Author: Tambiyan Samvel

LAKE SEVAN RISES BY 43 CM IN ONE YEAR
Noyan Tapan
Jun 07 2006
SEVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the data of Armstatehydromet’s
Gegharkunik regional subdivision, on June 1 2006, Lake Sevan was
1898.58 m high from the sea surface. According to the same source,
as compared with May 1 2006, the lake has risen by 27 cm and as
compared with June 1 2005 by 43 cm.

PEACE CORPS MARKS 45 YEARS
By Greg Cima
[email protected]
Bloomington Pantagraph, IL
June 8 2006
Jeremy Richart felt out of place as he looked out a hotel window
onto the landscape made almost entirely of concrete, wrought iron and
other metal. But the residents of that Armenian neighborhood welcomed
Richart and integrated him into their culture.
“I had to rely upon the kindness of my neighbors and host family
to just open up their door and just go, ‘We don’t know who you are;
you just got shipped to us, but we’re going to make you part of our
family,” he said.
Richart, now working toward a graduate degree at Illinois State
University, is one of about 182,000 people who have volunteered with
Peace Corps during its 45-year existence. He spent two years as a
volunteer in Armenia starting in 2002, and spent another teaching
there at a private school.
Melissa Marion, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based
organization, said the corps’ mission and goals remain almost untouched
since 1961. The program has a 30-year high of 7,810 current volunteers.
“Americans like to give, and we’re a very idealistic society, I think,
in that sense,” Marion said. “And I think that that has always remained
a part of fulfilling American dream.”
At ISU’s Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development,
graduate students earn degrees by mixing coursework and Peace Corps
volunteer work.
Faculty director Frank Beck said the program focuses on economic
and community development, and offers degrees in political science,
economics and sociology.
The Peace Corps’ first focus has always been on education, Marion
said, though volunteers now focus partly on HIV and AIDS and business
development. Other efforts include improvements for the environment
and agriculture and youth development.
Mike Kelleher, who directed the Stevenson Center for its first
eight years, was a Peace Corps volunteer with a community health
and development project in Sierra Leone when Peace Corps marked its
25th anniversary.
“As a high school student, I was very taken by the Peace Corps slogan
‘The toughest job you’ll ever love,’ and it was the reason I joined
as soon as I was eligible,” Kelleher said in an email from Tbilisi,
Georgia, where he is resident director for the National Democratic
Institute for International Affairs. “I haven’t found a better
description for my experience.”
ISU began its ties with the Peace Corps in 1994 with the Peace Corps
Fellows Program, an idea of now-retired professor Bob Hunt, Kelleher
said. The university created the Stevenson Center when the program
expanded to include the Masters International Program.
“I don’t ever recall talking to a returned Peace Corps volunteer who
didn’t believe that Peace Corps changed their life,” Kelleher said.
“It up-ends your assumptions about the world we live in and challenges
many to make a positive contribution to change in their communities
and their work.”
Ralph and Louise Bellas of Normal spent two years in the Fiji Islands
as volunteers starting in 1986, staying through two military coups
in 1987, Ralph Bellas said.
Both had retired from other jobs before signing up, and had one son
already volunteering with the Peace Corps, he said.
Bellas taught English and literature at the University of the South
Pacific. His wife was assigned to the Fiji School of Nursing.
Bellas said Fiji residents opened their homes and hearts to those
trying learn about their culture without being judgmental.
He and Louise went through a ceremony to become village members,
and returned to Fiji years after their volunteer work.
“Whenever you go back, you’ll be regarded as one of the villagers,”
Bellas said.
Richart worked with an organization involved in after-school programs
for children, and helped gain grants that paid for the town’s first
playground and for a furnace in the organization’s building, he said.
He has returned twice to Armenia.
“The individuals there were just amazing in accepting me and showing
me their culture and integrating me into the culture as much as they
possibly could,” Richart said.
The sense of community and openness has made him more conscious of how
he interacts with others and has helped him try new things, he said.
Kelleher said the Peace Corps is extraordinarily well-received and
remembered in by residents of the small towns and villages it serves.
It is “one of the best foreign policy investments that Americans
have made.
“And it continues to pay off in goodwill towards our nation and more
active connections to other nations of the world.”
What it is
The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then-Sen.
John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan
to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working
in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the
federal government devoted to world peace and friendship.
SOURCE:
Peace Corps
Officially established: March 1, 1961
Total number of volunteers and trainees to date: 182,000
Total number of countries served: 138
Current number of volunteers and trainees: 7,810
Gender: 58 percent female, 42 percent male
Marital status: 91 percent single, 9 percent married
People of color: 16 percent of volunteers
Age: 28 (average), 25 (median)
Volunteers over age 50: 6 percent (oldest is 79)
Education: 96 percent, undergraduate degree; 13 percent, graduate
studies or degrees
Countries served: 69 posts serving 75 countries.
SOURCE:

A.R.F. Shant Student Association
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 306
Glendale, California 91206
Tel: 818-462-3006, Fax: 866-578-1056
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: S. Levonian
PRESS RELEASE
June 7, 2006
Ground-breaking Workshop Equips Shant Members with Essential Leadership Skills
GLENDALE, CA – The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Shant Student
Association (ARF Shant) conducted a Leadership Workshop for its
general members on Sunday, June 4, 2006 at the ARF SSA headquarters in
Glendale, California. The purpose of the workshop was to provide
general members with progressive leadership skills and concepts as
they pertain to non-profit, volunteer-based organizations such as the
ARF SSA.
The workshop was conducted by Chris Minassian, a doctoral candidate in
Organizational Development and consisted of a program equally balanced
between presentations and hands-on activities. The subjects covered
were External Organizational Environment Analysis, Internal
Organizational Analysis, and Motivation and Goals. The presentations
more directly focused on the specific topics of S.W.O.T. Analysis,
Porter’s Five Forces and Analysis, Identifying Core Competencies,
Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals, and Motivation through Goal Setting.
In addition to the aforementioned presentations, workshop participants
had the opportunity to test and develop their leadership skills
through several hands-on activities. For each activity, participants
separated into groups and worked on tasks designed to highlight and
strengthen leadership skills, communication, and team-building. In
one such exercise, each group member assumed the role of a city
official such as a mayor or fire chief and was responsible, along with
her team members, to respond to a natural disaster in the team’s
virtual city. This activity and the other activities engaged the
participants and contributed to the energetic and lively atmosphere of
the workshop.
The ARF SSA Executive Board will continue to conduct such workshops
for the advancement of its general members. All college students
interested in the activities of the ARF SSA can contact the Executive
Board by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or visiting the
website.
The mission of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation “Shant” Student
Association (ARF SSA) is to bring a higher level of political and
cultural awareness to Armenian students within American Universities
and institutions of higher learning. Shant’s goal is to work side by
side with the Armenian Student Associations and other Armenian Student
organizations to further the Armenian Cause. In the last All-ASA
General Meeting, ARF SSA was elected chair of the All-ASA Genocide
Recognition Committee.

ARMENIANS PROTEST HATE KILLINGS IN RUSSIAN CAPITAL
MosNews, Russia
June 6 2006
Several dozen protesters rallied outside the Russian Embassy in Yerevan
on Monday, protesting a series of attacks on ethnic Armenians in Russia
by skinheads and racist nationalists, The Associated Press reports.
The demonstration, organized by rights activists, came just 10 days
after a group of apparent skinheads stabbed a teenager on a train
outside of Moscow – the sixth such fatal attack on ethnic Armenians
in or around Moscow this year.
Avetik Ishkhanian, head of the Helsinki Committee of Yerevan, said
protesters were calling on government authorities to condemn the
Moscow attacks.
Russia has seen a marked rise in xenophobia and hate crimes in recent
years, with a series of attacks on dark-skinned migrants, foreigners
and Jews. Rights groups say authorities do little or nothing to combat
the crimes.
According to the Moscow-based Sova human rights center, last year
31 murders and 382 assaults had racist motivations. So far in 2006,
14 people have been killed in xenophobic attacks.

FOOTBALL TEAM OF SAN MARINO ARRIVED IN YEREVAN
ArmRadio.am
07.06.2006 13:56
Under 21 football team of San Marino arrived in Yerevan. On June 9
it will meet the Armenian team in the response match of the first
qualification round of the European Championship.
Trainer of San Marino team Romer Kazadie brought 18 players:
1. Matia Bianki
2. Jiovanni Boniny
3. Marco Kazadei
4. Alberto Chelly
5. Enrico Chibelly
6. Marco Dominikony
7. Alex Gasperson
8. Nicola Jenjini
9. Alesandro Gwidy
10. Matheo Vitaolly
11. Andreas Morony
12. Marco Palacci
13. Matheo Rossy
14. Stefano Gasperony
15. Mikele Rastelly
16. Matheo Vally
17. Davidie Ranokiny
18. Fabio Magaluzo

HOW TO SOLVE THE JAVAKHQ ISSUES
A1+
[04:19 pm] 06 June, 2006
The working meeting on the theme “the forum of dialogues on
Samtskhe-Javakhq issues in the framework of the Armenian-Georgian
relations” was held in Akhalqalaq which was organized by the Caucasus
Media Institute (Yerevan), the Caucasus Institute of Peace, Development
and Democracy (Tbilisi) and the Union of NGOs “Yerkir”(Yerevan).
The key issues of the meeting were the current situation of Javakhq
and the prospects of the Armenian-Georgian relations. All the Armenian
participants laid the stress on the appalling state of Javakhq and
claimed that the best solution of the situation is self-government
which will become a cultural, political, economic and social guarantee
for the region.
The Georgian participants of the meeting (Gia Nodia, Dia Andguladze)
also underlined the urgent necessity to improve the situation but
they didn’t offer any distinct ways.
In the second part of the meeting it was decided to convene a session
on the matter in autumn and to hold a consultation of corresponding
state bodies which will contribute the solution of the matter,
according to “A-Info” agency.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x141
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
HYE GEEN CO-HOSTS CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ISSUES
On April 8, 2006, AGBU Hye Geen hosted a conference entitled, “The
Status of Armenian Communities Living in the United States” at the
California State University of Los Angeles (CSULA). Co-organized by
Hye Geen’s newly formed Forum for Armenian Cultural and Social Studies
(FACSS) and CSULA’s School of Social Work, the event attracted over
140 people, including students, scholars and interested community
members.
The all-day conference consisted of a diverse program that included
presentations by nine prominent speakers, as well as remarks from Sona
Yacoubian, Hye Geen Chairwoman and Nayiri Nahabedian, FACSS
Chairwoman. Featured speakers shared their expertise from a variety of
professional backgrounds in the fields of psychology, art and
medicine. Hye Geen’s objectives for the conference were to bring
together researchers, educators and community groups in order to
examine social and cultural issues facing Armenians in the U.S. today,
and to build a network of professionals serving Armenian communities.
In the sphere of psychology, keynote speaker, Professor Hagop
Der-Karabetian, PhD, discussed Armenian Communities in context of
Armenian ethnic identity, while Lisa Arslanian, PhD, lectured on
Armenian cultural attitudes and beliefs in a psychological
context. Mary Harutunian, Psychology Doctoral candidate, discussed
Armenian women’s sexuality. Marriage and Family Therapist, Shakeh
Yegavian, spoke about traditional Armenian values and their impact on
Armenian-American couples.
Houri Keshishian, MA and teacher at the AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian
School in Canoga Park, California, spoke about identity issues for
immigrant Armenian-American youth. Professor of Social Work, Rita
Ladesma, PhD, discussed the bonds between culture and notions of a
homeland.
To present a varied number of perspectives, the conference also
included cultural entrepreneur Stepan Partamian, who offered his ideas
on Armenian communities from his media experience, emphasizing the
social and cultural struggles of Armenians living in the United
States.
In the field of medicine, nurse Loucine Daderian Huckabay, PhD, shared
her knowledge of health issues impacting Armenian-American immigrants,
while Dr. Jack Der-Sarkissian, family practitioner as well as amateur
historian and musician, lectured on Western musical perspectives of
the Armenian Genocide.
The conference was dedicated to AGBU’s Centennial, as well as the 12th
Anniversary of the founding of AGBU Hye Geen.
Part of the AGBU Southern California District, AGBU Hye Geen preserves
and honors the achievements of Armenian women around the world,
promotes the role of women in family and society through research,
education and advocacy and provides overall support for the
empowerment of women as guardians of the Armenian heritage. For more
information on AGBU Hye Geen, please call the AGBU Pasadena Center at
(626) 794-7942.
To find out more about AGBU events or to view the accompanying photos
online, please visit

COULD MEDIATORS CURTAIL BAKU’S MILITARISM?
Yerkir.am
June 02, 2006
Armenian and Azeri presidents are scheduled to meet on June 4 in
Bucharest on the sidelines of the Black Sea Dialogue and Partnership
Summit. This will be the second meeting of the presidents on Karabakh
conflict this year. The discussion is expected to produce a one-page
‘paper’ on the principles of the conflict settlement.
Armenian FM Vardan Oskanian said that if the parties come to an
agreement the ‘paper’ would become a document. But he ruled out that
the presidents would sing under any document.
In contrast to the Rambouillet meeting earlier this year, there is
no significant activeness this time. Mediators, too, voice just a
cautious optimism.
The statement the Minsk Group co-chairs made in Baku and Yerevan is
vigilant. ” The time has come for the both sides to reach an agreement
about the principles of the conflict settlement,” this was the key
of their statements.
Further, they said that “we are at a stage when mutually favorable
agreement is possible. Whether this is going to happen depends on
Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
This vigilance is apparently due to the uncompromising stance of
Azerbaijan.
Despite Armenia’s willingness to soften its position and announced
it was ready to discuss the consequences of the conflict if Baku
recognized the right of the Karbakh people to self-determination,
Azerbaijan, like before, shows no signs of making even a half-step
towards easing its toughness. Everyone there is waiting for the
international community to deliver everything to them, including
Karabakh. Baku is even threatening to resume the war. But this is
what the mediators don’t have on their minds.
At least, for now. Therefore, the co-chairs, who seem not to have
special illusions of a breakthrough in the forthcoming meeting in
Bucharest, are seeking to get assurances of the conflicting sides
that they would stick to the peaceful plans of the settlement; and
first of all from militarism-driven Azerbaijan. In his congratulatory
message to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Azerbaijan’s Day of
Independence on May 27, US President George W. Bush poi nted out that
he is looking forward to the Azeri president’s continuations to seek
peaceful settlement for the conflict.
The same idea was in French President Jacque Chirac’s message:
“The peaceful settlement of the conflict has no alternative; it is
important to Armenia, Azerbaijan and the entire region,” Chirac said
when meeting with Aliyev in Paris on May 29.

WHAT MAY PRIVATIZATION OF LAND BY FOREIGNERS END UP WITH?
Lragir.am
02 June 06
The National Assembly of Karabakh made changes to the land
legislation, enabling foreigners to own the land they formerly could
only rent.
`I think this is a quite positive thing, and hence NKR offered a
serious bid for `peaceful and creative’ work. This is a significant
step and a guideline for a country, which is living under martial
law. Hence, we assert our readiness to meet external challenges and we
have sufficient ground for it. At the same time, it may be
dangerous. On the one hand, it is a necessary and justified step for a
country which has adopted market relations. On the other hand, the
lack of definite and tried mechanisms of self-regulation of the market
may lead to a land market regulated by administrative methods. I am
afraid these changes may lead to the emergence or legalization of
latifundists.
Whereas, the goal should be the development of farms and prosperity of
rural communities. The experience will show one way or another how the
land market will be developing in our country, and hopefully it will
be possible to improve it gradually,’ said Member of Parliament Gegham
Baghdasaryan.
Vahram Atanesyan, Chair of the Committee of External Relations, also
thinks that these changes will not do any harm to the people of
Karabakh. Since the area of land rented by foreigners is not great,
these changes are not dangerous, he said.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH PRESIDENT AND FOREIGN MINISTER OF
KAZAKHSTAN IN ASTANA

ASTANA, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The RA Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian is on a two-day official visit to the Republic of
Kazakhstan on June 1-2. During a meeting with the Foreign Minister of
Kazakhstan Kasimzhomart Tokayev on June 1, the sides discussed a
number of issues of bilateral and international importance. The
meeting participants stated their satisfaction at the current level of
political relations between the two countries. They expressed mutual
interest in further extension of economic cooperation, which is
promoted by activities of the Armenian-Kazakh intergovernmental
economic commission, as well as by the legal field formed and the
absence of political disagreements between Armenia and
Kazakhstan. Minister Oskanian attached importance to meetings of
Armenian and Kazakh businessmen and to cultural events in both
coutries in terms of activization of bilateral trade and economic
links and offering the two peoples an opportunity to know each other
better. The ministers pointed out the importance of mutually
beneficial cooperation within the framework of the CIS, Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Eurasian Economic Cooperation,
as well as various international organizations. The meeting
participants paid special attention to energy and transport
problems. In this connection Minister Tokayev presented Kazakhstan’s
position on the issue of the country’s involvement in a number of
regional programs, particularly in Caspian regional projects. Taking
into account the fact that Kazakhstan intends to hold the OSCE
Chairmanship in 2009, V. Oskanian presented to the Kazakh foreign
minister the recent developments of Karabakh conflict’s peaceful
settlement. At the conclusion of the meeting, Minister Oskanian
invited his Kazakh counterpart to pay a visit to Armenia at a time
suitable for him. On the same day, the Armenian foreign minister had a
meeting with the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and made
a speech before students of the Institute of Diplomacy. According to
the RA MFA Press and Information Department, Minister Oskanian will
meet with members of the Armenian community in Almaty on June 2, after
which he will return to Armenia.