NEW ANSWERS TO THE PREVIOUS QUESTIONS
A1+
[01:45 pm] 19 September, 2006
Tigran Torosyan, RA NA Speaker was first to touch upon the theme of
the third conference Armenia-Diaspora.
He shared the concern of many participants of the conference
and wondered why our friends from Artsakh weren’t present in the
forum. Then Mr. Torosyan replied to the question raised by him saying
half-jokingly,”Artsakh is not Diaspora and it won’t be Diaspora in
the future either.”
While answering the question whether the Diaspora and Armenia can
develop separately, Tigran Torosyan presented his views.
Torosyan is concerned by the fact that Armenian Diaspora is diverse
and contradicting which is a common phenomenon. In his words the
country must confront both the internal and external threats and
support the Diaspora to combat the menace of globalization.
Diaspora must enlarge its role in this respect and contribute to the
establishment of our country. “We need strong will power and boundless
care which are more vital for the country’s well-being than financial
support,” maintains Tigran Torosyan.

ISOLATION HOSPITAL WAS REPAIRED
A1+
[02:39 pm] 19 September, 2006
About fifty-year-old isolation hospital of Nork-Marash was fully
repaired this year with the financial assistance of the Armenian
community representatives of San Paulo, Brazil, and “Armenia” fund.
Over 54 million AMD was spent on the repairs of intestine infection
and reanimation departments of the hospital.
Naira Melqoumyan, head of the fund, says that they offered the Armenian
community of Brazil to support the construction work of the first
floor but they expressed their readiness to repair the whole building.
Ashot Eghazaryan, RA envoy to San Paulo, Oshin Mostichyan, head of
the local body of “Armenia” fund, and a number of sponsors were among
the 20-member delegation of the Brazilian Armenians. One of them said
that they wanted the name of the Armenian community of Brazil to be
mentioned on the memorial plaque on purpose. “We took into account
the fact that Brazil is a large country and there are Armenians in
all cities. But their number is comparatively larger in San Paulo
and the residents of this city are willing to help Armenia,” stated
the speaker.
Archbishop Tatev Gharibyan, head of the Armenian church in Brazil,
blessed the opening ceremony. “Let all children come and be cured in
this hospital,” ended Tatev Gharibyan her speech.
Ara Asoyan, head of the hospital, added that the hospital is financed
by the state budget and they could hardly carry out the repairing
without their assistance.

RA PUPILS CAN STUDY IN THE USA
A1+
[03:17 pm] 19 September, 2006
The Government of the United States of America is pleased to announce
the open competition for the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX)
for high school aged students for the 2007-2008 academic year.
The FLEX Program is managed and funded by the United States Department
of State and administered by the American Councils for International
Education.
FLEX scholarship winners will be selected on the basis of merit
to live in the United States with an American host family from
August 2007 until May 2008, to attend high school and to experience
community life, as well as share their culture with Americans. All
students enrolled in the eight and ninth forms are eligible to
apply. Applicants must have a good command of English language,
have a good academic record, and must possess the personal skills,
qualities, attitude and motivation that will enable them to succeed as
exchange students. Students with disabilities enrolled in the eight,
ninth and tenth forms are encouraged to apply.
American Councils for International Education is responsible for
testing, screening and interviewing applicants in Armenia. American
Councils will establish several regional testing centers in which they
will register applicants and administer a qualifying exam. Candidates
who are successful in passing this exam will advance to the second
stage, in which they will sit for a more extensive English exam and
prepare a written essay. Adapted materials and special accommodations
are offered to students with disabilities. American Councils will
grade the exams at a central location. The essays will be graded by
bi-national teams.
Students who are successful at the second stage will be interviewed
by an American Councils member and will be asked to prepare a detailed
written application.
The written application, test results, and notes made by the
interviewer will be collected and sent to Washington, D.C., where
they will be reviewed by volunteer selection committees consisting
of educators and international exchange specialists. All selection
decisions are made in the United States. Finalists and Alternates
(reserved candidates) selected in this process will be notified after
March 31, 2007.

STATEMENT OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AT FORUM
Author: R.Agayev
Trend
Today 19.09.2006
“Armenia-Diaspora” is intended for Armenian Public and Diaspora –
Russian Politician
The recent statement made by the Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
at the Forum “Armenia-diaspora” has been intended primarily for the
Armenian people and the Armenian diaspora, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief
of Russian “Kommersant” Newspaper, Politician Azer Mursaliyev
exclusively told Trend.
“Simply he regards himself as a patriot, a man who always protects
national interests. It is clear that at present Armenia is deeply
involved politically. It is unclear that Kocharyan will hold the power.
Meanwhile a fight for power has begun, and I think that these
statements have been implied firstly for the internal auditorium,
especially at the meeting with diasporas,” Mursaliyev said, adding that
“to gain the sympathy of diasporas, with such statements, Kocharyan
demonstrates that only he is capable of protecting national interests”.
Answering the question regarding the results of the referendum in
Pridnestrov, Mursaliyev stressed that the voting demonstrated a small
solidarity of population for unrecognized education. “On the other
hand, the referendum is a tool for pressure on the other side of the
conflict. Initially all international organizations announced the
referendum as illegal. For instance, the same referendums are held
in South Osetia through the same scheme and results,” he emphasized.
Touching on Nagorno-Karabakh, the politician spelled out that various
types of referendums have already been held there. “From juridical
standpoint, all of them are simply insignificant. Each referendum
is considered illegal. And the visit of several foreigners may not
demonstrate the seriousness of the legal results of the referendum,”
Mursaliyev concluded.

ARMENIANS CONSIDER AZERBAIJAN, TURKEY AND GEORGIA ENEMY, OPINION POLL SAYS
Azeri Press Agency
19 Sen. 2006 13:56
Opinion poll was conducted among 2,000 respondents in Armenia by the
order of a US state body, APA reports.
According to the poll, 14.9 percent of correspondents rely on Artashes
Gegamyan among politicians. He is followed by Gagik Charukyan (13.5%),
Robert Khocharian (12.3%), Arthur Bagdasaryan (8.9%), Raffi Ovanesyan
(6.7%), Tigran Karapetyan (5.6%), Stepan Damirchiyan (4.1%), Serj
Sarkisyan (2.5%), Vazgen Manukyan (2.1%) and Aram Karapetyan (0.8%).
79.6 percent of Armenians are in positive opinion on Russia and 49
percent on the United States. The matter is Armenians are in negative
opinion on neighboring countries. The respondents consider Turkey
(80.1 percent), Azerbaijan (86.5 percent) and Georgia (54.7 percent)
enemy countries.
The poll also clarified the question on which subject can have a
positive impact on the resolution of the Nagorno Garabagh conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The respondents mentioned Russia
(43.8%), U.S (33.3%), UN (20.7%) and France (17.9%) among positive
subjects.
41.6 percent believe the Garabagh conflict can be solved through
international mediators, 40.7 percent through making trade-offs,
11.5 percent through force.
Armenians do not have unambiguous approach to the solution of the
conflict. One in two Armenians want Nagorno Garabagh to be unified
with Armenia and the other wants it to be independent. 55.2 percent
advocated holding a referendum on the status of Nagorno Garabagh and
21.6 percent stood against this.
Armenians’ opinions clash in terms of the issue who must participate
in the referendum. 56.7 percent think the voters should be the
current population of Nagorno Garabagh, 15.6 percent think anyone,
15.3 percent only refugees from Nagorno Garabagh, 5.6 percent think
those lived in the region till 1991 and 5.3 percent thinks Armenian
and Azerbaijani citizens should participate in the referendum.
57.7 percent of respondents advocated opening of Armenia-Turkey
borders and one in three Armenians is against this.

CILICIA VESSEL EXHIBITED IN YEREVAN CENTER
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 15:59 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Cilicia Armenian vessel – a copy of a trade ship
of 13th century – is exhibited in the Shahumyan Square in Yerevan. As
captain of the ship Karen Balayan told journalists, the vessel arrived
in Yerevan not on September 17, as planned, but a day later. In his
words, difficulties with delivery of the ship to Yerevan by land
caused the delay. The captain noted that the ship will be taken to
the Lake Sevan and turned into a museum later.

AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTER TO LEAVE FOR NEW YORK
Azeri Press Agency
19 Sen. 2006 13:07
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will leave for New York
on September 23 to attend the 61st session of the UN General Assembly.
The Ministry spokesman Tahir Tagizadeh told the APA.
The agenda of the 61st session also covers the issue “GUAM frozen
conflicts, their impact on international arena, security and
development”, which was included at the initiative of the GUAM
(Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova). GUAM Foreign Ministers
will meet during the session. The organization’s secretary general
is expected to be elected.
During Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers’ talks with the co-chairs of OSCE
Minsk Group in London on 12 September, it was agreed to arrange the
meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers in the frames
of the Prague process in New York on September 25 or 26 this year.
Mr.Tagizadeh said the Ministry has not been informed about any changes
to the agreement on the Ministers’ meeting.
Armenian Minister Oskanian declared his refusal of the meeting in
protest against the inclusion of “frozen conflicts” into the agenda
of the UN General Assembly’s session.

IN 2006 THE COST OF SCHOOL BOOKS INCREASES CONSIDERABLY
Mari Kinsturashvili 2006.09.19 15:30
Daily Georgian Times, Georgia
September 19.09.2006
The 2006-2007 school year starts on Monday, September 18, and while
some parents are busy running from one shop to another or to different
book fairs, others are still hesitating over which school to take
their cherished offspring. And although public school buildings have
been extensively repaired, most of them still are still being rebuilt,
even though the quality of education hasn’t gotten much better.
The high quality of education is one of the reasons why parents decide
to send their children to private schools. There are many private
schools in Tbilisi, which started appearing in the mid 90’s. They have
always had more comfortable conditions compared to public schools,
where pupils and teachers had to choose between freezing to death, or
dealing with the soot, the noxious smell and the smoke of an oil-stove.
Private schools often offered after-school groups, a widely varied
menu and pleasantly comfortable study conditions.
Generally almost all of the Georgian public and private schools cover
grades 1-11. Currently the final year of secondary school is grade
11. However in 2007, in order to become more closely alined with the
Western system, a mandatory grade 12 will be added. In addition to
the majority of Georgian (language) public schools, there are also a
number of public schools available to students where the language of
instruction is other than Georgian, e.g. Russian, Armenian, Turkish,
Ukrainian, Lithuanian, French, German, and Azeri. These schools are
located in the cities and regions, generally where their respective
ethnic groups reside.
There are a limited number of private Georgian schools. Among them
there are: Akhali Skola (“New School”), Atinati, the Educational
Complex – Georgian School, Jejili National School, Mermisi – a Tbilisi
Primary School, and Nakaduli the “School of Tomorrow”.
The most well-known private school in Tbilisi is St. George. It is
partly a boarding school and aims at “bringing up intellectual,
morally good and physically strong generations on the basis of
Georgian national traditions, spiritual values and recent pedagogical
experience. Modern methods of teaching and recent technology enable
professional teachers to instill students with the abilities of
self-realization and the desire to protect social interests.”
At most private schools, teachers compete heavily for
appointments. Advantage is given to teachers with the highest
corresponding education and professional qualifications. Teachers are
also expected to take students to Sunday mass once a week, as well as
to attend cultural arrangements and exhibitions, arrange excursions,
trips and sports competitions.
Many private schools focus attention on students’ work outside
class. Some offer a camp period, which gives students time to adopt
independent skills, and to get closer and acquainted with each other
and with teachers. This may be important for parents who are still
trying to find that perfect school.
At most private schools, in accord with the current educational
system reform in Georgia, the curriculum may be increased to
twelve years. Unlike public schools, every private school starts
their educational year on a different fixed date, which varies from
September first to October first.
But studying in the private schools is rather expensive. And very
often, as time passes, parents can hardly even afford to prepare for
the school year.
In 2006 the cost of school books and other supplies increased
considerably. Parents sometimes avoid buying books and supplies because
they do not know which classes their child will be in, even the week
before school starts.
In connection with the increasing cost of text books, Iza
Gogichaishvili, sales manager of Aisi, an educational publishing
house told the GT:
“We carefully watch the process, which starts after books are put
up for sale. After the book is put on the market, their price is of
no interest to us. In comparison with the last year, prices for new
text books even for those which have not changed, have considerably
increased.”
Tamriko Nachkebia, manager of the Matsne publishing house said:
“In 2006 we received many more orders for new school books than the
previous year. Some prices have increased because printing material
and paper have become more expensive.”
Nino, mother of three children told the GT, that she hasn’t started
buying school books yet, as she doesn’t really know what classes
her children will be taking, and is trying to avoid some useless
expenses. “We need no less than 100 GEL, just for the tenth grade text
books. And to prepare her three children for school it would take about
700 GEL, that is practically unaffordable, considering our salaries.”
On September 18, when the 2006 school year finally starts, there
will be many happy faces entering school, including the surprised
and frightened eyes of more than a few first-graders. But the smiles
on these faces were achieved by the sleepless nights and hard work
of their parents, who will finally feel a little calm after all the
stress of preparation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

QUESTIONS ARE OFTEN ASKED ABOUT SS DIRECT DEPOSIT
Anthony Renzoni
Connecticut Post, CT
Article created: 09/18/2006 08:37:35 AM EDT
Our office receives many inquiries about various Social Security
concerns. Following are examples of questions we are asked on a
regular basis.
Q: My wife and I both receive Social Security benefit payments. Can our
checks be deposited in different banks? A.: Yes. You can use direct
deposit at any federally insured bank, savings and loan institution,
or credit union. Even if your wife is getting spouse benefits on your
record, the two of you may have your checks deposited into separate
accounts at different banks. If you transfer your account to another
bank, call SS toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 and ask to change your
direct deposit information. For an online guide to direct deposit
of your benefits, visit Q.: I am
an American citizen who is ready to retire and I’d like to move to
Ireland to live. Can I get my Social Security check abroad?
A.: Generally speaking, if you are an American citizen, you can receive
your Social Security payments in most countries outside the U.S.,
including Ireland.
Because delivery time varies from country to country, and your check
may not arrive the same day each month, Social Security strongly
encourages everyone to have his/her Social Security payment deposited
directly into a bank account where available. For more information,
as well as to see the limited number of countries where we cannot
send payments, visit or call
Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) and ask for
the publication, “Your Payments While You Are Outside the United
States.” Multilanguage services
Social Security recently announced an expansion of
the Multilanguage Gateway on the Internet. Visitors to
will now find an additional 30
Social Security program publications.
These online publications provide detailed and useful information
about Social Security retirement, disability and survivor
benefits, the Supplemental Security Income program and the Social
Security card and number in 15 languages. The languages are:
Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian-Creole,
Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and
Vietnamese. The Spanish language page, “Seguro Social en Espanol”
at , is even more extensive, offering
more than 65 publications in Spanish, as well as benefit calculators,
press releases and frequently asked questions. Anthony Renzoni is
district manager of the Bridgeport office of the Social Security
Administration. His column appears every Monday.

ZHELYU ZHELEV: SOLUTION OF KARABAKH CONFLICT LINKED WITH EUROINTEGRATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 15:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ To solve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict accession
to the EU and NATO should be expected for, President of the Balkan
Political Club, former Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev stated. In
his words, when all countries of the South Caucasus become EU and
NATO members, economic development will start and conflicts will
disappear on their own.
“Unexpectedly or incidentally the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be
solved. It should be expected until the parties become EU and NATO
members. And they will face peace without limits both for physical
persons and spiritual values,” he remarked. At that he underscored
that is it not possible to find a rational solution. “I have no doubts
that the solution will be found later. By deep conviction is that
it will be linked with European integration. However, giving exact
forecasts on developments is not necessary,” Zhelev said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress