Author: Varosian Antranik

ARMENIAN SERVING LIFE TIME FOR TRYING TO KILL GEORGE W. BUSH WANTS TO CONVERT TO ISLAM

ARMENPRESS
Apr 13 2007

TBILISI, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS: An ethnic Armenian citizen of Georgia,
Vladimir Harutunian, sentenced by a court to life in prison for
attempting to kill U.S. President Bush and Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili while they were addressing a public audience on Freedom
Square in central Tbilisi on May 10, 2005, said he would like to
convert to Islam, his lawyer Onise Mebonia revealed after visiting
the 31 year-old man in a Georgian tight security prison.

Harutunian was arrested in Tbilisi on July 20, 2005 after a shootout
with Georgian police that resulted in the death of Col. Zurab
Kvlividze, head of the Georgian Interior Ministry’s counterintelligence
department. He was wounded in the shootout receiving three not
life-threatening bullets.

The shootout and detention occurred in the village of Vashlisdzhvari,
outside the capital, Tbilisi. The man lived in an eight-story apartment
building with his mother, and was unemployed. The police operation came
two days after authorities released a photograph of a man suspected
of throwing the grenade, which failed to explode, at a podium where
Bush was speaking May 10 before tens of thousands of people. The
grenade landed less than 100 feet from the podium but did not explode.

Harutunian’s lawyer said the man would like to start also practicing
Yoga, but complained to her of the prison authorities who would
provide him with relating literature. He also demanded a permanent
telephone contact with his mother.

ARMENIA: GUIDE TO PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION ON 12 MAY 2007

BBC Monitoring research
12 Apr 07

Introduction

Voters in the Republic of Armenia go to the polls on 12 May 2007 to
elect a new parliament to serve for a five-year term. The Armenian
parliament consists of a single chamber. Its 131 members are elected by
popular vote; 90 MPs are elected under the proportional representation
system and 41 through the first-past-the-post system.

Armenia, with a population of approximately 3.2 million, is a republic
with a presidential form of government. The constitution provides
for a division of powers between a strong presidency and parliament –
National Assembly – which has the right to approve the budget and to
impeach the president.

The coming parliamentary election will be the fourth election to be
held since the declaration of independence in September 1991, and
the second since Armenia joined the Council of Europe in January 2001.

The Armenian political scene will be dominated with wide-ranging
political activities in the run-up to the 12 May 2007 parliamentary,
the presidential and municipal elections scheduled for 2008. The
elections will put the government’s adherence to the principles of
democracy to test. Many experts and international watchdogs believe
that the election will be an important indicator on democratic progress
in Armenia,

While the election code provides a solid foundation for the conduct
of democratic elections, the upcoming elections will primarily require
greater political will and good-faith implementation of the legislation
in order to be conducted in line with OSCE commitments.

The previous parliamentary election in Armenia fell short of
international standards for democratic elections, the OSCE/ODIHR
Election Observation Mission’s Final Report issued on 25 May 2003 said.

A constitutional referendum in 2005 and the presidential and
parliamentary elections in 2003 were imperfect and did not meet
international standards, according to the 2006 Country Report on
Human Rights Practices, issued by the US Department of State.

In 2006 Armenia’s political landscape underwent significant changes
with the resignation of the speaker of the Armenian National Assembly,
Artur Baghdasaryan. His Orinats Yerkir, the Law-Governed Country Party,
left the coalition government of the Republican Party of Armenia and
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun. Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan’s sudden death in March 2007 resulted in changes in
the ruling party’s plans. The country’s strongest man, Defence Minister
Serzh Sargsyan has been promoted to the post of prime minister and is
now expected by many to run for president in the next year’s election.

The parliamentary election is widely seen as a dress rehearsal for
the presidential ballot due in spring 2008.

Political parties in Armenia appear to be based on personalities
rather than on platforms. Allegiances can be broadly divided into
pro-government and opposition. Seventy-four political parties are
currently registered in Armenia.

Despite discussions amongst some opposition parties about possible
alliances, no coalition was formed by the leading opposition parties
to run in the election. The largest parliamentary opposition Justice
bloc led by the former presidential candidate Stepan Demirchyan has
been facing internal disagreements and a decline in activities over
the last years. Its member parties said that they will contest the
election individually.

A new pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party, active since March
2006, has established an extended party network in all regions. It is
reported that the party has over 500 offices and 370,000 members. It
is expected that the party will be a significant contestant with a
visible campaign in the election.

The legislative framework for parliamentary elections consists of the
1995 Constitution, the Electoral Code (adopted in 1999 and amended
in 2002), the Civil Procedural Code, the Criminal Code, decisions
of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). In addition, decisions
of the Constitutional Court provide binding interpretations to the
legislation. The Election Code was amended in two stages, in 2005
and 2006. The OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission of the Council of
Europe played a significant role.

The election comes after Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey in unison
with dozens of foreign oil companies launched the biggest ever
regional Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline which bypassed the
Armenian territory. The construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
gas pipeline and the preparations for the building of the
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway caused wide-ranging reactions
in Armenia and opponents of the incumbent authorities hit at the
government for its policy of isolation.

Electoral process

Armenia is divided into 41 constituencies and 2,328,474 voters
will cast their votes for 131 members of parliament. Parliamentary
candidates are nominated by political parties and/or blocs. The CEC
has registered 24 political parties and one political bloc. The total
number of candidates standing for the election under the proportional
representation and first-past-the-post systems is 1,447. Under
proportional representation system, 1,313 candidates contend for 90
seats representing 24 parties and one bloc. Under first-past-the-post
system 134 candidates are contending for 41 seats.

Candidates in single-mandate constituencies are nominated by political
parties or initiative groups of citizens. Parties (blocs) are allowed
to withdraw their candidates from their lists or the entire list by 28
March, the date of final registration. Similarly, candidates standing
in the election under the first-past-the-post system are allowed to
pull out of the race by that date.

The same candidates can be included on the proportional list of
parties (blocs) and at the same time run under the first-past-the-post
system. To be elected, parties have to overcome a 5-per-cent threshold;
blocs have to overcome a 7-per-cent threshold.

The election will be administered by the Central Electoral
Commission. A total of 41 territorial electoral commissions and
approximately 2,000 precinct election commissions have been set up
across the country. In the conduct of the elections, the election
administration is guided by the Constitution of the Republic of
Armenia; the law on referendum of the Republic of Armenia; the
Electoral Code; the law on self-government;

the law on parties and other laws and documents.

International situation around election

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) hopes
the 12 May Armenian parliamentary election will be more democratic than
those held earlier. An election monitoring mission will be organized
and led by the OSCE’s election-monitoring body, the Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a statement.

The organization has already deployed 13 election experts for that
purpose.

They will be joined by 29 long-term observers from various OSCE member
states later. The Warsaw-based body also plans to dispatch some 300
short-term European and American observers to polling stations across
Armenia on voting day.

This is slightly more than the number of OSCE/ODIHR observers who
monitored the previous Armenian parliamentary elections in May 2003.

In addition, small groups of monitors are due to be deployed by the
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe, and possibly by the
European Parliament. Ambassador Boris Frlec, a Slovenian diplomat who
will head the OSCE/ODIHR mission, expressed hope that the elections
will mark significant improvement over the previous Armenian polls
that were marred by serious fraud reported by OSCE observers.

Regrettably, Armenia’s elections have so far fallen short of
OSCE commitments for democratic elections, he told reporters in
Yerevan. The upcoming election is a chance to turn this negative trend
around. Similar hopes have repeatedly been voiced by the United States
and the European Union.

The Armenian authorities have assured them that they are committed
to ensuring free and fair election. They point, in particular, to
the recently enacted amendments in Armenia’s Electoral Code that are
mostly based on Council of Europe recommendations.

Frlec believes that "political will" of the Armenian government will
matter the most. He thinks that the recently amended election code of
Armenia provides a sound framework for democratic elections. The real
challenge for the authorities is the implementation, in good faith,
of the election code so that this and future elections will be held
in accordance with Armenia’s OSCE commitments.

Key election players and main planks of their platforms

Major contenders are the ruling parties of the Republican Party
of Armenia (RPA) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation –
Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD); the pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party
and Stepan Demirchyan’s opposition People’s Party of Armenia, the
National Unity Party and several other parties.

The Republican party of Armenia

Acting leader – Prime minister Serzh Sargsyan; ref HYPERLINK
"_ () " _www.hhk.am_
()

The ruling RPA’s election campaign slogan is "For you, Armenia!" The
party hopes to gain the majority of the seats in the parliament
but rules out the possibility of forming a one-party government. The
Armenian prime minister and the head of the RPA board, Serzh Sargsyan,
will conduct the party’s election campaign, the parliamentary faction
leader of the RPA, Galust Saakyan, said.

The Republican Party is ready to cooperate with the Prosperous Armenia,
the ARFD and the United Labour Party, as well as with those opposition
forces wishing to take upon themselves the share of responsibility
for the activities of the next government.

The Republican Party of Armenia encourages investment in the national
economy; promises more new jobs. The party pledges to continue the
course it has been conducting as a ruling party.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD)

Board chairman Armen Rustamyan; ref HYPERLINK "_
( m/) " _www.yerkir.am_ ()

The ARFD is one of the two coalition member parties.

Encourages birth rate in order to bring the population of Armenia to
4m by 2012.

Promises rise in pension and minimum wages.

Supports fair economic competition and the fight against the shadow
economy.

Amongst other planks in the election platform are fair taxes,
creation of new jobs, provision of minimum life standard, financial
aid for disabled.

The Prosperous Armenia Party

Leader – Gagik Tsarukyan

The Prosperous Armenia party was formed in 2004 and is led by MP
Gagik Tsarukyan. He is also head of the Armenian National Olympics
Committee and the president of the Multy Group company. President
Robert Kocharyan is widely considered to be behind the party.

Armenian opposition media have dubbed Prosperous Armenia a "political
technology project" hatched by the presidential administration
with the aim of drawing support from voters disaffected by current
government policies.

Tsarukyan’s substantial financial investment in the party already
appears to be paying off, with opinion polls suggesting it now has
the support of 30 per cent of the electorate, even though it was only
formed one year ago.

Tsarukyan believes that the party has a chance to lead the forthcoming
parliamentary election. He called on all the political forces to aim
at a just competition, free and fair election.

"We respect all parties, but we are certain that we are strong and
well-organized. The people approve our ideas, and we have substantial
opportunities to win," he stressed.

The party promises the voters a prosperous country through poverty
reduction and creation of new jobs.

Constructing streets, repairing buildings, providing gas, creating
jobs are central issues of the party’s platform.

Orinats Yerkir party

Leader – Artur Baghdasaryan

Orinats Yerkir party, one of the former three coalition parties in
the government, is led by former speaker Artur Baghdasaryan, who
resigned from his post in 2006.

The main planks of the party’s election platform are: Fight for a
decent life, law and justice; Let’s turn Armenia into a country of
law; Laws should work, not exist on paper solely; Where there is law,
there are rights and justice; Human, his/her rights and dignity should
be in the centre of ideology; Army reforms and so on. Joining the
European Union is a priority of Armenia’s foreign policy for the party.

The party favours developing relations with the USA and Russia,
expanding cooperation with all European structures, as well as using
the potential of the Armenian Diaspora around the globe.

The party considers that the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict should be
settled through negotiations taking into account Armenia’s interests.

The National Unity Party (NUP)

Leader – Artashes Geghamyan

The NUP leader hopes to get 28-38 per cent of the votes. The party
is aimed at working out and launching numerous national projects in
the spheres of economy, education, affordable housing and healthcare.

If the election results are falsified, we will urge the people to
protect their votes, NUP leader Artashes Geghamyan said.

External forces are hoping for irregularities during the election
to enable them to impose sanctions and exert pressure on Armenia in
relation to a Karabakh settlement. That is why holding a legal and
fair election is the only and last chance for Armenia, Geghamyan said.

Geghamyan’s election platform is called Anti-crisis programme, which
is an updated version of the programme presented in 2003 presidential
election when he was a presidential candidate. He proposes passing
at least 43 new laws to take Armenia out of the current crisis if
gets majority in the poll.

Heritage Party

Leader – Raffi Hovhannisyan

The party is led by former first foreign minister of independent
Armenia Raffi Hovhannisyan. He hopes for absolute majority in the
National Assembly if there are equal conditions.

The party believes that without ensuring Armenian citizens’ human
rights, one cannot talk about national interests, and the security
of the state cannot be ensured without democracy. Armenian mentality
is based on truth, justice and morality and not on something else
as others say. The party says the country is to show that young
independent Armenia and its citizens are able to hold free, fair and
honest elections, after which the winners and losers will congratulate
each other.

Every Armenia citizen should feel the strength of the law; not struggle
for just a piece of bread but live a worthy life as there is a direct
link between the law, rights and bread. Hovhannisyan also said it is
crucial to clearly differentiate between the branches of power.

At the same time, Hovhannisyan said that the establishment of order in
the country’s economy is a more important priority than the country’s
foreign policy or the Karabakh issue.

"It is crucial to bring everything under the control of the law,
to fill up the state budget with money belonging to people,"
Hovhannisyan said.

The People’s Party of Armenia (PPA)

Leader – Stepan Demirchyan; ref HYPERLINK "_
() " _www.ppa.am_ ()

The PPA election slogan is "Principles and honour". People should be
guided by principles and honour in their lives. The PPA promises to
reconsider the regional administrative division in Armenia. The party’s
election platform calls for in-depth reforms in the country. Demirchyan
says he will work to solve social hardships of the people.

Impeachment Bloc

Leaders Petros Makeyan and Mikayel Hayrapetyan

The Impeachment bloc has a single goal of removing the current
"anti-democratic and illegitimate regime" through initiating an
impeachment process of President Robert Kocharyan in parliament if
it wins the election. The bloc Impeachment includes the Democratic
Fatherland (Petros Makeyan) and the Conservative Party (Mikayel
Hayrapetyan).

The complete list of CEC registered political parties and the bloc:

The National Democratic Party

The National Solidarity party

The National Unity party

The Prosperous Armenia party

The Dashink party

The Heritage party

The People’s Party

The Democratic Path party

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun

The Progressive Party of Armenia

The Democratic Party of Armenia

The Youth Party of Armenia

The People’s Party of Armenia

The Communist Party of Armenia

The Republican Party of Armenia

The Marxist Party of Armenia

The Pan-Armenian National Movement

The Republic party

The United Labour Party

The United National Liberal Party

The New Times party

The Hunchak Social Democratic Party of Armenia

The Christian Democratic Revival party

The Orinats Yerkir party

The Impeachment bloc

International and domestic observers

An OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation mission, delegations from the
Council of Europe, the Executive Committee of the CIS, the Council
of Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS member states and a number
of other organizations will observe the poll.

A number of domestic groups also plan to observe the election. They
are the following NGOs: It’s Your Choice, Electoral System Centre,
All-Armenian Centre of Programmes, Hope, Phriteuf Nansen Armenian
Centre foe Human Rights Protection, UNISON for Support of People
with Special Needs, Free Society Institute, Areg Scientific Cultural
Youth Association, Legal and Community Support Centre AYB, Helsinki
Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office, Against Violation of Law, Helsinki
Association Human Rights Protection.

