and future goals of the Armenian American Wellness Center."

AACA established the Wellness Center to address Armenia’s need
for early and accurate detection of breast cancer – which was, and
still is, the leading cause of cancer deaths among the country’s
women. A state-of-the-art healthcare facility, the Wellness Center
has introduced basic gynecology, pathology laboratory services, family
medicine, and bone density screening in addition to promoting its core
mission – educating the public on the importance of preventive health
care and early detection of breast cancer through annual mammograms,
Pap smears, monthly breast self-exams, and clinical check-ups.

>From April 1997 through December 2008, the Wellness Center provided
160,769 services to 119,432 patients, and helped save, prolong,
and improve the lives of over 3,200 women. In addition, the center
helped give life to over 50 "Miracle Babies" born to couples who had
struggled with infertility problems for several years.

he center’s renovation, expansion, and seismic reinforcement –
currently in its final phase – has been budgeted at around $5.5
million. The project has been financed by the AACA through its
Armenian-American grassroots donors, individual and family foundations,
and two grants from USAID (the U.S. Agency for International
Development) through its American Schools and Hospital Abroad (ASHA)
Division. In addition to the Lincy Foundation’s generous donation
of $250,000, the AACA must still raise an additional $750,000. The
AACA is hopeful that despite the worldwide economic downturn, the
Armenian-American community will support completion of the center’s
vital construction project.

The initial architectural plans for the center were conceived and
coordinated by the late Vartkess Balian, a well-known architect and
builder in the metropolitan Washington area, and by Osep Sarafian,
a retired architect from the Detroit-based Yamasaki Group, in
consultation with architectural, structural, and seismic reinforcement
companies throughout the United States and Armenia.

The AACA’s objective is to finish the project in October 2009. When
complete, the Wellness Center will be a state-of-the-art primary
healthcare facility built in accordance with Western building standards
and norms. It will serve as a regional healthcare center providing
quality diagnosis and basic treatment for the entire family – women,
men, and children in Armenia as well as in the Caucasus region.

The Wellness Center, which strives to promote a corruption-free
workplace in Armenia, has won the trust of the public and the respect
of the medical community for its high quality services and caring
approach of the medical team.

Rita Balian, AACA President and Chief Volunteer Officer (CVO) and
Wellness Center co-founder said, "I am grateful to the Lincy Foundation
for another generous donation. They understand the need for quality
healthcare services and health education based on Western standards
for the women of Armenia. The gift will help the AACA offset a large
part of the cost-sharing obligation of its USAID grant to complete
the Wellness Center’s construction/renovation work."

OFFICIALS: OIL-RICH AZERBAIJAN SCRAPS TERM LIMITS
By Aida Sultanova

AP
19 March 09

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Election officials in Azerbaijan said Thursday
that citizens overwhelmingly voted to scrap presidential term limits
in the oil-rich country courted by Russia and the West. Opposition
leaders claimed the constitutional referendum was rigged and vowed
to dispute the outcome in courts.

The official result opens the door for indefinite rule by President
Ilham Aliyev in the Caspian Sea nation that critics say is closer to
a monarchy than a democracy. Based on returns from more than half the
polling stations counted, the Central Election Commission reported 92
percent of voters approving the referendum, with 71 percent turnout
in the country of 8 million people.

Aliyev’s beleaguered opponents claimed the vote was riddled with
violations encouraged or organized by the state. They said their
observers witnessed abuses including ballot-box stuffing and multiple
voting. Ali Kerimli, head of the Popular Front party, said the
opposition believes actual turnout was no more than 15 percent.

"The referendum was not free or fair and we do not consider it valid,"
Kerimli told a news conference. He said the official results "do not
reflect the will of the people."

"The vote showed that the people have said ‘no’ to the ruling regime,"
said Isa Gambar, leader of the opposition Musavat party.

Opposition leaders had said bef ore the vote that they suspected its
timing reflected government concerns that plunging oil prices and
economic troubles could damage its popular support and weaken its grip.

Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea oil fields and its location straddling a
strategic corridor for westward oil and gas exports from Central
Asia — bypassing Russia and Iran — make it a focus in the struggle
between Moscow and the West for regional influence.

Aliyev is the son of the late Geidar Aliyev, who ruled Azerbaijan
first as the Communist Party boss during the Soviet times, then as
president in 1993-2003. He has courted Western oil money and moved to
strengthen ties with the U.S., including by sending troops to Iraq,
while maintaining mostly friendly ties with Russia.

The commission said voters on Wednesday also approved changes include
establishing financial and other benefits for former presidents and
prohibiting presidential and parliamentary elections during wartime.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory within Azerbaijan, has been controlled
by Armenians since a war that ended with a shaky cease-fire in
1994. Without a settlement of its status, a new armed conflict
remains possible.

Aliyev, 47, won his second term in October in an election that
opponents called unfair and foreign observers said fell short of
international democratic standards.

Opposition parties have reported serious government pressure in recent
years and Western governments ha ve expressed concern over the state’s
treatment of critics and the independent media.

With ballots from more than half the polling places counted, only
8 percent of voters supported the current limit of two consecutive
five-year presidential terms, Central Election Commission chairman
Mazahir Panakhov said.

Other oil-rich ex-Soviet republics have made similar changes. Lawmakers
in Kazakhstan waived term limits for the long-ruling president in 2007,
and Russia’s leadership pushed through a law last year extending the
presidential term from four years to six.

Voters approved 40 changes to Azerbaijan’s constitution, Panakhov
said, according to the partial results, which he said were sufficient
to determine the outcome. The official turnout was far above the 25
percent needed to make the referendum count, and each proposed change
required a simple majority of votes cast.

LILIT MKRTCHIAN SHARES 1ST-7TH POSITIONS AT EUROPEAN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

Noyan Tapan
March 18, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 18, NOYAN TAPAN. Two rounds remain until the end of the
European Women Chess Championship being held in Saint Petersburg. In
the 9th round Lilit Mkrtchian (Armenia) defeated the leading player
Salome Melia of Georgia and now shares 1st-7th positions with another
6 chess players, each having 7 points.

"FROM ROCK PAINTINGS TO ALPHABET" DOCUMENTARY SCREENED IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.03.2009 19:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Moscow Movie Theater in Yerevan launched
"From Petroglyphs to Alphabet" movie presentation, which packed the
house. "From Petroglyphs to Alphabet" has been the third in popular
science film series created by IKAR CJSC. Previous movies, "Tigran
the Great" and "Nemrut" were equally successful.

"Since the dawn of times the spoken and written languages were not
only communication means for Armenians but also an important element
of national identity that had a unique place in the system of national
values," RA Minister if Education and Science Spartak Seyranyan stated
at the presentation.

"From Petroglyphs to Alphabet" draws on historical facts, telling about
the written language in general and Armenian scripts in particular.

"The movie features rich literary culture of Pre-Mashtots Armenia,"
film producer Artak Movsesyan noted, adding that the movie is being
translated into the English and will be followed by a documentary
dedicated to the life and work of Mesrop Mashtots.

ADVOCATES PUNISHED AS WELL

A1+
05:10 pm | March 17, 2009

Politics

Judge of the "Case of Seven" Mnatsakan Martirosyan stayed in court
with the accusers today.

After a thirty-minute intermission, the judge registered the absence
of the defendants and decided to apply a judicial sanction against
advocates Liparit Simonyan, Melanya Arustamyan and Varduhi Elbakyan
based on the formulation that "they did not ask the judge’s permission
for not showing up to court".

He had already made the same decision for advocates Stepan Voskanyan
and Hovik Arsenyan. This means that the Chamber of Advocates of
Armenia must examine the issue of applying sanctions against five
advocates if the counseling body gives its consent before that.

After announcing his decision, judge Martirosyan set the next date
of the trial for March 23 at 12 p.m.

Yesterday President of the Chamber of Advocates Ruben Sahakyan had
announced that he sees no violation of the law by advocates.

Let us remind that the deadline for penalties of political prisoners
Alexander Arzumanyan, Miasnik Malkhasyan, Hakob Hakobyan, Sasun
Mikayelyan and Suren Sirunyan ends on March 19, while Grigor
Voskerchyan’s ends much later.

No other parent showed up to court today besides the parents of
Tigran Khachatryan and Gor Kyolyan-victims of the 10 murders of March
1. Members of the pan-Armenian movement and relatives of political
prisoners were not protesting near the court again today.

PRESS RELEASE
Associate Director of Media Relations
Clark University
Angela M. Bazydlo
Marketing and Communications
ph: 508-793-7635
cell: 508-365-8736

March 16, 2009

Leading Holocaust historian and scholar Yehuda Bauer to
deliver lecture at Clark University, April 23

WORCESTER, MA- Clark University’s Strassler Center for Holocaust and
Genocide Studies will present a free, public lecture, "Holocaust and
Genocide: Two Concepts or Part of Each Other?" by Professor Yehuda
Bauer, one of the world’s foremost experts on the Holocaust, at 7:30
p.m. on Thursday, April 23, in Tilton Hall, 2nd floor of Clark
University’s Higgins University Center, 950 Main Street, Worcester.

Bauer will explore the view of the Holocaust as possibly the most
extreme form of genocide, and he will assess comparisons between the
Holocaust and recent genocidal situations. Bauer is Professor Emeritus
of Holocaust Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Academic
Advisor to Yad Vashem,

and a member of the Israel Academy of Science. He is also the Honorary
Chairman of the International Task Force on Holocaust Education. He
has authored 14 books and some 90 articles on the Holocaust.

Bauer’s talk serves as the keynote address at the first-ever
International Graduate Students’ Conference. The conference was
collectively envisioned by the Center’s Ph.D. candidates to provide a
forum for students from around the globe to present original research
on the Holocaust and other genocides to an audience of peers and
scholars. Their purpose is to foster an international community of
future scholars.

The conference also celebrates the centennial of Sigmund Freud’s visit
to Clark University, the sole American University where he
lectured. Freud, who famously escaped Nazi persecution, delivered five
lectures at Clark as part of a series that recognized the University’s
twentieth anniversary of graduate education. The doctoral conference
honors Freud’s visit and marks the Strassler Center’s 10-year
anniversary of offering doctoral education.

The mission of the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide
Studies reaches beyond the boundaries of the University: to educate
professionals of many fields about genocides and the Holocaust; to
provide a lecture series free of charge and open to the public; to use
scholarship to address current problems stemming from the murderous
past; and to participate in the public discussion about a host of
issues ranging from the importance of intervention in genocidal
situations today to the significance of state-sponsored denial of the
Armenian genocide and the well-funded denial of the Holocaust.

Dedicated to teaching, research, and public service, the Center trains
the next cadre of Holocaust historians and genocide studies scholars
of the future, teachers, Holocaust museum directors and curators, and
experts in non-governmental organizations and government agencies.
The establishment of this Ph.D. program has been acclaimed by experts
in the field as the most decisive step to date in furthering
scholarship about the Holocaust and other genocides, particularly the
Armenian Genocide.

For more information about the lecture and the conference, call
508-793-8897.

Clark University is a private, co-educational liberal-arts research
university with more than 2,200 undergraduate and 800 graduate
students. Since its founding in 1887 as the first all-graduate school
in the United States, Clark has challenged convention with innovative
programs such as the International Studies Stream, the Strassler
Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the accelerated
BA/MA programs with the fifth year tuition-free for eligible
students. The University is featured in Loren Pope’s book, "Colleges
That Change Lives."

–

WPS Agency, Russia
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 13, 2009 Friday

POINT-BLANK DENIAL

by Nikolai Filchenko

SERGEI LAVROV WENT TO BAKU, AZERBAIJAN, TO DENY ANTI-RUSSIAN RUMORS;
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is visiting Azerbaijan to deny a
Russian-Armenian arms deal worth $800 million.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with Azerbaijani
leaders in Baku later today. Lavrov will discuss Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement with his opposite number Elmar Mamedjarov and President
Ilham Aliyev. Along with everything else, Lavrov is expected to allay
official Baku’s fears concerning the future Strategic Response
Collective Forces of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization
and deny alleged transfer of $800 million worth of military hardware
to Armenia.

Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders Serj Sargsjan and Aliyev met in
Castle Meyendorf, residence of President Dmitry Medvedev near Moscow,
in November. Arranged on Medvedev’s initiative, the meeting culminated
in a joint declaration concerning peaceful settlement of the conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia hailed its signing as a major diplomatic
victory. Indeed, the declaration became the first document the warring
sides signed in the last 18 years.

After the meeting, however, Yerevan and Baku never missed an
opportunity to accuse each other of escalation of tension in the
conflict area. Also importantly, each warring side did its best to
secure international support.

Knowing all too well that any serious progress is out of the question
at this point, official Moscow is determined to try and persuade
Armenia and Azerbaijan to abstain from forcing the issue. Lavrov will
acquaint Aliyev with Russia’s latest initiative. To be more exact, he
will offer assistance in organization of another meeting between the
presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The OSCE Minsk Group has been considering organization of
Azerbaijani-Armenian talks at the highest level within the framework
of the EU summit in the Czech Republic on May 7, one dedicated to the
Eastern Partnership initiative. Moscow will offer to organize the
meeting on the premises of the Embassy of Russia in Prague. If
Azerbaijan and Armenia accept the offer, Moscow will be given another
opportunity and reason to declare its constructive contribution to
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

Before going down to peacekeeping initiatives, however, Russia will
have to address the problems that cropped up in the relations with
Azerbaijan. A scandal marred the bilateral relations between Baku and
Moscow in the middle of February. It was sparked by reports in the
Azerbaijani media on the $800 million worth of Russian military aid to
Armenia. The news provoked a brief information war between Azerbaijan
and Russia. It even included an interview with runaway Russian
oligarch Boris Berezovsky featured by where he said that
Russian Premier Vladimir Putin was a multimillionaire.

