Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

2nd FORUM ON ARMENIAN TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS AND 1st TOURISM CAREER FAIR TO BE HELD IN EARLY MAY

Noyan Tapan
April 29, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The second forum on Armenian tourism
competitiveness is scheduled for May 6, and the 2008 Tourism Career
Fair will be held on May 7 in Yerevan, NT correspondent was informed by
Armine Israelian, coordinator of the tourism cluster the USAID-financed
Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) program.

According to her, the forum participants – heads and experts of
tourism companies, state bodies and assistance-providing foreign
organizations will present last year’s achievements of the tourism
sector and speak about future programs.

A tourism career fair will be held for the first time. During the
event, students of five Armenian higher educational institutions,
which prepare specialists for the tourism sector, will present
their capabilities to the tourist companies, providing them with an
opportunity to find qualified employees.

Discussing the issue of specialist preparation for the sector, CAPS
travel marketing and communication advisor Nadia Pasqual said that
although newly established, these institutions work hard but they
lack teaching staff and literature. According to her information,
Armenian tour operators are not quite willing to create an opportunity
for students to do practical work.

She explained it by the fact that not having received tourism
education, the heads of tour operating companies avoid giving jobs
to those with such education. "Whereas, practical skills are no less
important than theoretical knowledge," she said.

ACTION OF PROTEST ORGANIZED BY AMERICAN-BASED TURKS AGAINST FACT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE FAILS

Noyan Tapan
April 29, 2008

NEW YORK, APRIL 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The action of
protest organized by American-based Turks in New York failed because
of indifference shown by the local Turks to the action.

As Turkish press reported, several dozens of Turks participated in the
action organized under the aegis of the Federation of Turkish-American
Unions, on the initiative of the Young Turks Union in Times Square
under the title Struggle Against Lies of Armenian Genocide. The total
number of action participants did not exceed 100.

Abdullah Bezirgan, the Chairman of the Young Turks Union, explained
their failure by the lack of the Armenian bill on their agenda. "We
exerted every effort. However, there was no Armenian bill on the
agenda this year, therefore the Turks passively participated in the
action. I supposed it would be just this way," Bezirgan stated.

EVENT IN MEMORY OF GENOCIDE VICTIMS TAKES PLACE IN ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE OF LEBANON

Noyan Tapan
April 28, 2008

BEIRUT, APRIL 28, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. An event in memory
of victims of Armenian Genocide took place in the evening of April
23 in the yard of Lebanon’s Armenian Catholic Patriarchate. A great
number of believers and Armenians took part in the event.

After the ceremony of lighting candles those present watched
documentary video materials on Armenian people’s history and Armenian
Genocide.

Publications in press about the Genocide were also presented.

"MELKONIAN MUST REOPEN IF WE WANT DIASPORA TO SURVIVE", FORMER PM TELLS CONFERENCE

AZG Armenian Daily
26/04/2008

Diaspora

Greeks and Turks more concerned with school’s fate

A leading member of the Armenian Diaspora believes that if the
Melkonian school in Cyprus does not open some time soon, it will
spell disaster for all Armenians around the world.

Speaking at the sixth meeting of the Organising Committee of the
Western Armenian National Council that ended in Nicosia on Sunday,
Anoushavan Danielyan said that he would try to convince the AGBU
in New York to reopen the historic school. He said it would be to
the benefit of present-day Armenia to maintain such a high-calibre
educational centre within the European Union and so close to the
Middle East and Russia.

"I know what it costs to maintain a school for a community, for all
Armenia and Western Armenians. In the Diaspora we must have educational
and financial centres to support the Republic of Armenia in every way,"
Danielyan said.

"If there are 1,200 schools in Armenia, adding one more would simply
bring the total to 1,201, while closing a school in the Diaspora
will be a national loss," the former prime minister of Nakorno
Karapagh said.

Danielyan was commenting on the AGBU decision to reallocate the funds
of the Melkonian Trust in order to open a ‘Melkonian Summer School’
near the capital Yerevan to teach the Armenian language and culture
to 400 Diaspora youths for three months each year.

"It would be better to have a school that enjoys the moral and academic
support of the friendly government of Cyprus and its people, to which
we are all thankful," he added.

