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55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone 212.319.6383 x.118
Fax 212.319.6507
Email [email protected]
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PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, March 17, 2005

AGBU HONORS ANTRANIG DANCE ENSEMBLE AND FOUNDING MEMBER ARMENINE
SAPAH-GULIAN

New York, NY – On Friday, April 1st, 2005, AGBU is honoring AGBU
Antranig Armenian Dance Ensemble and one of its founding members,
Armenine Sapah-Gulian, with a dinner dance reception at the Rockleigh
Country Club (26 Paris Avenue, Rockleigh, NJ).

Under the Artistic Directorship of Joyce Tamesian-Shenloogian and
Choreographer Gagik Karapetian, Antranig Dance Ensemble commemorated
its 35th anniversary in June 2004 with a sold-out performance of its
current production, “Journey Through Dance,” at New York’s Alice Tully
Hall, Lincoln Center. Attracting an audience of over 1000, admirers
continue to be dazzled by Antranig’s variety of regional dances,
vibrant folk costumes, and traditional choreography. The New York
debut of “Journey Through Dance” was the first of several planned
performances in New Jersey, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, and around
the country.

In recognition of three-and-a-half decades of artistic excellence, the
upcoming AGBU function will serve to honor past Antranig dancers,
committee members, and supporters, and kick off its 2005 tour of
“Journey Through Dance.”

In particular, AGBU will pay tribute to Armenine Sapah-Gulian for her
long-standing service to Antranig and her pivotal role in establishing
the dance group in 1969. Over the years, Sapah-Gulian has assumed key
leadership responsibilities with AGBU and the Ensemble as its longtime
advisor and tour manager.

For more information on the reception to honor Antranig and Armenine
Sapah-Gulian, please contact AGBU at (212) 319-6383, Ext. 128 ($70,
Begins at 7 p.m., RSVP by March 23rd).

AGBU Antranig Dance Ensemble is the foremost Armenian dance group in
the United States comprised of over 30 young men and women. Antranig
performs full-length dance productions worldwide, and has played on
some of the premier stages of the world. For more information on AGBU
Antranig Dance Ensemble and its upcoming shows, please visit

AGBU is the largest Armenian non-profit organization in the world and
annually touches the lives of 400,000 Armenians. For more information
on AGBU and its programs, please visit

ArmenPress
March 18 2005

TURKISH HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS SAY GOVERNMENT MUST APOLOGIZE TO
ARMENIANS

ISTANBUL, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS: Two Turkish human rights
activists, Alhan Bilgen and Yusuf Alatash, said public debates about
the Armenian genocide within the Turkish society are taking place in
an uneasy atmosphere raising the concerns of Turkish Armenians.
In an interview with a Turkish daily Yeni Safag, Bilgen said
public discussions on the Armenian genocide must be free of
accusations of the Armenian race in order “not to offend Turkish
Armenian citizens.”
“Like the current government of Turkey bears no responsibility for
massacres of Armenians in the World War I, likewise Turkish Armenians
bear no responsibility for the actions of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation/ Dashnaktsutyun,” he said, adding that Turks must realize
that Turkish Armenians, Armenians in other foreign countries and
those in Armenia proper are different.
Calling on the government of Turkey to acknowledge that Armenians
were deported in mass in the beginning of the 20-th century, Bingel
said it was done to prevent the revolution plotted by Armenian
nationalists. “The deported Armenians were Turkish citizens and the
responsibility for the deaths occurred during the deportation lies on
the Ottoman government, but nevertheless, the Turkish government must
apologize for those them,” he said.
Alatash in turn was quoted as saying that the latest debates on
the Armenian genocide “have deteriorated the state of national
minorities in Turkey.” “The debates have placed Armenians out of the
frying pan into the fire. Diaspora Armenians demand that they should
join their campaign for the genocide recognition, while Turks call
them traitors,” he said adding also that present day Turks must
apologize for what their grandparents did to Armenians.

PanArmenian News
March 17 2005

KOCHARIAN MET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF LYCOS GERMAN COMPANY

17.03.2005 06:37

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian met with
representatives of Lycos German investment company, operating in IT
sphere, the Press Service of the Armenian leader reported. In the
course of the meeting the parties discussed issues referring to
widening of training specialists, meeting international market
demands. The company representatives reported they intend to
implement programs here in the coming 6 years. Now Lycos implements
educational programs at State Engineering University of Armenia and
Yerevan State University. The parties also touched upon problems of
components of telecommunication market – infrastructures, legal
framework development and reducing communication expenses in the
country.

