Melkonian school is saved

- U.N. Assistant Secretary General Benon Sevan intervenes, as AGBU board
member

Phileleftheros, Thursday, November 20, 2003

By Christina Kyriakidou

Not only will the Melkonian school not close, but there are thoughts to expand the institute into the sector of Higher Education. The Armenian community representative in parliament, Bedros Kalaydjian, returning from
Paris brought with him the assurance that school will continue to operate
normally. After the contacts that he had with the president and the members
of the Central Board if the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), he
declared that the Melkonian, 77 years after it was established, can look with determination to the future. As he told Phileleftheros, the Board was
convinced that the school must not close and hence was committed not to proceed with its sale. And all this, despite the fact that real estate developers had approached the Board offering several millions to secure the property of 125,000 sq.m. Mr. Kalaydjian suggested that the AGBU Board has made a 180 degree turn, since from the moment it decided not to terminate the operation of the Melkonian, it has started to review various scenarios for its upgrade. Within this context, members of the Central Board are expected to visit Cyprus (possibly in January or February) with the aim of meeting the President of the Republic, as well as the Minister of Education.

One thought, he continued, is the expansion of the school into Higher Education, with the creation of an international centre for studies and research.

The representative of the Armenian community, noted however, that the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, Benon Sevan, in his capacity as a member of the Board, had stated categorically that we would not allow  the closure of the school, from where, as it is known, he has graduated. Mr. Sevan, moreover, is expected to accompany the president of the AGBU when he visits our country, in order to participate in the discussions.

In the meantime, this morning, Mr. Kalaydjian as well as members of the School Committee of the Melkonian, are expected to be received by the minister of Education, Pefkios Georgiades. One of the subjects of discussion relates to the provision of financial support to the school from the State. Last Friday, AGBU had issued a press release on its website, making it clear that the land, the facilities and the financial situation of the Melkonian were not, at the present stage, the primary concerns of the Central Board.