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Made in Armenia Direct
137 Newbury Street, 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02114
Contact: Gail Talanian O’Reilly
Tel: 617.536.4655
Fax: 617.536.7552
Email: [email protected]
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Award Preview

Made In Armenia Direct Receives 2008 Best of Boston Award

U.S. Local Business Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

WASHINGTON D.C., August 17, 2008 — Made In Armenia Direct has been selected
for the 2008 Best of Boston Award in the Importers category by the U.S.
Local Business Association (USLBA).

The USLBA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding
local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies
companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in
their local community and business category. These are local companies that
enhance the positive image of small business through service to their
customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the
winners in each category. The 2008 USLBA Award Program focused on quality,
not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both
internally by the USLBA and data provided by third parties.

About Made in Armenia Direct

Made in Armenia Direct brings the works of Armenian artisans to the rest of
the world. After its long period under communism, Armenia is emerging and
its fine craftsmanship is part of its history and its future. By sharing
ancient traditions, preserving a unique artistic legacy, supporting
families, and providing value to artisan and purchaser alike, you can help
the Armenian art community survive and thrive.

Its goal is to help the creators of these distinctive art forms become
self-sustaining, while giving our customers the pleasure and satisfaction of
owning fine works that are Made in Armenia Direct.

You can find us at or at our seasonal retail
location, Artisan Treasures, in Mashpee, MA at South Cape Village through
October 15.

About U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA)

U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA) is a Washington D.C. based
organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small,
across America. The purpose of USLBA is to promote local business through
public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USLBA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their
community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners,
trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other
business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate
for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across
America.

CONTACT:
U.S. Local Business Association
Email: [email protected]
URL:

MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND TURKISH PRESIDENTS HELD IN YEREVAN

De Facto
08.09.08

YEREVAN, 08.09.08. DE FACTO. On RA President Serge Sargsian’s
invitation, Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Armenia on
September 6 to watch a football match between Turkish and Armenian
teams.

According to the RA President’s Press Office, a meeting of the two
countries’ Presidents was held before the match. Armenian and Turkish
FMs attended the meeting.

Serge Sargsian expressed gratitude to his Turkish counterpart for
receiving the invitation and noted that direct contacts between
neighboring states were the only efficient way to establish relations.

In his turn, President of Turkey invited RA President to Istanbul to
watch a return match between Turkish and Armenian teams.

Presidents of Armenia and Turkey spoke of bilateral relations’
settlement, exchanged opinions over latest regional developments and
problems. Noting there were new possibilities for Armenian-Turkish
relations’ settlement they underscored political will of the two
countries’ heads to assume responsibility and set to the settlement
of existing problems, establishment of the atmosphere of peace and
confidence in the region. According to Abdullah Gul, inviting him
to Armenia, President Sargsian made the first step; his invitation
was accepted, thus making it a joint initiative, which can become an
example for the whole region.

In Serge Sargsian’s words, "we s hould strive to settle existing
problems a day earlier and not leave their heaviness with the coming
generations".

Serge Sargsian and Abdullah Gul also discussed Turkey’s initiative
concerning the establishment of Caucasian stability and security
platform.

Noting that Armenia had always welcomed a dialogue and was the
supporter of strengthening trust, security and cooperation in the
region, President Sargsian considered the Turkish initiative a step
targeted at the establishment of a favorable atmosphere in the region.

The Presidents stated the meeting was a serious impulse for further
continuation of the dialogue.

After the meeting the two countries’ Presidents continued their talk
at a working supper.

BORDER WITH ARMENIA CAN BE OPENED, TURKISH SOURCES SAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.09.2008 15:28 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The closed Armenian-Turkish border could be opened
for humanitarian aid purpose depending on the gestures from Armenian
side and the direction of the relations, Hurriyet daily reports citing
diplomatic sources.

Turkey severed relations and closed its border with Armenia in 1993
to support Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. It also urges
Armenia to recognize its borders in compliance with Moscow Treaty
and give up the policy calling for international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide.

Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul was in Yerevan on Sept. 6 to watch
a World Cup qualifier between the Armenian and Turkish national
teams. Before the match, the heads of state discussed possibilities to
normalize bilateral relations. "We hope we will be able to demonstrate
goodwill to solve the problems between our countries and not leave
them to future generations," Armenian President Sargsyan said after
the meeting.

Le Monde, France
6 Septembre

L’Arm?Ã?©nie et la Turquie affichent leur volont?Ã?© de r?Ã?©soudre leurs
diff?Ã?©rends

Le pr?Ã?©sident turc Abdullah G?Ã?¼hl et son homologue arm?Ã?©nien Serge
Sarkissian ont affich?Ã?© samedi leur "volont?Ã?© politique" d’apaiser les
relations apr?Ã?¨s des ann?Ã?©es d’acrimonie entre les deux pays, ?Ã? 
l’occasion de la premi?Ã?¨re visite d’un chef d’Etat turc en Arm?Ã?©nie
depuis 1991. Hu?Ã?© ?Ã?  son arriv?Ã?©e ?Ã?  Erevan, le pr?Ã?©sident turc a
encore une fois ?Ã?©t?Ã?© siffl?Ã?© quand il est venu assister au match de
football entre la Turquie et l’Arm?Ã?©nie comptant pour la qualification
?Ã?  la Coupe du monde et qui avait donn?Ã?© aux deux pays l’occasion de
ce rapprochement.

En savoir plus avant les autres, Le Monde.fr vous fait gagner du
temps. Abonnez-vous au Monde.fr : 6??¬ par mois + 30 jours
offerts"Nous avons la volont?Ã?© politique de r?Ã?©soudre les diff?Ã?©rends
entre la Turquie et l’Arm?Ã?©nie. J’esp?Ã?¨re que cette visite pourra
cr?Ã?©er la possibilit?Ã?© d’am?Ã?©liorer nos relations", a affirm?Ã?©
M. G?Ã?¼l, lors de la premi?Ã?¨re visite d’un chef d’Etat turc en Arm?Ã?©nie
depuis l’ind?Ã?©pendance en 1991 de cette ex-r?Ã?©publique sovi?Ã?©tique.
"Nous avons la volont?Ã?© politique de r?Ã?©soudre les diff?Ã?©rends entre
nos deux pays pour ne pas les laisser aux g?Ã?©n?Ã?©rations ?Ã?  venir", a
?Ã?©galement d?Ã?©clar?Ã?© M. Sarkissian lors d’une conf?Ã?©rence de presse
commune. Le pr?Ã?©sident arm?Ã?©nien a annonc?Ã?© que M. G?Ã?¼l l’avait
invit?Ã?© en Turquie ?Ã?  l’occasion de Turquie-Arm?Ã?©nie, le match de
football retour entre les ?Ã?©quipes des deux pays.

9/06/l-armenie-et-la-turquie-affichent-leur-volont e-de-resoudre-leurs-differends_1092423_3214.html

New York Times
Sept 6 2008

Turkey’s President Makes Historic Visit to Armenia

By SEBNEM ARSU
Published: September 6, 2008

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s president arrived in Armenia on Saturday, the
first visit by a Turkish leader in the two nations’ history.

The president, Abdullah Gul, was invited by the Armenian president,
Serge Sargsyan, to attend a soccer game in Yerevan, the capital,
between the national teams.

The trip was widely seen as a symbolic gesture to normalize relations
between the countries, which have recognized each other but have not
established diplomatic relations.

The two nations have deeply held disagreements about what is widely
referred to as the Armenian genocide, in which more than one million
Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Army in the early 1900s.

Many Western countries support the genocide designation, but the
official narrative in Turkey is that both Turks and Armenians were
killed in warfare as the Ottoman Empire dissolved.

The issue remains taboo in Turkey; many writers and intellectuals,
including the Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, have faced criminal charges
for discussing the events that began in 1915.

The ruling Justice and Development Party has proposed, however, that
foreign scholars be allowed to study Ottoman archives to look into the
Armenian claims.

Mr. Gul accepted the invitation to visit Armenia despite heavy public
opposition in each nation. He said that attending the soccer game, a
World Cup qualifying match, was an opportunity to improve ties.

Security was heavy around the stadium in Yerevan, and protesters lined
the streets along his motorcade’s route.

`I hope today’s match will help lift the barriers to closer relations
between two nations that share a common history, and contribute to the
establishment of regional friendship and peace,’ Mr. Gul said at a
news conference before his departure for Yerevan.

After a new government was elected in Armenia this year, relations
between the countries improved; several meetings were held between
Foreign Ministry officials on the two sides.

`Although I cannot go into details, some consensus was reached for the
normalization of bilateral relations,’ said a Turkish Foreign Ministry
official who asked not to be identified, under normal diplomatic
rules.

`Expectations should not be hyped, but the visit is clearly a goodwill
gesture from Turkey,’ the official said.

Russia’s military actions in Georgia, which borders Armenia and
Turkey, have also fostered the rapprochement.

In response to the conflict, Turkey formed a Caucasus Stability and
Cooperation Platform to encourage political and economic links with
five neighboring countries, including Armenia.

On Saturday, Mr. Sargsyan said Armenia and Turkey would work together
to solve regional conflicts. `We are going to resolve the issues and
not pass them on to next generations,’ he said.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 after Armenia occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan, Turkey’s close ally and
energy provider in the region. The border remains closed, and economic
and trade ties are scant.

The main opposition party in Turkey condemned Mr. Gul’s decision to
visit Armenia, criticizing him for unilaterally compromising on
foreign political interests.

Given Turkey’s stance on the genocide dispute, as well as its energy
deals with Azerbaijan, the trip qualified as a modest start to
expanding relations, said Cengiz Aktar, a political scientist at
Bahcesehir University in Istanbul.

`Only through such organizations and close contact can people know and
learn about each other and grow conscious of taboo issues that were
left unspoken for years,’ Mr. Aktar said. `It is good that today’s
young people are willing to question and learn beyond what has been
dictated to them.’

The Turkish team won the soccer match, 2-0.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 8 2008

President Gül’s Yerevan visit boosts Turkey’s credentials in Europe

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Union Commissioner for
Enlargement Olli Rehn have praised President Abdullah Gül’s
visit to Armenia to watch a World Cup qualifying match between the
national teams of the two countries. Sarkozy welcomed the visit, the
first ever by a Turkish president since Armenia became independent in
1991, as "courageous and historic."

Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European
Union, said in a statement on Saturday: "While the region is in the
midst of a serious crisis, [his visit] is a courageous and historic
gesture for Turkish-Armenian relations.

It allows hope for progress soon in establishing normal relations
between Turkey and Armenia."

Sarkozy is a staunch opponent of Turkey’s accession into the EU,
saying it culturally and geographically does not belong in Europe. But
he praised Turkey’s role in mediating peace talks between Israel and
Syria and said Europe was grateful for its assistance at a summit in
Damascus on the Middle East last week.

He paid "tribute to the political courage of President Gül and
President [Serzh] Sarksyan" of Armenia and said he was hoping that
reaching out will allow both countries to show the world that
"reconciliation is possible through openness, dialogue and the respect
of others."

Speaking to reporters in Avignon, France, on the sidelines of an EU
foreign ministers meeting, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner
also praised Gül and said the EU welcomed his visit to Armenia.

Turkey’s Armenia initiative follows its efforts to create a Caucasus
platform to resolve regional disputes after a brief Georgian-Russian
war last month. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, who attended the talks
with EU foreign ministers on Saturday, said he was optimistic that
French position towards Turkey would soften as Paris gets to know
Turkey better and understands its importance in the region.

"We have been holding constant talks in the recent past with
France. As France understands us better, France’s perspective and
thoughts on Turkey will change positively," Babacan said on Saturday
in Avignon. He said he had briefed his EU counterparts about the
Turkish government’s recent efforts to help peace in the Caucasus and
a proposed Caucasus platform for regional stability and cooperation.

Babacan also said Turkey expected to open two more negotiating
chapters with the EU during the French presidency, which will expire
at the end of the year. EU Enlargement Commissioner Rehn also
commended on Gül’s initiative to go to Yerevan and praised
Turkey’s energetic diplomacy to help solve frozen conflicts in the
Caucasus. "I certainly hope that this will pave the way for a
breakthrough in Turkey-Armenian relations and return to normal
diplomatic relations, to the opening of the border and dealing with
sensitive historical issues," Rehn said.

Speaking before the soccer game, Rehn joked, "If Turkey plays as well
as they did in the European [soccer] championship, they should cause a
diplomatic incident in Yerevan."

"Turkey’s active diplomacy towards Syria, the Middle East, Armenia and
the Caucasus show its paramount importance as our partner in advancing
regional stability in one of the most unstable parts of the world,"
Rehn said. "The EU accession process would further facilitate joint
work by the EU and Turkey to stabilize those regions." Ä°stanbul
Today’s Zaman with wires

08 September 2008, Monday

Mediamax
Sept 6 2008

TURKISH PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN ARMENIA

Yerevan, 6 September: Mediamax correspondent reported from Yerevan
"Zvartnots" Airport that the president of the Turkish Republic was met
by Foreign Minister of Armenia Edvard Nalbandyan.

Turkish president headed from the airport to the residence of the
Armenian president, where talks between Abdullah Gul and Serzh
Sargsyan will take place.

After the meeting, the presidents of the two countries will have a
joint supper, after which they will together head to Hrazdan stadium
and will follow the match between the Armenian and Turkish national
football teams in VIP lodge together.

Right after the match the Turkish president will head to the airport
and will leave the capital of Armenia.

Abdullah Gul’s visit to Yerevan is the first one in the history. There
are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey and the land
border between the two countries was closed in 1993 according to the
decision of Ankara. Official Yerevan repeatedly spoke for
establishment of diplomatic relations with Turkey without any
preconditions.

Fars News Agency , Iran
Sept 5 2008

IRANIAN PROVINCIAL CLERIC CRITICAL OF AZERBAIJAN’S FOREIGN POLICY

Ardabil, 5 September: The representative of the supreme leader in the
province and Friday prayer imam of Ardabil has said that the events in
Georgia and the separatist demands of several regions of this country
should teach a lesson to supporters of Israel so that they stop
clinging to this terrible regime.

In his Friday prayer sermons in Ardabil, Seyyed Hasan Ameli said that
this event showed that the Azerbaijani Republic is also mistaken to
support Israel hoping to liberate Karabakh and that in the world of
politics it is impossible to trust America and Israel’s tricks.

Pointing out that 40,000 Shi’is were killed and several thousand were
wounded and taken prisoner during the war between the Azerbaijani
Republic and Armenia, he said that the leaders of the Azerbaijani
Republic made a historical mistake by raising the banner of the
Zionist regime in their Muslim country and officially recognizing this
regime in order to defend their land and retake Karabakh, whereas the
Jews cannot produce anything but hostility and hate, and God has
repeatedly condemned them in the Koran.

The Friday prayer imam noted economic agreements between the two
countries and said that with softness which is not acceptable in the
world of politics, the Azerbaijani Republic is trying to benefit from
the military might of the Zionist regime in the Karabakh conflict,
while this regime is pursuing only its own interests in Central Asia,
and the latest events in Georgia totally prove this theory.

Pointing out Sarkozy’s latest threats against Iran, Ameli said that
French President Sarkozy who calls himself a spokesman for the Zionist
regime made an illogical statement threatening Iran with the military
might of Israel, and he does not know that it is necessary to threaten
Israel with the military might of Iran because Iran is playing a
fundamental role in global and regional issues.

Saying that the time of threats in the world has come to an end, he
added that Russia’s resistance to the West, especially America and
Israel, unveiled the truth that their might is hollow, and following
the demonstration of force by Russia, we should not worry about the
adoption of a resolution against our country in the United Nations.

[Passage omitted: Ameli speaks about religious issues]

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Sept 6 2008

TURKEY HOPES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS WITH ARMENIA THROUGH DIALOGUE – FOREIGN
MINISTER

Avignon, 6 September: Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on
Saturday [6 September] that it would be for the interest of Armenia to
solve problems with its neighbours.

It would also increase prosperity level through settlement of peace
and stability in the region, added Babacan who spoke to Turkish
reporters in France where he went to attend informal meeting of EU
foreign ministers.

Babacan said that Turkey supported to solve problems through
dialogue. "The target is to produce a solution which will be for the
interest of everybody," he said.

When asked EU’s stance about the visit (of Turkish President Abdullah
Gul) to Armenia, Babacan said that EU had a serious interest towards
the visit, and it also supported Turkey’s Caucasus Stability Pact
proposal to overcome the recent crisis in Caucasus. Babacan said that
the EU expressed pleasure over the issue.

Babacan said that it was important for the EU that Turkey – which was
pursuing full membership talks – had good relations with its
neighbours.

He said that there were important problems between Turkey and Armenia,
adding that Turkey was hoping to solve those problems through
dialogue. Babacan recalled Turkey’s proposal to set up a joint
historians committee, and said that this proposal was still on the
table.

Babacan said that there were problems between Armenians and
Azerbaijanis, and he referred to UN’s resolutions against Armenia to
withdraw from lands of Azerbaijan. Babacan said that Turkey supported
Minsk process.

Upon another question, Babacan said that the visit of Gul to Yerevan
was discussed during the meetings with Azerbaijani president and
foreign minister. "Azerbaijan did not express any negative approach
about the issue," he said. (more)

The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)
September 7, 2008 Sunday

Piano virtuoso will perform today

PITTSFIELD — Armenian piano virtuoso Karen Tchougourian will perform
today at 3:30 p.m., at EPOCH Assisted Living, 140 Melbourne
Road. Tchougourian will perform a full range of music including
classical, movie scores, jazz and waltz.

A regular performer at EPOCH, Tchougourian studied at the Komitas
University in Armenia and the University of Arkansas. He received his
Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music, and has won
many performance competitions, including the 1999 Artists
International Auditions. As the winner, Tchougourian made a fully
sponsored debut at Carnegie Hall.

This performance is open to visitors at no charge, but a reservation
is requested. For reservations, call (413) 499-1992.