YOU MAY VOTE IN ARMENIA
A1+
[06:54 pm] 28 November, 2006
All the residents of NKR who have the right of balloting and are
currently in Armenia, can participate in the Constitutional referendum
of NKR in Armenia.
On December 10 they can vote in the constituency located on
Nairi Zaryan 17, the administration building of the NKR Permanent
representative to the Republic of Armenia.
Armenia Fund USA, Inc.
152 Madison Ave, S-803
New York, NY 10016, U.S.A.
T/1-212-689-5307
F/1-212-689-5317
E-mail: [email protected]
The 9th International Armenia Fund Telethon Raises Unprecedented $13.7
Million in Pledges to Revitalize Villages of Karabakh
NEW YORK, New York – Armenia Fund USA is pleased to announce that the 9th
International Armenia Fund Telethon recorded an unprecedented success
raising more than $13.7 million in pledges to benefit the war-ravaged
villages in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh. Los Angeles, New York, Paris,
Yerevan – echoing throughout cities and continents, the Telethon was aired
on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2006 uniting hearts and minds of Armenians
around the world. The ambitious goal to revitalize villages of Hadrut in the
south of Karabakh involves implementing an agricultural development program,
creating jobs for farmers, building schools and healthcare centers, roads
and water pipelines. Funds for this critically needed project have been
secured by the combined efforts of the 20 affiliates of Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund.
The Telethon, which was broadcasted in more than 20 major cities throughout
the United States, as well as in all continents via satellite, streaming
live on internet for 12 hours, marks the highest result ever achieved by
almost doubling last year’s result of $7.7 million. President of
Nagorno-Karabakh Arkady Ghoukassian, and Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of
the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan were present
with many honored guests and program participants at the Glendale Studios,
where the Telethon traditionally originates from, to rally support for the
Fund. Armenia Fund USA Chairman Kevork Toroyan, Chairman-elect Raffi
Festekjian, and other prominent community leaders joined the live Telethon
from a Boston studio appealing to each and every Armenian to be part of the
drive. "Our development efforts target the war-torn villages for creating
jobs and bringing hope to the families. We want to give them the means to
sustain their households so that they can build the schools and hospitals
and everything else they need. This is why it is so important to make this
happen. Small or large donations do not matter, what is important is your
participation. This is your vote for a better future for Armenia and
Karabakh", says Chairman Toroyan.
Proceeds from the Telethon will benefit the regional development of Hadrut
and its cluster of villages. Launched last year by all 20 affiliates of
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, the project encompasses all key aspects of
socio-economic development – creation of jobs, access to education, proper
healthcare, and clean water, as well as reconstruction of critically needed
infrastructure. "The unprecedented success of this Telethon is a result of
the Diaspora’s unshakeable belief in the mission of our unique organization
that unites all Armenians around the world under one mission – building
stronger, viable Armenia. The consistent transparency of the Fund through
rigorous international audits, strict accounting practices, and oversight
mechanisms by the Diaspora have reinforced the public’s resolve to help
Armenia and Artsakh", said Executive Director of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
Naira Melkoumian.
For the first time donations from Armenia and Artsakh surpassed $1.54
million. The 20 affiliates of the Fund stretching all over the globe were
instrumental in the success of the fundraising effort. The Canadian Toronto
affiliate has raised more than $300,000, the Argentinean affiliate, Fundo
Nacional Armenia, organized a benefit concert in Buenos Aires. The French
affiliate raised more than $1.5 million through a Phon-a-thon campaign, and
the German affiliate pledged more than $60,000.
Among the largest donors of Telethon 2006 were: Lincy Foundation, Project
CURE, Vahe Karapetian, Jerry Turpanjian, Ara Abrahamyan, Louise Manoogian
Simone, Sarkis Acopian, Tigran Movsesian, AGBU Manoogian-Demirjian School,
Levon and Grigor Termendjian, Mikhail Baghdasarov, Vivacell, Arkady
Ovannessian, Samvel Alexanian, and Ruben Hayrapetyan.
Armenia Fund USA, with its international affiliates, has had a strong and
measurable impact on the development of Karabakh and Armenia since
independence. The organization remains the largest contributor to
socio-economic infrastructure projects there since 1992, having invested
more than $160 million in large-scale infrastructure.
ABOUT ARMENIA FUND USA, founded in 1992, was one of the first of Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund’s 19 international affiliates and serves constituents in
all states east of the Mississippi. As a non-profit, non-governmental,
nonsectarian organization, the Fund represents all Armenian constituents.
Armenia Fund USA is the largest contributor among the 19 international
affiliates – supporting strategic infrastructure projects in Armenia and
Karabakh. The Fund has adopted a policy to go "Beyond Bricks and Mortar" to
provide sustainability for projects it sponsors.
RECTOR OF EUROPEAN ACADEMY VS. MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Panorama.am
18:08 27/11/06
Today the rector of the European Regional Academy in the Caucasus,
Viktor Martirosyan, made a statement to journalists explaining the
reasons for the lack of state accreditation of the institute, as
minister of educational and science, Levon Lazarian earlier pointed
out. The rector said the European Academy is created based on the
decision of the government and intergovernmental agreements signed
with France, Italy and Germany.
"The academy has the status of intergovernmental higher educational
establishment just like the American, French and Armenian-Russian
universities," he pointed out. Last year 40 graduates were granted MA
degree of the European Academy. "They received diplomas equal to other
intergovernmental and government higher educational establishments
of the republic. Amendments in the law on higher education and
post-diploma education cancelled the notion of state diploma. Like in
many other countries, every educational establishment grants diplomas
of its establishment," Martirosyan noted.
Martirosyan said the academy has no obligation to copy the curriculum
of other educational establishments and has the right to have its own,
responding to Lazarian’s statement that the academy’s curriculum
is not approved by the state and differce from the program of other
higher educational establishments.
Reminder: The ministry of education and science opened a lawsuit
against the academy. The first court hearing will be held on December
1 in a district court.
European Regional Academy was opened on October 4, 2002. President
Robert Kocharyan took part in the ceremonial opening. Arthur
Baghdasaryan, ex-speaker of parliament and leader of Orinats Yerkir
party, is the chairman of the board of trustees of the academy.
Hayrapetyan’s Armenian mission
Tuesday, 28 November 2006
The Football Federation of Armenia has held its fifth
presidential election, with the incumbent Ruben
Hayrapetyan winning a second four-year term in office.
Armenia’s football future
The 43-year-old Hayrapetyan, the only candidate in the
federation’s first uncontested election, said: "I am
happy I could win your trust – the fact we had only
one candidate shows that nobody else wanted to take on
the task of plotting a future for football in Armenia.
I will do my best to continue our development."
Youthful promise
When Hayrapetyan took the post in 2002, there were
only 2,000 associated young players in the country.
Under his tutelage, the Armenia Under-17 team has
participated in the qualifying round for the UEFA
European U17 Championship, while the national U19s
qualified for the final tournament of their European
Championship in Northern Ireland in 2005. "These
youngsters will eventually break into the senior team
and we will do our best to keep them progressing,"
Hayrapetyan said.
uefa.com 1998-2006.
RF AMBASSADOR TO MEET WITH ARMENIAN PARTICIPANTS OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE OLYMPIAD
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 27 2006
November 28 Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to
Armenia Nikolay Pavlov will meet with two Armenian participants of
the Russian language and literature Olympiad held in Moscow recently.
ArmInfo was told at the Press Office of the Russian Embassy in Armenia
that the participants of the Olympiad will share their impressions
from the visit to the capital of the Russian Federation and from
their victory in the contest. Fore his part, Nikolay Pavlov will
congratulate the winners and will present memorable gifts.
KARABAKH CONFLICT SERIOUS OBSTACLE IN ARMENIA-TURKEY RELATIONS
PanARMENIAN.Net
27.11.2006 14:48 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a serious obstacle
to the establishment of relations with Turkey, Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian told France Press. "Close relationships
between Turkey and Azerbaijan works against Ankara, since it undermines
Turkey’s authority in the region and its intention to become a
bridge between East and West," the Minister said adding that it’s
inadmissible to draw parallels between Nagorno Karabakh and Northern
Cyprus, since the former appeared as result of the USSR decline and
the latter -on the territory of a UN member state. Remarking that both
Armenia and Cyprus see a number of obstacles to Turkey’s accession to
the EU the Minister refuted the hearsay that the two states operate
against Turkey. "The purpose of the President’s visit to Cyprus is
to encourage economic ties. We have many topics to discuss but we do
not unite against other states," Vartan Oskanian said, reports RFE/RL.
RA FOREIGN MINISTER: RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS NO PRECONDITION FOR GOOD-NEIGHBORLY RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIA
AZG Armenian Daily
28/11/2006
"The recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey in 1915
is no precondition for good neighborly relations between Turkey and
Armenia", RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, said in the interview
to France-Presse.
Mr. Oskanian expressed confidence that the "interdiction may be
overcome by cooperation of the Armenian and Turkish people." He called
"dubious" the proposal of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
to shape a joint commission of scholars-historians to investigate
the events of 1915-1917 in the Ottoman Turkey. "No joint commission
can be shaped before diplomatic relations between official Ankara
and Yerevan are established. The question is a political one and it
should be considered from the relevant viewpoint. Turks have never
been so mobilized, on the state level, about the negation policy,
before," Mr. Oskanian emphasized. He added that Turkey’s aggression on
Armenian Genocide grows simultaneously with its recognition by other
countries. He emphasized that French Parliament’s adoption of the law
envisaging criminal prosecution for denial of the Armenian Genocide
was a "definite response to Turkish government’s policy of denial."
