Author: Nanijanian Alex

Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
March 27, 2008
Contact: Ani Garabedian

ANC-WR Intern Spotlight: Carina Khanjian

Los Angeles, CA – As a participant in the Armenian National Committee
– Western Region’s 2008 Spring Internship-Externship Program (ANC-WR
IEP), Carina Khanjian has gained valuable knowledge and experience
within the media and public relations field. In addition to writing
press releases and building media relationships, Khanjian has also
been instrumental in conducting a voter registration drive among the
Armenian American community.

"Upon hearing about the ANC-WR Internship-Externship Program I was
extremely excited to apply," exclaimed Khanjian. "I have been aware of
the ANC and its various activities but this experience has allowed me
to gain further insight into how this exceptional organization
operates on a daily basis," added Khanjian.

Carina is a senior at Alex Pilibos Armenian School and has recently
been admitted to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
where she plans to study English and Communications. Khanjian has
also been a long time community activist and member of Homenetmen Los
Angeles and AYF Glendale.

Prior to her internship, Khanjian volunteered at the ANC-WR on
numerous occasions such as the 2006 Telethon as well as phone banking
to raise awareness of H. Res. 106. While volunteering for the
organization, Khanjian learned about the Internship-Externship Program
and was motivated and eager to begin partaking in ANC related
initiatives.

The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest and
most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in
the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of
offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States
and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANC-WR advances
the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues.

###

Photo Caption – Carina Khanjian at the ANC-WR offices.

RESOURCES OF RA NAS SCIENCE DEVELOPMENT FUND TO BE USED FOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC STUDIES

Noyan Tapan
March 26, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, NOYAN TAPAN. Since the day of its establishment
– August 20, 2007, the total amount of donations to the Science
Development Fund of the RA National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has made
16.78 mln drams and 400 thousand dollars, the fund’s director Hrant
Matevosian said at the March 26 sitting of the RA NAS presidency. 16.78
mln drams was allocated as a primary sum by the RA NAS, 300 thousand
dollars was received from businessman Gagik Tsarukian, member of
the fund’s board of trustees and 100 thousand dollars – from Ara
Abrahamian, the president of the Union of Armenians of Russia. It
was announced that 50 thousand dollars out of the sum donated by G.

Tsarukian was distributed to socially vulnerable merited
scientists. Another 50 thousand dollars was given to a specially
created surgery fund – for cardiovascular and tumor operations.

It is planned to use A. Abrahamian’s donation for holding a contest
of scientists.

According to a press release of the RA NAS, the main directions of
the fund’s activities were discussed at the sitting. In particular,
it was pointed out that the major sums earned should be used for
commercialization of scientific studies, which will allow to increase
resources of the fund and to make a profit.

LIFE AFTER NEEDHAM’S NO PLACE FOR HATE PROGRAM ENDS
By Steven Ryan, [email protected]

Needham Times
March 26 2008
MA

Needham – Despite being dealt a blow last fall, when the town suspended
ties with the No Place for Hate program, student organizers didn’t
use it as an excuse for inaction, forging ahead with activities that
once flew under the program’s banner.

The town suspended ties with No Place for Hate after the
Anti-Defamation League, which co-sponsors the program, decided
against clarifying equivocal language about its stance on the Armenian
Genocide.

This year, the monthlong series of events on civic action have been
renamed Needham Takes Action. Without ADL resources on which to rely,
student organizers were forced to scale back activities, a decision
also made in light of MCAS testing this month. Organizers instead
relied more heavily on civic-minded clubs at the high school.

"Our concern was we wanted to do something that meets the needs of
the Needham High School community and helps students be more mindful
about themselves and others," said Dianne Yearwood, a Civil Rights
Team adviser at the high school. "The goal was to involve as many
clubs in the school who did civic-minded things."

Last year, No Place for Hate month had both a local and a global
scope, with each week dedicated to a particular theme, which isn’t
the case this year. There was a week focusing on "local injustices,"
but there was also a week dedicated to Darfur, the highlight of which
was a student assembly featuring Panther Alier, who escaped civil
war in Sudan.

With this year’s activities now even more localized, with an added
focus on respecting one’s self, the tenor of the activities slightly
changed. Although Make a Statement Day, in which students write
inspirational quotes on T-shirts, was again a part of this year’s
activities, there were also some new activities.

A sunrise yoga class took place the morning of March 25, and the
school’s Environmental Club started a campaign encouraging folks
to use less bottled water, citing the wastefulness of the plastic
bottles and noting the vast majority of the bottles aren’t recycled.

Nalgene bottles, which are meant to be refilled, were sold in the
school’s cafeteria.

Other activities include Random Acts of Kindness, in which students
wrote on a poster in the cafeteria things they would like to see
change or instances in which someone was kind to them. The school’s
Gay/Straight Alliance sponsored a photo exhibit on gay, straight
and trans-gendered youth, featuring photos of youths from across the
country and short essays that went along with each photo. Students
also visited Cradles to Crayons and the Great Boston Food Pantry,
bringing donations.

"The ADL had a lot of resources we used; we’d like to call this
a transition year from last year," said Josh Goldman, a senior at
Needham High School and one of the student organizers, who spoke of
this month’s activities at a recent School Committee meeting.

The aftermath of the town’s decision to suspend ties with No Place for
Hate also resulted in an educational event on the Armenian Genocide
sponsored by the town’s Human Rights Committee in April at the high
school’s Media Center.

The event will feature speakers from the town’s Armenian community
and academic experts on the Armenian Genocide. Paul Dellaripa of the
Human Rights Committee said the event was intentionally scheduled
near the events at the high school in March.

"The idea of the Armenian Genocide and its role in history is not
well understood," Dellaripa said. "The hope is that this will be a
strong educational event for people."

The Human Rights Committee recommended suspending ties with the
ADL-sponsored No Place for Hate program in November, after the ADL
decided against clarifying language about the Armenian Genocide,
which saw the death of 1.5 million Armenians in present-day Turkey
during the World War I era. The ADL’s national director, Abraham
Foxman, made a statement in August 2007 calling the "consequences"
of the mass killings "tantamount" to genocide.

The Board of Selectmen took up the Human Rights Committee’s
recommendation and voted to suspend ties.

"Events that involve human rights are current or maybe historical
come up in our town," Dellaripa said. "The Human Rights Committee is
prepared to deal with these issues, either historical or are issues
people are dealing with to this day.

BLUE AIRWAYS AIRLINE HAS NEVER HAD ITS OWN PLANES

Noyan Tapan
March 25, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 25. NOYAN TAPAN. Blue Airways, an airline registered
in Armenia and operating planes, has never had its own planes so it
cannot sell them. Blue Airways currently operates leased planes which
make flights to foreign countries, NT correspondent was informed by
spokeswoman for the RA Civil Aviation Department Gayane Davtian. In
her words, the Armenian legislation does not forbid any company to
sell its property.

To recap, according to press publications, the U.S. administration has
announced its decision to impose punitive measures on some companies
for selling their planes made in the U.S. to Iran. Among these airlines
is Blue Airways.

MAHMUDALI COHRAQANLI: `JOHN MCCAIN WILL BOMB IRAN NOT LATER THAN IN 2010′
by S. Rzayev

Ekho
March 20 2008
Azerbaijan

In the opinion of the leader of the National Awakening Movement of
Southern Azerbaijan [NAMSA], who lives in emigration in the USA,
the Republican candidate is more advantageous for Azerbaijanis,
who, in his turn, more increasingly sympathize with the Democratic
candidate Barack Obama.

[Correspondent] The selection of nominees from the political parties
to stand in the forthcoming presidential election in the USA is under
way with all its might at the moment. The Republicans have mainly
decided about their candidate who will be Senator John McCain.

However, not everything is clear with the Democrats. Ethnic
Azerbaijanis US citizens will also vote for a future US president this
autumn. You observe the events with your own eyes, in your opinion,
who the Azerbaijani community ready to vote for?

[Cohraqanli] True, the Republicans have already determined their
positions with their future candidate who, no doubt, is John McCain,
who left far behind his rivals. As for the Democrats, one should
say that Barack Obama is leaving behind his rival Hillary Clinton,
and if this process continues, then the struggle in the presidential
election will be between McCain and Obama.

I assume that the majority, be it in America or beyond this country,
stick to the opinion that this time the Democratic candidate will be
the winner. I would not like to speak about any personal sympathy.

But anyway, this time, in my view, it is the turn of the Democratic
candidate to win the presidential election. The Azerbaijanis will
certainly vote for the real candidate who is Barack Obama. At the
same time, the Azerbaijani community here is highly uncoordinated.

Azeri community not compact

[Correspondent] In other words, do Azerbaijanis sympathize with the
Democratic Party?

[Cohraqanli] This is my opinion. We have to admit that similar mood
prevail not only amongst Azerbaijanis but whole of the American
society. Before the current administration, the White House was twice
led successively by the Democrats. After such a success, the Republican
George Bush won. Apparently, taking into account the current state
of the US economy, it is again time for the Democrats.

At the same time, the Democrats have always been successful with
economy while the Republicans have difficulties in this regard.

[Correspondent] You are saying that our compatriots incline to support
the Democrats, however, here in Baku, an opinion prevails that the
Democratic Party adheres to pro-Armenian position, which, it goes
without saying, runs against the interests of Azerbaijan. For example,
exactly representatives of this party persistently push forward a
resolution on the so-called Armenian genocide in the US Congress. Will
the victory of the Democratic candidate not strengthen positions of
the pro-Armenian forces in the overseas in the upcoming election?

[Cohraqanli] The number of the Azerbaijani community in the USA, in
particular, those who arrived in the USA from southern Azerbaijan
is not only less than the Armenian community, but according to
some figures, outnumbers them. Simply, our national and political
self-consciousness is weak: we do not worry about the Fatherland,
do not care about the future of the nation. Consequently, we are weak.

Regretfully, very often our own interests are above national. This
concerns to a greater extent emigrants from southern Azerbaijan, whose
number, according to different figures, in the USA is from 300,000
to 700,000 people. And this mass is divided into almost 100,000
different groups who are in permanent infighting and quarrels and
cannot come to a common denominator. Regrettably, this is the result
of the fascist policy of the Iranian regime which has always subjected
us to assimilation and subdued the national self-consciousness.

On the contrary, at present the Armenians in the USA has a solid
political position in the highest echelons of power in the USA. They
love their historic Fatherland, their people and do their best to
help Armenia and the Armenians. As for opinions about the pro-Armenian
position of the Democrats, bear in mind that when the US president was
democrat Bill Clinton, a resolution on a notorious Armenian genocide
was submitted to the Congress. The Democratic administration of the
White House rather quickly and efficiently blocked the initiative
and it did not go beyond words. As is known, a similar resolution was
submitted to the Congress during the presidency of George Bush. But
this time, the Republican administration acted in a slow manner to
block the resolution, and at some point, an impression was that the
pro-Armenian resolution would be adopted. In such issues, an important
mission is placed on Azerbaijan, its influence and the activities of
our Diaspora. If we are able to sustain and establish good relations
and ties with the authorities in Washington, then, in principle,
it will not make any difference for us who will be the master of the
White House: Republicans or Democrats.

McCain to bomb Iran if elected

[Correspondent] In your opinion, what will be the US policy with
regard to Iran in case one of these candidates wins the election?

Could you briefly set forth how will things evolve in case one of
these potential hopefuls John McCain, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton
are elected a president?

[Cohraqanli] The Democrats have always been against war. For the
Republicans, everything is clearer: a policy of force, a military
way of resolving problems have always been on their agenda as one of
the real options. If a problem is not resolved by means of dialogue,
the Republicans resort to military operations unambiguously. If
a Democratic candidate be Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton wins the
election, they would prefer to start a dialogue with official Tehran,
allowing Iran what which in the end will satisfy both sides serving
to the ease the tension. Those candidates do not view a military way
for the resolution of the Iranian issue.

As for the Republicans, the situation is without saying completely
different. The policy of Bush under John McCain would be continued
in a softened form. If Iran does not abandon attempts to enrich
uranium and possess weapons of mass destruction in accordance with the
requirements of the USA, then naturally, Washington will hit the IRI
[the Islamic Republic of Iran] and a certain amount of work has been
done to this effect.

The Republicans will not drag out with this and in my opinion, if
McCain is elected, and Iran continues to obstinate, he will bomb Iran
not later than 2010. It is an open secret that the Islamic regime
continues its activities to create a nuclear weapon. The Iranian
fascist regime is planning to obtain the nuclear weapons at any cost
and use it as insurance, a guarantee for the preservation of the
current regime of the mullahs, the regime of Persian chauvinists.

[Correspondent] You are saying that Azerbaijanis have more sympathy
for and inclined to Barack Obama. But nevertheless, in your opinion,
the election of which of the candidates would be beneficial for
Azerbaijanis worldwide?

[Cohraqanli] Naturally, above all, the election of John McCain meets
interests of Azerbaijanis. But I would not like to send a message
to some people or a group of people with this statement. At the
same time, I have to note with regret that representatives of our
community are more interested in their economic benefits rather than
political interests. McCain is an experienced man who for sure has
drawn conclusions from mistakes made by George Bush.

DENNIS SAMMUT: NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBORS TO HELP KARABAKH RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.03.2008 14:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Security is a priority issue for Armenia now,
Executive Director of LINKS, Director of the Political Strand of the
Consortium Initiative and co-rapporteur of the EU Caucasus-Caspian
Commission Dennis Sammut said in Yerevan.

"Normalization of relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey will help
resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

During the past 2 years, we are periodically told that sides are close
to a solution. Europe should endeavor for a peaceful settlement of the
conflict and pay more attention to the South Caucasus region. Whether
Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan can be viewed as European states is
not discussed. The point is how they can integrate into the European
community," the British expert said.

The EU Caucasus-Caspian Commission was formed in February 2007 in
Brussels with the purpose to weigh prospects of the region. The
Commission includes political and public figures from Russia, U.S.,
UK, Germany, Armenia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Slovenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Iran and other states.

CENTRAL BANK HEAD: ARMENIA AND RUSSIA TO SPEED UP COOPERATION DEVELOPMENT

ARKA
March 25, 2008

YEREVAN, March 25. /ARKA/. Armenia and Russia to speed up their
cooperation development, Tigran Sargsyan, chairman of the Central
Bank of Armenia, said Monday in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

He pointed out time and trust as important factors of economic
development.

He thinks these factors lay favorable ground for establishing
economic ties.

"Mentality, traditions and cultural relations have always united
Russia and Armenia and created favorable environment for establishing
business ties", Sargsyan said.

He said that this doesn’t apply to Europe and America – time is needed
for establishing new economic relations, and time is money.

"Integration processes with Russia will outdo integration with other
countries", the Central Bank head said.

He said that once Armenia’s economic relationship with Russia lagged
behind political, but in recent tree years, the countries built up
political relations.

"Armenian and Russian governments view new industries, changeover
to science intensive economy and high technologies as top-priority
focuses.

This will spur our economies integration", Sargsyan said.

Armenian-Russian trade turnover grew 65.5% to $704.1 million. Armenia’s
exports to Russia totaled $201.8 million (17.4% of Armenia’s exports)
in 2007 after growing 66.5%, compared with the previous year.

Imports from Russia reached $502.3 million in 2007 after growing 65.1%,
compared with 2006.

As a whole, Russia has imported commodities worth $570.5 million
(17.4% of total imports).

Statistical reports say, in 2007 Russian imports reached the record
high making 15.9% of Armenia’s foreign trade turnover.

Reuters, UK
March 23 2008

Q&A: Rocker Tankian spreads the word on social justice

Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:05pm EDT
By Cortney Harding

NEW YORK (Billboard) – A few days before the fifth anniversary of the
Iraq War, rock musician Serj Tankian is sitting in an Austin hotel
room and ruminating on the costs of the endless battle. But Tankian
isn’t talking about dead soldiers or civilians; he’s talking about
the cost to the Middle East’s environment, an issue that few people
have raised.

"The topsoil there has been destroyed," he says, "and who knows what
kind of damage all those bombs have caused to the ecosystems in the
Middle East?"

Many bands these days are claiming the "green" label, but their
concern often starts at the merchandise table and ends at the
recycling bin. Not so for the System of a Down frontman-turned-solo
artist, who sees beyond silos and realizes that issues like electoral
reform, recognition of the Armenian genocide, poverty and the
environment are all related.

As South by Southwest, the four-day music industry conference and
party, rages below him, Tankian is serious but not humorless; clad in
jeans and a T-shirt, he fiddles with his iPhone and shows off
pictures of his dog before settling in to ponder weightier issues.
Later that night, he brings the seething, schmoozing Stubb’s crowd to
a halt when he plays three haunting acoustic tracks at a show to
celebrate the release of the "Body of War" documentary.

For Tankian, preaching about taking action is not enough. Rather than
paying lip service to green issues, he founded a Web site,
skyisover.net, to connect his fans to environmental and social
justice organizations.

He also founded a nonprofit organization, Axis of Justice, with
former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.

"The organization has grown and morphed, and we really see the
environment as being tied to social justice and human rights causes,"
Morello says. "We both realize that while people can do things on a
person-by-person basis to make the world more green, massive levers
need to be thrown to cause any real change."

Tankian is spreading his green message on the road and working with
environmental nonprofit Reverb to make sure that his current tour
leaves as small a carbon footprint as possible. With the
organization, he ensures that all the food served backstage is
organic and locally grown, that recycling bins are available
throughout the venues and that fans can buy energy credits to offset
their travel to the show. Still, Tankian recognizes that it’s not
enough.

"This is all great," he says, "but it’s not going to stop the
destruction. Right now the Earth has a fever, and based on the
accelerated rate of population growth, the way we live now is
completely unsustainable."

Q: Many artists are becoming more active in promoting green issues,
but you seem to be one of the few who actually go a step beyond and
connect environmental issues to issues of poverty and war. How do you
see the relationships between these causes?

Serj Tankian: For me, it all stems from the need to promote justice.
I called my organization Axis of Justice because I didn’t want to
focus on only one issue. The connections can be drawn because they
are present in so many places; for instance, poor urban neighborhoods
have higher asthma rates. When a city wants to build a dump or get
rid of radioactive waste, they don’t put it in the nice part of town.
Even materials that are supposed to be environmentally friendly can
be harmful to poor communities. Biodiesel, for example, uses up
farmland that could otherwise be used to grow food for starving
people.

Q: How did you first get involved in green issues?

Tankian: I’ve been a supporter of Greenpeace and the Sierra Club for
years. I have a place in New Zealand, and I was really impressed with
a Greenpeace action that took place down there recently. Greenpeace
folks boarded a Japanese whaling ship to try to shut it down, and in
the midst of the conflict, both ships ran out of fuel. When a rescue
ship came, the Greenpeace people tried to disconnect the fuel lines
to the whaling ship, even though it meant they’d be stuck as well. It
was kind of crazy, but sometimes you have to be ballsy and put
yourself out.

Q: This is all great, but I’m wondering how you justify being part of
an industry that produces so much waste. You’ve sold more than 10
million CDs, and many of those were in plastic containers that had to
be shipped to stores.

Tankian: Basically, we’re all hypocrites unless we go out and live
off the land. That way of living is a model for me, because I think
those people are clued in about climate change and the way we’re
going to have to alter our lives. I spend a lot of the record talking
about the end of civilization, and I don’t mean an apocalypse. I
think that we are going to have to come to terms with the fact that
the way we live now will not exist in 50 years, period.

Q: Along those same lines, you have been touring for this record, and
while you have carbon offset programs in place, you are still using a
lot of resources and putting a lot of goods out there. How do you
reconcile that with your belief system?

Tankian: Again, I realize I am a hypocrite by going on the road and
doing this. I’ve had an idea for a long time, which might sound a
little crazy, but I really want to look into holographic touring. I
think we could reduce our need to travel if we could project
ourselves into meetings and concerts. We have the technology, and
we’re not using it right now.

For instance, I have a studio next to my house and a live performance
room in the studio. I could broadcast a show in real time and could
interact with the audience as if we were in the same room. After all,
it’s not like the audience can touch me, anyway. (laughs) It would
open up a whole new world for touring — shows wouldn’t have to be
limited to bars or clubs. There would be no travel costs, so bands
with very little money could play shows, and tickets would cost less.

Q: Well, even though that is still in the future, at least bands
right now are starting to become more conscious. Do you worry,
though, that being green might just be another trend for musicians
and will be forgotten in a few years? After all, how many people do
you hear still talking about Tibet?

Tankian: I’m not a big trend follower, so I don’t know if this is
just another blip. I think that with the ice caps melting and
everything changing, bands and everyone else on the planet won’t have
much of a choice about becoming green. I look at a place like New
Zealand, which is ecologically one of the most progressive places on
Earth. People down there are unconsciously conscious — they don’t
get self-congratulatory when they recycle, they just do it as a way
of life. I think we need more education to get us to that place.

Q: While bands are also becoming greener, they seem to be less
interested in other issues, like electoral politics. Would you agree
with that?

Tankian: I think a lot of bands are coming out for this election,
many more than the previous few. Howard Dean had some good support
and momentum in 2004, but it collapsed quickly. I’m an Obama fan, but
I have to say I was disappointed when I found out he wanted to expand
the defense budget. Still, he has done a good job getting younger
people invested in the process and teaching them about the way party
politics work.

Q: You’ve used your position as a popular musician to spread the word
about a number of causes. Have you gotten any backlash or flack from
your fans?

Tankian: I wrote an essay called "Understanding Oil" after 9/11 that
led to me being called a traitor and stations dropping our songs. The
sad thing is, now that the war has been on for five years, people are
coming up to me and telling me I was right.

Q: You just performed at a concert for the antiwar movie "Body of
War" and have a song on the soundtrack. What other musical plans do
you have for the near future?

Tankian: I’m going to continue touring behind the new record, and I’m
also working on some music for film. I might be working on a score
for a theatrical production, too. My next record will be a jazz
orchestral record; I want it to have a whole different vibe than the
last one. I want to be able to play Carnegie Hall with the new one.
I’m planning on releasing it in 2009. I never studied music; I ran a
software company before I did any of this. I’ve been lucky that I’ve
done so well and been able to make the music I want to make.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT TO VISIT RUSSIA ON FIRST TRIP

Agence France Presse
March 20, 2008 Thursday

Armenian president-elect Serzh Sarkisian will make an official visit
to Russia on March 24, his first foreign trip since he was elected,
the Armenian government said on Thursday.

"Sarkisian will meet with the current Russian President (Vladimir)
Putin and the newly elected (Dmitry) Medvedev and also with Prime
Minister Viktor Zubkov," the Armenian government said in a statement.

Sarkisian will discuss cooperation with Russia, the statement said.

He was elected president on February 19 in a controversial election
that the opposition claimed was rigged. Foreign observers, however,
said the vote had by and large met international standards.

Eleven days of protest demonstrations by the opposition ended in
violence on March 1 when a 20-day state of emergency was imposed.

Eight people died in battles between riot police and demonstrators.

The state of emergency was set to be lifted on Friday.

DM MICHAEL HARUTYUNYAN MET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF CSTO SECRETARIAT AND JOINT STAFF

armradio.am
22.03.2008 13:35

On March 22 RA Defense Minister Michael Harutyunyan received the
representatives of the Ministries of Defense of the Russian Federation
and the Republic of Tajikistan, as well as the Secretariat and the
Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO),
Press Secretary of RA Minister of Defense, Colonel seyran Shahsuvaryan
informed.

The interlocutors discussed the "Rubezh 2008" military exercises
of the CSTO. The 4th stage of the maneuvers will be held in Armenia
August 1-5.