Author: Virabian Jhanna

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
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PRESS RELEASE

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

AGBU Hye Geen Presents "The Armenian Woman in Armenian Folktales"

On October 3, 2009, the AGBU Hye Geen committee of Southern California
hosted a discussion, entitled "The Armenian Woman in Armenian
Folktales," which was part of a continuing series of public lectures
based on social and cultural themes, designed to promote an appreciation
of traditional values defining Armenian women and their national
identity. The most recent event took place at the AGBU Center in
Pasadena, California. Three presenters led the discussion, which focused
on the depiction of women in the Armenian folk tradition.

The opening discussion was presented by Mary Mouradian, a pioneer member
of Hye Geen and the first Armenian news television correspondent in the
diaspora. As a firm believer in the importance and necessity of
community service, she has also been active as a social worker, educator
and counselor. Mouradian spoke at great length about the roots of the
oral tradition, highlighting the roles played by gifted storytellers and
musicians, transmitting songs and stories into social commentary. She
also discussed the significance of the oral tradition in the changing
historical context. To highlight the points made throughout her
presentation, Mouradian alluded to Ghazaros Aghayian’s fairy tale
"Anahid" as well as many of the fairy tales written by Hovhannes
Toumanian.

The next presenter was Alidz Agbabian, whose specialty is folklore. She
is also a popular song interpreter and the author of six children’s
books. Her presentation focused mainly on the physical and moral
characteristics of the heroines in folk songs. Agbabian accompanied her
discussion with singing and music, and towards the end she had fellow
attendees enthusiastically joining her.

Linda Kandilian was the third and final speaker. Kandilian is a longtime
educator who currently heads the Armenian Department of the Sisters’
Academy. As a dedicated community service volunteer, she has
participated in the work of the Armenian Relief Society, which has
included specialized counseling for its social services committee.
During her talk, she spent time discussing the fact that fairy tales are
disappearing from our lives at an alarming rate, mainly due to cultural
and generational changes and the modern ways of life. "Fairy tales
contain moral lessons. In them is the struggle between good and evil, in
which evil invariable loses and good wins. The world of the fairy tale
is lost in modern civilization. Let’s go back and read, relate our fairy
tales and legends to our children. Undoubtedly, they will hear, listen
to them and love them," she concluded.

Following the lecturers, Sona Yacoubian, chair of AGBU Hye Geen, gave
closing remarks and praised the Young Circle for working on Hye Geen
activities and for their unparalleled enthusiasm and diligence. On
behalf of the Young Circle, members Taline Yacoubian and Teresa
Hairabedian spoke briefly about their work in Armenia, which includes a
new center to aid pregnant women in the Talin region of Armenia.

The AGBU Hye Geen committee recently celebrated its 15th anniversary.
The group was started by Sona Yacoubian in 1994 with the mission of
bringing Armenian women together to discuss relevant cultural and social
issues.

Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian program, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.

For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit

LAUNCH OF SUGAR PLANT IN ARMENIA IN MAY 2010 WILL PROVIDE THE CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR IN THE COUNTRY -MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

ARKA
Dec 7, 2009

YEREVAN, December 7. /ARKA/. "New sugar plant in Akhuryan will launch
in May 2010 and provide the whole consumption of sugar in Armenia",
said Gerasim Alaverdyan, Minister of Agriculture of Armenia in the
frames of the visit of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan to
the plant.

"It is very important plant which will cover the consumption of sugar
of Armenia. Currently it makes 90 thousand tons annually and will work
on the basis of foreign and local raw material", said the Minister.

For full functioning of the plant it is envisaged to allocate 5000
ha of land for sugar beet. He mentioned that the plant will have
1000 employees.

Edik Sargsyan, Director of the plant said that production of the plant
will also be exported to Georgia, North regions of Iran and Russia. If
the plant works in full capacity, it will produce 220 thousand tons
of white sugar of European quality annually.

The raw material for the plant will be imported from South America,
mainly from Brazil, as well as produced locally which will allow
to provide 20 thousand local employees with work. In May the first
production will be produced and its price will be lower than imported
sugar but he could not mention the exact price. Construction of the
plant in Akhuryan was started in 2006. Owner of the plant is Samvel
Aleksanyan, Armenian entrepreneur, Deputy of National Assembly of
Armenia who has monopolistic positions in the market of sugar import
in Armenia. Investments for the construction of the plant will make
$90-92 million.

