Author: Khoyetsian Rose

Tsvetana Paskaleva is presented with Garbis Papazian award for her
true dedication to Armenia
03.07.2009 23:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On July 3, Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall hosted an
award ceremony. Tsvetana Paskaleva was presented with AGBU Garbis
Papazian award for her courage in the honest and complete coverage of
the struggle of the Artsakh Armenians and true dedication to Armenia.
RA Cinematographers’ Union Chairman and Artsakh liberation war
participant Ruben Gevorgyan congratulated Tsvetana Pascaleva,
`Tsvetana, as well as other Artsakh war participants could be spoken
of for hours. At the front, I saw a fragile girl with flaming
eyes. Never could I imagine she will be capable of bearing the burden
of war together with us. She greatly contributed to our victory.”
The award ceremony featured a screening of `My dears, living and dead’
film by Tsvetana Pascaleva. During the ceremony, Armenian Philharmonic
Orchestra, under the guidance of conductor Eduard Topchyan performed
Avet Terteryan’s Symphony No.3.

OSCE CHAIRMAN CALLS TO BUILD ON POSITIVE IMPETUS OF KARABAKH PROCESS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.07.2009 19:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Greek Foreign
Minister Dora Bakoyannis during her visit to Baku, urged Azerbaijan
today to build on the progress that has been achieved in the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process and in deepening democratic
reforms.

"A more secure, more stable and stronger Europe is in all our
interests. Azerbaijan plays an important role in helping to promote
our common security in the South Caucasus and the whole OSCE area,"
she said, following a meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov.

"Addressing the region’s protracted conflicts is one of the top
priorities of the Greek OSCE Chairmanship. I am encouraged by the
latest developments in the negotiation process, which is facilitated
by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and the intensified dialogue between
the Presidents and Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to
achieved a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

"We must continue to build on this positive momentum."

During her visit Dora Bakoyannis met Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov, Bayram Safarov, the Representative of the Azerbaijani
Community of Nagorno-Karabakh, and representatives of Azerbaijani
political parties. She will meet President Ilham Aliyev and Oktay
Asadov, the Speaker of Parliament, later today.

Bakoyannis noted the co-operation between Azerbaijan and the OSCE,
including with its Office in Baku, the Representative on Freedom of
the Media and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

"A robust civil society, a free press and open political participation
represent key commitments we share as OSCE states," she said. "In this
regard I welcome the positive decision by Azerbaijan’s Parliament at
the end of June to help ensure that amendments to the law on NGOs do
not restrict, but facilitate, the activities of civil society. I am
confident that we can deepen the constructive co-operation between
the OSCE and Azerbaijan to further reforms."

The OSCE Chairperson will travel to Yerevan this evening for talks
with Armenian authorities and political parties on Friday.

WESTON HIGH STUDENTS RAISE AWARENESS OF GENOCIDE IN DARFUR
By Ruthie Wittenberg

Weston Town Crier
Thu Jul 02, 2009, 02:27 AM EDT

WESTON – A rally to raise awareness of the genocide in Darfur took
place at Weston High School on June 10. It was initiated and organized
by Weston High students, with sophomore Alexander Kaye one of the
main drivers behind the event.

The idea arose when Don Benson, the teacher of a 10th-grade world
history class, assigned a research project on genocide. The students
conducted research on countries affected by genocide, such as Armenia,
Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan.

Benson asked his students to draw connections and to observe
commonalities between each of the genocides and to present their
findings.

According to Benson, upon learning about Darfur, Kaye stood up and
declared, "I don’t want to say I lived through this period in history
and did nothing to stop it."

Upon deciding to organize the rally, Kaye and his classmates were
faced with several challenges. To begin with, there was no logical
date on which to hold the event. In addition, because it was late
May and the school year was drawing to a close, such an event would
require teachers to give up some of their teaching time in close
proximity to final exams.

Furthermore, in the search to find an informative and meaningful
speaker, the students found they were not taken seriously.

Nevertheless, Kaye’s leadership with the support of his teachers
enabled the rally to take place.

Benson considers the event to be a success not only because $325 was
raised in support of the cause, but more importantly, the awareness
of the atrocities in Darfur was elevated within the Weston High
School community.

Panther Alier, a refugee during the civil war which took place in
Sudan in the 1980s and one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," spoke at the
rally. A noted activist for human rights and for the plight of the
Sudanese, Alier spoke movingly about the war and genocide through
his personal experience.

The money raised through a couple of bake sales and with outside
donations will all be sent to the organization Save Darfur.

Aside from its noble intentions and successes, this experience was
distinctive as one completely carried out by the students. In the
words of Benson, this was "an event fully inspired by students (and
one in which) everyone participated."

Faculty commented after the rally that it was one of the best
assemblies of the school year.

There has been some discussion about a follow-up rally in the fall,
once school has resumed. Benson predicts students both in and outside
of his world history class are likely to remain active with the cause.

