Author: Kanayan Tamar

ArmenPress
March 26 2004
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RECONFIRMS COMMITMENT TO ENLARGE TIES WITH EU
YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS: President of Armenia, Robert
Kocharian, has reaffirmed today his administration’s commitment to
enlarge and deepen the scope of ties with the European Union.
Receiving a Special Representative of the EU for the South Caucasus,
Heikki Talvitie, Kocharian said:” It is a strong incentive to go on
with large-scale and diverse reforms and bring the country and its
legislation in compliance with European standards.”
The conversation between Kocharian and Talvitie was centered on
possibilities for involvement of the South Caucasian nations into
what has been termed as “Wider Europe: New Neighbors.”
Ambassador Talvitie emphasized the resolution of regional
conflicts and development of economic ties between the region’s
countries and Europe. The two men, according to Kocharian’s press
office, also exchanged views on ways to boost resolution of the
Karabagh conflict, constitutional reforms in Armenia and a string of
other issues.

Knight Ridder/Tribune
March 26, 2004, Friday
Wacky facts from World Almanac for Kids
Dating back to 783 B.C., Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan is one of
the oldest continuously occupied towns in the world.
_
The Schottengymnasium, a school in Vienna, Austria, has been open
since 1155.
__
Founded in 301 A.D., San Marino claims to be Europe’s oldest country.
___
Wanna know more? Go online to for
more fun facts and games.

A1 Plus | 14:23:54 | 25-03-2004 | Social |
DEFENSE MINISTER CONTROLS THE SOCIAL ORDER
At 4:00 AM Police employees took Smbat Eghiazaryan, secretary of Kotayk
District branch of People’s Party of Armenia, from his house to police
department.
It is to remind that after the rally in Byureghavan policemen arrested one
of PPA activists, who was the executive for the technical equipment and was
occupied with propagandizing the meeting.
Byureghavan is in Kotayk District. And today PPA Kotayk District secretary
has been taken to police, too.
—

A1 Plus | 14:07:49 | 25-03-2004 | Politics |
DID OPPOSITION UNITE?
After long negotiations Opposition took a decisive step to unite. “Justice”
Bloc and “National Unity” made a statement to act jointly. Here we represent
the statement.
“Justice” Bloc and “National Unity” Party undertake the responsibility to
head the processes directed to meeting the nationwide demands, i.e.,
elimination of the illegal regime, establishment of the constitutional order
in the Republic of Armenia and the lawful power. For that purpose both parts
reconciled to together hold a public disobedience rally not later than April
13. The meeting term will be announced on April 5. That day “Justice” Bloc
and “National Unity” will appear with a joint statement.
We reconfirm our resoluteness to fight up to power change is carried out in
the country.
—

Armenia regrets Uzbek leader’s Karabakh remarks
Mediamax news agency
25 Mar 04
YEREVAN
The Armenian Foreign Ministry believes that “the Uzbek president does
not have full information about the content and format of the talks
within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group”.
Mediamax news agency reports that the press secretary of the Armenian
Foreign Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, said this in Yerevan today while
commenting on Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s recent statement that
“Armenia must withdraw from the occupied territories” and that the
stage-by-stage as published, actually package option for the
settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is not viable.
“Regrettably, in our opinion, the Uzbek president does not have full
information about the content and format of the talks within the
framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. Otherwise, he would have refrained
from making such a controversial statement,” Gasparyan said.