But his optimism was countered by some of the six speakers who told
the 40-member central committee meeting held at the Holiday Inn in
Nicosia that the AGBU never wanted to discuss the school’s fate.

"The reason for the closure was neither financial trouble nor falling
academic standards. It was their intention to exploit the valuable
land the school was sitting on," said one panelist.

Ambassador Nicholas Makris, a member of the Council of Europe committee
that drafted the Charter for European Minority Languages, told the
conference that the Melkonian must reopen otherwise the Armenian
community of Cyprus faces extinction. He said that the government
of Cyprus has an obligation to implement the Charter, primarily by
reopening of the school.

"The (CoE) committee will be visiting Cyprus again later this year when
they will have to assess any progress on the efforts to preserve and
safeguard the Armenian language on the island," the former diplomat
said.

Dr. Akabie Nassibian-Ekmekdjian, historian and principal of the
school in the 1980s gave a historical overview, saying that the
Melkonian Education Institute, founded in 1926 as an orphanage for
Genocide survivors, has produced hundreds of scientists, academics,
artists and authors who are among the leading personalities of the
Western Armenian Diaspora. Yeran Kouyoumdjian, editor of a community
newspaper, and Armen Urneshlian, an educator from Lebanon, argued
that the closure of the Melkonian was not for financial reasons and
that it is already having a negative effect on the Armenian Diaspora.

"Schools in the U.S. need tens of Armenian language and history
teachers and we are seeing the last of them," Urneshlian added.

Talat’s surprise

Vartan Tashjian, former headmaster of the Nareg elementary schools,
spoke of his personal experiences and explained how Cypriots in general
were angered by the closure and how they supported the struggle to
save the school.

"In a chance meeting on Ledra Street after the checkpoint opened,
I came face-to-face with (Turkish Cypriot community leader) Mehmet
Ali Talat the day he crossed over to our side," Tashdjian told the
conference delegates.

"I greeted him in Turkish and Talat asked my name.

When I told him I was a school teacher he immediately asked, ‘What
has happened to that school? It’s a shame it closed’ to which I had
to explain that I was not a teacher at the Melkonian. I felt ashamed,"
Tashdjian concluded.

The final speakers of the session included Masis der Parthogh,
journalist and alumni association member, who said that the school’s
closure was planned years in advance with the intention to exploit
the land, and Manouk Yildizian, journalist, who explained the legal
aspects of community and minority rights in Cyprus and gave an overview
of the government’s pledge to support the school, both financially
and academically.

"Have any of the old established schools in England ever closed for
financial reasons? Never, but they are maintained to produce the
future leaders of the country, with the occasional one or two prime
ministers," Yildizian added.

Present among the community members observing the conference was
former AGBU Central Board member Benon Sevan, who said that it was
"unfair" that only one side of the argument was heard and that the
AGBU came under vicious attack from the panelists.

The session’s chairman argued that the AGBU’s positions were very clear
and that the committee members wanted to hear about the prospects of
reopening the historic school.

Dr. Ekmekdjian added that the worldwide Melkonian alumni and friends
had always wanted a dialogue, but it was the AGBU that refused for
years to discuss keeping the school open.

Asked by the panel to elaborate on the fate of the 25,000 books of
the Melkonian library that have supposedly perished and the late 19th
century newspapers and documents that were reportedly burned, Sevan,
who is also a member of the Melkonian Administration Committee,
said he would "come back later with an answer." Last year, the
University of Cyprus had asked Armenian Representative in the House,
Vartkes Mahdessian, to intervene to help save the historic library and
provide a temporary shelter to the books until the school reopened,
but the AGBU refused to discuss the matter.

This was the sixth meeting of the Organising Committee of the Western
Armenian National Council that is expected to reconvene later this
year to discuss several issues related to the Armenian Diaspora, such
as social, community and historic aspects of the Western Armenian
language, history and heritage.

PRESIDENT MET WITH PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF OSCE CIO

KarabakhOpen
24-04-2008 14:22:34

The NKR President Bako Sahakyan met with the personal representative
of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The information department of the president reports that the
interlocutors discussed the situation at the line of contact between
the armed forces of Karabakh and Azerbaijan, as well as the talks
for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

TAJIKISTAN, BELARUS, ARMENIA MAY BECOME EDB MEMBERS THIS YEAR – CEO

Interfax, Russia
April 22 2008

Tajikistan, Belarus and Armenia may become members of the Eurasian
Development Bank (EDB) established by Russia and Kazakhstan.