Lavrov will certainly try and dispel Baku’s suspicions concerning
transfer of weapons and military hardware to Armenia.

The decision of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization to
establish the Strategic Response Collective Forces made this February
is another issue bound to be on the agenda of the talks in Baku. When
documents on establishment of the Strategic Response Collective Forces
were signed in Moscow, Azerbaijan decided that this structure might be
used to promote the interests of Armenia, its adversary in the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Some hotheads even suggested a
counter-move i.e. establishment of an analogous structure within GUAM
(Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova).

Lavrov announced on the eve of his departure for Baku that Azerbaijan
had no reasons to fear the Strategic Response Collective Forces. "All
these fears are absolutely groundless," he said. "Unlike NATO’s fast
response forces, the Strategic Response Collective Forces will only
operate on the territories of member states. Even the decision to
deploy them is to be made by presidents unanimously."

Source: Kommersant, March 12, 2009, p. 8

NY Times says Turkey hid documents on dark pages of its history

11.03.2009 12:54

Yerevan (Yerkir) – According to a long-hidden document that belonged to
the interior minister of the Ottoman Empire, 972,000 Ottoman Armenians
disappeared from official population records from 1915 through 1916.

In Turkey, any discussion of what happened to the Ottoman Armenians can
bring a storm of public outrage. But since its publication in a book in
January, the number–and its Ottoman source–has gone virtually
unmentioned.

`Nothing,’ said Murat Bardakci, the Turkish author and columnist who
compiled the book.
The silence can mean only one thing, he said: `My numbers are too high
for ordinary people. Maybe people aren’t ready to talk about it yet.’

For generations, most Turks knew nothing of the details of the Armenian
genocide of 1915 to 1918, when more than a million Armenians were
killed as the Ottoman Turk government purged the population. Turkey
locked the ugliest parts of its past out of sight, keeping any mention
of the events out of schoolbooks and official narratives in an
aggressive campaign of forgetting.

But in the past 10 years, as civil society has flourished here, some
parts of Turkish society are now openly questioning the state’s version
of events. In December, a group of intellectuals circulated a petition
that apologized for the denial of the massacres. Some 29,000 people
have signed it.

National Journal’s CongressDaily
March 12, 2009 Thursday
AM Edition

Obama Urged To Call WWI Armenian Deaths Genocide

Four House members have asked President Obama to follow up on campaign
statements and label a 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide,
Reutersreported Wednesday.

The pressure on Obama comes ahead of an expected presidential trip to
Turkey, which has warned that such declarations by the United States
would damage relations. Turkey denies that up to 1.5 million Armenians
suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I.

Ronald Reagan was the only U.S. president to publicly call the
killings genocide. Others avoided the term out of concern for the
sensitivities of Turkey, an important NATO ally. Turkey accepts that
many Armenians were killed, but denies they were victims of a
systematic genocide. The 94th anniversary of the killings is April 24.

"As a presidential candidate, you were … forthright in discussing
your support for genocide recognition, saying that ‘America deserves a
leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds
forcefully to all genocides.’ We agree with you completely," a letter
to Obama from the lawmakers said.

It was signed by Reps.Mark Kirk, R-Ill.;Frank Pallone, D-N.J.;George
Radanovich, R-Calif.; andAdam Schiff, D-Calif.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Khachik Galstyan: cardiologist best Mayor for Armenia’s heart
11.03.2009 18:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday it became known already that the list of
the candidates for the post of the Elders’ will be headed by the
Minister of Health, Haroutyun Koushkyan, representing the party
`Prospering Armenia.’ The expectations present at today’s press
conference that the press secretary of `Prospering Armenia’ party
chairman will clarify certain vagueness regarding the rest of the
party candidates, did not come true. Galstyan said that they o had the
leader’s name only at their disposal, the names of the rest will
become known after the forthcoming discussions.

Galstyan explained figuratively why particularly the Health Minister
will head the list of `Prospering Armenia’: `Aroutyun Koushkyan is a
surgeon cardiologist, and since Yerevan is the heart of Armenia, the
party has come up with the decision to promote him for the post of the
mayor.’

As Galstyan says, at the beginning the about 10-12 candidates were
considered for the post. `These elections are very important for our
party since the 1/3 of the population resides in Yerevan and it would
be illogical if our party which comes second in the Parliament were
left out of the game,’ Galstyan noted.

Khachik Galstyan mentioned that `Prospering Armenia’ finds Gagik
Baglaryan’s appointment by the ruling Republican Party for the post of
Yerevan Mayor as natural. The struggle will be a bit unequal, but
almost at all elections, the candidates which hold certain posts have
the chance to use certain mechanisms and levers. In any case, as
Kh. Galstyan says, `Prospering Armenia’ is getting ready for the
Mayor’s Elections.