PUBLIC TELEVISION OF ARMENIA HOLDS THE FIRST PLACE IN RATING OF ARMENIAN TV CHANNELS ‘UNPLEASANT AIR’

ArmInfo
2009-06-29 17:54:00

ArmInfo. The Public Television of Armenia holds the first place in
rating of Armenian TV channels "Unpleasant air" held by Union of
Experts organization, Head of the organization Narek Malyan said at
a press-conference, Monday.

According to him, the monitoring of Armenian TV channels was held
from February till March 2009 by 110 Armenian experts, among them
intellectuals and men of culture. "During the monitoring of 17 TV
channels numerous shortcomings and mistakes connected with advertising
were found out, particularly, we found out advertisements very often
lasting 40 minutes.

There were also flaws in air connected with the language. Very often,
the advertisement is in Russian, English and even Italian, while
actually it is to be in Armenian",- the expert said.

Speaking of the reasons of "victory" of the Public Television, Malyan
said that they are conditioned by the requirements to PTA. The Public
TV channel shouldn’t strive for rating, on the contrary, it should
provide high-quality product and leave a positive trace in the society
as the dotations of PTA ensure its financial independence.

Malyan added that the "Unpleasant air" prize will be awarded to PTA
over this week.

K.MASIMOV SAYS THERE EXIST OPPORTUNITIES OF DEEPENING OF ARMENIAN-KAZAKH ECONOMIC COOPERATION

ARMENPRESS
June 29, 2009

ASTANA, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS:"We have had a number of efficient
talks with the Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and there
exist certain directions on which the Armenian -Kazakh economic
cooperation can be enhanced," Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim
Masimov told Armenpress.

According to him, at present the working groups study all those
spheres in which the cooperation is possible to be promoted. K. Masimov
confessed that a number of steps undertaken in the Kazakhstan financial
sphere have been taken from the Armenian experience.

"There is a stable financial-banking system established in Armenia
and being one of the leaders in CIS it could successfully confront
the first blows of world financial-economic crisis," he noted.

K. Masimov also considered the policy implemented by the Armenian
Government in the small and medium-sized enterprises as succeeded
stressing that in this direction they also have much to pick up and
are ready to work with Armenian partners.

TCA Arshag Dickranian Armenian School
1200 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Tel: 323-461-4377
Fax: 323-323-461-4247
Contact: [email protected]

TCA Arshag Dickranian School Commencement Ceremony
At Walter And Laurel Karabian Hall

Los Angeles, June 29, 2009 – TCA Arshag Dickranian School held a wonderful
Commencement Ceremony for its 12th grade, 8th grade and 5th grade on
Saturday June 28th 2009 at 5:00 p.m. at its fancy Walter and Laurel
Karabian Hall. Honorary guests included Ms. Eleanor Dickranian, Ms.
Cynthia Dickranian-Norian, Ms. Laurel Dickranian-Karabian, Archbishop
Hovnan Derderian, keynote speaker Mr. Ara Agishian, Vice-Chairman of Board
of Trustees Mr. Parsegh Kartalian and Chairman Mr. George Mandossian,
among other board members.

The Commencement Ceremony started after teachers entered The Walter and
Laurel Karabian Hall and when the American, Armenian and School anthems
filled the hall. Ms. Kathrin Bosnoyan, an alumnus of Arshag Dickranian
School, greeted students, honorary guests and teachers and gave a
heartening speech about her experience graduating from Arshag Dickranian
School. Ms. Kathrin Bosnoyan continued by inviting the Homeroom Teacher of
the 5th grade, Ms. Suzan Kim, and the Chairperson of The Educational
Committee, Ms. Arpi Avanessian-Idolor, to present Diplomas to the students
of the 5th grade. She also invited Ms. Gia Aivazian, who is the Secretary
of The Board of Trustees, and The Homeroom Teacher of the 8th grade, Mr.
Vatche Semerjdian, to present the 8th graders with their Diplomas.

Chairman Mr. George Mandossian invited Ms. Cynthia Dickranian-Norian to
join in presenting the High School Diplomas to the graduating students,
along with Mr. Krikor Soukiassian, who is the Homeroom Advisor of the 12th
grade, and principal Mr. Vartkes Kourouyan. Graduating student Hovhannes
Hekimian followed by delivering an inspiring speech to his classmates, the
school and the audience and he received The Senior Valedictorian Medal.
Mary Yerkatian, who received The Senior Salutatorian Medal, also gave a
touching speech, thanking her school, classmates and her family for all
the support and wonderful experiences.

The students who successfully completed the requirements of the 12th grade
at Arshag Dickranian School include: Arevik Aleksanian, Michael Atanesyan,
Armine Caradanian, Ani Darakchyan, Hovhanes Ekimyan, Alysa Gekozyan, Vahan
Hovsepian, Levon Karapetyan, Ruben Khachtarian, Annie Krisian, Nina
Lusinyan, Yeva Manukyan, Rima Nadjarian, Andranik Samsonyan, Anahid
Sarkisian, Elizabeth Seropian, Narine Sulian, Harout Torkomian,
Christopher Tufenkjian, Hmayak Vardanian, Marianna Yeranosian and Mary
Yerkatyan.