For finalization of the scheme of local sugar beet additional $8-10
million is needed.

Sunday’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 6 2009

Return to Diyarbakır

I first visited Diyarbakır, in southeastern Turkey, in 1992. In those
days it was a brooding place barely clinging to a small tourist trade
in the face of its political problems.

Visitors were advised to stick to the main streets and not to ask too
many questions; the great basalt walls that ringed the old city only
added to the air of tension. It was much the same, if not worse, when
I returned in 1994 to find a tank guarding the main intersection in
the old town, not far from the Ulu Cami. In 1998 I employed a guide to
steer me through the warren of tight-knit streets behind the mosque.
His primary task was to keep at bay the crowds of children who jostled
my every footstep. I knew that it would be unwise to press him to talk
about what went on after dark.
Two years ago a flying visit to the city lasted just long enough to
tell me that at least on the surface things had changed considerably,
so it was with great pleasure that I returned there recently to find
the old quarter a great deal more relaxed and welcoming, at least to
outsiders.

This is especially good news because Diyarbakır has enormous potential
as a tourist destination. For most visitors the Ulu Cami remains the
first port of call. Screened from the main square by a wall with a
deceptively small arched entrance cut through it, the mosque runs
along one side of a spacious courtyard and immediately evokes the
Ummayad Mosque in Damascus, albeit without the glittering mosaics.
Built in 639 on the site of the ancient Mar Thoma church, the Ulu Cami
is the oldest mosque in Anatolia, and you could pass several happy
hours here simply inspecting the carved inscriptions on its facade,
and the ancient columns and capitals reused in the surrounding
buildings.

Despite having been restored several times over the centuries, the Ulu
Cami has a timeless quality about it, which is hardly the case with
the Hasan PaÅ?a Hanı facing it across the road. This magnificent stripy
structure focused on a wide courtyard dates back to 1573, but by the
mid-1990s it was in a sad state, abandoned by all but a couple of
carpet dealers. Now, however, a facelift has restored its former joie
de vivre. Cool music attracts a youthful crowd of students, and what
were once the rooms in which trade goods would have been stored while
their owners slept upstairs have been converted to house unexpectedly
chic souvenir shops. You’ll have trouble dragging yourself away from
the inviting teashops ringing the courtyard and the first-floor
gallery.

The han and the mosque are readily accessible from the main road, but
to get a real feel for old Diyarbakır you need to plunge into the
medina-like back streets, which harbor intriguing small museums,
ancient churches and lovely old mosques with extraordinarily beautiful
minarets. The snag is that the streets are narrow and winding, rarely
wide enough for a car to pass, and once you’ve got lost in them it
won’t be easy to find your way back out again (the tourist office in
the DaÄ? Kapısı [Mountain Gate] provides a good free map).

Easiest of the museums to locate is the Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Müsezi,
which is very close to the Ulu Cami. Although the house was once home
to one of Turkey’s finest romantic poets and exhibits some of his
belongings, you come here primarily to admire the exquisite local
architecture in which flowers of white stone are incised into the
heavy basalt to picturesque effect. The house in which Turkish
nationalist Ziya Gökalp was born in 1876 is similarly beautiful in
design, if a little harder to find. Likewise the Esma Ocak Evi
(house).

Several churches are grouped together near the striking, stand-alone
Dört Ayaklı Minare (Four-Footed Minaret), in front of the much more
conventional Å?eyh Mutahhar Cami. Most interesting is the Meryemana
Kilisesi (Church of the Virgin Mary) which is still used by
Diyarbakır’s tiny Syrian Orthodox community, although the Mar Petyun
Keldani Kilisesi (Chaldean Catholic Church) is also surprisingly
large. The Armenian Surpagab Kilisesi stands in ruins, but if you go
to send a postcard from the post office near the Four-Footed Minaret
you’ll find yourself unexpectedly queuing for your stamp inside
another church that has been given a new lease on life.

No one could visit Diyarbakır and overlook the extraordinary walls
with which it’s ringed. Built from basalt, these date back to the days
of the Roman occupation, although every successive ruler of the city
appears to have felt the need to stamp his mark on them by adding a
tower or tweaking a length of the wall. Recently some stretches have
been spruced up to appeal to visitors with the addition of landscaping
and children`s play areas. In theory you can walk right round the
walls, certainly at the bottom and in some places along the top of the
ramparts. In reality, however, gecekondus (shanty towns) still cling
to parts of them, and you will probably feel very conspicuous, not to
say uncomfortable, venturing into these on your own. Unfortunately
this means that two of the most photographed towers — the Yedi KardeÅ?
Burcu (Seven Brothers Tower) and MalikÅ?ah Burcu (Shah Malik Tower) – –
continue to be largely off-limits for the time being.

