Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

RA MINISTRY OF DIASPORA WORKS OUT PROGRAM OF DELIVERY OF TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER LITERATURE TO ARMENIAN SCHOOLS OF DIASPORA

Noyan Tapan
July 1, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 1, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The RA Ministry of
Diaspora has worked out and submitted for RA government’s discussion a
Program of Assistance to Solution of Educational Problems of Armenian
Schools of Diaspora: 2010-2012 Program of Delivery of Textbooks,
Manuals, Methodic Materials to Those Schools. As the hayernaysor.am
electronic newspaper was informed by Sirvard Hambarian, the Head of the
Scientific-Educational Programs Subdivision of Ministry’s Department
of All Armenian Programs, under the program it is planned to provide
Armenian schools in the Diaspora with necessary literature: textbooks,
methodic manuals and supplementary materials for 2010-2012 with RA
state budget funds. It is planned to deliver 20 thousand pieces of
literature every year, which amounts to nearly 11m drams. Textbooks’
delivery will be organized by joint forces of the RA Ministry of
Diaspora and RA Ministry of Education and Science. The Ministry of
Diaspora will study the needs of Diaspora’s educational centers,
will sum up the submitted applications and will pass them to the RA
Ministry of Education and Science.

According to S. Hambarian, the program of providing Armenian schools
in Diaspora with textbooks has been implemented by the RA Ministry of
Education and Science since 2002. Program’s current task is to meet
the educational needs of nearly 400 everyday and 700 one-day schools
in more than 30 countries of the Diaspora. The list of literature,
supplementary materials is sent to Armenian communities, Diasporan
educational centers for the purpose of providing teaching materials,
on the basis of which the schools mention their demand. The list of
107 titles of literature provided by the RA Ministry of Education and
Science includes textbooks used at Armenia’s comprehensive schools,
methodic literature, manuals, supplementary, didactic materials,
disks, popular scientific literature, children’s encyclopedias,
children’s literature.

Nevertheless, according to S. Hambarian, part of schools working in
the Diaspora badly need educational literature made up in the homeland.

Educational centers of communities making part of the classical
Diaspora, as well as of newly formed communities (South America,
Russian Federation Far Eastern regions, etc.) are in a sad condition,
where one of the primary problems of teaching the Armenian language,
education in the Armenian spirit is the lack of curricula, textbooks,
working copybooks, methodic manuals, supplementary materials.

According to S. Hambarian, free provision of Diaspora’s educational
centers with textbooks should be totalized by organization of
delivery to Armenian communities. Delivery of literature provided by
Armenia has been done by means of the RA Foreign Ministry so far, but
there are difficulties in that issue due to diplomatic post weight
limitations. Meanwhile not all areas populated with a great number
of Armenians or areas having Armenian schools have RA diplomatic
representations and consular services. Literature is also delivered to
Diaspora’s schools by means of individual representatives of Armenian
organizations of Diaspora visiting Armenia for other purposes,
schools and communities, who take the literature as their personal
luggage and cannot carry literature in large volumes. According
to S. Hambarian, the way of solving the problem is organization of
delivery of literature provided free of charge to Armenian educational
centers by Armenia with state resources.

IRANIAN GAS AND IRANIAN TRANSIT – JACK-POT IN A BIG GAME

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
30.06.2009 17:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Gas context, in view of Iran’s internal political
crisis, receives international community’s response, Ruben Mehrabyan,
expert from Armenian Centre for Political and International Research,
told a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent. The country’s unique geographical
location, its way to the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf, its huge gas
reserves ranking as the second on world scale and a number of other
factors make Iran a key stakeholder in the formation of Southern
Energy Corridor. "Cooperation with neighboring regions through various
memoranda, declarations, energy and pipeline agreements totally fit
the logic of the Big Game in which Iranian gas and Iranian transit
appear to be a Jack-pot," the expert said.

Iran cannot adhere to status quo conservation policy in either
energy sphere or in foreign affairs. That will be impossible even if
Khamenei-Ahmadinejad manage to suppress civil movement and maintain
power. "Considering the economic hardships faced by the country, as
well as the incompetent and populist state government mechanisms,
the prospects of exporting gas are indispensable for overcoming
crisis. The fact is well perceived both by the West and Russia and
Iran. That is, Iran can be said not to have expressed its opinion
so far. And everybody waits to hear what it will say. Dissidences
in the country’s top leadership are, in my view, conditioned by the
extent of the country’s openness which mostly depends on changes in
Iran’s relations with the West. Such changes will be materialized in
gas export perspectives and large-scale investments in fuel-energy
complex and Iran’s infrastructure, as well as the introduction of
new technologies of extracting and transporting carbohydrates. That’s
to say, the country’s benefits are quite evident. So, the religious
theocrats ruling the country have no grounds to complain about Iran’s
becoming a rogue state and shoot citizens dead in streets and squares
of towns," Armenian expert said.

An open Iran is a good chance for Armenia, Mehrabyan is
convinced. "Being actively involved in global political and economic
processes, Iran can become accelerator of many big changes in
Middle East. That may smooth very many wrinkles formed over the past
decades and help large groups of population to overcome post-colonial
syndromes. In addition, it will serve as a lighthouse for the West’s
freedom-loving policy. And last but not the least, I don’t think
our neighbor will really gain the freedom and justice its citizens
strive for. Iran’s being open is also a factor which deprives Russia
of most of its energy levers. That is, it may push forward internal
transformations both in Russia and on entire post-Soviet territory,"
he stressed.

VTB BANK (ARMENIA) AWARDS BEST CUSTOMERS OF ARMENIAN WATER SEWERAGE COMPANY

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
29.06.2009 15:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ VTB Bank (Armenia) handed 300.000 AMD to each four
winner-customers of the third drawing among the most fair customers
of the Armenian Water and Sewerage Company.

In the third drawing of lots on June 11, 2009 Rafik Bzanyan (Artik),
Martun Meliksetyan (Akhtala village), Naira Hovhannesyan (Aygezard
village) and Varsham Grigoryan (Kapan) became winners.

According to AWSC press office, since the first drawing the number
of accurate customers of the Armenian Water Sewerage Company has
increased by 30 per cent due to lotteries.

The drawing of lots is organized every four month with the help of a
special computer program on coincidental basis. The 4-th drawing will
be held on October 11, 2009. To take part in the drawing customers
should make payments for AWSC services bona fide and on time.

In 2004 French SAUR S.A. acquired a management of the AWSC . AWSC
has 4 territorial branches in Sevan, Abovian, Sisian, Artashat. The
company provides services to 265 thousand customers in 286 villages
and 37 cities and towns of Armenia.

PARLIAMENTARIAN FROM PROSPEROUS ARMENIA: PACE RESOLUTION 1677 HAS BECOME CRUCIAL FOR DOMESTIC POLITICAL LIFE IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2009-06-29 18:00:00

ArmInfo. PACE Resolution 1677 has become crucial for the domestic
political life in Armenia, Naira Zohrabyan, a member of the Armenian
delegation to PACE, parliamentarian from the Prosperous Armenia
faction, said at a press conference on Monday.

She is sure that the decision of the Armenian Parliament ‘On Amnesty
Announcement> had a significant role in softening the tense situation
in the country after the presidential election of 2008. ‘By such
step the authorities have one more time offered their opponents a
political dialogue’, Zohrabyan said. In response to the question by
ArmInfo correspondent how actual is the establishment of dialogue if
the opposition demands release of all the as precondition, N. Zohrabyan
said: ‘The opposition should refuse from such radical stand and chose
the way of political dialogue. 215 arrestees have already been set
free. After all, all the problems have solution’, she said.

Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 27 2009

Ilham Aliyev declared "Azerbaijan is ready to go to war with Armenia"

Saturday, 27 June 2009

During the 91st anniversary of the Azerbaijani Armed Force, Ilham
Aliyev declared Azerbaijan is ready to regain its territorial
integrity by military force.

Azerbaijan and Armenia has a conflict on Nagorno-Karabakh territory
for two decades. On June 26,2009 Azerbaijan President,Ilham Aliyev
called negotiations between parties over Nagorno-Karabakh problem are
fruitless.
In his speech Aliyev said "Azerbaijan has military formations capable
of carrying out any mission. If necessary, Azerbaijan can use its
military power to restore its territorial integrity, and it is our
sovereign right. International law allows us to do it. We live in a
state of war, thus our primary goal is and should be the strengthening
of our army. With the war still going on and only its first stage
over, we are continuing our efforts to be ready to free our motherland
from the enemy by military means at any time"

Aliyev added that talks have brought about no results.

On economic issues Aliyev pointed out that Azerbaijan’s economy has
been successfully developing through the current crisis.
He said "Thanks to our strengthened economic potential, we have
succeeded in creating a strong army,"

After Georgia-Russia war ,the status in the South Caucaus is trying to
reestablish howewer these kind of comments show the instability in the
region.

Burhan Dogus Ayparlar (JTW)

YERKRAMAS EDITOR TIGRAN TAVADIAN: ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES OF KRASNODAR TERRITORY NOT WELL-ORGANIZED

Noyan Tapan
June 26, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 26, NOYAN TAPAN. According to official data, 275
thousand Armenians lived in the Krasnodar territory in 2002, and
according to unofficial data, their number was within the range of
400-600 thousand. As Tigran Tavadian, the Yerkramas newspaper editor
informed at the June 25 press conference, newspapers are published,
dancing groups, Sunday schools act in order to support preservation
of Armenian identity in Armenian populated areas of the territory. He
mentioned at the same time that the local Armenian communities are
not well-organized and do not cooperate with each other.

T. Tavadian considered the cooperation with the state structures of
Armenia to be unproductive, as well. According to him, it is necessary
that the RA Ministries of Diaspora and Culture work out a joint program
to present the Armenian culture in the region. In his words, performers
of the "rabis" music (town folklore) mainly come to the territory,
and as a result, a low taste is built up especially among the youth.

Besides, in his words, there are problems of getting text-books from
the RA Ministry of Education and Science. T. Tavadian mentioned that
Sunday schools of the region get those text-books by overcoming many
difficulties, particularly, those connected with tax clearance. In
T.Tavadian’s opinion, the RA government can raise that issue before
the RF government.

Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Telephone: (818) 500-1918
Facsimile: (818) 246-7353

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
June 25, 2009
Contact: Haig Hovsepian
Tel: (818) 500-1918

ANC-WR welcomes 2009 Summer Session interns

GLENDALE, CA — Starting June 15th, the Armenian National Committee-Western
Region (ANC-WR) welcomed the seven newest participants in its
Internship-Externship Program (IEP). The 2009 Summer Session class includes
students from across California who will be spending the summer working at
the ANC-WR office in Glendale, California. The interns will assist the
board and staff with day-to-day operations at the office while completing
individually assigned community development and public policy related
projects.

?We have a diverse group of interns this summer and several volunteers
representing nearly a dozen schools, colleges, and universities. I am
looking forward to a very active summer here at the Western Region office
and the summer interns will be an integral part of what we hope to
accomplish, from outreach to education,? said Haig Hovsepian, ANC-WR IEP
Coordinator. ?While we expect this internship experience to provide them
solid insight into Armenian American issues and the community, we hope that
it is only the first step in their involvement in the ANC and the start of
great friendships.?

The 2009 Summer Session participants are Colette Ghazarian (Troy High School
in Fullerton, CA), Hovsep Hajibekyan (UC Berkeley), Srbui Karapetian (UC Los
Angeles), Razmig Khayalian (UC Irvine), Nare Kupelian (UC San Diego),
Elizabeth McIntyre (CSU "Cal Poly" Pomona), and Lauren Shenian (Glendale
Community College). In addition to their individually assigned and group
projects, the interns will also be participating in a weekly series of
professional development workshops, media review seminars, and lectures.

Karapetian, Kupelian, and Shenian will be focusing on Community and
Government Affairs. Khayalian and McIntyre will be tackling Administration
and Development projects. Rounding out the group handling Public and Media
Relations efforts will be Ghazarian and Hajibekyan.

Established in June 2006, the ANC-WR IEP is a selective and intensive
program that provides student leaders and activists with an opportunity to
participate in an intensive internship designed to provide an in-depth
introduction to Armenian American issues as well as advocacy efforts on the
federal, state and local level. The program hosts spring, summer and autumn
sessions.

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.

FIRST REGIONAL ADBOOK CONTEXTUAL ADVERTISING SERVICE TO BE PRESENTED IN YEREVAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
25.06.2009 14:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On June 26 Yerevan will host First regional Adbook
Contextual Advertising Service presentation.

Contextual advertising is a form of targeted advertising for
advertisements appearing on websites or other media, such as content
displayed in mobile browsers. The advertisements themselves are
selected and served by automated systems based on the content displayed
to the user.

RA Deputy Economy Minister Vahe Danielyan, UITE executive director
Karen Vardanyan and Russian and Canadian advertising & communications
experts will speak at the presentation. The experts will expand on
contextual advertising possibilities in the development of business
and social sectors in financial crisis circumstances.

The presentation will host over 200 representatives of private sector,
IT enterprises, international organizations, tour operators and
governmental institutions.

CULINARY DIPLOMACY HEATS UP IN ARMENIA

US State News
June 23, 2009 Tuesday 5:54 PM EST

YEREVAN, Armenia, March 27 — The U.S. Embassy issued the following
press release:

IRM information management specialist and cook extraordinaire Greg
Church gave a demonstration of his award-winning chili recipe live
on Armenia TV this Thursday afternoon. Greg was assisted by Armenian
singing sensation Hasmik Karapetian and popular TV personality Felix
Khachatrian. He shared anecdotes, discussed the versatility of American
cuisine, and took phone calls from an interested public. Greg’s
culinary outreach provided an opportunity to showcase American life
in a unique (and delicious) fashion, and presented a positive image
of U.S. culture to a potential audience of over 3 million people.

ELMAR MAMMADYAROV: "BOTH NAGORNO KARABAKH AND KOSOVO PROBLEM SHOULD BE SOLVED BASING ON THE NORMS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW"

APA
June 23 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Elnur Mammadli – APA. "Both Nagorno Karabakh and Kosovo
problem should be solved basing on the norms and principles of the
international law," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said
at the press conference after meeting with his Serbian counterpart.

He said the two problems had been discussed at the meeting.

"Speaking of the norms of the international law we support the
principle of territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of
the borders recognized on the international level. We came to the
conclusion that the borders of both countries should be admitted
within the borders recognized upon accession to the UN," he said.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said peace and stability is very
important in the 21st century. The Minister noted that the problem
of Kosovo might harm the territorial integrity of all countries.

"That’s why Serbian government appealed to the International Court
of Justice. Thanks to Azerbaijan’s support in the voting in the
UN General Assembly we won this issue. The court is considering
whether the declaration of independence was adopted in line with the
Statute or not. We consider that the court will pass a decision that
no regime can unilaterally declare its independence in the country
having internationally recognized borders," he said.