Author: Kalashian Nyrie

PRESS RELEASE
ARMENPAC, The Armenian-American Political Action Committee
421 E. Airport Freeway, Suite 201
Irving, Texas 75220
Contact: Jason P. Capizzi, Esq.
Tel: (972) 635-5347
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
ARMENPAC BOARD MEMBER JIRAIR HOVNANIAN CONGRATULATES NEWLY APPOINTED
UNITED STATES SENATOR ROBERT MENENDEZ
Irving, TX – ARMENPAC Board Member Jirair Hovnanian recently
met with newly appointed United States Senator Robert Menendez
(D-NJ) to congratulate and wish him well, on behalf of the entire
Armenian-American community, in his new position. “Mr. Menendez
continually supported Armenian-American issues as a member of the
Armenian Caucus and the International Relations Committee in the
House of Representatives, and I am confident that he will continue to
do so as a member of the Senate,” said ARMENPAC Board Member Jirair
Hovnanian. “ARMENPAC applauds Mr. Menendez, who was also a member of
the Hispanic Caucus in the House of Representatives, for his friendship
and advocacy on behalf of all minority communities.” Currently,
ARMENPAC is working to form an alliance between the Armenian and
Hispanic Caucuses to garner increased Congressional support of each
community’s issues.
Mr. Menendez was a co-sponsor of the resolution affirming the
United States record on the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.316), as
well as the South Caucus Integration and Railroads Act of 2006
(H.R.336), in the House of Representatives. “ARMENPAC is working to
secure Senator Menendez’s co-sponsorship of S.Res.320, the Armenian
Genocide resolution in the Senate, and appreciates his pass support
of Armenian-American issues,” said ARMENPAC Co-Chairs Annie Totah
and Edgar Hagopian.
H.Res.316 and S.Res.320 call upon the President “to ensure that
United States foreign policy reflects appropriate understanding
and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic
cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record
relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure
to realize a just resolution; and in the President’s annual message
commemorating the Armenian Genocide to characterize the systematic
and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide,
and to recall the proud history of Untied States intervention in
opposition to the Armenian Genocide.”
H.R.3361 prohibits United States assistance to develop or promote
rail connections or railway-related connections that do not traverse
or connect with Armenia, and do traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan;
Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey. This important measure, therefore,
disallows United States support for the proposed Kars-Tblisi-Baku
rail link, which isolates the Republic of Armenia from East-West
commercial corridors.
ARMENPAC is an independent, bipartisan political action committee
with a nationwide membership. ARMENPAC raises awareness of,
and advocates for, policies that help create peace, security and
stability in the Caucasus region. ARMENPAC provides financial support
to federal officeholders, candidates, political action committees
and organizations that actively support issues of importance to
Armenian-Americans. For more information and how to join ARMENPAC,
please call (877) 286-1046 or visit
###

ANOTHER ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENT IS DESTROYED IN CENTER OF YEREVAN THANKS TO YERVAND ZAKHARIAN AND MELIK GASPARIAN
By Ruzan Poghosian
AZG Armenian Daily
14/03/2006
Another historical-cultural monument – Amiryan 4/16 building – is
being destroyed thanks to the heroic efforts of Yervand Zakharian
and former deputy Melik Gasparian.
The building was included in the list of historical-cultural
monuments. And it turned out that the building lost its
historical-architectural value and was ruined in a night, after
Samvel Danielian, chief architect of Yerevan, called it an old,
rotten edifice meant that is to be destroyed.
Till mid-February, Lyudmila Harutyunian, public figure, owner of the
building, cherished hopes that the edifice will not be destroyed. But
everything turned upside down, when the court officials visited her
with the order to accept two agreement alternatives: either to get
$150 thousand of compensation or get a new flat in the block of flats
that is to be built on the place of the old edifice.
“We had to chose the second option and stop the struggle. I am
thankful both to the journalists and to the publicity that joined
me in my struggle for the building. Unfortunately, I should state
that another historical monument of 19th century is destroyed in
Yerevan. We have only photos of the edifice and our indignation with
the fact,” Harutyunian stated. She wanted to know who is interested
in this cultural genocide, who estimates the historical value of the
monument. “Who represents the state in Armenia. Our society lost the
struggle, as all the talks are faceless. I guess only officials are
powerful, as they define the fate of the buildings,” She expressed
concern.
“I wish this building were the last historical-cultural monument that
was destroyed in the center of Yerevan,” Lyudmila Harutyunian said
in the interview to Azg.