ArmenPress
March 17 2005

KOCHARIAN DISCUSSES IT WITH LYCOS MANAGERS

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS: President Kocharian received today
top managers of German IT Lycos company to look into what can be done
to train more skilled IT specialists in Armenia. Top managers were
quoted by Kocharian’s press office as saying that they intend to
carry out projects in Armenia for next six years. Kocharian said the
government is ready to assist the process of IT development.
Lycos Armenia currently employs around 170 employees. It is
heavily growing in all areas, and is now the biggest development
location for Lycos Europe . Since there is a growing demand the
company is actually engaging new staff and plan to employ 220
employees within this year. Additionally Lycos Armenia is enlarging
its operations department which was set up in the year 2004, and now
employs 25 employees.
Kocharian also received today Vahagn Movsisian, the director of
the Armenian Development Agency (ADA). Movsisian was quoted as saying
that the ADA was recognized by World Bank as the second best
development agency among counterparts in Central Europe and Central
Asia and the best fifth in the world.
Kocharian and Movsisian also discussed ways for making Armenian
markets attractive for foreign investors.

ArmenPress
March 17 2005

GYUMRI TO HOST UNIQUE BLOOD BANK

GYUMRI, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS: The administrative center of
Armenia’s northern province of Shirak, Gyumri, is set to host a
unique blood bank in the country. An agreement to that effect was
signed last year by the World Blood Bank and the provincial
authorities. The blood bank will be created on the basis of the local
blood transfusion station.
The blood bank will be housed at a local clinic that has granted
part of its premises. Repair works are expected to begin in April.
According to local authorities, all equipment the bank needs has
already arrived. The personnel of the blood bank will have an
extensive training course in a foreign country.

ProFindPages, UK
March 17 2005

Aussie threatens plane on flight to Moscow
(17.03.2005)

A young Australian passenger threatened to blow up a plane which was
on route to Moscow.

According to reports, the young man tried to get into the cockpit and
made threats to blow up the plane, which was carrying 214 passengers.
However, it seems that the man had no explosives to carry out his
threat.

The Aeroflot plane was not delayed on its flight from Tokyo to Moscow
and the man was detained on landing. It is believed that the man was
heading for Armenia (via Moscow).

There are no details of why the man decided to threaten the plane and
he will probably be subjected to a psychiatric exam.

It is of course possible that the man may have drunk a little too
much vodka, but this is only speculation.

Whilst the incident would have been worrying to the passengers and
the authorities, after the two terrorist attacks on Russian planes
last year, there seemed to be no actual danger.

Details of the real reason for this “threat” will probably be
available shortly.

PCC Courier Online (Pasadena City College)
March 17 2005

Sister Cities Heads to Beijing, China

Kate Murray, Staff Writer

Japan, Finland, Germany and Armenia are all places that the Pasadena
Sister Cities Student Exchange Program has sent students in past
years. Now back in its seventh year, the exchange program to Beijing,
China is being offered to PCC students for summer 2005.

“China is an old country with more than 5,000 years of rich history,”
said Dr. Cathy Wei, coordinator of the exchange program at PCC.
“Beijing has been the capital city of China for more than 1,000
years. Students will definitely learn a lot through this trip.”

The program is offered to full-time college students aged 18 to 24
who are either enrolled at a college in the Pasadena Area Community
College District or are Pasadena residents. In addition, applicants
must be able to demonstrate basic fluency in Mandarin Chinese. Two
applicants will be chosen to represent Pasadena. These “young
ambassadors” will be flown to Xicheng, the center of Beijing, where
they will stay with a Chinese family for four to six weeks.

“[The students] will have the first-hand opportunity to observe how
the Chinese people live daily life,” Wei said. “The Chinese host
families may take the students to visit the historical sites around
Beijing, [like] the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Temple of
Heaven and the Summer Palace.”

The exchange program will give students a chance to immerse
themselves in Chinese culture and practice the language in its native
land. Once in Beijing, students may also have internship
opportunities in the area of their majors.

“If a selected student is a business major he or she may have the
chance to be an intern at the famous Financial Street Business Center
in Beijing and observe a variety of international business
interactions,” Wei said.

Application packages for the Beijing exchange program are currently
available in the languages division office in C247. The deadline for
applications is March 25. For more information, contact Cathy Wei in
R223D or email her at [email protected].

Azerbaijan News Service
March 17 2005

OSCE FACT FINDING MISSION TO PRESENT REPORT TO PERMANENT COUNCIL
2005-03-17 09:54

OSCE fact finding mission monitored illegal settlement of Armenian
families in ocupied territories of Azerbaijan presented report to
Minsk group members in Vienna. Advisor of Azerbaijani embassy in
Vienna Parviz Shahbazov represented Azerbaijan at discussions held by
the permanent council of OSCE. Fact finding group monitored early
February the fact of illegal settlement of Armenians in Azerbaijan’s
7 occupied regions. Minsk group co-chairs mediating the conflict
settlement process and personal representative of OSCE chairman in
office Anzhey Kaspirshik was present at hearing of the report. Fact
finding groups monitoring proved illegal settlment of Armenains in
occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Calcutta Telegraph, India
March 18 2005

Sorry, no more wild gifts
OUR CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, March 17: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to ban
the practice of gifting animals to heads of state or government or
foreign zoos.

The decision, announced by Singh while chairing a National Board for
Wildlife meeting today, is a big victory for members of the Born Free
Foundation who had recently written to the Prime Minister urging him
to ban what they called an inhuman practice.

Hollywood actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, who starred in
Born Free, had in the letter objected to the Indian government’s move
to send a baby elephant from Banerghata sanctuary in Karnataka to
Armenia.

Pointing out that it was virtually impossible for the elephant to
survive in freezing temperatures, the foundation quoted statistics
showing how the practice invariably led to animals perishing in
foreign and inimical climates.

The ban was among several important decisions taken by Singh at the
meeting convened to discuss the recent tiger crisis caused by
largescale poaching and mismanagement of reserves.

Sources said the Prime Minister was critical of the functioning of
the Union environment ministry and its role in checking the
disappearance of big cats from sanctuaries.

The meeting began with an impassioned presentation from tiger
conservationist Valmik Thapar, who made a strong case for the
constitution of a task force on the status of tigers in wildlife
parks across the country and a separation of forests and wildlife
from the environment ministry.

The Prime Minister will head the proposed task force, which would
include forest officials, representatives of civil society and
wildlife experts. It would be asked give a report on the current
position of Project Tiger and on the status of tigers in wildlife
parks, said a PMO official.

Singh has also ordered a CBI probe into reports of tiger poaching in
Sariska in Rajasthan.

The wildlife board has decided to establish a National Wildlife Crime
Prevention and Control Bureau to crack down on rampant poaching in
parks such as Sariska and Ranthambore.

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
March 16, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]

CONGRESS RETRACTS $1 BILLION GRANT OFFER TO TURKEY

Assembly Says Action Point to Further Strains Between Washington, Ankara

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly today noted the Bush
Administration’s withdrawal of a $1 billion aid offer to Turkey aimed at
compensating that country against the negative effects of the war in
neighboring Iraq. The funding, which Congress approved following the
onset of the war, was contingent on Turkish cooperation in Iraq.

At the request of President Bush, Congress rescinded the proposal since
Ankara gave no indication it was willing to comply with the terms of the
offer. The House of Representatives approved the Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Tsunami
Relief, which thereby retracts the offer.

Among the stipulations for the funding is that the Turkish parliament
agree not to deploy its country’s forces to the Kurdish region of
northern Iraq.

Ankara has expressed concerns about the growing influence of Kurds in
Iraq, fearing that a possible independent Kurdish state there could lead
to an uprising among ethnic Kurds within Turkey.

“We commend the Bush Administration for proposing, and Congress for
concurring, that this assistance package be dropped given Turkey’s
continued lack of support for the U.S. effort, starting with its refusal
in 2003 to allow coalition troops on its soil,” said Board of Directors
Chairman Anthony Barsamian.

As relations between Washington and Ankara continue to strain, Assembly
leaders noted that the U.S.-Armenia security relationship has in fact
strengthened in recent months. President Bush has described Armenia as
a “key partner with the United States” in the war against terrorism and
an Armenian task force, comprised of transportation and de-mining
personnel, was deployed to Iraq in December.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

###

NR#2005-031

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress