Author: Nalbandian Eduard

PRESS RELEASE
July 15, 2009

ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY OF WESTERN U.S.A., INC.
Regional Headquarters: 517 W. Glenoaks Blvd.,
Glendale, CA 91202-2812
Contact: Boghos Patatian
Telephone: (818) 500-1343
Fax: (818) 242-3732
Email: [email protected]
Website:

A.R.S. MOURNS TRAGIC LOSS OF LIFE ABOARD CASPIAN AIRLINES FLIGHT #7908

Expresses Condolences and Stands Ready To Assist Surviving Family Members

GLENDALE, CA – It was with a very heavy heart that the Armenian Relief
Society of Western USA (ARS-WR) learned today of the tragic news of the
crashing of Caspian Airlines Flight #7908 from Tehran, Iran to Yerevan,
Armenia which went down near the village of Jannatabad, outside the city of
Qazvin in north-western Iran. According to reports from the Armenian Foreign
Ministry, 40 of the 168 victims confirmed dead on board were ethnic
Armenians, among them being Dr. Levon Davitian, a widely-known and respected
psychologist and former member of the Iranian Parliament, chairman of the
Tehran Prelacy Executive Council and the father of a former ARS employee.
Throughout the morning, our offices have been inundated with requests and
inquires related to this tragedy. Every effort has been made, on behalf of
the ARS, to accommodate these appeals. As its first order of business, the
ARS compiled and posted in three languages (Armenian, English and Farsi) the
names of all 42 victims on board who perished.

In realizing that the ARS-Western Region office has a significant
Iranian-Armenian constituency and having extensive background and
experience in reacting and responding to similar crises – as it did during
the Great Earthquake in Armenia 20 years ago and Hurricane Katrina in 2005
and the assistance it has extended to Armenia, Javakhk, Artsakh over the
years – immediately, the ARS leadership set in motion the proper procedural
apparatuses to provide, through both its Social Services and Psychological
offices, fitting and functional information, guidance, counseling and
assistance to anyone who sought or required such services.

"As with any such tragedy, the ARS stands at the ready and is fully prepared
to employ all of its global resources to help the surviving loved ones of
those who needlessly perished today in this awful airplane crash." Stated
Sossie Poladian, ARS of Western USA Regional Executive Chair. "We encourage
anyone in need assistance to contact the ARS immediately, having the full
assurance that the ARS will help any way it possibly can to ease the pain of
their horrible loss."

The ARS extends its deepest condolences to all of the surviving families,
friends and loved ones of all of the victims of Caspian Airlines Flight
#7908. May God rest their souls and provide peace and comfort to those they
have left behind.

The ARS of Western USA, is one of the 12 regions of the ARS international.
Its operations are coordinated through its regional headquarters in
Glendale, CA, with 26 chapters, five Social Service offices, a Child, Youth
and Family Guidance Center in Glendale, 17 Saturday and after-School
Programs, and one day care center in Montebello, CA.

# # #

Below is the list of Armenians who perished on the plane:

Annette Ajang
Nana Antashian
Edwin Asatrian
Arshavir Avakian
Azat Avanesian
Anoush Baboumian
Anna Poghosian
Levon Davtian
Martin Ter-Avanesian
Naira Stepanian
Shogher Stepanian
Melin Garanian
Karapet Ghoukasian
Armen Sargsian
Vavo Sargsian
Armen Sargsian
Yurik Shahbazian
Mrs. Shahmouradian
Khatchatour Simonian
Ara Siroyan
Zarmineh Souktazian
Vartanoush Tahmazian
Lousik Taroumian
Ramon Taroumian
Christine Ter-Hovannisian
Anahita Ter-Hovannisian
Tadeh Timash
R. Yaghoubian
Arthur Gregorian
Taline Karapetian
Edward Khatchik
Nairi Mayilian
Florik Hovsepian
Arshavir Manaserian
Karine Markarian
Massis Matian
Ani Melkoumkar
Arin Melkoumkar
Edward Navasartian
Ashot Nersisian

NEARLY 170 KILLED IN IRAN PLANE CRASH(AGENCIES)

China Daily
July 15 2009

TEHRAN: An Iranian passenger plane carrying nearly 170 people crashed
shortly after takeoff Wednesday, smashing into a field northwest of
the capital and shattering to pieces. State television said all on
board were killed.

The plane’s tail burst into flames in the air and the aircraft circled
as if looking for a place to land before it crashed, an unidentified
witness told the semi-official ISNA news agency.