Media environment

Television remains the main source of information and can be described
as predominantly pro-government, despite the formal transformation
of state TV into a public service broadcaster, and the existence of
numerous private channels, many of which de facto linked to political
parties. The print media is seen as more pluralistic and news coverage
is diverse and critical, however circulation is limited.

Public TV is the most influential media outlet in Armenia. Two
independent TV stations – A1+ and Noyan Tapan – which lost their
licences in 2002 and 2001 respectively, remain without frequencies
despite participation in numerous tenders and concern expressed by
the international community.

Nevertheless, although the 2003 presidential and parliamentary
elections were defined by the role of the broadcast media, it looks
as though the Internet will play a crucial role in covering and
disseminating news, views and opinions on this year’s parliamentary
election, according to some reports.

Sources

The constitution of Armenia; the website of the Armenian Electoral
Commission; Arminfo, Mediamax news agencies; Reports of the OSCE/ODIHR
on previous elections in Armenia.

ARMENIA’S PRIORITY IS ECONOMY, SAYS NEW PREMIER

Turkish Daily News
April 11 2007

Armenia’s priority is economic development, not human rights
improvements, the country’s new prime minister said in an interview
with The Financial Times on Monday.

"Jobs are more important than rights," said Serge Sargysan, who was
promoted to premiership last Wednesday, after the death of the late
prime minister Andranik Margaryan from a heart attack last month. "It
is hard to talk about democratic and human rights when you need to
solve the social and economic needs of the population," he said to
the Financial Times during a visit to Brussels.

A third of the 3 million-strong population of Armenia lives below
the poverty line. Sargysan said the Armenian diaspora should get more
involved in the country, reminding that only 1 percent of investment
came from them.

Sargysan named another priority as concluding a peace treaty with
Azerbaijan, which lost Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia in 1994, after a
three-year war.

"Turkey – which has been offered talks without conditions – has
shown no willingness to compromise" on the Nagorno-Karabagh issue,
claimed the article.

Sargysan added that Armenia would remain friendly to Russia and would
not support a United States military base in the region.

TWO CANDIDATES INSTEAD OF EARLIER REGISTERED FOUR ONES TO COMPETE BY MAJORITARIAN ELECTORAL SYSTEM AT No19 ELECTORAL DISTRICT

Noyan Tapan
Apr 11 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armavir Court of First Instance
upheld on April 10 the claim of assistant to the Yerevan Arabkir
community head, RPA member Hakob Hakobian registered by the
majoritarian electoral system at No 19 electoral district against
the given district electoral commission.

According to it, decisions of No19 district electoral commission
relating to registration of NA deputy elected from Etchmiadzin, RPA
member Hakob Hakobian and non-partisan Susanna Haroutiunian nominated
at the same electoral district on the civil initiative were recongnized
invalid, with reasoning of presenting false documents.

So, assistant to the Yerevan Arabkir community head, RPA member Hakob
Hakobian nominated on the civil initiative and non-partisan nominated
by the RPA, former commander of the 4th army corps of the Armed Forces
of Armenia, General Sedrak (Seyran) Saroyan will struggle for the
deputy’s mandate at No19 electoral district.

MARAGHA THE BLOODIEST EPISODE OF THE WAR IN KARABAKH

KarabakhOpen
10-04-2007 10:31:38

On April 9 the presentation of the disk "Maragha" produced by the
Milky Way Studio took place at Artsakh State University.

April 10 is the 15th anniversary of the tragedy in the village of
Maragha, Martakert. In the night of April 10, 1992 the Azerbaijani
special operational force and the Fourth Soviet Army stationed in
Kirovabad attacked the village, which had a population of 5 thousand
by that time. The 200 militants of the village could not stop the
tanks and the armored machines, and the Azerbaijanis captured the
village. In four hours Maragha was liberated by the joint defense
squads. However, the Armenian militants still remember the horrible
picture they saw. Dead bodies torn to parts, people burnt alive,
old people and children taken hostages… People were not just killed.

"It was perhaps the bloodiest episode of the war in Karabakh. What
happened in Maragha was the consequence of the policy conducted by
Azerbaijan for years on. The seeds of hatred grew at the convenient
moment – Sumgait, Maragha…

Unfortunately, the policy of inciting hatred continues, which does
not allow setting up friendly relations between our countries,"
said Speaker Ashot Ghulyan during the presentation.

"The massacres of the peaceful population in Maragha had nothing to do
with the military actions. These people did not threaten Azerbaijan,
the village was not a weapon emplacement. However, the criminals have
not assumed responsibility yet," said Vahram Atanesyan, the chair of
the Committee of External Relations.

Narine Aghabalyan, director of the Milky Way Studio, said the disc
contains documents, stories of witnesses, the participants and the
victims, photos, footages of the next day of the tragedy, as well as a
film based on the stories of witnesses. After the liberation Baroness
Caroline Cox arrived at the village. An interview with her and passages
from her book about ethnic cleansing were included in the disk as well.

Narine Aghabalyan told that the only effort to make the events
in Maragha known to the world was made by the Organization Against
Legal Arbitrariness (director Larissa Alaverdyan). A lot of materials
were accumulated, which were to be presented to the UN but the work
stopped halfway.

All the materials that the organization had collected were included in
the disk. Narine Aghabalyan said the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs
provided archive materials and legal documents. The disk also includes
newspaper stories.

The production was sponsored by the American businessman Vardges
Anivyan, the owner of the milk factory of Stepanakert.

"According to these materials, on that day 81 people were slaughtered,
67 were taken hostages. Some hostages were later returned or exchanged,
but many are still missing. 260 families, 880 people, remained in
Karabakh after those events. Now the village of Maragha is in the
neutral territory. In satellite photos we can see that the village
has been razed to the ground," Narine Aghabalyan says.

"In New Maragha 530 people live. We started living in this village
because there is nowhere else we can go to. And we have the right to
live there until we return to our native village," said the head of
the community of Nor Maragha Roma Karapetyan.

Most inhabitants of Maragha live in Russia. "We still have contact
with them, but they are reluctant to return," said the head of the
community.

"Azerbaijan was able to persuade the UN to send a mission to Karabakh
to " prove" that Armenians live in the liberated territories. Where
are the people of Maragha supposed to live? Where are those 7000
people who lived in Maragha, Margushavan? Isn’t the UN supposed to
think about them?" Narine Aghabalyan said.

‘I am Armenian’

Elementary school’s new Clovis location won’t change its Armenian-English
curriculum.

The Fresno Bee
By James Guy
04/06/07

(Picture Caption)
Holding high the Armenian tricolor, Careen DerKalousdian and Razmig
Markarian, both 3, recited the poem, "Hye Em Yes" (I am Armenian), in a
performance that seemed to capture the spirit of the Armenian Community
School of Fresno.

The elementary school, which is proud of its bilingual Armenian-English
curriculum and its ranking on achievement tests, is the only Armenian school
between the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

It’s also on the move — a Tower District fixture since 2001, the school
plans to relocate to Clovis in the fall because St. Therese Catholic Church
is renovating church grounds, leaving no room for the school.

The school’s new location won’t mean a change of academic direction,
Principal Rosie Bedrosian said; instilling an appreciation for the Armenian
culture is an essential element of the school’s goals.

"We want them to know their roots and where they came from so they don’t
forget who they are," she said.

The school does that through the classroom, celebrating important dates in
Armenian history and through talent shows like the one in which the
preschoolers recited the poem.

About 90 students attend Armenian Community, which has classes from
preschool through sixth grade. Students spend about an hour a day studying
the Armenian language and heritage in addition to regular elementary school
subjects.

School officials tout the school’s academic performance: each year, grades
one through six collectively rank in the upper 20th percentile on the
Stanford Nine Achievement test, which measures aptitude in reading, language
arts, math, science and social science, according to Randy Baloian, chairman
of the school board.

Kindergarten teacher Jackie Chekerdemian credits much of that to small class
sizes.

"There is lots of one-on-one teaching, because there are only 11 in the
class," she said of her students.

In Chekerdemian’s class, Michael Mazman, 5, recently focused on an Armenian
alphabet workbook.

"Look at my writing," he said proudly to a visitor.

Asked to choose between which of two alphabets he enjoyed more, English or
Armenian, Michael did not hesitate.

"I like the Armenian," he said.

The 36-letter alphabet was developed by Mesrob Mashdots in the late fourth
century, language teacher Maral Markarian said. Two more letters have been
added to the modern alphabet. Like Michael, other students at the school
said they liked the alphabet’s elegant flowing letters.

"Armenian is more fun to write in," said Arthur Basmajian, 9.

"It’s more challenging," said Nareg Apkarian, 8.

The various backgrounds of students at Armenian Community are a reflection
of the Armenian diaspora. Some of the students’ parents were refugees from
the Lebanese civil war between warring Christian and Muslim factions in the
1970s.

Other students’ parents arrived from Iran after the overthrow of the Shah in
the late 1970s. Still another wave of students came to the U.S. in the
aftermath of a catastrophic 1988 earthquake in Armenia that killed nearly
50,000 and left 500,000 homeless.

Other students come from families who arrived in the first Armenian
migration in the early 20th century.

Since the children come from different parts of the world, the students
become familiar with two different dialects. Those from Lebanon and the
Middle East speak the western dialect. Those from Armenia speak the eastern.

The circuitous routes leading to Fresno are also reflected in faculty
histories. Principal Bedrosian’s Russian family was among Armenians on the
Black Sea coast who were forced by German occupiers during World War II to
become forced laborers in Germany. After the war, her family came as
refugees to Fresno.

Markarian, the language teacher, is a survivor of the Lebanese Civil War.

"We were caught in the middle," she said. "We suffered a lot."

She said the school carries on an Armenian tradition that has led to
Armenian churches in far-flung locations such as Singapore. "Wherever
Armenians go, the first thing they will do is build a church and a school,"
she said.

One of the first poems Markarian teaches is based on the history of St.
Vartan, a hero to the Armenian people. Historically, Persians and Armenians
enjoyed fraternal relations, but when a Persian emperor demanded Armenians
renounce Christianity and adopt Zoroastrianism, Armenians under Vartan
refused.

Vartan was slain in the ensuing battle and the Armenians were defeated by an
overwhelming force of Persians equipped with war elephants. But the
Armenians were able to keep their Christianity.

The poem proclaims, "I am Armenian. I am Armenian. I am the grandson of
Brave Vartan."

A relocation of the school to Clovis would be the fourth move since the
school began in 1976 in the basement of Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic
Church on Ventura and M Streets in downtown Fresno. Four years later, it
moved to Fresno Street and Weldon Avenue, then to the St. Therese site in
2001.

Baloian, of the school board, said the Clovis location is on a 21/2-acre lot
near Herndon and Willow avenues. Plans call for placing temporary school
classrooms on the site. School officials also hope to eventually offer
seventh- and eighth-grade classes as they once did.

The reporter may be reached at [email protected] or (559) 441-6339.

IT IS NECESSARY TO WORK OUT NEW EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO RAISE QUALITATIVE LEVEL OF ARMENIAN SCHOOLS OF DIASPORA, RESPONSIBLE FOR AGBU EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Apr 06 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 6, NOYAN TAPAN. It is necessary to work out new
educational programs to raise the qualitative level of Armenian schools
of Diaspora as because of absence of such programs those schools
today face a number of problems. Artun Hamalian, the Responsible for
the Education Department of the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) stated about it at the April 6 conference held in Yerevan,
dedicated to education problems of Diaspora.

In his words, the AGBU has about 20 everyday and the same number of
Saturday schools in different colonies of Diaspora. It was mentioned
that if the number of students studying at those schools made about 7
thousand in 1990s, then according to 2007 data, the number of pupils
reduced 2-2.5 thousand.

Whereas, in A. Hamalian’s words, more than 1.5 mln Armenian children at
the school age live in Diaspora. "Numerous parents find it purposeful
to send their children for education to non-Armenian schools, reasoning
that education programs in Armenian schools do not correspond to
demands of the time," A. Hamalian mentioned.

Yervand Zorian, the AGBU California branch head stated that CDs in
Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian, English and Russian will be
released in future, in which the Armenian people’s history and culture
will be presented. "I think that those CDs will give possibility to
return Armenian education institutions a great number of children,"
Y. Zorian emphasized.

STATE PROGRAM FOR TOURISM’S DEVELOPMENT IN 2007 ADOPTED IN NKR

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 6 2007

The Nagorno-Karabagh Republic government has adopted a State program
for the tourism’s development in 2007.

According to the information DE FACTO got at the NKR government’s
press office, the program is targeted at the stable development of
the traveling sphere, improving the traveling services’ quality,
ensuring the branch’s competitive ability.

Attendance of the Nagorno-Karabagh by foreign tourists is to be
increased by 20% as compared with 2006. The program is also to
improve the branch’s legislative base and stimulate the process of the
Nagorno-Karabagh’s integration in the international traveling market.

TURKISH POLITICAL SCIENTIST ABOUT THE TERRORIST ACT OF OCTOBER 27
By H. Chaqrian

AZG Armenian Daily
05/04/2007

Recently the "Abhaber" website, the Turkish version of "Euronews",
published an article by professor Hasan Koni, lecturer at the
International Relations Department of the Ankara State University. In
the article, entitled "The Armenian Question and the International
Status of Turkey", professor Koni speaks about Turkey’s efforts to
establish diplomatic relations with Armenia and explains their failure
by the interference of Russia.

Koni also mentions the terrorist act of October 27, 1999 in the
Parliament of Armenia. We cannot either deny or affirm his statements,
but one thing is certain about them: they are rather interesting. "In
1993 a conference of Turkish republics was held. Hasan Hasanov,
who was Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan those days, on the conference
complained that the promised dollars had not been received yet. He
said Azerbaijan was being cheated for two years. Indeed in those
times Caucasus expected financial assistance. At the moment Russia
appeared on the scene. Russia provoked Armenia against Azerbaijan in
the issue of Karabakh. We tried to establish relations with Armenia
(then, in the days of Kocharian five politicians, with who we had
got in touch, were murdered in the House of the National Assembly
of Armenia, for if Armenia established contact with us, Russia would
lose the region forever). We were not permitted to establish contact
and turn the Armenians on our side (of course, it is uneasy to speak
all about this to the international public)."

KARINE HAKOBYAN SAYS WOMEN MAY ENSURE QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN THE PARLIAMENT

Panorama.am
19:06 02/04/2007

The presence of women in the parliament should not be an end in
itself, Heghine Bisharyan, deputy chair of Orinats Yerkir party,
and Karine Hakobyan, member of Democratic Party, told a debate at
Hayeli Club. Both believe the national parliament needs qualitative
changes and that women may ensure that.

Karine Hakobyan worked as a deputy minister of employment and social
affairs from 2002 through 2005.

She believes institutional mechanisms are lacking for tackling gender
problems. Hakobyan urges not to equal gender policy with feminism.

Hakobyan quoted World Bank study, which found a correlation between
corruption and gender problems: the lower corruption, the less gender
problems.