Author: Torgomian Varazdat

From: Karine Birazian <[email protected]>
Subject: ANCA ER Accepting Applications for Leo Sarkisian Internship in DC

PRESS RELEASE
December 29, 2008
Armenian National Committee of America
Eastern, US
122 W. 27th St. Floor 12, New York, NY
Contact: Karin Birazian
Tel: 917-428-1918

ANCA Eastern Region Now Accepting Applications for Leo Sarkisian
Summer Internship in Washington, DC

New York, NY’The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
announced that it is now accepting applications for the 2009 Leo
Sarkisian Summer Internship program (LSI) in Washington, DC. The
program, now in its 25th year, is a great opportunity for student
activists and community leaders to learn the inner workings of our
nation’s capital and the Armenian Cause. The application deadline
is March 1, 2009.

Named in honor of longtime ANCA activist Leo Sarkisian, the program
consists of an intensive 8-week immersion into the American
political system and public affairs. Interns are drawn from the
Eastern and Western ANCA regions in the United States as well as
from Canada and South America. "Every summer we welcome a group of
young, talented Armenian American college students from across the
United States to participate in the Leo Sarkisian internship. The
program affords these students the opportunity to develop their
community buildings skills, to increase their understanding of the
American political system, and to establish close friendships with
other young Armenians" said Karine Birazian, ANCA Eastern Region
Executive Director.

The interns will work just blocks from Capitol Hill in the ANCA
National Headquarters. In past years, interns have attended both
House and Senate committee hearings and have had the opportunity to
meet many members of Congress. Interns participate in a series of
lectures given by guest lecturers including U.S. government
officials and public policy professionals, as well as ANCA staff
members. In addition, students have had the great experience of
meeting the Armenian Ambassador to America, His Excellency Tatoul
Markarian, as well as the representative from Nagorno Karabakh,
Vardan Barseghian.

"As a student with an interest in political science and public
policy, this internship was a great opportunity for me to get real,
hands-on experience in the field. On top of that, my activism on
behalf of Hai Tahd has increased tenfold and by the end of my
internship, I found myself energized to return home and put all I
had learned to good use," said Nieri Avanessian of Michigan, a 2008
Leo Sarkisian intern.. The internship draws students with varying
academic and political.

The 2009 Leo Sarkisian Internship program will begin in mid June
and run through mid August. Applications for the internship are
available on the "Capital Gateway" section of the ANCA website at
Applicants must complete the forms corresponding to
their respective region and return them to the Eastern Region or
Western Region headquarters by March 1 to be considered for the
2009 program. Applications will be reviewed and those deemed
qualified will be invited for an interview before final selections
are made in May 2009.

For more information, or to request applications, please contact
your ANCA regional headquarters at (818) 500-1918 or
[email protected] for the Western Region and (917) 428-1918 or
[email protected] for the Eastern Region.

Click here to download a 2009 Leo Sarkisian Internship Application:
pplication.php
#####
Photo Caption: 2008 Leo Sarkisian Interns meet Representative Zack
Space (D-OH)

IN 2008 ARDSHININVESTBANK INCREASED TURNOVER OF MONEY TRANSFERS BY 10%

ArmInfo
2008-12-28 20:47:00

ArmInfo. In 2008 Ardshininvestbank increased the turnover of money
transfers by 10% (up to $200 mln) as compared to 2007, Head of
Private Transfers Department of Ardshininvestbank Tigran Shahinyan
told ArmInfo correspondent.

According to him, the lion’s share of transfers fell on the Contact
system – 25%. "The bank carries out money transfers also via
international payment systems Money Gram, Migom, Bystraya Pochta,
Promsvyazbank, Sotsgorbank, Forabank, Sberbank; 90% of the total
volume of transfers are transfers to Armenia", Shahinyan said. He
added that 70% of the total volume of the bank’s transfers fall on
the CIS, the rest – on the USA and Europe.

At the same time, Shahinyan said that the average amount of one
transfer is $700, commission fees range from 0.2% to 3% depending on
the system, speed and geography. To note, Ardshininvestbank is one
of the largest banks of Armenia. According to the Ranking of Banks by
ArmInfo, as of 1 October 2008, the bank’s assets totalled 117.0 bln AMD
(1st position), total capital – 23.0 bln AMD (3rd position), credit
portfolio – 79.7 bln AMD, profit – 4.4 bln AMD (1st position). The bank
has 11 shareholders (7 – individuals and 4 legal persons), the major
shareholders being CJSC Investment Finance Corporation – 86,82% and
International Finance Corporation (IFC) – 10%. The bank has 49 branches
in Armenia, 6 branches in Nagornyy Karabakh and 1 representative office
in Paris. The number of Ardshininvestbank clients is about 157 thsd.

On the tragic event of Yevpatoria, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
sent a message of condolences to Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia
Timoshenko, which states in part:

Friday , 26 December 2008

`On behalf of the government of Armenia and myself, I extend deep
condolences on the blast in a residential building in Yevpatoria which
took several human lives.

At this time of sorrow for the people of Ukraine, we join you with a
feeling of sincere sympathy.’

ARMENIAN, TURKISH, AZERI FMS WON’T MEET IN EARLY 2009

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.12.2008 17:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Foreign Ministry refuted information
about a meeting between Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Turkey in early 2009.