AZERI PREMIER MEETS WITH ROMANIAN NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTER
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
March 14 2006
On March 14, Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Artur Rasizade met with
Romanian delegation led by the country’s National Defense Minister
Teodor Anastasiu. The Premier expressed satisfaction with the current
state of Azerbaijan-Romania relationship.
He advised the 2nd sitting of the Azerbaijan-Romania intergovernmental
economic commission is to be held very soon.
Mr. Rasizade stressed necessity to develop military-technical
cooperation between the two countries. “Romania’s experience in
integration into the European structures and NATO would be very useful
for Azerbaijan, he said.
The Premier also dwelt on the Azerbaijan’s sorest problem – the
unsettled Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
In his turn, Romanian Minister Teodor Anastasiu informed the Prime
Minister on the negotiations he had carried out in Azerbaijan noting
the bilateral documents signed here will give an impetus to enhancing
military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Romania.

ARMENIAN VIOLINIST, 21, DAZZLES CROWD IN S.F.
By Richard Scheinin
San Jose Mercury News, USA
March 14 2006
A kid named Khachatryan played music by Khachaturian in San Francisco
on Sunday. Sergey Khachatryan, a 21-year-old violinist from Armenia,
was making his local debut; he played like a poet, with a subtle and
commanding mix of confidence, sensitivity and craft.
This charismatic newcomer was performing with the venerable London
Philharmonic Orchestra, which made the event extra-special. The entire
program at Davies Symphony Hall was defined by the unexpected.
Scheduled conductor Kurt Masur, who suffered heart palpitations in
Dublin, Ireland, a few days earlier, sent along a protege as his
substitute: Brazilian conductor Roberto Minczuk stepped up and did a
superb job with Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto and Mahler’s Symphony
No. 1.
So the night, part of the San Francisco Symphony’s Great Performers
Series, offered its audience a double discovery: new soloist, new
conductor. But the kid, Khachatryan — he was the show.
The concerto by Khachaturian, a father of Armenian “nationalist”
music in the last century, is spiced with folkloric rhythms, themes and
inflections. It also is sensuous, a little bit schmaltzy, and sheerly,
at times eerily, beautiful. From the opening bars, the orchestra
sounded exceptionally luminous — those strings!
And then came the soloist: crisp attack, warm singing tone, spot-on
intonation. He is slender, with a thatch of curly black hair, and he
isn’t a showman; he is about clarity and control and expression.
His cadenza in the first movement was cleanly delivered — all those
keening, up-sliding double-stops — and emotionally full-blooded,
without knocking you on the head. As it ended, with the orchestra
sliding back in behind Khachatryan, a comfortable “duet” was going
on between the soloist and his famous accompanists from London.
The orchestra sounded great (not a big surprise): sparkling clarinet
and winds; bounding cellos; and clarity all around, down to each
ping of the harp. Minczuk, whose gestures are flowing and emphatic,
seemed to have established a balance that allowed his players to
speak as individuals and as a collective.
There were ghostly tremulous effects in the low strings as the slow,
lyrical second movement began. Here, Khachatryan showed a sort of
late-night, bluesy restraint, clarifying the schmaltz. And as the
third movement began, with a blast of brass, and then more bounding
strings — they sounded like a giant mandolin — again he held himself
in check, building tension.
He pulled earthy sustained notes from his low strings, then soared
way up high, before flying back downward, decelerating and shifting
into a new tempo, dovetailing expertly with the orchestra as he went
on to gobble up all the notes of the final racing sequences.
The audience brought him back for several bows and, finally,
Khachatryan offered an encore. It was nothing showy or fast; just the
opposite, in fact: the Adagio from Bach’s Sonata No. 3 in C major
for Solo Violin, which unfolded sweetly, with beautiful control of
the instrument (Khachatryan plays the “Huggins” Stradivarius, built
in 1708).
The violinist has been taken under Masur’s wing. He also has performed
with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra in
Amsterdam and, based on Sunday’s evidence, is a winner.
He returns soon, on March 29, for a recital at the Florence Gould
Theater of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco ().
Poor Mahler. He played second fiddle to the young violinist on
Sunday. His Symphony No. 1 in D major, known as the “Titan,” was
given a strong performance, with all its swooping and swooning bows
to the natural world, its raspy horns, waltzing interludes and great
brass anthems.
It wasn’t as refined and lovingly nuanced as the Mahler performances
we’ve been hearing from the San Francisco Symphony and conductor
Michael Tilson Thomas the past few years. The peeping pastoral sounds
that dot the first movement weren’t always exactly in place; there was
some ragged brass playing in the third movement, where the orchestra
momentarily lost its bearings amid klezmer-ish and other dance rhythms.
But the fourth movement was high impact — literally. The orchestra
summoned entire storm systems of sound: crashing cymbals, tolling
timpani, screeching strings and great brass pronouncements, with all
eight horn players on their feet as Heaven’s Gates, figuratively,
opened.
Even so, Khachatryan was the show.
news/columnists/14094288.htm

PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]
18 October 2005
PRESENTATION OF 2005 ARCHBISHOP’S WRITING AWARD HONOURING 1600TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN ALPHABET
Sydney, Australia – Saturday, 8 October, 2005 on the Feast of the
Holy Translators, His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate
of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand
presided over the Award Ceremony of the Inaugural 2005 Archbishop’s
Writing Award that was launched in this special 1600th anniversary year
marking the discovery of the Armenian Alphabet by St Mesrob Mashdotz.
The Writing Award was established to stimulate thought and
consciousness in Armenian youth about the relevance of maintaining the
values and faith of Armenian heritage in communities of the Diaspora
in the 21st Century.
Submissions to the competition were received from students in Years 5
to 11 from schools in Sydney and Melbourne including AGBU Alexander
Primary School, St Gregory’s Armenian School, Toumanian Saturday
School, Aginian Saturday School (Melbourne), Armenian HSC Class
as well as two independent entries. The topic for the prose was
“The Armenian Alphabet is important for the Armenian identity”.
Students were given the option of presenting their submissions in
different writing styles and in either Armenian or English. 80%
of written essays were in Armenian.
Parents and students gathered in the Edgarian Hall on the Feast Day
in eager anticipation for the announcement of the award recipients.
However, it was clear from the high-spirited gathering that all
students who participated in the competition were the winners of the
day for the time and effort spent researching the topic will continue
to have long-lasting impact on their understanding and value of the
Armenian Alphabet as a founding block to preserve the Armenian legacy.
His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian presented each and every
student with a special award certificate and a gift that would
be symbolic of their participation and their cultural identity.
The Primate gifted each student a wooden Armenian cross that he brought
back from the Holy Land just one week earlier. The keystone of the
Armenian Alphabet, the motivation and driving force to establish it,
lay in the Holy Cross to ensure the first Christian nation would have
a written language that would propagate the Great Commission of Jesus
to spread the Word of God and lead them to faith.
Awards and prizes were presented in three categories and recipients
of prizes were as follows: Junior Category – Sergei Krjatian (St
Gregory’s Armenian School), runner-up Lenia Kelleyan (St Gregory’s
Armenian School); Middle Category – Natalie Mengolian (Aginian
Saturday School), equal runners-up Rhaya Ratevossian (Toumanian
Saturday School) and Zaven Fenerci (Aginian Saturday School); Senior
Category – Maya Aghajanian (Aginian Saturday School), runner-up Talar
Ohanessian (Armenian HSC). A special award was also presented to Nayiri
Derartinian from St Gregory’s Armenian School for outstanding thought.
On Sunday, 16 October the Primate visited the Armenian Community of
Melbourne and presented awards to students of the Aginian School.
Students and parents were thrilled at having the Archbishop present
to personally award their certificates and prizes. His Eminence
took the opportunity to reflect on the occasion inscribing the deep
value of Armenian heritage in the hearts and minds of the students.
Befittingly, on Saturday, the school celebrated the 20th anniversary
of the completion and inauguration of its school building and dedicated
its celebration to the 1600th Anniversary of the Armenian Alphabet.

OTOLARYNGOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT OF “ARABKIR” MEDICAL CENTER REPAIRED AND RE-EQUIPPED
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 17 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The otolaryngological department
and operating-room of the “Arabkir” medical complex were repaired
at the expense of 88 thousand USD given by the Development and
Cooperation Agency of Switzerland and the “Aznavour to Armenia”
charitable fund. As Spartak Ghazarian, Executive Director of the
Complex, mentioned at the ceremony of department’s opening, the repair
will enable to bring the medical services rendered at the complex in
correspondence with the requirements of the modern medicine. According
to him, henceforward otolaryngological operations can be made in the
reequipped operating-room with a general anaesthetic instead of the
former local one.
S.Ghazarian also informed that 2000-2500 children are operated on at
the department every year.

“ARMENIAN MEMORIES IN ITALY”
A1+
| 14:54:02 | 17-10-2005 | Social |
This was the title of the photo exhibition of the Canadian Armenian
famous photographer Hrayr Baze opened in the Yerevan municipality
dedicated to the Italian days in Yerevan.
The photographer tells in his works about the life of Armenians
in Italy since ancient times. The photos represent ancient
Armenian buildings, churches famous all over the world, schools,
cultural-scientific institution which played an important role in
the spiritual and cultural life of Italy.

WOMAN DIED DURING ELECTIONS
A1+
| 15:48:16 | 17-10-2005 | Politics |
October 16 during the elections in Vanadzor Adela Poghosyan born in
1936 died in the electoral area N 30/27.
She had come with her family to participate in the elections of Mayor
in Vanadzor. The workers of the Committee did not find her name in
the electoral roll and sent her to the court to re-establish her
suffrage. She was informed in the court that her name is included
in the electoral rolls and she was sent back to the electoral area
where the workers of the Committee failed once again to find her name.
On the whole Adela Poghosyan went to the court and back three
times. The last time when her name was not found in the list she
became too nervous and died right in the electoral area.
By the way, only after her death did the workers of the Committee
find her name in the roll. After the incident the elections were
stopped for some time in the area.
The head of the Local Electoral Committee informed our correspondent
that they are not responsible for the errors in the electoral rolls. He
also hinted that if the woman had a weak heart, she did not have to
come to the area. It is noteworthy that Mrs. Adela’s husband claimed
that her wife did not have health problems.

National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: Morning Edition 11:00 AM EST NPR
October 12, 2005 Wednesday
Patriot camps cause concern in former Soviet Republic [DP]
ANCHORS: RENEE MONTAGNE
REPORTERS: LAWRENCE SHEETS
In the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, thousands of young people
have been attending voluntary Patriot camps. The government says the
camps help to counter cynicism and hopelessness among young
Georgians, but the camps feature basic military training and they’ve
been criticized by Georgia’s political opposition. NPR’s Lawrence
Sheets reports.
Unidentified Man: (Foreign language spoken)
LAWRENCE SHEETS reporting:
Along the lush green mountainside, military officers in tan fatigues
bark out commands to young men and women dressed in orange and blue
uniforms and caps emblazoned with the word `Patriot.’ The military
officers pass out loaded Kalashnikov rifle magazines to the 15- to
20-year-olds who stand at attention.
(Soundbite of a rifle)
SHEETS: Marika Bayurmanyan(ph), a university student from the capital
of Tbilisi, lies down in a firing trench.
What does it feel like when you’re shooting a Kalashnikov?
Ms. MARIKA BAYURMANYAN (University Student): I don’t know. I think
that’s great.
SHEETS: A military trainer help Marika steady the weapon as she
unloads a hail of bullets at white targets about 80 yards away.
(Soundbite of gunfire)
SHEETS: Marika’s one of more than 15,000 young people attending the
10-day Patriot camps this year. Next year the Georgian government
says 100,000 will attend. Sergeant Yorgi Tzeveteli(ph) says the
military aspect is secondary.
Sergeant YORGI TZEVETELI: (Through Translator) This training provides
the young people a basis for how to handle weapons. This is not
enough for them. The main principle is to raise their spirits as
patriots.
SHEETS: The government of President Mikhail Sakashvili says the camps
are needed to induce young Georgians with a sense of discipline and
national pride. Sakashvili recently spoke with several hundred young
patriots after they completed camp.
President MIKHAIL SAKASHVILI: (Through Translator) Two years ago, our
country was laughed at and ridiculed, above all by its own government
and president. Not only did they have no idea what governing a
country was about, but they did not have any self-respect and
dignity. They were not proud to be Georgian.
SHEETS: Another idea behind the camps is ethnic integration.
Relations between minorities and ethnic Georgians are not always
smooth. Marika Bayurmanyan, an Armenian herself, says the camps try
to break down those barriers.
Ms. BAYURMANYAN: Yeah, we have different nationalities and the
children, for example, Armenians or others–children are from all
parts of Georgia, and they learn how to communicate with each other,
with children from different parts of Georgia.
SHEETS: But critics, like opposition lawmaker Pata Zakarashvili(ph),
say the Georgian Patriot camps are just an updated version of the
Soviet Pioneer camps.
Mr. PATA ZAKARASHVILI (Opposition Lawmaker): (Through Translator)
This is dangerous. Sakashvili wants to instill these people with his
own ideology. He wants to mobilize the young people so that they
don’t mobilize against him.
SHEETS: Zakarashvili says the weapons training in the Patriot camps
is part of a campaign by the government to encourage militant
attitudes and prepare people psychologically for new wars against
Georgia’s two separatist regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But
even the opposition admits the camps are popular. Many of the kids
are from poor backgrounds. Drug abuse, unemployment and street crime
have exploded in Georgia since the Soviet collapse. And many parents
are happy to keep their kids off the streets, if only for a couple of
weeks. Lawrence Sheets, NPR News, Bakuriani, Georgia.

Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
Friday, October 14, 2005
Contact: Talin Gregorian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNS CALIFORNIA-ARMENIA TRADE OFFICE BILL
–Sunset Date for the Trade Office Extended
SACRAMENTO, CA – SB 897, the California-Armenia Trade Office Bill, has
been signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said the Armenian
National Committee of America-Western Region (ANCA-WR).
The Bill, which extends the sunset date for the operation of the
California International Trade and Investment Office in Yerevan,
Armenia to the year 2008, was introduced in February of this year by
State Senator Jack Scott (D-Pasadena), and most recently passed in
both the California State Assembly and Senate with overwhelming
bi-partisan support, having gained a vote of 77-1 in the Assembly and
32-1 in the Senate. The trade office was officially opened on October
3, 2005 in Armenia.
`This is an important step forward in cementing ties between the
people of California and Armenia,’ stated Senator Scott who recently
returned from a visit to Armenia. `It is also a responsible step in
these tight economic times. This office is the first privately funded
trade office for the state and it will be a win-win for California and
Armenia. The trade office will open new and large growth markets for
California businesses and investors. For Armenia, and its neighbors,
the office will generate much-needed business and investment.’
The director of the trade office, Arthur Khachatryan, will be visiting
the Los Angeles area from October 19-21, and will meet with business
and political leadership from the area in efforts to promote and
create strong business relationships for the office.
For over five years, the ANCA-WR has worked to improve trade relations
between California and Armenia. In 2002, SB 897 was established as
State law with a sunset date for the trade office set for January 1,
2006.
`We appreciate the support of the Governor on this issue, and we look
forward to the fruits of stronger business and trade relations between
California and Armenia. The establishment of this office in Armenia
now ties it with the world’s sixth largest economy, California. Though
California once had once had over a dozen such offices, the Armenian
Trade Office is the only one of its kind currently. We believe that
this strong business anchor will through its synergy benefit the
economies of both Armenia and California,’ said Steven Dadaian,
Chairman of the ANCA-WR.
In the months leading up to the signing of the Bill, ANCA-WR Regional
Director Armen Carapetian delivered testimony in the Capitol to secure
passage of SB 897 in key committees and met with Assemblymembers and
staff to galvanize support for the measure.
The principal coauthors of SB 897 were Senators Chuck Poochigian
(R-Fresno) and Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo), Assemblymen Juan Arambula
(D-Fresno) and Dario Frommer (D-Glendale), as well as coauthors
Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), and Assemblymembers Greg
Aghazarian (R-Stockton) and Carol Liu (D-Pasadena).
The ANCA is the largest and most influential Armenian American
grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a
network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United
States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA
actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a
broad range of issues.