Author: Nalchajian Markos

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
August 29, 2008
Phone: 610-642-6633
[email protected]

BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA ALUMNI
An Impressive Return on Investment

Every year Birthright Armenia alumni from around the world return to their
Homeland in growing numbers. Since 2004, 65 out of 300 participants have
gone back to Armenia at least once. Some return to pursue further volunteer
experience and internships, others to reconnect with old friends and family,
but in all cases, there seems to be a common tug, almost inexplicably
calling them back to Armenia.

"When you realize what most of these young adults forego in order to come
back to Armenia to continue doing more good work after their Birthright
Armenia experience, it truly speaks to the high level of commitment we have
been seeing overall in our post-community service follow-ups," says
executive director Linda Yepoyan. "And if you think about the fact that
there are over 1 million diasporan Armenians in the world who are currently
in their twenties, what a fantastic resource Armenia would have in them if
20% of them committed to working toward a stronger and more democratic
Homeland", adds Yepoyan.

Nelli Martirosyan (AAA 2007) is spending this summer in Tsamakahogh village
of Nagorno Karabagh. With the support of a $2,500 grant from the Birthright
Armenia "Next Step" Alumni Fund, she has started a Youth Development
Initiative in the village. Born and raised in Armenia, Nelli moved to the
United States when she was 18, but she knew that she would be back soon. She
has a strong resolve to devote her life’s work to Armenia’s development.
With a background in education, Nelli has created a program designed to
empower youth through knowledge-teaching them vital language and computer
skills and instilling within them the values of teamwork and volunteer work.
With Nelli’s guidance, the youth of Tsamakahogh have created several
committees charged with sports, social and cultural events which they run
completely independently. "I don’t volunteer for them," says Nelli, "I
volunteer with them." Contributing to Armenia’s development is not just a
passing phase for her – it’s a lifetime commitment.

Volunteering through Birthright Armenia and its sponsored organizations has
led many to positions of leadership both in their hometowns and in Armenia.
Garine Palandjian of Providence, RI (currently residing in Glendale, CA) was
an AYF volunteer in 2005. She spent the summer in Armenia, but this time
around, as the AYF Eastern Internship Coordinator. After spending the past
few months organizing internships, living arrangements and a schedule of
events for the eight-week program, Garine worked alongside the local AYF
office in Yerevan and Birthright Armenia to ensure the success of each
internship. She is proud to be working with organizations that hope to
bridge the gap between Armenia and the Diaspora.

For some alumni, like Ric Gazarian and Grace Yacoubian (both AVC 2004)
Armenia is nothing short of an addiction. Both have returned almost every
year since their internships. Ric, a Boston native now living in Chicago,
volunteered for close to four months at Zatik Orphanage, teaching English,
playing games, and spending time with the children. As a parting gift to the
kids and staff at Zatik, he organized and sponsored a festival. He has
returned every summer since 2004, making the Zatik Festival – complete with
face painting, moonbounce, cotton candy and pony rides – an annual
tradition. "As a volunteer," says Ric, "you come to donate your time, but of
course, you get more than you receive." The festival is his way of saying
thank you. He came back mid-August to sponsor the event for the fifth time,
and the children of Zatik Orphanage were anxiously awaiting his arrival.

Grace Yacoubian (AVC 2004) left Armenia wanting to come right back at all
costs. But she remembers an older volunteer’s counsel: "Take your time, work
on your portfolio, get something to offer this place. Just take your time.
Armenia will be waiting for you." Since then, she has learned grant writing
and has embarked on a Master’s degree in non-profit management. Yacoubian
has returned to Armenia three times since volunteering through Birthright
sponsorship in 2004. This summer, she is in the northern city of Gyumri on
an internship stipend award, working with the Economic Consulting Service,
an agency supporting the efforts of local farmers, businesses and non-profit
organizations. "Each time I return, I learn more about Armenia, myself, and
my place in it," says Yacoubian.

