Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

BANANTS YEREVAN PREPARING FOR 16TH TOURNAMENT OF "COOPERATION CUP"

Noyan Tapan
Dec 12 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The 16th tournament of the
Champions’ Cup of the CIS and Baltic countries: "Cooperation Cup",
will be held in Saint Petersburg on January 19-27, 2008. It is
organized and held by the Football Union of Russia. Armenia will be
represented by Banants, which has been included in the "D" group,
in this review. They will compete with the champions of the Ukraine,
Belarus, and Uzbekistan: with Dynamo Kiev, Baten Borisov, and Pakhtakor
Tashkent, correspondingly.

The football players of Banants have started to prepare for the cup
tournament since December 10. Local football players take part in
the trainings as yet. Since January 6 the legionaries and Bulgarian
Nikolai Kostov, the chief trainer, will join the team.

RETIREMENT AGE: NOBODY ACCEPTS TO WORK, WHILE IT EARLY TO RETIRE

KarabakhOpen
11-12-2007 11:36:12

On the eve of the discussion of the state budget the most frequently
discussed topic is retirement. People discuss in the kitchen, at work
if the retirement age will change. After the presidential election
rumors filled Stepanakert that the retirement age for women will be
lowered from 63 to 55, men from 63 to 60.

It gave rise to various reactions.

Arev Mikaelyan said in an interview with Karabakh-Open.com she is happy
with the intention of the government. "I am 55. I was made redundant,
and nobody admits me to work. They say the age is not good. There is
still a long time until retirement. What shall I live on? Besides,
if I am not working now and earning money, how will they give me
retirement benefit?"

Arev Mikaelyan says she wants to write a letter to the prime
minister with a group of her peers and neighbors. She already has
their signatures.

Jenna Petrosyan works for one of the hospitals of Stepanakert. She is
56, and she has worked in the same hospital all her life. She worried
when she heard about the reduction of the retirement age. "Every time
such a decision is made, they force people to retire. I can work and
I am not going to retire. Although if the retirement benefit were as
much as my salary, I would retire and look after my grandchildren. But
you cannot live on this pension."

Jenna Petrosyan explains "fear" for retirement by the fact that
some head physicians of hospitals were offered to retire from their
positions and practice medicine.

The budget bill is discussed in the parliament. However, apparently
the retirement age will not change in 2008. Although it is obvious
that the ministry of social security will need to carry out a survey
to define the optimal age of retirement without violating the rights
of people when not a long time ago hundreds of skilful workers of
government agencies were made to retire in a month.

ABOUT NEW PROSPECTS OF COOPERATION AT THE MOMENT OF FAREWELL

Panorama.am
16:37 11/12/2007

President Robert Kocharyan had a farewell meeting with the Bulgarian
Ambassador to Armenia Stephan Dimitrov today in relation to his end
of tenure in office.

President press services report that Kocharyan pinpointed to high
efficiency of Armenian-Bulgarian relations during the tenure of the
ambassador saying economic and cultural ties are boosted.

The ambassador mentioned that the number of persons studying Bulgarian
is increasing in Armenia and a new Bulgarian-Armenian dictionary
is published.

The parties spoke about the prospects of Armenian-Bulgarian enlarged
cooperation within the framework of the European new neighborhood
policy.

ARMENIA TAKES SECOND PLACE IN "JUNIOR EUROVISION – 2007"

Noyan Tapan
Dec 10 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The "Arevik" children’s and
youth ensemble of the Public TV and Radio took second place with the
"Yerazank" (Dream) song in the "Junior Eurovision – 2007" contest,
which was held in Rotterdam (Netherlands) on December 8, yielding to
Belarus with only one point.

The highest mark, that is 12 points, was given to Armenia, which was
taking part in the contest for the first time, by Georgia, Cyprus,
Belgium, Russia, Romania, Netherlands, and the Ukraine, 10 points were
given by Sweden and Greece, 8 points by Bulgaria, 7 points by Belarus,
and 5 points by Serbia.

Serbia took third place, Georgia took fourth and Macedonia fifth
places in the contest. Children’s ensembles from 17 countries took
part in the "Junior Eurovision – 2007" contest.

KARABAKH ISSUE VERY IMPORTANT FOR TURKEY

armradio.am
10.12.2007 14:24

The Karabakh conflict is a very important issue for Turkey, the Turkish
Ambassador to Azerbaijan Huseyn Avni Karslioglu said at the winter
session of the International School Azerbaijan-NATO on 10 December.

"The Nagorno-Karabakh problem is very close to us and we would like
to discuss it at the winter session," he said.

STEPAN DEMIRCHIAN: BY DECIDING NOT TO SUPPORT L. TER-PETROSIAN,
CANDIDATES PLAY INTO HANDS OF S. SARGSIAN

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The rally initiated by the first
Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosian and his supporters on December 8
started with a one-minute silence in memory of the 1988 Spitak
earthquake victims.

The chairman of People’s Party of Armenia Stepan Demirchian stated that
many of the political figures, who have submitted bids on participation
in the 2008 presidential election struggle, would have behaved more
correctly if they had openly supported the candidate of the authorities
because by deciding not to support L. Ter-Petrosian and to participate
in the elctions on their own, they play into hands of this candidate.
According to S. Demirchian, some unknown persons are spreading leaflets
with false comments on the October 27 events among rally participants
and advised to stop these actions, otherwise, in his words, "the
authorities will prove by this that they are behind the October 27
assassins."

In his speech the former Armenian foreign minister Alexander Arzumanian
stated that some figures of Armenia’s inner political fiedl are guided
by the principle "you open a fair, I found a party", and parties are
mainly founded with the aim of gaining a financial benefit. As A.
Arzumanian put it, one of such "party chiefs" is the leader of the
"National Unity" party Artsahes Geghamian who did not support S.
Demirchian in 2003, while in 1998, he did not support Karen Demirchian
– by his inert position, he prevented the success of the popular
struggle in those years. Another political figure – Vazgen Manukian, in
the words of A. Arzumanian, "cannot stand above his personal feelings".

The head of the Marxist Party David Hakobian in his speech appealed to
the "biblical Armenian people", asking its "political blessing" and
said that the motto of the struggle led by L. Ter-Petrosian is "total
capitulation of the Artsakh vikings".

NATIONAL REVIVAL PARTY’S CONGRESS WAS LEGAL, SELF-LIQUIDATED PARTY’S CHAIRMAN STATES

Noyan Tapan
Dec 5, 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The National Revival party’s
congress held on December 5, during which a decision on party’s
self-liquidation was made, was absolutely legal. Albert Bazeyan, the
Chairman of the National Revival party, said this at the December 5
press conference. According to him, the issue of National Revival’s
self-liquidation and amalgamation with the Ramkavar-Azatakan Party
of Armenia was discussed in the prevailing part of party’s initial
and territorial structures.

As regards the issue that the majority of National Revival’s Political
Board members was against party’s self-liquidation and amalgamation
with the Ramkavar-Azatakan Party of Armenia A. Bazeyan said that the
decision was made according to the regulations. According to them,
all decisions are made by 2/3 votes of Political Board, and five out
of seven members of the Political Board, according to A. Bazeyan,
voted for that decision.

It should be mentioned that a few days before the congress Vagharshak
Haroutiunian and Hunan Mazmanian, the Chairman of the territorial
organization of Gyumri, were expelled from party’s Political Board.

"PROSPEROUS ARMENIA" PARTY WILL OFFICIALLY STATE ITS SUPPORT FOR SERZH SARKISIAN’S CANDIDATURE

Mediamax
December 6, 2007

Yerevan /Mediamax/. On December 20 Board of the "Prosperous Armenia"
party (PAP) will officially state its support for the candidature of
the Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisian for the upcoming presidential elections.

Mediamax reports that Leader of PAP Gagik Tsarukian said this in
Yerevan today. He reminded that the issue of support of RPA Leader’s
candidature is determined by the coalitional agreement, signed by RPA
and PAP following the results of the parliamentary elections of May 12.

"We are not going to renounce the commitments we have taken upon
ourselves", Gagik Tsarukian stated.

AS OF 13:30, DECEMBER 4, ANOTHER TWO CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENCY SUBMIT APPLICATIONS OF NOMINATION TO CEC

Noyan Tapan
Dec 04 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN. As of 13:30, December 4, the RA
Central Electoral Commission had received another two applications
of nomination of candidates for the forthcoming presidential
elections. The necessary documents were presented for nomination
of candidatures of Tigran Karapetian, the Chairman of the People’s
Party, the owner of the ALM TV company, and Vahan Hovhannisian,
a member of the ARFD Bureau, the Vice-Speaker of NA, by the above
mentioned parties. NT correspondent was informed about it by Abram
Bakhchagulian, the CEC Secretary.

It should be mentioned that the deadline of candidatures’ nomination
is 18:00, December 6. For the present, besides T. Karapetian and
V. Hovhannisian, the following candidates have been also nominated:
first RA President Levon Ter-Petrosian by the self-nomination order,
RPA Chairman, Prime Minister Serge Sargsian, NDU Chairman Vazgen
Manukian, National Unity party Chairman Artashes Geghamian by the
above mentioned parties.

The News Tribune, WA
Dec 5 2007

Connecting students to events of history

HEATHER WOODWARD; The Olympian Published: December 5th, 2007 01:00 AM

His students have met Holocaust survivors and seen former Nazi
concentration camps in Poland with their own eyes.
Charles Wright Academy history teacher Nick Coddington wants to make
sure the teenagers in his classes will be willing to stand up against
genocide wherever they encounter it. Last Tuesday, Coddington, a
45-year-old Tumwater resident, received national recognition for his
teaching work.

He received the Robert I. Goldman Award for Excellence in Holocaust
Education from The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. The New York
City-based foundation assists older and needy non-Jews who risked
their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, the foundation’s Web
site states. It also educates teachers and students about the history
of Holocaust and rescue.

`He’s really able to connect his students in a very unique way to the
events of history and current events and all with a focus on where
your life is going to take you,’ Althea Cawley-Murphree, a Charles
Wright spokeswoman, said of Coddington. `He wants all of his students
to be prepared if they ever have an opportunity to stand up.’

Coddington is in his third year as a high school teacher after
spending 21 years in the Army, where he witnessed the effect of
genocide in Bosnia. When he began thinking about how to design a
20th-century history course for high school freshmen, he wanted
genocide to be a theme that connected the entire curriculum. Doing so
would help teach students about tolerance, cultural awareness and
diversity, Coddington said.

The Washington State Holocaust Research Center in Seattle helped
Coddington develop the curriculum which covers genocides including
those in Armenia, Russia, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur and
helped him find survivors who came to talk to his students.

`This is the last generation that will hear the survivors’ of the
Holocaust, Coddington said. `These students now will be the ones to
tell the stories years from now.’

Last fall, Coddington attended a weeklong training session at
Columbia University with educators from across the United States and
Europe who teach about the Holocaust. His roommate was from Swidnik,
Poland, and they decided to create an exchange program in which 12
Charles Wright students traveled to Poland to participate in the
annual Holocaust Remembrance Week. The students visited three
concentration campus during their trip.

`I don’t know if they really grasp what they’ve been exposed to, but
I think they will in the years to come,’ Coddington said. `We’re
teaching them to learn to care about other people, and I don’t think
there’s anything more noble I could do as a teacher.’