Following the presentation of the diplomas, Mr. Ara Agishian, who is a
well established lawyer and currently Chairman of the Armenia Fund,
congratulated the students and encouraged them to strive after their goals
and never forget their Armenian heritage. Mr. Ara Agishian had kindly
sponsored one of the graduating students at Arshag Dickranian School.
Vice-Chairman of Board of Trustees of TCA Arshag Dickranian School, Mr.
Parsegh Kartalian gave a speech on behalf of The Board of Trustees, which
was followed by a farewell message from Mr. Vartkes Kourouyan. The
ceremony was concluded with the blessings of Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,
primate of Armenian Church Western Diocese. Parents and guests cheered and
congratulated graduating students with flowers, balloons, hugs and kisses.

Located at 1200 North Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, the TCA Arshag
Dickranian Armenian School is a federally tax exempt, Pre-K to 12th grade
private educational institution. For more information visit

Israel attempts to stop S-300 air defense supplies to Iran

MOSCOW, June 29 (RIA Novosti) – Israel has intensified its efforts to
prevent deliveries of Russian S-300 air defense systems to Iran under
a 2007 contract, an Israeli newspaper said on Monday.
According to the Haaretz daily, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and asked him to prevent
the arms deal from going through."
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met a week ago at the Paris
Airshow with Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the
Russian Armed Forces, and reportedly "asked that he also intervene to
prevent the arms sale."
Israel and the U.S. insist that the delivery of advanced air defense
systems to Iran would undermine the military balance in the region,
and Russia has until recently delayed the implementation of the deal.
Although Russian sources said in March that Iran had not yet received
any S-300 air defense systems and the deal relied on the leadership in
Moscow, Russia had reiterated its commitment to fulfill the contract,
which is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Haaretz said that during the visit of Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman to Moscow several weeks ago, Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev told the Israeli official that some payments under the
contract had already been made.
Arms deliveries to Iran are also important to Russia because Moscow is
quickly losing its positions on key Asian arms markets in China and
India.
In light of the recent developments and ahead of a meeting between
U.S. President Barack Obama with his Russian counterpart next week,
Israel has launched "intensive diplomatic efforts…in order to
restore the earlier Russian commitment not to complete the deal," the
newspaper said.
The latest version of the S-300 family is the S-300PMU2 Favorit, which
has a range of up to 195 kilometers (about 120 miles) and can
intercept aircraft and ballistic missiles at altitudes from 10 meters
to 27 kilometers.
It is considered one of the world’s most effective al
e systems, comparable in performance to the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot
system.

WINDOWS OF ISTANBUL SURB PRKICH CHURCH NO LONGER TO FACE WINDOWS OF NEAREST BROTHEL

Noyan Tapan
June 26, 2009

ISTANBUL, JUNE 26, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the map made by the
Council of Monuments of Turkey, all the brothels of Karagyugh will
be closed, and instead of them, the Mayor’s Office will open a public
park and centers for public service.

According to the Marmara daily, articles published in the Turkish
press during the last two days mention that windows of the Surb
Prkich (Saint Saviour) Armenian Church of Karagyugh face windows of a
brothel. French Saint-Benoit School and a synagogue are also located
in that territory. And it became known that the authorities decided
to stop that outrage.

It is mentioned that there are 42 brothels in Zyurafa street of
Karagyugh and in the vicinity. 37 of them belong to late Matild
Manukian and 5 of them belong to a person named Sumbul Yasar Garasu.

DEMONSTRATORS BROKE INTO THE IRANIAN EMBASSY OUTSIDE STOCKHOLM

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
26.06.2009 23:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Angry demonstrators broke into the Iranian Embassy
outside Stockholm on Friday, climbing in through shattered windows
and injuring one embassy worker, police said.

More than 150 people had gathered outside the embassy to protest
against the Iranian regime, when some of them attacked the building
with rocks and tore down a fence to enter the embassy grounds, police
spokesman Ulf Hoglund said.

"A few managed to climb through broken windows into the building,"
Hoglund said. He said one member of the embassy staff was injured
inside the building, but didn’t know how seriously.

Fifty police officers and an ambulance were dispatched to the
scene. Hoglund said police had evicted the demonstrators from the
building and arrested one person.

Organizers of the demonstration said a few of the protesters were
injured in clashes with the embassy’s security officers.

"We want a regime change," said Firouzeh Ghaffrpour, one of the
organizers. "The Islamic system is not wanted by the people of Iran."

The protesters, mostly Iranians, also demanded the embassy be closed,
AP reported.

OSCE MG CO-CHAIR TO ARRIVE IN REGION MID-JULY

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
27.06.2009 12:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and
his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov held a 6-hour meeting
in Paris on Friday to discuss ways to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict.

Then the talks were continued in presence of Co-chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov of Russia, Ambassador
Bernard Fassier of France and Ambassador Matthew Bryza of the United
States. Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO, Ambassador Andrzej
Kasprzyk also attended the meeting.

Organization of a new presidential meeting and possibilities to bring
the positions of sides closer were in focus.

It was decided that the mediators will arrive in the region in mid
July, RA MFA press office reported.