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
March 24 2004
Armenians plead school case in Parliament
By George Psyllides
THE Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) yesterday failed to
convince the House Education Committee on why it wanted to shut down
the Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI), though deputies admitted
there was little parliament could do to reverse the decision.
The AGBU decided to close down the school, saying it no longer
fulfilled the duties it had been set up to carry out.
But the Armenian community is furious at the decision, and has
claimed financial interests are dictating the fate of the historical
school.
The representative of the Armenian community in Parliament, deputy
Bedros Kalaidjian, appealed to the government for help, otherwise the
Armenian community would be left without any secondary education.
`We cannot imagine an Armenian community without the Melkonian,’
Kalaidjian told the committee.
`It is a national treasure,’ he added.
In a statement read by lawyer Freda Georgiou, AGBU said the vision of
the benefactors – the Melkonian brothers – could be better achieved
through new programmes that would be more beneficial to a much larger
spectrum of the diaspora and those of Armenia itself.
`AGBU regrets the painful decision to close the Melkonian Boarding
School but taking into consideration the long term goals of the
benefiting Armenians globally, this decision must be adhered to, as
will be future decisions concerning schools in other host countries,’
the statement said.
The AGBU stressed that the MEI matter was not a political one, but
concerned an internal decision of a philanthropic organisation, which
is managing its assets in the wisest possible manner with a view to
serving the best interests of the Armenians.
But a member of the school board charged that the AGBU wanted to
close down the school and set up summer camps in other countries
where they would try to teach the Armenian language and culture in
two or three months.
The alumni association disputed the AGBU’s jurisdiction on the
school, adding that the Union’s arguments were not convincing.
On November 14, 2003, the AGBU had said they were not shutting down
the school, yet just three months later this was exactly what they
were doing, the association said.
The alumni urged the government to intervene, declare the school of
national importance, and minimise the building coefficient to deter
developers.
Some say the land on which the school is built is worth £40 million.
AGBU representative Dr Gordon Anderson said a very small number of
Armenians went to the school to justify its operation.
He said the AGBU was looking into three alternatives: setting up a
day school, entering a partnership with an existing institution, or
creating an Armenian department in one of the existing schools.
DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou asked whether the school’s trust fund was
deposited in Cyprus, only to be told that the AGBU had nothing
deposited or registered in Cyprus.
However, the school receives government subsidies and only
Cyprus-registered philanthropic organisations are entitled to such
funding.
The alternative for the Cyprus government is to declare the school a
historical site and its surroundings a protected environment thus
putting an end to any plans for its development.
But one deputy told the Cyprus Mail that this would be a hostile act
and should only be used as a last resort.
Anderson stressed that there were no plans to demolish or sell the
buildings, but when asked by DISY deputy Nicos Tornaritis whether
AGBU would agree to listing the buildings, he said the AGBU objected.
`I think AGBU likes to have flexibility on the use of the buildings,’
Anderson said.
He said the AGBU also strongly objected the area being designated as
a forest.
`If we are going to assist Armenians we need to maximise assets,’ he
said.
The proceeds of a commercial centre operating next to the school all
go straight to the Armenian community, he added.
He repeated that pupil numbers were declining – averaging just 5.7
pupils per year from the island’s Armenian community in the last few
years, with the others coming from abroad.
The AGBU plans to shut the school down in June 2005.

PRESS RELEASE

March 23, 2004

American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576

Contact: Gohar Momjian
E-mail: [email protected]

AUA DEPT. OF LAW RAISES AWARENESS OF ARMENIA’S HUMAN TRAFFICKING
PROBLEM

Yerevan – On Saturday March 13, the American University of Armenia’s
(AUA) Law Department, and the AUA Shitak Student Law Club organized a
3-hour law conference on “Trafficking in Humans: A Growing Problem in
Armenia.” Trafficking is a largely unnoticed crime in which women,
and sometimes children and men, are purchased and sold like
merchandise. The event addressing this sensitive topic was attended by
over 170 people filling every seat and leaving many to stand in the
aisles.

`Human trafficking is a problem in Armenia, but the Government of
Armenia has now begun to take concrete steps to prevent it,’ said
Vivian Walker, Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in
Yerevan. She noted that just this year, Armenia’s status was upgraded
from `tier three’ to `tier two’, which designates a country with
a trafficking problem but which is trying to comply with international
standards.

Other guest speakers included representatives of the International
Office of Migration (IOM), the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the UN and several non-governmental
organizations.

`Trafficking in women and children is a growing problem in Armenia and
throughout the world. It is also a problem few people want to
acknowledge,’ noted Matthew Karanian, Associate Dean of AUA’s Law
Department. `Press coverage was extensive and as a result, through
this event our department helped raise public awareness of Armenia’s
trafficking problem.’

The Law Program of the American University of Armenia offers a
Master’s Degree in Law and in Comparative Legal Studies. The programs
feature a strong focus on business and international law, with special
emphasis on legal and institutional reforms in the former Soviet
republics.

****
The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit
educational organization in both Armenia and the United States and is
affiliated with the Regents of the University of California.
Receiving major support from AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading to
the Masters Degree in eight graduate programs. For more information
about AUA, visit

Picture 0115 – Matthew Karanian, Associate Dean of the AUA Law
Department, addresses the law conference “Human Trafficking: A Growing
Problem in Armenia.”

Picture 0123 – More than 170 people attended the law conference on
human trafficking at the American University of Armenia on March
13. The conference was sponsored by the AUA Law Department and the
university’s Student Law Club.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
March 22 2004
EUROPEAN UNION WANTS TO PLAY POSITIVE ROLE IN SETTLEMENT OF
ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN, NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT
PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES EU SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE FOR SOUTHERN CAUCASUS
[March 22, 2004, 22:18:57]
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a
delegation led by European Union’s Special Representative for the
Southern Caucasus Heiki Talvitie at the Presidential Place, March 22.
Welcoming the guests sincerely, Head of State Ilham Aliyev expressed
satisfaction with deepening the cooperation between the European
Union and Azerbaijan. He pointed out that the policy of integration
into the European structures is a strategic choice of Azerbaijan, and
the country would be dedicated to this policy in future. `The joint
programs the European Union and Azerbaijan have been implementing for
the last years, and those to be realized in the future let us say
that we will be closer to each other’ the President said.
President Ilham Aliyev touched upon his meetings during the recent
conference in Bratislava describing that with European Union’s
Commissioner Gunter Verheugen as positive.
The Head of State noted he was pleased with the fact that the
European Union lately attached special attention to settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He described the
initial steps taken as promising. `We welcome these steps, and we
would like the European Union to be more actively engaged in this
problem.’
Pointing out the unwillingness of the Armenian Armed forces to
release the occupied territories, President Ilham Aliyev said
Azerbaijan’s position was that the conflict could be settled only on
the base of the international legal norms, and expressed hope that
the international community would approach the issue exactly from
this standpoint.
President Ilham Aliyev also pointed out other important issues of
mutual interest: `I think the beginning of the dialogue on energy
sphere is very important fact, and we are ready for that,’ he said.
Mr. Ilham Aliyev especially emphasized that in a few years Azerbaijan
would turn into very important country for European consumers.
Turning back to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh, the Head of State mentioned that it threatened
stability in the region and impeded regional cooperation and
integration of the Southern Caucasus countries into the European
family. `I hope the international community will express its fair
stance in relation to this issue, and the problem will be finally
solved,’ President Ilham Aliyev concluded.
Having thanked the President of Azerbaijan for the sincere meeting,
Mr. Heiki Talvitie let him know that he had visited the grave of
nationwide leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. `His bright memory
will live in our hearts forever,’ he said.
The EU’s Special Representative noted that the President Ilham
Aliyev’s Program of Social and Economic Development of the country
had aroused keen interest in Europe.
Touching upon Azerbaijan-European Union relationship, the guest
pointed out the significance of President Ilham Aliyev’s meeting with
EU Commissioner in Bratislava.
Speaking of settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh, Mr. Heiki Talvitie said that his mandate included
rendering assistance to Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Minsk group, and
that he would be actively involved in the process. `I believe the
European Union is able to play its positive role in the problem’s
resolution,’ he stressed.
***
Present at the meeting were Head of Azerbaijan delegation to the
European Union, Ambassador Arif Mamadov, Ambassador of Germany in
Baku Klaus Grevlich and other officials.

ARMENIANS IN EUROPE REACTED ANGRILY TO BRITISH AMBASSADOR’S
STATEMENT
A1plus | 20:04:23 18-03-2004 | Politics |
The Assembly of Armenians of Europe and its member organizations
reacted to the statement made recently by British Ambassador Thorda
Abbott-Watt in relation with the events of 1915 events by issuing a
common resolution.
The British Ambassador has said in her statement that although the
British Government condemned the massacres as an atrocity at that
time, the evidence was not sufficiently unequivocal that what took
place could be categorized as genocide under the 1948 United Nations
Convention on Genocide and that the debate on this issue continues
among historians and lawyers.
The Assembly expects the British Ambassador in Armenia, Mrs. Thorda
Abbott-Watt to apologize publicly for her statement and officially
retract them. If she refuses, the Ambassador should be declared
persona non grata in the Republic of Armenia, the resolution says.
At the same time, the Assembly demands Armenian Parliament and
Government to adopt all necessary legislative and diplomatic measures
to prevent in the future others from making such offensive statements
against the memory of the Armenian nation.
—

Los Angeles Daily News
March 19 2004
LAUSD English learners gaining
Fluency scores show progress
By Jennifer Radcliffe
Staff Writer
Students learning English as a second language in the Los Angeles
Unified School District made huge gains on the state’s
English-fluency exam and have nearly caught up with their peers
across California, officials said Thursday.
About 42 percent of LAUSD students who speak a language other than
English at home scored in the top two levels of the California
English Language Development Test, compared with about 29 percent
last year.
Statewide, 43 percent of English-learning students received the top
scores this year, compared with 34 percent in 2003.
“This is just further evidence that we’re really a district on the
move,” school board member Marlene Canter said.
When the test debuted three years ago, only 16 percent of LAUSD
students were considered proficient, compared with 25 percent
statewide.
Los Angeles Unified has put an emphasis on helping these students
achieve and that effort must continue, board President Jose Huizar
said.
“English-language learners make up 40 percent of our students. If
they succeed, LAUSD succeeds,” he said.
More than 1.4 million English-language learners in the state took the
test, including 276,000 in the LAUSD.
Nearly 95 percent of the LAUSD’s English-language learners have
Spanish as their native language. The next most common languages are
Armenian and Korean.
The test is designed to identify new students who are learning
English, determine their level of fluency and track their progress
annually.
Students are separated into five categories: beginning, early
intermediate, intermediate, early advanced and advanced.
Once students reach the early advanced level, they are usually
reclassified as fluent within a year, said Merle Price, deputy
superintendent of instruction.
LAUSD leaders attribute their success to better textbooks, more
teacher training and the implementation of structured reading
programs.
“The fact that we’re making this degree of progress is really
remarkable in a district that has the overcrowding we do and the
student population we do,” Superintendent Roy Romer said.
The largest gains in Los Angeles Unified were made at the middle
school level, where the number of students with advanced or early
advanced scores increased from 32 percent to 48 percent.
The number of elementary students in advanced or early advanced
levels increased from 27 percent to 39 percent, and the high school
students gained from 35 percent to 47 percent.
Price said it was open to debate whether the scaling back of
bilingual education mandated by Proposition 227 five years ago
contributed to the impressive gains.
Still, he said that while both bilingual and English-only programs
have their pros and cons, the current system under which most
students are taught primarily in English seems to be working well.
About 10 percent of the LAUSD’s English-language learners receive
waivers to attend bilingual classes and the rest receive most of
their instruction in English.
Price said phonics-based programs, such as Open Court, have helped
all student learn English skills.
“It validates the work we’ve been doing and shows we should stay the
course,” Price said. “That’s something new in education, which is so
full of trends, that we’re on to something that continues to show
progress.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said these
test gains rank among the top 10 educational achievements of the
year.
“Progress is our real goal. By any standard, we are seeing progress,”
he said. “This is just another indicator … that public education in
the state of California is on the right track.”
Jennifer Radcliffe, (818) 713-3722 [email protected]