"The Ministers will not meet early next year," RA MFA media relations
division head Tigran Balayan told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Turkey’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic announced Thursday
that the Foreign Ministers of the three states are preparing for a
meeting. "Turkey wishes a soonest resolution for the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict," Kilic said.

NO GAS FOR THE VILLAGE

A1+
[12:35 pm] 23 December, 2008

Villagers of the Mets Ayr district of the Lori Marz will solve the
heating issue with firewood this year. The gas tubes made it to the
middle of the village, but no further. The villagers waited for a
long time for the constructors, who never came to the village.

The government has conceded 29,080,000 drams for the gasification
program. According to head of the village Grandpa Arushanyan, the
work remained incomplete because the money wasn’t enough and the
constructors left.

There was another reason for the incomplete work. The district had
to make a 15% investment in the construction (4,362,000 drams). They
only made the five percent investment.

"The only issue now is the remaining 10%, which we are unable to give
due to the low budget of the district," says village head of Mets
Ayrum Grandpa Arushanyan. The village head plans on finding sponsors
to solve the issue. Grandpa Arushanyan believes that the government
will make concessions if the district makes investments and the work
will be completed.

AZERI SOLDIER IN ARMENIAN CAPTIVITY DOESN’T WANT TO RETURN

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.12.2008 17:28 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azeri draftee Rafik Rahman ogly Hasanov who yielded
himself prisoner to the Armenian side said he doesn’t want to return
to the homeland.

He told Armenian TV channels that he suffered humiliation when serving
in the Azeri army. He said that he is treated well in Armenia and
that he is not going to return to Azerbaijan.

EU RESUMES ACCESSION TALKS WITH TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.12.2008 15:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey and the European Union are set to open two
more chapters in the accession negotiations, diplomats close to the
talks said.

The chapters on Information Society and Media, and the Free Movement
of Capital will be opened at an inter-governmental conference scheduled
for Friday.

The EU Foreign Ministers urge Turkey to reconsider its policy toward
Cyprus and speed up the process of reform, Deutsche Welle reports.

CHILDREN DO LESSONS BY CANDLELIGHT

A1+
[01:13 pm] 17 December, 2008

It is too difficult too depict the state of the Asoyans family in
words. The destituted family lives in abject poverty in a dilapidated
building in Vanadzor. To understand their grave state one should have
a look at their hygienic and domestic conditions.

The family’s cherished dream is to have a cozy dwelling place. They
get 26000-dram family benefit which is the family’s only source of
income. The father of three underage children, 49-year-old Levon
Asoyan, has serious health problems. He doesn’t have a permanent
job. Levon Asoyan does manual work and supports his family with his
daily meagre earnings. The Asoyans don’t even prepare for the upcoming
New Year celebration as they hardly earn their early bread. Two of the
children- Karen, 13, and Gurgen, 11, go to school. The boys have to do
their lessons by candlelight as the building is denergised. Asoyans’
neighbours help them to the best of their abilities.

HENCEFORTH ROSGOSSTRAKH-ARMENIA TO INSURE DEPOSITS WITH AMERIABANK

Noyan Tapan

Dec 16, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Ameriabank has signed an agreement
with Rosgosstrakh-Armenia insurance company, by which henceforth
natural persons’ deposits of any amount with Ameriabank will be
completely insured, irrespective of the currency, the director
general of Ameriabank Artak Hanesian announced at the December 16
press conference.

He said that under the law, deposits of up to 2 million drams (about
6.5 million USD) are guaranteed by the Deposit Payment Guaranteeing
Fund, while all deposits of over 2 million drams with Ameriabank will
be insured by Rosgosstrakh-Armenia. A. Hanesian pointed out that not
only new deposits but also those made in the past will be insured. He
informed those present that the total amount of deposits subject to
insurance makes about 8 million USD now.

In the words of A. Hanesian, the authorized capital of Ameriabank
amounts to 18.2 billion drams, which is the highest index in
the Armenian banking system. The overall capital grew 4.5fold in
January-November 2008 and makes about 20 billion drams, while overall
assets grew 5fold as compared with early 2008 and make more than
45 billion drams. The bank’s credit portfolio amounts to 28 billion
drams and it is envisaged increasing it to 30 billion drams by the end
of 2008. The deposit accounts amount to 12 billion drams – against
3.7 billion drams in early 2008. It was mentioned that Ameriabank’s
profit currently makes 830 million drams, but it will also increase
by late 2008.

A. Hanesian said Ameriabank is continuing discussions on purchase of
a bank in Armenia. "We are now examining the indices of some banks so
as to make final decisions on either a merger or purchase of a bank,"
he noted.

According to him, the global financial crisis has not had an impact
on Ameriabank and on the whole banking system of Armenia. "However,
we currently examine the market more carefully and cooperate with
other banks in order to avoid possible risks," A. Hanesian said,
adding that the situation and tendencies in foreign financial markets
are in the center of their attention.

SITUATION ALONG ARMED FORCES CONTACT-LINE DISCUSSED IN KARABAKH

Noyan Tapan

Dec 15, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, NOYAN TAPAN. On December 15, NKR President Bako
Sahakian held a consultation with the supreme command staff of the NKR
Defense Army at the head of Defense Minister Movses Hakobian. Issues
related to army building, situation along the contact-line between
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan armed forces, and improval of social
conditions of the servicemen were discussed at consultation. Noyan
Tapan was informed about it by the Central Information Department of
the NKR President’s Office.