Author: Takmazian

CONCESSIONS IN NKR ISSUE SHOULD BE ADEQUATE AND SIMULTANEOUS, ARFD REPRESENTATIVE CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan

Dec 9, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. If Turkey wishes to raise its role
in the region, it should improve its relations with Armenia. Kiro
Manoyan, the Responsible Person of the ARFD Hay Dat (Armenian
Cause) and Political Affairs Office, stated at the December 9 press
conference. According to him, after Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s
visit to Yerevan the dialogue between the two countries that seemed
to have started was interrupted, as Turkey continued to insist on
its preconditions for opening the Armenian-Turkish border. Besides,
the Turks continue casting doubt on the fact of the Armenian Genocide
as before.

Touching upon Armenian lobbyist activity, K. Manoyan said that thanks
to it the Armenian Genocide is already an accepted fact for the
international community today. According to him, currently the task
of Armenian diplomats is not to permit replacing the term "genocide"
by other words in international media. K. Manoyan added that the
finish of the lobbyist process is achieving Turkey’s admitting the
fact of the genocide.

Rendering more clear ARFD’s position in the Nagorno Karabakh
problem, K. Manoyan said that "any concession should be adequate
and simultaneous," at that, the issue of Artsakh status should be
determined at the very start.

Besides, according to him, the issues of return of Armenian territories
beyond NKR borders and of Armenian refugees should be raised. "And
lastly, Karabakh should be a negotiations side enjoying full rights,"
K. Manoyan stated.

SAYAT NOVA CHOIR OF ISTANBUL TO HAVE CONCERTS IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan

Dec 9, 2008

ISTANBUL, DECEMBER 9, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. The Sayat
Nova choir working in Turkey will arrive in Yerevan on December
10 with the Kardes Turkuler choir and Bogazic Art dancing ensemble
to have concerts under the title Spring Comes. The performances of
this cultural delegation consisting of 70 people will take place on
December 12 and 13 in Yerevan and Vanadzor.

According to Marmara, the concerts will be free and their process,
including the preparatory stage, will be videod completely.

USAID/WORLD VISION HAND OVER RURAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM

armradio.am
09.12.2008 13:02

On December 10, the official signing ceremony of a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between four Marzpetarans (Tavush, Lori, Syunik
and Gegharkunik) and World Vision Armenia will take place, marking the
official transfer of the USAID Medical Outreach Teams (MOT) Project
to the Government of Armenia. The MOU, signed by the Governors of
the four marzes and World Vision Armenia National Director Mark
Kelly in the presence of U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch and
RA Minister of Health Harutyun Kushkyan, will ensure continuation
of improved access to quality primary healthcare services in rural
Armenia. In particular, the health institutions of Tavush, Lori,
Syunik and Gegharkunik Marzes will take over the provision of all
primary health care services to their remote communities.

The USAID-funded MOT project, which started in February 2004 and
will be completed in February 2009, was designed to improve access to
primary health care for people living in hard-to-reach communities. The
Project was implemented in the marzes of Tavush, Lori, Gegharkunik,
and Syunik, and covered over 88,000 people living in 123 villages.

Medical Outreach Teams, including general practitioners, gynecologists,
pediatricians, laboratory technicians, and ultrasound specialists,
worked together with local health institutions and provided over
91,000 consultations to remote border communities.

According to the MOU, World Vision Armenia will hand over major project
assets, including medical equipment and vehicles, to the Marzpetarans
to guarantee the sustainability of the MOT. The ceremony today was
in recognition of the commitment by the Armenian government, local
health authorities, communities and medical providers to continue
providing those valuable services.

PRESIDENT RECEIVES MORE CONGRATULATORY CABLES

Emirates News Agency
December 3, 2008 Wednesday 6:15 PM EST

WAM Abu Dhabi, Dec 03rd, 2008 (WAM): President His Highness Sheikh
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan received today more cables sent by world
leaders congratulating him on the occasion of the 37th Anniversary
of the UAE National Day.

The cables were from King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Italian President
Giorgio Napolitano, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and President
of the Republic of Guyana Bharat Jagdeo.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance

Contact Person: Christopher Atamian
[email protected]

December 6TH, 2008

SAROYAN READING BY ADAA AND GARTAL AT THE OHIO THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY

On November 19th, the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance and Gartal
marked the 100th anniversary of William Saroyan’s birth with a staged
reading of his play, "A Lost Child’s Fireflies" at the Ohio Theater
in Soho. Michael Barakiva directed the reading. Mr. Barakiva was a
member of the prestigious Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and is
currently the resident director of the stage musical Dirty Dancing.

The cast included a talented array of alumni from Julliard, NYU and
Yale School of Drama who have been appearing regularly on the New
York stage, TV and film: Maria Thayer, Brian Hutchison, Kelly
Hutchison, Jonathan Woodward, Alicia Goranson (a regular from
Roseanne), Gene Gillette, Kelly Moore, Greg Derelian, Clayton Apgar,
Liza Petrosyan, and Hunter Reid.

The play, published in 1954, and produced only once before in Texas,
follows the lives of six childhood friends from a small town in
Pennsylvania, from 1901-1948, as they fall in love, marry, go to war,
have children, and deal with the lost dreams of their parents.
Saroyan’s simple and touching play gives the audience insight into
the loves and desires of three generations of Americans without
passing judgment–moral or otherwise. ADAA was given exclusive rights
to select the play from the Saroyan Archives at Stanford University.

The audience responded enthusiastically to the cast’s outstanding
reading. Cast and audience members mingled afterwards over wine and
cheese.

This is the second collaboration between Gartal and ADAA. The
reading was produced by ADAA founder Bianca Bagatourian and noted
producer Christopher Atamian.

###

Cast and crew of Saroyan’s "A Lost Child’s Fireflies", presented by
ADAA and Gartal in NYC Nov. 19.

Posted on Fri, Dec. 5, 2008

K. Cyrus Melikian, an inventor with a coffee focus

By Sally A. Downey

Inquirer Staff Writer

K. Cyrus Melikian, 88, an innovative entrepreneur who made coffee
drinking a convenient pastime, died of heart failure Nov. 27 at home
in Haverford.
Mr. Melikian conceived the concept for a coffee vending machine while
serving in the Army Air Force at Wright Field in Ohio during World War
II. He and an officer, Lloyd K. Rudd, were annoyed that the PX was not
serving coffee.

After their discharge in 1946, the men went to work in Mr. Melikian’s
parents’ garage in Mayfair to devise an automatic coffee
dispenser. They tested the machine at an Eagles football game, selling
coffee for 10 cents a cup. "We couldn’t make it fast enough,"
Mr. Melikian told an Inquirer reporter.

In the late 1950s, to improve on the instant coffee that Rudd Melikian
Inc. used, Mr. Melikian developed a frozen liquid coffee concentrate.

In 1967, he and Rudd sold their company. Mr. Melikian and his sons
then established Automatic Brewers & Coffee Devices. At ABCD,
Mr. Melikian developed pods for single or double orders of espresso,
coffee-pod packaging machines and brewers, and coffee-bean grinders
integrated into brewers. His other inventions included a commercial
microwave oven and an ice dispenser for soda cups in vending
machines. He was responsible for numerous patents, his son Robert
said.

Mr. Melikian’s parents escaped the 1919 Armenian massacre and
immigrated to Philadelphia shortly before he was born. After
graduating from Northeast High School, he attended the University of
Pennsylvania before serving in the military. Last year, he was
interviewed for a PBS special on World War II veterans.

An award-winning marksman, Mr. Melikian helped found the trapshooting
program at Aronimink Golf Club. He was a member of several gourmet
societies, and was the founder and chairman of the Philadelphia
chapter of the International Bacchus Society. In 1961, he and Rudd
coauthored The Wonder of Food. In the 1970s, Mr. Melikian wrote a
syndicated newspaper feature about the history of famous dishes, and
in the 1990s he established and taught at a chef’s training school.

He consulted for the Economic Community of West African States and for
the Bank of Liberia, and was a partner in a wine importing and
distributing company.

In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife of 63 years, Roxie
Bozoian Melikian; daughters Karen Harrison and Michele Lockwood; and
six grandchildren. A son, K. Cyrus Jr., died in 1979.

Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Chadwick & McKinney Funeral
Home, 30 E. Athens Ave., Ardmore, and after 10 a.m. tomorrow, followed
by a funeral at 11 at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic
Church, 8701 Ridge Ave. Burial will be in George Washington Memorial
Park, Plymouth Meeting.

Memorial donations may be made to the Armenian Students Association to
benefit the K. Cyrus Melikian Memorial Scholarship, 333 Atlantic Ave.,
Warwick, R.I. 02888.

Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or
[email protected].

"CHINA’S NUMBER OF DIVERS EQUALS ARMENIA’S POPULATION"

A1+
[12:49 pm] 04 December, 2008

Armenia plans to have divers participate in the 2012 Olympics to take
place in London. During the past couple of years, Armenian divers
have participated in teen and youth international competitions.

"Despite the dark years, thanks to diver Avtandilyan Armenia won
the right to participate in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics," told "A1+"
vice-president of the Diving Federation Robert Grigoryan.

Armenia didn’t have any divers for the Olympic games that followed,
which Grigoryan explained as follows:

"When the swimming pool began to function normally, the federation
decided to pay more attention to raising the level of professionalism
of young divers by participating in teen and youth competitions. Now
we have promising divers, who have won over 30 medals in the course
of three years in international competitions."

Two of them are at the required age to participate in the European
and world championships.

There are not too many diving fans in Armenia. "Armenia lacks the
required conditions. Those who privatized the swimming pools took
out the planks needed for diving and the only school for diving that
exists today is the David Hambartsumyan school," says Robert Grigoryan.

The chief trainer of the Armenian diving team predicts that if Armenia
had a couple of diving schools, it would reach victories at the
international level. "China has as much divers as our population. They
pick 2 out of all divers, while we pick 15-20 divers from one school."

The federation keeps hope alive and has appealed to the Sport Ministry
for help. "We are ready to provide equipment to the school so that
the divers can at least practice diving," said Grigoryan.

ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT CAN BE PROBLEM FOR AZERBAIJAN’S JOINING EASTERN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM: HEAD OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN AZERBAIJAN

TREND News Agency
Dec 2 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, December 2/ Trend News corr R. Novruzov/ The
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be problem in joining
Eastern Partnership program of the European Union, therefore the
European Union is going to reinforce its efforts in the settlement
of this conflict, head of the office of the European Commission in
Azerbaijan Alan Waddams said to Trend News.

This assistance will not run counter to or parallel to the activity
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Waddams said.

It will target at supporting activity of the Minks Group without
competition from the co-chairman countries, Waddams added.

The European Commission has created a new subdivision on Eastern
Partnership. The first meeting scheduled for the end of the year is
planned to focus on success of Eastern Partnership member states in
the process of integration to Europe and key ways of integration will
be determined.

On May 26, Poland and Sweden introduced proposals to the EU
foreign ministers to create a forum of eastern neighbors – Eastern
Partnership. It will be composed of 27 EU states including Ukraine,
Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Within the organization, talks will be held on cancellation of visas,
introducing free trade zones and concluding strategic agreements.

FOOD PRICES FALL BY 0.1% IN ARMENIA IN NOVEMBER 2008

Noyan Tapan

Dec 1, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. A 0.1% fall in prices of food
commodities was recorded in Armenia in November on October 2008, which
was mainly conditioned by a 4.3% fall in prices of bread products.

According to the RA National Statistical Service, a 12.2% growth in
prices of bread products was recorded in Armenia in November 2008 on
November 2007, and a 4.3% fall in November on October 2008, which was
mainly due to a fall in prices of flour (6.4%) and high-quality bread
(5.6%). Prices of some types of bread, macaroni, buckwheat, rice,
pea, lavash and grain fell by 0.8-2.5% in the indicated period.

There was a 0.2% fall of prices in the commodity group of meat products
in November on October 2008 and a 9.2% growth of prices in November
2008 on November 2007. Prices of mutton and beef declined by 2.6%
and 1.3% respectively, while pork prices grew by 0.4% in November on
October 2008.

Prices of other foodstuffs, coffee, tea, cocoa fell by 0.1-0.3%
in November on October 2008.

There was a 8.1% inflation in the commodity group of vegetables and
potato in November on October 2008, and a 7.6% fall of prices in
November 2008 on November 2007. A growth was recorded in prices
of tomato (1.6fold), cucumber (1.6fold), green pepper (44.5%),
egg-plant (31.6%), green beans (8.8%), cabbage (7.1%) and potato
(6.6%) in November on October 2008. Prices of cauliflower, carrot,
onion, beet and garlic fell by 3.4-25.9% in the indicated period.

In the commodity group of fruit, there was a 5.5% inflation in
November on October 2008 and a 12.1% fall of prices in November 2008
on November 2007. There was a growth in prices of pear (4.1%), apple
(4.1%), pomegranate (5.2%), grapes (31.1%), peach (44.9%), watermelon
(50.1%) and melon (55.9%) in November on October 2008. Prices of
tangerine, blood orange, orange, lemon, and banana fell by 1.8-22.1%
in the indicated period.

Prices of fish products rose by 12% in Armenia in November on October
2008. 2,5% inflation was registered in the commodity group of butter
and vegetable oil in the indicated period, mainly due to a 10% growth
of prices of melted butter. Prices of corn oil grew by 0.9%, those
of butter, sunflower and olive oil fell by 0.7-1.3% in November on
October of this year.

The average republican price of eggs grew by 2.5% in November on
October 2008. Prices of dairy products grew by 2% in the same period
due to a 4.4-7.7% rise in prices of matsun, yoghurt, curds and fresh
milk. Prices of dairy products grew by 3.6% in November 2008 on
November 2007.

0.1-0.5% inflation was recorded in the commodity groups of
confectionery, alcoholic drinks and cigarettes, soft drinks, and
granulated sugar in November on October 2008.

ALI BABAJAN: "THE SOLUTION TO NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT WILL HAVE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON TURKEY-ARMENIA RELATIONS"

Azeri Press Agency
Dec 1 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova – APA. Azerbaijani and Turkish Foreign Ministers
held a meeting in Baku.

APA reports that the ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Ali Babajan
held a briefing after the meeting.Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister
said the meeting had focused on the bilateral relations between the
two countries, ongoing processes in the region, ways of settlement
of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Turkey-initiated Caucasus Stability
and Cooperation Platform and energy projects with participation of
Turkey and Azerbaijan. The ministers said they had discussed the
implementation of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project and said the
realization of the project was of great importance to both countries.

Noting that there were problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Russia
and Georgia, Turkey and Armenia, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babajan
said that the problems should be solved in order to establish normal
relations in the region. Underlining the importance of solving the
conflicts through dialogue, Ali Babajan said the solution of problems
should not be left to the future generation.

"Turkey wants peace and stability in the region," he said.

Turkish Foreign Minister did not give a concrete answer to the question
"When will the borders between Armenia and Turkey be opened?" Ali
Babajan said the solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict would have a
positive influence on Turkey-Armenia relations.