Mr. Oskanian said that at present, only the recognition of the Genocide
is the only issue in the agenda of Armenia’s foreign policy and that
nobody should fear about its demand for contribution. At the same
time, Ra Foreign Minister agreed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
is quite a serious obstacle in Armenia’s relations with Turkey and
that "Ankara’s definite solidarity with Azerbaijan works against very
Turkey, because it risks the country’s credibility for undertaking
the role of the East-West bridge." Mr. Oskanian didn’t agree with
correlation of Nagorno-Karabakh and South Cyprus, as the first appeared
as a result of USSR’s collapse and the second occurred on the UN
member-state’s territory. He agreed that both Cyprus and Armenia see
obstacles in Turkey’s membership in EU but none of these countries
work against Turkey. "We do have common questions to discuss but we
do not unite against anyone", Vartan Oskanian underscored.
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 24 2006
ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER AVOIDS CALLING ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES "THE
MOST COMBAT- EFFECTIVE" IN REGION
Serge Sargsyan, Secretary of the Armenian Presidential National
Security Council, Defense Minister, stated in an interview with the
Armenian Public Radio that he prefers avoiding the phrase "the most
combat-effective army in the region" when speaking of Armenia’s armed
forces.
Speaking of the region, one should not forget that besides Georgia
and Azerbaijan, there are also Iran and Turkey in the region, the
minister said. "I prefer saying that the Armenian army is an army
that has fulfilled its task. But for the fighting capacity of the
Armenian army, Azerbaijan would easily settle the Karabakh problem by
force in its favor," the minister said.
ARMENIAN DM: COUNTRY WHICH STARTS MILITARY ACTIONS WILL INEVITABLY
SUFFER CONSIDERABLE LOSSES
"One can not say that today there is no threat of military actions of
Armenia and Azerbaijan," Serge Sargsyan, Secretary of the Armenian
Presidential National Security Council, Defense Minister, stated in
an interview with the Armenian Public Radio.
He said a defense minister must always think that military actions
may start already tomorrow. "Nevertheless, I think that military
actions are unlikely to start in foreseeable future. First, the
Azerbaijani army is not ready for military actions now. Second, OSCE
Minsk Group Co-chairs will perceive the start of military actions by
Azerbaijan as a slap in the face. Third, the country which starts
military actions will inevitably suffer considerable losses. This,
first of all, concerns Azerbaijan," the minister said.
ITAR-TASS News Agency
November 24, 2006 Friday 10:07 AM EST
Los Angeles TV marathon raises funds for Karabakh
YEREVAN, November 24
ByTigran Liloyan
The Los Angeles annual marathon in support of Nagorno- Karabakh has
raised 13.6 million dollars. The TV marathon continued for 12 hours
since Thursday evening until Friday morning.
“The results of the marathon were beyond expectations,” a source
from the head information department under the president of self-
proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh said on Friday.
This year the television marathon was held in the framework of the
Restoration of Karabakh program. The funds raised by the marathon
will be contributed to the restoration and development of the
Gadrudsky region of Nagorny Karabakh, its water supply system, health
service facilities and schools.
President of self-proclaimed Nagorny Karabakh Arkady Gukasyan visited
the United States to attend the marathon; he met influential
representatives of the Armenian Diaspora who contributed to the
success of the marathon, a source from Stepanakert said.
The TV marathon was broadcast live by Armenian Public Television,
satellite television to Europe, the Middle East, Asia and also via
cable TV channels of the Armenian Diaspora.
In the run-up to the US marathon a similar act was held in Europe in
which 13,000 people took part who contributed 1.1 million euros to
Karabakh. The Armenian Diaspora in Belgium took part in the marathon
for the first time alongside the Armenian communities in the
Netherlands, France, Germany and Switzerland.
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 23 2006
ARMENIA VOTES AGAINST UN RESOLUTION CONDEMNING IRAN
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Yesterday at the UN Armenia voted
against the resolution that condemns himan rights violations in Iran.
The resolution was initiated by the US, Canada and EU countries.
The Acting Head of the RA MFA Press and Information Department
Vladimir Karapetian told Radio Liberty that yesterday Armenia voted
in favor of Iran’s proposal to take this issue off the agenda.
However, the issue was put to the vote. According to Azerbaijani
sources, besides Armenia, 47 countries, including Azerbaijan, voted
aganst the resolution condemning Iran. 70 countries voted for this
resolution, and 55 abstained.
The document in particular says that there are tortures, death
penalty, as well as persecutions of opposition members, reporters and
representatives of NGOs in Iran.