Tajikistan has already applied to join the bank, EDB CEO Igor Finogenov
told journalists. After all required procedures are completed,
Tajikistan will become a shareholder in the bank, which may happen
this fall, Finogenov said.

The EDB is working on certain projects in Tajikistan. For example,
the bank is involved in building a cotton processing plant and funds
the construction of the Sangtuda Hydropower Plant.

Kyrgyzstan might join the bank as well, after Tajikistan, Belarus
and Armenia become its shareholders, Finogenov said.

UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS, WAGES RISE IN ARMENIA DURING Q1
by Venla Sipila

Global Insight
April 23, 2008

There were at a total of 74,700 unemployed in Armenia in the first
quarter of this year, ARKA News reports, quoting data from the
country’s National Statistical Service. This result marks a fall
of 12.7% compared with the first quarter of 2007. In addition,
official data for the period show that the average nominal monthly
wage reached around 86,500 dram (some $280US), surging by 25.5%
in annual comparison. Development of compensation in the private
and public sectors of the economy are diverse. Indeed, wages in
publicly financed organisations averaged 60,600 dram, rising by 17.6%
year-on-year (y/y), while private sector wages gained 27.4% y/y and
reached an average of 109,200 dram.

Significance:The newest labour market data indicate further
strengthening. The Armenian unemployment rate at the end of last year
stood at 6.7%, falling from the year-ago result of 7.2%, while a total
of 75,000 unemployed were registered as jobseekers as 2007 drew to a
close (see Armenia: 18 January 2008: ). The now reported annual rise
in wages over the first quarter exceeds the growth rate for 2007 as
a whole (see Armenia: 28 February 2008: ). The rise in real wages in
early 2008, however, is likely to have been clearly more modest due to
rapid inflation. The falling trend in unemployment and growth of wages
are likely to continue, but these developments going forward are likely
to take place at a more moderate pace than recently, as growth of the
booming economy is finally expected to cool somewhat. However, figures
on the officially registered unemployed need to be interpreted with
caution, as the proportion of the unemployed registering as jobseekers
is still low, mainly because the very modest level of unemployment
benefits only provides weak incentives to register. The beginning
of 2006 saw the implementation of new labour market legislation, and
this has led to an increase in the reported number of people taking
part in employment programmes. However, it is still likely that the
true unemployment rate is higher than the official figures signal.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

"THE GENOCIDE COMMITTED AGAINST ARMENIANS IS A GENOCIDE AGAINST HUMANITY"

SAYS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

Two newly published works on the Armenian Genocide were presented to the
public on Monday in the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s "Gulbenkian" hall in
Antelias. Members of the Cilician Brotherhood, the President of Haygazian
University Reverend Dr. Paul Haydostian, the director of the Lisbon-based
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Armenian Department Dr. Zaven Yegavian,
intellectuals as well as Armenian and foreign book-lovers attended the
event, over which Catholicos Aram I presided.

Lebanese Armenian intellectual and Seminary lecturer Sarkis Giragossian
delivered the opening remarks highlighting the importance of such an event
on the eve of Genocide commemoration day on April 24. On the first of the
two new volumes, Giragossian said it was like a reference of the writings of
those Armenian who witnessed the Genocide first hand. The book is a
collection of letters, written in the immediate years following the horrors
of the Genocide and communicated between relatives taken away from each
other, both in search of lost family members and to recount the tragedies
that befell upon them. The book is a republication of "Tsayn Darabelots"
("The voice of the Tortured") published originally in 1922 in London.

The second book is written by Lebanese intellectual Dr. Saleh Zahreddine in
Arabic and entitled "The Armenian Church and its role during the 1915
Armenian Genocide". Mentioning all the Arab and particularly Lebanese
intellectuals who had raised their voice in support of Armenians through
their writings, Giragossian upheld the value of Dr. Zahreddine’s work and
the message of Arab friendship that flows from it.

During his speech Dr. Zahreddine expressed his gratitude to Catholicos Aram
I for his support and to all those who helped him in publishing the book.
Stressing the friendship ties between Armenians and Arabs, he praised the
role of the Armenian community of Lebanon in strengthening the sovereignty
of Lebanon.

In his concluding remarks, the Pontiff talked about the message the two
volumes convey. Placing the issue of the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide in a new context, the Catholicos said: "The Genocide committed
against the Armenian nation is a Genocide against humanity. The voice of
torture, wherever it is, is not only the voice of pain, but also the voice
of resentment for the sake of justice. The Armenian nation demands justice
today, demands its rights everywhere. This morning we paid our respects to
our martyrs in Dzidzernagapert in Armenia, at the same time renewing our
holy pledge towards their legacy."

Concerning the content of the two books, His Holiness said, in reference to
the first volume, that it is not possible to read it without highly charged
emotionalism, especially "when memories were still so fresh and in their
writings to their relatives survivors described in terrorizing words the
events that occurred during the Genocide period."

Praising Dr. Zahreddine, the Catholicos said his book "is also proof of the
important role the Armenian Church played in the life of the Armenian
nation, particularly in its role to guide people from death to life again,
to rebirth and reorganization."

"Every time we remember the Genocide, we always say and will continue to say
that in Turkey Armenians experienced death and in the Arab world, they
opened up to life again. In Turkey, they were pursued as enemies, in the
Arab world they were welcomed as brothers and sisters," he added.

The Catholicos also praised Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Zaven and Ingrid Yegavian who,
upon his request, had agreed to fund the publication of "Tsayn Darabelots",
dedicating it to the memory of all the victims of the Yegavian and
Tchamkerten families. The second book has been published by the "Richard and
Tina Carolan" Fund.

##
View the photos here:
tos/Photos254.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the books
published in the Printing House of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer
to the web page of the Catholicosate,
The Cilician Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is
located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Armenian Youth Federation- Western Region
104 N. Belmont, Suite 206, Glendale, CA 91206
Tel. (818) 507-1933 *Email: [email protected]

News Advisory- April 24, 2008

ARMENIAN YOUTH FEDERATION – WESTERN REGION

PROTEST IN FRONT OF TUKISH CONSULATE

Activists to Demand That the Government of Turkey End its Campaign of Denial
of the Armenian Genocide

WHERE: The protest shall take place in front of the Turkish Consulate which
is located at 6300 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90048.

WHEN: The protest shall take place on Thursday, April 24, 2008 from 4pm to
6pm.

WHO: The Armenian Youth Federation is organizing its annual protest in front
of the Turkish Consulate. Thousands of Armenian Americans and Human rights
Activists are expected to be actively protesting their serious
disappointment with the denialist policies of the American and Turkish
governments. In 2007, approximately 10,000 attended this event.

*PROMINENT ELECTED OFFICIAL*: Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi shall
appear at the protest to address attendees.

WHAT: The year 2008 marks the 93rd anniversary of the genocide committed
against the Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. The Armenian Genocide
is the first genocide of the 21st century and is not yet properly
acknowledged and accepted by the American and Turkish governments. April 24,
1915 marks the day that the Turkish government kidnapped all the
intellectual Armenians and slaughtered them as it embarked on its systematic
annihilation of the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian population.

WHY: The Turkish government has attempted to place a "gag rule" on the
United States Congress as evidenced by its heavy-handed opposition to H.
Res. 106 (The Armenian Genocide Resolution, which passed the House Committee
on Foreign Affairs on 10/10/07). The ongoing genocide in Darfur today is a
testament to the need for clear and unequivocal acknowledgement of the crime
of genocide. The protest shall strive to raise awareness regarding the
denialist policies of the American and Turkish governments and how these
policies enable and embolden perpetrators of genocide to both commit and
deny this crime. The protest not only mourns the death of the 1.5 million
Armenians massacred from 1915-1923 but it also tries to educate others about
past and present genocides.

NERSES YERITSIAN APPOINTED RA MINISTER OF ECONOMY

Noyan Tapan
April 22, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, NOYAN TAPAN. By RA President Serge Sargsian’s April
21 decree Nerses Yeritsian was appointed RA Minister of Economy. Noyan
Tapan was informed about it by the RA President’s Press Office.