On the other hand the easing of tensions here means that what used to
be the closed military zone of the İç Kale (Inner Citadel) is now open
to the public, who access it by passing under an impressive
high-arched bridge dating back to 1206-7, the time when the Artukids
held sway from here to Mardin. A project to restore all the buildings
inside the fortress seems to have ground to a halt, but this is still
a peaceful and evocative place where you can inspect the remains of an
old prison and of the Kara Papaz Kilisesi (Church of St. George).
What’s more it’s right beside the 12th-century Hazreti Süleyman Camii,
where several early Islamic heroes are buried, attracting crowds of
worshippers no matter what the time of day.

But this is a town with almost limitless attractions to detain its
visitors. There is, for example, the glorious Gazi KöÅ?kü, a stripy
stone summer house dating back to the 15th century that sits out in
the fields overlooking the Dicle River (Tigris) and now houses a
lively restaurant and tea garden. Then there’s the local archeological
museum, the Deliler Hanı (now converted into the Otel Büyük
Kervansaray), the Selim Amca restaurant that dishes up delightful
kaburga dolması (stuffed lamb ribs shredded onto rice), innumerable
glorious mosques that rarely see a foreign tourist and a cheese market
that is a mouth-watering feast for the eyes.

Finally, there’s the Dengbej Evi, a wonderful new venture housed in
one of the better-signposted of the old houses in the back streets.
Dengbej is a style of unaccompanied music in which the great sagas of
Kurdish history are recorded. Sitting in the enclosed courtyard,
admiring the exquisite stone architecture and listening to the old men
relaying their songs back and forth, you have to pinch yourself to
remember that this is still Diyarbakır and that not all its problems
can be so easily airbrushed away.

06 December 2009, Sunday

PAT?YALE DÄ°YARBAKIR

THE MILLENIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT GOVERNING COUNCIL HAS MET PM

gov.am
Dec 4 2009
Armenia

The Millenium Challenge Account-Armenia SNCO Governing Council met,
presided at by council chairman, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

The Council reviewed Armenia’s national irrigation and drainage
policy concept. A keynote speaker was MCA-Armenia SNCO Executive
Director Ara Hovsepyan. Following an in-depth discussion of the issue,
the Prime Minister instructed the stakeholders to hold another such
discussion with corresponding agencies and organizations and come up
with proposals and recommendations at the next council session.

The next agenda item on the rehabilitation of the Ararat Valley
drainage system was taken notice of by the Governing Council.

The Council further approved the amended guidelines and time-table
of procurements.

After hearing the annual report on MCA-Armenia activities, council
chairman Tigran Sargsyan told those concerned to activate outreach
and awareness raising activities to properly inform the public on
the work done so far.

The council further discussed a number of issues relating to
MCA-Armenia’s ongoing activities, as well as some Council of
Beneficiaries-related questions. The meeting then discussed and
approved the Spitak town gravity system rehabilitation contract.

It was decided that the next council sitting will be held on December
16, 2009.

ORGANIZERS PROMISE AFFORDABLE PRICES FOR IAN GILLAN CONCERTS TICKETS IN YEREVAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
04.12.2009 14:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Deep Purple lead singer, legendary Ian Gillan and
Armenian State Philharmonic Orchestra will give benefit concerts in
Yerevan on March 26 and 27, 2010.

The organizers of the concerts – Mediamax news agency and VivaCell-MTS
– promise affordable prices for tickets. The money raised from ticket
sales will be spent on construction of a new building for Gyumri N6
music school.

Armenian State Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Eduard Topchyan said
the concerts may be recorded for DVD release like it was done during
Gillan’s concert with the London Symphony Orchestra.

"We are happy to assist in reconstruction of a music school in Gyumri
and assume a part of responsibility for the problems the government
does not address," VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikyan said.

ABOUT 70% OF THE UPGRADING WORKS OF THE FIFTH UNIT OF HRAZDAN THERMO POWER PLANT ARE IMPLEMENTED

ARMENPRESS
DECEMBER 4, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Energy and Natural Resources
Minister Armen Movsisyan, accompanied by the general director of
"ArmRusGasProm" company Karen Karapetyan visited town of Hrazdan to
get acquainted with the process of upgrading of the fifth unit of
Hrazdan Thermo Power Plant.

In a briefing with reporters the minister reminded that the
construction-mounting works of the fifth energy unit started from
2008. According to him, during this period an extended work has
been carried out. Currently about the 90% of necessary devices have
already been imported to Armenia, and the 70% of the works have been
implemented. In September of the coming year the construction-mounting
will already be finished and regulatory works will be implemented.

"At the end of the next year the 450 megawatt power block will
be connected to the network. Our thermo powers are morally and
physically old. The four energy units of Hrazdan for years were the
main thermo suppliers but now they do not correspond to the present
demands. As a result of construction of new unit for production of
1 KW/H electricity about 270 grams of conditional fuel will be spent
against the today’s 360-370. In future we may develop what we have,
adding another gas-turbine block. It will give an opportunity to solve
in Armenia’s energy system both inner issues and have a peculiar role
in the region in production of electricity, its transit and supply,"
the minister said.

The regulatory works of the "Hrazdan-5" energy unit are expected to
be finished in 2010. During 2006-2009 about 393,5 million USD have
been invested for finishing construction and upgrading the 5th unit
of Hrazdan Thermo Power Plant.

STAR TO DEVELOP NEW PROJECT ON PRODUCTION OF SEMI-FINISHED GOODS AND CEREAL PRODUCTS

ArmInfo
2009-12-04 11:48:00

ArmInfo. The biggest retailer of Armenia, STAR Company, plans to
develop a new project in early 2010, jointly with a specialist from
the leading Georgian Populi supermarket network, on change of its
own production structure, STAR Executive Director Vahan Kerobyan
told ArmInfo.

According to him, the new project will aim at solution of the problems
in the sphere of logistics and marketing of the goods produced by
STAR. "We are acquainted with the high level of work of this expert
and are waiting for his proposals", Kerobyan said. He also said
they are negotiating with the Populi on export of meat products
of Natfood factory, belonging to Valletta Company in the person of
Henry Zakharyan, who is also a shareholder of STAR (71,7%), to the
Georgian market.

To note, production of own goods is one of the primary activities of
STAR Company. The range of goods includes cereal products, salads,
hot dishes, different semi-finished products, including fresh and
frozen ones, etc.

To recall, European Bank for Development and Reconstruction with 28,3%
equity share is one of the hareholders of STAR supermarket.

ARMENIAN, TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS RATIFICATION OF PROTOCOLS

Interfax
Dec 2 2009
Russia

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu discussed the ratification of the
Armenian-Turkish protocols by the countries’ parliaments, the Armenian
Foreign Ministry told Interfax on Wednesday.

"The Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers discussed the ratification
of the protocols signed by the two countries on October 10, 2009 at
a meeting in Athens on December 1," it said.

The Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers signed a protocol on the
establishment of diplomatic relations and a protocol on the development
of bilateral relations in Zurich on October 10.

To take legal effect, the documents have to be ratified by the two
parliaments.

Nalbandian is taking part in the 17th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial
Council in Athens.

CONCERT OF DEEP PURPLE WILL TAKE PLACE IN YEREVAN

Lragir.am
03/11/09

On May 25, 2010 in Yerevan, Armenia, the Sports and Concert Complex
after K. Demirchyan will host the concert of World Rock Legend
DEEP PURPLE.

The full complement of the band is: Ian Gillan (vocals) Steve Morse
(guitar) Roger Glover (bass guitar) Don Airey (keyboards) Ian Paice
(drums)

SLOVAKIA SUPPORTS ARMENIA-TURKEY RECONCILIATION

news.am
Dec 2 2009
Armenia

Slovakia welcomes steps towards Armenia-Turkey rapprochement and
assists the process, Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said
at the meeting with RA FM Edward Nalbandyan within the framework of
17th OSCE Ministerial Council in Athens.

The Ministers outlined the willingness to take effective steps for
the development of bilateral relations, as well as discussed the
organization of mutual visits, intensification of economic ties
and expansion of cooperation in humanitarian field, RA MFA informed
NEWS.am.

The parties also reached an agreement to hold regular consultations
between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries.