Melkonian students in desperate plea to save school

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“Don’t abandon us”

The students of the Melkonian Educational Institute staged a walk-out and peaceful protest in front of the founders’ mausoleum Wednesday demanding that the decision to close the school next June, announced a year ago today, be overturned.

The students, who hail from Cyprus, Greece, the Middle East, the European Union and Armenia, want the New York based A.G.B.U., that administers the school, to recall its decision to close the school and subsequently sell the entire property, including the historical buildings and the forest that have all been declared protected by the Ministry of Interior as a national heritage site.

“Don’t abandon us,” shouted the schoolchildren, adding “stand with us in this struggle” and “we will not allow the Americans to close our school.”

On March 16, 2004, the A.G.B.U. claimed in its justification to close the Melkonian that “it no longer satisfies its mission” and that it would be wiser to shut down the existing Melkonian and open a new Melkonian elsewhere.

At the time, the House of Representatives condemned the closure decision by issuing a unanimous resolution, while the House Education Committee said it would deem any such decision as “a hostile act”. Both the AGBU organisation and its American representative in Cyprus, continue to mock the House and ignore its decisions.