This desire to discover Armenia, and in turn, discover oneself is echoed in
several Birthright Armenia participants – and it doesn’t end with the
completion of their internships. Serli Hacikoglu (AVC 2006) and Areg
Maghakian (AVC 2007) are among the handful of Birthright alumni who have
decided to return to Armenia to stay, in hopes of enriching their lives and
the lives of others. Serli, a native of Washington D.C., has been living in
Yerevan since January. "I can’t imagine being anywhere else at this point in
my life," she says, "I really live my life here. I am constantly exploring
and discovering – things, people, a place, and most importantly, myself."

Areg Maghakian originally planned to volunteer for five months, extended his
stay twice, and in February 2008, decided to move to Armenia. "Birthright
enabled me to come here, see first-hand the potential Armenia has for
growth, and actually participate in its development," he says, "It was a
great starting point." Maghakian is currently looking to expand Armenia’s IT
sector through outsourcing projects.

Birthright Armenia’s continued quest to connect youth from the Diaspora with
the Homeland is proving extremely fruitful. With alumni returning to Armenia
every year to embark on exciting projects that further Armenia’s development
while enhancing their own "journey of self-discovery", the organization is
proud of its high rate of return on investments. For many, what begins as a
two-month volunteer opportunity becomes a lifelong commitment to, and
investment in, their Homeland.

GONE TO BASE
by Ruslan Gorevoi

WPS Agency
What the Papers Say (Russia)
August 26, 2008 Tuesday
Russia

RUSSIA IS REESTABLISHING MILITARY BASES ON THE BORDERS OF THE ERSTWHILE
SOVIET UNION; An update on Moscow’s response to the efforts of the
West to build a sanitary cordon around Russia.

Keeping an eye on geopolitical parity is one duty Moscow never shirks
nowadays. Of course, it could adopt a different pattern of behavior and
succumb to Washington’s every demand the way Yugoslavia once did. What
this compliance cost Yugoslavia is common knowledge. First, all
republics were encouraged to cede and leave Serbia all alone. Second,
the West left Serbia without its own ancestral lands of Kosovo and
Metochia.

Even that is not all, or so it seems. With President Boris Tadic
studiously looking the other way, all of Serbia may be restricted to
Belgrade city limits soon. The Serbian way of non-resistance to the
bullying West is not for Russia. It follows that something has to be
done. Response to appearance of the American ABM defense system in the
Czech Republic and Poland should take the form of an increased military
presence of Russia in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan and also
in Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. As well as in Syria, Cuba,
and Venezuela. (With Belarus, everything is clear since we will form
a union with this country one fine day.) Military experts say that
these measures will neutralize the American ABM defense system in
Poland whose efficiency is going to be marginal in any event. This
system kills one missile out of five on its lucky day and never even
sees guided missiles with nuclear warheads.

President of Moldova Vladimir Voronin was demanding Russian
peacekeepers’ withdrawal from the Trans-Dniester region and their
replacement with an international contingent barely a year ago. It took
Deputy Premier Sergei Ivanov a great deal of patience and persuasion
to convince Voronin to learn to live up with the idea that Russia
would retain its presence in the region as long as assets of the
14th Army remained there. As a matter of fact, Russia was supposed to
withdraw all of that from the region seven years ago, in keeping with
the Istanbul Accords (1999). On the other hand, withdrawal from the
Trans-Dniester region would have meant leaving the self-proclaimed
republic on its own and depriving itself of a chance to establish a
military base there one fine day.

Now that Ukrainian President Victor Yuschenko reached an agreement with
his Romanian counterpart Traian Basescu to settle the Trans-Dniester
conflict without Moldova, Voronin has a chance (and the time)
to authorize an increase of the numerical strength of the Russian
peacekeeping contingent in the region and permit establishment of
Russian military bases just about anywhere in Moldova.

Russian peacekeepers in the Trans-Dniester region number almost 1,000
men these days (two motorized infantry battalions, battalion of guards,
helicopter unit, and several auxiliary companies). The contingent is to
be increased to brigade’s size soon. Also importantly, the reinforced
contingent will help Moldova itself with its national security.

Restoration of Russia’s military presence in Central Asia began in
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Return to these post-Soviet
republics was anything but easy and unproblematic, thanks to
NATO. Return to Uzbekistan was particularly difficult. President
Islam Karimov was one of the initiators of the anti-Russian
GUUAM (an alliance of Georgia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan,
and Moldova). Moreover, one of the first US military bases in
the post-Soviet zone was established precisely in Uzbekistan (in
Khanabad). Karimov even did his best to keep the Russian military out
of Kyrgyzstan, so that a major conflict between Moscow and Tashkent
was barely averted in 2001.

In any event, Karimov and Voronin reconsidered their options. Islamic
gunmen provoked several border incidents several years ago. The Uzbeks
turned to the United States for help but Washington chose to remain
deaf to all requests. Uzbek secret services in the meanwhile came by
the documents proving that the gunmen had aimed to seize Samarkand
and Bukhara and – which was particularly piquant – that they had
elicited promises of non-involvement from the Americans. Karimov did
not forgive the Americans. He ousted them from Uzbekistan in 2005 and
invited the Russians to the former US AF base a year later. Official
Tashkent severed ties with the Americans and withdrew from GUUAM.

More or less analogous metamorphoses occurred in Kyrgyzstan
too. Reassuring Moscow of his goodwill and readiness to advance
relations with it, President Askar Akayev did what he could to prevent
transfer of the airfield in Kant to the Russians. At the same time,
he did not exactly object to the American expansion into Central Asia
so that the US AF established its airbase in Manas right near the
capital city of Bishkek in 2002. Once the AF base was established,
Islamic fanatics launched their attacks – just the way it had been
in Uzbekistan nearby.

Moreover, Akayev was hard pressed by existence of unsolved territorial
disputes with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, ones he couldn’t hope to
settle on his own. Claiming to want "parity" in the country, Akayev
authorized establishment of a Russian military base. It was established
in 2003 (Russia has SU-25 ground-strafers based there). As for Akayev,
he told the Americans to vacate the premises in spring 2005 – the
way Karimov had done before him.

When Kurmanbek Bakiyev was elected the president of Kyrgyzstan, the
Russian military solidified its positions in this country. Russia
has several other military objects in Kyrgyzstan these days – torpedo
testing center, long-range communications center, and seismic station
working for the Russian Strategic Missile Forces.

It is necessary to add that Russian military presence meets long-term
interests of Central Asian republics.

The Tajik Pamir are Kyrgyz-populated. Samarkand and Bukhara in
the southern part of Uzbekistan are Tajik-populated. There are
four Uzbek enclaves on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. State borders
actually exist on paper because Central Asian states cannot maintain
their integrity. Skirmishes between border guards are not exactly
unheard-of (one involving Uzbek and Tajik border guards was reported
only recently).

There is Afghanistan nearby, a major pain in the neck. Islamic
fundamentalists cross the borders without hindrance, ferrying into
Central Asia weapons, drugs, and ideology.

All hopes are pinned on the Russian military, particularly in
Tajikistan. President Emomali Rakhmonov kept stalling for time in the
matter of permitting a Russian military base in Tajikistan when his
country’s national security was maintained by Russian border guards’
presence. All of that ended in December 2004 when Russia withdrew
its border guards and left Tajikistan facing the task of securing
its own borders. It did not take official Dushanbe long to realize
the scope of problems it was facing with Russian border guards gone
and nobody to turn to for assistance.

Russia ended up owner of the Nurek electronic center in less than a
month. Its 201st Motorized Infantry Division posted in Tajikistan was
developed into a fully-fledged military base. These days, three Russian
regiments are quartered in Dushanbe, Kulyab, and Kurgan-Tyube. By
way of military presence in Tajikistan, Russia also has a battery of
Grad multiple rocket launchers, AF group (five SU-25s), helicopter
wing, antiaircraft missile regiment, regiment of self-propelled
artillery pieces, and a regiment of jammers. Nearly 8,000 men strong,
the Russian military contingent includes 100 tanks and 300 infantry
fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. Also importantly,
Tajikistan does not even demand a rent for the military base.

Georgia’s reckless foray into South Ossetia offered Moscow additional
opportunities even in this region that seemed lost to its influence
forever. President of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity has already
authorized establishment of a major military base, and his Abkhazian
counterpart Sergei Bagapsh is expected to follow suit in the immediate
future. Political situation being what it is, Russian military presence
in the region will ensure its security in the Caucasus and serve as
a counterweight to American presence.

The situation in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in the meanwhile may repeat
itself again in Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev will probably
be re-elected but the Americans seem to be backing the Azerbaijani
opposition rather than their protege. There are no guarantees at
all that Aliyev will tolerate it. In fact, he is likely to do what
his Uzbek and Kyrgyz colleagues did. In the meantime, there is an
obstacle to the Russian-Azerbaijani rapprochement, one by name of
Yerevan. Two years ago, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev
declared his country ready "to take every conceivable measure to
restore territorial integrity and control over Nagorno-Karabakh",
and relations between Moscow and Baku plummeted.

Russian then Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov proclaimed Moscow
ready to dispatch its military to Stepanakert (the capital of
Nagorno-Karabakh). In fact, Ivanov repeated the offer to Stepanakert a
year later. Official Baku was understandably upset then. It is probably
different, these days. Aliyev may put up with deployment of the Russian
military in Stepanakert and with other, even more resolute, steps
now. In any event, Russian military analysts anticipate establishment
of a Russian military base in Azerbaijan in a foreseeable future –
on Aliyev’s request.

In other words, the Russian military returned to the borders of the
erstwhile USSR and established a security belt along the Russian
perimeter. Leaders of Venezuela, Cuba, and Syria offer territories
of their countries for Russian military bases too. It is going to put
Russia in a position where it will be able to make a lot of problems
for the United States in the Middle East and Latin America. Sure,
it is not going to endear Russia to Europe or America, but it will
allow for at least a semblance of military parity. Also importantly,
this expansion promises Russia both foreign political dividends
and purely economic ones. Control is frequently more rewarding than
actual possession.

RUSSIA RECOGNIZES INDEPENDENCE OF GEORGIA’S REBEL REGIONS

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Aug 26 2008
Germany

Sochi, Russia – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev formally recognized
Georgia’s rebel regions as independent on Tuesday, defying Western
criticism as its troops remained in the former Soviet state.

‘In the current crisis it became necessary to make a decision. … I
have signed decrees on the recognition by the Russian Federation of
the independence of South Ossetia and of Abkhazia,’ Medvedev said in
a nationally televised statement Tuesday.

The United States slammed the resolution while the European Union
reaffirmed support for Georgia’s territorial integrity just minutes
before Medvedev’s announcement.

‘It is not an easy choice, but it is the only way to protect the
lives of civilians,’ the president said after meeting with Russia’s
security chiefs.

The Kremlin convened the security council at the president’s Black Sea
residence in Sochi on Tuesday to review a plea by Russia’s parliament
for recognition of the two Georgian breakaway regions.

Vladimir Putin – Russia’s powerful premier and Medvedev’s predecessor
as president – was also in attendance.

Medvedev stressed that Russia has long held back from recognizing
Abkhazia and South Ossetia’s pleas for independence, but that Georgia’s
attack on the latter had forced its hand.

‘On the night of August 8, Tbilisi had a choice: (Georgian President
Mikheil) Saakashvili opted for genocide. … With this choice
Saakashvili wiped out all hope of a peaceful coexistence of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia under one government,’ Medvedev said in the
statement.

Russia and Georgia fought a brief but bloody war over South Ossetia
with Russia’s army moving deep into Georgia last week after repelling
an offensive by Georgian troops to re-take its separatist region.

Few other governments are likely to recognize the two regions, that
have held de facto independence since winning a war of succession
from Tbilisi in the early 1990s.

With Russian troops still deep in Georgia, Russia’s move to recognize
the republics is sure to deepen a rift in ties with the West already
at their worst since the Cold War.

The United States rebuked Russia’s parliament over the resolution on
Monday, saying it was ‘deeply concerned.’

US President George W Bush warned that Moscow’s recognition of
the provinces would violate its commitments and the United Nations
resolutions governing the diplomatic effort to resolve the frozen
conflicts.

Russian lawmakers Monday cited Kosovo’s recent break from Serbia as a
legal precedent for South Ossetia’s moral right to self- determination.

Ahead of the announcement, Medvedev sought to reassure the Molodovan
and Azeri presidents – who have similar secession worries to Georgia
– over the respective breakaway regions of Nagorno Karabakh and
Transnistria.

NO ARMENIA-BOUND CARRIAGE DAMAGED BY EXPLOSION ON ALTERNATIVE GEORGIAN RAIL BRIDGE

ARMENPRESS
Aug 25, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS: Gagik Martirosian, an aide to prime
minister and head of a task force, set up to coordinate transportation
of goods from Georgia to Armenia, told Armenpress that no Armenia-bound
carriage was damaged by an explosion when a train with Azeri oil hit
a mine on an alternative bridge on August 24 overnight.

The disused bridge was reopened for trains while Georgian repairmen
were repairing the key bridge, 40 km west of the city of Gori, that
was blown up on August 16.

Gagik Martirosian said Georgian repair crews repaired the alternative
bridge promptly.

According to Gagik Martirosian, all carriages with Armenia-bound
goods, stranded near the bridge, will start moving to Armenia. He
said normal operation of the Georgian railway is expected later this
week for uninterrupted delivery of commodities to Armenia.

ARMENIA BANS OPERATION OF WESTERN UNION ON ITS TERRITORY

Today.Az
ics/47174.html
Aug 25 2008
Azerbaijan

The Board of the Central Bank (CB) of Armenia decided today to
forbid all the banks on the territory of Armenia to participate in
the international Western Union money transfer system.

As Mediamax was told in CB press service, the banks were ordered to
annul the cooperation agreements with Western Union in an envisaged
order.

The CB press service informed that this decision was made to reduce the
banking risks as "there are cases of unfounded violation of agreement
provisions between Western Union and several banks acting on the
territory of Armenia. Thus, in branches of several banks the money
transfer system stopped service which can harm the usual activity of
the banks, their financial status, lead to an unexpected situation
in the sphere of money transfers, as well as influence the economic,
financial and real sectors of the country."

Mediamax recalls that earlier Azerbaijan demanded that Western
Union, Moneygram and some other systems stopped their activity in the
"Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" (NKR) threatening to ban the activity of
the systems in Azerbaijan. As a result of this, several money transfer
systems stopped their activity in "NKR".

The temporary exploitation of Igdir – Yerevan railway technically impossible

armradio.am
23.08.2008 17:12

The General Director of `South Caucasian railway’ company Alexander
Kuznetsov informed `Mediamax’ agency that temporary exploitation of
railway between Armenia and Turkey technically is not possible.
According to him the Igdir ` Yerevan railway communication has been
stopped since 1993 and for the recovering the communication a capital
reconstruction must be done. At the same time Alexander Kuznetsov noted
that the `South Caucasian railway’ is ready to restart the railway
communication with Turkey. MEDIAMAX agency reminds that in August 20 a
group of young men asked the President of Turkey Abdillah Gul to open
the Igdir-Yerevan railway in a day to attend the football match between
the collectives of Armenia and Turkey in September 6.

Iran prepares to launch satellite

press tv
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:18:38 GMT

Iran has announced that the country is set to send its first remote
sensing telecommunication satellite into space in the near future.

In a Saturday address in the central city of Arak, the Iranian
President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said sanctions have proven ineffective
in obstructing Iran’s march of progress.

"The Islamic Republic has now developed the technology to build
satellites and will use its advanced technology to launch its first
remote sensing telecommunication satellite into space," President
Ahmadinejad said.

The report comes after the Wednesday announcement of the head of Iran’s
Aerospace Organization that the country is preparing to send its first
astronaut to space within the next decade.

The country’s homemade satellite is of the most advanced technology of
its kind, President Ahmadinejad continued.

The Iranian president added that the country’s first homemade satellite
carrier Safir 1 will help the satellite reach a speed of 8000 m/s, the
highest speed satellites can reach.

President Ahmadinejad cautioned global powers that their sanctions
would only make the Iranian nation more determined to reach its goals.

Earlier on Sunday, Iran successfully launched its first domestically
manufactured satellite carrier, Safir 1, which will be used to send a
lightweight telecommunications satellite, Omid (meaning ‘hope’ in
Persian), into orbit.

Following the successful launch of the Iranian satellite, the US
spokesman Gordon Johndroe described ‘the Iranian development and
testing of rockets’ as ‘troubling’

The West continues to accuse the Islamic Republic of pursuing a
military nuclear program. This is while the UN nuclear watchdog has
confirmed the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in the
country’s nuclear program.

DEPUTY HEAD OF ARMENIA’S TAX SERVICE DISMISSED FROM POST

ARKA
Aug 22, 2008

YEREVAN, August 22. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
has signed a decree dismissing Deputy Head of the RA State Tax Service
Kajavan Nurijanyan from his post, the RA Government’s press service
reports.

By RA President Serge Sargsyan’s August 20 decree, the RA State Tax
Service and Customs Committee were transformed into the RA State
Revenue Committee.

Gagik Khachatryan, ex-chairman of the RA State Customs Committee,
has been appointed Chairman of the RA State Revenue Committee.

ARKA NEWS AGENCY RELEASES PRESS RATING OF ARMENIAN BANKS FOR 2ND Q 2008

ARKA
Aug 19, 2008

YEREVAN, August 19. /ARKA/. ARKA News Agency has released a press
rating of Armenian banks for the 2nd Q 2008.

Four leaders – HSBC Bank Armenia, Armeconombank, Araratbank, VTB
Bank Armenia – were named in the news agency’s ranking against five
in Apr/June 2007.

The analysis of the press shows that despite banks’ press releases
were few in the second quarter (4.8% fewer, compared with the same
quarter of 2007), they saturated with interesting information.

The share of negative information reduced from 3.4% in the second
quarter of 2007 to 2.5% in the same quarter this year.

Some topics dominated the press releases and their share in the
information received in the 2nd Q 2008 grew as compared with the same
quarter a year earlier. Information about bank development policy
grew from 22.2% in the 2nd Q 2007 to 30.7% and that about personnel’s
economic forecasts and opinions grew from 2.5% to 8%.

Unlike these topics, broad information reduced from 47% to 40%, banks’
figures from 21% to 17.3% and clients and services 7.3% to 4%.

According to ARKA News Agency’s press rating for Apr/June 2008, HSBC
Bank Armenia showed indices 58.94 and 238.33 on general information
and development policy.

VTB Bank (Armenia) provided the more information on clients and
services than other banks. Its index w as 15.36.

Araratbank paid greater attention to figures than other banks
(index 92.28).

Armeconombank outdid other banks in highlighting economic forecasts
and opinions (17.92).

Three banks issued information on all the mentioned topics, the same
as in the second Q 2007.

The press rating is based not on financial and economic indicators,
but on the facts of banking activity covered in the press.

The more comprehensive the information provided by banks, the more
effective their communicative policy.

In its analysis, the news agency doesn’t use the information from
banks’ advertisements.

More detailed information is available in Press Rating of Banks
bulletin #03 (38) for the 2nd Q 2008.

CHILDREN OF ARMENIA FUND TO MARK THE 5-TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS INCEPTION IN ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
Aug 19, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 19, ARMENPRESS: Children of Armenia Fund (COAF)
will mark this month the 5-th anniversary of its inception in Armenia.

A press officer of the COAF told Armenpress that the Fund’s ultimate
goal is to help reduce poverty in the country through revival of
Armenian rural communities and implementation of projects embracing
children and young people.

On this occasion the COAF’s main sponsors, donors and members of its
Board will be visiting Armenia on August 22-25.

In Armenia they are expected to be received by the prime minister and
education and science minister. The latter will award the ministry’s
gold medal and letters of appreciation to a group of COAF sponsors.