The impact gouged a deep trench in the dirt field, which was littered
with smoking wreckage and body parts, according to photos from the
scene. Footage aired on state TV showed a large chunk of a wing, but
much of the wreckage appeared to be in small shreds, and emergency
workers and witnesses picked around the shredded metal for bodies
and flight data recorders to determine the cause of the crash.

The Caspian Airlines Tupolev jet had taken off from Tehran’s Imam
Khomeini International Airport Wednesday and was headed to the Armenian
capital Yerevan. It crashed about 16 minutes after takeoff near the
village of Jannat Abad outside the city of Qazvin, around 75 miles
northwest of Tehran, civil aviation spokesman Reza Jaafarzadeh told
state media.

Map locating Qazvin in northwestern Iran, where a Caspian
Airlines aircraft with up to 169 people on board crashed on
Wednesday. [Agencies]

At Yerevan’s airport, Tina Karapetian, 45, said she had been waiting
for her sister and the sister’s 6- and 11-year-old sons, who were
due on the flight. "What will I do without them?" she said, weeping,
before she collapsed to the floor.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but Iran has
frequent crashes that are blamed on poor maintenance of its aging
fleet. Hossein Ayaznia, an aviation police official, said emergency
workers were searching for the plane’s black box.

The deputy chairman of Armenia’s civil aviation authority Arsen
Pogosian told reporters in Yerevan there were 154 passengers and
15 crewmembers on board the TU-154M. Earlier, Jaafarzadeh had put
the number at 153 passengers and 15 crew, and the reason for the
discrepancy was not immediately known.

Six Armenian citizens and two Georgian citizens were on the flight,
and the rest were likely Iranians, Pogosian said.

Serob Karapetian, the chief of Yerevan airport’s aviation security
service, said the plane may have attempted an emergency landing, but
reports that it caught fire in the air were "only one version." He
did not elaborate.

Qazvin emergency services director Hossein Bahzadpour told the IRNA
news agency that the plane was completely destroyed and shattered the
pieces. "It is highly likely that all the passengers on the flight
were killed," he said.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a statement expressing condolences
for the deaths and urging a swift investigation of the cause.

Also among the passengers were eight members of Iran’s national youth
judo team, along with two trainers and a delegation chief, who were
scheduled to train with the Armenian judo team before attending
competitions in Hungary on Aug. 6, state TV said.

Tehran blames the maintenance woes of its airlines in part on
US sanctions that prevent Iran from getting spare parts for some
planes. However, Caspian Airlines — an Iranian-Russian joint venture
founded in 1993 — uses Russian-made Tupolevs whose maintenance would
be less impaired by American sanctions.

In February 2006, a Russian-made TU-154 operated by Iran Airtour,
which is affiliated with Iran’s national carrier, crashed during
landing in Tehran, killing 29 of the 148 people on board. Another
Airtour Tupolev crashed in 2002 in the mountains of western Iran,
killing all 199 on board.

The crashes have also affected Iran’s military. In December 2005,
115 people were killed when a US-made C-130 plane, crashed into
a 10-story building near Tehran’s Mehrabad airport. In Nov. 2007,
a Russian-made Iranian military plane crashed shortly after takeoff
killing 36 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards.

"CONVERSE BANK" CONTINUES FUNDING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
14.07.2009 19:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Converse Bank" continues assisting various
development programs. The last step in that direction was the funding
of "Atis" basketball team in March 2009, Souren Zohrabyan, branch and
management services director, told today a news conference attended
by Basketball Federation President Hrachya Rostomyan and "Atis"
team’s Executive Director Arthur Nazaryan.

Converse Bank’s initiative is aimed at promoting healthy way of life
among Armenian youth and assisting in the development of professional
basketball.

"The future of any business is closely linked to the state’s social
welfare, stability and level of education. That’s why, Converse
Bank attaches great importance to the implementation of programs
envisaging social-corporate responsibility in spheres of education,
culture and sports," Zohrabyan noted.

In 2009, Converse Bank also assisted in the organization of ballet
Spartak. Currently, it sponsors the "Open Musical Festival" aimed
at the development of tourism. The festival which will last 2 months
will introduce Armenians and foreigners to the masterpieces of musical
culture. The bank is also the general sponsor of "Fruitful Armenia"
project aimed at the development of agriculture in Armenia.

Converse Bank also plans to provide financial support to the organizers
of events dedicated to the birth anniversary of great Armenian poet
Hovhannes Toumanyan.

CHINESE NETIZENS CALL FOR PUNISHING TURKEY

People’s Daily
July 14 2009
China

The anti-China sentiment of some Turkish was thoroughly expressed
recently. On July 12, a 10,000-person anti-China assembly was gathered,
in which most "Xinjiang Independence" banners around the world were
put on show. These participants ignored the truth and falsely accused
the Chinese government of carrying out a "massacre" in Xinjiang,
highlighting their bigotry and isolated attitude in the current world.

The news has angered Chinese netizens. Based on messages on
huanqiu.com, many Chinese netizens feel insulted by Turkish actions and
suggest that China should change its attitude towards the Kurdistan
Workers Party and support their appeal for independence, so as to
make Turkey pay a heavy political price.

On the same day, many western media continued to mitigate their
criticism against the Chinese government, facing consecutively
disclosed facts and truth about the July 5 incident.

Turkey was once accused of committing genocide in Armenia by the West
and its crackdown on Kurdistan Workers’ Party has also stirred up
numerous controversies. However, some Turkish ultra-nationalists has
now forgot their own scars amid a "Pan-Turkism" dream and launched
ruthless attacks on China, which has never offended Turkey.

WOMEN TAKE LEAD IN BUILDING MOSQUE IN TURKEY
By Ivan Watson

CNN
7/13/turkey.mosque.women/
July 13 2009

ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) — There is a shiny addition among the Ottoman
mosques and palaces that make up Istanbul’s stunning skyline: the
metallic, mirrored dome of the new Sakirin Mosque, a Muslim place of
worship built with a woman’s touch.

When sun reflects off the metallic dome of Sakirin Mosque, the flash
of light can be seen across the Bosphorus Strait.

more photos " For what may be the first time in history, women have
been at the forefront of the construction of a mosque in Turkey.

One of the project’s leaders is Zeynep Fadillioglu, an interior
decorator who has designed restaurants, hotels and luxury homes
from New Delhi, India, to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates,
and London, England.

She helped organize a team of traditional mosque artists specializing
in Islamic calligraphy, along with craftsmen in glassworks,
metal-casting and lighting who, like Fadillioglu, have built careers
working in exclusively secular architecture and design.

"I want people to feel peaceful and be left with themselves as much
as possible and yet have beautiful art and artistic symbolism around
them," she said.

Istanbul has a venerable tradition of mosque architecture, dating
back centuries to when Ottoman sultans declared themselves caliph,
or spiritual leader of the Muslim world. Watch Zeynep Fadilioglu show
off her work and inspirations "

The shores of the Bosporus Strait are studded with 16th century
masterpieces such as the Suleymaniye Mosque, built by the Ottoman
Empire’s most famous architect, Mimar Sinan, and ornate, neo-Baroque
jewels designed by the Armenian Balyan family in the 19th century. But
Istanbul’s most senior Muslim cleric laments that mosque design
suffered a decline after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the
wake of World War I.

"In the last 70, 80 years, we have built mosques that are copies
of Ottoman architecture," said Mustafa Cagrici, the mufti of
Istanbul. "This wasn’t a good development, because the copy can never
be as good as the original."

Fadillioglu and her team of artists are hoping to change that. Look
at photos of the mosque "

The Sakirin Mosque was commissioned by a wealthy Turkish Arab family
and built in one of Istanbul’s oldest cemeteries.

The designers put a number of contemporary touches on the structure,
giving it plate glass walls etched with gold-leaf verses from the
Quran, framed by giant cast-iron grids.

Fact Box "If we think about this place as a home of God, we can also
say women will make this place much better."

Carpenter Metin Cekeroglu The mihrab — the alcove that points
worshippers in the direction of Mecca — is made of asymmetrical ovals,
similar to a design used by Fadillioglu to decorate a restaurant in
London. And the chandelier is a multi-layered series of metal and
plexiglass rings, carrying Quranic inscriptions and dripping with
scores of delicate glass teardrops.

"The glass chandelier brings the high dome down to the people,"
Fadillioglu explained. "So when they pray and kneel they don’t feel
lost with the light and it shelters them."

Many of the artists here never worked on a mosque before.

"It’s special that a woman’s hand is involved in this," said one of
them, a male carpenter named Metin Cekeroglu. "If you think about it,
a home is made by woman. And if we think about this place as a home
of God, we can also say women will make this place much better."

Fadillioglu said one of her goals was to bring extra attention into
the design of the women’s section of the mosque, an area that she
says is often neglected by architects. According to Islamic tradition,
worshippers are segregated by gender at mosques.

"I have seen mosques where women have been pushed to the worst part
of stairs, cramped area. Sort of as if (they are) unwanted in the
mosque," she said. "That is not what Islam is about. … Women are
equal in Islam to men"

Five minutes’ drive from the Sakirin Mosque stands the Mihrimah
Sultan Mosque, a 16th century structure built by Sultan Suleiman the
Magnificent in honor of his favorite daughter. Unfortunately, female
worshippers do not get to enjoy its stunning stained glass windows
the way the men do. They have to pray in a small women’s section,
hidden behind a bank of chest-high shelves that store shoes.

At the Sakirin Mosque, Fadillioglu said, she gave women praying on
the balcony an unobstructed view of the dome, the ornate chandelier,
and the area on the floor where the imam will lead prayers.

"I would like to come here to pray," said Elif Demir, an 18-year old
art student with a funky, orange-dyed haircut who was working on the
chandelier. "This mosque is completely different because of the light
that’s coming through the walls, through the glass."

Fadillioglu’s role in the Sakirin Mosque is all the more surprising
because she comes from a jet-set side of Turkish society not normally
associated with Islam.

"It is unusual," she conceded, "because first of all not many modern
people have been commissioned to design a mosque."

She spoke in a recent interview at Ulus 29, the expensive Istanbul
hilltop restaurant and bar that is owned by her husband. Amid the
Ottoman- and Selcuk-inspired flourishes she has sprinkled around the
restaurant are echoes of designs seen at the Sakirin Mosque. A glass
chandelier made of hundreds of crystal tear drops hangs above the bar,
similar in style to the mosque’s chandelier.

Fadillioglu said being a night club owner does not prevent her from
also being a Muslim.

"You might be surprised in Turkey to find some very modern-looking
people being very religious at the same time," she said.

Religion is a hot-button political issue in Turkey, a predominantly
Muslim country with a strict secular system of government.

For the past eight years a fierce power struggle has been under way
between an urban secular elite and a rising new class of religiously
conservative Turks from the Anatolian heartlands. Unlike the wives
of Turkey’s Islamic-rooted president and prime minister, Fadillioglu
does not wear the Islamic headscarf that is often seen as the symbol
of this new class of Turks.

Fadillioglu said politics have polarized society.

"In my childhood … you didn’t differentiate between who was
religious," she explained. "Whoever wants to worship or visit this
mosque, its open, its ready for them."

On May 8, Turkey’s prime minister attended an inauguration ceremony
for the Sakirin Mosque.

Afterward, in an interview with CNN, the mufti of Istanbul called it
the start of a new era of mosque design in Turkey.

"It is in Islamic tradition for women to commission mosques … and now
we have women who are building mosques as well," Cagrici said. "God
willing, I hope the world will see more of these beautiful mosques,
touched by women’s hands."

Pasadena Star-News, CA
July 11 2009

Year-old Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Christian School may close; operating
without a permit

By Robert S. Hong, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/10/2009 08:34:11 PM PDT

ALTADENA – Students at the year-old Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Christian
School at 183 E. Palm St. may be headed back to their old location on
Maiden Lane in the fall.

The Superior Court has granted the county permission to close the Palm
Street school, at least temporarily, because county officials said it
has been operating for the past year without a conditional use
permit. A CUP is required for any school to operate in a residential
zone.

But school officials say no law was broken.

They contend that, because they are a religious school, they were
operating lawfully under a federal religious land use permit, school
Principal Shahe Garabedian said.

"We’re not violating anything, we just operated under the federal
law," Garabedian said. "We came to an agreement (with the county) that
we’ll vacate the premises until we process the CUP."

Deputy County Counsel Dusan Pavlovic said the school opened in
September last year "without going through the full process"
required. "Thereafter, the County Department of Regional Planning
tried to persuade the school to cease operating, but they failed to do
so," Pavlovic said.

In the meantime, school officials said they have appealed the
injunction. The court has given them permission to keep the Palm
Street campus open until a decision is made on the injunction’s merits
in coming weeks.

School officials said regardless of the outcome, students will have a
place to go next year at the Maiden Lane school, where they have been
for several years.
The new elementary school, which was previously a group home for young
children, now has about 240 students, Pavlovic said.

Many of the school’s neighbors had complained that noise and traffic
caused a nuisance when they were trying to get in and out of driveways
or drive down the street.

"I think a lot of neighbors were not happy with (traffic) in the
morning," said Eve Liu, who lives near the school.

Garabedian said problems with traffic were overstated.

He said county fire and sheriff’s department officials inspected the
traffic issue and no violations were reported.

Neighbor William Middleton said he would be content with whatever the
court decides.

"It may not be as bad as some say, but it’s been bad," Middleton
said. "I just don’t know whether that facility is the right facility"
for the neighborhood.

s/ci_12814486

ARMENIAN LEADER, OSCE CHIEF DISCUSS KARABAKH, TIES WITH TURKEY

Public Television of Armenia
July 3 2009

[Presenter] [Armenian] President Serzh Sargsyan received a delegation
led by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Greek Foreign Minister Dora
Bakoyannis today.

Welcoming the high-ranking guest, Sargsyan said that her visit was
a good chance to familiarize herself with the regional problems on
the spot, discuss cooperation between Armenia and the OSCE, as well
as exchange views on matters of mutual interest.

[Sargsyan] We attach great importance to cooperation with the OSCE,
which is continuing to remain the factor ensuring stability and
peace in the region and an active performer of the process to develop
democracy and human rights.

[Presenter] Noting that Armenia and Greece have centuries-long
friendship and common history, the Greek foreign minister said that
there is good mutual understanding and political cooperation between
the two countries. They exchanged views on the Karabakh conflict
settlement and the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. The
OSCE chairperson-in-office highly praised the Armenian president’s
initiative to normalize bilateral relations with Turkey. Sargsyan
once again noted Armenia’s readiness to normalize relations with
Turkey without preconditions.

Bakoyannis welcomed the parliament’s announcement of the amnesty,
which was initiated by the Armenian president.

Following the expanded meeting, Sargsyan and Bakoyannis held a
one-to-one meeting.

NEWLY APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF ITALY TO RA HANDS HIS CREDENTIALS TO RA PRESIDENT

Noyan Tapan
July 10, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Newly appointed Ambassador of Italy
to RA Bruno Scapini handed his credentials to RA President Serzh
Sargsyan on July 9.

Congratulating the diplomat on the occasion of assuming his post, S.

Sargsyan expressed the hope that his activity years will be efficient
from point of view of development and deepening of Armenian-Italian
relations.

Emphasizing Armenia’s interest in expansion of cooperation with Italy
in various spheres, he considered mutual wish, historic communities
and the values the two countries profess as a good basis for it. In
his words, the Armenian-Italian cooperation has a good prospect of
development in many-sided formats, as well.

B. Scapini attaching importance to the formed tradition of
Armenian-Italian mutual sympathy and warm relations, said that he will
do his best to strengthen the current cooperation and to create new
possibilities. As the primary directions of his activity he outlined
promotion of trade and economic relations, activation of high-level
mutual visits.

According to the report of the RA President’s Press Office, they
also discussed regional issues at the meeting. S. Sargsyan welcomed
Italy’s balanced position to delicate regional problems. He reiterated
Armenia’s resolution to solve all current problems peacefully
mentioning that there is every possibility for it. B. Scapini said
that Italy always expresses support to a process aimed at peace.

THE "RA PRIME-MINISTER’S CUP – 2009" CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGED

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Today Seyran Ohanyan received the football team of the Ministry
of Defence – the winners of the "RA Prime-Minister’s Cup – 2009"
interdepartmental football championship. Congratulating them for taking
the honorable first place, the minister stated that this victory
was not by chance because sports play a most important role in the
army-life. The effective realization of military issues depends on
the high physical readiness of soldiers and officers.

CYPRIAN PRESIDENT D. CHRISTOFIAS VISITS THE YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY

ARMENPRESS
July 7, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS: President of the Cyprian Republic Demitris
Christofias and his wife Elsi Christofias who are in Armenia on a
two-day state visit visited today the Yerevan municipality accompanied
with the Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

The newly elected mayor of Yerevan Gagik Beglarian met the guest and
accompanied them in the Yerevan History Museum. The exhibits best
symbolizing the past of the capital of Armenia and its history were
presented to the Cyprian President.

In the first floor hall of the municipality where samples of Armenian
culture, cross-stones are presented for the permanent show reception
was organized in honor to the Cyprian President.

G. Beglarian presented the municipality’s administration, as well
as the honorary citizens, art figures, which were also hosted in the
municipality to the guest.

G. Beglarian awarded the Cyprian President with the gold medal of
the town of Yerevan as well as souvenirs. In his turn the Cyprian
President presented the Yerevan municipality with a symbolic ship of
Cyprian unity and sailing to the separated Northern Cyprus.